BY, be Pe vata ry! id) haat en 4) Nature une tI, 1 508] Nature ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE [ Nat JtUne 11, 1900 Junot rt8 AD WEEKEY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOLUME > EX XV NOVEMBER, 1907, to APRIL, 1908 “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.”—WorDSWORTH 292244 London NeACG Mele cA NeAG NED Ne Ol) Le 1M Eep NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Nature, June 11, 1908 RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. PASSOR Supplement to “ Nature,” Novemb Nature, June 11, 1908 INDEX: Aarpkorst, De Vormen der, Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie, J. van Baren, 76 Abel’s Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 580 Aberystwyth, New Chemical Laboratories at, 234 Abraham (Henri), Propagation of Telephone Currents through Subterranean Lines, 167 ; Conditions of Maximum Yield for Telephonic Apparatus, 215 Achard (M.), Influence of Feeding on Experimental Tuberculosis, 95 Aciers Spéciaux, les, L. Revillon, 317 Acoustics: Singing Flames and Tubes with Flames of Several Notes, M. Athanasiadis, 167; Propagation of Telephone Currents through Subterranean Lines, Henri Abraham and M. Devaux-Charbonnel, 167; an Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating, Prof. P. Zeeman, 247; on the Impulses of Compound Sound Waves and their Mechanical Transmission through the Ear, Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., 289; the Sensi- tiveness of Many Persons to Small Differences of Pitch, Dr. N. Stiicker, 304; High Wires in Concert Halls, &c., 325; Sensibility of the Ear to the Direction of Explosive Sounds, A. Mallock, F.R.S., 332; Photography of the Vibrations of the Voice, M. Marage, 527; Method of Photographing the Vibrations of a Thin India-rubber Membrane acted on by the Human Voice, Dr. M. Marage, 589; School-room Experiment for Showing the Absorption of Energy by an Acoustic Resonator, Prof. Aristide Fiorentino, 567 Acquired ’’ Characters, the Inheritance of, Rev. E. C. Spicer, 247, 342; Dr. G. Archdall Reid, 293, 342, 3091; Dr. H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S., 319, 390; A. D. D., 343; J. T. Cunningham, 367 Actualités scientifiques, Max de Nansouty, 437 Adami (Prof. J. George), Inflammation, an Introduction to the Study of Pathology, 126 Adams (C. E.), Tabulated Values of Certain Integrals, 462 Adams (Prof. F. D.), the Laurentian System of Canada, 142 Adams (J.), Studies in Plant Life, 554 Adams (Prof. W. S.), Spectroscopic Determination of the Rotation of the Sun, 158; Sun-spot Spectra, 421 Adda (Lorenzo d’), the Substitution of Cement for Steel in the Armour of Battleships, 543 Adye (E. H.), Modern Lithology, illustrated and defined for the use of Universitv, Technical, and Civil-Service Students, 125 Aéronautics: Flight of Pilot Balloons from the Seine, 13; New Aéroplanes, 105; Scientific Balloon Ascents of July 22-27, 136; Results obtained by the Balloon Observa- tions made in the British Isles, July 22-27, 187; Meteor- ological Observations at the British Kite Stations, Session 1906-7, Miss M. White, T. V. Pring and J. E. Petavel, 188; Possibilities of a Topography of the Air based on Balloon Observations, Capt. C. H. Ley, 188; Histoire de la Navigation aérienne, W. de Fonvielle, 217; Henry | Farman and the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize, 254; H. | Farman and his Aéroplane, 493; Franklin’s Descriptions | of the first Balloon Ascents, Prof. A. L. Rotch, 256; Stability in Flight, A. Mallock, F.R.S., 293; Major B. Baden-Powell, 320; Herbert Chatley, 320; Balloon Ascent | of July 25, 1907, M. J. Vincent, 445; Unmanned Balloon | Ascents in 1907 at Munich, A. Schmauss, 495; the Lagging of Temperature Changes at Great Heights behind those at the Earth’s Surface shown by Records | of Sounding Balloons liberated at St. Louis in April | and May, 1906, H. H. Clayton, 49s; Dr. Alexander the Course of | a Graham Bell’s Experiments with his Cygnet Man-lifting Kite, 496; Airships Past and Present, together with Chapters on the Use of Balloons in Connection with Meteorology, Photography, and the Carrier Pigeon, A. Hildebrandt, 562; M. Delagrange’s Aéroplane, 564; Scientfic Kite and Balloon Ascents, September—December, 1907, 542 Aéroplanes, New, 105 Aflalo (F. G.), Sunshine and Sport in Florida and the West Indies, 128 Africa: Climate of Eritrea, Captain Tancredi, 88; Labour- saving Appliances in Transvaal Mines, E. J. Way, 114; Notes on some Bushman Crania and Bones from the South African Museum, Cape Town, Dr. F. C. Shrubsall, 211; ‘‘ Kimberlite ’’? and the Source of the Diamond in South Africa, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224; the Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in South Africa, A. W. Rogers and A. L. du Toit, 224; the Diamond Pipes and Fissures of South Africa, H. S. Harger, 224; the Occurrence in Kimberlite of Garnet- pyroxene Nodules carrying Diamonds, G. S. Corstorphine, 224; Kimberlite Dykes and Pipes, F. W. Voit, 224; the Origin of Diamonds, F. W. Voit, 224; Geological Survey of the Eastern Portion of Griqualand West, A. L. du Toit, 224; Ueber die siidafrikanischen Dia- mantlagerstatten, A. Macco, 224; Untersuchungen iiber einige stidafrikanische Diamantenlagerstatten, R. Beck, 224; Transvaal Mines Department, Report of the Geo- logical Survey for the Year 1906, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 346; Aus Namaland und Kalahari, Prof. Leonhard Schultze, Sir H. H. Johnston, G.C.M.G., 385; Petrology and Physiography of Western Liberia, J. Parkinson, 527; Flora of Natal, J. M. Wood, 565 Agriculture: Action of Lime on the Available Soil Con- stituents, F. B. Guthrie and L. Cohen, 23; the Haustorium of the Sandal-wood Tree, C. A. Barber, 40; Work to be Done at the Experiment Stations at Knysna and Robertson, Cape Colony, Dr. Nobbs, 64; Use of Heat for che Treatment of Coffee Plants against the Indian Borer, Louis Boutan, 96; Report of Royal Agri- cultural Society, 134; Composition of Indian Oil Seeds, Dr. Leather, 136; Pot Culture at Pusa, Dr. Leather, 136; Agricultural Statistics of India, 208; the Barley Disease, “Deaf Ears,’’ Prof. M. C. Potter, 256; South Aus- tralian Wheat Yield during the Last Decade, 279; Cyclo- pedia of American Agriculture, 292; Seed and Soil In- oculation for Leguminous Crops, Prof. W. B. Bottomley, 330; (1) Races bovines, France—Etranger, (2) Races chevalines, Prof. Paul Diffloth, 339; the Journal of the South-eastern Agricultural College, Wye, Kent, 345; Experimental Breeding of the Indian Cottons, H. Martin Leake, 360; Influence of Stimulating Compounds on Crops, M. Uchiyama, 376; Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay, and Pasture, Dr. Edward B. Voorhees, 388; the Lines of Flow of Water in Saturated Soils, especially Peat-mosses, L. F. Richardson, 407; the Food of American Birds, W. L. McAtee, 564 ; Agricultural Experi- ments and Reports, sgo; Investigation of the Washes for Spraying Fruit Trees, Mr. Pickering, 590; Molasses as Cattle Food, Messrs. Lindsey, Holland and Smith, 590-1 ; History of the Gooseberry Mildew Order of July, 1907, E. S. Salmon, 591; the ‘‘ Black Scab” or *‘ Warty Disease ’’’ of Potatoes, E. S. Salmon, 591; the Plasmo- para Vine Disease in Algeria, Mr. Lounsbury, 591; the Pine Disease, Diplodia pinea, 591; Occurrence of Cyano- genetic Glucosides in Feeding Stuffs, T. A. Henry and S. J. M. Auld, 598; Improvement of the Sugar-cane, 614 Aitken (Dr. John, F.R.S.), the Winding of Rivers, 127 Aitken (Prof.), Two Hundred New Double Stars, 328; the Moving Object near Jupiter, 497 | Aitken (Thomas), Road-making and Maintenance, 244 vi Index Nature, June 11, 1908 Albrecht (Prof.), the Moving Object near Jupiter, 497 Alcohol and the Human Body, Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S., Dr. Mary D. Sturge and Dr. Arthur Newsholme, 386 Algebra: Easy Exercises in Algebra for Beginners, W. S. Beard, 315; Synopsis of Linear Associative Algebra, J. B. Shaw, 603 Algol Variables, Observations of, Dr. K. Graff, 497 Algué (Rev. Father), Rainfall of the Philippine Archipelago, 64; Typhoon at the Caroline Islands, March, 1907, 469 Alimentation, the Physiology of, Prof. Martin H. Fischer, 26 Allan (Andrew), Matter and Intellect: a Reconciliation of Science and the Bible, 341 Allen (Charles C.), Engineering Workshop Practice, 28 Alliston (Norman), the Case of Existence, 53 Alteration in the Calendar, Proposed, 489; Dr. D. Mackie, 5343 Corr., 541 Altitude Tables, H. F. Ball, 365 Amazonicas, Album de Aves, Dr. E. A. Goeldi, 220 Ameghino (Dr. Florentino), les Formations sédimentaires du Crétacé supérieur et du Tertiaire de Patagonie, avec un Paralléle entre leur Faunes mammalogiques et celles de l’Ancien Continent, 68; Tetraprothomo argentinus from the later Tertiary Deposits of Monte Hermosa, 113 America: Dyeing in Germany and America, Sidney H. Higgins, Prof. Walter M. Gardner, 4; Recent Publica- tions of fhe United States Museum, 91; the Birds of North and Middle, America, R. Ridgway, 91; Catalogue of the Type and Figured Specimens of Fossils, Minerals, Rocks and Ores in the Department of Geology, U.S. Mus., J. P. Merrill, 91; Revision of the Pelycosauria of North America, E. C. Case, 186; Archeology in America, H. R. Hall, 186; American Investigations on Electrolytic Conductivity, 213; the Interdependence of Medicine and Other Sciences, Dr. W. H. Welch at Chicago Meeting of American Association, 283 ; Chicago Meeting of American Association, 302; Sectional Addresses at, 378; Music and Melody, Prof. W. C. Sabine, 378; Heredity and Environic Forces, Dr. MacDougal, 378; the Mechanism in Heredity, Dr. E. G. Conklin, 378; Anthropology of California, Prof. A. L. Kroeber, 379; Tendencies in Pathology, Dr. Simon Flexner, 379; Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, 292; American Ethnology, Dr. J. W. Fewkes, 329; Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay, and Pasture, Dr. Edward B. Voorhees, 388; the Games of the North American Indians, Stewart Culin, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 568 Ameeba, a Variation in, M. D. Hill, 367 Anesthesia, the Induction of, by Chloroform, 226 Anatomy: the Surgical Anatomy of the Horse, John T. Share-Jones, 170; on the Impulses of Compound Sound Waves and their Mechanical Transmission through the Ear, Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., 289; der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzengewebe, Anatomisch- physiologische Untersuchungen in den Tropen, Dr. Carl Holtermann, 313; Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type, H. F. Osborn, 435; Physiologie und Anatomie des Menschen mit ausblicken auf den ganzen Kreis der Wirbeltiere, Dr. Felix Kienitz- Gerloff, 484; Death of Prof. Franz von Leydig, 564 Ancient British Monuments, Notes on, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 56, 82, 150, 249, 368, 414, 487, 536 Anderson (Dr. Tempest), Report on the Eruptions of the Soufriére in St. Vincent in 1902, the Changes in the Districts, and the Subsequent History of the Volcanoes, 549 Anderson (Sir Thomas M’Call), Death of, 298 Andrews (Dr. C. W.), Natural History ‘‘ Guide-books,”’ the Elephant Group. 613 Andrews (Prof. E. A.), Young Stages of Fresh-water Ameri- can Cray-fishes, 87 Andrews (E. A.), Worms and Tree-Planting, 205 Andrews (E. C.), Geographical Significance of Floods, with especial Reference to Glacial Action, 192 Andromeda Nebula, Parallax of the, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 446 a Andromedz, Provisional Elements for the Spectroscopic Binary, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 182 Animal Life, Evolution and, David Starr Jordan and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, 242 Animals, the Diseases of, Nelson S. Mayo, 436 Annandale (Dr. Thomas), Death of, 178 P Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society, 107 Antarctica: National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, 33; Magnetic Results obtained by the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4, Dr. C. Chree, 453; National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, Geology of South Vic- toria Land, H. T. Ferrar, Petrography, Dr. Prior, Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., 561; Dr. Jean Charcot’s Antarctic Expedition, 204; Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, Report on the Scientific Results of the S.Y. Scotia during the years 1902, 1903, and 1904, under the Leadership of W. S. Bruce, Vol. ii., Physics, 618 Anthropology : Questions on the Customs, Beliefs, and Languages of Savages, Method of Use, Dr. J. G. Frazer, 16; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. A. M. Pirrie, 62; Brains of Australian Natives, Dr. W. L. H. Duckworth, 64; Teeth of Australians, Dr. Ramsay Smith, 64; Religion of the Indians of California, A. L. Kroeber, 87; Royal Anthropological Institute, 94, 139, 143, 166, 359, 406, 454, 502, 551; Burial Mounds in Japan, Prof. Gow- land, 139; Head of Australian Aborigine, Prof. Cunning- ham, 139; the Friction Drum, H. Balfour, 139; Excava- tion of a Barrow at Chapel Carn Brea, Cornwall, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; Holed Stone at Kerrow, Cornwall, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; Cist and Urn at Tregiffian Vean, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; the Romance of Savage Life, describing the Life of Primitive Man, his Customs, Occupations, Language, Beliefs, Arts, Crafts, Adventures, Games, Sports, &c., F. Scott Elliot, 171; on the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neandertal Race, Prof. W. J. Sollas, 262; the Village Deities of Southern India, Dr. Whitehead, 278; Ancient Egypt the Light of the World: a Work of Reclamation and Restitution, Gerald Massey, 291; Primitive Traditional History: the Primitive History and Chronology of India, South-eastern and South-western Asia, Egypt and Europe, and the Colonies thence sent forth, J. F. Hewitt, 291; Death and Obituary Notice of Rev. Dr. Lorimer Fison, 299; the Fossiliferoas Deposits of the Bengawan River in Java, Dr. J. Elberts, 299; St. George and the Palilia, Dr. J. G. Frazer, 327; Anthropology of California, Prof. A. L. Kroeber, 379; Aus Namaland und Kalahari, Prof. Leonhard Schultze, Sir H. H. Johnston, G.C.M.G., 385; New Instrument for determining the Colour of the Hair, Eyes, and Skin, J. Gray, 406; Death of Dr. A. W. Howitt, C.M.G., 443; Death and Obituary Notice of Sir Denzil Ibbetson, 443; Montenegrin Manners and Customs, Edith Durham, 454; Gods and Godlings, David Patrick, 462; Distribution of Populations of the Earth in Dependence upon Natural Conditions and the Activity of Man, A. I. Voieikoff, 498; Origin of the Crescent as a Mohammedan Badge, Prof. Ridgeway, 502; Sinhalese Magic, Dr. W. L. Hildburgh, 551 Aphorisms and Reflections, T. H. Huxley, 341 6 Aquilz, the Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary, W. E. Harper, 281 Arber (E. A. Newell), the Structure of Sigillaria scutellata, 549 Archeology: Notes on Ancient British Monuments, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 56, 82, 150, 249, 368, 414, 487, 536; Ancient Dies for Coinage, Prof. C. Zeng- helis, 65; ‘‘ Grave Stones ’’ from New South Wales, N. W. Thomas, 94; May Gorsedds, Rev. John Griffith, 128;° the Annual of the British School at Athens, H. R. Hall, 129; Find of Bronze Weapons, Implements, and Vessels at Khinaman, South-east Persia, Major Sykes, 139; Excavation of a Barrow at Chapel Carn Brea, Corn- wall, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; Holed Stone at Kerrow, Cornwall, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; Cist and Urn at Tregiftian Vean, H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne, 143; Dragonesque Forms on and beneath Fonts, G. Le Blane Smith, 156; British Chariot Burial discovered at Hunmanby, T. Sheppard, 180; Archeology in America, H. R. Hall, 186; Decorative Art of Crete in the Bronze Age, Edith H. Hall, 186; Recent Discoveries of Palzolithic Implements, Sir John Evans, 214; Archzological Remains in Wales and the Marches, 227; Discovery of Group of Dene-holes in Woods between Woolwich and Erith, 230; Neolithic Dew- ponds and Cattle-ways, Dr. Arthur John Hubbard and George Hubbard, W. E. Rolston, 245; Manx Crosses, or the Inscribed and Sculptured Monuments of the Isle of Nature, June 11, 1908 Index vii Man from about the End of the Fifth to the Beginning of the Thirteenth Century, P. M. C. Kermode, 26<; Orientation of the Avebury Circles, Rev. Ed. H. Goddard, 320; Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, Prof. J. Garstang, H. R. Hall, 439; Megalithic Remains in Central France, A. L. Lewis, 503 ; Martinmas in May, Rev. C. S. Taylor, 510; Paleolithic Paintings of Man and Animals in the Portal Cave, René Jeannel, 528; Papers of the British School at Rome, 532; an Early Notice of Neolithic Implements, Prof. John L. Myres, 535; Index of Archeological Papers, 557; L’Europe préhistorique, Sophus Muller, Dr. William Wright, 578: Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Cesar, Dr. T. Rice Holmes, 601; The Tabernacle: its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x; Solomon’s Temple: its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, supp. to March 5, x Architecture, Naval, a Contribution to the History of Iron- clads, Lord Rosse, 356; see Naval Arctica: Death and Obituary Notice of Sir F. L. McClin- tock, K.C.B., F.R.S., 61; Results obtained by the Ziegler Polar Expedition of 1903-5, J. A. Fleming, 207; Anthony Fiala, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 544; the Arctic Whaling Voyage of Last Year, T. Southwell, 417; Return of Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen and the Anglo- American Polar Expedition, 541 Aristotelian Society, Proceedings of the, 290 Arithmetic: Arithmetic for Schools, Rev.. J. B. Lock and V. M. Turnbull, 27; Arithmetic, chiefly Examples, G. W. Palmer, 27; a Modern Arithmetic, with Graphic and Practical Exercises, H. Sydney Jones, 27; Notes on Indian Mathematics—Arithmetical Notation, R. Kaye, 347; Whittaker’s Arithmetic of Electrical Engineering for Technical Students and Engineers, 365 Arloing (S.), Characters of Tuberculous Infection in Their Relations with the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis, 503 Armature Construction, H. M. Hobart and A. G. Ellis, 532 Armour of Battleships, the Substitution of Cement for Steel in the, Lorenzo d’Adda, 543 Arndt (Dr. Kurt), Technische Anwendungen der Physik- alischen Chemie, 52 Arunta, New Facts about the, M. Freiherr v. Leonhardi, 44 Asia, the Pulse of, a Journey in Central Asia illustrating the Geographic Basis of History, Ellsworth Huntington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 314 Asiatic Society of Bengal, 168, 359, 455, 504 Association of Economic Biologists, 599 Astrographic Catalogue, the, Prof. Ricco, 158 Astrographic Congress, the President of the, 520 Astronomy: Dr. Edward Sang’s Collection of MS. Calcula- tions in Trigonometry and Astronomy, Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., 13; Our Astronomical Column, 17, 42, 66, 89, 115, 137, 158, 182, 208, 234, 258, 281, 302, 328, 353, 377, 401, 421, 446, 470, 497, 520, 544, 567, 590, 616; Comet Mellish (1907e), 17, 138; M. Borrelly, 17; G. van Biesbroeck, 17; Dr. M. Ebell, 18, 66; P. Chofardet, 23; Ephemeris for Comet 1907e, Dr. Wirtz, 281; Observations of, Dr. J. MHoletschek, 353: the Transit of Mercury, M. Bigourdan, 18; the Recent Transit of Mercury, MM. Javelle and Simonin, 116; M. Charlois, 116; M. Bourget, 116; M. Borrelly, 116; M. Esmiol, 116; Abbé Th. Moreux, 116; Comte de la Baume Pluvinel, 116; Observations of the Transit of Mercury of November 14, J. Comas Sold, 167; M. Pidoux, 567; M. Gautier, 567; Mercury as a Morning Star, 115; Measurements of the Diameters of Mercury, Robert Jonckheere, 431; Changes on Saturn’s Rings, Prof. Campbell, 18; Saturn’s Rings, Dr. Ristenpart, 67: Prof. Hartwig, 67; Prof. Lowell, 67, 116, 616; Paul Guthnick, 67; Prof. B. Peter. 90: M. Schaer, 90; Dr. Hassenstein, 90; Rev. T. E. R. Phillips, 234; Dr. Lau, 234; Prof. Barnard. 401; Mr. Lampland, 616; Saturn Apparently without Rings, M. Flammarion, 182; Saturn, a New Ring Suspected, G. Fournier, 302; the Saturn Perturbations of Various Comets, Dr. Johannes Wendt, 568; a Bright Meteor, Arthur Mee, 18; November Meteors, John R. Henry. 31; Occultation of Neptune by the Moon, Dr. Downing, 42: the Improvement of Celestial Photographic Images. Prof. Lowell, 42: the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. Mr. Denning, 42; Photo- graphs of Jupiter, M. Quénisset, 90; Photographs of Jupiter’s Satellites VI. and VII., 137; Uniformly Dis- tributed Dark Spots on Jupiter, Scriven Bolton, 4o1; Simultaneous Observations of Jupiter, Jean Mascart, 259; a Possible New Satellite to Jupiter, P. Melotte, 470; Observations of Jupiter during the Present Opposi- tion, P. Vincart, 471; the Moving Object near Jupiter, Prof. Albrecht, 497; Prof. Aitken, 497; the Recently Discovered Satellite of Jupiter, Mr. Melotte, 567; Mutual Occultations and Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites, Mr. Whitmell, 567; the New Eighth Satellite of Jupiter, Astronomer Royal, 575; A. C. D. Crommelin, 575; Red Stars near Nova Velorum, Mrs. Fleming, 42; Prof. Pickering, 42; the Systematic Error of Latitude observed with a Zenith Telescope, Herr Battermann, 42; K. Hirayama, 42; Investigation of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets, Prof. S. Newcomb, assisted by Frank E. Ross, 43; Notes on Ancient British Monuments, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 56, 82, 150, 249, 368, 414, 487, 536; a Large Solar Prominence, Dr. A. A. Ram- baut, 66; Mars as the Abode of Life, Prof. Lowell, 66, 471; Comparisons of the Places of Mars for the Opposi- tions of 1907 and 1909, Dr. Downing, 67; Photographs of Mars, Prof. Lowell, 182; Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell’s Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’? with an Alternative Explanation, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 337; the Possibility of Life in Mars, C. O. Bartrum, 392; Dr. J. W. Evans, 392, 413; Dr. W. Ainslie Hollis, 438; Prof. Percival Lowell, 461; Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 461; Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, William E. Rolston, 442; Mr. Slipher, 497; Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmo- sphere of Mars, Prof. P. Lowell, 503, 606; Elements and Ephemeris for the Minor Planet Patroclus, V. Heinrich, 67; Astronomical Occurrences in December, 89; in January, 208; in February, 302; in March, 421; in April, 520; in May, 616; Final Designations of Recently Discovered Variables, 90; a Large Eruptive Prominence, Mr. Fox, 90; Surveys of Nebule, P. Gotz, 90; Royal Astronomical Society, 94, 478, 575; Ultra- violet Region in Sun-spot Spectra and Spectrum of Comet d, 10907, J. Evershed, 94; the Permanency of some Photovisual Lenses, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, 94; Spectroscopic Observations of Cyanogen in the Solar Atmosphere and in Interplanetary Space, H. F. Newall, 94; the Total Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, 104, 274; the Recent Total Solar Eclipse, 544; a Bright Meteor, T. F. Connolly, 115; Death of Dr. Asaph Hall, 132; Obituary Notice of, 154; Temperature Control of Silvered Mirrors, Dr. Heber D. Curtis, 137; Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries, Dr. Curtis, 138; Solar Prominences in 1906, Prof. Ricco, 138; Search Ephemeris for Comet 1907a (Giacobini), Prof. Weiss, 138; a Further Observation of Comet 19074, Prof. Wolf, 3158; the Giacobini Comet 19072, MM. Giacobini and Javelle, 167; Presence of Sulphur in some of the Hotter Stars, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 141; the ‘‘ Day by Day ”’ Tellurian, Messrs. G. Philip and Son, 157; the Maximum of Mira, 1906, Naozo Ichinohe, 158; the Recent Maximum of Mira Ceti, Felix de Roy, 544; Spectroscopic Determination of the Rota- tion of the Sun, Prof. Adams, 158; Newly Discovered Spectroscopic Binaries, A. B. Turner, 158; the Astro- graphic Catalogue, Prof. Riccd, 158; Stars having Peculiar Spectra, Mrs. Fleming, 158; Weakened Lines in Sun-spot Spectra, Mr. Nagaraja, 158; Sun-spot Spectra, Prof. W. S. Adams, 421; Charles M. Olmsted, 421; Apparatus designed for Stars Composed Partly of Gas and Partly of Solid Particles, H. Deslandres, 167 ; Provisional Elements for the Spectroscopic Binary a Andromede, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 182; Nova Persei, 1901, Prof. Barnard, 182: the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of Nova Persei No. 2, Prof. Hartmann, 377; the Moon in Modern Astronomy, Ph. Fauth, W. E. Rolston, 195: Astronomical Essays, Historical and De- scriptive, J. Ellard Gore, W. E. Rolston, 195; Evolution of Planets, Edwin G. Camp, W. E. Rolston, 195; Daniel’s Comet, 1907d. Herr Kritzinger. 208. 544; Dr. J. Holetschek. 253; Ephemeris for, Herr Kritzinger, 421; Ephemeris for Encke’s Comet, M. Kamensky and vill Index Frl. Korolikov, 208; Return of Encke’s Comet (1908a), Prof. Wolf, 234; Observation of Encke’s Comet on December 25, 1907, Prof. Wolf, 281; Photographic Observations of Encke’s Comet (1908a), Prof. Wolf, 302; Encke’s Comet, 1908a, M. Kamensky and Mdlle. Korolikov, 353; Prof. Wolf, 353; Dr. Backlund, 547; Dr. Ebell, 547; Absolute Scale of Photographic Magni- tudes, J. A. Parkhurst and F. C. Jordan, 208; Annual Astronomical Publications, 208; the Canyon Diablo Meteorites, G. P. Merrill and Wirt Tassin, 208; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. P. J. C. Janssen, 229; the Spectra of Two Meteors, M. Blakjo, 234; the Constancy of Wave-lengths of Spectral Lines, Prof. Kayser, 234; Death of Lieut.-Colonel R. L. J. Ellery, F.R.S., 254; Obituary Notice of, 298; Comets Due to Return this Year, W. T. Lynn, 258; Determination of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium Photometer, J. Stebbins and F. C. Brown, 258, 302; the Appearance of Neptune in Small Telescopes, Mr. Holmes, 258; Mr. Maw, 258; the ““Annuaire Astronomique’’ for 1908, 258; Death of Prof. C. A. Young, 277; Obituary Notice of, 324; a Newly Discovered Bright Minor Planet (1908 B.M.), Dr. Kopff, 281; Measures of Double Stars, C. P. Olivier and R. E. Wilson, 281; Two Hundred New Double Stars, Prof. Aitken, 328; Double-star Observations, Dr. Joel Stebbins, 4o1; the Absorption of D, (Helium) in the Neighbourhood of Sun-spots, Father Cortie, 281; the Helium Line, D,, as a Dark Line in the Solar Spectrum, A. A. Buss, 377; the Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spectrum, Captain Daunt, 520; the Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary @ Aquilae, W. E. Harper, 281, Eclipse Observations, August, 1905, M. Donitch, 281; a Useful Sun and Planet Chart, 302; the Distortion of Photo- graphic Films in Stellar Work, Dr. Frank Schlesinger, 328; a New Astronomical Journal, 328; the Study of Meteor Trains, Prof. Trowbridge, 328; the Accuracy of Double-star Measures, Prof. Doberck, 328; Forty-one New Variable Stars, 329; Death of Rev. F. Howlett, 349; Occultations of Uranus in 1908, Dr. Downing, 353; Planets now Visible, 353; a Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars, H. B. Hedrick, 353; Meteors observed on January 2, P. Muusmann and H. Wanning, 353; the Calorific Solar Radiation, C. Féry and G. Millochau, 359; Altitude Tables, F. Ball, 365; a Detailed Study of the Photosphere, Mr. Chevalier, 378; Astronomischer Jahresbericht, A. Berberich, 389; the Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy, E. Schaer, 4o1; Planetary Photo- graphy, Prof. Percival Lowell, 402; zur Geschichte der’ Astronomischen Messwerkzeuge von Purbach_ bis Reichenbach 1450 bis 1830, Joh. A. Repsold, 409; the Spectrum of the Aurora Borealis, Dr. W. Marshall Watts, 421; Astronomy in Wales, 421; Micrometer Observations of Phoebe, Prof. Barnard, 421; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. W. E. Wilson, F.R.S., 443; the Parallax of the Andromeda Nebula, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 446; the Orbit of y Virginis, Dr. Doberck, 446; the Large Solar Prominence of May 21, 1907, Father Fényi, 446; Spanish Observations of the Total Solar Eclipse of August, 1905, 446; a New Variable of the the Canadian “Stonyhurst Sun U Geminorum Type, Prof. Hartwig, 440 5 Astronomical Handbook for 1908, 446; ‘ Discs,’’ Father Cortie, 469; the Variable Star 31, 1907, Aurigze, Prof. Hartwig, 471; Recent Observations of Venus, J. M. Harg, 471; the System of ¢ Urs Majoris (Mizar), Prof. Frost, 471; Variation in the Radial Velocity of 8B Ursze Majoris, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 520; the Variability of the Nucleus of the Planetary Nebula N.G.C. 7662, E. E. Barnard, 478; Perturbations of Halley’s Ganiet in the Past, the Period ro66-rz01, P. H. Cowell and A. C. D. Crommelin, 478; the Meteors of Halley’s Comet, W. F. Denning, 619; Peculiarities in the Structure of some Heavenly Bodies, Prof. Suess, 490; the Dispersion of Light in Interstellar Space, Dr. C. Nordmann, 497; Distribution of Standard Time in Egypt, Captain H. G. Lyons, 497; Observations of Algol Variables, Dr. K. Graff, 497; Nebulz and Nebulosities observed by Prof. Barnard, 497; les Progrés de la Photographie astronomique, Prof. P. Stroobant, 508; Prominence and Coronal Structure, Dr. William J. S. Lockyer at Royal Society, 514; Structure of the Corona, Natu e, Jute 11, 1908 Prof. Hansky, 590; Comet 1907 II., Prof. E. Weiss, 520; the President of the Astrographic Congress, 520; ‘wo Remarkable Spectroscopic Binaries, Mr. Gore, 520; Dr. Nordmann’s Variable Star Observations, 520; April Meteors, John R. Henry, 535; Observatory "Map of the Moon, Mr. Porthouse, 544; Sun-spot Observations, T. Epstein, 544; Meridian Circle Observations of Parallax Stars, 544; a New Expedition to the Southern Hemi- sphere, 544; the Hamburg Observatory, Prof. Schorr, 544; Parallax Observations, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 567; Astro- nomical Photography with Portrait Lenses, Prof. Barnard, 567; the Harvard College Observatory, Prof. Pickering, 567; Spectroscopic Binaries now under Observation, Prof. Frost, 590; Prof. Hartmann, 590; Prof. Pickering, $00; the Relations between the Colours and Periods of Variable Stars, S. Beljawsky, 590; a Field Method of determining Longitudes, E. 15h Wade, 590; Observations of Eros, @ Van EA 590; ‘Variable Radial Velocity of » Virginis, W. E. Harper, 590; the Children’s Book of Stars, G. E. Mitton, 605; a New Star-finder, C. Baker, 616; the Systematic Motions of the Stars, Prof. Dyson, 616; Determination of the Errors of the Paris Observatory Réseaux, Jules Baillaud, 617; the Herschel’s Nebule, Madame Dorothea Isaac-Roberts, 617; Horizon and Prime-vertical Curves for Latitudes +30° to +60°, H. H. Kritzinger, 617 Astrophysics: Death of Dr. Janssen, 178 Athanasiadis (M.), Singing Flames and Tubes with Flames of several Notes, 167 Athens, the Annual of the British School at, 12 Atlas of the World’s Commerce, 506 Atmosphere, Helium in the, Dr. J. W. Evans, 535 Atmosphere, the Isothermal Layer of, W. H. Dines, F.R.S., 390, 462, 486; Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 437; C. E. Stromeyer, 485 Atmospheric Electricity F.R.S., 343 Atomic Theory, on the Physical Aspect of the, Wilde Lec- ture of Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Prof. J. Larmor, Sec.R.S., oO Atomic Theory, Mosaic Origin of the, 486 Atomic Weights, Re-calculation of, H. E. Watson, 7 Atoms, an Alleged Originator of the Theory of, Dr. J. L. E. Dreyer, 368 Bs Poseidonius on the Originator of the Theory of, Bai J. See, 34g Antes (M.), the Audiffren Refrigerator, 215 Auger (V.), a Colloidal Solution of Arsenic, 23; Action of Amorphous Arsenic on the Alkyl Halides, 95; Pre- paration of the Cyanides of Methyl and Ethyl, 215 Auld (S. J. M.), Occurrence of Cyanogenetic Glucosides in Feeding Stuffs, 598 Aurora Borealis, the Watts, 421 Auroral Characteristics of Clouds, George C. Simpson, 344 Ausgreichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate, Dr. F. R. Helmert, 52 Austin (L. W.), Conditions which Influence the Production of Rapid Electrical Oscillations by Means of the Arc, 41 BN-—B Austin (P. C.), Attempted Synthesis of | 8—CIIi—pB H. R. Hall, and Fog, Dr. Charles Chree, Dr. John Knott, Spectrum of the, Dr. W. Marshall -dinaphth- acridine, 238 Australia: die Fauna Siidwest-Australiens, Ergebnisse der Hamburger stidwest-australischen Forschungsreise, 1905, Prof. W. Michaelson and Dr. R. Hartmeyer, 51; Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania, A. J. North, 76; Literature relating to the Australian Aborigines, Dr. A. W. Howitt, 80; R. H Mathews, 81; die Vegetation der Erde, VII., die Pflanzenwelt von West Australien siidlich des Wende- kreises, Dr. L. Diels, 171; a Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies, W. J. Rainbow, 411 Austrian Science, 304 Avebury Circles, Orientation of the, Rev. Ed. H. Goddard, 320 Avifauna Italica, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 25 Ere Nature, 4° 1 June TOE Index 1X Backlund (Dr.), Encke’s Comet, 547 Wolfram, 502; Metamorphic Minerals in Calcareous Bacos (Roger), die Physik, Sebastian Vogl, 268 Bacot (A.), the Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered Moth,” 204 Bacteriology: die Purpurbakterien, Prof. Hans Molisch, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 53; Experiments on Typhoid Fever Bacillus, Dr. Ravold, 69; Physiological Properties of Tubercle Bacilli which have been Submitted to the Action of Chlorine, MM. Moussu and Goupil, 216; Relations between Lecithin and Tubercle Bacilli and Tuberculin, A. Calmette, L. Massol, and M. Breton, 552; the Bacteriological Examination of Disinfectants, William Partridge, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 246; Theory of Dis- infection, Harriette Chick, 494; Specimens of Luminous Bacteria, J. E. Barnard, 311; Stages in the Life-history of Green Algz, Prof. Dunbar, 350; Abel’s Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 580 Baden-Powell (Major B.), Stability in Flight, 320 Baden-Powell (Lieut.-General R. S. S.), Scouting for Boys, 293 Bahr (P. H.), Home-life of some Marsh-birds, 393 Baillaud (Jules), Determination of the Errors of the Paris Observatory Réseaux, 617 Bairstow (L.), a Micromanometer, 188 Baker (C.), a New Star-finder, 616 Baker (H. B. and Mrs.), Gaseous Nitrogen Trioxide, 93 Baker (Dr. H. F.), Invariants of a Binary Quintic and the Reality of its Roots, 94; an Introduction to the Theory of Multiply-periodic Functions, Supp. to March 5, v Baker (Julian L.), Considerations affecting the ‘‘ Strength ” of Wheat Flours, 595 Baker (R. T.), the Essential Oils, 480 Balance, a Specific Gravity, for Large Rock Specimens, T. H. D. La Touche, 221 Baldwin-Wiseman (W. R.), Influence of the Thickness of the Pipe Wall on the Rate of Discharge of Water from Minute Orifices Piercing the Pipe, 231 Balfour (H.), the Friction Drum, 139 Ball (F.), Altitude Tables, 365 Ball (Dr. John), a Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the Nile, 433 Ball (L. C.), the Norton Goldfield, 257 Ballistic Experiments from 1864 to Bashforth, 30 Balls (W. Lawrence), the Cotton Plant, 484 Balston (R. J.), Notes on the Birds of Kent, 511 Bancels (J. Larguier des), Physical Modifications of Gelatin in Presence of Electrolytes and Non-electrolytes, 384 Baratta (Prof. Mario), Methods of Construction adopted in Re-building Calabrian Villages destroyed in the Earth- quake of September 8, 1905, 468 Barber (C. A.), the Haustorium of the Sandal-wood Tree, Australian Melaleucas and _ their 1880, Rev. Francis 40 Barbier (Ph.), New Method for the Hydration of Pinene, 240 Baren (J. van), de Vormen der Aardkorst, Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie, 76 Barker (J. T.), Complex Copper Glycocoll Sulphates, 214 Barker (Prof. T.), Death of, 85 Barker (T. V.), Relation between Isomorphous Miscibility and Parallel Growths, 143 Barkhausen (Dr. H.), das erzeugung, 220 Barkla (Dr. Charles G.), the Nature of Réntgen Rays, 319; Classification of Secondary X-Radiators, 343 Barnard (Prof.), Nova Persei, 1901, 182; Saturn’s Rings, 401; Micrometer Observations of Phoebe, 421; the Variability of the Nucleus of the Planetary Nebula N.G.C. 7662, 478; Nebulz and Nebulosities observed by, 497; Astronomical Photography with Portrait Lenses, 567 © Barnard (J. E.), Specimens of Luminous Bacteria, 311 Barnes (Prof. H. T.), Formation of Ground-ice, 412 Barr (G.), Colour-reactions of Organic Acids with Phenols, Problem der Schwingungs- 190 Barrow (G.), the High-level Platforms of Bodmin Moor and their Relation to the Deposits of Stream-tin and Rocks in the Bodmin and Camelford Areas, 574 Barrowcliff (M.), the Root and Leaves of Morinda longt- flora, 94 Barthe (L.), Acids, 432 Bartlett (Edward), Obituary Notice of, 325 Bartlett (E.), Notes on the Birds of Kent, 511 Bartrum (C. O.), the Possibility of Life in Mars, 392 Basedow (H.), Glacial Beds of Cambrian Age in South Australia, 165 Bashforth (Rev. Francis), Ballistic Experiments from 1864 to 1880, 30 Bastian (Dr. H. Charlton, F.R.S.), ** Acquired ’’? Characters, 319, 390 Bat, the Greater Horseshoe, in Captivity, T. Action of Nascent Hypoiodous Acid upon the Inheritance of A. Coward, 599 Bats, the Family and Genera of, G. S. Miller, g1 Battermann (Herr), the Systematic Error of Latitude observed with a Zenith Telescope, 42 Battleships, the Substitution of Cement for Steel in the Armour of, Lorenzo d’Adda, 543 Baubigny (H.), Separation of Chloride and Iodide of Silver, 407 Bauer (E.), an Isomer of Diphenylcamphomethane,’ 575 Bauer (Hugo), a History of Chemistry, 244 Baxter (Gregory P.), Re-determinations of the Atomic Weight of Lead, 496 Bay (Isidore), Estimation of Sulphide of Carbon in Benzenes, 311-2; New Method of Estimating Sulphur in Organic Substances, 407; a Case of Ball Lightning, 479; New Method of Estimating Prosphorus in Organic Materials, 600 Beadle (Clayton), Chapters on Paper-making, 121 Beard (W. S.), Easy Exercises in Algebra for Beginners, 315 Beauchamp (P. de), the Phenols as Parthenogenetic Agents, 47 Beck (Conrad), Photographic Plates prepared by the Lumiére Starch-grain Process for Colour Photography, 188 Beck (R.), Untersuchungen iiber einige siidafrikanische Diamantenlagerstatten, 224 Becquerel (Jean), Measurement of the Anomalous Dispersion in Crystals at Different Temperatures, 95; Absorption Spectra of Crystals of the Rare Earths in a Magnetic Field at the Temperatures of the Liquefaction and Solidi- fication of Hydrogen, 527 : Beddard (Frank E., F.R.S.), the Fauna of Madagascar, 8; the Oligochetous Fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun and Lake Nyassa, 608 Beebe (C. W.), the Geographical Variation in Birds, Effects of Climatic Humidity, 444; the Seasonal Colour-change in Birds, 564 Bee’s ‘“‘ Paralysis,’? A. D. Imms, 62 Bees, the Raisonnement collectif of, Gaston Bonnier, 399 Bees, Wild, Wasps, and Ants, and other Stinging Insects, Edward Saunders, F.R.S., 220 Beevor (Dr. C. E.), Distribution of Arteries supplying the Human Brain, 187 Behn (Dr. U.), the Specific Heats of Helium, 257 Belfast, the New Municipal Technical Institute, 18 Beljawsky (S.), the Relations between the Colours and Periods of Variable Stars, 590 Bell (Alexander Graham), the Mechanism of Speech, 483 Bell’s (Dr. Alexander Graham) Experiments with his Cygnet Man-lifting Kite, 496 Bell (Dr. James, C.B., Notice of, 539 Bell (J. M.), Geology of the Parapara Subdivision, New Zealand, 185 Belloc (G.), Gases occluded in Steels, 215 Benedict (Francis Gano), the Influence of Inanition on Metabolism, 610 Bengal, Plagues and Pleasures of Life in, Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Cunningham, 223 223 Benham (Prof. W. B.), the Carnivorous Habits of the Kea, F.R.S.), Death and Obituary 205 Benoit (René), Recent Determinations of the Volume of the Kilogram of Water, 239 Berberich (A.), Astronomischer Jahresbericht, 389 x Index Vature, June 11, 1908 Bergen (J. Y.), Laboratory and Field Manual of Botany, 554 Berger (E.), Phosphorus Oxybromide, 431 Bergtheil (Cyril), Determination of Indigotin in Indigo- yielding Plants, 118 Berry (Rev. G. B.), a Lunar ‘‘ New Jerusalem,’’ 163 Berthelot (Albert), Prolonged Anesthesia by Mixtures of Oxygen and Ethyl Chloride, 263 ; z Bertrand (Gabriel), Method for Estimating Very Small Quantities of Zinc, 119; Action of Tyrosinase on some Substances resembling Tyrosine, 216; Crystallised d-Talite, 455 Bessey (Prof. E. A.), the Florida Strangling Figs, 517 Bevan (P. V.), Newton’s Rings in Polarised Light, 9 Bible, Matter and Intellect, a Reconciliation of Science and the, Andrew Allan, 541 Bidwell (Dr. Shelford, F.R.S.), the Photo-electric Property of Selenium, 198 Biesbroeck (G. van), Comet Mellish (1907e), 17; Observa- tions of Eros, 590 Bigourdan (M.), The Transit of Mercury, 18 Biltz (Heinrich and Wilhelm), Ubungsbeispiele aus der anorganischen Experimentalchemie, 245 Binaries, Newly Discovered Spectrescopic, A. B. Turner, 158 Biology : Die Lésung des Problems der Urzeugung (Archi- gonia, Generatio spontanea), Martin Kuckuck, 290; * Eléments de Philosophie biologique, Félix le Dantec, 51; die Purpurbakterien, Prof. Hans Molisch, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 53; Regeneration and Transplantation, Prof. E. Korschelt, 99 ; Organische Zweckmissigkeit, Entwicklung und Vererbung von Standpunkte der Physiologie, Dr. Paul Jensen, 100; Need for Exhibitions devoted to Modern Biological Technique, 205 ; Hybrids, C. T. Davies, 213; Evolution and Animal Life, David Starr Jordan and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, 242; Evolution of Life, Dr. Percival Lowell, 350; a Variation in Amoeba, M. D. Hill, 367; das Kausalitatsprinzip der Biologie, Dr. Friedrich Strecker, 507; Plant Biology, a Text-book of Elementary Botany arranged for Modern Methods of Teaching, Dr. F. Cavers, 554; die Tierwelt des Mikro- skops (die Urtiere), Dr. Richard Goldschmidt, 556; das Siisswasser-Plankton, Dr. Otto Zacharias, 556; Befrucht- ung und Vererbung im Pflanzenreiche, Prof. K. Giesen- hagen, 556; Notions générales de Biologie et de Plas- mogénie comparées, Prof. A. L. Herrera, 558; Transvaal Biological Society, 576; die Bestimmung und Vererbung des Geschlechtes, Dr. C. Correns, 580; Association of Economic Biologists, 599; the Oligochetous Fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun and Lake Nyassa, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 608; Influence of Temperature on Phagocytosis, J. C. G. Ledingham, 623; Marine Biology, Report on the Diatoms of the Albatross Voyages in the Pacific Ocean, 1888-1904, Albert Mann, 91; Correlation of Modifications of the Limpet-shell with Environmental Conditions, E. S. Russell, 189; New Pteropod Mollusc, Paedoclione doliiformis, C. H. Danforth, 325; the Plank- ton of the English Channel, Dr. L. H. Gough, 524 Biquard (Robert), Researches on the Rare Gases of Thermal Springs, 432 Birds : How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers: a Manual of Flornithology for Beginners, Prof. R. W. Wood, 7; Bird-life of the Borders, on Moorland and Sea, with Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years, Abel Chap- man, 122; the Birds of Kent, William J. Davis, 122; Notes on the Birds of Rutland, C. Reginald Haines, 122; one Incidence of Daylight as a Determining Factor in Bird-migration, Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S., 159; the Birds of Yorkshire, T. H. Nelson, W. Eagle Clark, and F. Boyes, 511; Notes on the Birds of Kent, R. J. Balston, Rev. C. W. Shepherd, and E. Bartlett, 511 Birket el Ourun, the Oligochzetous Fauna of Lake, and Lake Nyassa, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 608 Black (O. F.), the Quantitative Determination of Arsenic by the Gutzeit Method, 519 Blaise (E. E.), Syntheses by Means of the Mixed Organo- metallic Derivatives of Zinc, Ketone Alcohols, 455 Blakjo (M.), the Spectra of Two Meteors, 234 Blane (G.), Complete Synthesis of 6-Campholene Lactone, 2 Blane (Dr. G. A.), Problems of Radio-activity, 280 ~ Hygrometric State of the Air on Blattstellungen, Mathematische und mikroskopisch-dnato- mische Studien iiber, Dr. G. van Iterson, jun., 145 Blind, Publication of Scientific Works in Embossed Type for the, Lord Rayleigh, 204 Bloxam (W. P.), Analysis of Indigo, 118 Blumenthal (Richard), Erythrolytic Function of the Spleen in Fishes, 336 Body, the Care of the, Dr. Francis Cavanagh, 5 Boeddicker (Dr. O.), ‘‘ Black Rain ”’ in Ireland on October 8-9, 1907, 445 ; Bohlin (Dr. Karl), Parallax of the Andromeda Nebula, 446; Parallax Observations, 567 Bolduan (Dr. C. F.), Immune Sera, 411 Bolster (Mr.), Potomac River Basin, 68 Bolton (Scriven), Uniformly Distributed Dark Spots on Jupiter, 4o1 Bonn, Some Scientific Centres, XII., the Botanical Insti- tute of the University of, Prof. E. Strasburger, Prof. D. M. Mottier, 321 Bonney (Prof. T. G., F.R.S.), Records of the Geological Survey of India, Part iii., Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, H. H. Hayden, Part jiv., Glaciers in Lahaul, H. Walker and E. H. Pascoe; Glaciers in Kumaon, G. de P. Cotter and J. Caggin Brown, 201; the Diamantiferous Rock of Kimberley, 248; Antigorite and the Val Antigorio, 406; Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks (Smithsonian Expedition of 1904), Dr. William Hittell Sherzer, 463 Bonnier (Gaston), the Raisonnement collectif of Bees, 399 Books of Science, Forthcoming, 427 Booth (H. B.), a British Willow-titmouse, 493 Borchardt (W. P.), Elementary Statics, 315 Bordas (F.), the Coloration of Crystallised Alumina, 17; Action of Réntgen Rays upon Crystallised Alumina, 95; Action of Radium Bromide on Precious Stone of the Alumina Family, 95; the Formation of Certain Precious Stones of Crystallised Alumina, 263; Detection of Minute Quantities of Helium in Minerals, 527 Borrelly (M.), Comet Mellish (1907e), 17; the Recent Transit of Mercury, 116 Boruttau (Prof. H.), Lehrbuch der medizinischen Physik, 60. Boss (Prof. J. C.), Comparative Electro-physiology, Supp. to March 5, iii Bossuet (Robert), the Silicide of Magnesium, 383 Bosworth (T. O.), Origin and Mode of Deposit of the Upper Keuper Beds of Leicester, 587 Botany: the Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity, F. P. Daniels, 29; the Botany of Walfish Bay, Prof. H. H. W. Pearson, 40; Structure of the Aleurone Grains in Graminacez, A. Guilliermond, 48; Death and Obituary Notice of Prof. L. M. Underwood, 62; Roots of Lycopo- dium pithyoides, Miss A. G. Stokey, 64; Distribution and Adaptation of the Vegetation of Texas, Dr. W. L. Bray, 64; Vergleichende Morphologie der Pflanzen, Dr. Jos. Velenovsky, 76; Death and Obituary Notice of James Herbert Veitch, 86; the Production of a Moor, Dr. C. A. Weber, 87; Algal Growth in Ceylon, Dr. F. E. Fritsch, 87; the Root and Leaves of Morinda longiflora, M. Barrowcliff and F. Tutin, 94; Rubber Cultivation in the British Empire, Herbert Wright, 99; the Insoluble Con- stituent of Para Rubber, Dr. D. Spence, 180; India- rubber and its Manufacture, with Chapters on Gutta- percha and Balata, Hubert L. Terry, C. Simmonds, 296; Development of Pollen Grain in Dacrydium, Miss M. Ss. Young, 114; the Genus Ribes, Prof. E. de Janczewski, 135; Linnean Society, 142, 190, 334, 406, 476, 527, 598; Origin of the Ditrimerous Floral Whorls of Certain Dicotyledons, Rev. G. Henslow, 142; Abnormal Struc- tures in Leaves, W. C. Worsdell, 142; Mathematische und mikroskopisch-anatomische Studien uber Blattstell- ungen, Dr. G. van Iterson, jun., 145; Influence of the the Preservation of Seeds, E. Demoussy, 168; die Vegetation der Erde, vii., die Pflanzenwelt von West Australien siidlich des Wendekreises, Dr. L. Diels, 171; Chemical Examination of West Australian Poison Plants, E. A. Mann and Dr. W. H. Ince, 180; Niam Fat from the Seeds of Lophira alata, Dr. J. Lewkowitsch, 189; Influence of Formal on Funtumia elastica, Dr. P. Schidrowitz and F. Kaye, 189; New South Wales Linnean Society, 192, 264; Nature, June v1, 1968 Index xi the Flora of West Lancashire, J. A. Wheldon and A. A. Wilson, 194; a Peroxydiastase in Dried Seeds, M. Brocq-Rousseu and Edmond Gain, 215; Action of a Magnetic Field of High Frequency on Penicillium, Pierre Lesage, 215; the Production of Chlorophyll in the Higher Plants at Different Luminous Intensities, W. Lubimenko, 216; Grafting in Plants containing Hydrocyanic Acid, L. Guignard, 239; Micro-chemical Research Applied to the Study of the Distribution of the Saponines in Plants, R. Combes, 240; the Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World, a Revision of the Genus Gossypium, Sir G. Watt, F. Fletcher, 241; the Cotton Plant, Lieut.- Colonel D. Prain, C.I.E., F.R.S., 318, 485 ; W. Lawrence Balls, 484; Euphorbia dendroides, a Plant which sheds its Leaves in Summer, 255; the New School of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin, 260; on the Colouring Matters of Flowers, Dr. H. €. Sorby, F-.R-S., 260; Micro- chemical Examination of Fruits of Rhus succedanea, S. Tabata, 279; the Absorption Spectrum of Protochlorophyll, N. A. Monteverde, 279; Coastal Vegetation of the South Island of New Zealand, Dr. L. Cockayne, 279; Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island, L. Cockayne, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297; Fertilisation in the Genus Cypripe- dium, Miss L. Pace, 300; Theory with Regard to the Embryo Sac, Dr. O. Porsch, 300; Some Scientific Centres, XII., The Botanical Institute of the University of Bonn, Prof. E. Strasburger, Prof. D. M. Mottier, 321; Stem Disease Caused by Massaria theicola, T. Petch, 326; Brassica Crosses, A. W. Sutton, 334; Researches on the Pulp called Netté Flour, A. Goris and L. Crété, 336; Vegetation of Disappointment Island, Dr. L. Cockayne, 375; Result of Crossing Round with Wrinkled Peas, with Especial Reference to their Starch-grains, A. D. Darbishire, 382; the Silva of Colorado, F. Ramaley, 399: Commercial Philippine Woods, F. W. Foxworthy, 399; the Essence of Tetranthera folyantha, var. citrata, Eug. Charabot and G. Laloue, 407; Fixation of Zinc by Sterigmatocystis nigra, M. Janvillier, 408; Sporogenesis in the Fern Genus Nephrodium, S$. Yamanouchi, 418; Nature and Development of Plants, C. C. Curtis, 436; Disease-resisting Sugar-canes, Sir D. Morris, K.C.M.G., 438 ; Physiology and Morphology of Californian Hepatics, H. B. Humphreys, 445; Stem of the Flax Plant, T. Tammes, 445; Spongospora Solani, Brunch, Prof. T. Johnson, 455; Pollination of Flowers in India, I. H. Burkill, 455; the Manufacture of Pulque, 467; Wild Types and Species of the Tuber-bearing Solanums, A. W. Sutton, 476; the Morphology of Stigmaria and of its Appendages in Comparison with Recent Lycopodiales, Prof. F. E. Weiss, 477; the Duration of the Peroxy- diastases in Seeds, MM. Brocq-Rousseu and Edmond Gain, 479; the Australian Melaleucas and their Essential Oils, R. T. Baker and H. G. Smith, 480; Mikroskopisches und physiologisches Praktikum der Botanik fur Lehrer, G. Miller, 481; Handboek der botanische Micrographie, Dr. J. W. Moll, 481; Grundziige der Pflanzenkunde, Prof. K. Smalian, 481; Anatomische Physiologie der Pflanzen und der Menschen, Prof. K. Smalian, 481; Death and Obituary Notice of Prof. W. A. Kellerman, 493 ; Tamarind Seeds as a Nutritious Food during Famine in India, 494; Flora of the Snares and Auckland Islands, Dr. L. Cockayne, 494; New Isomeride of Vanillin in the Root of Chlorocodon, E. Goulding and R. G. Pelly, 502; Volatile Oils of the Leaves of Ocimum viride, E. Goulding and R. G. Pelly, 502; the Indo-Malayan Species of Cedrela, Prof. C. de Candolle, 517; the Florida Strangling Figs, Prof. E. A. Bessey, 517; Early Stages of Development of the Sporangia and the Sporocarps of Azolla, Miss W. F. Pfeiffer, 517; ‘* Biak ’’ Opium Substitute favoured by the Malays, L. Wray, 517; Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 534; Trees and their Life-histories, Prof. P. Groom, 538; the Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, E. M. Farr, 541; Light-emitting Plants, Dr. C. Miiller, 542; Plant Biology, a Text-book of Elementary Botany arranged for Modern Methods of Teaching, Dr. F. Cavers, , 511 Clay (J.), Variation of the Electrical Resistance of Pure Metals Down to Very Low Temperatures, 233 Clayton (A.), Residual Affinity of the Coumarins and Thiocoumarins, 383 Clayton (H. H.), the Lagging of Temperature Changes at Great Heights behind those at the Earth’s Surface Shown by Records of Sounding Balloons liberated at St. Louis in April and May, 1906, 495 Clerc (Louis), New Electric Arc Furnace applicable to Laboratory Researches, 359 Climate and Man, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 314 Climber’s Pocket Book, the, Rock-climbing Accidents, with Hints on First Aid to the Injured, some Uses of the Rope, Methods of Rescue and Transport, Lionel. F. West, 196 Clock, the Sun and the, 372 Clocks and Time Distribution, Public, 253 Clouds, Auroral Characteristics of, George C. Simpson, Clough (C. T.), the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, 272 Clowes (Dr. Frank), the Corrosion of Iron and Steel, 560 Coal, James Tonge, 389 Coal Mining, Practical, 457 Coblentz (W. W.), Relative Merits of the Radiomicrometer, the Linear Thermopile, the Radiometer, and the Bolo- meter for the Measurement of Radiation, 445 Cockayne (Dr. L.), Coastal Vegetation of the South Island of New Zealand, 279; Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island, 297 ; Vegetation of Disappointment Island, 375; Flora of the Snares and Auckland Islands, 494 Cockerell (Prof. T. D. A.), a Miocene Wasp, 80 Cohen (Prof. Ernst), das lLachgas, eine historische Studie, 434 Cohen (E.), Explosive Rhodium, 519 Cohen (J. B.), Use of Pyridine Bases as Hydrogen Carriers, 335; Organic Chemistry for Advanced Students, 363 Cohen (L.), Action of Lime on the Available Soil Con- stituents, 23 Cohen (Prof.), Bismuth, 352 Coinage, Ancient Dies for, Prof. C. Zenghelis, 65 Cole (Prof. Grenville A. J.), the Pulse of Asia, a Journey in Central Asia illustrating the Geographic Basis of History, Ellsworth Huntington, 314; Geologische Prinzipienfragen, E. Reyer, 529; Deviation of Rivers caused by the Rotational Velocity of the Earth, 612 Coleman (W. S.), Our Woodlands, Heaths, and Hedges, chemisch- the So-called Amorphous Antimony and College System, Technical Research and the, W. P. Dreaper, 367 Collier (W. H.), Interaction in Sulphate and Copper Sulphate, 144 Coloration of Glass and Quartz by Radium, Phillips, 535 Solution of Ferrous Charles E. S Colouring Matters of Flowers, on the, Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., 260 Colourists, the Society of Dyers and, 547 y Colours and Periods of Variable Stars, the Relations between the, S. Beliawsky, 590 Colson (Albert), the Transformations of Solutions of White Phosphorus into Red Phosphorus, 287: Semicatalysis, the Oxidation of Hydrocarbons in Air in Presence of Phosphorus, 600 XVi Index Nature, June 11, 1503 Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity, Flora of, F. P. Daniels, 2 Geib: (R.), Microchemical Research applied to the Study of the Distribution of the Saponines in Plants, 240 Comets: Comet Mellish (1907e), 17, 138; M. Borrelly, 17; G. van Biesbroeck, 17; Dr. M. Ebell, 18, 66; P. Chofardet, 23; Ephemeris for, Dr. Wirtz, 281; Observa- tions of, Dr. J. Holetschek, 353; Search-ephemeris for Comet 1907a (Giacobini), Prof. Weiss, 138; Further Observation of Comet 1907a, Prof. Wolf, 158; Daniel’s Comet, 1907d, Herr Kritzinger, 208, 544; Ephemeris for Daniel’s Comet, 907d, Herr Kritzinger, 421; Observations of, Dr. J. Holetschek, 353; Ephemeris for Encke’s Comet, M. IKXamensky and Frl. Korolikov, 208, 353; Return of Encke’s Comet (1908a), Prof. Wolf, 234, 353; Observation of Encke’s Comet on December 25, 1907, Prof. Wolf, 281; Photographic Observations of Encke’s Comet (1908a), Prof. Wolf, 302; Encke’s Comet, Dr. Backlund, 547; Dr. Ebell, 547; Comets due to return this Year, W. T. Lynn, 258; Perturbations of Halley’s Comet in the Past, the Period 1066-1301, A. C. D. Crommelin, 478; the Meteors of Halley’s Comet, W. F. Denning, 619; Comet 1907 II., Prof. E. Weiss, 520; the Saturn Perturbations of Various Comets, Dr. Johannes Wendt, 568 Commerce, Atlas of the World’s, 506 Commerce, the Chemistry of, Robert Kennedy Duncan, 49 Compas, Déviations des, Pierre Engel, 534 Computation and Mensuration, P. A. Lambert, 555 Conchology: Brachiopod Homceomorphy, Spirifer glaber, S. S. Buckman, 190 Concrete Arches, Masonry and, 507 Concrete Construction, Principles of Reinforced, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi Conklin (Dr. E. G.), the Mechanism in Heredity, 37 Connolly (T. F.), a Bright Meteor, 115 Conocephalidarum, Revisio, H. Karny, 317 Consumption, New Treatment for, 254 Consumption, Sanatoria for, Dr. R. Fielding-Ould, 546 Continuation Schools in England and Elsewhere, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 361 Conway (Prof. A. W.), Dynamics of a Rigid Electron, 239 Cooksey (Charlton D.), the Nature of y and X-Rays, 509 Cooksey (Dr. T.), Method for Estimation of Iron, Alumina, and Phosphoric Acid, 263; a Short Volumetric Method for the Estimation of Sulphuric Acid, 480 Copper and Lithium, the Occurrence of, in Radium-bearing Minerals, Prof. Herbert N. McCoy, 79 Copper Mirror, a Method of Depositing Copper upon Glass from Aqueous Solutions in a thin, brilliantly reflecting Film, and thus producing a, Dr. F. D. Chattaway, F.R.S., at Royal Society, 380 Corals of Hawaii, T. Wayland Vaughan, Prof. S. J. Hick- son, F.R.S., 499 Coronal Structure, Prominence and, Dr. William oss Lockyer at Roval Society, 514 Corpuscular Theory of Matter, the, Prof. J. J. Thomson, BRSS,, 505 Correns (Dr. C.), die Bestimmung und Vererbung des Geschlechtes, 580 Corstorphine (G. S.), the Occurrence in Kimberlite of Garnet-pyroxene Nodules carrying Diamonds, 224 Cortie (Father), the Absorption of D, (Helium) in the Neighbourhood of Sun-spots, 281; ‘‘Stonyhurst Sun Discs,’’ 469 Cotter (G. de P.), Glaciers in Kumaon, 201 Cotton Plant, the, Lieut.-Colonel D. Prain, C.1.E., F.R.S., 318, 485; W. Lawrence Balls, 484 Cotton Plants, the Wild and Cultivated, of the World, a Revision of the Genus Gossypium, Sir G. Watt, F. Fletcher, 241 Couriot (M.), Action of an Incandescent Electric Conductor on the Gases which surround it, 167 Courtauld (R. M.), Decomposition and Nitrification’ of Sewage (1) in Alkaline Solution, (2) in Distilled Water, 190-1 Cousin (H.), the Preparation of Dithymol, 384; Action of Chlorine upon Dithymol, 527 Coward (H. F.), Direct Combination of Hydrogen, 359 Carbon and Coward (T. A.), the Greater Horse-shoe Bat in Captivity, 599 Cowell (P. H.), Perturbations of Halley’s Comet in the Past, the Period 1066-1301, 478 Cowper (A. D.), Intensity of Spectrum Lines, 248 Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Margaret E. Noble, 605 Craniology : Head of Australian Aborigine, Prof. Cunning- ham, 139; on the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neandertal Race, Prof. W. J. Sollas, 262; Human Skull from the Historic Period presenting Indications of Close Affinity with the Spy-Neanderthal Type, K. Stolyhwo, 587 Cremieu (Dr. Victor), Apparatus for Extinguishing the Rolling of Ships, 114 Cretaceous Flora of Southern New York and New England, the, Arthur Hollick, 121 Cretan Exploration, Dr. Arthur J. Evans, F.R.S., 163 Crété (L.), Researches on the Pulp called Netté Flour, 336 Crocodiles and Sleeping Sickness, Connection between, Prof. Koch, 16 Crommelin (A. C. D.), Perturbations of Halley’s Comet in the Past, the Period 1066-1301, 478; the New Eighth Satellite of Jupiter, 575 Crookes (Sir William, F.R.S.), Scientific Worthies, Prof. P. Zeeman, 1 Cross (W. E.), Carriers, 335 Crossley (A. W.), Nitroderivatives of o-Xylene, 502; Sub- stituted Dihydrobenzenes, Part ii., 1: 1-Dimethyl-A?*4- dihydrobenzene and_ 1: 1-Dimethyl-A*:*-dihydrobenzene, 02 Gmethes (J. A.), the Fatigue of Secondary Radiation due to Radium Rays, 167; the Scattering of the 8 Rays from Uranium by Matter, 358 Crozier (J. D.), the Douglas Fir as a Commercial Timber Tree, 419 Crustacea: Young Stages of Fresh-water American Cray- fishes}, Prof, 8. 4 Andrews, 87; South African Crustaceans, Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, 613 Crystallography: Measurement of the Anomalous Dis- persion in Crystals at Different Temperatures, Jean Becquerel, 95; Relation between Isomorphous Miscibility and Parallel Growths, T. V. Barker, 143; Twin Struc- ture, Dr. John W. Evans, 358; a Simple Method of drawing Rhombohedral Crystals and of deducing the Relations of their Symbols, Prof. W. J. Lewis, 358; the Structure of Perowskite, H. L. Bowman, 358; Crystal- lised d-Talite, Gabriel Bertrand and P. Bruneau, 455 Culin (Stewart), the Games of the North American Indians, Use of Pyridine Bases as Hydrogen Gianniae (A. C.), Malacone, a Silicate of Zirconium, 383 Cunningham (Lieut.-Colonel D. D.), Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, 223 Cunningham (J. T.), Phenomena, 54; Characters, 367 a: Cunningham (Prof.), Head of Australian Aborigine, 139 Cure and Prevention of Sleeping Sickness, the, 36 "a Curie (Madame), Re-determination of the Atomic Weight of Radium, 65; Condensation of Water Vapour in the Presence of Radium Emanation, 167 Curties (C. L.), Two Inexpensive Microscopes, 188 Curtis (C. C.), Nature and Development of Plants, 436 Curtis (Dr. Heber D.), Temperature Control of Silvered Mirrors, 137; Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries, 138 Cytology, the Essentials of, Charles Edward Walker, 410 the the Interpretation of Mendelian Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired ’’ Dadourian (H. M.), Atmospheric Radio-activity at New Haven, 615 k Dalby (Prof. W. E.), Measurement of Temperatures in the Cylinder of a Gas Engine, 141 t Dancing Mouse, the, a Study in Animal Behaviour, Robert M. Yerkes, 533 Danforth (C. H.), dolitformis, 325 sat Daniel (Lucien), Production of Grapes without Pips, 48 _ Daniel’s Comet, 1907d, Herr Kritzinger, 208; Ephemeris for, Herr Kritzinger, 421 Daniell (G. F.), Science at Recent Educational Conferences, 281 New Pteropod Mollusc, Paedoclione Nature, June 11, 1908 Daniels (F. P.), Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity, 29 Dannemann (Dr. F.), der naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch-heuristischer Grundlage, Supp. to March 5, Vili Darbishire (A. D.), Result of Crossing Round with Wrinkled Peas, with Especial Reference to their Starch- grains, 382 Darwin (Sir G. H., K.C.B., F.R.S.), Further Considera- tion of the Stability of the Pear-shaped Figure of a Rotating Mass of Liquid, 430 Daufreme (Maurice), p-Methoxycinnamic Essence of Estragon, 96 Daunt (Captain), the Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spec- trum, 520 Dautriche (M.), Action of Alkaline Salts with Fixed Base on the Combustion of Gases and Fixed Combustibles, Aldehyde in 479 Davies (C. T.), Hybrids, 213 Davies (F. H.), Electric Power and Traction, 74 Davis (B. M.), Laboratory and Field Manual of Botany, 554 Davis (Harvey dynamics, 80 Davis (William J.), the Birds of Kent, 122 Davison (C.), Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools, 315 Davy’s Discovery of the Metals of the Alkalis, the Cen- tenary of, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 305 Dawson (H. M.), Influence of Foreign Substances on certain Transition Temperatures and the Determination of Molecular Weights, 383 Dawson (W. Bell), Tidal Investigations in Canada, 202 Daylight, on the Incidence of, as a Determining Factor in Bird-migration, Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S., 159 Death, Possibility of Establishing the Diagnosis of, by Radiography, Charles Vaillant, 96 Delage (Yves), the Phenols as Parthenogenetic Agents, 47 Delagrange’s (M.) Aéroplane, 564 Delauney (M.), Attempt at Proving certain Relations between the Atomic Weights of the Elements, 215 Demoussey (E.), Influence of the Hygrometric State of the Air on the Preservation of Seeds, 168 Dendy (Prof. Arthur), Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7, 297; Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island, L. Cockayne, 297 Denemark (W. K.), Excitability and Conductibility of e Nerves exposed to the Action of Distilled Water, 498 Denning (W. F.), the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, 42; the Meteors of Halley’s Comet, 619 Desgrez (A.), Action of Choline on the Arterial Pressure, 288 Deslandres (H.), Apparatus designed for Stars composed partly of Gas and partly of Solid Particles, 167 Devaux-Charbonnel (M.), Propagation of Telephone Currents through Subterranean Lines, 167; Conditions of Maximum Yield for Telephonic Apparatus, 215 Dewar (Sir James, F.R.S.), Use of the Radiometer in observing Small Gas Pressures, 22; Notes on the Appli- cation of Low Temperatures to some Chemical Problems, 476 N.), a Convenient Formula in Thermo- Dewey (Henry), Origin of the Pillow-lava near Port Isaac, in Cornwall, 358 Diabolo Experiment, a, C. V. Boys, 188 Diamantiferous Rock of Kimberley, the, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 248 Diamond-making : M. Lemoine’s Case, 254 pia eeeeonnds, the Chemistry of the, Dr. J. C. Cain, 55 Dick (A. B.), Supplementary Notes on Kaolinite, 575 Diels (Dr. L.), die Vegetation der Erde, vii., die Pflanzen- welt von West Australien siidlich des Wendekreises, 171 Diener (Dr. Carl), Fauna of the Tropites Limestone of Byans, South-west Himalayas, 116 Z Diffloth (Prof. Paul), (1) Races bovines, France—Ftranger, (2) Races chevalines, 339 Dines (W. H., F.R.S.), the Isothermal Layer of the Atmo- sphere, 390, 462 Disease, an Essay upon, its Cause and Prevention, Dr. G. E. Richmond, 365 Index XVI Disease-resisting Sugar-canes, Sir D. Morris, K.C.M:G., 438 Diseases of Animals, the, Nelson S. Mayo, 436 Disinfectants, the Bacteriological Examination of, William Partridge, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 246 Disinfection, Theory of, Harriette Chick, 404 Dispersion, the Theory of, and Spectrum Series, Norman R. Campbell, 607 Distant (W. L.), the Extermination of Animals by Man, 113 Dobell (C. C.), New Flagellate Monad (Copromonas subtilis), 350 Doberck (Prof.), the Accuracy of Double-star Measures, 328 Doberck (Dr.), the Orbit of y Virginis, 446 Dogs, the Disease of, due to the Protozoan Parasite Piro- plasma canis, Captain Christophers, 444 Donitch (M.), Eclipse Observations, August, 1905, 281 Dorsey (N. E.), Maxwell’s Bridge Method of determining the Ratio of the Electromagnetic to the Electrostatic Unit of Electricity, 136 Double-star Measures, the Accuracy of, 328 Dakbiestss Observations, Dr. Joel Stebbins, 401 Double Stars, Measures of, C. P. Olivier and R. E. Wilson, 281 Double Stars, Two Hundred New, Prof. Aitken, 328 Douglas (Dr. Carstairs G.), the Laws of Health, a Hand- book on School Hygiene, 197 Doumer (E.), Electrolysis of Solutions of Hydrochloric Acid, 407 Dowling (D. B.), the Cascade Coal Basin, Alberta, 380 ~ Downing (Dr.), Occultation of Neptune by the Moon, 42; Comparisons of the Places of Mars for the Oppositions of 1907 and 1909, 67; Occultations of Uranus in 1908, Prof. Doberck, Deora! Company Research Memoirs, ii., a First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 394 Dreaper (W. P.), Technical System, 367 Dress, the Heritage of, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, W. M. Webb, Supp. to March 5, Vil Dreyer (J. L. E.), an Alleged Originator of the Theory of Atoms, 368; Mochus of Sidon and the Theory of Atoms, 541 Drifted Ice-crystals, Dr. Walter Leaf, 271 Drummond (Margaret), Elements of Psychology, 267 Drummond (W. B.), an Introduction to Child-study, 410 Drysdale (Dr. C. V.), the Plug Permeameter, 575 du Toit (A. L.), the Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in South Africa, 224; Geo- logical Survey of the Eastern Portion of Griqualand West, 224 Dublin: Dublin Royal Society, 191, 239, 407, 455; the New School of Botany, «Trinity College, 260; the Forthcoming Dublin Meeting of the British Association 608 Duboin (A.), some Iodomercurates, 23 ; Sulphur Compounds of Thorium, 600 Dubois (Raphael), Influence of Sunlight on the Disengage ment and on the Orientation of the Gaseous Molecules in Solution in Sea-water, 431 Duckworth (A.), Comparison of the Rainfall of Sydney and Melbourne, 1876 to 1905, 479 Duckworth (Dr.), Method of demonstrating Appendages of the Placental Villi, 479 : Duckworth (Dr. W. L. H.), Brains of Australian Natives, 6 Dice (J.), the Diastatic Function of Colloids, 95 Dudeney (H. E.), the Canterbury Puzzles and other Curious Problems, 341 Duerden (Prof. J. E.), Rate of Growth of Ostrich Feathers, 180; the ‘‘ Waltzing Instinct ’’ in Ostriches, 278 Dufour (A.), an Exceptional Case of Zeeman’s Pheno- menon, 311; Lines presenting a Zeeman Phenomenon Abnormal in the Sense of the Magnetic Lines of Force, 527; Effect of Pressure on the Wave-lengths of the Absorption Lines of Nitrogen Peroxide and Bromine, 589 Research and the College Syncytial xvii Dunbar (Prof.), Stages in the Life-history of Green Algz, 350 Duncan (J.), Steam and other Engines, 29 Duncan (Robert Kennedy), the Chemistry of Commerce, 49 Duncan (\V. Stewart), the Evolution of Matter, Life, and Mind, 30 Dunstan (B.), the Stanhills Tinfields near Croydon, 257; the Great Fitzroy Copper and Gold Mine, Queensland, 468 Dupare (Louis), Traité de Chemie analytiques qualitative, suivi de Tables systématiques pour |’Analyse minérale, 437 Durand (E.), Formation of Ozone by the Action of the Silent Discharge at Low Temperatures, 215 Durand (Prof. W. F.), Researches on the Performance of the Screw Propeller, 416 Durham (Edith), Montenegrin Manners and Customs, 454 Dutt (W. A.), Small Flint Implements from Bungay, 102 Dyeing in Germany and America, Sidney H. Higgins, Prof. Walter M. Gardner, 4 Dyeing, Experimental Examination of Gibbs’s Theory of Surface Concentration regarded as the Basis of Absorp- tion, and its Application to the Theory of, W. C. M. Lewis, 477 Dyers and Colourists, the Society of, 547 Dynamics of a Rigid Electron, Prof. A. W. Conway, 239 Dyson (Prof.), Systematic Motions of the Stars, 616 i Ear, on the Impulses of Compound Sound Waves and their Mechanical Transmission through the, Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., 289 Earth’s Heat, Radium and the, Prof. Harold A. Wilson, F.R.S., 365; Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S., 365 Earthquakes : Earthquake in Bokhara, 14; Earthquake in Jamaica, 230; Jamaica Earthquake of January 2, 1908, Maxwell Hall, 542; the Californian Earthquake of 1906, 251; Earthquakes, an Introduction to Seismic Geology, William Herbert Hobbs, 481; Earthquake in Mexico and at St. Thomas, 516; Recent Earthquakes, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 592 Ebell (Dr. M.), Comet Mellish (1907e), 18, 66 Comet, 547 Ebrill (G.), Derivatives of Xylose, 191 Echelon Spectroscope, H. Stansfield, 198, 222 Eclipses: the Total Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, 104, 274; the Recent Total Solar Eclipse, 544; Eclipse Observations, August, 1905, M. Donitch, 281; Spanish Observation of the Total Solar Eclipse of August, 1905, 446; Mutual Occultations and Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites, Mr. Whitmell, 567 Edelmann (Dr. M., jun.), the Filament Electrometer, 401 Edgar (Dr. E. C.), the Atomic Weight of Chlorine, 359 Edgeworth (Prof. H. F.), Muscles of the Head in Birds and Reptiles, 155 Edinburgh Royal Society, 311, 335, 407, 431, 479, 551; Lord Kelvin and the, 253 Education: the New Municipal Technical Institute, Belfast, 18; London Day Training College for Teachers, 19; the Increased Endowment of Universities, 152; Education and Research in India, 202; the Practice of Instruction, 243; Science at Recent Educational Con- . ferences, G. F. Daniell, 281; the Place of Nature-study in the School Curriculum, Dr. Percy T. Nunn, 282; Order in which Scientific Ideas should be Presented, Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., 283; the Education of To- morrow, John Stewart Remington, 292; Examination v. Research, Dr. F. C. S. Schiller, 322; Death of .W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S., 324; Obituary Notice of, Prof. William A. Tilden, F.R.S., 348; Mathematical Educa- tion and Research, 331; Report of the Education Com- mittee of the London County Council submitting the Report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the Year ended March 31, 1907, Dr. James Kerr, 355; Continua- tion Schools in England and Elsewhere, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 361; Technical Research and the College System, W. P. Dreaper, 367; an Introduction to Child- study, W. B. Drummond, 410; the Child’s Mind, its Growth and Training, W. E. Urwick, 410; Memorandum on Medical Inspection of Children in Public Elementary Schools, under Section 13 of the Education (Administra- tive Provisions) Act, 1907, 426; Memorandum by the Encke’s ’ Index Nature, June 115 1908 British Medical Association on the Circular of the Board of Education, 426; Extensions at University College, London, 525; Jubilee of the Calcutta University, 584; Educational Leakage, V. A. Mundella, 617; der natur- wissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch-heuristischer Grundlage, Dr. F. Dannemann, Supp. to March 5, viii Egg of the Platypus, the, the Reviewer, So Eggs, the Preservation of, Fr. Prall, 84, 137 Egypt: Zoology of Egypt, the Fishes of the Nile, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10; Hydrology in Egypt, Captain H. G. Lyons, 21; a Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the Nile, Dr. John Ball, 433; Distribution of Standard Time in Egypt, Captain H. G. Lyons, 497; Magnetic Observations in Egypt, 1895-1905, 565 Egyptology: Ancient Egypt the Light of the World, a Work of Reclamation and Restitution, Gerald Massey, 291; Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, Prof. J. Garstang, H. R. Hall, 439; Chemische und biologische Untersuchungen von agyptischen Mumien-material, nebst Betrachtungen tber das Einbalsamierungsverfahren der alter Agypter, W. A. Schmidt, Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S., 465 Elasticity, a Point in the Mathematical Theory of, H. M- Martin, 198; Prof. E. Brown, 221 Elberts (Dr. J.), the Fossiliferous Deposits of the Benga- wan River in Java, 299 Elder (Harry M.), Tabulated Values of certain Integrals, 86 Electricity : Steady Deflection Method of Current Measure- ment with an Electrometer, Prof. J. A. Pollock, 24; Simple Method of Generating an Alternating Current of any Desired Frequency, Dr. Rudenberg, 41; Condi- tions which Influence the Production of Rapid Electrical Oscillations by Means of the Arc, L. W. Austin, 41; Chemical Changes occurring when Air is Submitted to the Influence of Electricity, E. Warburg Leithauser, 41; the Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum, Frederick Soddy, 53, 197; Prof. O. W. Richardson, 197; Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus on Board French Warships, 62; New Transatlantic Wireless Station at Knockroe, the Poulsen System of Wireless Telegraphy by Undamped Waves, 88; Magnetic Oscillators as Radiators in Wireless Telegraphy, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 71; the Use of Variable Mutual Inductances, A. Camp- bell, 71; Electric Power and Traction, F. H. Davies, 74; Arrangement for Measuring the Resistance of Electro- lytes without the Use of Electrodes, Prof. W. S. Franklin and L. A. Freudenberger, 89; a Text-book of Electricalg Engineering, Dr. Adolf Thomalen, 124; the Elements of Electrical Engineering, Profs. W. S. Franklin and Wm. Esty, 124; Maxwell’s Bridge Method of deter- mining the Ratio of the Electromagnetic to the Electro- static Unit of Electricity, E. B. Rosa and N. E. Dorsey, 136; Sulphur as an Insulator, Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, F.R.S., 149; the Normal Weston Cadmium Cell, F. E. Smith, 165; the Silver Voltameter, F. E. Smith, 165; Chemistry of the Silver Voltameter, F. E. Smith and Dr. T. M. Lowry, 165; Action of an Incandescent Electric Conductor on the Gases which surround it, M. Couriot and Jean Meunier, 167; Electric Traction, Prof. Ernest Wilson and Francis Lydall, Gisbert Kapp, 169 ; the Photoelectric Property of Selenium, Prof.. George M. Minchin, F.R.S., 173, 222; Richard J. Moss, 198; Dr. Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S., 198; Old and New Methods of Galvanising, Alfred Sang, 179; the Elec- trical Conductivity of Aqueous Solutions, Arthur A. Noyes, 213; Conductivity and Viscosity in Mixed Solvents, Harry C. Jones, 213; Conditions of Maximum Yield for Telephonic Apparatus, Henri Abraham and M. Devaux-Charbonnel, 215; Formation of Ozone by the Action of the Silent Discharge at Low Temperatures, E. Briner and E. Durand, 215; Variation of the Elec- trical Resistance of Pure Metals down to Very Low Temperatures, Prof. H. Kamerlingh Onnes and J. Clay, 233; Dynamics of a Rigid Electron, Prof. A. W. Con- way, 2393 the Electrolytic Reduction of Indigo, Henri Chaumat, 239; Use of Flames as Valves for Alternating High-tension Currents, André Cathiard, 263; Investiga~ tion on the Clark and Weston Standard Cells, F. A. Wolff and C. E. Waters, 280; Inductance in Parallel Wires, Dr. J. W. Nicholson, 295; Electrical Phenomena andaaGo Nature. é Index June 11, 1908 XIX of the Atmosphere and their Relations with Solar | Engineering: Institution of Civil Engineers’ Awards for Activity, Prof. Schuster, 301; Verification of Ohm’s Law, Prof. Lecher, 304; Electrical Discharge in Mono- atomic Gases, F. Soddy and T. D. Mackenzie, 310; Theory of a Receiver consisting of a Camparatively Short Vertical Wire, Dr. J. Zenneck, 327; Atmospheric Electricity and Fog, Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 343; the Electromagnetic Theory of Dispersion in Gases, L. Natanson, 352; New Electric Arc Furnace applicable to Laboratory Researches, Louis Clerc and Adolphe Minet, 359; Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektrochemie auf thermodynamischer Grundlage, J. J. van Laar, 389; the Filament Electrometer, Dr. C. W. Lutz and Dr. M. Edelmann, jun., 401; Electrolysis of Solutions of Hydro- chloric Acid, E. Doumer, 407; a Fundamental Contra- diction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum Series, Dr. G. A. Schott, 413; Modern Views on, Electricity, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 438; Cours d’Electricité, H. Pellat, 458; les Découvertes modernes en Physique, O. Manville, 458; Measurement of the Zeeman Effect for the Principal Lines of Helium, Dr. W. Lohmann, 470; Contact Potential Differences determined by Means of Null Solu- tions, S. W. J. Smith and H. Moss, 477; Distribution in Electric Fields of the Active Deposits of Radium, Thorium, and Actinium, S. Russ, 503; the Corpuscular Theory of Matter, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 505; the Production in the Electric Furnace of Carbon Bisulphide, E. R. Taylor, 519; Gases arising from Electric Sparks, M. de Broglie, 527; Armature Con- struction, H. M. Hobart and A. G. Ellis, 532; the Electric Propulsion of Ships, H. A. Mavor, 543; the Conversion of Diamond into Coke in High Vacuum by Kathode Rays, Hon. C. A. Parsons, C.B., F.R.S., and Alan A. Campbell Swinton, 549; Handbuch der Physik, Dr. A. Winkelmann, 559; Electrical Equipment of Gold Mines, H. J. S. Heather, 575; an Extremely Sensitive Electric Hygroscope, J. Pionchon, 600; Comparative *Electrophysiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, Supp. to March 5, iii; Modern Views of Electricity, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., Supp. to March 5, viii Eliot (Sir John, K.C.I.E., F.R.S.), Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Department, being Occasional Discussions and Compilations of Meteorological Data relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, vol. xviii., part iii., v., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observations re- corded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to August, 1904; vi., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observa- tions recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892, 353 Eliot (Sir John, K.C.1.E., F.R.S.), Death of, 467; Obituary Notice of, 490 Ellery (Lieut.-Colonel R. L. J., C.M.G., F.R.S.), Death of, 254; Obituary Notice of, 298 Elliot (G. F. Scott), the Romance of Savage Life, describing the Life of Primitive Man, his Customs, Occupations, Language, Beliefs, Arts, Crafts, Adven- tures, Games, Sports, &c., 171 Elliott (Prof. E. B.), the Proiective Geometry of some Covariants of a Binary Ouintic, 478 Ellis (A. G.), Armature Construction, 532 Ellis (H. Russell), Action of Aluminium Powder on Silica and Boric Anhydride, 47 1906-7, 14; Inaugural Address at Institution of Civil Engineers, Sir William Matthews, K.C.M.G., 14; Steam and other Engines, J. Duncan, 29; the Mauretania, 41; Engineering Workshop Practice, Charles C. Allen, 28; the Development of the American Locomotive, 65; Electric Power and Traction, F. H. Davies, 74; Liquid and Gaseous Fuels and the Part they Play in Modern Power Production, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 98; Death of M. Walton Brown, 111; a Text-book of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Adolf Thomalen, 124; the Elements of Electrical Engineering, Profs. W. S. Franklin and Wm. Esty, 124; Experiments on Wind-pressure, Dr. T. E. Stanton, 139; the Predetermination of Train-resistance, C. A. Carus-Wilson, 156; Electric Traction, Prof. Ernest Wilson and Francis Lydall, Gisbert Kapp, 169; Gyro- scope illustrating Brennan’s Mono-railway, Prof. H. A. Wilson, 189; an Experimental Study of Stresses in Masonry Dams, Karl Pearson, F.R.S., A. F. Campbell Pollard, C. W. Wheen, and L. F. Richardson, Prof. E. Brown, 209; the Stresses in Masonry Dams, H. M. Martin, 269, 320, 392; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 269 ; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 269, 366; Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.I.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore, J. S. Wilson and W. Gore, at Institution of Civil Engineers, 303; a Point in the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, H. M. Martin, 198; Prof. E. Brown, 221; the Place of the Laboratory in the Training of Engineers, Prof. A. L. Mellanby at Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 211; Clean Water and How to Get Lt Allen Hagen, 218; Influence of the Thickness of the Pipe Wall on the Rate of Discharge of Water from Minute Orifices piercing the Pipe, W. R. Baldwin- Wiseman, 231; Tests of Reinforced Concrete Beams, A. N. Talbot, 232; Road-making and Maintenance, Thomas Aitken, 244; Death of Prof. C. D. West, 254; Death and Obituary Notice of J. Macfarlane Gray, 277; Building as an Engineering Work in’ New York, 301; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. Coleman Sellers, 325 ; Experiments on Premier Company’s Gas Engine, Prof. F. W. Burstall, 326; Inter-relation of the Theory and Practice of Shipbuilding, J. J. O’Neill, 327; Problems in Strength of Materials, Dr. William Kent Shephard, 365; Whittaker’s Arithmetic of Electrical Engineering for Technical Students and Engineers, 365; the Pheno- menon of Soft Steel Disc Revolving at a High Speed Cutting Hard Steel, F. W. Harbord, 419; the Shaft Sinking at the Horden Colliery, South-east Durham, J. J. Prest, 420; High Steam-pressures in Locomotive Service, W. F. M. Goss, 445; the Use of Gyrostats, Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., at Physical Society, 447; Prac- tical Coal Mining, 457; Symmetrical Masonry Arches, M. A. Howe, 507; the Electric Propulsion of Ships, H. A. Mavor, 543; Practical Calculations for Engineers, C. E. Larard and H. A. Golding, 555; the Practical Application of Reinforced Concrete, M. Kahn, 566; Effect of Mixture Strength and Scavenging upon Thermal Efficiency, Prof. Bertram Hopkinson, 588; some Un- solved Problems in Metal-mining, ‘‘ James Forrest ’’ Lecture at Institution of Civil Engineers, Prof. Henry Louis, 619; Principles of Reinforced Concrete Construc- tion, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi Ellis (H. R.), Interaction in Solution of Ferrous Sulphate | Entomology : Entomological Society, 22, 71, 166, 189, 430, and Copper Sulphate, 144 Ellis (W., F.R.S.), Summary of Greenwich Air-tempera- ture Observations, 1841-1905, 206 Elsden (J. V.), the St. David’s Head ‘‘ Rock Series,’’ 406 Embryology : Experimental-Zoologie, Dr. Hans Przibram, 529 Encke’s Comet, 1908a, Ephemeris for, M. Kamensky and Fri. Korolikov, 208; Return of, Prof. Wolf, 234; Observation of, on December 25, 1907, Prof. Wolf, 281; Photographic Observations of, Prof. Wolf, 302; Encke’s Comet, 1908a, M. Kamensky and Madlile. Korolikov, 353; Prof. Wolf, 353; Dr. Backlund, 547; Dr. Ebell, 547 Endowment of Universities, the Increased, 152 Energétique, 1’, et le Méchanisme au Point de Vue des Conditions de la Connaissance, Abel Rey, 580 Engel (Pierre), Déviations des Compas, 534 477, 550; the Symphyla, S. R. Williams, 39; New Dipterid Larva, Acanthomera tetratruncum, from Paraguay, Karl Fiebrig, 63; Précis des Caractéres génériques des Insectes, disposés dans un Ordre naturel par le Citoyen Latreille, 77; the Habits, Life-history, and Breeding-places of the House-fly, R. Newstead, 135 ; New Acari from New Zealand, A. D. Michael, 142; Trumpet Leaf-miner of the Apple, Tischeria malifoliella, A. L. Quaintance, 156; Early Chinese Description of the Leaf-insects, Kumagusu Minakata, 173; the Story of Insect Life, W. P. Westell, Fred. V. Theobald, 175; the Apple Sucker, Spraying Experiments, Kenneth G. Furley, 180; Dragon-flies from Central Australia, R. J. Tillvard, 192; Australian Genus Petaluza, Dragon-fly, R. J. Tillyard, 192; the Dragon-flies of South-western Australia, R. J. Tillyard, 192; Wild Bees, Wasps and Ants, and other Stinging Insects, Edward Saunders, XX Index [ Nature, June 11, 1908 F.R.S., 220; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. H. G. Knaggs, 278; Chrysanthemum Powder as a Means of Destroying Mosquitoes in Houses, Dr. A. L. Herrera, 278; Life-history of the Warble-flies Hypoderma lineata and H. bovis, Drysdale Turner, 279; the Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered Moth,’’ A. Bacot, 294; the Sense of Sight in Spiders, Dr. Alexander Petrunkevitch, 350; a Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies, W. J. Rainbow, 411; Death of Prof. Willis G. Johnson, 541; Three Pereute Species from the Chanchamayo District of Peru, W. J. Kaye, 551; Insects Injurious to Sal- forests of Assam, Mr. Stebbing, 587 Epstein (T.), Sun-spot Observations, 544 Eredia (Dr.), Rainfall of the Ligurian Riviera, 301 Eros, Observations of, G. Van Biesbroeck, 590 Eruptive Prominence, a Large, Mr. Fox, 90 Esmiol (M.), the Recent Transit of Mercury, 116 Esty (Prof. Wm.), the Elements of Electrical Engineering, 124 Ethnology: New Facts about the Arunta, M. Freiherr v. Leonhardi, 44; Literature relating to the Australian Aborigines, Dr. A. W. Howitt, 80; R. H. Mathews, 81; Notes on some Bushman Crania and Bones from the South African Museum, Cape Town, Dr. F. C. Shrubsall, 211; American Ethnology, Dr. J. W. Fewkes, 329; Death of Dr. A. W. Howitt, C.M.G., 443; Obituary Notice of, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 515; the Games of the North American Indians, Stewart Culin, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 568; Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Cesar, Dr. T. Rice Holmes, 601 Etiology and Epidemiology of Plague, Major G. Lamb, 585 Europe préhistorique, 1’, Sophus Miller, Dr. William Wright, 578 Evans (Dr. Arthur J., F.R.S.), Cretan Exploration, 163 Evans (Miss C. de Brereton), Traces of a New Tin-group Element in Thorianite, 502 Evans (Sir John), Recent Discoveries of Palolithic Imple- ments, 214 Evans (Dr. John W.), Twin Structure, 358; the Possibility of Life in Mars, 392, 413; Helium in the Atmosphere, 535; New Form of Quartz-wedge, 575 Eve (Prof. A. S.), the Penetrating Radiation, 486 Eveland (A. J.), Geology of Baguio Mineral Manila, 186 Everdingen (Dr. E. Van), Relations, between Mortality of Infants and High Temperatures, 206 Evershed (J.), Ultra-violet Region in Sun-spot Spectra, and Spectrum of Comet d 1907, 94 Evolution: the Evolution of Matter, Life, and Mind, W. Stewart Duncan, 30; sur la Transmissibilité de Charactéres acquis, Eugenio Rignano, 193; Evolution of Planets, Edwin G. Camp, W. E. Rolston, 195; Evolu- tion and Animal Life, David Starr Jordan and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, 242; Evolution of Astronomical Instru- ments, Joh. A. Repsold, 409; Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type, H. F. Osborn, 435; the Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, W. M. Webb, Supp. to March 5, vii Examination v. Research, Dr. F. C. S. Schiller, 322 Existence, the Case of, Norman Alliston, 53 Exner (Prof. F.), Cause of the Slight Variability of Wave- length of Spectral Lines, 304 District, Fabry (Ch.), Presence of Spark Lines in the Arc Spectrum, 576 Fairyland of Living Things, the, R. Kearton, 147 Faraday Society, 47, 214, 454 Farman (Henry), the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize won by, 254: H. Farman and his Aéroplane, 493 Farr (E. M.), the Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, 541 Farrington (Prof. O. C.), Analyses of Meteoric Irons, 13 Faucon (A.), Heat of Vaporisation of Propionic Acid, 455 ; Density of the Vapour of Propionic Acid, 552 Fauna of Madagascar, the, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 8 Fauth (Ph.), the Moon in Modern Astronomy, 195 Fawsitt (Dr. C. E.), Determination. of Viscosity at High Temperatures, 502 Fenton (Dr.), Action of Metallic Magnesium on Aliphatic Acids, and the Detection of Formic Acid, 190; Colour- reactions of Organic Acids with Phenols, 1go0 Fényi (Father), the Large Solar Prominence of May 21, 1907, 446 Fermentation, Influence of Light and of Copper on, J. E. Purvis and W. A. R. Wilks, 191 Fermor (L. L.), Indian Meteorites, 13 Ferrar (H. T.), National Antarctic Expedition, Geology of South Victoria Land, 561 Féry, (Charles), Simple Calorimeter for Gases and Liquids, 182; the Calorific Solar Radiation, 359 Fewkes (Dr. J. W.), American Ethnology, 329 Fiala (Anthony), the Ziegler Polar Expedition, 1903-5, 544 Fiebrig (Karl), New Dipterid Larva, Acanthomera tetra- truncum, from Paraguay, 63 Fielding-Ould (Dr. R.), Sanatoria for Consumption, 546 Fierz (H. E.), the Triazo-group, part ii., Azoimides of Propionic Ester and of Methyl Ethyl Ketone, 431 Filtration of Rain Water, Enquirer, 272 Finley (W. L.), the Californian Condor, 255 Fiorentino (Prof. Aristide), School-room Experiment for showing the Absorption of Energy by an Acoustic Resonator, 567 : Fischer (Emil), Untersuchungen in der Puringruppe (1882- 1906), 579 Fischer (Prof. Martin H.), the Physiology of Alimenta- tion, 26 Fisheries: Reports on the Sea and Inland Fisheries of Ireland for 1904 and 1905, E. W. L. Holt, 373: Mark- ing and Transplantation Experiments with Plaice in Danish Waters, A. C. Johansen, 418; the North Sea Fisheries Investigations, Frank Balfour Browne, 523 ; Age and Growth-rate of Plaice in the Southern North Sea determined by the Otolith, Dr. Wallace, 523; the Food of Fishes, R. A. Todd, 524 Fishes: the Fishes of the Nile, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10; the Life of the Salmon, with Reference more Especially to the Fish in Scotland, W. L. Calderwood, 1901-4, 173 Fishing: Sunshine and Sport in Florida and the West Indies, F. G. Aflalo, 128 Fison (Rev. Dr. Lorimer), Death and Obituary Notice of, 299 Flammarion (M.), Saturn Apparently without Rings, 182 Fleas, Plague and, 59 Fleischmann (F. N. A.), Zeolites from the Neighbourhood of Belfast, 358 Fleming (Mrs.), Red Stars near Nova Velorum, 42; Stars having Peculiar Spectra, 158 : Fleming (Dr. J. A.), Magnetic Oscillators as Radiators in Wireless Telegraphy, 71; Results obtained by the Ziegler Polar Expedition of 1903-5, 207 Fletcher (F.), the Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World, a Revision of the Genus Gossypium, Sir G. Watt, 241 Flett (Dr. J. S.), the Geology of the Land’s End District 90 Flexner (Dr. Simon), Tendencies in Pathology, 379 Flight, Stability in, A. Baden-Powell, 320; Herbert Chatley, 320 Fliut Implements from Bungay, Small, W. A. Dutt, 102 Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity, F. P. Daniels, 2 Bigeas the Cretaceous, of Southern New York and New England, Arthur Hollick, 121 Flora of West Lancashire, the, J. A. Wheldon and A. A. Wilson, 194 Florida and West Indies, Sunshine and Sport in, F. G. Aflalo, 128 Flowers, on the Colouring Matters of, Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S. 260 Fes. Atmospheric Electricity and, Dr. Charles Chree, FiRS 33343 Foix (M.), Theorv of the Radiation of the Auer In- candescent Gas Mantle, 420 Folklore: Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Margaret E. Noble, 605 Fonvielle (W. de), Histoire de la Navigation aérienne, 217 Food: the Preservation of Eggs, Fr. Prall, 84, 137; Considerations affecting the ‘‘Strength’’ of Wheat Flours, Julian L. Baker and H. F. E. Hulton, 598 Mallock, F.R.S., 293; Major B.. Nature, June 11, 198 Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay, and Pasture, Dr. Edward B. Voorhees, 388 Forcrand (M. de), Heat of Formation of the Anhydrous Oxides of Strontium and Barium, 359 Forestry: Disease of the Pine in the Jura, MM. Prillieux and Maublanc, 23; E. Henry, 23; Worms and Tree- planting, E. A. Andrews, 205; the Garden Beautiful, Home-woods and Home Landscape, William Robinson, 217; R. I. Lynch, 300; Sucker Reproduction in Kistna District of Madras, A. W. Lushington, 256; Heredity and Forestry, Prof. W. Somerville, 279; Stages of Soil Denudation and Forest Destruction in the Tyrol, A. P. Young, 334; Fire Conservancy in Teak Forests, F. B. Bryant, 419; the Douglas Fir as a Commercial Timber Tree, J. D. Crozier, 419; Insects Injurious to Sal-forests of Assam, Mr. Stebbing, 587; New National Forest in Arizona, 614 Forrest (H. E.), Distribution of the Pine-marten in England and Wales, 325 Forster (M. O.), Action of Diazomethane on the Two Modifications of isoNitrosocamphor, 335; the Triazo- group, part ii., Azoimides of Propionic Ester and of Methyl! Ethyl Ketone, 431 Foster (W. H.), Absorption g-Chlorcollidine, 190 Fouard (E.), Colloidal Properties of Starch and a Perfect Solution of this Substance, 383 Foudroiements d’arbres, constatés en Belgique pendant les Années 1884-1906, Etude sur les, E. Vanderlinden, 197 Fournier (G.), Saturn, a New Ring Suspected, 302 Fox (J. J.), Colour and Constitution of Azo-compounds, part ii., the Salts of p-Hydroxy-azo-compounds with Mineral Acids, 334 : Fox (Mr.), a Large Eruptive Prominence, 9 Fox-Strangeways (C.), the Geology of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield, 364 Foxworthy (F. W.), Commercial Philippine Woods, 399 Spectra of Collidine and France: (1) Races bovines, France—Etranger, (2) Races. chevalines, Prof. Paul Diffloth, 339 Franco-British Exhibition of 1908, Science at the, 67 Franco-British Exhibition, the Science Court of the, 609 Franklin (W. S.), the Elements of Mechanics, 29 Franklin (Prof. W. S.), Arrangement for Measuring the Resistance of Electrolytes without the Use of Electrodes, 89; the Elements of Electrical Engineering, 124 Frazer (Dr. J. G.), Questions on the Customs, Beliefs, and Languages of Savages, Method of Use, 16; St. George and the Palilia, 327 Freudenberger (L. A.), Arrangement for Measuring the Resistance of Electrolytes without the Use of Electrodes, 8 Friswell (R. J.), the Production of Natural and Synthetic Indigo, 39 Friswell (R. J.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 349 Fritsch (Dr. F. E.), Algal Growth in Ceylon, 87 Frog, Reissner’s Fibre in the, George E. Nicholls, 344 Frolich (Dr.), Ship Beri-beri and Scurvy, 113 Frost (Prof.), the System of ¢ Urse Majoris, 471; scopic Binaries now under Observation, 590 Fuels, Liquid and Gaseous, and the Part they Play in Modern Power Production, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 98 Fungi: Chemie der hoheren Pilze, eine Monographie, Dr. Julius Zellner, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 553 Furley (Kenneth G.), the Apple Sucker, Spraying Experi- ments, 180 Spectro- Gaillard (M.), Influence of Feeding on the Course of Experi- mental Tuberculosis, 95 : Gain (Edmond), a Peroxydiastase in Dried Seeds, 215; the Duration of the Peroxydiastases in Secds, 479 Gain (Gustave), an Isomeric Modification of Hydrated Hypovanadic Acid, 432 Games of the North American Indians, the, Stewart Culin, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 568 Garbasso (Prof. Antonio), Theory of the Mirage, 356 Gardner (Prof. Walter M.), Dyeing in Germany America, Sidney H. Higgins, 4 Garrod (Sir Alfred B., F.R.S.), Death of, 203 Garstang (Prof. J.), Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, 439 and Index XX Gas, Town, and its Uses for the Production of Light, Heat and Motive Power, W. H. Y. Webber, 340 Gases: die Zustandsgleichung der Gase und Fliissigkeiten und die Continuitatstheorie, Prof. J. P. Kuenen, 387 Gaubert (Paul), Formation of Liquid Crystals of Two New Compounds of Cholesterin, 23; Artificial Reproduction of Heavy Spar, Celestine, and Anglesite, 96 Gaunt (R.), Analysis of Indigo, 118 Gautier (M.), the Transit of Mercury, November, 1907, 567 Geddes (A. C.), Growth and Development of the Limbs of the Penguin, 407 Gehrcke (Dr. F.), the Anode Rays, 89 Gehrke (Johan), the Sources of Supply of Atlantic Water to the North Sea, 400 Geiger (Dr. H.), the Specific Heats of Helium, 257; Method of Counting the Number of a@ Particles from Radio-active Matter, 599 Geisteslebens, die Mechanil des, Prof. Max Verworn, 556 U Geminorum Type, a new Variable of the, Prof. Hartwig, 446 Gemsoe (K. J.), Best Mode of determining the Age and Rate of Growth of Eels, 350 : Geodesy: General Report on the Survey of India during 1905-6, Colonel F. B. Longe, 470 Geography: Death and Obituary Notice of Sir F. L. McClintock, K.C.B., F.R.S., 61; Geographical Boun- daries, Miss E. C. Semple, 64; Obituary Notice of Prof. Angelo Heilprin, L. E. Levy, 136; Dr. Jean Charcot’s Antarctic Expedition, 204; the Pulse of Asia: a Journey in Central Asia, illustrating the Geographic Basis of History, Ellsworth Huntington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 314; Land Erosion by Storm Water in Cape Colony, 351; Physiographical Experiments on the Ag- grading and Degrading Stream, 351; Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, Paul Herrman, 362; the Elements of Geography, J. H. N. Stephenson, 484; Atlas of the World's Commerce, 506; Problems of the Tropics, Prof. R. De C. Ward, 542; the Ziegler Polar Expedition, 1903-5, Anthony Fiala, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 544; Physiography, Prof. R. D. Salisbury, Supp. to March 5, v Geology: a Description of the Soil-geology of Ireland, based upon Geological Survey Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate, J. R. Kilroe, 4; Winding of Rivers in Plains, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 7, 79; R. D. Oldham, 55; R. ©. Slater, 79; J. Y. Buchanan, F.R.S., 100; J. Lomas, 102; Dr. John Aitken, F.R.S., 127; Death and Obituary Notice of Sir James Hector, F.R.S., 37; de Vormen der Aardkorst, Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie, J. van Baren, 76; Phosphatic Deposits near Dandaraga, W. D. Campbell, 88; the Geology of the Land’s End District, Clement Reid, F.R.S., and Dr. J. S. Flett, 90; the Geology of the Country around Hungerford and Newbury, H. J. Osborne White, 90; Catalogue of the Type and Figured Specimens of Fossils, Minerals, Rocks, and Ores in the Department of Geology, U.S. Mus., J. P. Merrill, 91; Modern Lithology, Illus- trated and Defined for the Use of University, Technical, and Civil-Service Students, E. H. Adye, 125; Obituary Notice of Prof. Angelo Heilprin, 136; Geological Society, 141, 165, 189, 214, 334, 358, 406, 454, 502, 527; Geological Society Medal Awards, 254; the Laurentian System of Canada, Prof. F. D. Adams, 142; Glacial Beds of Cambrian Age in South Australia, Rey. Walter Howchin, 165; H. Basedow and J. D. Iliffe, 165 ; Granite in the Diamond-bearing Chimney of De Beers, L. De Launay, 168; das inneralpine Becken der Umgebung von Wien, Dr. Franz X. Schaffer, 172; Geology of New Jersey, 181; Recent Work of Geological Surveys, 183; Pre-Glacial Raised Beach traced from Mumbles Head Westward, Mr. Tiddeman, 184; Geology of Islay, S. B. Wilkinson, 184; Geology of Country round Deutschbrod, Dr. Hinterlechner, 184; Glacial Deposits and Loss of Northern Galicia, Ritter von Lozinski, 184; Granite and Gneiss in Pre-Cambrian Complex of Fenno-Scandia, Mr. Sederholm, 184; Glacial Phenomena of Finmark, Mr. Tanner, 185; Geology of Eastern Desert of Egypt, Dr. W. F. Hume, 185; Geology of the Parapara Sub- division, New Zealand, J. M. Bell, 185; Geology of Baguio Mineral District, Manila, A. J. Eveland, 186; Faunal Succession in Carboniferous Limestone of Midland L[ndex [ Nature, June 11, 1908 XXll Area, T. F. Sibley, 189; Tertiary Limestones and Foraminiferal Tuffs of Malekula, New Hebrides, F. Chapman, 192; Geographical Significance of Floods, with Especial Reference to Glacial Action, E. C. Andrews, 192; Records of the Geological Survey of India, Part iii, . Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, H. H. Hayden; Part iv., H. Walker and E. H. Pascoe; de P. Cotter and J. Caggin Brown, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 201; Recent Dis- coveries of Palaeolithic Implements, Sir John Evans, 214; a Deep Channel of Drift at Hitchin, W. Hill, 215; a Specific Gravity Balance for Large Rock Specimens, T. H. D. La Touche, 221; the Norton Goldfield, L. C. Ball, 257; the Annan River infield, W. E. Cameron, 257; the Stanhills Tinfields near Croydon, B. Dunstan, 2573 peveey of the Nandewar Mountains, New South Wales, H. Jensen, 264; the Geological Structure of the Rona Highlands of Scotland, B. N. Peach, John Horne, W. Gunn, C. IT. Clough, L. Hinxman, and J. J. H. Teall, Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., 2725 Chronology of the Glacial Epoch in North America, Prof. G. F. Wright, 334; Application of Quantitative Methods to the Study of the Structure and “History of Rocks, Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., 334; Transvaal Mines Department, Report of the Geological Survey for the Year 1906, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 346; Origin of the Pillow- lava near Port Isaac in Cornwall, Clement Reid and Henry Dewey, 358; the Geology of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield, C. Fox-Strangeways, 364; the Shaping of Lindsey by the Trent, F. M. Burton, 371; Geological Survey of Canada, 380; the Cascade Coal Basin, Alberta, D. B. Dowling, 380; Kimberlite, J. P. Johnson, 399; Goldfields of Western Australia, C. G. Gibson, 400; Antigorite and the Val Antigorio, Prof. T. G. Bonney, 406; the St. David’s Head ‘‘ Rock Series,”’ J. V. Elsden, 406; a Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the Nile, Dr. John Ball, 433; the Two Earth Movements of Colonsay, W. B. Wright, 454; Notes on the River Wey, H. Bury, 454; Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks (Smithsonian Expedition of 1904), Dr. William Hittell Sherzer, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 463; Scandinavian Glaciation, C. F. Kolderup, 468; Earthquakes, an Introduction to Seismic Geology, William Herbert Hobbs, 481; Shrinkage of Glaciers of Alberta and British Columbia, 495; Geology of the Country around Plymouth and Liskeard, Mr. Ussher, 495; Weathering, K. D. Glinka, 498; die Pendulations- theorie, Dr. Heinrich Simroth, 508; the Carboniferous Rocks at Loughshinny, Dr. C. A. Matley and Dr. A. Vaughan, 527; Detrology and Physiography of Western Liberia, Africa, J. Parkinson, 527; Geologische Prin- zipienfragen, E. Reyer, Prof. Grenville A. 1s Cole, 529; the High-level Platforms of Bodmin Moor and their Relation to the Deposits of Stream Tin and Wolfram, G. Barrow, 502; National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, Geology of South Victoria Land, H. T. Ferrar, Petro- graphy, Dr. Prior, Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., 561; Origin and Mode of Deposit of the Upper Keuper Beds of Leicester, T. O. Bosworth, 587; Deviation of Rivers caused by the Rotational Velocity of the Earth, Prof. G. A. J. Cole, 612 Geometry: die typischen Geometrien und das Unendliche, B. Petronievics, 28; Constructions in Practical Geometry, Rev. H. F. Westlake, 148; Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools, C. Davison and C. H. Richards, 315; Cartesian Plane Geometry, Charlotte A. Scott, 315; a Sequel to Elementary Geometry, J. W. Russell, 315; a First Year’s Course in Geometry and Physics, Ernest Young, 482 Geophysics; Potentiometer Methods of Measuring Tempera- ture, W. P. White, 206 German Course, Science, C. W. P. Moffatt, 53 Germany. Dyeing in, and America, Sidney H. Prof. Walter M. Gardner, 4 Geschlechtes, die Bestimmung und Vererbung des, Dr. C. Correns, 580 Gesichtssinnes, zur vergleichenden Physiologie des, Prof. E. Raehlmann, 193 (C 5 icobini), Search-ephemeris for Comet 1907a, Prof. Weiss, | 38 | Giz A anint (M.), the Giacobini Comet 1907a, 167 | Glaciers in Lahaul, Glaciers in Kumaon, G. Higgins, Gibson (C. G.), Goldfields of Western Australia, 400 Gibson (C. S.), Diethylauric Bromide, 94 Gibson (Dr. G. A.), Arterial Pressure in Man, 335 Giesenhagen (Prof. K.), Befruchtung und Vererbung im Pflanzenreiche, 556 Giglioli (Enrico Hillyer), Avifauna Italica, 25 Gilg (Dr. Ernst), Pharmakognostisches Praktikum, 508 Giltay (J. W.), Apparatus for Demonstrating the Action of Light on Selenium, 589 Giseuiae (Prof. P.), das Werden und Vergehen der Pflanzen, BS) : Glaciers: Records of the Geological Survey of India, Part iii., Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, H. H. Hayden; Part iv., Glaciers in Lahaul, H. Walker and E. H. Pascoe; Glaciers in Kumaon, G. de P. Cotier and J. Caggin Brown, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 201; Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks (Smith-— sonian Expedition of 1904), Dr. William Hittell Sherzer, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 463 Gladstone (H. S.), Irish Nesting-colony of Red-necked Phalaropes, 63 Glasgow, Lord Kelvin and the University of, 200 Glass and Quartz, Coloration of, by Radium, Charles E. S. Phillips, 535 Gleditsch (Mlle.), Minerals, 167, 407 Glinka (K. D.), Weathering, 498 Goddard (Rev. Ed. H.), Orientation of the Avebury Circles, 320 Gods and Godlings, David Patrick, 462 Goeldi (Dr. E. A.), Album de Aves Amazonicas, 220 Gold (E.), Comparison of Ships’ Barometer Readings with ieee deduced from Land Observations, 453 Golding (H. A.), Practical Calculations for Engineers, Lithium contained in Radio-active 555 Goldschmidt (Dr. Richard), die Tierwelt des Mikroskops (die Urtiere), 556 Goldsmith (Dr. E.), Analysis of Meteoric Stone seen to Fall on April 30, 1906, on the New Jersey Shore, 136 Goldstein (E.), the Two-fold Line Spectra of Chemical Elements, 469 Gordon (W. ‘T.), Lepidophloios Scotti, 431 Gore (J. Ellard), Astronomical Essays, Historical and Descriptive, 195 ; Iwo Remarkable Spectroscopic Binaries, 20 Gore (W.), Stresses in Masonry Dams, Civil Engineers, 303 Goris (A.), Researches on the Pulp called Netté Flour, 336 Gorsedds, May, Rev. John Griffith, 128 Goss (W. F. M.), High Steam-pressures in Locomotive Service, 445 CGéttingen Royal Society of Sciences, 72, 312, 479 Gotz (P.), Surveys of Nebula, 90 Gough (Dr. L. H.), the Plankton of the English Channet, at Institution of 524 Gould (C.), the Geology and Water Resources of the Western Portion of the Panhandle of Texas, 68 Goulding (E.), New Isomeride of Vanillin in the Root of Chlorocodon, 502; Volatile Oils of the Leaves of Ocimum viride, 502 Goupil (M.), Physiological Properties of Tubercle Bacilli which have been Submitted to the Action of Chlorine, 216 Gewland (Prof.), Burial Mounds in Japan, 139 Graff (Dr. K.), Observations of Algol Variables, 497 Graff (Prof. Ludwig von), das Schmarotzertium im Tier- reich und seine Bedeutung fiir die Artbildung, 556 Gramont (A. de), Apparatus for the Production of Spark Spectra of Solutions, 168 Graphical Interpolation, F. J. W. Whipple, 103 Gravitational -Survey of Sicily and Calabria, Prof. Ricco, Gray (J.), New Instrument for determining the Colour of the Hair, Eyes, and Skin, 406 Gray (J. G.), Sensitive State induced in Magnetic Materials by Thermal Treatment, 407 Gray (J. Macfarlane), Death and Obituary Notice of, 277 Greaves (R. H.), Decomposition of Ozone by Heat, 574 Greece and Rome, Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of, W. H. S. Jones, 457 Green (A. G.), Constitution of Phenol- and Quinol-phthalein Salts, 47 Nature June 11, 1908, Greene (H. B.), Influence of Heredity on the Diseases of Poultry, 15 Greenwich Winters, MacDowall, 438 Greenwood (M., jun.), Influence of Increased Barometric Pressure on Man, 187 Gregory (A. W.), Calorimetric Method for the Determina- tion of Iron in Copper Alloys, 239 Gregory (Prof. J. W., F.R.S.), Origin of the Gold in the Rand Banket, 22; the Geological Structure of the North- west Highlands of Scotland, B. N. Peach, John Horne, W. Gunn, C. T. Clough, L. Hinxman, and J. J. H. Teall, 272; National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, Geology of South Victoria Land, H. f. Ferrar, Petro- graphy, Dr. Prior, 561 Griffin and Sons (Messrs.), New Slide-rules, 500 Griffith (Rev. John), May Gorsedds, 128 Grignard (O.), New Method for the Hydration of Pinene, 240 ’ Groom (Prof. P.), Trees and their Life-histories, 538 Grover (N. C.), River Discharge, 148 Groves (C. E.), Cobaltamine Compounds, 239 Gruner (Prof.), the World of the Infinitely Small, 543 Gudernatsch (J. F.), Resemblances between the Sirenian and the Cetacean Tongue, 350 Guerbet (Marcel), Action of Alcohols upon Sodium Benzylate, Rothesuy Summers and, Alex. B. 394 Guichard (Marcel), Preparation of Iodides in vacuo, 95; Tetra-iodide of Uranium, 119 Guignard (L.), Grafting in Plants containing Hydrocyanic Acid, 239 Guillaume (Ch.-Ed.), métrique, 611 Guillemard (H.), Influence of High Altitude on the Loss of Water by the Organism, 95 Guillet (L.), Constitution of Cast Irons containing Man- ganese, 288 Guilliermond (A.), Graminacee, 48 Gulliver (G. H.), Phenomena of Permanent Deformation of Metals, 41 Gunn (W.), the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, 272 Gurney (L. E.), the Viscosity of Water at Very Low Rates of Shear, 470 Gustavson (G.), Products of the Action of Aluminium Chloride and Hydrochloric Acid Gas on Benzene, 527 Guthnick (Paul), Saturn’s Rings, 67 Guthrie (F. B.), Action of Lime on the Available Soil Con- stituents, 23 Gwynne-Vaughan (D. T.), Fossil Gsmundacez, 311 Gyroscope illustrating Brennan’s Mono-railway, H. A. Wilson, 189 Gyrostats, the Use of, Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., at Physical Society, 447 les Récents Progrés du Systéme Structure of the Aleurone Grains in Prof. Haddon (Dr. A. C., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Dr. A. W. Howitt, C.M.G., 515; the Games of the North American Indians, Stewart Culin, 568 Haffkine (Dr.), Present Methods of combating Plague, 133 Hagen (Allen), Clean Water and How to Get It, 218 Hahn (Dr. Otto), the Origin of Radium, 30 Haines (C. Reginald), Notes on the Birds of Rutland, 122 Hall (Dr. Asaph), Death of, 132; Obituary Notice of, 154 Hall (Clarence), the Waste of Life in American Coal- mining, 419 Hall (Edith H.), Decorative Art of Crete in the Bronze Age, 186 Hall (H. R.), the Annual of the British School at Athens, 129; Archeology in America, 186; Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, Prof. J. Garstang, 439 Hall (Maxwell), Jamaica Earthquake of January 2, 542 Haller (A.), an Isomer of Diphenyleamphomethane, 575; Alcoholysis of Linseed Oil, 383 Halley’s Comet, the Meteors of, W. F. Denning, 619 Halliburton (Prof. W. D., F-.R.S.), Chemische und biologische Untersuchungen von Agyptischen Mumien- material, nebst Betrachtungen tiber das Einbalsamierungs 1908, Index XXiil verfanren, der alter Agypter, W.-A.. Schmict, 465; Localisation of Function in the Lemur’s Brain, 501 Hallucinations, New Explanation of, Dr. Boris Siais, 589 Ham (B. Burnett), Report on Plague in Queensland (February, 1900—June 30, 1907), 585 Hamburg: die Fauna Sudwest-Australiens, Ergebnisse der Hamburger sidwest-australischen Forschungsreise, 1905, Prof. W. Michaelson and Dr. R. Hartmeyer, 51; the Hamburg Observatory, Prof. Schorr, 544 Hamilton (N. D.), the Weathering of Coal, 468 ; Hampson (Rev. John J.), Stock Frost or Ground Ice, 295 Hansky (Prot.), Structure of the Corona, 590 Hantsch (A.), the Cryoscopic Behaviour of Sulphuric Acid, 207 Harbord (F. W.), the Phenomenon of Soft Steel Revolving at a High Speed Cutting Hard Steel, 419 Harg (J. M.), Recent Observations of Venus, 471 Harger (H. S.), the Diamond Pipes and Fissures of South Alrica, 224 Harkins (W. D.), the Smoke from Metallurgical Works, Disc 376 Harley (Rev. Robert, F.R.S.), Biographical Sketch of Robert Rawson, 157 Harper (W. E.), the Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary @ Aquilze, 281; Variable Radial Velocity of » Virginis, 590 Hartley (H.), Preparation of Conductivity Water, 431; Solubility of Iodine in Water, 502; Spontaneous Crystal- lisation of Sodium Sulphate Solutions, 551 Hartmann (Prof.), the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of Nova Persei No. 2, 377; Spectroscopic Binaries now under Observation, 590 Hartmeyer (Dr. R.), die Fauna Siidwest-Australiens,. Ergebnisse der Hainburger siidwest-australischen Forsch- ungsreise, 1905, 51 Hartwig (Prof.), Saturn’s Rings, 67; a New Variable of the U Geminorum Type, 446; the Variable Star 31, 1907, Aurige, 471 7 Harvard College Observatory, the, Prof. Pickering, 567 Haschek (Dr. E.), Cause of the Slight Variability of Wave- length of Spectral Lines, 304 Hassenstein (Dr.), Saturn’s Ring, 90 Haich (Dr. F. H.), *‘ Kimberlite’’ and the Source of the Diamond in South Africa, 224; Mining Tables, 317; Transvaal Mines Department, Report of the Geological Survey for the Year 1906, 346 Hatfield (W. H.), the Evolution of Malleable Cast Iron, 543 Hatta (S.), Gastrulation of the Ovum of the Lamprey, 179. Hawaiian Islands and Laysan, Recent Madreporaria of the, T. Wayland Vaughan, Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S., 499 Hawkins (C.). Elementary Trigonometry, 315 Hayden (H. H.), Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, 201 Health: the Laws of Health, a Handbook on School Hygiene, Dr. Carstairs G. Douglas, 197; the Preserva- tion of Infant Life, a Guide for Health Visitors, Emilia Kanthack, 268 Heat: Measurement of Temperatures in the Cylinder of a Gas Engine, Prof. Callendar, F.R.S., and Prof. W. E. Dalby, 141; Simple Calorimeter for Gases and Liquids, Charles Féry, 182; Manganese Chloride as Fixed Point in Thermometry, T. W. Richards and Franz Wrede, 207; the Cryoscopic Behaviour of Sulphuric Acid, A. Hantsch, 207; Influence of Temperature on the Optical Properties of Dissolved Bodies, C. Chéneveau, 216; Variation of the Electrical Resistance of Pure Metals: Down to Very Low Temperatures, Prof. H. Kamerlingh Onnes and J. Clay, 233; the Specific Heats of Helium, Drs. U. Behn and H. Geiger, 257; Effect of Low Tem- peratures on the Thermal Conductivities of Pure Metals and Alloys, Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S., 287; Sensitive State induced in Magnetic Materiais by Thermal Treat- ment, J. G. Gray and A. D. Ross, 407; Heat of Vaporisation of Propionic Acid, A. Faucon, 455; Notes on the Application of Low Temperatures to Some Chemical Problems, Sir James Dewar and Dr. H. O. Jones, 476; Action of Alkaline Salts with Fixed Base on the Combustion of Gases and Fixed Combustibles, M. Dautriche, 479; the New Matriculation Heat, 482; Deter- mination of Viscosity at High Temperatures, Dr. C. E. Fawsitt, 502; Certain Dynamical Analogues of Tempera- ture Equilibrium, Prof. G. H. Bryan, 503 ; Decomposition XXIV of Ozone by Heat, Prof. E. P. Perman and R. H. Greaves, 574 Heather (H. J. S.), Electrical Equipment of Gold Mines, RYE) Heavenly Bodies, Peculiarities in the Structure of some, Prof. Suess, 490 ; Hector (Sir James, F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 37 Hedrick (H. B.), a Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars, 353 Heilprin (Prof. Angelo), Obituary Notice of, L. E. Levy, 136 Heinrich (V.), Elements and Ephemeris for the Minor Planet Patroclus, 67 Helium in the Atmosphere, Dr. J. W. Evans, 535 Helium, the Condensation of, Prof. H. Kamerlingh Onnes, 559, 581; Dr. Morris W. Travers, F.R.S., 606; the Solidification of, Prof. Alfred W. Porter, 437; Dr. H. Kamerlingh Onnes, 442 ‘Helium Line, D,, as a Dark Line in the Solar Spectrum, the, A. A. Buss, 377 Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spectrum, Capt. Daunt, 520 Hellmann (Dr. G.), the Dawn of Meteorology, 478 Helmert (F. R.), das Ausgreichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kieinsten Quadrate, 52 Hemmelmayr (Franz von), Lehrbuch der Chemie und Mineralogie fur die vierte Klasse der Realschulen, 484 Hemsalech (Dr. G. A.), Flame Spectra obtained by the Electrical Method, 215; the Flame Spectra of Metals, 446; Flame Spectra of Iron, 623 Henry (E.), Disease of the Pine in the Jura, 23 Henry (John R.), November Meteors, 31; April Meteors, 535 Henry (Louis), the Nitrous Isomerisation of Isobutyl Alcohol, 119; Action of Nitrous Acid on Allylamine, 215 Henry (T. A.), Occurrence of Cyanogenetic Glucosides in Feeding Stuffs, 598 Henshaw (F.), the Water Supply of Nome Region, Seward Peninsula, 68 Henshaw (H. W.), ‘‘ the Policemen of the Air,’’ Henslow (Rev. G.), Origin of the Whorls of Certain Dicotyledons, 142 Hepworth (Commander M. W. Campbell, Maritime Meteorology, 126 Heredity: the Interpretation’ of Méndelian Phenomena, Geo.) P. Mudge 8; (G. Archdall ‘Reid, 9; 54; RAS lock, 325) J, oD iGunningham)s54)7 dae) PEL O'Farrell, 271; Mendelism and Sex, G. Archdall Reid at Linnean Society, 236; Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns, Prof. James Wilson, 509, 559; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 559; Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 582; Specific Stability and Mutation, Sir W. T. Thiselton- Dyer, KC: MG. PSR°S:, 77, 1275 R. He lack) 127); Mulattos, Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., 126; H. G. Wells, 149; sur la Transmissibilité de Charactéres acquis, Eugenio Rignano, 193; the Inherit- ance of ‘‘ Acquired ’’ Characters, Rev. E. C. Spicer, 247, 342; Dr. G. Archdall Reid, 293, 342, 391; A. D. D., 343; J. I. Cunningham, 367; Dr. H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S., 319, 390; the Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered Moth,’’ A. Bacot, 294; Heredity and Environic Forces, Dr. MacDougal, 378; the Mechanism in Heredity, Dr. E. G. Conklin, 378; the Inheritance of Eye-colour in Man, C. C. Hurst, 382; the Inheritance of Colour in Domestic Pigeons with Special Reference to Reversion, R. Staples-Browne, 430; Befruchtung und Vererbung im Pflanzenreich, Prof. K. Giesenhagen, 556; die Bestimm- ung und Vererbung des Geschlechtes, Dr. C. Correns, 580 Hérissey (H.), the Preparation of Dithymol, 384 493 Ditrimerous Floral C.B.), Notes on Herman (I.), Syntheses by Means of the Mixed Organo- metallic Derivatives of Zinc, Ketone Alcohols, 455 Heron (David), Statistics of Insanity and Inheritance of Insane Diathesis, 179 Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory, L. Stejneger, gi Herrera (Prof. A. L.), Notions générales de Biologie et de Plasmogénie, 558; Chrysanthe: >mum Powder as a Means of destroying Mosquitoes in Houses, 278 Herring (Dr. Percy T.), a Manual of Veterinary Physiology, Colonel F. Smith, C.B., C.M.G., 219 Herrman (Paul), 362 Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, L[ndex Nature, June 11, 1908 Herrmann (Dr.. E.j, the Periodical Variations of Atmo- spheric Pressure, 157 Herschel’s Nebulae, the, Dorothea Isaac-Roberts, 617 Hessler (Dr. Robert), Malaria and Tuberculosis introduced into America by the White Man, 231 Hewitt (J. F.), Primitive Traditional History: the Primitive History and Chronology of India, South-eastern and South-western Asia, Egypt, and Europe, and the Colonies Thence sent Forth, 291 * Hewitt (J. T.), Colour and Constitution of Azo-compounds, Part ii., the Salts of p-Hydroxy-azo-compounds with Mineral Acids, 334 Hewlett (Prof. R. T.), die Purpurbakterien, Prof. Hans Molisch, 53; Inflammation, an Introduction to the Study of Pathology, Prof. J. George Adami, 126; Scientific Work of the Local Government Board, 235; the Bac- teriological Examination of Disinfectants, W. Partridge, 246; Abel’s Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology, 580; Lehrbuch der mikroskopischen Technik, Dr. Bernhard Rawitz, 605 Hickson (Prof. S. J., F.R.S.), Recent Madreporaria of the Hawaiian Islands and Laysan, T. Wayland Vaughan, 499 Higgins (Sidney H.), Dyeing in Germany and America, 4 Hildburgh (Dr. W. L.), Sinhalese Magic, 551 Hildebrandt (A.), Airships Past and Present, together with Chapters on the Use of Balloons in Connection with Meteorology, Photography, and the Carrier Pigeon, 562 Hilditch (T. P.), Relation between Unsaturation and Optical Activity, 166 Hill (J. R.), Replacement of Alkyl Radicles by Methyl in Substituted Ammonium Compounds, 166 Hill (Leonard, F.R.S.), Influence of Increased Barometric Pressure on Man, 187 Hill (M. D.), a Variation in Amceba, 367 Hiil (W.), a Deep Channel of Drift at Hitchin, 215 Himalayan Glaciers, Fluctuations in, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R,S., 201 Himalayas, Ascent of Trisul, 134 Hind (Dr. Whee!ton), Lamellibranch Fauna in the Millstone Grit of Scotland and the Silurian Rocks of Girvan, 551 Hinduism, Cradle Tales of, Margaret E. Noble, 605 Hinterlechner (Dr.), Geology of Country Round Deutsch- brod, 184 Hinxman (L.), the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, 272 Hirayama (K.), the Systematic Error of Latitude observed with a Zenith Telescope, 42 Histoire de la Navigation aérienne, W. de Fonvielle, 217 History: Primitive Traditional, the Primitive History and Chronology of India, South-eastern and South-western Asia, Egypt and Europe, and the Colonies Thence sent Forth, J. F. Hewitt, 291 Hobart (H. M.), Armature Construction, 532 Hobbs (William Herbert), Earthquakes, an Introduction to Seismic Geology, 481 Hoche (Prof. A.), the Modern Analysis of Psychical Pheno- mena, 469 Hoernle (Dr. A. F. Rudolf, C.1.E.), Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, 533 Holetschek (Dr. J.), Observations of Comets 1907d and 1907e, 353 Holland (fT. H., during 1906, 400 Holland (Mr.), Molasses as Cattle Food, 590-1 Hollick (Arthur), the Cretaceous Flora of Southern New York and New England, 121 Hollis (Dr. W. Ainslie), the Possibility of Life in Mars, 438 Helloway (G. T.), the Assay of Telluride Ores, 190 Holmes (Mr.), the Appearance of Neptune in Small Tele- scopes, 258 Holmes (H.), Action of Diazomethane on the Two Modifi- cations of 1soNitrosocamphor, 335 Holmes (Dr. T. Rice), Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar, 601 Holst (Prof.), Ship Beri-beri and Scurvy, 113 Holt (E. W. L.), Reports on the Sea and Inland Fisheries of Ireland for 1904 and 1905, 373 Holt (J. C.), the Water Supply of Nome Region, Seward Peninsula, 68 Heltermann (Dr. F.R.S.), Mineral Production of India Carl), der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Nature, June 1x, 19¢8 Index XXV Bau der Pilanzengewebe, anatomisch-physiologische Untersuchungen in den Tropen, 313 Home-woods and Home Landscape, the Garden Beautiful, William Robinson, 217; R. I. Lynch, 300 Hooton (W. M.), Decomposition of Ammonium Dichromate by Heat, 383 Hopkinson (Prof. Bertram), Effect of Mixture Strength and Scavenging upon Thermal Efficiency, 588 Horizon and Prime-vertical Curves for Latitudes +30° to +60°, H. H. Kritzinger, 617 Horne (John), the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, 272 Horses: the Surgical Anatomy of the Horse, John T. Share-Jones, 170; Races chevalines, Prof. Paul Diffloth, 339 Horsley (Sir Victor, F.R.S.), Alcohol and the Human Body, 386 Horticulture, the Apple Sucker, Spraying Experiments, Kenneth G. Furley, 180; the Journal of the South-eastern Agricultural College, Wye, Kent, 345 Horton (F.), Spectrum of the Discharge from a Glowing Lime Kathode in Mercury Vapour, 454 Horton (R. E.), Weir Experiments, Formulas, 68 Hossack (Dr. W. C.), Rats and Plague in India, 205 Hesseus (Dr. C.), Vegetation on Doi Sutap, Siam, 588 Howchin (Rev. Walter), Glacial Beds of Cambrian Ag: South Australia, 165 Howe (M. A.), Symmetrical Masonry Arches, 507 Howitt (Dr. A. W.), Literature relating to the Australian Aborigines, 80 Howitt (Dr. A. W., C.M.G.), Death of, 443; Obituary Notice of, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S:, 515 Howlett (Rev. F.), Death of, 349 Hoyt (J. C.), River Discharge, 148 Hubbard (Dr. Arthur John, and George), Neolithic Dew- ponds and Cattle-ways, 245 Hubner (J.), the Characterisation of Mercerised Cotton, 239; New Reactions for the Characterisation of Mer- cerised Cotton, 359 js Hue (E.), Musée ostéologique ; Etude de la Faune Quater- naire, Ostéometrie des Mammiféres, 604 Hulbert (H. H.), Voice Training in Speech and Song, 317 Hulton (H. F. E.), Considerations affecting the ‘t Strength ”’ of Wheat Flours, 598 Human Body, Alcohol and the, Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S., and Dr. Mary D. Sturge and Dr. Arthur Newsholme, 387 Hume (Dr. W. F.), Geology of Eastern Desert of Egypt, 185 Humphreys (H. B.), Physiology and Morphology of Cali- fornian Hepatics, 445 Huntington (Ellsworth), the Pulse of Asia: a Journey in Central Asia illustrating the Geographic Basis of History, 314 Hurst (C. C.), the Inheritance of Eye-colour in Man, 382 Hutchinson (G. A.), Spontaneous Crystallisation of Sodium Sulphate Solutions, 551 Huxley (1. H.), Aphorisms and Reflections, 341 Hydraulics: Influence of the Thickness of the Pipe Wall on the Rate of Discharge of Water from Minute Orifices piercing the Pipe, W. R. Baldwin-Wiseman, 231; Hydraulics, F. C. Lea, 530 Hydrography: the Bed of the Western Pacific Ocean, 21; River Discharge, J. C. Hoyt and N. C. Grover, 148; Tidal Investigations in Canada, W. Bell Dawson, 202; the Sources of Supply of Atlantic Water to the North Sea, Johan Gehrke, 400 Hydrology: Hydrology in Egypt, Captain H. G. Lyons, 21; Hydrology in the United States, 68, 404; Pollution of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers by Chicago Sewage, Marshall O. Leighton, 68; the Geology and Water Re- sources of the Western Portion of the Panhandle of Texas, C. Gould, 68; the Water Supply of Nome Region, Seward Peninsula, J. C. Holt and F. Henshaw, 68; Underground Waters of the Coastal Plain of Texas, T. U. Taylor, 68; Potomac River Basin, Messrs. Parker, Willis, Bolster, and Marsh, 68; the Quality of Surface Waters in Minnesota, Mr. Wesbraat, 68; Weir Experi- ments, Coefficients, and Formulas, R. E. Horton, 68; Clean Water and How to Get It, Allen Hagen, 218 Hygiene: the Care of the Body, Dr. Francis Cavanagh, Coefficients and 53; School Hygiene, a Handbook for Teachers of all Grades, School Managers, &c., Herbert Jones, 99; the Habits, Life-history, and Breeding-places of the House- fly, R. Newstead, 135; Decomposition and Nitrification of Sewage (1) in Alkaline Solution, (2) in Distilled Water, J. E. Purvis and R. M. Courtauld, 1090-1; Nature’s Hygiene and Sanitary Chemistry, C. T. King- zett, 196; the Laws of Health, a Handbook on School Hygiene, Dr. Carstairs G. Douglas, 197 Bu grosrone, an Extremely Sensitive Electric, J. Pionchon, 00 Ibbetson (Sir Denzil), Death and Obituary Notice of, 443 Ice, Stock Frost or Ground, Rev. John J. Hampson, 295; James Thomson, 366; Prof. H. T. Barnes, 412 Ice-crystals, Drifted, Dr. Walter Leaf, 271 Ice-making from Pure Water in Winter, Method of, H. Warth, 518 Iceland: Island in Vergangenheit Herrman, 362 Ichinohe (Naozo), the Maximum of Mira, 1906, 158 Ichthyology: Zoology of Egypt, the Fishes of the Nile, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10; Two Luminous Fishes from Malay Archipelago, Dr. Steche, 15; Parasites of Bermuda Fishes, Edward Linton, 87; the Life of the Salmon, with Reference more Especially to the Fish in Scotland, W. L. Calderwood, 173; Gastrulation of the Ovum of the Lam- prey, S. Hatta, 179; Erythrolytic Function of the Spleen in Fishes, Richard Blumenthal, 336; Rhynchobdella aculeata in Ceylon, Dr. Arthur Willey, F.R.S., 345; Best Mode of Determining the Age and Rate of Growth of Eels, K. J. Gemsée, 350; a Possible Case of Mimicry in the Common Sole, Dr. A. T. Masterman, 477; Age and Growth-rate of Plaice in the Southern North Sea determined by the Otolith, Dr. Wallace, 523; the Food of Fishes, R. A. Todd, 524; Structure of the Epidermis and Epidermal Glands of Poisonous Fishes, E. Pawlow- sky, 613 lliffe (J. D.), Glacial Beds of Cambrian Age in South Australia, 165 Illusion, an Optical, Dr. L. U. H. C. Werndly, 31 - Imms (A. D.), Bee’s ‘‘ Paralysis,’’ 62 Immune Sera, Dr. C. F. Bolduan, 411 Immunity to Disease among Plants, Prof. F. E. Weiss, at British Pharmaceutical Conference at Manchester, 20 Inanition, the Influence of, on Metabolism, Francis Gano Benedict, 610 und Gegenwart, Paul Ince (Dr. W. H.), Chemical Examination of West Australian Poison Plants, 180 Index of Archeological Papers, 557 India: the Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Bombay, Dr. Morris W. Travers, 31; Records of the Geological Survey of India, Part iii., Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, H. H. Hayden, Part iv., Glaciers in Lahaul, H. Walker and E. H. Pascoe; Glaciers in Kumaon, G. de P. Cotter and J. Caggin Brown, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 201; Education and Research in India, 202; Agricultural Statistics of India, 208; Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Cunningham, 223; Sucker Reproduction in Kistna Dis- trict of Madras, A. W. Lushington, 256; Notes on Indian Mathematics—Arithmetical Notation, R. Kaye, 347; Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Department, being Occasional Discussions and Compilations of Meteorolo- gical Data relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, Vol. xviii., Part iii., V., a Discussion of the Anemo- graphic Observations recorded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to August, 1904; VI., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observations recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892, Sir John Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S., 353; Meteorology of October and November, 1907, 419; Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, C.I.E., 533; Reports on Plague Inves- tigations in India issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society and the Lister Institute, 585; the Etiology and Epidemiology of Plague, Major G. Lamb, 585 India-rubber and its Manufacture ; with Chapters on Gutta- percha and Balata, Hubert L. Terry, C. Simmonds, 296 XXVI Index Nature, June 11, 1908 Inductance in Parallel Wires, Dr. J. W. Nicholson, 295 Industry, Science and, 621 Infant Life, the Preservation of, a Guide for Visitors, Emilia Kanthack, 268 Infants, Relations’ between Mortality of, peratures, Dr. E. Van Everdingen, 206 Inflammation, an Introduction to the Study of Pathology, Prof. J. George Adami, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 126 Inorganic Chemistry, a New Handbook of, 25 Inorganic Chemistry, E. J. Lewis, 364 Insanity, Statistics of, and Inheritance of Insane Diathesis, David Heron, 179 Insects: Précis des Caractéres génériques des Insectes, disposés dans un Ordre naturel par le Citoyen Latreille, 47; the Story of Insect Life, W. P. Westell, Fred. V. Theobald, 175 Institution of Civil Engineers, Awards for 1906-7, 14; Inaugural Address at, Sir William Matthews, K.C.M.G., 14; Experiments on Wind-pressure, Dr. T. E. Stanton, Health and, High Tem- 139; Stresses in Masonry Dams, Sir John Ottley, K:C.1.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore, J. S. Wilson and W. Gore, 303; ‘‘ James Forrest’’ Lecture at, Some Unsolved Problems in Metal-mining, Prof. Henry Louis, 619 Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, the Place of the Laboratory in the Training of Engineers, Prof. A. L. Mellanby, 211 Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 22, 119, 190, 287, 400, 575 , Instruction, the Practice of, 243 Insulator, Sulphur as an, Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, F.R.S., 149 Integrals, Tabulated Values of Certain, Harry M. Elder, 486 Intensity of Spectrum Lines, A. D. Cowper, 248 International Association of Seismology, the, 60 International Conference on Sleeping Sickness, Proceedings of the, held at London, June, 1907, 440 International Mathematical Congress at Rome, the, Prof. G..H.-Bryan, F.R.S., 582 Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena, the, Geo. P. Mudge, 8; G. Archdall Reid, 9, 54; R. H. Lock, 32; J. T. Cunningham, 54; H. H. O'Farrell, 271 Interstellar Space, the Dispersion of Light in, Dr. C. Nordmann, 497 Ionisation of Air by Ultra-violet Light, jun., 582 Ireland: a Description of the Soil-geology of Ireland, based upon Geological. Survey .Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate, J. R. Kilroe, 4; Royal Irish Academy, 239; Reports on the Sea and Inland Fisheries of Ireland for 1904 and 1905, E. W. L. Holt, 373 Tron and Steel, J. H. Stansbie, 579 Iron and Steel, the Corrosion of, Dr. Frank Clowes, 560 ee a Contribution to the History of, Lord Rosse, 56 ee (J. C.), Derivatives of Tetramethyl Glucose, 239 Isaac-Roberts (Dorothea), the Herschel’s Nebulez, 617 Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere, the, W. H. Dines, F.R.S., 390, 462, 486; Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 437; C. E. Stromeyer, 485 Italica Avifauna, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 25 Iterson (Dr. G. van, jun.), Mathematische und mikro- skopisch-anatomische Studien uber Blattstellungen, 145 C. E. Adams, 462, Frederic Palmer, Jackson (C. G.), Influence of Foreign Substances on Certain Transition Temperatures and the Determination of Molecular Weights, 383 Jackson (C. S.), a First Statics, 555 Jaeger (KF. M.), Crystal Form of Halogen Derivatives of Open Chain Hydrocarbons with Reference to the Barlow- Pope ‘Vheory of Structure, 383 James (George W.), the Story of Scraggles (a Sparrow), 7 Janezewski (Prof. E. De), the Genus Ribes, 135 Janssen (Dr. P. J. C.), Death of, 178; Obituary Notice of, 229 jantsch (A.), the Atomic Weight of Europium, 455 Jantsch (G.), Compounds of Terbium and Dysprosium, 311 Janvillier (M.), Fixation of Zine by Sterigmatocystis nigra, 408 Japan, Herpetology of, Stejneger, ot Javelle (M.), the Recent Transit of Mercury, 116; the Giacobini Comet, 19074, 167 Javillier (Maurice), Method for Quantities of Zinc, 119 Jeannel (René), Palzolithic Paintings of Man and Animals in the Portal Cave, 528 Jensen (H. I.), Copper in Andesite from Fiji, 23 ; Geology of the Nandewar Mountains, New South Wales, 264 Jensen (Dr. Paul), Organische Zweckmassigkeit Entwickl- ung und Vererbung von Standpunkte der Physiologie, 100 Jervis-Smith (Rev. and Adjacent Territory, L. estimating Very Small F. J., F.R.S.), Sulphur as an-Insulator, 149 Jesup (Morris K.), Death of, 298 Johansen (A. C.), Marking and Transplantation Experi- ments with Plaice in Danish Waters, 418 Johnson (G.), the Separation of Tin-oxide from Wolfram, 119 Johnson (J. P.), Eruptive Diamond-bearing Breccias of the Boshof District, 287; Kimberlite, 399 Johnson (Prof. T.), Spongospora Solant, Brunch., 455 Johnson (Prof. Willis G.), Death of, 541 Johnston (Sir H. H., G.C.M.G.), aus Kalahari, Prof. Leonhard Schultze, 385 ae (Prof. J. B.), the Nervous System of Vertebrates, Namaland und Tae (Prof. J.), Radio-activity of Sea Water, 191; Radium Content of Deep-sea Sediments, 455 Jonckheere (Robert), Measurements of the Diameters of Mercury, 431 Jones (B. M.), Spontaneous Crystallisation of Sodium Sul- phate Solutions, 551 Jones (F.), Action of Selenium and Tellurium on Arsine and Stibine, 599 Jones (Harry C.), Solvents, 213 Jones (Herbert), School Hygiene: a ae for Teachers of all Grades, School Managers, acy Jones (Dr. H. O.), Replacement of Alkyl Radicles by Methyl in Substituted Ammonium Compounds, 166 ; Notes on the Application of Low Temperatures to some Chemi- cal Problems, 476 Jones (H. Sydney), a Modern Arithmetic, with Graphic and Practical Exercises, 27 Jones (W. H. S.), Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome, 457 Jordan (David Starr), Evolution and Animal Life, 242; (1) California and the Californians, (2) the Alps of King- Kern Divide, 437 Jordan (F. C.), Absolute Scale of Photographic tudes, 208 Jost (Prof. Ludwig), Lectures on Plant Physiology, 97 Journal of the South-eastern Agricultural College, Wye, Kent, 345 Jubilee of the Calcutta University, 584 Judet (Henri), Attempt at Grafting Articular Tissues, 336 Jupiter: the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, Mr. Denning, 42; Photographs of Jupiter, M. Quénisset, 90; Photo- graphs of Jupiter’s Satellites VI. and VII., 137; Simul- taneous Observations of Jupiter, Jean Mascart, 259; Uniformly Distributed Dark Spots on Jupiter, Scriven Conductivity and Viscosity in Mixed Magni- Bolton, 401; a Possible New Satellite to Jupiter, P. Melotte, 470; Observations of Jupiter during the Present Opposition, P. Vincart, 471; the Moving Object near Prof. Aitken, 497; the Jupiter, Mr. Melotte, of Jupiter’s Prof. Albrecht, 497; recently discovered Satellite of 567; Mutual Occultations and Eclipses Satellites, Mr. Whitmell, 567 Jupiter, Kahn (M.), the Practical Application of Reinforced Con- crete, 566 Kailan (A.), Influence exercised by a Small Proportion of Water on the Rate of Formation of Ethyl Chloride, 304 Kaiser (E.), Weathering Phenomena in Building Stones, 181 Kamensky (M.), Encke’s Comet, Ephemeris for Encke’s Comet, 208; 1908a, 353 Nature, June 11, 1908 Lndex XXvil Kanthack (Emilia), the Preservation of Infant Life, a Guide for Health Visitors, 268 Kapp (Gisbert), Electric Traction, Prof. Ernest Wilson and Francis Lydall, 169 Karny (H.), Revisio Conocephalidarum, 317 Kausalitatsprinzip der Biologie, das, Dr. Friedrich Strecker, 597 Kaye (F.), Influence of Formal on Funtumia elastica, 189 Kaye (G. R.), Indian Mathematics, ii., Aryabhata, 359 Kaye (R.), Notes on Indian Mathematics—Arithmetical Notation, 347 Kaye (W. J.), Three Pereute Species chamayo District of Peru, 551 Kayser (Prof.), the Constancy of Wave-lengths of Spectral Lines, 234 Kea, the Carnivorous Habits of the, Prof. W. B. Benham, 205; G. R. Marriner, 205 . Kearton (R.), the Fairyland of Living Things, 147 Keeling (B. F. E.), Climate of Abbassia, 115 Kellerman (Prof. W. A.), Death and Obituary Notice of, from the Chan- 493 Kellogg (Vernon Lyman), Evolution and Animal Life, 242 Kelman (Janet Harvey), the Sea-shore, shown to the Children, 533 Kelvin (Lord), Death and Obituary Notice of, Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S., 175; Lord Kelvin s Funeral in Westminster Abbey, 177; Lord Kelvin, an Appreciation, 199; Lord Kelvin and the University of Glasgow, 200; Lord Kelvin and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 253 Kent, the Birds of, William J. Davis, 122. Kent, Notes on the Birds of, R. J. Balston, Rev. C. W. Shepherd, and E. Bartlett, 511 Kenyon (J.), Resolution of sec-Octyl Alcohol, 166 Kermode (P. M. C.), Manx Crosses, or the Inscribed and Sculptured Monuments from about the end of the Fifth to the beginning of the Thirteenth Century, 265 Kerr (Dr. James), Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council submitting the Report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the Year ended March 31, 1907, 355 Kew, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Botanic Gardens, 534 Kidd (Benjamin), Animal Faculty of Orientation, 564 Kidd (Dr. W.), Effects of Pressure upon the Direction of Hair in Mammals, 526 Kidston (R., F.R.S.), Fossil Osmundacee, 311 Kienitz-Gerloff (Dr. Felix), Physiologie und Anatomie des Menschen mit ausblicken auf den ganzen Kreis der Wirbeltiere, 484 Kilroe (J. R.), a Description of the Soil-geology of Ireland, based upon Geological Survey Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate, 4 Kimberley, the Diamantiferous Bonney, F.R.S., 248 King (H. C.), Excavation of a Barrow at Chapel Carn Brea, Cornwall, 143; Holed Stone at Kerrow, Cornwall, 143; Cist and Urn at Tregiffian Vean, 143 King (P. E.), Constitution of Phenol- and Quinol-phthalein Salts, 47 Kingzett (C. T.), Nature’s Hygiene and Sanitary Chem- istry, 196 Kipping (F. S.), the Sulphonation of Benzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxide and of Benzylethyldipropyl Silicane, 335; Organic Derivative of Silicon, Part .iv., the Optically Active Sulphobenzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxides, 431 Kirkaldy (G. W.), Suggestion for Subdivision of Austral- asian Zoological Region, 16 Kitchin (J.), the Deviation of Rand Bore-holes from the Vertical, 119 Kites: Dr. Alexander Graham Bell’s Experiments with his Cygnet Man-lifting Kite, 496 Knaggs (Dr. H. G.), Death and*Obituary Notice of, 278 Knecht (Prof. E.), the Formation of Acetylene from Elementary Substances, 359 Knobel (E. B.), a Suggested Explanation of the Ancient Jewish Calendar Dates in the Aramaic Papyri, 478 Knott (Dr. C. G.), Seismic Radiations, 335 Knott (Dr. John), Mosaic Origin of the Atomic Theory, 486 Rock of, Prof:. T. G- Knox (Joseph), the Sulphur Anion and Complex Sulphur Anions, 454 Koch (Prof.), Connection between Crocodiles and Sleeping Sickness, 16 Koch (Dr. Ludwig), Pharmakognostisches Praktikum, 508 Kolderup (C. F.), Scandinavian Glaciation, 468 Kopff (Dr.), a Newly Discovered Bright Minor Planet (1908 B.M.), 281 Korolikoy (Frl.), Ephemeris Encke’s Comet, 1908a, 353 Korschelt (Prof. E.), Regeneration and Transplantation, 99 Kowalski (Joseph de), Phosphorescence at Low Tempera- tures, 215 Krassousky (K.), Order of Addition of Ammonia to Organic a-Oxides of Asymmetrical Structure, 359 Krenner (J.), Spinel in Blast-furnace Slags, 41 Kristelli (Prof. Leopold Schrétter von), Death of, 612 Kritzinger (H. H.), Daniel’s Comet, 1907d, 208 ; Ephemeris for Daniel’s Comet, 1907d, 421; Comet 1907d, 544; Horizon and Prime-vertical Curves for Latitudes + 30° to +60°, 617 Kroeber (Prof. A. L.), Religion of the Indians of Cali- fornia, 87; Anthropology of California, 379 Kuckuck (Martin), die Losung des Problems der Urzeug- ung (Archigonia, Generatio spontanea), 29 Kuenen (Prof. J. P.), die Zustandsgleichung der Gase und Flussigkeiten und die Continuitatstheorie, 387 for Encke’s Comet, 208; la Grye (Bouquet de), Determination of the Time, both on Land and at Sea, with the Aid of Wireless Telegraphy, 55 La Touche (T. H. D.), a Specific Gravity Balance for Large Rock Specimens, 221 ; Laar (J. J. van), Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektro- chemie auf thermodynamischer Grundlage, 389 Laboratories: the Place of the Laboratory in the Training of Engineers, Prof. A. L. Mellanby at Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 211; New Chemical Laboratories at Aberystwyth, 234; the National Physical Laboratory of 1907, 521; Laboratory and Field Manual of Botany, J. Y. Bergen and B. M. Davis, 554 Lachgas, das, eine chemisch-historische Studie, Prof. Ernst Cohen, 434 Lacroix (A.), New Mineral Species arising from the Athenian Plumbiferous Scoria of Laurium, 95; Crystal- lised Sodium Fluoride an Element of the Nepheline Syenites of the Los Islands, Villiaumite, 359; New Silicate of Copper from the French Congo, 575 Laine (E.), Utilisation of Turf for the Purification of Sewage, 287 Laloue (G.), the Essence of Tetranthera polyantha, var. citrata, 407 Lamarck, the International Memorial Statue of, Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S., 149 Lamb (Major G.), Etiology and Epidemiology of Plague, 585 Lambert (P. A.), Computation and Mensuration, 555 Lampland (Mr.), Saturn’s Rings, 616 Lancashire, the Flora of West, J. A. Wheldon and A. A. Wilson, 194 Lancaster (A.), Death of, 324 Land Slide near Lodéve, 63 Lankester (Sir E. Ray, K.C.B., F.R.S.), the International Memorial Statue of Lamarck, 149 Lannelongue (M.), Influence of Feeding on the Course of Experimental Tuberculosis, 95 Larard (C. E.), Practical Calculations for Engineers, 555 Larmor (Prof. J., Sec.R.S.), on the Physical Aspect of the Atomic Theory, Wilde Lecture at Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 450 Laryngology: Death of Prof. Kristelli, 612 Laterizi, I, G. Revere, 508 Latitude, the Systematic Error of, observed with a Zenith Telescope, Herr Battermann and K. Hirayama, 42 Latitudes +30° to +60°, Horizon and Prime-vertical Curves for, H. H. Kritzinger, 617 Latreille (le Citoyen), Précis des Caractéres génériques des Insectes disposés un Ordre naturel par, 77 Lau (Dr.), Saturn’s Rings, 234 Leopold Schr6tter von XXVIli Index [ Nature, June 11, 1908 Launay (L. De), Granite in the Diamond-bearing Chimney of De Beers, 168 Laurie (Charlotte L.), Introduction to Elementary Botany, Laveran (A.), Therapeutics of Trypanosomes, 47; Concern- ing Trypanosoma congolense, 623 Le Chatelier (H.), the Density of Graphite, 287 le Dantec (Félix), Eléments de Philosophie biologique, 51 Le Pla (M.), Quantitative Separation of Thallium from Silver, 551 Le Rossignol (R.), the Sulphination of Phenolic Ethers and the Influence of Substituents, 502 Le Roy (G. A.), Qualitative Examination of Ciders for Tartaric Acid, 215 Le Sueur (H. R.), Action of Heat on a-Hydroxycarboxylic Acids, 551 Lea (F. C.), Hydraulics, 530 Leaf (Dr. Walter), Drifted Ice-crystals, 271 Leaf-insects, Early Chinese Description of the, Kumagusu Minakata, 173 Leake (H. Martin), Experimental Breeding of the Indian Cottons, 360 Leather (Dr.), Composition of Indian Oil Seeds, 136; Pot Culture at Pusa, 136 Lebeau (Paul), the Silicide of Magnesium, 383 Lecher (Prof.), Verification of Ohm’s Law, 304 Ledingham (J. C. D.), Influence of Temperature on Phago- cytosis, 623 Leduc (A.), Atomic Weights of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon, 431 Ledue (Prof. Stéphane), Diffusion and Osmosis, 519 Leeds (E. T.), Metriorhynchus brachyrhynchus, Deslong., _ from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough, 502 Lees (Prof. C. H., F.R.S.), Effect of Low Temperatures on the Thermal Conductivities of Pure Metals and Alloys, 287 Léger (E.), the OH(1)Cl(2: 4:6) Trichlorophenol and its Transformation into Chloroquinones, 552 Leguminous Crops, Seed and Soil Inoculation for, Prof. W. B. Bottomley, 330 Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield, the Geology of the, C. Fox-Strangeways, 364 : Leighton (Marshall O.), Pollution of the Mississippi Rivers by Chicago Sewage, 68 Leitfaden, der neue, L. M. de la Motte Tischbrock, 268 Leithauser (G.), Chemical Changes occurring when Air is Submitted to the Influence of Electricity, 41 Lemoine (M.), Diamond-making, 254 Leonhardi (M. Freiherr v.), New Facts about the Arunta, 44 Lepidoptera: the Moths of the British Isles, Richard South, Illinois and 483 Lepiné (R.), the Sugar in the Blood Plasma, 47 Leprince (M.), an Alkaloid from Mistletoe, 120 Lesage (Pierre), Action of a Magnetic Field of High Frequency on Penicillium, 215 Lesbre (F. X.), the Excito-secretory Action of the Internal Branch of the Spinal Nerve on the Stomach and Pancreas, 216 Lespieau (M.), y-Oxytetrolic Acid, 384 Letcher (Owen), Auriferous Banded TIronstones and Associated Schists of South Africa, 287 Letellier (M.), Reducing Properties of Organo-metallic Compounds, 407 Lévy (Prof. Albert), Death of, 230 Levy (L. A.), Platinocyanides, 191 Levy (L. E.), Obituary Notice of Prof. Angelo Heilprin, 136 Lewes (Prof. V. B.), Liquid and Gaseous Fuels and the Part they play in Modern Power Production, 98 Lewis (A. L.), Megalithic Remains in Central France, 503 Lewis (E. J.), Inorganic Chemistry, 364 Lewis (F. T.), Mimicry among South American Butterflies not Connected with Birds, 467 Lewis (W. C. M.), Experimental Examination of Gibbs’s ‘Lheory of Surface Concentration Regarded as the Basis of Absorption and its Application to the Theory of Dyeing, 477 Lewis (Prof. W. J.), a Simple Method of Drawing Rhombo- hedral Crystals and of Deducing the Relations of their Symbols, 358 Lewixowitsch (Dr. J.), Niam Fat from the Seeds of Lophiru alata, 189 Ley (Capt. C. H.), Possibilities of a Topography of the Air, based on Balloon Observations, 188 ; Possibility of a Topography of the Air based on Balloon Observations made with Special Theodolites, 566 Leydig (Prof. Franz von), Death of, 564 Leyst (Prof. E.), Estimation of Amount of Cloud, 179 Liebreich (Richard), Asymmetry of the Figure and its Origin, 503 Life, the Prolongation of, Elie Metchnikoff, 289 Light: Newton’s Rings in Polarised Light, P. V. Bevan, 9; Reflection of Polarised Light, C. T. Whitmell, 103; the new Matriculation ‘‘ Light,’’ 482; the Dispersion of Light in Interstellar Space, Dr. C. Nordmann, 497 Lighting : Theory of the Radiation of the Auer Incandescent Gas Mantle, M. Foix, 420; Relative Hygienic Values of Gas and Electric Lighting, Dr. Rideal, 613; Lighting with Incandescent Mantles, Jean Meunier, 623 Lightning: Etude sur les Foudroiements d’arbres constatés — en Belgique pendant les Années 1884-1906, E. Vander- linden, 197 Ligniéres (J.), New Method of Reaction of the Skin to Tuberculosis and its Utilisation in Diagnosis, 23 Lindsey (Mr.), Molasses as Cattle Food, 590-1 Linguistics: the Oceanic Languages, their Grammatical Structure, Vocabulary, and Origin, Dr. D. Macdonald, 460 Linnean Society, 142, 190, 334, 406, 476, 527, 598; Men- delism and Sex, G. Archdall Reid, 236 Linnean Society, New South Wales, 192, 264 Linton (Edward), Parasites of Bermuda Fishes, 87 Lippmann (Prof. .G.), a New Method of Stereoscopic Photo- graphy, 452 Lister Institute, Reports on Plague Investigations in India issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society and the, 585 Literature relating to the Australian A. W. Howitt, 80; R. H. Mathews, 81 Lithium in Radio-active Minerals, Sir W. Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R-.S:,, 412 Lithology: Modern, Illustrated and Defined, for the use of University, Technical, and Civil-Service Students, E. H. Adye, 125 Little (C.), the Calm Region in the Atmosphere near Calcutta, 455 Liversidge (Prof. A.), Internal Structure of Gold Crystals, 263 Liversidge (M. A.), Elementary Botany, 554 Lloyd (Alfred H.), the Will to Doubt: Philosophy for the General Thinker, 534 Local Government Board, Scientific Work of the, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 235 Lock (Rev. J. B.), Arithmetic for Schools, 27 Lock (R. H.), the Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena, 32; Specific Stability and Mutation, 127 Lockyer (Sir Norman, K.C.B., F.R.S.), Notes on Ancient British Monuments, 56, 82, 150, 249, 368, 414, 487, 536; Presence of Sulphur in Some of the Hotter Stars, 141 Lockyer (Dr. William J. S.), the Permanency of Some Photo-visual Lenses, 94; the Total Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908, 104, 274; Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell’s Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’’ with an Alternative Explanation, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., 337; Prominence and Coronal Structure, Lecture at Royal Society, 514 Lodge (Sir Oliver, F.R.S.), Winding of Rivers in Plains, 779; the Stresses in Masonry Dams, 269; Modern Views on Electricity, 438; Supp. to March §, viii Lohmann (Dr. W.), Measurement of the Zeeman Effect for the Principal Lines of Helium, 470 Lomas (J.), the Winding of Rivers, 102 London: London Day Training College for Teachers, 19; the Future Water Supply of London, 131; Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council, submitting the Report of the Medical Oficer (Education) for the Year ended March 31, 1907, Dr. James Kerr, 355; Some London Problems, 473; Extensions at University College, London, 525 Long (W. J.), Whose Home is in the Wilderness, some Studies of Wild Animal Life, 393 Aborigines, Dr. an Essay in Nature, June 11, 1908, Longe (Col. F. B.), General Report on the Survey of India | during 1905-6, 470 Longitudes, a Field Method of determining, E. B. H. Wade, 590 Lorentz (Prof. H. A.), Lehrbuch der Physik, 580 Louis (Prof. Henry), some Unsolved Problems in Metal- mining, *‘ James Forrest ’’ Lecture at Institution of Civil Engineers, 619 Lounsbury (Mr.), the Plasmopara Vine Disease in Algeria, 591 Lowell (Prof.), the Improvement of Celestial Photographic Images, 42; Mars as the Abode of Life, 66, 471 ; Saturn’s Rings, 67, 116, 616; Photographs of Mars, 182 ; Evolution of Life, 350; Planetary Photography, 402; the Habit- ability of Mars, 461; Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmosphere of Mars, 503, 606 Lowell’s (Prof.) Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’’ with an Alternative Explanation, Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., Dr. William J..S. Lockyer, 337 Lowry (Dr. T. M.), Chemistry of the Silver Voltameter, 165; Action of Carbonyl Chloride as an Agent for arresting Isomeric Change, 143 Lozinski (Ritter von), Glacial Northern Galicia, 184 Lubimenko (W.), the Production of Chlorophyll in the Higher Plants at Different Luminous Intensities, 216 Ludendorff (Dr. H.), Provisional Elements for the Spectro- scopic Binary a Andromedz, 182; Variation in the Radial Velocity of B Ursz Majoris, 520 Lull (R. S.), Evolution of the Elephant, 494 Lunar ** New Jerusalem,’’ a, Rev. G. B. Berry, 163 Lushington (A. W.), Sucker Reproduction in Kistna Dis- trict of Madras, 256 Lutz (Dr. C. W.), the Filament Electrometer, 4o1 Lydall (Francis), Electric Traction, 169 Lynch (R. I.), the Garden Beautiful, 300 Lynn (W. T.), Comets due to return this Year, 258 Lyons (Captain H. G.), Hydrology in Egypt, 21; Distri- bution of Standard Time in Egypt, 497 Deposits and Léss of McAtee (W. L.), the Food of American Birds, 564 McClintock (Sir F. L., K.C.B., F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 61 Macco (A.), Ueber die siidafrikanischen Diamantenlager- statten, 224 McCoy (Prof. Herbert N.), the Occurrence of Copper and Lithium in Radium-bearing Minerals, 79 Macdonald (Dr. D.), the Oceanic Languages, their Gram- matical Structure, Vocabulary, and Origin, 460 Macdonald (Sir J. D., K.C.B., F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 349 MacDougal (Dr.), Heredity and Environic Forces, 378 MacDowall (Alex. B.), Rothesay Summers and Greenwich Winters, 438 McKendrick (Prof. John G., F.R.S.), the Mechanism of Speech, Alexander Graham Bell, 483; Mendelian Char- acters among Shorthorns, 582 ; Mackenzie (T. D.), Electrical Discharge Gases, 310 Mackie (Dr. D.), Proposed Alteration in the Calendar, 534 Maclauchlan (John), Death of, 63 McLennan (Prof. J. C.), the Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals, the Penetrating Radiation from the Earth, 607 Macnutt (B.), the Elements of Mechanics, 29 Macquisten (A. P.), the Concentration of Ores, 181 Madagascar, the Fauna of, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 8 Madreporaria of the Hawaiian Islands and Laysan, Recent, T. Wayland Vaughan, Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S., 499 ““ Magic Mirror ’’ Effects, Douglas Carnegie, 55 Magnetism: Magnetic Oscillators as Radiators in Wireless Telegraphy, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 71; the Diurnal Varia- tion of Terrestrial Magnetism, Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 164; Results obtained by the Ziegler Polar Ex- pedition of 1903-5, J. A. Fleming, 207; Magnetic Results obtained by the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4, Dr. C. Chree, 453; Action of a Magnetic Field of High Frequency on Penicillium, Pierre Lesage, 215; Magnetic Declination at Kew Observatory, 1890-1900, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 238; Comparison of the Energy Losses in Monatomic Index XX1X due to Hysteresis in Iron, Steel, and Nickel, in Alternating and Rotating Magnetic Fields Respectively, P. Weiss and V. Planer, 327; the First Known Mention of the Compass, Prof. E. Wiedemann, 377; Best Method for demagnetising Iron in Magnetic Testing, C. W. Burrows, 401; Sensitive State induced in Magnetic Materials by Thermal Treatment, J. G. Gray and A. D. Ross, 407; Measurement of the Zeeman Effect for the Principal Lines of Helium, Dr. W. Lohmann, 470; Magnetic Rays, a New Type of Rays, Prof. Augusto Righi, 470; Déviations des Compas, Pierre Engel, 534; Handbuch der Physik, Dr. A. Winkelmann, 559; Mag- netic Observations in Egypt, 1895-1905, 565 i Magson (E. H.), Action of Carbonyl Chloride as an Agent for arresting Isomeric Change, 143 Maignon (F.), Mechanism of the Transformation of Glycogen into Glucose by the Muscles and the Animal Tissues, 23; the Excito-secretory Action of the Internal Branch of the Spinal Nerve on the Stomach and Pancreas, 216 Mailhe (A.), Direct Hydrogenation of some Aromatic Diones, 167; Direct Hydrogenation of the Aromatic Quinones, 455 Malaria: the Prevention of Malaria, Prof. Ronald Ross, 39; Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome, W. H. S. Jones, 457 Mallet (Dr. J. W., F.R.S.), Results of the Interaction of Mercury with Alloys of other Metals, 333 Mallock (A., F.R.S.), Stability in Flight, 293; Sensibility of the Ear to the Direction of Explosive Sounds, 332 Mammalian Molar Teeth, Evolution of, to and from the Triangular Type, H. F. Osborn, 435 Manchester, British Pharmaceutical Conference at, Immunity to Disease among Plants, Prof. F. E. Weiss, 20 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 23, 191, 359, 599, 623; Wilde Lecture at, on the Physical Aspect of the Atomic Theory, Prof. J. Larmor, Sec.R.S., 450 Mann (Albert), Report on the Diatoms of the Albatross Voyages in the Pacific Ocean, 1888-1904, 91 Mann (E. A.), Chemical Examination of West Australian Poison Plants, 180 Manville (O.), les Découvertes modernes en Physique, 458 Manx Crosses, or the Inscribed and Sculptured Monu- ments of the Isle of Man from about the End of the Fifth to the Beginning of the Thirteenth Century, P. M. C. Kermode, 265 Maquenne (L.), Pure Starch, Amylose, 407 Marage (Dr. M.), Photography of the Vibrations of the Voice, 527; Method of Photographing the Vibrations of a thin India-rubber Membrane acted on by the Human Voice, 589 Marie (C.), the Oxidation of Platinum, 455 Marine Biology: Report on the Diatoms of the Albatross Voyages in the Pacific Ocean, 1888-1904, Albert Mann, 91; Correlation of Modifications of the Limpet-shell with Environmental Conditions, E. S. Russell, 189; New Pteropod Molluse, Paedoclione doliiformis, C. H. Dan- forth, 325; the Plankton of the English Channel, Dr. L. H. Gough, 524 Maritime Meteorology, Notes Campbell Hepworth, C.B., 126 Marriner (G. R.), the Carnivorous Habits of the Kea, 205 Mars: Mars as the Abode of Life, Prof. Lowell, 66, 477; Comparisons of the Places of Mars for the Oppositions of 1907 and 1909, Dr. Downing, 67; Photographs of Mars, Prof. Lowell, 182; Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell’s Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’? with an Alternative Explanation, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 337; the Possibility of Life in Mars, C. O. Bartrum, 392; Dr. J. W. Evans, 392, 413; Dr. W. Ainslie Hollis, 438; Prof. Percival Lowell, 461; Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 461; Planetary Photography, Prof. Percival Lowell, 402; Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, William E. Rolston, 442; Mr. Slipher, 497 ; the .Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmosphere of Mars, Prof. Percival Lowell, 503, 606 Marsden (H.), the Sulphonation of Benzylethylpropylsilicy! Oxide and of Benzylethyldipropyl Silicane, 335 Marsh (Mr.), Potomac River Basin, 68 on, Commander M. W. XXX Index Nature, June 11, 1g08 Marsh-birds, Home-life of some, Emma L. Turner and P. H. Bahr, 393 Martel (E. A.), Variations of Temperature of the Spring of Sainte-Baume (Var), 576 Martin (Geoffrey), Practical Matriculation Candidates, 74 Martin (H. M.), a Point in the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, 198; the Stresses in Masonry Dams, 269, 320, 392 Martin (L.A., jun.), Text-book of Mechanics, 315 Martinmas in May, Rev. C. S. Taylor, 510 Mascart (Jean), Simultaneous Observations of Jupiter, 259 Mas6 (Rev. M. S.), Rainfall of the Philippine Archipelago, 64 Masonry Arches, Symmetrical, M. A. Howe, 507 Masonry Dams, an Experimental Study of Stresses in, Karl Pearson, F.R.S., A. F. Campbell Pollard, C. W. Wheen, and L. F. Richardson, Prof. E. Brown, 209; H. M. Martin, 269, 320, 392; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 269; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 269, 366; Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.I.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore, J. S. Wilson and W. Gore, at Institution of Civil Engineers, Chemistry for Army and 303 Massey (Gerald), Ancient Egypt the Light of the World, a Work of Reclamation and Restitution, 291 Massol (L.), Relations between Lecithin and Tubercle Bacilli and Tuberculin, 552 Masterman (Dr. A. T.), a Possible Case of Mimicry in the Common Sole, 477 Materials, Strength of, W. C. Popplewell, 412 Materials, the Testing of, 404 Mathematics: Practical Mathematics, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 6; Dr. Edward Sang’s Collection of MS. Calcu- lations in Trigonometry and Astronomy, Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., 13; Arithmetic for Schools, Rev. J. B. Lock and V. M. Turnbull, 27; Arithmetic, chiefly Ex- amples, G. W. Palmer, 27; a Modern Arithmetic, with Graphic and Practical Exercises, H. Sydney Jones, 27; die typischen Geometrien und das Unendliche. B. Petro- nievics, 28; die Ausgreichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate, F. R. Helmert, 52; Death of Prof. T. Barker, 85; Simple Method of calcu- lating First and Second Moments of certain Elementary Figures, R. F. Muirhead, 88; Mathematical Society, 94, 190, 263, 382, 478; Invariants of a Binary Quintic and the Reality of its Roots, Dr. H. F. Baker, 94; Application of Quaternions to the Problem of the In- finitesimal Deformation of a Surface, J. E. Campbell, 95; Biographical Sketch of Robert Rawson, Rev. Robert Harley, F.R.S., 157; Graphical Interpolation, F. J. W. Whipple, 103; Mathematische und mikroskopisch- anatomische Studien tuber Blattstellungen, Dr. G. van Iterson, jun., 145; a Point in the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, H. M. Martin, 198; Prof. E. Brown, 221; the Stresses in Masonry Dams, Karl Pearson, F.R.S., A. F. Campbell Pollard, C. W. Wheen, and L. F. Richardson, Prof. E. Brown, 209; H. M. Martin, 269, 320, 392; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 269; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 269, 366; Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.I.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore, J. S. Wilson and W. Gore at Institution of Civil Engineers, 303; Death of Prof. Albert Lévy, 230; Easy Exercises in Algebra for Beginners, W. S. Beard, 315; Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools, C. Davison and C. H. Richards, 315; Cartesian Plane Geometry, Charlotte A. Scott, 315; a Sequel to Elementary Geometry, J. W. Russell, 315; Text-book of Mechanics, L: A. Martin, jun., 315; Elementary Statics, W. P. Borchardt, 315; Elementary Trigonometry, C. Hawkins, 315; Mathematical Educa- tion and Research, 331; the Canterbury Puzzles and other Curious Problems, H. E. Dudeney, 341; Notes on Indian Mathematics—Arithmetical Notation, R. Kaye, 347; Indian Mathematics, ii., Aryabhata, G. R. Kaye, 359; the Speed of Racing Animals, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 389; Tabulated Values of certain Integrals, C. E. Adams, 462; Harry M. Elder, 486; the Forth- coming Mathematical Congress at Rome, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 464; the International Mathematical Congress at Rome, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 582; the Projective Geometry of some Covariants of a Binary Quintic, Prof. E. B. Elliott, 478; Suggestion for a New Economic Arithmetic, Prof. T. N. Carver, 496; Compu- tation and Mensuration, P. A. Lambert, 555; a First Statics, C. S. Jackson and R. M. Milne, 555; Practical Calculations for Engineers, C. E. Larard and H. A. Golding, 555; a First Course in the Differential and Integral Calculus, Dr. W. F. Osgood, 577; Synopsis of Linear Associative Algebra, J. B. Shaw, 603; an Introduction to the Theory of Multiply-periodic Func- tions, Dr. H. F. Baker, Supp. to March 5, v Mathews (R. H.), Literature relating to the Australian Aborigines, 80 Matley (Dr. C. A.), the Carboniferous Rocks at Lough- shinny, 527 Matter, the Corpusculas Theory of, Prof. J. J. Thomson, BRS. 505 Matter and Intellect: a Reconciliation of Science and the Bible, Andrew Allan, 341 Matter, Life, and Mind, the Evolution of, W. Stewart Duncan, 30 Matter, the Polarity of, Alex. Clark, 219 Matthews (Sir William, K.C.M.G.), Inaugural Address at Institution of Civil Engineers, 14 Mattingley (A. H.), Wanton Slaughter of Egrets, 87 Maublane (M.), Disease of the Pine in the Jura, 23 Maurer (Ed.), Austenite, 600 Maurer (E. R.), Principles of Reinforced Concrete Con- struction, Supp. to March 5, vi Mavor (H. A.), the Electric Propulsion of Ships, 543 Maw (Mr.), the Appearance of Neptune in Small Telescopes, 258 Mawley (E.), Phenological Observations for 1907, 599 Maximum of Mira, 1906, Naozo Ichinohe, 158 May (Dr. W. Page), the Nervous System of Vertebrates, Prot. J. B. Johnston, 73 May Gorsedds, Rev. John Griffith, 128 May, Martinmas in, Rey. C. S. Taylor, 510 Mayer (André), Influence of the Reaction of the Medium on the Size of the Colloidal Granules, 119 Mayo (Nelson S.), the Diseases of Animals, 436 Mayow (John), Medico-physical Works of, (1674), 339 Measurements: the White and Bean Celluloid Area Scale, Casella and Co., 233 Measures, a Series of Standard Weights and, for Securing Uniformity in Scientific Papers, 114 Mechanics: the Elements of Mechanics, W. S. Franklin and B. Macnutt, 29; Text-book of Mechanics, L. A. Martin, jun., 315 Mechanism: a Diabolo Experiment, C. V. Boys, 188 Medicine: Text-book of Organic Chemistry for Medical Students, Dr. G. vy. Bunge, 146; Physiologisches Praktikum fiir Mediziner, Prof. Max Verworn, 148; Death of Sir Alfred B. Garrod, F.R.S., 203; the Induc- tion of Anzsthesia by Chloroform, 226; Prolonged Anesthesia by Mixtures of Oxygen and Ethyl Chloride, Pierre Rosenthal and Albert Berthelot, 263; the Inter- dependence of Medicine and other Sciences, Dr. W. H. Welch, at Chicago Meeting of American Association, 283; Death of Sir Thomas M’Call Anderson, 298; Death of Prof. J. B. Pettigrew, F.R.S., 324; Obituary Notice of, 348; Medico-physical Works of John Mayow (1674), 330: Death and Obituary Notice of Sir J. D. Macdonald, K.C.B., F.R.S., 349; Report of the Education Com- mittee of the London County Council submitting the Report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the Year ended March 31, 1907, Dr. James Kerr, 355; Memoran- dum on Medical Inspection of Children in Public Elementary Schools, under Section 13 of the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1907, 426; Memorandum by the British Medical Association on the Circular of the Board of Education, 426; Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, C.I.E., 533; Lehrbuch der medizinischen Physik, Prof. H. Boruttau, 604; Death of Prof. Leopold Schrotter von Kristelli, 612 Mee (Arthur), a Bright Meteor, 18 Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered Moth,’”’ the, A. Bacot, 29 Meldbta (Prof. R., F.R.S.), Chemie der hdheren Pilze, eine Monographie, Dr. Julius Zellner, 553 Meldrum (A. N.), a B-Lactonic Acid from Acetone and Malonic Acid, 383 Nature, June 11, 19 8 Mellanby (Prof. A. L.), the Place of the Laboratory in the Training of Engineers, Lecture at Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 211 Mellish Comet (1907e), 17, 138; M. Borrelly, 17; G. van Biesbroeck, 17; Dr. M. Ebell, 18, 66 Mellone (Dr. S. '.), Elements of Psychology, 267 Melotte (P.), a Possible New Satellite to Jupiter, 470; the Recently Discovered Satellite of Jupiter, 567 Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns, Prof. James Wilson, 509, 559; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 559; Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 582 Mendelian Phenomena, the Interpretation of, Geo. P. Mudge, 8; G. Archdall Reid, 9, 54; R. H. Lock, 32; A fed be Cunningham, 54; H. H. O'Farrell, 271 Mendelism and Sex, G. Archdall Reid, at Linnean Society, 236 Méniére (P.), New Method of estimating the Vapour of Mercury in Air, 576 Mercury: the Transit of Mercury, M. Bigourdan, 18; MM. Javelle and Simonin, 116;°M. Charlois, 116; M. Bourget, 116; M. Borrelly, 116; M. Esmiol, 116; Abbé Th. Moreux, 116; Comte de la Baume Pluvinel, 116; M. Gautier, 567; M. Pidoux, 567; Mercury as a Morning Star, 115 Mercury, Satellites of Yellow and Green Lines of, Prof. H. Nagaoka, 581 Meridian Circle Observations of Parallax Stars, 544 Merlin (A. A. C. E.), ‘‘ Ghost Images,’’ 280 Merrill (G. P.), the Canyon Diablo Meteorites, 208 Merrill (J. P.), Catalogue of the Type and Figured Speci- mens of Fossils, Minerals, Rocks, and Ores in the Department of Geology, U.S. Mus., 91 Metabolism, the Influence of Inanition on, Benedict, 610 Metallography, Death of Dr. Obituary Notice of, 465 Metallurgy: Spinel in Blast-furnace Slags, J. Krenner, 41 ; Phenomena of Permanent Deformation of Metals, G. H. Gulliver, 41; the Separation of Tin-oxide from Wolfram, A. Treloar and G. Johnson, 119; the Assay of Telluride Ores, G. T. Holloway and L. E. B. Pearse, 190; the Refining of Copper, D. Saito, 206; the Solubility of Graphite in Iron, Georges Charpy, 215; Gases occluded in Steels, G. Belloc, 215; the Extraction of the Gases contained in Metals, O. Boudouard, 215; Constitution of Cast Irons containing Manganese,*L. Guillet, 288; les Aciers spéciaux, L. Revillon, 317; Alloys of Gold and Tellurium, Dr. T. K. Rose, 406; Method of settling Slimes as applied to their Separation from Solution in ‘Cyanide Treatment, H. G. Nichols, 406; the Evolution of Malle- able Cast Iron, W. H. Hatfield, 543; the Corrosion of Iron and Steel, Dr. Frank Clowes, 560; Iron and Steel, ews le Stansbie, 579; Some Unsolved Problems in Metal- mining, ‘‘ James Forrest ’ ’ Lecture at Institution of Civil Engineers, Prof. Henry Louis, 619 Metals: la Tecnologia delle Soldature autogene dei Metalli, Prof. S. Ragno, 508; the Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals, the Penetrating Radiation from the Earth, Prof. J. C. McLennan, 607 Metchnikoff (Elie), the Prolongation of Life, 289 Meteoric and Artificial Nickel-iron Alloys, Thermomagnetic Analysis of, S. W. J. Smith, 574 Meteorites: the Williamette Meteorite, Dr. H. A. Ward, 12; the Bath Furnace Aérolite, Dr. H. A. Ward, 12; Indian Meteorites, L. L. Fermor, 13; Analyses of Meteoric Irons, Prof. O. C. Farrington, 12; the Canyon Diablo Meteorites, G. P. Merrill and Wirt Tassin, 208 Meteorology : Remarkable Hailstorm in Cairo, 15; a Horti- cultural Hygrometer, 40; Rainfall of the Philippine Archipelago, Rev. M. S. Masé and Rev. Father Algué, 64; Climate of Eritrea, Captain Tancredi, 88; the Week’s Weather, 88, 157, 232, 256, 419, 612; Climate of Abbassia, B. F. E. Keeling, 115; Notes on Maritime Meteorolcgy, Commander M. W. Campbell Hepworth, C.B., 126; Scientific Balloon Ascents of July 22-27, 130; Results obtained by the Ballcon Observations made in the British Isles, July 22-27, 187; the Balloon Ascent of July 25, 1907, M. J. Vincent, 445; Possibilities of a Topography of the Air based on Balloon Observations, Capt. C. H. Ley, 188; Possibility of a Topography of Francis Gano H. €. Sorby, F.R.S., 403; i Index> XXXi -the Air based on Balloon Observations with Special Theodolites, Capt. C. H. Ley, 566; Unmanned Balloon Ascents in 1907 at. Munich, A. Schmauss, 495; the Lagging of Temperature Changes at Great Heights behind those at the Earth’s Surface shown by Records of Sound- ing Balloons liberated at St. Louis in April and May, 1906, H. H. Clayton, 495; Airships Past and Present, together with Chapters on the Use of Balloons in Con- nection with Meteorology, Photography, and the Carrier Pigeon, A. Hildebrandt, 562; the Periodical Variations of Atmospheric Pressure, Dr. E. Herrmann, 157; Globular Lightning, Elihu Thomson, 178; Estimation of Amount of Cloud, Prof. E. Leyst, 179; Royal Meteor- ological Society, 187, 453, 478, 599; Meteorological Observations at the British Kite Siege Session 1906-7, Miss M. White, T. V. Pring, and J. Petavel, 188; a Micromanometer, L. Bairstow, 188; Ae of Approaching Frost, R. Strachan, 188 ; Weather for 1907, 204; Rainfall of the British Isles during the past Year, Dr. H. R. Mill, 279; Summary of Greenwich Air- temperature Observations, 1841-1905, W. Ellis, F.R.S., 206; Relations between Mortality of Infants and High Temperatures. Dr. E. Van Everdingen, 206; Results obtained by the Ziegler Polar Expedition of 1903-5, J. A. Fleming, 207; I brontidi del Bacino Bolsenese, Barisal Guns, Prof. L. Palazzo, 256; Drifted Ice-crystals, Dr. Walter Leaf, 271; Stock Frost or Ground Ice, Rev. John J. Hampson, 295; James Thomson, 366; Prof. H. T. Barnes, 412; Rainfall and Water Supply, Dr. H. R. Mill, at Royal Meteorological Society, 286; Rain- fall of the Ligurian Riviera, Dr. Eredia, 301; Electrical Phenomena of the Atmosphere and their Relations with Solar Activity, Prof. Schuster, 301; Death of A. Lancaster, 324; Atmospheric Electricity and Fog, Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., 343; Auroral Characteristics of Clouds, George C. Simpson, 344; Meteorological Observa- tions in South Australia and the Northern Territory during 1905, Sir Charles Todd, 352; Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Department, being Occasional Discussions and Compilations of Meteorological Data relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, Vol. xviii., Part iii., V., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observa- tions recorded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to August, 1904; VI., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observations recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892, Sir John Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S., 353; Death of Lieut.-General Sir Richard Strachey, G.C.S.I., F.R.S., 273; Obituary Notice of, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 395; the Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere, W. H. Dines, F.R.S., 390, 462, 486; Dr. Charles Chree, BOR eS 25143705 GPE Stromeyer, 485; Death of Prof. Ivan Stozir, 307 3 Meteorology of October and November, 1907, 419; Rothesay Summers and Gireenwich Winters, Alex. B. MacDowall, 438; ‘‘ Black Rain’ in Ireland on October 8-9, 1907, Dr. O. Boeddicker, 445 ; the Formation of “ Snow Rollers ’’ at Ryton on Dunsmore, January 29-30, 1907; C. Browett, 453; Comparison of Ships’ Barometer Readings with those deduced from Land Observations, E. Gold, 453; the Calm Region in the Atmosphere near Calcutta, C. Little, 455: Machines for driving away Hail, J. Violle, 455; Death of Sir John Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S., 467; Obituary Notice of, 490; Moon’s Influence on the Wind Components at Hamburg, Prof. J. Schneider, 469 ; Typhoon at the Caroline Islands, March, 1907, Father Algué, 469; the Dawn_ of Meteorology, Dr. G. Hellmann, 478; a Case of Ball Lightning, Isidore Bay, 479; Comparison of the Rainfall of Sydney and Melbourne, 1876 to 1905, A. Duckworth, 479; the Supposed Cloud-dispersing Power of the Full Moon, J. R. Sutton, 518; Climatology of the Past Year at Juvisy, 542; Variations of Temperature of the Spring of Sainte-Baume (Var), E. A. Martel, 576; Report of Falmouth Observatory, 1907, 589; Stonyhurst College Observatory Results for 1907, 589; Phenological Observa- tions for 1907, E. Mawley, 599; Anticyclonic Belt of the Southern Hemisphere, Colonel H. E. Rawson, 599; an Extremely Sensitive Electric Hygroscope, J. Pionchon, 600 Meteors : a Bright Meteor, Arthur Mee, 18; T. F. Connolly, 115; November Meteors, John R. Henry, 31; the Spectra XXXil Index [ Nature, June 11, 19:8 of two Meteors, M. Blakjo, 234; the Study of Meteor Trains, Prof. Trowbridge, 328; Meteors observed on January 2, P. Muusmann and H. Wanning, 353; April Meteors, John R. Henry, 535; the Meteors of Halley’s Comet, W. F. Denning, 619 Metric and British Systems of Weights, Coinage, the Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 77 Metrology: the Metric and British Systems of Weights, Measures, and Coinage, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 77; Mining Tables, Dr. F. H. Hatch and E. J. Vallentine, 317; the Weights and Measures of International Com- merce, 317; les Récents Progrés du Systéme métrique, Ch. Ed. Guillaume, 611 Meunier (Jean), Action of an Incandescent Electric Con- ductor on the Gases which surround it, 167; Lighting with Incandescent Maniles, 623 Meyer (André), Derivatives of Phenylisoxazolone, 527 Meyer (Fernand), Action of Gold on the Dioxide of Sodium and Barium, 95 Michael (A. D.), New Acari from New Zealand, 142 Michaelson (Prof. W.), die Fauna Siidwest-Australiens, Ergebnisse der Hamburger siidwest-australischen Forsch- ungsreise, 1905, 51 Michelson’s Echelon Grating, an Early Acoustical Analogue of, Prof. P. Zeeman, 247 Micklethwait (Miss F. M. G.), Diphenyl Series, 431 Micrometer Observations of Phoebe, Prof. Barnard, 421 Microscopy: Royal Microscopical Society, 46, 188, 311, 454, 551; Photographic Plates prepared by the Lumiére Starch-grain Process for Colour Photography, Conrad Beck, 188; Two Inexpensive Microscopes, C. L. Curties, 188; the ‘‘ Vitascope,’’ Newton and Co., 233; ‘‘ Ghost Images,’’ A. A. C. E. Merlin, 280; Microscopes of New Design made by Messrs. Leitz, J. W. Ogilvy, 311; the Construction, Theory, and Use of the Microscope, E. J. Spitta, 314; New Flagellate Monad (Copromonas subtilis), C. C. Dobell, 350; Death and Obituary Notice of Prof. W. Stratford, 374; Method of demonstrating the Syncytial Appendages of the Placental Villi, Dr. Duck- worth, 479; Mikroskopisches und __ physiologisches Praktikum der Botanik fiir Lehrer, G. Miller, 481; the World of the Infinitely Small, Prof. Gruner, 543; Lehr- buch der mikroskopischen Technik, Dr. Bernhard Rawitz, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 605 Miers (Prof. H. A., F.R.S.), Order in which Scientific Ideas should be Presented, 283 Mikkelsen (Captain Ejnar), Return of, and the Anglo- American Polar Expedition, 541 Mill (Dr. H. R.), Rainfall of the British Isles during the Past Year, 279; Rainfall and Water-supply, Address at Royal Meteorological Society, 286 Millais (J. G.), Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways, 223 Miller (G. S.), the Family and Genera of Bats, 91 Millochau (G.), the Calorific Solar Radiation, 359 Milne (Prof. John, F.R.S.), British Association Seismology, 198; Recent Earthquakes, Discourse at Royal Institu- tion, 592 Milne (R. M.), a First Statics, 555 Mimicry among South American Butterflies not connected with Birds, F. T. Lewis, 467 Minakata (Kumagusu), Early Chinese Description of the Leaf-insects, 173 Minchin (Prof. E. A.), the Development of Trypanosomes in Tsetse-flies and other Diptera, 494 Minchin (Prof. George M., F.R.S.), the Property of Selenium, 173, 222 Mineralogy: the Coloration of Crystallised Alumina, F. Bordas, 17; Copper in Andesite from Fiji, H. I. Jensen, 23; the Occurrence of Copper and Lithium in Radium- bearing Minerals, Prof. Herbert N. McCoy, 79; Lithium in Radio-active Minerals, Mlle. Gleditsch, 407 ; Catalogue of the Type and Figured Specimens of Fossils, Minerals, Rocks, and Ores in the Department of Geology, U.S. Museum, J. P. Merrill, 91; New Mineral Species, arising from the Athenian Plumbiferous Scoria of Laurium, A. Lacroix and A. de Schulten, 95; Artificial Reproduc- tion of Heavy Spar, Celestine, and Anglesite, Paul Gaubert, 96; Association of Helium and Thorium in Minerals, Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S., 141; Hopeite and other Zinc Phosphates from Broken Hill Mines, L. J. Measures, and Diazo-reaction in the Photoelectric Spencer, 143; Mineralogical Society, 143, 358, 574; Analysis of Meteoric Stone seen to Fall on April 30, 1906, on the New Jersey Shore, Dr. E. Goldsmith, 136; Discovery of Thorianite in Ceylon, Mr. Parsons, 185; ‘* Kimberlite ’’ and the Source of the Diamond in South Africa, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224; the Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in South Africa, A. W. Rogers and A. L. du Toit, 224; the Diamond Pipes and Fissures of South Africa, H. S. Harger, 224; the Occurrence in Kimberlite of Garnet- pyroxene Nodules carrying Diamonds, G. S. Corstor- phine, 224; Kimberlite Dykes and Pipes, F. W. Voit, 224; the Origin of Diamonds, F. W. Voit, 224; the Diamantiferous Rock of Kimberley, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 248; Endeavour to apply Recent Chemical Theories towards elucidating the Origin and Formation of the Diamond from Quartz-bearing Rocks, Mr. Schips, 542; Geological Survey of the Eastern Portion of Griqualand West, A. L. du Toit, 224; Ueber die stdafrikanischen Diamantlagerstatten, A. Macco, 224; Untersuchungen iiber einige siidafrikanische Diamanten- lagerstatten, R. Beck, 224; M. Lemoine’s Case, 254; the Formation of certain Precious Stones of Crystallised Alumina, F. Bordas, 263; Internal Structure of Gold Crystals, Prof. A. Liversidge, 263; Zeolites from the Neighbourhood of Belfast, F. N. A. Fleischmann, 358; Striiverite and its Relation to Ilmenorutile, Dr. G. T. Prior and Dr. F. Zambonini, 358; Crystallised Sodium Fluoride an Element of the Nepheline Syenites of the Los Islands, Villiaumite, A. Lacroix, 359; Possible Presence of Microscopic Diamonds on the Sea Floor and in a Specimen of Vegetable Earth, J. Thoulet, 407; the Weathering of Coal, Prof. S. W. Parr and D. Hamilton, 468; Lehrbuch der Chemie und Mineralogie fiir die vierte Klasse der Realschulen, Franz von Hemmelmayr and Dr. Karl Brunner, 484; Thermo- magnetic Analysis of Meteoric and Artificial Nickel-iron Alloys, S. W. J. Smith, 574; Metamorphic Minerals in Calcareous Rocks in the Bodmin and Camelford Areas, G. Barrow and H. H. Thomas, 574; Supplementary Notes on Kaolinite, A. B. Dick, 575; New Form of Quartz-wedge, J. W. Evans, 575; New Silicate of Copper from the French Congo, A. Lacroix, 575 Minerals: Mineral Production of Canada, 381; Mineral Production of Canada in 1907, 566; Mineral Production of India during 1906, T. H. Holland, F.R.S., 400 Minet (Adolphe), New Electric Arc Furnace applicable to Laboratory Researches, 359 Minimising of Maurice, the, being the Adventures of a Very Small Boy among Very Small Things, Rev. S. N. Sedgwick, 508 Mining: Origin of the Gold in the Rand Banket, Prof. J. W. Gregory, 22; Death of M. Walton Brown, 111; Labour-saving Appliances in Transvaal Mines, E. J. Way, 114; the Deviation of Rand Bore-holes from the Vertical, J. Kitchin, 119; Tin-mining Industry, World’s Production of Tin Last Year, A. Selwyn-Brown, 157; the Concentration of Ores, A. P. Macquisten, 181; the Assay of Telluride Ores, G. T. Holloway and L. E. B. _ Pearse, 190; Product of the World’s Gold Mines for the Year 1906, T. F. Van Wagenen, 280; Gold-mining for the Year 1904-5 in Mysore, 301; Goldfields of Western Australia, C. G. Gibson, 400; the Great Fitzroy Copper and Gold Mine, Queensland, B. Dunstan, 468; Progress of the Kolar Gold Mines, 495; Electrical Equipment of Gold Mines, H. J. S. Heather, 575; Eruptive Diamond- bearing Breccias of the Boshof District, J. P. Johnson, 287; Awriferous Banded Ironstones and Associated Schists of South Africa, Owen Letcher, 287; the Vaal River Diamond Diggings, Mungo Park, 287; Mining Tables, Dr. F. H. Hatch and E. J. Vallentine, 317; Mining in Nevada, 351; the Waste of Life in American Coal- mining, Clarence Hall and W. O. Snelling, 419; the Shaft Sinking at the Horden Colliery, South-east Durham, J. J. Prest, 420; Practical Coal Mining, 457; the High-level Platforms of Bodmin Moor and _ their Relation to the Deposits of Stream-tin and Wolfram, G. Barrow, 502; some Unsolved Problems in Metal-mining, “James Forrest’? Lecture at Institution of Civil Engineers, Prof. Henry Louis, 619 Miocene Wasp, a, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 80 Nature, June.11, 1908 Index "Xxxili Mira, the Maximum of, 1906, Naozo Ichinohe, 158 Mira Ceti, the Recent Maximum of, Félix de Roy, 544 Mirage, Theory of the, Prof. Antonio Garbasso, 356; Luigi Rolla, 356 ““ Mirror, Magic,’’ Effects, Douglas Carnegie, 55 Mirrors, Temperature Control of Silvered, Dr. Heber D. Curtis, 137 Missouri, Columbia, and Vicinity, Flora of, F. P. Daniels, 29 Mitton (G. E.), the Children’s Book of Stars, 605 Moffatt (C. W. P.), Science German Course, 53 Molisch (Prof. Hans), die Purpurbakterien, 53 Moll (Dr. J. W.), Handboek der botanische Micrographie, 481 Molluscs: the Dorsal Sense-organs of Chitons, Dr. M. Nowikoff, 135 Monnier (Alfred), Traité de Chemie analytique qualitative, suivi de Tables systématiques pour 1’Analyse minérale, 437 Monteverde (N. A.), the Absorption Spectrum of Proto- chlorophyll, 279 Moodie (A. M.), Derivatives of Tetramethyl Glucose, 239 Moog (Aug.), Influence of High Altitude on the Loss of Water by the Organism, 95 : Moon: Occultation of Neptune by the Moon, Dr. Downing, 42; Investigation of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets, Prof. S. Newcomb and Frank E. Ross, 43; the Moon in Modern Astronomy, Ph. Fauth, W. E. Rolston, 195; Determina- tion of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium Photometer, J. Stebbins and F. C. Brown, 258, 302 ; Observatory Map of the Moon, Mr. Porthouse, 544 Moore (Prof.), the Equilibrium between the Cell and its Environment in Regard to Soluble Constituents, 399 Morbology: Connection between Crocodiles and Sleeping Sickness, Prof. Koch, 16; the Cure and Prevention of Sleeping Sickness, 36; Proceedings of the First Inter- national Conference on the Sleeping Sickness held at London, June, 1907, 440; New Method of Reaction of the Skin to Tuberculosis and its Utilisation in Diagnosis, J. Ligniéres, 23; Influence of Feeding on the Course of Experimental Tuberculosis, MM. Lannelongue, Achard,. and Gaillard, 95; Malaria and Tuberculosis introduced into America by the White Man, Dr. Robert Hessler, 231; Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, ii., a First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 394; Characters of Tuberculous Infection in their Relations with the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis, S. Arloing and L. Thévenot, 503; Sana- toria for Consumption, Dr. R. Fielding-Ould, 546; Rela- tions between Lecithin and Tubercle-Bacilli and Tuber- culin, A. Calmette, L. Massol, and M. Breton, 552; the Prevention of Malaria, Prof. Ronald Ross, 39; Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome, W. H. S. Jones, 457; Therapeutics of Trypanosomes, A. Laveran and A. Thiroux, 47; Experi- mental Treatment of Trypanosomiasis in Rats, H. G. Plimmer and J. D. Thomson, 238; the Development of Trypanosomes in Tsetse-flies and other Diptera, Prof. E. A. Minchin, 494; Concerning Trypanosoma congo- lense, A. Laveran, 623; Plague and Fleas, 59; the Inter- dependence of the Rat and Plague, Dr. Ashburton Thompson, 113; Rats and Plague in India, Dr. W. C. Hossack, 205; Present Methods of combating Plague, Dr. Haffkine, 133; Protection of India from Plague, Dr. Ashburton Thompson, 133; Reports on Plague Investigations in India issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society and the Lister Institute, 585; Report on Plague in Queensland (February, 1900, to June 30, 1907), B. Burnett Ham, 585; the Etiology and Epidemiology of Plague, Major G. Lamb, 585; Bubonic Plague at San Francisco, 254; Experiments on Typhoid Fever Bacillus, Dr. Ravold, 69; Ship Beri-beri and Scurvy, Prof. Holst and Dr. Frolich, 113; an Essay upon Disease, its Cause and Prevention, Dr. G. E. Richmond, 365; the Diseases of Animals, Nelson S. Mayo, 436; the Disease of Dogs due to the Protozoan Parasite Piroplasma canis, Captain Christophers, 444 Moreux (Abbé Th.), the Recent Transit of Mercury, 116 Morgan (G. T.), Diazo-reaction in the Diphenyl! Series, 431 Morphology : Vergleichende Morphologie der Pflanzen, Dr. Jos. Velenovsky, 76 Morris (Sir D., K.C.M.G.), Disease-resisting Sugar-canes, 43 Morrow (Dr. J.), Lateral Vibration of Bars supported at Two Points with One End Overhanging, 119 Mosaic Origin of the Atomic Theory, Dr. John Knott, 486 Mosquitoes : the Prevention of Malaria, Prof. Ronald Ross, 39; Chrysanthemum Powder as a Means of destroying Mosquitoes in Houses, Dr. A. L. Herrera, 278 Moss (H.), Contact Potential Differences determined by Means of Null Solutions, 477 Moss (Richard J.), the Photoelectric Property of Selenium, 198 Moths of the British Isles, the, Richard South, 483 Mott (Dr. F. W.), Localisation of Function in the Lemur’s Brain, 501 Mottier (Prof. D. M.), Some Scientific Centres, xii., the Botanical Institute of the University of Bonn, Prof. E. Strasburger, 321 Mountaineering: Ascent of Trisul, Himalayas, 134; the Climber's Pocket Book, Rock-climbing Accidents, with Hints on First Aid to the Injured, some Uses of the Rope, Methods of Rescue and Transport, Lionel F. West, 196 Moureu (Charles), Isosparteine, 216; Researches on the Rare Gases of Thermal Springs, 432 Moussu (M.), Physiological Properties of Tubercle Bacilli which have been Submitted to the Action of Chlorine, 216 Mudge (Geo. P.), the Interpretation of Mendelian Pheno- mena, 8 Muirhead (R. F.), Simple Method of calculating First and Second Moments of Certain Elementary Figures, 88 Mulattos, Sir W. TL. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., 126; H. G. Wells, 149 ‘ Miller (Bruno), the Air-sacs of Pigeons, 444 Miiller (Dr. C.), Light-emitting Plants, 542 Miller (G.), Mikroskopisches und physiologisches Prak- tikum der Botanik fiir Lehrer, 481 Miller (Sophus), l'Europe préhistorique, 578 Mundella (V. A.), Educational Leakage, 617 Muntz (A.), Utilisation of Turf for the Purification of Sewage, 287 Muscle, Nerve as a Master of, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 569 Museums: Death of John Maclauchian, 63; Best Means of preserving Marine Invertebrates for Museum Purposes, Dr. H..C. Sorby, 375 Music and Melody, Prof. W. C. Sabine, 378 Musical Sands, Cecil Carus-Wilson, 222, 271; Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., 248; Sidney Skinner, 248 Mutation, Specific Stability and, Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.€.M.G., F.R.S., 77, 127; R. H. Lock,. 127 Muusmann (P.), Meteors observed on January 2, 353 Myres (Prof. John i.), an Early Notice of Neolithic Implements, 535 Nagaoka (Prof. H.), Satellites of Yellow and Green Lines of Mercury, 551 Nagaraja (Mr.), Weakened Lines in Sun-spot Spectra, 158 Namaland und Kalahari, aus; Prof. Leonhard Schultze, Sir H. H. Johnston, G.C.M.G., 385 ; Nansouty (Max de), Actualités scientifiques, 437 Natanson (L.), the Electromagnetic Theory of. Dispersion in Gases, 352 National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, 33 National Decay, Malaria and, 457 National Physical Laboratory during 1907, 521 Natural History: National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, 333 the Story of Scraggles (a Sparrow), George W. James, 77; the Egg of the Platypus, the Reviewer, 80; Linnean Society, 142, 190, 334, 406, 476, 527, 598; some Nature Biographies, Piant, Insect, Marine, Mineral, J. J.. Ward, 147; the Fairyland of Living Things, R. Kearton, 147; on the Incidence of Daylight as a De- termining Factor in Bird-migration, Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.RiS., 159; Science of Nature-history, Nasarvanji Jivanji Readymoney, 172; New South Wales Linnean Society, 192, 264; Newfoundland and its Untrodden XXXIV Index Nature, June 11, 1508 Ways, J. G. Millais, 223; Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, Lieut.-Colonel D, D. Cunningham, 223; Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297; Death of Morris K. Jesup, 298; Obituary Notice of Edward Bartlett, 325; Whose Home is in the Wilderness, some Studies of Wild Animal Life, W. J. Long, 393; Final Natural History Essays, Graham Renshaw, 393; Home-life of some Marsh-birds, Emma L. Turner and P. H. Bahr, 393; the Raisonnement col- lectif of Bees, Gaston Bonnier, 399; Nature and Develop+ ment of Plants, C. C. Curtis, 436; Mimicry among South American Butterflies not connected with Birds, F. T. Lewis, 467; a Possible Case of Mimicry in the Common Sole, Dr. A. T. Masterman, 477; the Sea- shore, shown to the Children, Janet Harvey Kelman, Frank Balfour Browne, 533; the Dancing Mouse, a Study in Animal Behaviour, Robert M. Yerkes, 533; Animal Faculty of Orientation, Benjamin Kidd, 564; the Greater Horseshoe Bat in Captivity, T. A. Coward, 599; Development of the Rodent Mammals, 613; Natural History ‘‘ Guide-books,’’ the Elephant Group, Dr. C. W. Andrews, 613 Nature and Nurture of the Child, 410 Nature’s Hygiene and Sanitary Chemistry, C. T. Kingzett, 196 Naval Architecture, a Contribution to the Study of Iron- clads, Lord Rosse, 356; Researches on the Performance of the Screw Propeller, Prof. W. F. Durand, 416; the Substitution of Cement for Steel in the Armour of Battle- ships, Lorenzo d’Adda, 543; Trial of H.M.S. Tartar, 614 Navigation: Visibility of Night Signals at Sea, André Broca and M. Polack, 95; Apparatus for extinguishing the Rolling of Ships, Dr. Victor Cremieu, 114; the Electric Propulsion of Ships, H. A. Mavor, 543 Navigation of the Air, 562 Nebula, Parallax of the Andromeda, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 446 Nebulze and Nebulosities observed by Prof. Barnard, 497 Nebulze, Surveys of, P. Gotz, 90 Nelson (T. H.), the Birds of Yorkshire, 511 Neogenesis, Italian Birds and, 25 Neolithic Dew-ponds and Cattle-ways, Dr. Arthur John Hubbard and George Hubbard, W. E. Rolston, 245 Neolithic Implements, an Early Notice of, Prof. John L. Myres, 535 Neptune, Occultation of, by the Moon, Dr. Downing, 42 Neptune, the Appearance of, in Small Telescopes, Mr. Holmes, 258; Mr. Maw, 258 Nernst (Dr. Walther), Experimental and Theoretical Appli- cations of Thermodynamics to Chemistry, 52 Nerve as a Master of Muscle, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 569 Nerz (F.), Searchlights, their Theory, Construction, and Application, 460 Nest Eggs of Platypus, Prof. Gregg Wilson, 149 Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania, A. J. North, 76 Nevmann (B.), Traité complet d’Analyse chimique appliquée aux Essais industriels, 531 Neurology: the Nervous System of Vertebrates, Prof. J. B. Johnston, Dr. W. Page May, 73; Nerve as a Master of Muscle, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 569 “New Jerusalem,’’ a Lunar, Rev. G. B. Berry, 163 New South Wales Linnean Society, 192, 264 New South Wales Royal Society, 23, 263, 479 New Zealand: Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297; Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island, L. Cockayne, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297 Newall (H. F.), Spectroscopic Observations of Cyanogen in the Solar Atmosphere and in Interplanetary Space, 94 Newcomb (Prof. S.), Investigation of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets, 43 Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways, J. G. Millais, 223 Newsholme (Dr. Arthur), Alcohol and the Human Body, 387 Newstead (R.), the Habits, Life-histery, and Breeding- places of the House-fly, 135 Newton’s “* Principia,’? an Annotated Copy of, Bruce Smith, 510; W. R. B. Prideaux, 534 Newton’s Rings in Polarised Light, P. V. Bevan, 9 Nicholls (George E.), Reissner’s Fibre in the Frog, 344 Nichols (H. G.), Method of Settling Slimes as Applied to their Separation from Solution in Cyanide, 406 Nicholson (Dr. J. W.), Inductance in Parallel Wires, 295 Nicloux (Maurice), Ethyl Chloride in the Blood during Anzesthesia, 240 Nietzsche in Outline and Aphorism, A. R. Orage, 173 Nietzsche (Friedrich), Beyond Good and Evil, Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, 460 Nile, the Fishes of the, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10 Nile, a Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the, Dr. John Ball, 433 Nitre Beds, Modern, 513 Nitrous Oxide, the *‘ Histoire Intime ”’ of, 434 Nobbs (Dr.), Work to be done at the Experiment Stations at Knysna and Robertson, Cape Colony, 64 Noble (Margaret E.), Cradle Tales of Hinduism, 605 Nordmann (Dr. C.), the Dispersion of Light in Interstellar Space, 497; Variable Star Observations, 520 Norman (G. M.), Systematic Practical Organic Chemistry, 74 North (A. J.), Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania, 76 North Sea Fisheries Investigations, the, Browne, 523 Nova Persei, 1901, Prof. Barnard, 182 Nova Persei, No. 2, the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of, Prof. Hartmann, 377 Nova Velorum, Red Stars near, Mrs. Fleming, 42 November Meteors, John R. Henry, 31 Nowikoff (Dr. M.), the Dorsal Sense-organs of Chitons, 13 Noyes (Arthur A.), the Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous Solutions, 213 Noyes (W. A.), Re-determination of the Atomic Weight of Chlorine, 543 Nunn (Dr. Percy T.), the Place of Nature-study in the School Curriculum, 282 Nyassa, the Oligochztous Fauna of Lake Birket et Qurun and Lake, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 608 Frank Balfour O’Farrell (H. H.), the Mendelian Phenomena, 271 O’Neill (J. J.), Inter-relation of the Theory and Practice of Shipbuilding, 327 Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy, the, E. Schaer, 4o1 Observatories: the Hamburg Observatory, Prof. Schorr, 544; Observatory Map of the Moon, Mr. Porthouse, 544; the Harvard College Observatory, Prof. Pickering, 567; Determination of the Errors of the Paris Observatory Réseaux, Jules Baillaud, 617 Occultations of Uranus in 1908, Dr. Downing, 353 Oceanic Languages, the, their Grammatical Structure, Vocabulary, and Origin, Dr. D. Macdonald, 460 Oddone (Dr. E.), Possibility of a Causal Connection Interpretation of between the two Earthquakes on August 16, 1906, in the Northern Pacific and in Chile, 468 Ogilvy (J. W.), Microscopes of New Design made by Messrs. Leitz, 311 Oka (Dr. Asajiro), L. Medusa, 398 Oldham (C.), Birds of the Ravenglass Gullery, 1906, 623 Oldham (F. M.), the Complete School Chemistry, 74 Oldham (R. D.), the Winding of Rivers in Plains, 55; Seismographs and Seismograms, 246 Olie (J.), the so-called Amorphous Antimeny and Bismuth, kawaii, new Chinese Fresh-water 352 Oligochztous Fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun and Lake Nyassa, the, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 608 Olivier (C. P.), Measures of Double Stars, 281 Olmsted (Charles M.), Sun-spot Spectra, 421 Onnes (Prof. H. Kamerlingh), Variation of the Electrical Resistance of Pure Metals Down to Very Low Tem- peratures, 233; Helium Solidified, 442; Absorption Spectra of Crystals of the Rare Earths in a Magnetic Field at the Temperatures of the Liquefaction and Solidi- fication of Hydrogen, 527; the Condensation of Helium, 559, 581 EE Nature, June 11, 1908 Index XXXV Oort (Dr. E. D. van), New Cassowary from New Guinea, 564 Optics: Newton’s Rings in Polarised Light, P. V. Bevan, 9; an Optical Illusion, Dr. L. U. H. C. Werndly, 31; *‘ Magic Mirror” Effects, Douglas Carnegie, 55; the Permanency of some Photovisual Lenses, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, 94; Correction of the Astigmatism of Doubly Refracting Prisms, C. Tissot and Félix Pellin, 95; Reflection of Polarised Light, C. T. Whitmell, 103; zur vergleichenden Physiologie des Gesichts-sinnes, Prof. E. Raehlmann, 193; Phosphorescence at Low Temperatures, Joseph de Kowalski, 215; the Production of Chlorophyll in the Higher Plants at Different Luminous Intensities, W. Lubimenko, 216; Influence of Temperature on the Optical Properties of Dissolved Bodies, C. Chéneveau, 216 ; an Exceptional Case of Zeeman’s Phenomenon, A. Dufour, 311; Specimens of Luminous Bacteria, J. E. Barnard, 311; Theory of the Mirage, Prof. Antonio Garbasso, 356; Luigi Rolla, 356; Searchlights: their Theory, Construc- tion, and Application, F. Nerz, 460; Perception of Relief and of Depth in the Simple Image of Ordinary Photo- graphs, A. Chauveau, 576; Apparatus for demonstrating the Action of Light on Selenium, J. W. Giltay, 589; die binokularen Instrumente, Moritz von Rohr, Supp. to March 5, iv Orage (A. K.), Nietzsche in Outline and Aphorism, 173 Orbit of y Virginis, the, Dr. Doberck, 446; Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries, Dr. Curtis, 138 Organic Chemistry for Advanced Students, Cohen, 363 Orientation of the Avebury Circles, Rev. Ed. H. Goddard, 320 Ornithology : Avifauna Italica, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 25 ; Irish Nesting-colony of Red-necked Phalaropes, H. S. Gladstone, 63; Nests and Eggs of Birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania, A. J. North, 76; Wanton Slaughter of Egrets, A. H. Mattingley, 87; the Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 91; Bird-life of the Borders, on Moorland and Sea, with Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years, Abel Chapman, 122; the Birds of Kent, William J. Davis, 122; Notes on the Birds of Rutland, C. Reginald Haines, 122; Muscles of the Head in Birds and Reptiles, Prof. H. F. Edgeworth, 155; Structure of the Roof of the Mouth in Birds and Mammals, Dr. W. Sippel, 155; Luminous Owl, Sir T. Digby Pigott, 155; the Luminous Owl seen in Norfolk, Sir T. Digby Pigott, 205; Luminous Barn-owls, Miss L. L. Veley, 299; Luminous Owls, 375; Rate of Growth of Ostrich Feathers, Prof. Duerden, 180; the Carnivorous Habits of the Kea, Prof. W. B. Benham, 205; G. R Marriner, 205; Album de Aves Amazonicas, Dr. E. A. Goeldi, 220; the Californian Condor, W. L. Finley, 255; the “‘ Waltzing Instinct’? in Ostriches, Dr. J. E. Duerden, 278; Home-life of some Marsh-birds, Emma L. Turner and P. H. Bahr, 393; Growth and Develop- ment of the Limbs of the Penguin, Dr. D. Waterston and. A. C. Geddes, 407 ; the Inheritance of Colour in Domestic Pigeons, with Special Reference to Reversion, R. Staples- Browne, 430; the Air-sacs of Pigeons, Bruno Miiller, 444; the Geographical Variation in Birds, Effects of Climatic Humidity, C. W. Beebe, 444; Bird-bones from Broch of Ayre, Orkney, N. F. Ticehurst, 467; ‘‘ the Policemen of the Air,’’ H. W. Henshaw, 493; a British Willow- titmouse, H. B. Booth, 493: the Birds of Yorkshire, T. H. Nelson, W. Eagle Clark, and F. Boyes, 511; Notes on the Birds of Kent, R. J. Balston, Rev. C. W. Shepherd, and E. Bartlett, 511; the Food of American Birds, W. L. McAtee, 564; New Cassowary from New Guinea, Dr. E. D. van Oort, 564; Spread of the Little Owl in England, Messrs. Witherby and Ticehurst, 564; the Seasonal Colour-change in Birds, C. W. Beebe, 564; Birds of the Ravenglass Gullery, 1906, C. Oldham, 623 Osborn (H. F.), Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type, 435 Osgood (Dr. W. F.), a First Course in the Differential and Integral Calculus, 577 Osteology: Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, C.I.E., 533; Musée ostéologique ; Etude’ de Ja Fauna quaternaire, Ostéometrie des Mammiféres, E. Hue, 604 Brof) Ji. B: Ostrich Feathers, Rate of Growth of, Prof. Duerden, 180 Ottley (Sir John W., K.C.I.E.), Stresses in Masonry Dams, at Institution of Civil Engineers, 303 Pace (Miss L.), Fertilisation in the Genus Cypripedium, 300 Pacific Ocean, the Bed of the Western, 21 Palzeobotany : the Cretaceous Flora of Southern New York and New England, Arthur Hollick, 121; (1) the Cone of Bothrodendron mundum (Will.), (2) on the Ulodendroid Scar, D. M. S. Watson, 191; Fossil Osmundacezw, D. T. Gwynne-Vaughan and R._ KidSton, F.R.S., 311; Lepidophloios Scotti, W. YT. Gordon, 431; the Structure of Sigillaria scutellata, E. A. Newell Arber and Hugh H. Thomas, 549 Palzolithics: Small Flint Implements from Bungay, W. A. Dutt, 102; Recent Discoveries of Palaeolithic Implements, Sir John Evans, 214; Eolith Stone Implements, Worthington Smith, 615 Paleontology: les Formations sédimentaires du Crétacé Supérieur et du Tertiaire de Patagonie, avec un Paralléle entre leur Faunes mammalogiques et celles de 1l’ancien Continent, Florentino Ameghino, 68; a Miocene Wasp, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 80; Tetraprothomo argentinus from the later Tertiary Deposits of Monte Hermosa, Dr. F. Ameghino, 113; Lower Palawozoic Fossils of the Northern Shan States, Burma, F. R. Cowper Reed, 116; Fauna of the Tropites Limestone of Byans, South-west Himalayas, Dr. Carl Diener, 116; the Primary Hexameral Character of Rugose Corals, Streptelasma rectum, T. C. Brown, 117; Genera of Crinoidea flexibilia, Frank Springer, 117; Examples found in the Neocomian, Dr. A. Till, 184; Revision of the Pelycosauria of North America, E. C. Case, 186; the Systematic Position of the Chalicotherioids, O. A. Peterson, 399; Metriorhynchus brachyrhynchus, Deslong., from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough, E. T. Leeds, 502; Lamellibranch Fauna in the Millstone Grit of Scotland and the Silurian Rocks of Girvan, Dr. Wheelton Hind, 551; Einfiihrung in die Palaontologie, Gustay Steinmann, 558; Musée ostéolo- gique; Etude de la Faune quaternaire, Ostéometrie des Mammiféres, E. Hue, 604 Palazzo (Prof. L.), I brontidi del Bacino Bolsenese, Barisal Guns, 256 Palmer (Frederic, jun.), Ionisation of Air by Ultra-violet Light, 582 Palmer (G. W.), Arithmetic, chiefly Examples, 27 Paper-making, Chapters on, Clayton Beadle, 121 Parallax of the Andromeda Nebula, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 446 Parallax Observations, Dr. Karl Bohlin, 567 Parasitology : das Schmarotzertum im Tierreich und seine Bedeutung fiir die Artbildung, Prof. Ludwig von Graff, 56 5 Paris Academy of Sciences, 23, 47, 95, 119, 167, 215, 239, 263, 287, 311, 335, 359, 383, 407) 431; 455, 479) 593, 527, 551, 475, 600, 623; Prizes awarded by the, 138; Prizes proposed by the, for 1909, 183 Paris Observatory Réseaux, Determination of the Errors of the, Jules Baillaud, 617 : Park (Mungo), the Vaal River Diamond Diggings, 287 Parker, (Mr.), Potomac River Basin, 68 é F Parkhurst (J. A.), Absolute Scale of Photographic Magni- tudes, 208 ‘ Parkinson (J.), Petrology and Physiography of Western Liberia, 527 , Parr (Prof. S. W.), the Weathering of Coal, 468 Parsons (Mr.), Discovery of Thorianite in Ceylon, 185 Parsons (Hon. C. A., C.B., F.R.S.), the Conversion of ~ Diamond into Coke in High Vacuum by Kathode Rays, 549 ~* . . . . . Partridge (William), the Bacteriological Examination of Disinfectants, 246 ; : j Pascal (P.), Complex Salts of Iron in which the Iron is masked, 359; Reducing Power of Ferropyrophosphates, 623 ; Pascoe (E. H.), Glaciers in Lahaul, 201 Patagonie, les Formations sédimentaires du Crétacé Supérieur et du Tertiaire de, avec un Paralléle entre leur Faunes mammalogiques et celles de l’ancien Continent, Florentino Ameghino, 68 XXXVI Index [ Nature, June 11, 1908 Paternd (Prof. E.), the Origin of Stereochemistry, 328 Pathology : Inflammation, an Introduction to the Study of Pathology, Prof. J. George Adami, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 126; Tendencies in Pathology, Dr. Simon Flexner, 379 Patrick (David), Gods and Godlings, 462 / age Elements and Ephemeris for the Mincr Planet, Heinrich, 67 Pics (J. W. \, Colour Photographs of Rock Sections, 200 Pawlowsky (E.), Structure of the Epidermis and Epidermal Glands of Poisonous Fishes, 613 Peach (B. N.), the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, 272 Pearl in ‘‘ Window-pane Oyster,’’ Ceylon, Dr. A. Willey, 326 Pearl Fishing, Radiography in, John J. Solomon, 331 Pearse (L. E. B.), the Assay of Telluride Ores, 190 Pearson (Prof. H. H. W.), the Botany of Walfish Bay, 40 Pearson (Prof. Karl, F.R.S.), an Experimental Study of Stresses in Masonry Dams, 209; the Stresses in Masonry Dams, 269, 366; Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, ij., a First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tubercu- losis, 394; Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns, 559 Peat Utilisation, 114 Peculiarities in the Structure of some Heavenly Bodies, _ Prof. Suess, 490 Pellat (H.), Cours d’Electricité, 458 Pellin (Félix), Correction of the Astigmatism of “Doubly ee Prisms, 95 Pelly (R. G.), New Isomeride of Vanillin in the Root of Chlorocodon, 502; Volatile Oils of the Leaves of Ocimum viride, 502 Pelycosauria of North America, Revision of the, E. C. Case, 186 Pendulations-theorie, die, Dr. Heinrich Simroth, 508 Penrose’s Pictoriat Annual, 1907-8, 292 Perkin (Dr. F. Mollwo), Reduction of Metallic Oxides with Calcium Hydride and Calcium, 47; the Metric and British Systems of Weights, Measures, and Coinage, 77; the Discovery of the “Alkali Metals by Davy, 214; Action of Metallic Calcium on Alcohols, 239 Perkin (W. H.), Synthesis of Brazilinic Acid, 166 ; Synthesis of Anhydrobrazilic Acid, 431 Perman (Prof. E. P.), Decomposition of Ozone by Heat, 574 Perrier (G.), Formation of Mixtures of Isomers of Constant Melting Point in the Friedel and Crafts Reaction, 576 Perry (Prof. John, F.R.S.), Practical Mathematics, 6; the Speed of Racing Animals, 389; the Use of Gyrostats, Discourse at Physical Society, 447 Persei, Nova, 1901, Prof. Barnard, 182 Persei, Nova, No. 2, the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of, Prof. Hartmann, 377 geapective Reemne. the Theory Polak; 4 Petavel (F 'E. ), Meteorological Observations at the British Kite Station, Session 1906-7, 188 Petch (T.), Stem Disease caused by Massaria.theicola, 326 Peterson (O. A.), the Systematic Position of the Chalico- therioids, 399 Petrie (Dr. J. M.), Solandrine, New Midriatic Allxaloid, 192 Petrography: Death of Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., 443; Obituary Notice of, 465; National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, Petrography, Dr. Prior, 561 Petronievics (B.), die typischen Geometrien und das Unend- liche, 28 Petrunkevitch (Dr. Spiders, 350 Pettigrew (Prof. J. B., F.R.S.), Notice of, 348 Pfeiffer (Miss. W. F.), Early Stages of Development of the Sporangia and’ the Sporocarps of Azolla, 517 Pharmacy: Pharmakognostisches Praktikum, Dr. Koch and Dr. Ernst Gilg, 508 Philip (Alex.), a Simplified Calendar, 479 Philip and Son (Messrs.), the ‘ Day by Day ”’ Philippine Woods, Commercial, Phillips (Charles E. S.), Radium, 535 Phillips (H. A.), the Metallic Picrates, 383 Phillips (Rev. T. E. R.), Saturn’s Rings, 234 and Practice of, S. Alexander), the Sense of Sight in Death of, 324; Obituary Ludwig Tellurian, 157 F. W. Foxworthy, 399 Coloration of Glass and Quartz by Philosophy : Eléments de Philosophie biologique, Félix le Dantec, 51; the Case of Existence, Norman Alliston, 53; Cambridge Philosophical Society, 167, 190, 454, 478, 503; Nietzsche in Outline and Aphorism, A. R. Orage, 173; Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 290; Beyond Good and Evil, Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, Friedrich Nietzsche, 460; the Will to Doubt, an Essay in Philosophy for the General Thinker, Alfred H. Lloyd, 534 Phoebe, Micrometer Observations of, Prof. Barnard, 421 Phonetics: the Mechanism of Speech, Alexander Graham Bell, Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 483 Photoelectric Property of Selenium, the, Prof. George M. Minchin, F.R.S., 173, 222; Richard J. Moss, 198; Dr. Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S., 198 Photograms of the Year 1907, 293 Photography: the Improvement of Celestial Photographic Images, Prof. Lowell, 42; Photographs of Jupiter, M. Quénisset, go ; Photographs of Jupiter’s Satellites VI. and VII., 137; the British Journal Photographic Almanac and Photographer’s Daily Companion for 1908, 172; Photo- graphs of Mars, Prof. Lowell, 182; Photographic Plates prepared by the Lumiére Starch-grain Process for Colour Photography, Conrad Beck, 188; Colour Photographs of Rock Sections, J. W. Patterson, 206; Absolute Scale of Photographic Magnitudes, J. A. Parkhurst and F. C. Jordan, 208; Photographic Observations of Encke’s Comet (1908a), Prof. Wolf, 302; the Distortion of Photo- graphic Films in Stellar Work, Dr. Frank Schlesinger, 328; Planetary Photography, Prof. Percival Lowell, 402 ; a New Method of Stereoscopic Photography, Prof. G. Lippmann, 452; les Progrés de la Photographie astronomique, Prof. P. Stroobant, 508; Photography of the Vibrations of the Voice, M. Marage, 527; Method of Photographing the Vibrations of a Thin India-rubber Membrane acted on by the Human Voice, Dr. M. Marage, 589; Astronomical Photography with Portrait Lenses, Prof. Barnard, 567 Photometer, Determination of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium, J. Stebbis and F. C. Brown, 258, 302 Photosphere, a Detailed Study of the, Mr. Chevalier, 378 Physical Geography: Land Erosion by Storm Water in Cape Colony, 351; Physiographical Experiments on the Aggrading and Degrading Stream, 351 Physics: Scientific Worthies, Sir William Crookes, F.R.S., Prof. P. Zeeman, 1; la Théorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens contemporains, Abel Rey, 6; Technische Anwendungen der physikalischen Chemie, Dr. Kurt Arndt, 52; the Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum, Frederick Soddy, 53, 197; Prof. O. W. Richardson, 197; Physical Society, 71, 118, 188, 382, 453, 477, 503; 5753 Freehand Graphic Way of determining Stream Surfaces and Equipotentials, L. F. Richardson, 118; Lateral Vibration of Bars supported at Two Points with One End Overhanging, Dr. J. Morrow, 119; Death and Obituary Notice of Prof. Alfonso Sella, 133 ; Exhibition of Physical Apparatus, 159; Condensation of Water Vapour in the Presence of Radium Emanation, Mme. Curie, 167; Obituary Notice of Lord Kelvin, Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S., 175; Lord Kelvin's Funeral in West- minster Abbey, 177; Lord Kelvin, an Appreciation, 199 ; Lord Kelvin and the University of Glasgow, 200; a Micromanometer, L. Bairstow, 188; Singing Sand from New England, S. Skinner, 188; Musical Sands, Cecil Carus-Wilson, 222, 271; Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., 248; Sidney Skinner, 248; Manganese Chloride as Fixed Point in Thermometry, T. W. Richards and Franz Wrede, 207; the Cryoscopic Behaviour of Sulphuric Acid, A. Hantsch, 207; the Audiffren Refrigerator, MM. Audiffren and Singrun, 215; the Polarity of Matter, Alex. Clark, 219; das Problem der Schwingungserzeugung, Dr. H. Barkhausen, 220; Recent Determinations of the Volume of the Kilogram of Water, René Benoit, 239; an Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating, Prof. P. "Zeeman, 247; Van Nostrand’s Chemical Annual, 1907, 267; die Physik Roger Bacos, Sebastian Vogl, 268; the Dimensions of Space, 280; Electrical Phenomena of the Atmosphere and their Relations with Solar Activity, Prof. Schuster, 301; Lecons sur la Viscosité des Liquides et des Gaz, Marcel Brillouin, 341; Poseidonius on the Originator of the Theory of Atoms, Dr. T. J. J. See, { Na‘ure, June 11, 1908 Lnaex XXXVII 345; an Alleged Originator of the Theory of Atoms, Dr. . L. E. Dreyer, 368; Mosaic Origin of the Atomic Theory, Dr. John Knott, 486; on the Physical Aspect of the Atomic Theory, Wilde Lecture of Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, Prof. J. Larmer, Sec.R.S., 450; the Electromagnetic Theory of Dispersion in Gases, L. Natanson, 352; New Type of Dynamical Stability, A. Stephenson, 359; Formation of Gas Bubbles in the Glass of Vacuum Tubes, A. A. Campbell Swinton, 374; Reealescence Curves, W. Rosenhain, 382; die Zustands- gleichung der Gase und Fliissigkeiten und die Con- tinuitatstheorie, Prof. J. P. Kuenen, 387; the Lines of Flow of Water in Saturated Soils, especially Peat- mosses, L. F. Richardson, 407; a Fundamental Con- tradiction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum Series, Dr. G. A. Schott, 413; Report of the Committee on the National Physical Laboratory, 417; National Physical Laboratory during 1907, 521; Further Consideration of the Stability of the Pear-shaped Figure of a Rotating Mass of Liquid, Sir G. H. Darwin, K.C.B., F.R.S., 430; Influence of Sun- light on the Disengagement and on the Orientation of the Gaseous Molecules in Solution in Sea-water, Raphael Dubois, 431; the Use of Gyrostats, Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., at Physical Society, 447; les Découvertes modernes en Physique, O. Manville, 458; the Viscosity of Water at Very Low Rates of Shear, L. E. Gurney, 470; Experimental Examination of Gibbs’s Theory of Surface Concentration regarded as the Basis of Absorp- tion and its Application to the Theory of Dyeing, W. C. M. Lewis, 477; the New Matriculation Heat, 482 ; the New Matriculation Light, 482; the New Matricula- tion Sound, 482; a First Year’s Course in Geometry and Physics, Ernest Young, 482; a Second Year’s Course in Practical Physics, James Sinclair, 482; a Third Year’s Course in Practical Physics, James Sinclair, 482; Deter- mination of Viscosity at High Temperatures, Dr. C. E. Fawsitt, 502; Certain Dynamical Analogues of Tempera- ture Equilibrium, Prof. G. H. Bryan, 503; Velocity of Evaporation and a Method of determining the Hygro- metric State, P. Vaillant, 503; the Corpuscular Theory of Matter, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 505; Diffusion and Osmosis, Prof. Stéphane Leduc, 519; an Annotated Copy of Newton’s ‘‘ Principia,’” Bruce Smith, 510; W. R. B. Prideaux, 534; Handbuch der Physik, Dr. A. Winkelmann, 559; the Plug Permeameter, Dr. C. V. Drysdale, 575; Lehrbuch der Physik, Prof. H. A. Lorentz, 580; 1’Energétique et le Méchanisme au Point de Vue des Conditions de la Connaissance, Abel Rey, 580; Ionisation of Air by Ultra-violet Light, Frederic Palmer, jun., 582; Lehrbuch der medizinischen Physik, Prof. H. Boruttau, 604; the Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals, the Penetrating -Radiation from the Earth, Prof. J. C. McLennan, 607; Scottish National Antarctic Expe- dition, Report on the Scientific Results of the S.Y. Scotia during the Years 1902, 1903, and 1904, under the Leader- ship of W. S. Bruce, Vol. ii., Physics, 618 Physiography: de Vormen der Aardkorst, Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie, J. van Baren, 76; Physio- graphical Experiments in Aggrading and Degrading Stream, 351; Physiography, Prof. R. D. Salisbury, Supp. to March 5, v Physiology: Mechanism of the Transformation of Glycogen into Glucose by the Muscles and the Animal Tissues, F. Maignon, 23; the Physiology of Alimentation, Prof. Martin H. Fischer, 26; the Sugar in the Blood Plasma, R. Lepiné and M. Boulud, 47; Life-history of Leucocytes, Part ii., on the Origin of the Granules, Part iii., Phenomena occurring in Leucocytes, C. E. Walker, 71; Influence of High Altitude on the Loss of Water by the Organism, H. Guillemard and Aug. Moog, 95; Or- ganische Zweckmassigkeit, Entwicklung und Vererbung von Standpunkte der Physiologie, Dr. Paul Jensen, 100; Physiologisches Praktikum fiir Mediziner, Prof. Max Verworn, 148; on the Incidence of Daylight as a Deter- mining Factor in Bird-migration, Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S., 159; Distribution of Arteries supplying the Human Brain, Dr. C. E. Beevor, 187; Influence of Increased Barometric Pressure on Man, Leonard Hill, F.R.S., and M. Greenwood, jun., 187; zur vergleichenden Physiologie des Gesichtssinnes, Prof. E. Raehlmann, 193 ; the Excito-secretory Action of the Internal Branch of the Spinal Nerve on the Stomach and Pancreas, F. X. Lesbre and F. Maignon, 216; Physiological Properties of Tubercle Bacilli which have been submitted to the Action of Chlorine, MM. Moussu and Goupil, 216; a Manual of Veterinary Physiology, Colonel F. Smith, C.B., C.M.G., Dr. Percy T. Herring, 219; Ethyl Chloride in the Blood during Anzsthesia, Lucien Camus and Maurice Nicloux, 240; Structure of the Fundamental Substance of Hyaline Cartilage, Ed. Retterer, 263; Action of Choline on the Arterial Pressure, A. Desgrez and J. Chevalier, 288; Arterial Pressure in Man, Dr. G. A. Gibson, 335; the Prolongation of Life, Elie Metchnikoff, 289; Reciprocal Innervation of Antagonistic Muscles, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., 333; Attempt at Grafting Articular Tissues, Henri Judet, 336; Reissner’s Fibre in the Frog, George E. Nicholls, 344; the Equilibrium between the Cell and its Environment in Regard to. Soluble Constituents, Prof. Moore and Dr... Roaf, 399; the Middle Cells of the Grey Matter of the Spinal Cord, Dr. J. H. Harvey Pirie, 4313 Physiologie und Anatomie des Menschen mit ausblicken auf den ganzen Kreis der Wirbeltiere, Dr. Felix Kienitz-Gerloff, 484; Excitability and Conductibility of Nerves exposed to the Action of Distilled Water, W. K. Denemark, 498; Localisation of Function in the Lemur’s Brain, Dr. F. W- Mott and Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S., 501; Asymmetry of the Figure and its Origin, Richard Liebreich, 503; die Mechanik des Geisteslebens, Prof. Max Verworn, 556; Nerve as a Master of Muscle, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 569; the Influence of Inanition on Metabolism, Francis Gano Benedict, 610; Comparative Electro-physiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, Supp. to March 5, iii; Plant Physiology, Immunity to Disease among Plants, Prof. F. IE. Weiss at British Pharmaceutical Conference at Manchester, 20; Lectures on Plant Physiology, Prof. Ludwig Jost, 97; der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzengewebe, Anatomisch-physiologische | Untersuchungen in den Tropen, Dr. Carl Holtermann, 313 Pickard (R. H.), Resolution of sec-Octyl Alcohol, 166 Pickering (Prof.), the Harvard College Observatory, 567: Spectroscopic Binaries now under Observation, 590 Pickering (S.), Emulsions, 143; Interaction of Metallic Sul- phates and Caustic Alkalis, 143 ; Chemistry of Bordeaux Mixtures, 143 Pickering (Mr.), Investigation of the Washes for spraying Fruit Trees, 590 Pictorial Annual, Penrose’s, 1907-8, 292 Pidoux (M.), the Transit of Mercury, November, 1907, 567 Pigott (Sir T. Digby), Luminous Owl, 155; the Luminous Owl seen in Norfolk, 205 Pilze, Chemie der héheren, eine Monographie, Dr. Julius Zellner, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 553 Pionchon (J.), an Extremely Sensitive Electric Hygroscope, 600 Pirie (Dr. J. H.. Harvey), the Middle Cells of the Grey Matter of the Spinal Cord, 431 Pirrie (Dr. A. M.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 62 Pisciculture: Marine Fish-culture in United States, G. M. Bowers, 179 Plague: Plague and Fleas, 59; the Interdependence of the Rat and Plague, Dr. Ashburton Thompson, 113; Rats and Plague in India, Dr. W. C. Hossack, 205; Present Methods of Combating Plague, Dr. Haffkine, 133; Pro- tection of India from Plague, Dr. Ashburton Thompson, 133; Bubonic Plague at San Francisco, 254; Reports on Plague Investigations in India issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society and the Lister Institute, 585; Report on Plague in Queensland (February, 1g00-June 30, 1907), B. Burnett Ham, 585; the Etiology and Epi- demiology of Plague, Major G. Lamb, 585 Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Cunningham, 223 Planer (V.), Comparison of the Energy Losses due to Hysteresis in Iron, Steel, and Nickel, in Alternating and Rotating Magnetic Fields respectively, 327 Planetary Photography, Prof. Percival Lowell, 402 Planets: the Transit of Mercury, M. Bigourdan, 18; the Recent Transit of Mercury, MM. Javelle and Simonin, XXXViil Index Nature, June 11, 1908 116; M. Charlois, 116; M. Bourget, 116; M. Borrelly, 116; M. Esmiol, 116; Abbé Th. Moreux, 116; Comte de la Baume Pluvinel, 116; the Transit of Mercury, Novem- per, 1907, M. Gautier, 567, M. Pidoux, 567; Mercury as a Morning Star, 115; Changes on Saturn’s Rings, Prof. Campbell, 18; Saturn’s Rings, Dr. Ristenpart, 67 ; Prof. Hartwig, 67; Prof. Lowell, 67, 116, 616; Paul Guth- nick, 67; Prof. B. Peter, 90; M. Schaer, 90;. Dr. Hassenstein, 90; Rev. T. E. R. Phillips, 234; Dr. Lau, 234; Prof. Barnard, 401; Mr. Lampland, 616; Saturn apparently without Rings, M. Flammarion, 182; Saturn, a New Ring suspected, G. Fournier, 302; the Saturn Per- turbations of various Comets, Dr. Johannes Wendt, 568; Occultation of Neptune by the Moon, Dr. Downing, 42; the Appearance of Neptune in small Telescopes, Mr. Holmes, 258; Mr. Maw, 258; the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, Mr. Denning, 42; Photographs of Jupiter, M. Quénisset, 90; Photographs of Jupiter’s Satellites VI. and VII., 137; Simultaneous Observations of Jupiter, Jean Mascart, 259; Uniformly Distributed dark Spots on Jupiter, Scriven Bolton, 401; a Possible New Satellite to Jupiter, P. Melotte, 470; Observations of Jupiter during the present Opposition, P. Vincart, 471; the Moving Object near Jupiter, Prof. Albrecht, 497; Prof. Aitken, 497; the Recently Discovered Satellite of Jupiter, Mr. Melotte, 567; Mutual Occultations and Eclipses of Jupite r’s Satellites, Mr. Whitmell, 567; Investiga- tion of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets, Prof. S. Newcomb and Frank E. Ross, 43; Mars as the Abode of Life, Prof. Lowell, 66, 471 ; Comparisons of the Places of Mars for the Oppositions of 1907 and 1909, Dr. Downing, 67; Photographs of Mars, Prof. Lowell, 182; Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell’s Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’’ with an Alterna- tive Explanation, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 337; the Possibility of Life in Mars, C. O. Bartrum, 392; Dr. J. W. Evans, 392, 413; Dr. W. Ainslie Hollis, 438; Prof. Percival Lowell, 461; Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 461; Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, William E. Rolston, 442; Mr. Slipher, 497; Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmosphere of Mars, P. Lowell, 503, 606; Elements and Ephemeris for the Minor Planet Patroclus, V. Heinrich, 67; Evolution of Planets, Edwin G. Camp, W. E. Rolston, 195; a Newly Discovered Bright Minor Planet (1908 B.M.), Dr. Kopff, 281; a Useful Sun and Planet Chart, 302; Occultations of range in 1908, Dr. Downing, 353; Planets now V isible, 353 ; Recent Observa- tions of Venus, J. M. Harg, 471 Plankton, das Siisswasser-, Dr. Otto Zacharias, 556 Plant Biology, a Text-book of Elementary Botany arranged for Modern Methods of Teaching, Dr. F. Cavers, 554 Plant Physiology: Immunity to Disease among Piants, Prof. F. E. Weiss, at British Pharmaceutical Conference at Manchester, 20; Lectures on Plant Physiology, Prof. Ludwig Jost, 97; der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzengewebe, Anatomisch-phySiologische Unter- suchungen in den Tropen, Dr. Carl Holtermann, 313 Plants: Nature and Development of Plants, C. C. Curtis, 436; Studies in Plant Life, J. Adams, 554 Plasmogénie, Notions générales de Biologie et de, parées, Prof. A. L. Herrera, 558 Platypus, the Egg of the, the Reviewer, 8o Platypus-nest, Eggs of, Prof. Gregg Wilson, 149 Plimmer (H. G.), Experimental Treatment of Trypano- somiasis in Rats, 238 Pluvinel (Comte de la Baume), the Recent Transit of Mer- cury, 116 Polack (M.), Visibility of Night Signals at Sea, 95 Polak (S.), the Theory and Practice of Perspective Drawing, 411 Polarity of Matter, the, Polkinghorne (B. C.), Excavation of a Barrow at Chapel Carn Brea, Cornwall, 143; Holed Stone at Kerrow, Cornwall, 143; Cist and Urn at Tregiffian Vean, 143 Pollard (A. F. Campbell), an Experimental Study of Stresses in Masonry Dams, 209 Pollock (Prof. J. A.), Steady Deflection Method of Current Measurement with an Electrometer, 24 Pollution of Rivers, the, 36 com- Alex. Clark, 219 Poole (R. H.), Preparation of Conductivity Water, 431 Pope (F. G.), Colour and Constitution of Azomethine Com- pounds, pe Pope (W. J.), Diethylauric Bromide, 94 Popplewell (W. C.), Strength of Materials, 412 Porsch (Dr. O.), Theory with regard to the Embryo Sac, 300 Porter (Prof. Alfred W.), the Solidification of Helium, 437 Porter (Mary Winear!s), What Rome was Built With, a Description of the Stones employed in Ancient Times for its Building and Decoration, 196 Porthouse (Mr.), Observatory Map of the Moon, 544 Poseidonius on the Originator of the Theory of Atoms, Dilan) ersee, 345 Post (J.), Traité complet d’Analyse chimique appliquée aux Essais industriels, 531 Potamology: the Winding of Rivers in Plains, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 7, 79; R. D. Oldham, 55; R. C. Slater, 79; J. Y. Buchanan, F.R-S., 100; J. Lomas, 102; Dr. John Aitken, F.R.S., 127; the Snaping of Lindsey by the Trent, F. M. Burton, 371 Potter (Prof. M. C.), the Barley Disease ‘‘ Deaf Ears,’’ 256 Poulsen (Valdemar), Telephoning without Wires, 587 Poultry, Influence of Heredity on the Diseases of, H. B. Greene, 15 Pewer (IF. B.), the Constituents of Essential Oil of Nut- meg, 166 Poynting (Prof. J. H., F.R.S.), Musical Sands, 248 Pezzi-Escot (Emm.), the Detection and Estimation of Nickel, 216 Prain (Lieut.-Col. 318, 485 Prall (Fr.), the Preservation of Eggs, 84, 137 Pratt (L.), Reduction of Metallic Oxides with Calcium Hydride and Calcium, 47; Action of Metallic Calcium on Alcohols, 239 Preservation of Eggs, the, Fr. Prall, 84, 137 Prest (J. J.), the Shaft Sinking at the Horden Colliery, Seateeet Durham, 420 Price (T. Slater), a Course of Practical Organic Chemistry, D., C.I.E., F.R.S.), the Cotton Plant, 74 Prideaux (W. R. B.), “ Principia,’’ 534 Prillieux (M.), Disease of the Pine in the Jura, 2: Pring (T. V.), Meteorological Observations at the British Kite Stations, Session 1906-7, 188 Prior (Dr.), National Antarctic Expedition, graphy, 561 Prior (Dr. G. T.), Striiverite and its Relation to Ilmeno- rutile, 358 Prizes proposed by the Paris Academy of Sciences for 1909, 183 3 Prolongation of Life, the, Elie Metchnikoff, 289 Prominence, a Large Eruptive, Mr. Fox, 90 Preminence, the Large Solar, of May 21, Fényi, 446 Prominence and Coronal Structure, Dr. Lockyer at Royal Society, 514 Protozoa: die Tierwelt des Mikroskops (die Urtiere), Dr. Richard Goldschmidt, 556 Przibram (Dr. Hans), Experimental-Zoologie, 529 Psychology: Elements of Psychology, Dr. S. H. Mellone and Margaret Drummond, 267; an Introduction to Child- study, W. B. Drummond, 410; the Child’s Mind, its Growth and Training, W. E. Urwick, 410; the Modern Analysis of Psychical Phenomena, Prof. A. Hoche, 469; the Dancing Mouse, a Study in Animal Behaviour, Robert M. Yerkes, 533; die Mechanik des Geisteslebens, Prof. Max Verworn, 556; New Explanation of Hallucinations, Dr. Boris Sidis, 580 Pulque, the Manufacture of, 467 an Annotated Copy of Newton’s 1901-4, Petro- 1907, Father William J. S. Puringruppe, Untersuchungen in der, (1882-1906), Emil Fischer, 579 Purpurbakterien, die, Prof. Hans Molisch, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 53 Purvis (J. E.), Absorption Spectra of Collidine and 9-Chlor. collidine, 190; Decomposition and Nitrification of Sewage (1) in Alkaline Solution, (2) in Distilled Water, 190-1 ; Influence of Light and of Copper on Fermentation, 191 Puzzles, the Canterbury, and other Curious Problems, H. E. Dudeney, 341 Nature, June 11, 1908 Index XXXIX Quaintance (A. L.), Trumpet Leaf-miner of the Apple, Lischeria malifoliella, 156 Queensland, Report on Plague in, (February, 1900—-June 30, 1907), B. Burnett Ham, 585 Queénisset (M.), Photographs of Jupiter, 90 Racing Animals, the Speed of, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 3 Radial Velocity of 8 Ursze Majoris, Variation in the, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 520 Radiography: the Coloration of Crystallised Alumina, F. Bordas, 17; Use of the Radiometer in observing Small Gas Pressures, Sir James Dewar, I°.R.S., 22; the Origin of Radium, Dr. Otto Hahn, 30; Action of Radium Bromide on Precious Stone of the Alumina Family, F. Bordas, 95; the Fatigue of Secondary Radiation due to Radium Rays, J. A. Crowther, 167; the Condensation of Water Vapour in the Presence of the Radium Emanation, Mme. Curie, 167; Dr. H. W. Schmidt’s Experiments on the Effect of High Temperatures on the Disintegration of Radium C, 420 (see also Radium); Induction Coil for Roéntgen-ray Work, Dr. J. Rosenthal, 65; Action of Ro6nigen Rays upon Crystallised Alumina, F. Bordas, 95 ; the Nature of y and X-rays, Prof. W. H. Bragg, 270, 560; Charlton D. Cooksey, 509; the Nature of Rontgen Rays, Dr. Charles G. Barkla, 319; the Wave-length of Rontgen Rays, Prof. J. Stark, 320; Classification of Secondary X-Radiators, Dr. C. G. Barkla and C. A. Sadler, 343; Dr. B. Walier, 462; the Anode Rays, Drs. F. Gehrcke and O. Reichenheim, 89; Possibility of establishing the Diagnosis of Death by Radiography, Charles Vaillant, 96; the Lithium contained in Radio- active Minerals, Mlle. Gleditsch, 167, 407; Sir W. Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., 412; Lithium in Active Minerals, Sir William Ramsay and Alex. Cameron, 455 ; Problems of Radio-activity, Dr. G. A. Blanc, 280; Radio- graphy in Pearl Fishing, John J. Solomon, 331; the Scattering of the 8 Rays from Uranium by Matter, J. A. Crowther, 358; the Penetrating Radiation, W. W. Strong, 343; Prof. A. S. Eve, 486; Theory of the Radiation of the Auer Incandescent Gas Mantle, M. Foix, 420; Recent Advances in Radio-activity, Prof. E. Ruther- ford, F.R.S., at the Royal Institution, 422; the a Particles from Radio-active Substances, Dr. R. S. Willows, 439; Relative Merits of the Radiomicrometer, the Linear Thermopile, the Radiometer, and the Bolo- meter for the Measurement of Radiation, W. W. Coblentz, 445; the Nature of y Rays, Prof. J. J. Thom- son, 454; Velocity of Kathodic Secondary Radiation, Prof. J. J. Thomson, 454; Spectrum of the Discharge from a Glowing Lime Kathode in Mercury Vapour, F. Horton, 454; a New Type of Rays, Magnetic Rays, Prof. Augusto Righi, 470; a Standard Unit of Radio-activity, 543; Method of Counting the Number of a Particles from Radio-active Matter, Prof. E. Rutherford and Dr. H. Geiger, 599; the Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals, the Penetrating Radiation from the Earth, Prof. J. C. McLennan, 607; Atmospheric Radio-activity at New Haven, H. M. Dadourian, 615 Radiotelephony: Telephoning without Poulsen, 587 Radium: the Origin of Radium, Dr. Otto Hahn, 30; Re- determination of the Atomic Weight of Radium, Madame Curie, 65; the Occurrence of Copper and Lithium in Radium-bearing Minerals. Prof. Herbert N. McCoy, 79; Production and Origin of Radium, Prof. E. Rutherford, 191; Radium and the Earth’s Heat, Prof. Harold A. Wilson, F.R.S., 365; Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S., 365; Radium Content of Deep-sea Sediments, Prof. J. Joly, 455; Coloration of Glass and Quartz by Radium, Charles E. S: Phillips, 525 RachImann (Prof. E.), zur vergleichenden Physiologie des Gesichtssinnes, 193 Ragno (Prof. E.), la Ternologia delle Saldature autogene dei Metalli, 508 Rain Water, Fiitration of, Enquirer, 272 Rainbow (W. J.), a Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies, arr Rainfall and Water Supply, Dr. H. R. Mill at Royal Meteorological Society, 286 Wires, Valdemar Ramaley (F.), the Silva of Colorado, 399 Rambaut (Dr. A. A.), a Large Solar Prominence, 66 Ramsay (A. A.), the Solution of Formaldehyde in Solutions ot Cane Sugar, 263 Ramsay (Sir W., K.C.B., F.R.S.), Lithium in Radio-active Minerals, 412; Lithium in Active Minerals, 455; Com- memorative Dinner to, 500 Raper (H. S.), Condensation of Acetaldehyde and its Rela- tion to the Biochemical Synthesis of Fatty Acids, 47 Ravold (Dr.), Experiments on Typhoid Fever Bacillus, 69 Rawitz (Dr. Bernhard), Lehrbuch der mikroskopischen Technik, 605 Rawson {H. E.), Anticyclonic Belt of the Southern Hemi- sphere, 599 Rawson (Robert), Biographical Sketch of, Harley, F.R.S., 157 Rayleigh (Lord), Publication of Scientific Works in Em- bossed Type for the Blind, 204 Readymoney (Nasarvanji Jivanji), history, 172 Reed (F. R. Cowper), Lower Palzozoic Fossils of the Northern Shan States, Burma, 116 Reflection of Polarised Light, C. T. Whitmell, 103 Refrigerator, the Audiffren, MM. Audiffren and Singrun, 215 Regeneration and Transplantation, Prof. E. Korschelt, 99 Reichenheim (Dr. O.), the Anode Rays, 89 Reid (Clement, F.R.S.), the Geology of the Land's End District, 90; Origin of the Pillow-lava near Port ‘Isaac in Cornwall, 358 Reid (Dr. G. Archdall), the Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena, 9, 54; the Inheritance of ‘* Acquired ”’ Characters, 293, 342, 393; Mendelism and Sex, Lecture at Linnean Society, 236 Reinforced Concrete Construction, Principles of, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi Reissner’s Fibre in the Frog, George E. Nicholls, 344 Remington (John Stewart), the Education of To-morrow, Rev. Robert Science of Nature- 292 Renouf (Miss N.), Nitro-derivatives of o-Xylene, 502; Sub- stituted Dihydrobenzenes, Part ii., 1: 1-Dimethyl-A*:*- dihydrobenzene and 1: 1-Dimethyl-A*:°-dihydrobenzene, 502 Renshaw (Graham), Final Natural History Essays, 393 Repsold (Joh. A.), zur Geschichte der astronomischen Mess- werkzeuge von Purbach bis Reichenbach, 1450 bis 1830, 09 Riseancks Examination v., Dr. F. C. S. Schiller, 322 Réseaux, Determination of the Errors of the Observatory, Jules Baillaud, 617 Retterer (Ed.), Structure of the Fundamental Substance of Hyaline Cartilage, 263 Revere (G.), I laterizi, 508 Paris REVIEWS AND OuR BOOKSHELF. A Description of the Soil-geology of Ireland, based upon Geological Survey Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate, J. R. Kilroe, 4 Dyeing in Germany and America, Sidney H. Higgins, Prof. Walter M. Gardner, 4 The Care of the Body, Dr. Francis Cavanagh, 5 Practical Mathematics, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 6 La Théorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens temporains, Abel Rey, 6 How to tell the Birds from the Flowers, a Manual of Flornithology for Beginners, Prof. R. W. Wood, 7 Zoology of Egypt, the Fishes of the Nile, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10 Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie, 25 Avifauna Italica, Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, 25 The Physiology of Alimentation, Prof. Martin H. Fischer, 26 Arithmetic for Schools, Rev. J. B. Lock, 27 Arithmetic, chiefly Examples, G. W. Palmer, 27 A Modern Arithmetic, with Graphic and Practical Exercises, H. Sydney Jones, 27 Die typischen Geometrien Petronievics, 28 Engineering Workshop Practice, Charles C. Allen, 28 Steam and other Engines, J. Duncan, 29 con- und das Unendliche, B. Xt LNaex L Nature, June 1, 1908) The Elements of S. Franklin and B. Macnutt, 29 Die Lésung des Problems der Urzeugung Generatio spontanea), Martin renee 29 The Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity, Daniels, 29 Mechanics, W. (Archigonia, I 124 The Evolution of Matter, Life, and Mind, W. Stewart Duncan, 30 Ballistic Experiments from 1864 to 1880, Rey. Francis Bashforth, 30 National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, 33 Investigation of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets, Simon Newcomb and Frank E. Ross, 43 The Chemistry of Commerce, Robert Kennedy Duncan, 49 Eléments de Philosophie biologique, Félix le Dantec, 51 Dic Fauna Siidwest-Australiens, Ergebnisse der Ham- burger siidwest-australischen Forschungsreise, Prof. W. Michaelsen and Dr. R. Hartmeyer, 51 Experimental and. Theoretical Applications of Thermo- dynamics to Chemistry, Dr. Walther Nernst, 52 Technische Anwendungen der physikalischen Chemie, Dr. Kurt Arndt, 52 Die Ausgreichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate, F. R. Helmert, 52 Die Purpurbakterien, Prof. Hans Hewlett, 53 The Case of Existence, Norman Alliston, 53 Science German Course, C. W. P. Moffatt, 53 Les Formations sédimentaires du Crétacé Supérieur et du Tertiaire de Patagonie, avec un Paralléle entre leurs Faunes mammalogiques et celles de 1’Ancien Continent, Florentino Ameghino, 68 The Geology and Water Resources of the Western Portion of the Panhandle of Texas, C. Gould, 68 The Water Supply of Nome Region, Seward Peninsula, J. C. Holt and F. Henshaw, 68 Underground Waters of the Coastal Plain of Texas, T. U. Taylor, 68 Potomac River Basin, Parker, Willis, Bolster, and Marsh, 68 The Quality of Surface Waters in Minnesota, Wesbraat, 68 Molisch, Prof. R. T. Weir Experiments, Coefficients and Formulas, R. E. Horton, 68 : The Nervous System of Vertebrates, Prof. J. B. Johnston, Dr. W. Page May, 73 Electric Power and Traction, F. H. Davies, 74 The Complete School Chemistry, F. M. Oldham, 74 Practical Chemistry for Army and Matriculation Candi- dates, Geoffrey Martin, 74 Systematic Practical Organic Chemistry, G. M. Norman, 74 A Course of Practical Organic Chemistry, T. Slater Price and D. F. Twiss, 74 A Scheme for the Detection of the more Common Classes of Carbon Compounds, F. E. Weston, 74 Vergleichende - Morphologie der Pflanzen, Velenovsky, 76 De Vormen der Aardkorst, Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie, J. van Baren, 76 Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania, A. J. North, 76 Grundziige der Tierkunde fiir hohere Lehranstalten, Prof. Karl Smalian, 76 Précis des Caractéres générique des Imsectes, disposés dans un Ordre naturel par le Citoyen Latreille, 77 The Metric and Bae Systems of Weights, Measures, and Coinage, Dr. Mollwo Perkin, 77 The Story of Seas (a Sparrow), George W. James, 77 The Geology of the Land’s End District, Clement Reid, F.R.S., and Dr. J. S. Flett, 90 The Geology of the Country around Hungerford and Newbury, H. J. Osborne White, 90 The Birds of North and Middle America, R. Ridgway, 91 Catalogue of the Type and Figured Specimens of Fossils, Minerals, Rocks, and Ores in the Department of Geology, U.S. Mus., J. P. Merrill, 91 The Families and Genera of Bats, G. S. Miller, ot Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory, L. Stejneger, oI Report on the Diatoms of the Pacific Ocean, 1888-1904, Dr. Jos: Albatross Voyages in the Albert Mann, 91 Lectures on Plant Physiology, Prof. Ludwig Jost, 97 Liguid and Gaseous Fuels, and the Part they Play in Modern Power Production, Prof. V. B. Lewes, 98 Rubber Cultivation in the British Empire, Herbert Wright, School Hygiene, Herbert Jones, 99 Regeneration and Transplantation, Prof. E. Korschelt, 99 Organische Zweckmassigkeit, Entwicklung und Vererbung. von Standpunkte der Physiologie, Dr. Paul Jensen, 100 The Cretaceous Flora of Southern New York and New England, Arthur Hollick, 121 Chapters on Paper-making, Clayton Beadle, 121 Bird-life of the Borders, on Moorland and Sea, with Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years, Abel Chapman, 122 The Birds of Kent, William J. Davis, 122 Notes on the Birds’ of Rutland, C. Reginald Haines, 122 A Text-book of Electrica! Engineering, Dr. Adolf Thomalen,. 124 The Elements of Electrical Franklin and Wm. Esty, 124 Modern Lithology, illustrated and defined, for the Use of University, Technical and Civil Service Students, E. H. Adye, 125 Inflammation, an Introduction to the Study of Pathology, Prof. J. George Adami, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 126 Notes on Maritime Meteorology, Commander M. W. Camp- bell Hepworth, C.B., 126 ; Sunshine and Sport in Florida and the West Indies, F. G. Aflalo, 128 The Annual of the British School at Athens, H. R. Hall, 129: Mathematische und mikroskopisch-anatomische Studien liber > Blattstellungen, Dr. G. van Iterson, jun., 14 Text-book of Organic Chemistry for Medical iden Dr. G. v. Bunge, 146 Some Nature Biographies J. J. Ward, 147, The Fairyland of Living Things, Physiologisches Praktikum fiir Verworn, 148 River Discharge, J. C. Hoyt and N. C. Grover, 148 Constructions in Practical Geometry, Rev. H. F. lake, 148 Electric Traction, Prof. Ernest Wilson and Francis Lydall, Gisbert Kapp, 169 The Surgical Anatomy of the Horse, John T. Share-Jones, 170 The Romance of Savage Life, describing the Life of Primi- tive Man, his Customs, Occupations, Language, Beliefs, Arts, Crafts, Adventures, Games, Sports, &c., G. F-. Scott Elliot, 171 Die Vegetation der Erde, die Pfianzenwelt von West Aus- tralien siidlich des Wendekreises, Dr. L. Diels, 171 Das inneralpine Becken der Umgebung von Wien, Dr. Franz X. Schaffer, 172 The British Journal Photographic Almanac and _ Photo- grapher’s Daily Companion for 1908, 172 Science of Nature-history, Nasarvanji Jivanji Readymoney, 172 Nietzsche in Outline and Aphorism, A. R. Orage, 173 The Life of the Salmon, W. L. Calderwood, 173 The Story of Insect Life, W. P. Westell, Fred. V. Theobald, 175 University of Pennsylvania : ment of Archeology, H. R.. Hall, 186 Engineering, Profs. W. S. : Plant, Insect, Marine, Mineral, R. Kearton, 147 Mediziner, Prof. Max West- Transactions of the Depart- Free Museum of Science and Art, Revision of the Pelycosauria of North America, E. C. Case, 186 Sur la Transmissibilité de Charactéres acquis, Eugenio: Rignano, 1093 Zur vergleichenden Physiologie des Gesichtsinnes, Prof. E. Rachlmann, 193 The Flora of West Lancashire, J. A. Wheldon and A. A. Wilson, 194 The Moon in Modern Astronomy, Ph. Fauth, W. E. Rolston, 195 Astronomical Essays, Historical and Descriptive, J. Ellard’ Gore, W. E. Rolston, 195 Evolution of Planets, Edwin G. Camp, W. E. Rolston, 195 The Climber’s Pocket Book, Rock-climbing Accidents, with Hints on First Aid to the Injured, Some Uses of the: Nature, June 11, 1903. Index xli Rope, Methods of Rescue and Transport, Lionel F. West, 196 What Rome was built with, a Description of the Stones employed in Ancient Times for its Building and Decora- tion, Mary Winearls Porter, 196 Nature’s Hygiene and Sanitary Chemistry, C. T. Kingzett, 196 Etude sur les Foudroiements d’arbres constatés en Belgique pendant les Années 1884-1906, E. Vanderlinden, 197 The Laws of Health, a Handbook on School Hygiene, Dr. Carstairs G. Douglas, 197 Records of the Geological Survey of India, Notes on Certain Glaciers in North-west Kashmir, H. H. Hayden; Glaciers in Lahaul, H. Walker and E. H. Pascoe; Glaciers in Kumaon, G. de P. Cotter and J. Caggin Brown, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 201 An Experimental Study of the Stresses in Masonry Dams, Karl Pearson, F.R.S., and A. F. Campbell Pollard, Prof. E. Brown, 209 The Electrical Conductivity of Aqueous Solutions, A. Noyes, 213 Conductivity and Viscosity in Mixed Solvents, Harry C. Jones, 213 Histoire de la Navigation aérienne, W. de Fonvielle, 217 The Garden Beautiful : Home-woods and Home Landscape, William Robinson, 217 Clean Water, and How to Get It, Allen Hagen, 218 A Manual of Veterinary Physiology, Colonel F. Smith, C.B., ©.M.G., Dr. Percy T. Herring, 219 The Polarity of Matter, Alex. Clark, 219 © Wild Bees, Wasps and Ants, and other Stinging Insects, Edward Saunders, F.R.S., 220 Das Problem der Schwingungserzeugung, hausen, 220 Album de Aves Amazonicas, Dr. E. A. Goeldi, 220 Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways, J. G. Millais, 223 Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Cunningham, 223 The Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in South Africa, A. W. Rogers and A. L. du Toit, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 The Diamond Pipes and Fissures of South Africa, H. S. Harger, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 ‘The Occurrence in Kimberlite of Garnet-pyroxene Nodules carrying Diamonds, G. S. Corstorphine, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 ‘Kimberlite Dykes and Pipes, F. W. Voit, Dr. F. H. Hatch, Arthur Dr. H. Bark- 224 The Origin of Diamonds, F. W. Voit, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 . Geological Survey of the Eastern Portion of Griqualand West, A. L. du Toit, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 Ueber die siidafrikanischen Diamantlagerstatten, A. Macco, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 224 Untersuchungen iiber einige _— siidafrilkanische mantenlagerstatten, R. Beck, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 22 The Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World, a Revision of the Genus Gossypium, Sir G. Watt, F. Fletcher, 241 Evolution and Animal Life, an Elementary Discussion of Facts, Processes, Laws, and Theories relating to the Life and Evolution of Animals, David Starr Jordan and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, 242 The Practice of Instruction, 243 Xoad-making and Maintenance, a Practical Treatise for Engineers, Surveyors, and Others, Thomas Aitken, 244 A History of Chemistry, Hugo Bauer, 244 Neolithic Dew-ponds and Cattle-ways, Dr. Arthur John __ Hubbard and George Hubbard, W. E. Rolston, 245 Ubungsbeispiele aus der anorganischen Experimentalchemie, Heinrich Biltz und Wilhelm Biltz, 245 The Bacteriological Examination of Disinfectants, William Partridge, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 246 Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der Zoologie, 246 Observations simultanées de la Surface de Jupiter réunies, M. Jean Mascart, 259 Manx Crosses: or the Inscribed and Sculptured Monuments of the Isle of Man from about the end of the Fifth to the Beginnipe of the Thirteenth Century, P. M. C. Kermode, 205 ‘Van Nostrand’s Chemical Annual, 1907, 267 Dia- Elements of Psychology, Dr. S. H. Mellone and Margaret Drummond, 267 Die Physik Roger Bacos, Sebastian Vogl, 268 The Preservation of Infant Life, Emilia Kanthack, 268 Sanitation in Daily Life, Ellen H. Richards, 268 Der neue Leitfaden, L. M. de la Motte Tischbrock, 268 Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands ot Scotland, B. N. Peach, John Horne, W. Gunn, C. T. Clough, and L. Hinxman; Petrological Notes, J. J. H. Teall, Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., 272 On the Impulses of Compound Sound Waves and their Mechanical Transmission through the Ear, Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart., 289 The Prolongation of Life, Elie Metchnikoff, 289 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 290 Ancient Egypt the Light of the World: a Work of Reclama- tion and Restitution, Gerald Massey, 291 Primitive Traditional History: the Primitive History and Chronology of India, South-eastern and South-western Asia, Egypt, and Europe, and the Colonies thence sent forth, J. F. Hewitt, 291 Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, 292 Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, 1907-8, 292 The Education of To-morrow, John Stewart Remington, 292 Scouting for Boys, Lieut.-Colonel R. S. S. Baden-Powell, C.B., 293 Photograms of the Year 1907, 293 India-rubber and its Manufacture ; with Chapters on Gutta- percha and Balata, Hubert L. Terry, C. Simmonds, 296 Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297 ; Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island, L. Cockayne, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297 Der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzengewebe, Anatomisch-physiologische Untersuchungen in den Tropen, Dr. Carl Holtermann, 313 The Pulse of Asia: a Journey in Central Asia illustrating the Geographic Basis of History, Ellsworth Huntington, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 314 Microscopy the Construction, Theory, Microscope, E. J. Spitta, 314 Easy Exercises in Algebra for Beginners, W. S. Beard, 315 Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools, C. Daviscn and C. H. Richards, 315 Cartesian Plane Geometry, Charlotte A. Scott, 315 A Sequel to Elementary Geometry, J. W. Russell, 315 Text-book of Mechanics, L. A. Martin, jun., 315 Elementary Statics, W. P. Borchardt, 315 Elementary Trigonometry, C. Hawkins, 315 Mining Tables, Dr. F. H. Hatch and E. J. Vallentine, 317 The Weights and Measures of International Commerce, 317 Les Aciers spéciaux, L. Revillon, 317 Voice Training in Speech and Song, H. H. Hulbert, 317 Revisio Conocephalidarum, H. Karny, 317 Seed and Soil Inoculation for Leguminous Crops, Prof. W. B. Bottomley, 330 Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell’s Book, ‘‘ Mars and its Canals,’’ with an Alterna- tive Explanation, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., Dr. William J. S. Lockyer, 337 (1) Races bovines, France—Etranger, (2) Races chevalines, Prof. Paul Diffloth, 339 Medico-Physical Works of John Mayow (1674), 339 Town Gas and its Uses for the Production of Light, Heat, and Motive Power, W. H. Y. Webber, 340 The Canterbury Puzzles and other Curious Problems, H. E. Dudeney, 341 Matter and Intellect: a Reconciliation of Science and the Bible, Andrew Allan, 341 Lecons sur la Viscosité des Liquides et des Gaz, Marcel Brillouin, 341 Aphorisms and Reflections, T. H. Huxley, 341 The Journal of the South-eastern Agricultural College, Wye, Kent, 345 Transvaal Mines Department, Report of the Geological Survey for the Year 1906, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 346 Notes on Indian Mathematies, Arithmetical Notation, R. Kaye, 347 Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Department, being and Use of the Nature, June 1t 1908 xlii Index Occasional Discussions and Compilations of Meteor- ological Data relating to India and the Neighbouring Hall, Countries, V., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observations recorded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to August, 1904; VI., a Discussion of the Anemographic Observations recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892, Sir John Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S., 353 Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council submitting the Report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the Year ended March 31, 1907, 355 Continuation Schools in England and Elsewhere, Prof. J. Wertheimer, 361 Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, 362 Organie Chemistry for Cohen, 363 The Geology of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield, ‘C. Fox-Strangways, 364 Inorganic Chemistry, E. J. Lewis, 364 Altitude Tables, F. Ball, 365 Problems in Strength of Shephard, 365 Whittaker’s Arithmetic of Electrical Engineering for Tech- nical Students and Engineers, 365 An Essay upon Disease: its Cause and Prevention, Dr. G. E. Richmond, 365 The Shaping of Lindsey by the Trent, F. M. Burton, 371 Aus Namaland und Kalahari, Prof. Leonhard Schultze, Sir H. H. Johnston, G.C.M.G., 385 Alcohol and the Human Body, Sir Victor Horsley, and Dr. Mary D. Sturge, 386 Die Zustandsgleichung der Gase und Fliissigkeiten und die Paul Herrman, Advanced Students, Prof. J. B. Materials, Dr. William Kent BRS, Continuitatstheorie, Prof. J. P. Kuenen, 387 Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay and Pasture, Dr. Edward B. Voorhees, 388 Astronomischer Jahresbericht, A. Berberich, 389 Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektrochemie auf dynamischer Grundlage, J. J. van Laar, 389 Coal, James Tonge, 389 Whose Home is in the Wilderness: Animal Life, W. J. Long, 393 Final Natural History Essays, Graham Renshaw, Home-life of some Marsh-birds, Emma L. P. H. Bahr, 393 Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, of the Statistics of Pulmonary Pearson, F.R.S., 394 Zur Geschichte der Astronomischen Messwerkzeuge von Purbach bis Reichenbach 1450 bis 1830, Joh. A. Repsold, thermo- some Studies of Wild 393 Turner and ii., a First Study Tuberculosis, Prof. Karl 409 An Introduction to Child-study, W. B. Drummond, 410 The Child’s Mind: its Growth and Training, W. E. Urwick, 410 The Essentials of Cytology, Charles Edward Walker, 410 Immune Sera, Dr. C. F. Bolduan, 411 A Guide to the Study of Australian Rainbow, 411 The Theory and Practice of Perspective Drawing, S. Polak, Butterflies, W. J. 411 Strength of Materials, W. C. Popplewell, 412 Researches on the Performance of the Screw Propeller, Prof. W. F. Durand, 416 Memorandum on Medical Inspection of Children in, Public Elementary Schools, 426 Memorandum by British Medical Association on the Circular of the Board of Education, 426 Schedule of Medical Inspection, 426 A Description of the First or Aswan Cataract of the Nile, Dr. John Ball, 433 Das Lachgas: eine Chemisch-kultur-historische Studie, Prof. Ernst Cohen, 434 Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type, H. F. Osborn, 435 Nature and Development of Plants, C. C. Curtis, 436 The Diseases of Animals, Nelson S. Mayo, 436 Traité de Chimie analytique qualitative, suivi de Tables systématiques pour 1l’Analyse Minérale, Louis Dupare and Alfred Monnier, 437 Actualités Scientifiques, Max de Nansouty, 437 California and the Californians: the Alps of King-Kern Divide, President D. S. Jordan, 437 Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, Prof. J. Garstang, H. Rk. 439 Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Sleeping Sickness held at London in June, 1907, 440 Practical Coal Mining, 457 Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome, W. H. S. Jones, 457 Cours d’Electricité, H. Pellat, 458 Les Découvertes Modernes en Physique, O. Manville, 458 The Oceanic Languages: their Grammatical Structure, Vocabulary, and Origin, Dr. D. Macdonald, 460 Searchlights : their Theory, Construction, and Application, F. Nerz, 460 Beyond Good and Evil, Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, Friedrich Nietzsche, 460 Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks, Dr. Hittell Sherzer, Prof. T. G. Bonney, 463 Chemische und biologische Untersuchungen von Agyptischen Mumien-material, W. A. Schmidt, Prof. W. D. Halli- burton, F.R.S., 465 Earthquakes : an Introduction to Seismic Geology, Herbert Hobbs, 481 William William Mikroskopisches und _ physiologisches Praktikum der Botanik ftir Lehrer, G. Miller, 481 Handboek der botanische Micrographie, Dr. J. W. Moll, 481 Grundztige der Pflanzenkunde, Prof. K. Smalian, 481 Anatomische Physiologie der Pflanzen und der Menschen, Prof. K. Smalian, 481 The New Matriculation Heat, 482 The New Matriculation Light, 482 The New Matriculation Sound, 482 A First Year’s Course in Geometry and Physics, Ernest Young, 482 A Second Year’s Course ins Practical Physics, James Sinclair, 482 A Third Year’s 482 The Mechanism of Speech, Alexander Graham Bell, John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 483 The Moths of the British Isles, Richard South, 483 Physiologie und Anatomie des Menschen, mit Ausblicken auf den Ganzen Kreis der Wirbeltiere, Dr. Felix Kienitz- Gerloff, 484 The Elements of Geography, J. H. N. Stephenson, 484 Lehrbuch der Chemie und Mineralogie ftir die vierte Klasse der sxealschulen, Franz von Hemmelmayr and Dr. Karl Brunner, Heinrich Leitenberger, 484 Recent Madreporaria of the Hawaiian Islands and Laysan, T. Wayland Vaughan, Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S., 499 The Corpuscular Theory of Matter, Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., 505 Atlas of the World’s Commerce, 506 Symmetrical Masonry Arches, M. A. Howe, 507 Das Kausalitatsprinzip der Biologie, Dr. Strecker, 507 Pharmakognostisches Praktikum, Dr. Dr. Ernst Gilg, 508 Die Pendulations-theorie, Dr. The Minimising of Maurice, Course in Practical Physics, James Sinclair, Prof. Friedrich Ludwig Koch and Heinrich Simroth, 508 being the Adventures of a very Small Boy among very Small Things, Rev. S. N. Sedgwick, 508 Les Progrés de la Photographie astronomique, Prof. P. Stroobant, 508 I laterizi, G. Revere, 508 La Tecnologia delle Saldature autogene dei Metalli, Prof. S. Ragno, 508 The Birds of Yorkshire, T. H. Nelson, W. Eagle Clarke, and F. Boyes, 511 Notes on the Birds of Kent, R. J. Balston, Rev. C. W. Shepherd, and E. Bartlett, 511 Experimental-Zoologie, Dr. Hans Przibram, 529 Geologische Prinzipienfragen, E. Reyer, Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, 529 Hydraulics, F. C. Lea, 530 Traité Complet d’Analyse Chimique appliquée aux Essais industriels, J. Post and B. Neumann, 531 Papers of the British School at Rome, 532 Armature Construction, H. M. Hobart and A. G. 532 Ellis, Nature, June 11, 1908 Lndex xhii The Dancing Mouse: a Study in Animal Behaviour, Robert M. Yerkes, 533 Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, 533 The Sea-shore shown to the Children, Janet Harvey Kelman, Frank Balfour Browne, 533 Déviations des Compas, Pierre Engel, 534 Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 534 The Will to Doubt : an Essay in Philosophy for the General Thinker, Alfred H. Lloyd, 534 Trees and their Life-histories, Prof. P. Groom, 538 The Ziegler Polar Expedition, 1903-5, Anthony Fiala, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 544 Chemie der héheren Pilze, eine Monographie, Dr. Zellner, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 553 Plant Biology, a Text-book of Elementary Botany arranged ’ for Modern Methods of Teaching, Dr. F. Cavers, 554 6 Laboratory, and Field Manual of Botany, J. Y. Bergen and B. M. Davis, 554 Studies in Plant Life, J. Adams, 554 Elementary Botany, M. A. Liversidge, 554 Introduction to Elementary Botany, Charlotte L. Laurie, Julius 554 Our Woodlands, Heaths, and Hedges, W. S. Coleman, 554 Computation and Mensuration, P. A. Lambert, 555 A First Statics, C. S. Jackson and R. M. Milne, 555 Practical Calculations for Engineers, C. E. Larard and H. A. Golding, ss5< Die Tierwelt des Mikroskops (die Urtiere), Dr. Richard Goldschmidt, 556 Das Siisswasser-Plankton, Dr. Otto Zacharias, 556 Befruchtung und Vererbung im Pflanzenreiche, Prof. K. Giesenhagen, 556 Das Werden und Vergehen der Pflanzen, Prof. P. Gisevius, 556 Das Schmarotzertum im Tierreich und seine Bedeutung fiir die Artbildung, Prof. Ludwig von Graff, 556 Die Mechanik des Geisteslebens, Prof. Max Verworn, 556 Index of Archzeological Papers (1665-1890), 557 Notions générales de Biologie et de Plasmogénie com- parées, Prof. A. L. Herrera, 558 Einfiihrung in die Palaontologie, Gustav Steinmann, 558 The Chemistry of the Diazo-compounds, Dr. J. C. Cain, 558 55 Handbuch der Physik, Dr. National Antarctic Expedition, vol. i., Geology, H. T. Ferrar and Dr. J. W. Gregory, 561 Airships Past and Present, together with Chapters on the Use of Balloons in connection with Meteorology, Photo- graphy, and the Carrier Pigeon, A. Hildebrandt, 562 The Games of the North American Indians, Stewart Culin, Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., 568 A First Course in the Differential and Integral Calculus, Dr. W. F. Osgood, 577 L’ Europe Préhistorique, Wright, 578 Untersuchungen Fischer, 579 Iron and Steel, J. H. Stansbie, 579 L’Energétique et le Méchanisme au Point de Vue des Con- ditions de la Connaissance, Abel Rey, 580 Abel’s Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology, Hewlett, 580 A. Winkelmann, 559 1go1-1904, Natural History, Prior, Prof. Sophus Miller, Dr. William in der Puringruppe (1882-1906), Emil Prof-m iil Die Bestimmung und Vererbung des Geschlechtes, Dr. C. Correns, 580 Lehrbuch der Physik, Prof. H. A. Lorentz, 580 Reports on Plague Investigations in India, issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society, and the Lister Institute, 585 Report on Plague in Queensland, B. Burnett Ham, 585 The Etiology and Epidemiology of Plague, 585 Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Czsar, Dr. T. Rice Holmes, 601 Synopsis of Linear Associative Algebra, J. B. Shaw, 603 Lehrbuch der medizinischen Phyzik, Prof. H. Boruttau, 604 Musée ostéologique, Etude de la Faune quaternaire, Ostéometrie des Mammiféres, E. Hue, 604 The Children’s Book of Stars, Cue: Mitton, 605 Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Margaret E. Noble, 605 Lehrbuch der mikroskopischen Technik, Dr. Bernhard Rawitz, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 605 The Influence of Inanition on Metabolism, Francis Gano Benedict, 610 Les récents Progrés du Systéme métrique, laume, 611 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of the s.y. Scotia during the Years 1902, 1903, and 1904, under the leadership of W. S. Bruce, Vol. ii. , Physics, 618 Ch.-Ed. Guil- SUPPLEMENT TO Marcu 5. Comparative Electro-physiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, iii Die binokularen Instrumente, Moritz von Rohr, iv Physiography, Prof. R. D. Salisbury, v An Introduction to the Theory of Multiply-Periodic Func- tions, Dr. H. F. Baker, v Principles of Reinforced Concrete Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, vi The Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, W. M. Webb, vii Modern Views of Electricity, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., viii Der naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch- heuristischer Grundlage, Dr. F. Dannemann, viii Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, ix Wireless Telephony in Theory and Practice, E. Ruhmer, ix The Tabernacle: its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, x Solomon’s Temple : Shaw Caldecott, x Construction, F. E. its History and Structure, Rev. W. Revillon (L.), les Aciers spéciaux, 317 Rey (Abel), la Théorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens contemporains, 6; l’Energétique et le Méchanisme au Point de Vue des Conditions de la Connaissance, 580 Keyer (E.), Geologische Prinzipienfragen, 529 Rhynchobdella aculeata in Ceylon, Dr. Arey Willey, F.R.S.) 345 Ricco (Prof), Solar Prominences in 1906, 138; the Astro- graphic Catalogue, 158; Gravitational Survey of Sicily and Calabria, 232 Richards (C. H.), Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools, 315 Richards (Ellen H.), Sanitation in Daily Life, 268 Richards (T. W.), Manganese Chloride as Fixed Point in Thermometry, 207 Richardson (L. F.), Freehand Graphic Way of determining Stream Surfaces and Equipotentials, 118; an Experi- mental Study of Stresses in Masonry Dams, 209; the Lines of Flow of Water in Saturated Soils, especially Peat-mosses, 407 Richmond (Dr. G. E.), an Essay upon Disease : and Prevention, 365 Rideal (Dr.), Relative Hygienic Values of Gas and Elec- tric Lighting, 613 Ridgeway (Prof.), Origin of the Crescent as a Mohammedan Badge, 502 Ridgway (R.), the Birds of North and Middle America, its Cause gr Righi (Prof. Augusto), Magnetic Rays, a New Type of Rays, 470 Rignano (Eugenio), sur la Transmissibilité de Charactéres acquis, 193 Ristenpart (Dr.), Saturn’s Rings, 67 River Discharge, J. C. Hoyt and N. C. Grover, 148 Rivers in Plains, the Winding of, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 7, 79; R. D. Oldham, 55; R. C. Slater, “93 J. NG Buchanan, F.R.S., 100; J. Lomas, 102; Dr. John Aitken, E-R.S., 127 Rivers, the Pollution of, 36 Road- -making and Maintenance, Thomas Aitken, 244 Roaf (Dr.), she Equilibrium between the Cell and its Environment in regard to Soluble Constituents, 399 Robinson (R.), Synthesis of Brazilinic Acid, 166 ; Synthesis of Anhydrobrazilic Acid, 431 xliv Index Robinson (William), the Garden Beautiful : and Home Landscape, 217 Rogers (A. \W.), the Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in South Africa, 224 Rohr (Moritz von), die binokularen Instrumente, Supp. to March 5, iv Rolla (Luigi), Theory of the Mirage, 356 Rolston (W. E.), the Moon in Modern Astronomy, Ph. Fauth, 195; Astronomical Essays, Historical and Descriptive, J. Elland Gore, 195; Evolution of Planets, Edwin G. Camp, 195; Neolithic Dew-ponds and Cattle- ways, Dr. Arthur John Hubbard and George Hubbard, 245; Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, 442 Rome: What Rome was built with, a Description of the Stones employed in Ancient Times for its Building and Decoration, Mary Winearls Porter, 196; Malaria, a Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome, W. H. S. Jones, 457; the Forthcoming Mathematical Home-woods Congress at, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S. , 464; the Inter- national Mathematical Congress at, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., 582; Papers of the British School at, 532 Rontgen-ray Work, Induction Coil for, Dr. J. Rosenthal, 5 Rontgen Rays, the Nature of, Dr. Charles G. Barkla, 319; the. Wavye-length of, Prof. J. Stark, 320 Rosa (E. B.), aMaxwelles Bridge Method of determining the Ratio of the Electromagnetic to the Electrostatic Unit of Electricity, 136 Rose (Dr. T. K.), Alloys of Gold and Tellurium, 406 Rosenhain (W.), Recalescence Curves, 382 Rosenthal (Dr. J.), Induction Coil for Réntgen-ray Work, 65 Rosenthal (Pierre), Prolonged Anzsthesia by Oxygen and Ethyl Chloride, 263 Mixture of Ross (A. D.), Sensitive State induced in Magnetic Materials’ by Thermal Treatment, 407 Ross (Frank E.), Investigation of Motion of the Moon produced by Planets, 43 Ross (Prof. Ronald), the Prevention of Malaria, 39 Rosse (Lord), a Contribution to the History of Ironclads, Inequalities in the the Action of the 350 Rotch (Prof. A. L.), Franklin’s Description of the First Balloon Ascents, 256 Rothesay Summers and Greenwich MacDowall, 438 Roux (Jules), Abnormal Mobility of the Ions of some Rare ane 335 Rowell (H. W.), Bismuth, 263 Roy (Félix de), the Recent Maximum of Mira Cete, 544 Royal Agricultural Society, Report of, 134 Royal Anthropological Institute, 94, 139, 143, 400, 454, 502, 551 Royal Astronomical Society, 94, 478, 575 Roval Dublin. Society, 191, 239, 407, 455 Royal Institution, the Centenary of Davy’s Discovery of the Metals of the Alkalis, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S., 305; Recent Advances in Radio- activity, Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S., at, 422; Nerve as a Master of Muscle, Prof. C. se Sherrington at, 569; Recent Earth- quakes, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., at, 592 Royal Irish Academy, 239 Royal Meteorological Society, 187, 453, 478, 599; Rainfall and Water-supply, Dr. H. R. Mill, 286 Royal Microscopical Society, 46, 188, 311, 454, 551 Royal Society, 22, 71, 141, 164, 187, 238, 262, 287, 310, 332, 358, 382, 430, 476, Sor, 549, 574, 623; Royal Society Medal Awards for 1907, 38; Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society, 107; a Method of depositing Copper upon Glass from Aqueous Solutions in a thin brilliantly reflecting Film and thus producing a Copper Mirror, Dr. B.D: ‘Chattaway, F.R.S., at, 380; Prominence and Coronal Structure, Dr. William J. _S. Lockyer, 514; Reports on Plague Investigations in India issued by the Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society, and the Lister Institute, 585 Royal Society, Edinburgh, 311, 335, 407, 431, 479, 5513 Lord Kelvin and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 253 Royal Society of Sciences, Géttingen, 72, 312, 479 Rubber : Rubber Cultivation in the British Empire, Herbert Winters, Alex. B. Determinations of Small Quantities of 166, 359, Nature, June 11, 1908 Wright, 99; Influence of Formal on Funtumia elastica, Dr. P. Schidrowitz and F. Kaye, 189 Rudenberg (Dr.), Simple Method of generating an Alter- nating Current of any Desired Frequency, 41 Ruhmer (E.), Wireless Telephony in Theory and Practice, Supp. to March 5, ix Russ (S.), Distribution in Electric Fields of the Active Deposits of Radium, Thorium, and Actinium, 503 Russell (E. S.), Correlation of Modifications of the Limpet- shell with Environmental Conditions, 189 Russell (J. W.), a Sequel to Elementary Geometry, 315 Russian Scientific Publications, 498 Rutherford (Prof. E., F.R.S.), Production and Origin of Radium, 191; Recent Advances in Radio-activity, Lecture at Royal Institution, 422; Method of counting the Num- ber of a Particles from Radio-active Matter, 599 Rutland, Notes on the Birds of, C. Reginald Haines, 122 Ryan (H.), Derivatives of Xvylose, 191 Sabatier Diones, (Paul), 167 ; Quinones, 455 Sabine (Prof. W. C.), Music and Melody, 378 Sadler (C. A.), Classification of Secondary X-radiators, 343 Saito (D.), the Refining of Copper, 206 Direct Hydrogenation of some Aromatic Direct Hydrogenation of the Aromatic Saldature autogene dei Metalli, la Tecnologia delle, Prof. S. Ragno, 508 Salisbury (Prof. R. D.), Physiography, Supp. to March 5, Vv Salmon (E. S.), History of the Gooseberry Mildew Order of July, 1907, 591; the ‘‘ Black Scab’’ or ‘‘ Warty Disease ’’ of Potatoes, 591 Salmon, the Life of the, with Reference more especially to the Fish in Scotland, W. L. Calderwood, 173 Salway (A. H.), the Constituents of Essential Oil of Nutmeg, 166 Sanatoria for Consumption, Dr. R. Fielding-Ould, 546 Sand, Musical, Cecil Carus-Wilson, 222, 271; Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S., 248; Sidney Skinner, 248 Sand, Singing, from New England, S. Skinner, 188 Sang. (Alfred), Old and New Methods of Galvanising, 179 Sang’s (Dr. Edward) Collection of MS. Calculations in Trigonometry and Astronomy, Dr. R. H. Traquair, EeRoos ts Sanger (Cc. R.), the Quantitative Determination of Arrsenic by the Gutzeit Method, 519 Sanitation: the Pollution of Rivers, 36; Sanitation in Daily Life, Ellen H. Richards, 268; Utilisation of Turf for the Purification of Sewage, A. Muntz and E. Laine, 287 Saturn’s Rings, Prof. Campbell, Prof. Hartwig, 67; Prof. Lowell, 67, 116, 616; Paul Guthnick, 67; Prof. B. Peter, 90; M. Schaer, 90; Dr. Hassenstein, 99; Rev. T. E. R. Phillips, 234; Dr. Lau, 234; Prof. Barnard, 4o1; Mr. Lampland, 616; Saturn apparently without Rings, M. Flammarion, 182; a New Ring suspected, (G. Fournier, 302; the Saturn Per- turbations of Various Comets, Dr. Johannes Wendt, 568 Saunders (Edward, F.R.S.), Wild Bees, Wasps and Ants, and other Stinging Insects, 220 Savage Life, the Romance of, describing the Life of Primi- tive Man, his Customs, Occupations, Language, Beliefs, Arts, Crafts, Adventures, Games, Sports, &c., G. F. Scott Elliot, 171 Savariau (M.), Method of preparing the Cyclic Aldehydes, 8 Steaua Preservation for the Year 1906-7, Report on, Prof. Arthur Dendy, 297 Schaeffer (G.), Influence of the Reaction of the Medium on the Size of the Colloidal Granules, 119 Schaer (M.), Saturn’s Rings, 90 Schaer (E.), the Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy, 401 Schafer (Prof. E. A., F.R.S.), on the Incidence of Day- light as a Determining Factor in Bird-migration, 159 Schaffer (Dr. Franz X.), das inneralpine Becken der Umgebung von Wien, 172 Schidrowitz (Dr. P.), Influence of Formal on Funtumia elastica, 189 Schiller (Dr. F. C. S.), Examination v. Research, 322 Schips (Mr.), Endeavour to apply Recent Chemical Theories 18; Dr. Ristenpart, 67; Ls CC — Nature, June 11, 1908. Lndex xlv towards elucidating the Origin and Formation of the Diamond from Quartz-bearing Rocks, 542 Schlesinger (Dr. Frank), the Distortion of Photographie Films in Stellar Work, 328 Schmarotzertum im Tierreich und seine Bedeutung fiir die Artbildung, das, Prof. Ludwig von Graff, 556 Schmauss (A.), Unmanned Balloon Ascents in Munich, 495 Schmidt (W. A.), Chemische und biologische Untersuch- ungen von agyptischen Mumien-material, nebst Betracht- ungen tber das Einbalsamierungsverfahren der Agypter, 465 Schmidt’s (Dr. H. W.} Temperatures on the Disintegration of Radium C, 420 1907 at Schneider (Prof. J.), Moon’s Influence on the Wind Com- ponents at Hamburg, 409 School Hygiene: a Handbook for Teachers of all Grades, School Managers, &c., Herbert Jones, 99; the Laws of Health, a Handbook on, Dr. Carstairs G. Douglas, 197 Schools, Arithmetic for, Rev. J. B. Lock and V. Turnbull, 27 Schorr (Prof.), the Hamburg Observatory, 544 Schott (Dr. G. A.), a Fundamental Contradiction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum Series, 413 Schrenk (Dr. H. von), Growth connected Injuries to Trees, 565 Schulten (A. de), New Mineral Species, arising Athenian Plumbiferous Scoria of Laurium, 95 Schultze (Prof. Leonhard), aus Namaland und Kalahari, 385 Schuster (Prof. Arthur, F.R.S.), the Diurnal Variation of Terrestrial Magnetism, 164; Electrical Phenomena of the Atmosphere and their Relations with Solar Activity, 301 Schwingungserzeugung, das Problem der, Dr. H. Bark- hausen, 220 Science: Science German Course, C. W. P. Moffatt, 53; Science at the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908, 67; the Science Court of the Franco-British Exhibition, 609 ; Science of Nature-history, Nasarvanji Jivanji Ready- money, 172; Scientific Work of the Locai Government Board, Prof. R. T. Hewlett, 235; the British Science Guild, 274; Science at Recent Educational Conferences, G. F. Daniell, 281; Forthcoming Books of Science, 427; Actualités scientifiques, Max de Nansouty, 437; Science and Industry, 621; der naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch-heuristischer Grundlage, Dr. F. Danne- mann, Supp. to March 5, viii with Natural from the Scientific Centres, Some, XII., the Botanical Institute of the University of Bonn, Prof. E. Strasburger, Prof. D. M. Mottier, 321 Scientific Worthies, Sir William Crookes, F.R.S., Prof. P. Zeeman, 1 Scotland: Scottish Natural History Society, on the Inci- dence of the Daylight as a determining Factor in Bird- migration, Address by Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S., 159; the Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland, B. N. Peach, John Horne, W. Gunn, C. T. Clough, L. Hinxman, and J. J. H. Teall, Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., 272; Scottish National Antarctic Ex- pedition Report on the Scientific Results of the S.Y. Scotia during the Years 1902, 1903, and 1904, under the Leadership of W. S. Bruce, Vol. ii., Physics, 618 Scott (Charlotte A.), Cartesian Plane Geometry, 315 Scouting for Boys, Lieut.-General R. S. S. Baden-Powell, 293 Screw Propeller, Researches on the Performance of the, Prof. W. F. Durand, 416 Sea-shore, the, shown to the Children, Janet Harvey Kelman, Frank Balfour Browne, 533 Sea-water, Radio-activity of, J. Joly, 191 Searchlights: their Theory, Construction, and Application, F. Nerz, «fo Sederholm (Mr.), Granite and Gneiss in Pre-Cambrian Complex of Fenno-Scandia, 184 Sedgwick (Prof.), Relation between the Geographical Dis- tribution and the Classification of the Onychophora, 478 Sedgwick (Rev. S. N.), the Minimising of Maurice, being the Adventures of a very small Boy among very small , Things, 508 See (Dr. T. J. J.), Poseidonius on the Originator of the alter | Experiments on the Effect of High | M. Theory of Atoms, 345; Mochus of Sidon and the Theory of Atoms, 541 Seed and Soil Inoculation for Leguminous Crops, Prof. W. B. Bottomley, 330 Seismology: the International Association of Seismology, 60; British Association Seismology, Prof. John Milne, F.R.S., 198; Seismographs and Seismograms, R. D. Oldham, 246; the Californian Earthquake of 1906, 251; Seismic Radiations, Dr. C. G. Knott, 335; Methods of Construction adopted in Re-building Calabrian Villages destroyed in the Earthquake of September 8, 1905, Prof. Mario Baratta, 468; Possibility of a Causal Connection between the Two Earthquakes on August 16, 1906, in the Northern Pacific and in Chile, Dr. E. Oddone, 468; Earthquakes, an Introduction to Seismic Geology, William Herbert Hobbs, 481; Recent Earthquakes, Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S., at Royal Institution, 592 Selenium, the Photoelectric Property of, Prof. George M. Minchin, F.R.S., 173, 222; Richard J. Moss, 198; Dr. Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S., 198 Selenium Photometer, Determination of the Moon’s Light with a, J. Stebbins and F. C. Brown, 258, 302 Sella (Prof. Alfonso), Death and Obituary Notice of, 133 Sellers (Dr. Coleman), Death and Obituary Notice of, 325 Selwyn-Brown (A.), Tin-mining Industry, World’s Produc- tion of Tin Last Year, 157 Semple (Miss E. C.), Geographical Boundaries, 64 Senderens (J. B.), Catalytic Power of Silica and Alumina, 311 B—N—-8 Senier (A.), Attempted Synthesis of | -dinaphacri- dine, 238 Sero-therapy : Immune Sera, Dr. C. F. Bolduan, 411 Sewage, Pollution of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers by Chicago, Marshall O. Leighton, 68 Sewage, Utilisation of Turf for the Purification of, A. Muntz and E. Laine, 287 Sex, Mendelism and, G. Archdall Reid at Linnean Society, 236 Share-Jones (John T.), the Surgical Anatomy of the Horse, 170 : Shaw (J. B.), Synopsis of Linear Associative Algebra, 603 Shaw (Dr. W. N., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Sir Richard Strachey, K.C.S.I., F.R.S., 3 Shaxby (John H.), Method of Yellow,’’ 32 Shenstone (W. A., F.R.S.), Death of, 324; Notice of, Prof. William A. Tilden, F.R.S., 348 Shephard (Dr. William Kent), Problems in Strength of Materials, 365 Shepherd (Rev. C. W.), Notes on the Birds of Kent, 511 Sheppard (T.), British Chariot Burial discovered at Hun- manby, 180 Sherrington (Prof. C. S., F.R.S.), Reciprocal Innervation of Antagonistic Muscles, 333; Nerve as a Master of Muscle, Discourse at Royal Institution, 569 Sherzer (Dr. William Hittell), Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks (Smithsonian Expedition of 1904), 95 observing the ‘ Subjective Obituary 463 f Shipbuilding, Inter-relation of the Theory and Practice of J. J. O’Neill, 327 Shorthorns, Mendelian Characters among, Prof. James Wilson, 509, 559; Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 559; Prof. John G. McKendrick, 582 : Shrubsall (Dr. F. C.), Notes on some Bushman Crania and Bones from the South African Museum, Cape Town, 211 Sibley (T. F.), Faunal Succession in Carboniferous Lime- stone of Midland Area, 189 iG Sidis (Dr. Boris), New Explanation of Hallucinations, 589 Siebenrock (F.), a Monographic Revision of the American Tortoises of the Family Cinosternide, 304 Silberrad (O.), the Metallic Picrates, 383 Siivered Mirrors, Temperature Control of, Dr. Heber D. Curtis. 137 { Simmonds (C.), India-rubber and its Manufacture, with Chapters on Gutta-percha and Balata, Hubert L. Terry, 206 Siuant (M.), the Recent Transit of Mercury, 116 Simpson (George C.), Auroral Characteristics of Clouds, 344 Simroth (Dr. Heinrich), die Pendulations-theorie, 508 xvi Index Nature, June 11, 1,08 Practical Practical Second Year’s Course in Third Year’s Course in Sinclair (James), a Physics, 482; a Physics, 482 Singing Sand from New England, S. Skinner, 188 Singrun (M.), the Audiffren Refrigerator, 215 Sippel (Dr. W.), Structure of the Roof of the Mouth in Birds and Mammals, 155 Sisson (H. A.), Action of Metallic Magnesium on Aliphatic Acids and the Detection of Formic Acid, 190 Skinner (S.), Singing Sand from New England, Musical Sands, 248 Slade (R. E.), Reducibility of Magnesium Oxide by Carbon, 383 Slater (R. C.), the Winding of Rivers in Plains, 79 Slator (A.), the Mechanism of Alcoholic Fermentation, 335 Sleeping Sickness: Connection between Crocodiles and, Prof. Koch, 16; the Cure and Prevention of, 36; Pro- ceedings of the First International Conference on, held at London, June, 1907, 440; the Development of Trypano- somes in Tsetse-flies and other Diptera, Prof. E. A. Minchin, 494 Slide-rules, New, Messrs. J. J. Griffin and Sons, 500 Slipher (Mr.), Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, 188 ; _ 497 Smalian (Prof. Karl), Grundziige der Tierkunde fiir hohere Lehranstalten, 76; Grundziige der Pflanzenkunde, 481; Anatomische Physiologie der Pflanzen und der Menschen, 481 Smedley (Miss I.), Refractive Power of Diphenylhexatriene and Allied Hydrocarbons, 166 Smiles (S.), the Sulphination of Phenolic Ethers and the Influence of Substituents, 502 Smith (Bruce), an Annotated Copy of Newton’s ‘ Prin- cipia,’’ 510 Smith (Colonel F., C.B., C.M.G.), a Manual of Veterinary Physiology, 219 Smith (F. E.), the Silver Voltameter, 165; Chemistry of the Silver Voltameter, 165; the Normal Weston Cadmium Cell, 165 Smith (G. Le Blanc), Dragonesque Forms on, and beneath, Fonts, 156 Smith (H. G.), the Essential Oil, 480 Smith (Mr.), Molasses as Cattle Food, 590-1 Smith (Dr. Ramsay), Teeth of Australians, 64 Smith (S. W. J.), Contact Potential Differences determined by Means of Null Solutions, 477; Thermomagnetic Analysis of Meteoric and Artificial Nickel-iron Alloys, 574 Smith (Winifred), Anatomy of some Sapotaceous Seedlings, 598 Smith (Worthington), Eolith Stone Implements, 615 Smithsonian Expedition of 1904, Glaciers of the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks, Dr. William Hittell Sherzer, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., 463 Smithsonian Institution, the, 357 Srelling (W. O.), the Waste of Life in American Coal- mining, 419 Society of Chemical Industry, 118, 189, 263, 382, 508 Soddy (Frederick), the Wehnelt Kathode in a Vacuum, 53, 197 Soddy (F.), Eiectrical Discharge in Monatomic Gases, 310 Soil-geology of Ireland. a Description of the, based upon Geological Survev Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate, J. R. Kilroe, 4 Sola (J. Comas), Observation of the Transit of Mercury of November 14, 167 < Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908, the Total, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer, 104, 274 Solar Eclipse of August, 1905, Spanish Observation of the Total, 446 Solar Prominence, a Large, Dr. A. A. Rambaut, 66 Solar Prominence of May 21, 1907, the Large, Father Fénvi, 446 Solar Prominences in 1906, Prof. Ricco, 138 Solar Spectroscopy, the Objective Prism in, E. Schaer, 401 Solar Spectrum: the Helium Line, D.. as a Dark Line in the, A. A. Buss, 377; the Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spectrum, Captain Daunt, 520 Solidification of Helium, the. Prof. Alfred W. Porter, 437 Sollas (Prof. W. J.), on the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neanderthal Race, 262 Australian Melaleucas and their High Solomon (John J.), Radiography in Pearl Fishing, 331 Solomon’s Temple: its History and Structure, Rey. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x Somerville (Prof. W.), Heredity and Forestry, 279 Sorby (Dr. H. C., F.R.S.), on the Colouring Matters of Flowers, 260; Application of Quantitative Methods to the Study of the Structure and History of Rocks, 334; Best Means of preserving Marine Invertebrates for Museum Purposes, 375 Sorby (Dr. H. C., F.R.S.), Death of, 443; Obituary Notice of, 465 Sound: the New Matriculation Sound, 482 South (Richard), the Moths of the British Isles, 483 Southern» Hemisphere, a New Expedition to the, 544 Southwell (T.), the Arctic Whaling Voyage of Last Year, 417 Spanish Obse:vation of the Total Sclar Eclipse of August, 1905, 446 Specific Gravity Balance for Large Rock Specimens, a, T. H. D. la Touche, 221 Spectroscope, Echelon, H. Stansfield, 198, 222 Spectrum Analysis: Method of Observing the ‘‘ Subjective Yellow,’’ John H. Shaxby, 32; Ultra-violet Region in Sun-spot Spectra and Spectrum of Comet d 1907, J. Ever- shed, 94; Binocular Diffraction Spectroscope, Dr. Marshall Watts, 115; Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries, Dr. Curtis, 138; Presence of Sulphur in some of the Hotter Stars, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., 141; Spectroscopic Determination of the Rotation of the Sun, Prof. Adams, 158; Newly Discovered Spectroscopic Binaries, A. B. Turner, 158; Stars having Peculiar Spectra, Mrs. Fleming, 158; Weakened Lines in Sun- spot Spectra, Nagaraja, 158; Sun-spot Spectra, Prof. W. S. Adams, 421; Charles M. Olmsted, 421; Apparatus designed for Stars composed partly of Gas and partly of Solid Particles, H. Deslandres, 167; Apparatus for the Production of Spark Spectra of Solutions, A. de Gramont, 168; Provisional Elements for the Spectroscopic Binary a Andromedz, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 182; Absorp- tion Spectra of Collidine and g-Chlorcollidine, J. E. Purvis and W. H. Foster, 190; Flame Spectra obtained by the Electrical Method, G. A. Hemsalech and C. de Watteville, 215; the Spectra of Two Meteors, M. Blakjo, 234: the Constancy of Wave-lengths of Spectral Lines, Prof. Kayser, 234; an Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating, Prof. P. Zeeman, 247; Intensity of Spectrum Lines, A. D. Cowper, 248; on the Colouring Matters of Flowers, Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., 260; the Absorption Spectrum of Protochloro- phyll, N. A. Monteverde, 279; the Absorption of D, (Helium) in the Neighbourhood of Sun-spots, Father Cortie, 281; the Helium Line, D,, as a Dark Line in the Solar Spectrum, A. A. Buss, 377: the Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spectrum, Captain Daunt, 520; the Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary @ Aquila, W. E. Harper, 281; Cause of the Slight Variability of Wave-length of Spectral Lines, Prof. F. Exner and Dr. E. Haschek, 304; the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of Nova Persei No. 2, Prof. Hartmann, 377; the Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy, E. Schaer, 401; a Fundamental Contra- diction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum Series, Dr. G. A. Schott, 413; the Spectrum of the Aurora Borealis, Dr. W. Marshall Watts, 421; the Flame Spectra of Metals, Drs. Hemsalech and de Watteville, 446; Spectrum of the Discharge from a Glowing Lime Kathode in Mercury Vapour, F. Horto1, 454; the Two-fold Line Spectra of Chemical Elements, E. Goldstein, 460: Measurements of the Zeeman Effect for the Principal Lines of Helium, Dr. W. Lohmann, 470; Two Remarkable Spectroscopic Binaries. Mr. Gore, 520; Absorption Spectra of Crystals of the Rare Earths in a Magnetic Field at the Tem- peratures of the Liquefaction and Solidification of Hydrogen, Jean Becquerel and H. Kamerlingh Onnes, 527: Lines presenting a Zeeman Phenomenon abnormal in the Sense of the Magnetic Lines of Force, A. Dufour, 527; Presence of Spark Lines in the Arc Spectrum, Ch. Fabry and H. Buisson, Satellites of Yellow and Green Lines of Mercury, Prof. H. Nagaoka, 581; Effect of Pressure on the Wave-lengths of the Absorption Lines of Nitrogen Peroxide and Bromine, A. Dufour, 589; 470°: Nature, ] June 11, 1908 Index xlvii Spectroscopic Binaries now under Observation, Prof. Frost, 590; Prof. Hartmann, 590; Prof. Pickering, 590; Magnetic Resolution of Spectral Lines and Magnetic Force, Prof. P. Zeeman, 615; Flame Spectra of Iron, G. A. Hemsalech and C. de Watteville, 623 ; the Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmosphere of Mars, Prof. Percival Lowell, 606; the Theory of Dispersion and Spectrum Series, Norman R. Campbell, 607 Speech, the Mechanism of, Alexander Graham Bell, Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S., 483 Speech and Song, Voice Training in, H. H. Hulbert, 317 Speed of Racing Animals, the, Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., 399 Spence (Dr. D.), the Insoluble Constituent of Para Rubber, J 180 : Spencer (J. F.), the Direct Interaction of Aryl Halides and Magnesium, 239; Quantitative Separation of Thallium from Silver, 551 Spencer (L. J.), Hopeite and other Zinc Phosphates from Broken Hill Mines, 143 Spicer (Rev. E. C.), the Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired ’’ Charac- ters, 247, 342 Spitta (E. J.), Microscopy: the Construction, Theory, and Use of the Microscope, 314 é Spring (Prof. Waltheére), the Allotropic Forms of Sulphur, 27 Bingen (Frank), Genera of Crinoidea flexibilia, 117 Stability in Flight, A. Mallock, F.R.S., 293; Major B. Baden-Powell, 320; Herbert Chatley, 320 Standard Time in Egypt, Distribution of, Capt. H. G. Lyons, 497 Stansbie (J. H.), Iron and Steel, 579 Stansfield (H.), Echelon Spectroscope, 198, 222 Stanton (Dr. J. E.), Experiments on Wind-pressure, 139 Stapes, the Function of the, 289 Staples-Browne (R.), the Inheritance of Colour in Domestic Pigeons, with Special Reference to Reversion, 430 Stark (Prof. J.), the Wave-length of Roéntgen Rays, 320 Stars: Red Stars near Nova Velorum, Mrs. Fleming, 42; the Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary @ Aquila, W. E Harper, 281; Measures of Double Stars, C. P. Olivier and R. E. Wilson, 281; Two Hundred New Double Stars, Prof. Aitken, 328; the Accuracy of Double Star Measures, Prof. Doberck, 328; Stars having Peculiar Spectra, Mrs. Fleming, 158; Nova Persei, 1901, Prof. Barnard, 182; the Recent Spectrum and Magnitude of Nova Persei, No. 2, Prof. Hartmann, 377; Provisional Elements for the Spectroscopic Binary a Andromede, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 182; the Distortion of Photographic Films in Stellar Work, Dr. Frank Schlesinger, 328; Forty-one New Variable Stars, 329; a Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars, H. B. Hedrick, 353; the Variable Star 31, 1907, Aurige, Prof. Hartwig, 471; the Dispersion of Light in Interstellar Space, Dr. C. Nordmann, 497; Dr. Nordmann’s Variable Star Observations, 520; Meridian Circle Observations of Parallax Stars, 544; Two Remark- able Spectroscopic Binaries, Mr. Gore, 520; the Recent Maximum of Mira Ceti, Félix de Roy, 544; Observations of Eros, G. Wan Biesbroeck, 590; Variable Radial Velocity of » Virginis, W. E. Harper, 590; Spectro- scopic Binaries now under Observation, Prof. Frost, 590; Prof. Hartmann, 590; Prof. Pickering, 590; the Re- lations between the Colours and Periods of Variable Stars, S. Beljawsky, 590; the Children’s Book of Stars, G. E. Mitton, 605; a New Star-finder, C. Baker, 616; Systematic Motions of the Stars, Prof. Dyson, 616 Starvation, the Scientific Study of, 610 Statics: Elementary Statics, W. P. Borchardt, 315; a First Statics, C. S. Jackson and R. M. Milne, 555 Statistics: Statistics of Insanity and Inheritance of Insane Diathesis, David Heron, 179; Relations between Mortality of Infants and High Temperatures, Dr. E. Van Everdingen, 206; Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, ii., a First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 394 Statue of Lamarck, the International Memorial, Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S., 149 Steam and Other Engines, J. Duncan, 2c Stebbing (E. P.), Insects Injurious to Sal-forests of Assam, 587 Stebbing (Rev. T. R. R.), South African Crustaceans, 613 Stebbins (Dr. Joel), Double-star Observations, 401 Stebbins (J.), Determination of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium Photometer, 258, 302 : Steche (Dr.), Two Luminous Archipelago, 15 Steel: les Aciers spéciaux, L. Revillon, 317; Iron and, J. H. Stansbie, 579 Stecle (Dr. Bertram D.), Electrolysis of Salt Solutions in Liquefied Sulphur Dioxide, 47 Steinmann (Gustav), Einfiihrung 558 Stejneger (L.), Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Terri- tory, Of Stephenson (A.), New Type of Dynamical Stability, 359 Stephenson (J. H. N.), the Elements of Geography, 484 Stereoscopy: a New Method of Stereoscopic Photography, Prof. G. Lippmann, 452; die binokularen Instrumente, Moritz von Rohr, Supp. to March 5, iv Stimulus and Response, Physiological, 5. ill Stock Frost or Ground Ice, Rev. John J. Hampson, 295; James Thomson, 366; Prof. H. T. Barnes, 412 Stokes (E. M.), the Direct Interaction of Aryl Halides and Magnesium, 239 Stokey (Miss A. G.), Roots of Lycopodium pithyoides, 64 Stolyhwo (K.), Human Skull from the Historic Period presenting Indications of Close Affinity with the Spy-Neanderthal Type, 587 Stoney (Dr. G. Johnstone), the Habitability of Mars, 461 Stozir (Prof. Ivan), Death of, 397 Strachan (R.), Indications of Approaching Frost, 188 Strachey (Lieut.-General Sir Richard, G.C.S.1., F.R.S.), Death of, 373; Obituary Notice of, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 395 Strasburger (Prof. E.), Some Scientific Centres, xii., the Botanical Institute of the University of Bonn, 321 Stratford (Prof. W.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 374 Stream Surfaces and Equipotentials, Freehand Graphic Way of determining, L. F. Richardson, 118 Strecker (Dr. Friedrich), das MKausalitatsprinzip der Biologie, 507 Strengers (Th.), Explosive Rhodium, 519 Strength of Materials, W. C. Popplewell, 412 Strength of Materials, Problems in, Dr. William Kent Shephard, 365 Stresses in Masonry Dams, an Experimental Study of, Karl Pearson, F.R.S., A. F. Campbell Pollard, C.. W. Wheen, and L. F. Richardson, Prof. E. Brown, 209 Stresses in Masonry Dams, the, H. M. Martin, 269, 320, 392; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 269; Prof.» Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 269, 366; Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.I.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore, J. S. Wilson and W. Gore, at Institution of Civil Engineers, 303 Stromeyer (C. E.), the Isothermal Layer of the Atmo- sphere, 48 Strong (W. W.), the Penetrating Radiation, 343 Stroobant (Prof. P.), les Progrés de la Photographie astronomique, 508 Structure of the Corona, Prof. Hansky, 590 Strutt (Hon. R. J., F.R.S.), Association of Helium and Thorium in Minerals, 141; Radium and the Earth’s Heat, 365 Stiicker (Dr. N.), the Sensitiveness of Many Persons to Small Differences of Pitch, 304 Sturge (Dr. Mary D.), Alcohol and the Human Body, 387 “Subjective Yellow,’’ Method of Observing the, John H. Shaxby, 32 Suess (Prof.), Peculiarities in Heavenly Bodies, 490 Sugar-canes, Disease-resisting, Sir D. Morris, K.C.M.G., 438 Sulphur as an Insulator, Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, F.R.S., 149 Sun: Spectroscopic Determination of the Rotation of the, Prof. Adams, 158; a Useful Sun and Planet Chart, 302; the Sun and the Clock, 372; the Recent Total Solar Eclipse, 544; Structure of the Corona, Prof. Hansky, 590 Sun-spot Observations, T. Epstein, 544 Sun-spot Spectra, Weakened Lines in, Mr. Nagaraja, 158 Sun-spot Spectra, Prof. W. S. Adams, 421; Charles M. Olmsted, 421 Fishes from the Malay in die Paldontologie, Supp. to March the Structure of some xlvil Index Nature June 15, 1908 Sun-spots, the Absorption of D, (Helium) in the Neighbour- hood of, Father Cortie, 281 Sunshine and Sport in Florida F. G. Aflalo, 128 Surgery: Death of Dr. Thomas Annandale, Surgical Anatomy of the Horse, the, John T. 170 Surveying : Aitken, 244 Surveys of Nebula, P. Gotz, 90 Sutton (A. W.), Brassica Crosses, 334; Wild Types and Species of the Tuber-bearing Solanums, 476 Sutton (J. R.), the Supposed Cloud-dispersing Power of the Full Moon, 518 Swain (R. E.), the Smoke from Metallurgical Works, 376 Swinton (A. A. Campbell), Formation of Gas Bubbles in the Glass of Vacuum Tubes, 374; the Conversion of Diamond into Coke in High Vacuum by Kathode Rays, and the West Indies, 178 Share-J ones, Maintenance, Thomas Road-making and 549 Sykes (Major), Find of Bronze Weapons, Implements, and Vessels at Khinaman, South-east Persia, 139 Systematic Motions of the Stars, Prof. Dyson, 616 Tabata (S.), Microchemical Examination of Fruits of Rhus succedanea, 279 Tabernacle, the, its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x Talbot (A..N.), Tests of Reinforced Concrete Beams, 232 Tammes (T.), Stem of the Flax Plant, 445 Tancredi (Captain), Climate of Eritrea, 88 Tanner (Mr.), Glacial Phenomena of Finmark, 185 Tasmania, Nests and Eggs of Birds found breeding in Australia and, A. J. North, 76 Tassin (Wirt), the Canyon Diablo Meteorites, 208 Taylor (Rev. C. S.), Martinmas in May, 510 Taylor (E. R.), the Production in the Electric Furnace of Carbon Bisulphide, 519 Taylor (T. U.), Underground Waters of the Costal Plain of Texas, 68 Teall (J. J. H.), the Geological Structure of the North- west Highlands of Scotland, Petrological Notes, 272 Technical Research and the College System, W. P. Dreaper, 367 Technology : Modern Science and American, 49; Chapters on Paper-making, Clayton Beadle, 121 Telegraphy: Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus on board French Warships, 62; Magnetic Oscillators as Radiators in Wireless Telegraphy, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 71; the Use of Variable Mutual Inductances, A. Campbell, 71; New Transatlantic Wireless Station at Knockroe, the Poulsen System of Wireless Telegraphy by Undamped Waves, 88 ; Determination of the Time, both on Land and at Sea, with the Aid of Wireless Telegraphy, Bouquet de la Grye, 551; Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix Telephony: Propagation of Telephone Currents through Subterranean Lines, Henri Abraham and M. Devaux- Charbonnel, 167; Conditions of Maximum Yield for Telephonic Apparatus, Henri Abraham and M. Devaux- Charbonnel, 215; Jelephoning without Wires, Valdemar Poulsen, 587; Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix; Wireless Telephony in Theory and Practice, E. Ruhmer, Supp. to March 5, ix Telescopes: the Systematic Error of Latitude observed with a Zenith Telescope, Herr Battermann and K. Hirayama, 42; the Appearance of Neptune in Small Telescopes, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Maw, 258 Tellurian, the ‘‘ Day by Messrs. G. Philip and Son, 157 Tempany (H. A.), the Keeping Power of Fehling’s Solution, 263 Temperature Control of Silvered Mirrors, Dr. Heber D. Curtis, 137 Terroine (E.), Influence of the Reaction on the Size of the Colloidal Granules, 119 Terry (Hubert L.), India-rubber and its Manufacture, with Chapters on Gutta-percha and Balata, 296 Theobald (Fred. V.), the Story of Insect Life, W. P. Westell, 175 of the Medium Therapeutics: Therapeutics of Trypanosomes, A. Laveran and A. Thiroux, 47; New Treatment for Consumption, 254 Thermodynamics: Experimental and Theoretical Applica- tions of Thermodynamics to Chemistry, Dr. Walther Nernst, 52; a Convenient Formula in Thermodynamics, Harvey N. Davis, 80; Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektrochemie auf thermodynamischer Grundlage, J. J- van Laar, 389 Thévenot (L.), Characters of ‘Tuberculous Infection in their Relations with the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis, 503 Thiroux (A.), Therapeutics of Trypanosomes, 47 Thiselton-Dyer (Sir W. T., K.C.M.G., F.R.S.), Specific Stability and Mutation, 77, 127; Mulattos, 126 Thomalen (Dr. Adolf), & Text-beok of Electrical Engineer- ing, 124 Thomas (F.), Analysis of Indigo, 118 Thomas (Hugh H.), the Structure of Sigillavia scutellata, 549 Thomas (H. H.), Metamorphic Minerals in Calcareous Rocks in the Bodmin and Camelford Areas, 574 Thomas (N. W.), ‘‘ Grave Stones’? from New South Wales, 94 Thomas (V.), Derivatives of Thiophene, 528 Thompson (Dr. Ashburton), the Interdependence of the Rat and Plague, 113; Protection of India from Plague, 133 Thompson (Prof. Silvanus P., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Lord Kelvin, 175 Thomson (Elihu), Globular Lightning, 178 Thomson (James), Ground Ice, 366 Thomson (J. D.), Experimental Treatment of Trypanoso- miasis in Rats, 238 Thomson (Prof. J. J., F.R.S.), the Nature of y-Rays, 454; Velocity of Kathodic Secondary Radiation, 454; the Corpuscular Theory of Matter, 505 Thornton (Mr.), the Tuberculin Test for Cattle, 213 Thorpe (Prof. T. E., C.B., F.R.S.), the Centenary of Davy’s Discovery of the Metals of the Alkalis, Lecture at Royal Institution, 305 Thoulet (J.), Possible Presence of Microscopic Diamonds on the Sea-floor and in a Specimen of Vegetable Earth, 407 Ticehurst (Mr.), Spread of the Little Owl in England, 564 Ticehurst (N. F.), Bird-bones from Broch of Ayre, Orkney, 467 Tidal Investigations in Canada, W. Bell Dawson, 202 Tiddeman (Mr.), Pre-glacial Raised Beach traced from Mumbles Head westward, 184 Tierkunde, Grundziige der, fiir hGhere Lehranstalten, Prof. Karl Smalian, 76 Tiffeneau (Marc), Mechanism of the Transposition of the Phenyl Group in the Iodohydrins and Aromatic Glycols, 263 Tilden (Prof. William A., F.R.S.), Obituary W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S., 348 Till (Dr. A.), Examples found in the Neocomian, 184 Tillyard (R. J.), Dragon-flies from Central Australia, 192 ; Australian Genus Petalura Dragon-fly, 192; the Dragon- flies of South-western Australia, 192 Time Distribution, Public Clocks and, 253 Tin-mining Industry, World’s Production of Tin Last Year, A. Selwyn-Brown, 157 Tischbrock (L. M. de la Motte), der Neue Leitfaden, 268 Tissot (C.), Correction of the Astigmatism of Doubly Refracting Prisms, 95 Todd (Sir Charles), Meteorological Observations in South Australia and the Northern Territory during 1905, 352 Todd (R. A.), the Food of Fishes, 524 Tonge (James), Coal, 389 Topography of the Air, Possibilities of a, based on Balloon Observations, Capt. C. H. Ley, 188, 566 Town Gas and its Uses for the Production of Light, Heat, and Motive Power, W. H. Y. Webber, 340 Traction, Electric, Prof. Ernest Wilson and Francis Lydall, Gisbert Kapp, 169 Transmissibilité de Caractéres acquis, Rignano, 193 Transpiration and Anatomical Structure in Tropical Plants, 365) Notice of sur la, Eugenio Nature, June 11, 1508 Lndex xlix Transplantation, Regeneration and, Prof. E. Korschelt, 99 Transvaal Biological Society, 576 Transvaal Mines Department, Report of the Geological Survey for the Year 1906, Dr. F. H. Hatch, 346 Traquair (Dr. R. H., F.R.S.), Dr. Edward. Sang’s Collec- tion of M.S. Calculations in Trigonometry and Astronomy, 13 Travers (Dr. Morris Technical Institute, Helium, 606 Trees: Etude sur les Foudroiements d’arbres constatés en Belgique pendant les Années 1884-1906, E. Vander- W., F.R.S.), the Victoria Jubilee Bombay, 31; the Condensation of linden, 197; Worms and Tree-planting, E. A. Andrews, | 205; Trees and their Life-histories, Prof. P. Groom, 538 Treloar (A.), the Separation of Tin-oxide from Wolfram, ii Trent, the Shaping of Lindsey by the, F. M. Burton, 371 Trigonometry: Dr. Edward Sang’s Collection of MS. Cal- culations in Trigonometry and Astronomy, Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., 13; Elementary Trigonometry, C. Hawkins, 315 Trillat (A.), Formation of Acetic Aldehyde in Alcoholic Fermentations, 528 Trituberculism: Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type, H. F. Osborn, 435 Trewbridge (Prof.), the Study of Meteor Trains, 328 Trypanosomiasis in Rats, Experimental Treatment of, H. G. Plimmer and J. D. Thomson, 238 Tuberculosis: New Method of Reaction of the Skin to Tuberculosis and its Utilisation in Diagnosis, J. Ligniéres, 23; Influence of Feeding on the Course of Experimental Tuberculosis, MM. Lannelongue, Achard, and Gaillard, 95; the Tuberculin Test for Cattle, Mr. Bruce, 213; Mr. Thornton, 213; Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, ii., a First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S., 394; Characters of Tuberculous Infection in their Re- lations with the Diagnosis of, S. Arloing and L. Thévenot, 503; Sanatoria for Consumption, Dr. R. Fielding-Ould, 546 Turnbull (V. M.), Arithmetic for Schools, 27 Turneaure (F. E.), Principles of Reinforced Concrete Con- struction, Supp. to March 5, vi Turner (A. B.), Newiy Discovered Spectroscopic Binaries, 158 apace (Drysdale), Life-history of the Warble-flies Hypo- derma lineata and H. bovis, 279 Turner (Emma L.), Home-life of some Marsh-birds, 393 Tutin (F.), Interaction of Methylene Chloride and the Sodium Derivative of Ethyl Malonate, 94; the Root and Leaves of Morinda longiflora, 94; the Melting Point of d-Phenylglucosazone, 94 Twiss (D. F.), a Coursé of Practical Organic Chemistry, 74 Uchiyama (M.), Influence of Stimulating Compounds on Crops, 376 Ultra-violet Light, Tonisation of Air by, Frederic Palmer, jun., 582 Underwood (Prof. L. M.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 62 United States, Hydrology in the, 68, 404 Universities: University and Educational Intelligence, 21, 45, 69, 92, 117, 140, 163, 187, 214, 237, 261, 286, 300, 332, 357, 381, 404, 428, 452, 475, 501, 525, 548, 572, 597) 621; the Increased Endowment of Universities, Lord Kelvin and the University of Glasgow, 200; Exten- sions at University College, London, 525 Uranus, Occultations of, in 1908, 353 Urbain (G.), a New Element, Lutecium, 48; Compounds of Terbium and Dysprosium, 311; Lutecium and Neoytterbium, 432 € Ursze Majoris, the System of (Mizar), Prof. Frost, 471 B Urse Majoris, Variation in the Radial Velocity of, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 520 1523 Urwick (W. E.), the Child’s Mind: its Growth and Training, 410 Urzeugung, die Lésung des Problems der, (Archigonia, Generatio spontanea), Martin Kuckuck, 29 Ussher (Mr.), Geology of the Country around Plymouth and Liskeard, 495 Vacuum, the Wehnelt Kathode in a High, Frederick Soddy, 53, 197; Prof. O. W. Richardson, 197 4 Vaillant (Charles), Possibility of establishing the Diagnosis of Death by Radiography, 96 Vaillant (P.), Velocity of Evaporation and a Method of Determining the Hygrometric State Valeur (Amand), Isosparteine, 216 Vallentine (E. J.), Mining Tables, 317 Van der Waals and his Successors, 387 Van Nostrand’s Chemical Annual, 1907, 267 ‘ Vanderlinden (E.), Etudes sur les Foudroiements d’arbres constatés en Belgique pendant les Années 1884-1906, 197 Variable Radial Velocity of 7 Virginis, W. E. Harper, 599 Variable Stars: Final Designations of Recently Discovered Variables, 90; Forty-one New Wariable Stars, 329; a New Variable of the U Geminorum Type, Prof. Hartwig, 446; the Variable Star, 31, 1907, Auriga, Prof. Hartwig, 471; Variable Star Observations, Dr. Nordmann’s, 520; the Relations between the Colours and Periods of, S. Beljawsky, 590 Variation in the Radial Velocity of 8 Urse Majoris, Dr. H. Ludendorff, 520 Variation: Specific Stability and Mutation, Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., 77, 127; R. H. Lock, 127 Vaughan (Dr. A.), the Carboniferous Rocks at Lough- shinny, 527 Vaughan (T. Wayland), Recent Hawaiian Islands and Laysan, 499 Vegetation der Erde, die, vii., die Pflanzenwelt von West Australien stdlich des Wendekreises, Dr. L. Diels, 171 Veitch (James Herbert), Death and Obituary Notice of, 86 Velenovsky (Dr. Jos.), Vergleichende Morphologie der Pflanzen, 76 Veley (Miss L. L.), Luminous Barn-owls, 299 Veley (V. H.), Affinity Constants of Bases determined by the Agency of Methyl Orange, 166; Hydrolysis as illus- trated by Heats of Neutralisation, 454 Venus, Recent Observations of, J. M. Harg, 471 Vertebrate Fauna of Patagonia, the Extinct, 68 Vertebrates, the Nervous System of, Prof. J. B. Johnston, Dr. W. Page May, 73 Verworn (Prof. Max), Physiologisches Praktikum fiir Mediziner, 148; die Mechanik des Geisteslebens, 556 Veterinary Physiology, a Manual of, Colonel F. Smith, C.B., C.M.G., Dr. Percy T. Herring, 219 Veterinary Surgery: the Tuberculin Test for Cattle, Mr Bruce, 213; Mr. Thornton, 213 Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Morris W. Travers, 31 Vignon (Léo), Carbon Monoxide in Coal Gas, 168 Viguier (M.), y-Oxytetrolic Acid, 384 Vineart (P.), Observations of Jupiter during the Present Opposition, 471 Vincent (M. J.), the Balloon Ascent of July 25, 1907, 445 Violle (J.), Machines for Driving Away Hail, 455 y Virginis, the Orbit of, Dr. Doberck, 446 n Virginis, Variable Radial Velocity of, W. E. Harper, 590 Viscosité des Liquides et des Gaz, Lecons sur la, Marcel Brillouin, 341 Vision, Problems of, 193 ““ Vitascope,’’ the, Newton and Co., 233 Viticulture: Production of Grapes without Pips, Lucien Daniel, 48 Vogl (Sebastian), die Physik Roger Bacos, 268 Voice Training in Speech and Song, H. H. Hulbert, 317 Voieikoff (A. I.), Distributions of Populations of the Earth in Dependence upon Natural Conditions and the Activity of Man, 408 Voit (F. W.), Kimberlite Dykes and Pipes, 224; the Origin of Diamonds, 224 Volcanoes: Disappearance of McCulloch Peak, Bogoslof Isiand, Lieut. B. H. Camden, 86; Vesuvius again Active, 230; Report on the Eruptions of the Soufriére in St. Vincent in 1902, the Changes in the Districts and the » 593 Madreporaria of the Bombay, the, Dr. Subsequent History of the Volcanoes, Dr. Tempest Anderson, 549 Voorhees (Dr. Edward B.), Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay, and Pasture, 388 | Index Nature, June 11, 1908 Wade (E. B. H.), a Field Method of Determining Longi- tudes, 590 Wagenen (I. F. Van), Product of the World’s Gold Mines for the Year 1906, 280 Wahl (A.), Derivatives of Phenylisoxazolone, 527 Wales, Archeological Remains in, and the Marches, 227 Wales, Astronomy in, 421 Walker (C. E.), Life-history of Leucocytes, Part ii., on the Origin of the Granules, Part iii., Phenomena occurring in Leucocytes, 71 Walker (Charles Edward), the Essentials of Cytology, 410 Walker (H.), Glaciers in Lahaul, 201 Wallace (Dr.), Age and Growth-rate of Plaice in the Southern North Sea determined by the Otolith, 523 Wallace (Dr. Alfred Russel, F.R.S.), Is Mars Habitable? a Critical Examination of Prof. Lowell's Book, ‘*‘ Mars and its Canals,’’? with an Alternative Explanation, 337 Walter (Dr. B.), Classification of Secondary X-Radiators, 62 Walter (Dr. Heinrich), Phenomena occurring when Soda is Causticised by Means of Lime, 304 Wanning (H.), Meteors Observed on January 2, 353 Warburg (E.), Chemical Changes occurring when Air is submitted to the Influence of Electricity, 41 Ward (Dr. H. A.), the Williamette Meteorite, 12; the Bath Furnace Aérolite, 12 Ward (J. J.), Some Nature Biographies: Plant, Insect, Marine, Mineral, 147 Ward (Prof. R. De C.), Problems of the Tropics, 542 Warth (H.), Method of Ice-making from Pure Water in Winter, 518 Wasp, a Miocene, Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, So Water, Clean, and How to Get It, Allen Hagen, 218 Water Supply of London, the Future, 131 Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere, William E. Rolston, 442; Mr. Slipher, 497; Prof. Lowell, 503, 606 Waters (C. E.), Investigation on the Clark and Weston Standard Ceils, 280 Waterston (Dr. D.), Growth and Development of the Limbs of the Penguin, 407 Watson (D. M. S.), (1) the Cone of Bothrodendron mundum (Will), (2) on the Ulodendroid Scar, 191 Watson (H. E.), Recalculation of Atomic Weights, 7 Watt (Sir G.), the Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World, a Revision of the Genus Gossypium, 241 Watteville (C. de), Flame Spectra obtained by the Elec- trical Method, 215; the Flame Spectra of Metals, 446; Flame Spectra of Iron, 623 Watts (Dr. Francis), the Keeping Power of Fehling’s Solu- tion, 263 Watts (Dr. Marshall), Binocular Diffraction Spectroscope, 115; the Spectrum of the Aurora Borealis, 421 Wave-length of Rontgen Rays, the, Prof. J. Stark, 320 Wave-lengths of Spectral Lines, the Constancy of, Prof. Kayser, 234 Way (E. J.), Mines, 114 Weakened Lines in Sun-spot Spectra, Mr. Nagaraja, 158 Weathering Phenomena in Building Stones, E. Kaiser, 181 Webb (W. M.), the Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, Supp. to March 5s, vii Webber (W. H. Y.), Town Gas and its Uses for the Pro- duction of Light, Heat, and Motive Power, 340 Weber (Dr. C. A.), the Production of a Moor, 87 Weber (H. C. P.), Re-determination of the Atomic Weight of Chlorine, 543 5 Wegscheider (Prof. Rudolph), Phenomena occurring when Soda is Causticised by Means of Lime, 304 Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum, the, Soddy, 53, 197; Prof. O. W. Richardson, 197 Weights and Measures: the Metric and British Systems of Weights, Measures, and Coinage, Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin, 77; a Series of Standard Weights and Measures for Securing Uniformity in Scientific Papers, 114; Weights and Measures of International Commerce, 317; les récents Progrés du Systéme métrique, Ch.-Ed. Guil- laume, 611 Weiss (Prof.), Search-ephemeris for Comet 1907a (Giaco- bini), 138; Comet 1907 II., 520 Weiss (Prof. F. E.), Immunity to Disease among Plants, Labour-saving Appliances in Transvaal Frederick Address at British Pharmaceutical Conference at Man- chester, 20; the Morphology of Stigmaria and of its Appendages in Comparison with Recent Lycopodiales, 477 Weiss (P.), Comparison of the Energy Losses due to Hysteresis in Iron, Steel, and Nickel, in Alternating and Rotating Magnetic Fields respectively, 327 Welch (Dr. W. H.), the Interdependence of Medicine and other Sciences, Address at Chicago Meeting of American Association, 2383 Wells (H. G.), Mulattos, 149 Wendt (Dr. Johannes), the Saturn Perturbations of Various Comets, 568 Werndly (Dr. L. U. H. C.), an Optical Illusion, 31 Wertheimer (Prof. J.), Continuation Schools in England and Elsewhere, 361 Wesbraat (Mr.), the Quality of Surface Waters in Minne- sota, 68 West Indies, Sunshine and Sport in Florida and, F. G. Aflalo, 128 West (Prof. C. D.), Death of, 254 West (Lionel F.), the Climber’s Pocket Book, Rock-climb- ing Accidents, with Hints on First Aid to the Injured, some Uses of the Rope, Methods of Rescue, and Trans- port, 196 ! Westell (W. P.), the Story of Insect Life, 175 Western (F. E.), a Scheme for the Detection of the More Common Classes of Carbon Compounds, 74 Westlake (Rev. H. F.), Constructions in Geometry, 148 Weston (F. E.), Action of Aluminium Powder on Silica and Boric Anhydride, 47 Whaling Voyage of Last Year, the Arctic, T. Southwell, Practical 41 When (C. W.), an Experimental Study of Stresses in Masonry Dams, 209 Wheldon (J. A.), the Flora of West Lancashire, 194 Whipple (F. J. W.), Graphical Interpolation, 103 White (H. J. Osborne), the Geology of the Country around Hungerford and Newbury, 90 White (M.), Meteorological Observations at the British Kite Stations, Session 1906-7, 188 White (W. P.), Potentiometer Methods of Measuring Tem- perature, 206 Whitehead (Dr.), the Village Deities of Southern India, 278 Whitmell (C. T.), Reflection of Polarised Light, 103 Whitmell (Mr.), Mutual Occultations and Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites, 567 Whittaker’s Arithmetic of Electrical Engineering for Tech- nical Students and Engineers, 365 Wiedemann (Prof. E.), the First Known Mention of the Compass, 377 Wien, das inneralpine Becken der Umgebung von, Dr. Franz X. Schaffer, 172 Wilde Lecture of Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, on the Physicai Aspect of the Atomic Theory, Prof. J. Larmor, Sec. R.S., 450 Wilkinson (S. B.), Geology of Islay, 184 Wilks (W. A. R.), Influence of Light and of Copper on Fermentation, 191 Willey (Dr. A.), Pearl in ‘‘ Window-pane Oyster,’’ Ceylon, 326; Rhynchobdella aculeata in Ceylon, 345 Williams (S. R.), the Symphyla, 39 Willis (Mr.), Potomac River Basin, 68 Willows (Dr. R. S.), the a Particles from Radio-active Substances, 439 Wilsmore (N. T. M.), Keten, 47 Wilson (A. A.), the Flora of West Lancashire, 194 Wilson (Prof. Ernest), Electric Traction, 169 Wilson (Prof. Gregg), Nest Eggs of Platypus, 149 Wilson (Prof. H. A.), Gyroscope illustrating Brennan’s Mono-railway, 189 Wilson (Prof. Harold A., F.R.S.), Radium and the Earth’s Heat, 365 Wilson (Prof. James), Mendelian Characters among Short- horns, 509, 559 Wilson (John H.), Re-determinations of the Atomic Weight of Lead, 496 Wilson (J. S.), Stresses in Masonry Dams, at Institution of Civil Engineers, 303 ee eee ee eee Nature, June 11, 1908. Index Wilson (R. E.), Measures of Double Stars, 281 Wilson (Dr. W. E., F.R.S.), Death and Obituary Notice of, 443 Wind-pressure, Experiments on, Dr. T. E. Stanton, 139 Winding of Rivers in Plains, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.»>., Ti oh Oldham: isk. (G. Slater, 79; J}. Yi: Buchanan, F.R.S., 100; J. Lomas, 102; Dr. john Aitken, F.R.S., 127 Winds of Northern India, the, 353 Winkelmann (Dr. A.), Handbuch der Physik, 559 Wireless Telegraphy: Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus on board French Warships, 62; Magnetic Oscillators as Radiators in Wireless Telegraphy, Dr. J. A. Fleming, 71; the Use of Variable Mutual Inductances, A. Camp- bell, 71; New Transatlantic Wireless Station at Knockroe, the Poulsen System of Wireless Telegraphy by Undamped Waves, 85; Determination of the Time, both on Land and at Sea, with the Aid of Wireless Telegraphy, Bouquet de la Grye, 551; Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Tele- graphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix Wireless Telephony : Telephoning without Wires, Valdemar Poulsen, 587; Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix; Wireless Telephony | in Theory and Practice, E. Ruhmer, Supp. to March 5, ix Wires, Inductance in Parallel, Dr. J. W. Nicholson, 295 Wirtz (Dr.), Ephemeris for Comet 1g07e, 281 Witherby (Mr.), Spread of the Little Owl in England, 564 Wolf (Prof.), Further Observations of Comet 1907a, 158; Return of Encke’s Comet (1908a), 234; Observation of Encke’s Comet on December 25, 1907, 281 ; Photographic Observations of Encke’s Comet, 302; Encke’s Comet 19084, 353 Wolff (F. A.), Investigation on the Clark and Weston Standard Cells, 280 Wologdine (S.), the Density of Graphite, 287 Wood (J. M.), Flora of Natal, 565 Wood (Prof. R. W.), How to tell the Birds from the Flowers: a Manual of Flornithology for Beginners, 7 Woodlands, Heaths and Hedges, Our, W. S. Coleman, 554 Workshop Practice, Engineering, Charles C. Allen, 28 Worms and Tree-planting, E. A. Andrews, 205 Worsdell (W. C.), Abnormal Structures in Leaves, 142 Wray (L.), “* Biak,’’ Opium Substitute favoured by the Malays, 517 Wrede (Franz), Manganese Chloride as Fixed Point in Thermometry, 207 Wright (Prof. G. F.), Chronology of the Glacial Epoch in North America, 334 Wright (Herbert), Rubber Cultivation in the British Empire, 99 Wright (Dr. William), |’Europe préhistorique, Sophus Miller, 578 Wright (W. B.), the Two Earth Movements of Colonsay, Writhisae (Sir Thomas, Bart.), on the Impulses of Com- pound Sound Waves and Mechanical Transmission through the Ear, 289 Wye, Kent, the Journal of the South-Eastern Agricultural College, 345 X-Radiators, Classification of Secondary, Dz. C. G. Barkla and C. A. Sadler, 343; Dr. B. Walter, 462 Yamanouchi (S.), Sporogenesis in the Fern Genus Nephro- dium, 418; Fertilisation in Nephrodium molle, 614 Yerkes (Robert M.), the Dancing Mouse, a Study Animal Behaviour, 533 Yorkshire, the Birds of, T. and F. Boyes, 511 Young (A. P.), Stages of Soil Denudation and Forest Destruction in the Tyrol, 334 Young (Prof. C. A.), Death of, 277; Obituary Notice of, in H. Nelson, W. Eagle Clark, 324 Young (Ernest), a First Year's Course in Geometry and Physics, 482 Young (M. S.), Dacrydium, 114 Development of Pollen Grain in | | Dannemann (Dr. Zacharias (Dr. Otto), das Siisserwasser-Plankton, 556 Zambonini (Dr. F.), Striiverite and its Relation to Ulmenorutile, 358 Zeeman (Prof. P.), Scientific Worthies, Sir William Crookes, 1; an Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating, 247; Magnetic Resolutions of Spectral Lines and Magnetic Force, 615 Zellner (Dr. Julius), Chemie der héheren Pilze, eine Mono- graphie, 553 Zenghelis (Prof. C.), Ancient Dies for Coinage, 65 Zenneck (Dr. J.), Theory of a Receiver consisting of a Comparatively Short Vertical Wire, 327 Ziegler Polar Expedition of 1903-5, Results obtained by the, J. A. Fleming, 207; Anthony Fiala, Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., 544. Zcdiacal Stars, a Catalogue of, H. B. Hedrick, 353 Zoology: the Fauna of Madagascar, Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S., 8; Zoology of Egypt, the Fishes of the Nile, G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., 10; ‘‘ False Scorpion,” Chelifer cancroides in Great Britain, 15; Suggestion for Subdivision of Australasian Zoological Region, G. W. Kirkaldy, 16; National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-4, 33; die Fauna Sidwest-Australiens, Ergebnisse der Ham- burger sudwest-australischen Forschungsreise, 1905, Prof. W. Michaelsen and Dr. R. Hartmeyer, 51; the Nervous System of Vertebrates, Prof. J. B. Johnston, Dr. W. Page May, 73; Grundziige der Tierkunde fiir hdhere Lehranstalten, Prof. Karl Smalian, 76; Young Stages of Freshwater American Crayfishes, Prof. E. A. Andrews, 87; Additions to the Zoological Society’s Menagerie, 87; the Family and Genera of Bats, G. S. Miller, 91; Death and Obituary Notice of Dr. Carl Bovallius, 112; the Extermination of Animals by Man, W. L. Distant, 113; Zoological Society, 119, 189, 334, 430, 477, 526, 5993 the Dorsal Sense-organs of Chitons, Dr. M. Nowikoff, 135; Nest Eggs of Platypus, Prof. Gregg Wilson, 149; Muscles of the Head in Birds and Reptiles, Prof. H. F. Edgeworth, 155; Structure of the Roof of the Mouth in Birds and Mammals, Dr. W. Sippel, 155; Luminiferous Echinoderms, 179; Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der Zoologie, 246; a Monographic Revision of the American Tortoises of the Family Cinosternide, F. Siebenrock, 304; Distribution of tne Pine-marten in England and Wales, H. E. Forrest, 325; Resemblances between the Sirenian and the Cetacean Tongue, J. F. Gudernatsch, 350; L. kawait, New Chinese Freshwater Medusa, Dr. Asajiro Oka, 398; Relation between the Geographical Distribu- tion and the Classification of the Onychophora, Prof. Sedgwick, 478; Evolution of the Elephant, R. S. Lull, 494; Effects of Pressure upon the Direction of Hair in Mammals, Dr. W. Kidd, 526; Experimental-Zoologie, Dr. Hans Przibram, 529 Zweckmassigkeit, organische, Entwicklung und Vererb- ung von Standpunkte der Physiologie, Dr. Paul Jensen, 100 INDEX TO LITERARY SUPPLEMENT. Archeology: the Tabernacle, its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x; Solo- mon’s Temple, its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x Baker (Dr. H. F.), an Introduction to the Theory of Multiply-periodic Functions, Supp. to March 5, v Bose (Prof. J. C.), Comparative Electro-physiology, Supp. to March 5, iii Caldecott (Rev. W. Shaw), the Tabernacle, its History and Structure, Supp. to March 5, x; Solomon’s Temple, its History and Structure, Supp. to March 5, x Concrete Construction, Principles of Reinforced, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi F.), der richt auf praktisch-heuristischer March 5, viii Dress, the Heritage of, Evolution of Clothes, W. M. vii naturwissenschaftliche Unter- Grundlage, Supp. to being Notes on the History and Webb, Supp. to March 5, Nature, lii Index [yee 11, 1908 Education: der maturwissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch-heuristicher Grundlage, Dr. F. Dannemann, Supp. to March 5, viii Electricity : Comparative Electro-physiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, Supp. to March 5, iii; Modern Views of Elec- tricity, Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., Supp. to March 5, vili Engineering : Principles of Reinforced Concrete Construc- tion, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi Evolution: the Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, W. M. Webb, Supp. to March 5, vii Geography : Physiography, Prof. R. D. Salisbury, Supp. to March 5, v Lodge (Sir Oliver, F.R.S.), Modern Views of Electricity, Supp. to March 5, viii Mathematics: an Introduction to the Theory of Multiply- periodic Functions, Dr. H. F. Baler, Supp. to March 5, v Maurer (E. R.), Principles of Reinforced Concrete Con- struction, Supp. to March 5, vi Optics: die binokularen Instrumente, Moritz von Rohr, Supp. to March 5s, iv Physiography, Prof. R. D. Salisbury, Supp. to March 5, v Physiology : Comparative Electro-physiology, Prof. J. C. Bose, Supp to March 5, iii Reinforced Concrete Construction, Principles of, F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer, Supp. to March 5, vi Rohr (Moritz von), die binokularen Instrumente, Supp. to March 5, iv ; ? Ruhmer (E.), Wireless Telephony in Theory and Practice, Supp. to March 5, ix Salisbury (Prof. R. D.). Physiography, Supp. to March Ten, Science: der naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht auf praktisch-heuristicher Grundlage, Dr. F. Dannemann, Supp. to March 5, viii Solomon's ‘emple: its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x Stereoscopy : die binokularen Instrumente, Moritz von Rohr, Supp. to March 5, iv Stimulus and Response, Physiological, Supp. to March 5, iii Tabernacle, the, its History and Structure, Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott, Supp. to March 5, x Telegraphy, Wireless, Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix Telephony : Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Tele- phonie, Supp. to March 5, ix; Wireless Telephony in Theory and Practice, E. Ruhmer, Supp. to March 5, ix Turneaure (F. E.), Principles of Reinforced Concrete Con- struction, Supp. to March 5, vi Webb (W. M.), the Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes, Supp. to March 5, vii Wireless Telegraphy : Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix Wireless Telephony: Jahrbuch der drahtlosen Telegraphie und Telephonie, Supp. to March 5, ix; Wireless Tele- phony in Theory and Practice, E. Ruhmer, Supp. to March 5, ix A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.’’—Worpswortu. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, _ 1907. SCIENTIFIC. WORTHIES. XXXVI.—Sir Wittiam Crookes, F.R.S. | IR WILLIAM CROOKES has the rare privilege | of looking back upon a scientific activity ex- tending already over more than fifty-five years. By numerous papers and by several volumes the results of his experimental researches in different departments of physics and chemistry have been spread all over the world. Though born in 1832, even his advanced age has not diminished his scientific productiveness. All Sir William Crookes’s researches, with the exception of the first, were made in his private laboratory in Kensington Park Gardens. Although the motion of the walls of this laboratory, as seen under the high magnifying power of the horizontal | pendulum, gave rise, at first sight, to doubts as to the | | solidity of its construction (Philosophical Transactions, 1876, Crookes, ‘‘On Repulsion, &c.,’’ § 134), it has stood the test of time. The perennial stability, however, of many of the stones joined by Crookes to the edifice of science never was questionable. Most of those who have risen to eminence in physics have done so by giving their exclusive attention to that science, and it is only rarely that the physicist can do pioneer work also in chemistry. Rarer stillis the case of Sir William | Crookes, whose series of physical papers is frequently | interrupted by communications concerning his chem- ical discoveries. In the Philosophical Crookes tells us: Magazine of April, 1861, “In the year 1850, Prof. Hofmann placed at my disposal upwards of to lb. of the seleniferous deposit from the sulphuric acid manufactory at Tilkerode, in the Hartz Mountains, for the purpose of extracting from it the selenium, which was afterwards employed in an investigation of the selenocyanides.”’ In the examination, by the spectroscope, of the residue left in the purification of the crude selenium, Crookes’s NO. 1984, VOL. 77] | and nitrogen, 204°04. attention was attracted by a bright green line, which he had never met with before. In following up its appearance, he succeeded in isolating a new metal, | which he called thallium, after the emerald green line which has become now as familiar to chemists, even if not brought up in a spectroscopic atmosphere, as the lines of sodium and lithium; and the physicist again and again enjoys the homogeneity of thallium light when observing interference for large differences of path, either with his Rowland or his Michelson grating, or with his Fabry and Perot apparatus, or with his Lummer and Gehrcke plate. The year 1861 brought the first great triumph to Crookes. During the next twelve years he carried out minute investigations of the many properties of the new element, culminating in his determination of its | atomic weight—203642, or when reduced with the now accepted values for the atomic weights of oxygen Extreme care was given to the necessary weighings, and the pains taken to start with pure substances were enormous. The _inter- national committee for the atomic weights and other authorities regard Crookes’s determination of the atomic weight of thallium as the best we possess, though thirty-four years have elapsed since the date of its publication. Crookes finished his determination not without tribu- lation, having been troubled with discouraging irre- gularities in his weighings. In order to improve his results, the weighings were made in a partial vacuum, | but even under these conditions the balance behaved most capriciously. Sometimes the substance appeared to be heavier when cold than when in a heated con- dition; sometimes the action was opposite. Working | further with indefatigable ardour he came to what he then called ‘‘ repulsion resulting from radiation,” and going on he invented in 1875 an apparatus in illustration of the thoroughly novel and striking pheno- mena he had observed, the radiometer. His researches in this new field, contained in 485 paragraphs, and published in the Philosophical Transactions of 1874, 1875, i876, 1878, 1879, represent an immense amount B 2 INL IL Ce [ NOVEMBER 7, 1907 of experimental work of the greatest interest and ingenuity. Under the influence of the dynamical theory of gases the general nature of the perplexing phenomena was recognised and referred to the intervention of the residual gas. The genius of Schuster, Osborne Reynolds, Tait, Dewar, and Maxwell was associated with this explanation, but special mention should here be made of the more personal, yet beautiful and ennobling example of scientific cooperation given by Sir William Crookes and Sir George Stokes, the documents relating to which have just been published. The new and fascinating chapter in the dynamical theory of gases, relating to the stresses in rarefied gases arising from inequalities in temperature, which thus sprang up in connection with Crookes’s experi- mental work, is, notwithstanding the 110 references to the literature of the radiometer in a modern German text-book, still unfinished. We may be sure that quan- titative experiments concerning the radiometer actions under entirely new conditions will again prove the importance of the chapter, emblazoned on its cover by Crookes’s light-mill. Crookes thus was brought into touch with the dynamical theory of gases and with experimental work in high vacua, and so came to his experiments con- cerning the electric discharge in gases. In this pro- vince we are indebted to him for some very striking discoveries relating to the now well-known kathode rays, then already associated with the names of Pliicker (1859), Hittorf (1869), and Goldstein (1876). His brilliant experiments (‘‘ The Trajectory of Mole- cules,’’ ‘** Molecular Physics in High Vacua,’’ ‘‘ Phos- phorogenic Properties of Molecular Discharge ’’) were published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1879, but became generally known to the world—not to the scientific world alone—by his lecture on ‘‘ Radiant Matter,”’ delivered on Friday, August 22, 1879, at Shef- field, to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Even now the reading of this lecture, though the facts in it have become familiar, brings one under its irresistible charm, and Lenard and Tesla, describing in eloquent terms the impression made by it on their young minds, certainly give utterance to a prevalent opinion. In the beautiful volumes on “Tons, Electrons, Corpuscules,’? for which physi- cists are indebted to the Société francaise de Physique, only one lecture has been inserted, that of Sir William. There exists perhaps only one lecture given on a similar occasion which has become as popular and made on the hearers as deep an impression, both by its contents and its accomplished form; I mean the lecture delivered before the Association of German Naturalists at Stuttgart in 1889 by Hertz, in which his great discoveries were expounded. All the wonderful and important properties of the constituents of the kathode rays or of radiant matter : its darting in a straight line from the negative pole, the position of the positive electrode being unim- solid matter; the strong mechanical action radiant matter seems to exert where it strikes; the change of direction by a neighbouring magnet; the heat pro- duced when its motion is arrested; the remarkable power which the molecular rays possess of causing phosphorescence in preparations of calcium sulphide shining with blue-violet, yellow, orange or green light, in diamonds shining with nearly all colours of the rainbow, in rubies glowing with a rich full red; all these results Crookes tried to explain by the hypo- thesis that the kathode rays, or streams of radiant matter, or of matter in an ultra-gaseous state are particles or molecules negatively charged and pro- jected with great velocity from the negative electrode. The inherent truth of Sir William Crookes’s hypo- thesis concerning the nature of the kathode rays is, after much controversy for a space of nearly twenty years, now established, and the original hypothesis, with finer contents, is now accepted by all physicists. In Crookes’s experiments for the first time the majestic simplicity of the kathode rays became clearly apparent. In the irritating complexity of the other phenomena of the vacuum tube, appearances of great purity had been isolated, so that Crookes could risk the opinion ‘‘ that we are here brought face to face with Matter in a Fourth state or condition,’’ neither solid, liquid, nor gaseous. Crookes alone among his contemporaries recog- nised the essential importance of the kathode rays, and with almost prophetic insight foresaw the part radiant matter would have to play in the development of physical science. In the splendid evolution of electronic theory we are now witnessing, we see how true Crookes’s foreshadowing of the réle of radiant matter was, “Tn studying this Fourth state of Matter, we seem at length to have within our grasp and obedient to our control the little indivisible particles which, with good warrant, are supposed to constitute the physical basis of the universe. We have seen that in some of its properties Radiant Matter is as material as this table, whilst in other properties it almost assumes the character of Radiant Energy. We have actually touched the border land where Matter and Force seem to merge into one another, the shadowy realm between Known and Unknown, which for me has always had peculiar temptations. I venture to think that the greatest scientific problems of the future will find their solution in this Border Land, and even beyond; here, it seems to me, lie Ultimate realities, subtle, far-reaching, wonderful. “ Yet all these were, when no Man did them know, Yet have from wisest Ages hidden beene ; And later Times thinges more unknowne shall show. Why then should witlesse Man so much misweene, That nothing is, but that which he hath seene?” All the experiments in this lecture now have’ become classical, and several of them are repeated every year in every university of the world. The most familiar and representative of the group is perhaps that one with the Maltese cross in the pear-shaped Crookes’s tube, in which the black shadow of the cross portant; its casting of a shadow when intercepted by | is projected on the hemispherical phosphorescent end NO. 1984, VOL. 77] NOVEMBER 7, 1907 | of the tube, in such a manner that a permanent im- pression on the memory of the student is made. As an outcome of work recorded in Crookes’s various preceding papers, ‘‘On Repulsion resulting from Radiation,”’ &c., and, therefore, with paragraphs numbered in continuation of his ‘‘ Phosphorogenic Properties of Molecular Discharge,’’ Crookes in 1881 published a research on ‘‘ The Viscosity of Gases at High Exhaustion.’’ Maxwell’s great theoretical dis- covery that the viscosity of a gas is independent of the density, one of the most beautiful proofs for the reality of molecular motion, had already been the start- ing-point of experiments by Maxwell himself, Kundt and Warburg, using the method of rotating discs. In Crookes’s experiments the method of observ- ation consisted in noticing the subsidence of the vibrations of a delicately suspended lamina oscillating within a bulb containing the gas. By these simple yet adequate means, very careful measurements were made, and the falling off of the viscosity of different gases from atmospheric pressure to very high exhaus- tions downwards observed, especial attention being paid to the highest vacua and definite measurements made of the degree of exhaustion employed. At these high exhaustions Maxwell’s law completely breaks down, as Maxwell himself foresaw. His observations were discussed in a splendid ‘‘ note ’’ by Sir George Stokes, another example of the cooperation between these physicists. Crookes’s apparatus afforded at the same time many other data and measurements. The apparent attraction by heat was only found in air of greater than one-thousandth part of ordinary density ; while there is repulsion when the density is further increased, the repulsion increasing to a maximum, and thence fading away towards zero as the rarefaction is continued. In 1881 Crookes’s paper on radiant matter spectro- scopy appeared. An entirely new method of spectrum analysis is given, based on the well-known fact that under the influence of the kathode rays a large number of substances emit phosphorescent light, some faintly and others with great intensity. Most bodies give a faint continuous spectrum, but more rarely the spec- trum of the phosphorescent light is discontinuous, and to bodies manifesting it his attention has been specially directed. This characteristic spectrum is given by the group of elements known as the rare earths, especially yttria in some of its compounds; and in the study of this group the method is of very great importance, and has given, in the hands of Sir William Crookes, at an immense amount of trouble and time, very valuable results. To give, however, an adequate survey of these investigations would demand much space, and uncommon chemical knowledge ot the rare earths. We mention only that not long ago Crookes isolated from yttria a new earth, character- ised by an isolated strong group of lines high up in the ultra-violet, ascribed by Sir William to a new element named by him victorium. NO. 1984, VOL. 77] NATURE 3 In connection with his work on the photographed spectra of the elements, of which it seems only a small portion has been published, we record one of his smaller papers, relating to ‘‘ the slit of a spectro- scope,’’ that narrow, but extremely important, gate to a large domain. Crookes makes the very ingenious suggestion to use quartz jaws, cut in the same manner as metal ones. The prismatic edges refracting away all the light which falls on them, their transparency offers no objection, while only the light passing between the jaws comes into operation. As the quartz jaws can be worked to a finer edge, they give better definition. ““ With a pair of jaws in the spectroscope at present in use, I can take excellent photographs when they are only o’ooo1 inch apart. For eye observation the width can easily be less than that.”’ Another small paper of date 1879 is also character- istic of Croolses’s experimental skill, and illustrates at the same time, if I may say so, the purity of his work. The exceedingly small rate of leak of elec- tricity in a high vacuum is illustrated by Crookes’s observation that a pair of gold leaves in a vacuum bulb retains an electrical charge for months. Of Crookes’s recent work, we mention his experi- mental work on radium. In 1900 Crookes first effected the separation from uranium by two distinct chemical methods of the one direct transformation product, called uranium X. He discovered in 1903 that the alpha rays from radium produce, probably by their bombardment, phosphorescence on a target of crystalline zinc sul- phide. This wonderful phenomenon, perhaps the most direct proof of the discontinuous structure of matter, was popularised in his spintharoscope. These examples must suffice to impart an idea of Crookes’s work. ‘‘ The best history,’’ it has been verily said, ‘‘ is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and un- seen.’? What is true in the science of history cannot be- come untrue in the history of science. It would be desir- able to follow a similar precept in trying to picture before our mind the origin of the gratitude and admiration physicists feel for a philosopher, who by his experi- mental skill, his acute observation, and the con- tinuity of his endeavours, combined with his daring intuition, has impressed indelible marks in different branches of physics and chemistry. This involves, however, more than we can attempt here. Sir William Crookes is a member or corresponding member of a number of scientific societies in his own country and abroad. At one time or another he has occupied the presidential chair of many of the leading learned and scientific societies of Great Britain. The Royal Society awarded him a Royal Medal in 1875, the Davy Medal in 1888, the Copley Medal in 1904; the French Académie des Sciences, a gold medal and a prize in 1880; the Society of Arts, the Albert Medal in 1899; and he was knighted by the late Queen Victoria in 1897. P. ZEEMAN. 4 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 7, 1907 THE SOILS OF ITRELAND. A Deszription of the Soil-Geology of Ireland, based uvon Geological Survey Maps and Records, with Notes on Climate. By J. R. Kilroe. Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland. Pp. xii+300. (Dublin: H.M. Stationery Office, 1907.) Price 6s. la his preface the author states that on the com- pletion of the one-inch geological map of Ireland ‘* the opportunity seemed favourable for pre- senting to the public a succinct account of the geology of the country, prepared chiefly from the standpoint of agriculture,”? of which opinion the present work is the outcome. It is certainly a matter of cardinal importance to an agricultural country like Ireland that its Geological Survey officers should have the needs of the farmers before them, and should in the progress of their mapping look at the country-side with something of the farmer’s eye, and an appreciation of the kind of information that is likely to be of value to him. It is perhaps too much as yet to ask that the Geological Survey should give rise to a second depart- ment charged with the preparation of soil maps, though in other countries the State is undertaking this service for the agriculturist; but, failing so large a measure, what information of value to the working farmer can the geologist proper put into his maps and memoirs? A good ‘‘drift’? map must be the basis, a map in which, however, the drift should be differentiated further than it is on our present maps, where the common designation of ‘‘ boulder clay ”’ is often made to cover in a single district true clays, coarse stony gravels, and deposits that are little more than sand. Of course, the boundaries of such drifts can only be indicated approximately, partly because they grade into one another in some places, and in others thin out insensibly into true ‘‘ sedentary ” soils derived from the underlying ‘‘ solid’ rock. To the farmer, lithological character is the important feature in a drift, not its origin, and we believe the field geologist would find no difficulty in providing the information if he had the requirement before him from the outset. Again, some indication of the thickness of the drift might be given, with motes as to the proximity of valuable soil ameliorators, like beds of marl below peat or challk below clay. Of course, much chemical analysis cannot be recorded, but we think the map should indicate whether a clay formation is calcareous or deficient in lime; again, some notes on drainage and water supply might be added to the memoir. A farmer, for example, finds a certain field full of springs; a geologist could generally tell him whether this is due to the outcrop of an impermeable band or to a fault (in which case a ditch can be cut to tap the springs), or to general ground water, in which case the field will want tile draining. Mr. Kilroe, however, has no opportunity in this book of working on such a_ scale; his object has rather been to do for Ireland what the late Prof. FE. Risler did for France in his “ Geologie Agricole,”’ NOmL9S4,)-VOL. 777 to take the formations one by one and show how the nature of the rock is reflected in the physiography and the soil constitution, and in its turn in the agriculture of the district it occupies. To produce such a book is a noble ambition, but we fear that the materials for it hardly exist as yet in the case of Ireland, for through- out Mr. Kilroe’s book we are struck by the paucity of data really bearing on the point at issue. The analyses of rocks and soils, even of waters, are rarely of Irish origin; often, indeed, they refer to Continental specimens, and they are of very various dates and values. There is hardly a reference to Irish farming in the book; for instance, barley grow- ing is a very special and localised culture in Ireland, and one which has had considerable attention from the Department of Agriculture, but when we inquire if it is associated with any formation in particular, we find no reference to it, nor, indeed, to the distribution of any other crop, in Mr. Kilroe’s book. Instead, Mr. Kilroe gives us too much of his views on agricultural chemistry, generally in the form of extracts from other writers, and these extracts only show how diffi- cult it is for a specialist to preserve a due critical sense when ‘‘ getting up’”’ another subject. For ex- ample, we read :— ““When it is considered that silicate of alumina (clay) in itself furnishes no essential element of plant food . . . it is evident that the stony particles, pebbles, &c., contain the stocl: supplies of mineral nutrients.” Or again :— ‘“ The waters flowing from the Old Red Sandstone would doubtless be poor in lime for the purpose of irrigation, They, however, probably contain such a proportion of potash as would justify some expense in distributing them over meadow-land or pasturage not being grazed.” We only wish that Mr. Kilroe could have tempered his zeal for imparting information. It is just the same with the section on climate; we have a series of para- graphs on soil and air temperatures, on cyclones and weather forecasts, on clouds and similar generali- ties, but little or nothing on the Irish climate or its local distribution, which counts for so much in the agriculture of the country. “Cut the cackle and come to the ’osses’’ was an old and sound piece of advice, and the ‘‘ ’osses ’ we hope to get from Mr. Kilroe are Irish—Irish rocks, Irish soils, Irish crops and stock. Av Dee ” SCHOLARSHIPS AND INDUSTRY. By Sidney H. Dyeing in Germany and America. University Higgins. Pp. xvi+112 (Manchester : Press, 1907.) Price 1s. net. HE Gartside scholarships of commerce and_ in- dustry were established in 1902 for a period of ten years. They are of a special character, the main feature of the scheme under which they are adminis- tered being the close manner in which they are linked up with industrial life. The first year of the scholar- ship is tenable in the University of Manchester, a course of study being adopted which will directly qualify the scholar to investigate some special branch NoOvEMBER 7, 1907] NATURE 5 of commerce or industry at home and abroad during the second year. The scheme is a most valuable re- cognition of the close union which should exist be- tween science and industry, and the late Mr. Gartside has certainly indicated a very useful direction in which others may endow further scholarships. The book now under review represents a report to the electors of the work carried out during the period of the scholarship. A comparison of the development of the coal-tar colour industry in Germany and this country has been so frequently made to the great disparagement of English enterprise and educational methods, that very properly this branch of the subject was not further investigated by the author, his work being concerned with the application rather than the manufacture of dyes. The fact that in the main we hold our own against all competitors in the dyeing and printing industry is brought out very clearly. Jn Germany the dye-houses are, with few exceptions, smaller, and the methods less scientific, than in the large centres of the industry in England, such as Manchester and Bradford; and in handicraft skill the English dyer is perhaps unapproachable. The great volume of dyeing done in the United States appears to be chiefly due to the large and rapidly increasing demand made by the home market, and the competition of America in foreign markets is comparatively insignificant in this branch of trade. Moreover, in most of the prin- cipal dye-houses in New England the managers and foremen are British. The distribution of trade is, however, a matter of very delicate balance, and the fact that Germany has almost the monopoly of the manufacture of coal-tar dyes may easily result in the transfer to her of the leading position in the dyeing industry. The coal-tar colour industry is, in fact, one of Germany’s greatest industrial assets, and apart from its directly profitable character it has also been of the greatest importance as the mother of many new industries, such as those of synthetic pharmaceutical products, liquid chlorine, anhydrosulphuric acid, &c. The requirements of the industry have also reacted largely on the standard and character of the instruc- tion given in the German universities and colleges, and, most important of all, have been a great object- lesson to the German Government and people with regard to the supreme importance of science in indus- trial life. This has again reacted in the direction of the more general appreciation and utilisation of tech- nical education in Germany, and has been an impor- tant factor in inducing the Government and _ local authorities to render assistance in fostering the various industries ; a condition of things which, unfortunately, is largely absent in this country. A great feature of the dyeing trade in England has been the establishment of powerful trade combin- ations, whereas the industry has not developed along these lines in Germany or in America. It is un- doubtedly true that when efficiently managed these large associations lead to great economies in such directions as the concentration of work, improvement of equipment, and better conditions for buying and selling. Operations conducted on a large scale can NO. 1984, VOL. 77] be carried on more cheaply and more profitably than is possible by a large number of smaller producers. Consequently, both workman, employer, and con- sumer should benefit. On the other hand, the danger of the misuse of great concentration of power is well Iknown, and experience has yet to show whether the condition of an industry controlled in this manner is as stable and permanent as when competition and individual enterprise have freer scope. Turning to a more definite criticism of the work under review, it undoubtedly forms very interesting reading if not examined too closely as regards tech- nical accuracy. The material is arranged under the following headings :—cop dyeing, sulphur colours and indigo, mercerising, bleaching, the industry in the United States, conditions of life in the industry, efficiency of the industry, colour production. It could not reasonably be expected that the author would be able to show a profound knowledge of present-day practice in all branches, and it would not be fair to criticise the book from this standpoint. It must rather be considered as the statement of an organised series of observations made by a trained mind upon a subject of which the observer has some special knowledge. If read with this in view, the bool: will be found most interesting and valuable. The author has made excellent use of the great facilities placed at his disposal, and has done much to justify the idea of the founder of these scholarships that they would be of value, not only to the individual, but to the trade of the country. In conclusion it must be said that the literary style and even the grammar and punctuation of the subject-matter are open to much more criti- cism than is desirable in a book issued with the imprint of a university. The idea that a careless use of the English language is permissible in books dealing with technical subjects is one to which too strong exception cannot be taken. Watter M. GARDNER. PERSONAL HYGIENE. The Care of the Body. By Dr. Francis Cavanagh. (The New Library of Medicine, edited by Dr. C. W. Saleeby.) Pp. xvi+292. (London: Methuen and Co., n.d.) Price 7s. 6d. net. HIS book belongs to the excellent ‘‘ New Library of Medicine ’’ series issued by Messrs. Methuen. In the series, as planned, all the great aspects of “‘ pre- ventive medicine’ are dealt with from many stand- points. In ‘‘ The Care of the Body ”’ Dr. Cavanagh handles in a very popular yet fundamentally scientific way the leading generalities of personal bodily hygiene —sleep, baths, exercise, training, fatigue and massage, clothing, skin, hair, teeth, feet and hands, light, eye, ear, nose. Each of these has a chapter. The volume is completed by chapters on position, habit, and the functions of the physician. The style is breezy and rapid. It is well adapted to the lay reader, who more easily acquires casual than rigidly ordered know- ledge. But Dr. Cavanagh indicates in every page an easy familiarity with the latest science at the moment when apparently he is most exuberant in his verbal flow. 6 NATORE [NovEMBER 7, 1907 The method has its dangers, for it may give cur- rency to vague and inexact doctrines. But here the sparkle of the writing secures the interest without impairing the science. Health is undefined, but the problem of health is mainly how to maintain the fight against malign environment, and ‘‘ fitness ’’ is largely the capacity to master hostile germs. The discussion of sleep adapts scientific theory to practice, and has many sound hints Of the cold bath it is said, *‘ In general, the value of a cold bath is in inverse pro- portion to its length ’’ (p. 39). Of exercise, the view is that ‘‘ all mental! processes are based upon a simple unit of action or process, in which some one muscle- fibre is a chief factor’ (p. 55). Play is preferred. The criticism of current superstitions as to exer- cise and training is pointed and conclusive. The cardinal point is the relation of exercise to diet. Dr. Cavanagh is somewhat dogmatic (p. 60) on the intel- lectual training of women. He assumes too readily that accepted intellectual standards are a true test of mental capacity €ven in men. In exercise, walking and running, not any artificial system, are fundamental. ‘‘ Muscles are not meant to work or be developed individually ’’ (p. 78). The discussion of fatigue is highly general, but adequate for its purpose. Of clothing a good deal is said in detail, the principle being that ‘‘man_ is homoiothermal,’’ and 98°-4 Fahrenheit is his normal temperature. Clothing is closely criticised from this standpoint. In the other chapters—teeth, eyes, &c.— many hints of experience are embodied, and, though the main facts are well known, every reader will find them set forth in a fresh and stimulating way. The chapters on position and habit are well loaded with good matter. The last chapter points the view that dominates this book and the series it belongs to, namely, that henceforward the physician’s true func- tion is to prevent, not to cure, and the profession should be organised accordingly. Altogether, the author succeeds in his effort to be simple, scientific, and vivacious. The aim of the series is to apply scientific medicine to the informing of public opinion, and this volume, within its range, certainly furthers that aim. If looked-for topics are sometimes omitted, they are likely to be found in other volumes. OUR BOOK SHELF. Practical Mathematics. By Prof. John Perry, F.R.S. Pp. 183. (London: Wyman and Sons, Ltd., 1907.) Price od. Tue first edition, a slim little pamphlet price six- pence, was reviewed in these columns about the end of the last century; this new edition begins to show signs of corpulence. The pamphlet has raised a crowd of imitators, bulky works on engineering and mathematics, work- shop arithmetic, and general utilitarian and commer- cial theory ; it would be better, for historical interest, to preserve its original size. The author has forced the Mathematical Tripos to adopt the Slide Rule for numerical computation; and would do well to follow up by a description of the Hos- pitalier notation of writing derived units, as ft.? and ft.° for square and cubic feet, Ib./ft.2 for pressure, NO. 1984, VOL. 77 and so on; no need then for the mathematical Esperanto suggested some years ago. The slide-rule hint— practise with simple num- bers’’; ‘ask no one to help you ’’—should be fol- lowed by arithmetical exercises intended to show the learner how to discover the use for himself: such as cube 2, 3, 4, ... and then extract the cube root; better then to discard all rules, as they can always be re-invented with greater ease than recollected. Con- sidering that the slide rule and logarithm table work to the base 10, the definition of the logarithm in § 8 is —n=log N, if 10°=N; not a*=N, which is confusing by its useless generality. The practical student Prof. Perry has in view is called upon to work and act, but not to write and explain. His geometry is so very easy, consisting in drawing a few lines by instruments. But if re- quired to give an explanation he would find himself compelled to give six lines or more of tedious defini- tion to one line of demonstration; he would become Euclidean without knowing it. The author enjoys attacking the schoolmaster, who shows certainly many weak points of inherited pre- judice. Prof. Perry looks at geometry from the point of view of everyone becoming an engineer in his turn; the schoolmaster deals with very few students of that class, and can make out a very good case for Euclid; Greek in Euclid and Euclid in Greek; and he has an answer ready for the question in the note on p- 8—‘ Why not say—delogarize?’’—Because the word is a mongrel. La Théorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens con- temporains. By Abel Rey. Pp. vi+412. (Paris: Félix Alcan, 1907.) Price 7.50 francs. RECOGNISING the serious discordance between the views of contemporary physicists upon the true mean- ing and value of physical theories, the author of this interesting book inquires whether this conflict of opinion justifies the contention of the anti-intellec- tualist philosophers that such theories are purely arbitrary constructions leading, not tocompleter know- ledge of the world, but merely to more etiective prac- tical control of its course. M. Rey proceeds by an able cross-examination of actual scientific thinkers, classifying them by reference to their attitude towards the post-Newtonian mathematical —physics—which assumed the actuality in detail of the molecular machinery that it invoked to explain phenomena. In his first group fall Rankine, Mach, Ostwald, and Duhem, who agree in rejecting the ontological pre- tensions of the mechanical theory and in conceiving the various departments of physics as autonomous sciences connected with one another and_ with mechanics by the notion of energy. British readers will be gratified by the importance which the author attaches here to the work of our countryman—whom he regards as the father of the critical movement—and will welcome his clear account of the views of the brilliant professor of Bordeaux. Next to these M. Rey places Poincaré as a critic who corrects rather than rejects the traditional doctrine, accepting its belief that the data of observation in physics are the product of the superposition of an infinite number of elementary phenomena to which the differential equations of theory refer, but recog~ nising that its conception of these phenomena as molecules in movement is only a description in one idiom of objective relations that could equally well be rendered in another. Last come the physicists (in- cluding most of the British school) who have lost the confidence of the post-Newtonian mechanists rather ‘than their ideals; who still hold that physical pheno- mena can be explained by the conceptions of NovEMBER 7, 1907 | NATURE 7 mechanics, but no longer profess to be able to describe, detail by detail, the ultimate moving ele- ments and motions that underlie these phenomena. In the second part of his book the author seeks to show that the salient divergences between the schools simply mask the essential congruity of their views. All physicists admit—in whatever idiom they may describe them—the same ultimate objective data; while even if their hypotheses are only methodological instruments of organisation and discovery, it must be recognised that the science presents in the different schools a real though not obvious unity of develop- ment. bh eo aN How to tell the Birds from the Flowers: a Manual of Flornithology for Beginners. Verses and illustra- tions. By Prof. R. W. Wood. Pp. 28. (San Francisco and New York: Paul Elder and Com- pany, n.d.) Price 50 cents net, or in cat-bird cambric, 75 cents net. Ir will come somewhat as a surprise to those of our readers who know Prof. Wood only as a physicist to learn that the present booklet contains nothing but quaint illustrations and jest in verse. The volume is obviously a satire directed against the sentimental nature-study literature which sometimes masquerades as scientific teaching, particularly in the United States. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of Nature. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Winding of Rivers in Plains. A cURIOUS obsession as to a matter of fact, to which everyone is more or less liable when obfuscated by an erroneous theory, has recently been noticed by me in some geological books, e.g. in Le Conte’s ‘‘ A Compend of Geology,’”’ and in Tyndall’s *‘ Glaciers of the Alps.’’ I noticed it first in my late colleague Prof. Watts’s recent little text-book of geology; but, indeed, I have not found any book of the kind quite clear and correct on the subject. The statement is clearly made and illustrated by a figure that the flow of a bending river is most rapid on the outer side, where its banks are concave; and the well- known scouring or excavating action which a_ stream exerts on this bank is then attributed to this imaginary more rapid flow. But the fact is that the flow is most rapid on the inner or sediment-depositing side of the bend, and Prof. James Thomson showed in 1876, in a well-known communication to the Glasgow meeting of the British Association—when he exhibited a model, confirming calculations previously made by himself—that the excavating action of a river is not due to the direct scouring action of the main stream at all.. The explanation which he gave was virtually as follows :— The rapid flow on the inner and strongly curved side of the bend piles up the water on the outer side by centri- fugal force, so that near the concave bank it is nearly stationary, but elevated; its energy there is potential, not kinetic. Now if the rapidity of flow were uniform from top to bottom the slope would be in equilibrium ; but owing to the retardation of the bed the flow near the bottom is slower, and there is not nearly so much centrifugal force exerted down below; wherefore the piled-up water is con- tinuously returning from- upper to lower level, that is, from the concave to the convex bank, as an undercurrent, almost at right angles to the main stream, bringing with it, by its undertow, silt and solid matter, which it deposits near the inner side of the bend; thus constantly increasing its own sinuosity in the well-known way. The stream itself, combining a progressive with a lateral NO. 1984, VoL. 77] ee eee ee be SL circulating motion, may be said to screw itself like a corkscrew round a bend: and it is the lateral circulation which shifts the bed. So much for streams, now for glaciers. Prof. Tyndall, as is well known, took careful measurements of the flow of glaciers, and finding that their line of quickest motion Was more sinuous than the glacier bed, said that this was another analogy iv the flow of a river. There, however, he was in error. The line of most rapid flow of a river is less sinuous than the river itself. The water flows round the bend somewhat as it would flow in a vertical columnar vortex; most rapid on the inside, and almost stationary or even retrograding on the outside of some bends. If ice flows otherwise—and I have no reason whatever to doubt Tyndall’s measurements—it must be because the rate of change of momentum of so slow a motion, compared with its lateral stiffness, is very small; so that we might certainly anticipate that the laws of its flow would be in many respects different from— though also in some respects singularly like—those of a liquid of but small viscosity. Probably it obeys exactly the laws of an extremely viscous liquid the viscosity of which could be specified. The flow cannot be much governed by inertia, as that of water is. But I know that glacier motion is a thorny subject upon which I have no desire to tread. I would not be under- stood as making any assertion concerning it, but merely throw out a hint. As to winding rivers, however, the matter is fairly simple; and the writers of geological and geographical text-books may easily amend some incautious though natural statements as to matters of fact, which they some- times illustrate by erroneous diagrams. OuiverR LopceE. Recalculation of Atomic Weights. Durinc the last few years our knowledge of the accurate atomic weights of the elements silver, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and bromine has been greatly extended by the masterly researches of T. W. Richards and his colleagues. At present, however, there is no really trustworthy value for the ratio of silver to oxygen, and a satisfactory value for nitrogen has only just been obtained by Gray and by Guye. While reading an account of the determination of the ratio Ag: AgNO,, it occurred to me that this result, together with others previously obtained by Richards, afforded a means of calculating absolutely the atomic weights of the above-mentioned elements in terms of oxygen. The following values are available :— Error (1) Ag : KCl=100 : 69°1073 00004 =v (2) AgCl: KCl=100: 52‘0118 00004 =. (3) Ag: AgNO,=100: 157-479 o;ool =w (4) Ag : AgCl= 100 : 32°867 o-0005=y (5) NO; :K.0=100 : 87°232 0°002?= ii NovEMBER 7, 1907 | meteorites, and also gives general notes on the history of meteorites and collections of meteorites, especially as regards the aims of the latter. Prof. E. Cohen (Ann. S. African Museum, 1906, vol. v., pp. 1-16, with 3 plates), describes the meteoric stone of 303 lb. which was observed to fall on January 3, 1903, at the mission station of St. Mark’s, in Transkei, Cape Colony. The description of the micro- scopical structure and chemical composition of this stone was completed by Prof. C. Klein, another well- known worker on meteorites, who also died recently (1907). Mr. L. L. Fermor (Records Geol. Survey India, 1907, vol. xxxv., pp. 79-96, with 12 plates) collects together information respecting the circumstances of the fall of various Indian meteorites, and gives brief notes on their external characters. At greater length (ibid., pp. 68-78, with 3 plates) he describes the fall of stones near Dokachi, in Bengal, on October 22, 1903; here, along a line six miles in length, twenty-four fragments, with a total weight of 3838 grams, were picked up. A list is given of seventy-one meteoritic falls recorded in India since 1798; more records exist in later years, and in the more thickly populated dis- tricts, and latterly they have averaged one each year. All, except three, of these Indian meteorites are com- posed of stony material. Prof. O. C. Farrington (Field Columbian Museum, Geol. Ser., 1907, vol. iii., pp. 57-110) collects together 360 published analyses of 248 meteoric irons, tabulat- ing them in different classes according to the structure of the iron. It is then seen that there exists a close relationship between chemical composition and struc- ture. All irons with a hexahedral structure are very uniform in composition (94.12 per cent. Fe), whilst in those with an octahedral structure the amount of nickel increases with the fineness of the lamellae. In the ataxite group, in which the structure is finely granular to compact, there is more variation in com- position. The average composition of all meteoric irons is approximately Fe, 90; Ni, 9; Co, o-9; Cu, o*02 per cent. The same author also describes in detail in the same journal the siderite of Rodeo, Mexico (found 1852), the siderolite of South Bend, Indiana (found 1893), and the aérolite of Shelburne, Ontario (fell August 13, 1904). The papers on meteorites noted above are but a few selected at random from the many that have been recently published: except in details, one paper is, however, more or less a repetition of another. Ibe Ifo SE NOTES. Tue president and council of the Royal Society have recommended the following fellows for election as members of the council for the ensuing year at the anniversary meeting on November 30:—President, Lord Rayleigh, O.M.; treasurer, Mr. A. B. Kempe; secretaries, Prof. J. Larmor, Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B.; foreign secre- tary, Prof. J. R. Bradford; other members of council, Dr. H. F. Baker, the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, Sir William Crookes, Mr. Francis Darwin, Sir George Darwin, K.C.B., Prof. J. C. Ewart, Prof. D. Ferrier, Mr. C. T. Heycock, Prof. S. J. Hickson, Prof. J. Joly, the Hon. C. A. Parsons, Dr. A. Scott, Prof. A. C. Seward, Prof. F. T. Trouton, Dr. A. D. Waller, Mr. W. Whitaker. Tue late Dr. Edward Sang’s collection of MS. calcula- tions in trigonometry and astronomy has been gifted to the British nation by the Misses Sang, and the president and council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh have been appointed custodiers of the collection, with power to NO 1984. VOL. 77 NATURE 13 re) publish such parts as may be judged useful to the scien- tific world. The society has also been given custody of the duplicate electrotype plates of Dr. Sang’s 1871 new seven-place table of logarithms to 200,000, with power to use them for reproducing new editions, or publishing ex- tended tables of seven-place logarithms. At the meeting of the society on November 4, the chairman, Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., read a statement regarding Dr. Sang’s monumental work. The manuscript volumes number forty-seven in all, the contents of thirty-two of which are in transfer duplicate. Vols. i. to iii. contain the details of the steps of the calculations on which the results contained in the next thirty-six volumes are based. Vol. iv. con- tains the logarithms, calculated to twenty-eight figures, of the prime numbers up to 10,000, and a few beyond. Vols. v. and vi. contain the logarithms to twenty-eight figures of all numbers up to 20,000. From these the succeeding thirty-two volumes are constructed, giving the logarithms to fifteen places of all numbers from 100,000 to 370,000. This colossal work must ever remain of the greatest value to computers of logarithmic tables. It is a great national possession. The other tables in the collection are trigono- metrical and astronomical. Of special interest are the tables of sines and tangents calculated according to the centesimal division of the quadrant. It is hoped that ere long some of these tables may be published in such a form as to make them more immediately accessible to computers. They are the foundation of Dr. Sang’s pub- lished book of seven-place logarithms to 200,000, un- doubtedly the most perfect of its kind ever printed. The complete account of the various tables will be printed in the society’s Proceedings, and other scientific bodies will have their attention directed to the importance of the collection now in the custody of the society. Tue Huxley memorial medal of the Royal Anthropo- logical Institute was presented to Prof. E. B. Tylor, F.R.S., on Tuesday, November 5, in recognition of his distinguished services to anthropology. On October 2 Prof. Tylor celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday, and the anniversary was made the occasion of the presentation to him of a volume of essays representative of British anthro- pology. The current volume of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute is dedicated to Prof. Tylor; and the presentation of the Huxley memorial medal is another mark of the esteem in which he is held by anthropologists. Str Ottver Lopce has accepted the invitation of the council of the Faraday Society to succeed the late Sir William Perkin as president of the society. On October 20 the Paris newspaper 1’Eclair liberated 10,000 pilot balloons from a boat on the Seine. One of these balloons was found at mid-day on October 21 at Undermannlaani, near Kausala, which is on the railway mid-way between Helsingfors and Wiborg, in Finland. The distance is 1950 kilometres. The balloon was found twenty hours after the start, and, assuming that it had only just fallen, the average rate was nearly 100 kilo- metres per hour. The lift of the balloons, including weight of postcard, &c., was supposed to be about 1 gram, but departures from this value must have been frequent, for Mr. Charles J. P. Cave, who witnessed the ascents and sends us these particulars of them, states that the rates of ascent of different balloons varied greatly. The diameter of the balloons was about 35 centimetres. The greatest distance covered by a manned balloon is 1925 kilometres, in the ascent of Count de la Vaulx from Vincennes on October 9, 1900. 14 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 7, 1907 Tue Pioneer Mail states that the Secretary of State for India has sanctioned the establishment of a new bacterio- ‘logical department on a permanent basis. Ir is reported that the town of Karatagh, in Bokhara, was destroyed by an earthquake on October 21. A message from New Bokhara states that 600 farmsteads ‘have been destroyed, and 200 persons killed. Tue FitzPatrick lectures of the London Royal College of Physicians will be delivered by Dr. Leonard Guthrie on December 3 and December 5, on ‘‘ Contributions from History and Literature to the Study of Precocity in ‘Children.”’ Ir is reported by Science that the observatory of the University of Michigan is being enlarged under the direc- tion of Prof. Hussey. The old instruments are being re- constructed, and a new reflecting telescope added, having an aperture of about 373 inches. From the Pioneer Mail we learn that the Government of India has sanctioned the opening of wireless telegraphic communication between Mergui (Lower Burma) and Victoria Point, with a land line between Victoria Point and Maliwun. An annual guarantee will be given from the provincial revenues of Burma in respect of the com- ‘bined system. The guarantee will be subject to re- consideration at the end of ten years. THE opening meeting of the Institution of Electrical Engineers will take place on November 14 at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street. Lord Kelvin is president for the present session, this making the third ‘time he has occupied the presidential chair. Owing to his absence no presidential address will be given at the open- ing meeting, but a paper on the dielectric strength of insulating materials and the grading of cables will be read by Mr. A. Russell. Tue council of the Institution of Civil Engineers has made the following awards for the year 1906-7 :—the Howard quinquennial prize to Mr. T. E. Vickers, C.B., in recognition of the part he has taken during his career in developing and improving the production of steel for important engineering purposes; Telford gold medals to Mr. Dugald Clerk (London) and Mr. E. J. Way (Johannes- burg); Watt gold medals to Mr. J. T. Milton (London), Dr. A. W. Brightmore (Egham), and Mr. C. W. Lloyd- Jones (Secunderabad); George Stephenson gold medals to Mr. G. A. Hobson (London) and Mr. W. C. Copper- ‘thwaite (London); Telford premiums to Messrs. C.F. Jenkin (London), W. A. P. Tait (Edinburgh), A. P. Trotter (London), M. Kellow (Penrhyndeudraeth), H. J. S. Heather (Johannesburg), A. M. Robeson (Johannesburg), and J. W. Kitchin (Bristol); a Crampton prize to Mr. R. F. Thorp (London); Manby prizes to Mr. S. A. Frech (London) and Mr. G. D. McGlashan (Blyth); the Miller scholarship and the ‘‘ James Forrest ’’ medal to Mr. A. C. Anderson (Wolverhampton) ; Miller prizes to Messrs. R. A. Whitson (Basutoland), C. A. Ablett (Addiscombe), E. H. Heathcote (Henbury, near Macclesfield), G. B. G. Hull (Stockport), H. Stringer (Stoke-on-Trent), G. F. Walton (Edenfield, near Manchester), and A. T. Weston (Wool- wich); Bayliss prizes, awarded on the results of the October and February examinations, 1906-7, respectively to Mr. F. C. R. H. Boyd (Luxor, Upper Egypt) and Mr. D. J. Morris (Swansea). TuE inaugural address of the ecighty-ninth session of the Institution of Civil Engineers was delivered on Tuesday evening, November 5, by the president, Sir William NO. 1984, VOL. 77] | Matthews, K.C.M.G. In the course of his remarks, the president referred to certain branches of engineering which are associated with the conduct of over-sea traffic, and therefore have an intimate and important bearing on our maritime commerce. In the ships of our mercantile marine we may with certainty look for expansion both with regard to dimensions and numbers. Again, we are fully entitled, in the light of recent events, to anticipate in the immediate future further and possibly great developments in steam propulsion with turbines, either employed alone or associated with reciprocating engines. Then there is the extended use of oil for raising steam, or directly in internal combustion engines. With regard to harbours, docks, and waterways, due and adequate provision must be made for larger and deeper draught ships, in the designs to be pre- pared for new works, and also where harbours and docks exist of inadequate dimensions for present requirements. As to the actual construction of sea-works, the arrange- ment of their design so that their execution may entail, so far as possible, repetitions of the same process, with the use of heavy masses and the generous application of suit- able plant, may be usually expected to produce satisfactory and economical results, so far as the structures themselves are concerned. Tue awards for the Marseilles International Oceano- graphic Exhibition, which was held last year, have been issued. Among the recipients we notice the following :— Grand Prix d’Honneur to the Admiralty, the British Museum (Natural History), Meteorological Office, Sir John Murray, K.C.B. (president of the British Committee), Fishery Board for Scotland, Department of Agriculture for Ireland. Grand Prix to the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, Challenger Society, Marine Biological Associ- ation, Royal Geographical Society, Captain Scott, R.N., Dr. Herbert Fowler (honorary secretary of British Com- mittee), and Mr. W. S. Bruce. In addition, the Dipléme Commémoratif has been awarded to about thirty in- dividuals and societies. Tue South Wales Institute of Engineers celebrated its jubilee on October 29. The institute was founded at Merthyr on that. date of 1857 by the late Mr. Wm. Menelaus, manager of the Dowlais works. A strong and representative executive was formed, every member of which has now passed away. In 1881 a charter of in- corporation was obtained, and in 1894 the institute build- ings were opened at Park Place, Cardiff, at a cost of more than 10,000l., whilst the new library added last week has cost another 50001. The present membership is 565. Sir W. T. Lewis, who was present at the first meeting of the institute, became in later years its president. The present holder of that office is Mr. T. H. Deakin, and secretary Mr. T. Jones-Price. The library was formally opened by the president on the afternoon of October 29, and a portrait of the founder of the institute (by Mr. Parker Hagarty) was unveiled. Addresses were delivered by Mr. T. Hurry Riches, Mr. Henry Martin, Mr. McMurtrie, and others. The quarterly meeting was then held, and in the evening there was a conversazione, at which there was a crowded attendance. Several lecturettes were delivered by Principal Griffiths, F.R.S., Dr. Hamp- son, Dr. Perman, and Mr. S. W. Allen. Among other interesting features was an installation of electrophones “Jaid on’? to the London opera and music halls. Sir W. T. Lewis, who was unavoidably absent, sent a con- gratulatory letter, in which he referred to the fact that the South Wales coal output to-day was nearly seven times its figure at the time of the foundation of the institute. 4" ——————— — NovEMBER 7, 1907 | NATURE 5 Tue fourth International Fishery Congress will be held at Washington on September 22-26, 1908, on the invitation of the United States Bureau of Fisheries. The first congress was held at Paris in September, 1900, the second was held at St. Petersburg in 1902, and the third at Vienna in 1905. Persons who expect to attend the congress or to submit papers are asked to communicate with the secretary-general as soon as practicable, and the secretaries of institutions and organisations interested in the work of the congress are requested to register their official designation and address so that they may receive further announcements, programmes, invitations, &c. The congress will deliberate on all important affairs concerning fishing and fish culture, and will submit propositions and memorials to Governments and to provincial and local authorities. The subjects to be brought before the con- gress may be grouped as follows:—(1) commercial fisheries; (2) matters affecting the fishermen and the fishing population; (3) legislation and _ regulation; (4) international matters affecting the fisheries; (5) aqui- culture ; (6) acclimatisation ; (7) fish-ways and fish-ladders ; (8) biological investigation of the waters and their in- habitants ; (9) diseases and parasites of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs, and other water animals; (10) angling and sport fishing. In connection with the congress there have been arranged a number of competitive awards for the best or most important investigations, discoveries, inventions, &c., relative to fisheries, aquiculture, ichthyology, fish path- ology, and related subjects during the years 1906, 1907, and 1908. The awards will be in the form of money, and aggregate about 44ol.; and, although the individual amounts are not large, it is hoped that the conferring of the awards by so representative a body as the International Fishery Congress will induce many persons to compete, and will result in much benefit to the fisheries and fish culture. Communications regarding the congress should be addressed to the Secretary-General, International Fishery Congress, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. A REMARKABLE hailstorm occurred in Cairo on the even- ing of October 21, preceded by lightning from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. The hailstones measured on an average about 25 mm. in diameter, the largest stones measuring up to 35 mm. The storm was very violent, but only lasted a quarter of an hour. Had it been of longer duration con- siderable damage would have beer inevitable. Such storms are very rare in Egypt. Coming after many hot, rainless months, the sudden downpour of hail caused great excite- ment amongst the natives. The hailstones fell on the flat- roofed houses with a loud crackling sound resembling that of burning wood-work. Newspapers spread out to catch the falling hail were simply riddled through by the larger stones. Most of the hailstones were spheroidal in shape with white nuclei. After striking the ground they quickly became hemispherical. The temperature in Cairo at the time was 25° C. The weather report issued by the Egyptian Survey Department does not indicate anything exceptional in the general weather conditions before or after the storm. The barometer was nearly normal, with short periodic disturbances between 5 p.m. and § p.m. The atmosphere was slightly clouded, and a light wind blowing. The hailstorm was very limited in extent, and apparently the path was N.W. to S.E. The temperature at various altitudes is variable, depending upon meteor- ological changes, but in ordinary circumstances. the rate of change of temperature with altitude amounts to 1° C. for each 100 metres for the first 1500 metres. This would give about 2500 metres as the minimum height for the formation of ice. A systematic exploration of the atmo- NO. 1984, VOL. 77] sphere by means of kites and captive balloons with self- recording instruments is now being undertaken by the energetic director of the Helwan Observatory which will greatly extend our knowledge of the upper air over north- east Africa. WE have received a copy of a paper by Mr. J. F. Bovard, issued as No. 14 of the third volume of the Uni- versity of California Zoological Publications, on the struc- ture and movements of Condylostoma patens, one of the largest of unicellular organisms. A writER in the October number of the Zoologist figures a specimen of the “‘false scorpion,’’ Chelifer cancroides, taken last year in a bake-house at Manchester. Up to the year 1892 only four British examples of this creature were known, but since that time the species has been discovered in stables, stores, &c., in various parts of England and Scotland. “A MonoGRaPH OF THE PETRELS’’ is the title of a quarto work, by Mr. du Cane Godman, to be published in parts by Messrs. Witherby and Co., of High Holborn. It is to include all the known species of petrels, shear- waters, and albatrosses, and will be illustrated by more than one hundred hand-coloured plates. Mr. Godman’s former colleague, the late Mr. Osbert Salvin, contemplated issuing a work of this nature, for which a number of plates were prepared; these will be used in Mr. Godman’s volume. WE have received a copy of a paper, by Mr. H. B. Greene, on the influence of heredity on the diseases and deformities of poultry, issued in connection with the second National Poultry Conference held in July last. From the fact of the isolation of the germ-cells, diseases are not, in the author’s opinion, transmissible through the egg, and they must accordingly be regarded as the effects of environment rather than of inheritance. This is distinctly encouraging to the poultry-breeder, as it indicates that much may be done in the way of preventing disease by careful attention to food and sanitation. AmonG the contents of Verhandlungen deutsch. zool. Ges. for 1907, we may refer to a paper by Dr. Steche, of Leipzig, on two luminous fishes, Photoblepharon palbe- bratus and Heterophthalmus catoptron, from the Malay Archipelago. Both species are of small size, and belong to the family of horse-mackerels (Carangidz); they are remarkable among luminiferous fishes in being shallow- water forms, the first-named dwelling among stones at the bottom, while the second is a free-swimmer. Their light-organs, which are situated in the cutis, resemble generally those of deep-water luminous fishes, though they have certain structural peculiarities of their own. The whole upper surface of these fishes appears to be luminiferous. A LARGE portion of vol. xlix. of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections is occupied by an account of the crabs collected by the North Pacific exploring expedi- tion of 1853-6. Dr. W. Stimpson, it appears, accom- panied the expedition as naturalist, and after his return transferred the invertebrate collections to Chicago, where, together with notes and drawings, they were burnt in 1871. After his death in the following year an illustrated report on the crustaceans was discovered, and it is this report which has just been published by the Smithsonian Institute. The only additions to the original MS. are references to Stimpson’s preliminary descriptions of species and certain emendations in nomenclature. Among the 16 NATURE | NovEMBER 7, 1907 generic names we may refer to Ptychognathus, which was published in 1858, and therefore antedates and in- validates Owen’s use of that term for a South African anomodont reptile. IN a supplemental Bulletin (No. 3) on “ leaf-hoppers,”’ recently issued by the Experimental Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association at Honolulu, Mr. G. W. Kirkaldy suggests that the Australasian zoological region should be subdivided as follows :—(1) (sae Rey: ‘‘La Theorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens confemporains..— 1). PS Nien. ce Wood: ‘* How to tell the Birds from the Flowers: a Manual of Flornithology for Beginners” ..... 7 Letters to the Editor.— Winding of Rivers in Plains.—Sir Oliver Lodge, Recalculation of Atomic Weights.—H. E. Watson. 7 The Fauna of Madagascar.—Frank E. Beddard, 1S a sao ee es, |. SS The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena —Geo, P. Mudge; G. ArchdallReid. .... a0 Se eS Newton’s Rings in Polarised Light.—P. V. Bevan . 9 The Fishes of the Nile. (///ustrated.) By W.C.M.. 10 Some Recent Papers on Meteorites. (///ustrated.) By L. J. S.. ME Sho ol) eS IZ INOtesiaem 1 Do, 6 fe OE. c 23} Our Astronomical Column = Gomeét /Mellish; ((1907¢)) - pi-) 2s =i) | s, Lo eee eg, Thexbransitiof Mercury: cee = =). c, Semen Ghangesion*oatuin’s: Rings meee) =. SES AQBughti Meteor <.:.\ . Gsmemeemeng. >< ceee nme The New Municipal Technical Institute, Belfast. (Lllustrated. ) pies ie ~ JS Seed BA % ae) US. London Day Training College for Teachers .... 19 Immunity to Disease among Plants. By Prof. F. E. WiCISSI a foie syn.) seen Gros) <>, neo. The Bed of the Western Pacific Ocean ...... 21 Hydrology in Egypt . . - + See University and Educational Intelligence . . . 25 Soacietiesiand Academies) jeace meme ve) -) mene DianysohSOCleties: y., ...suentemiene wenn eae 0c 025 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER’ 14, 1907. A NEW HANDBOOK OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. Heraus- gegeben von Dr. R. Abegg. Band ii., Abt. ii. Pp. ix+700. Price 24 marks. Band iii., Abt. i Pp. x+466. Price 17 marks. Abt. iii. Pp. xiv+876. Price 24 marks. (Leipzig: R. Hirzel, 1905-7.) A. HEARTY welcome may be extended to this valu- ad able work of reference, which does for inorganic chemistry much more than Beilstein’s famous hand- book has done for organic chemistry. It is no mere guide to the recognition and characterisation of the compounds with which it deals. Its aim is beyond this, and its scope is more general. In a _word, the editor endeavours to make use of the vast “accumulation of physico-chemical data of the past twenty years, and to incorporate them in the descrip- tive portion of the work, exercising a critical selection of the material employed and giving at the same time due consideration to theoretical connections and outstanding problems. The periodic system has been adopted as the basis of classification, and the portions of the work already issued deal with the elements of the second, third, and fifth periodic groups respec- tively. Here it may not be out of place to protest against an aggravating instance of the Teutonic pas- sion for subdivision. The work is to be issued in eight separately paged and indexed volumes, dealing with the eight periodic groups, together with a ninth volume of a general character. One might, there- ‘fore, reasonably expect that the numbers of the volumes -would correspond to the group numbers of the elements described. “the fifth group described in vol. iii., section iii., those of the fourth group presumably in vol. iii., section ii., and so on. Whether the elements of group 6 will be found in vol. iii., section iv., or in vol. iv., section i., remains for the present a subject of agreeable specu- lation. Prof. Abegg, in carrying out his scheme, has secured the collaboration of many eminent workers in the domains of inorganic and _ physical Amongst those who contribute to the volumes before us we may mention Marckwald (radium), R. J. Meyer (rare earths), Schenck (phosphorus subgroup), Brauner (atomic weights), and Rohland (technological subjects, e.g. mortar, ultramarine). The account of the metals of the rare earths and their compounds deserves special mention. The sub- ject is introduced by a general section of nearly fifty pages, in which. we are presented with a _ historical survey, an account of the mode of occurrence and general chemical characteristics of the group, an outline of the methods of extraction and separation of the earths, and a discussion of the valency and atomic weights of the elements. Then follows in detail the subgroup of the cerite earths, with a special account of the separation and purification of lanthanum, pra- NO, 1985, VOL. 77] vy napwec 4A NATORE Instead of this, we find the elements of | chemistry. | seodymium, neodymium, and samarium. The second subgroup is that of the terbium elements, and the third. deals with those of the erbium and yttrium families. Another noteworthy feature of the work is the treat- ment of the atomic weights of all the elements by the same hand. Prof. Brauner has accomplished his task admirably. He takes Clarke’s “‘ Recalculation of the Atomic Weights’ as the source of data up to 1896, and thereafter refers to the original papers, using the reports of the International Commission as a guide. Little is said of the older and less exact determinations, but the more modern work is given in considerable detail, and critically discussed in its relationship, not only to the atomic weight of the element directly concerned, but to that of other elements which may be involved in the actual experiments. To give an idea of the scale on which Prof. Brauner has written, it may be stated that the atomic weight of beryllium occupies five and a half pages, and that of nitrogen no less than thirty-two pages. The author freely criticises the tables of the International Commission in the course of his articles, pointing out, for example, that if N=rg4‘o1 is correct, which he believes to be the case, then Ag cannot be 10793 as given in the international table, but must lie between 10788 and 107-89. Prof. Abegg’s ‘ Handbuch”? is admirably printed and got up, and must in future form an indispensable item in every properly equipped chemical library. ITALIAN. BIRDS. AND: NEOGENESIS. Avifauna Italica. By Enrico Hillyer Giglioli. Secondo resoconto. Pp. xxiv+784. (Firenze: Coi. Tipi dello Stab: Tipografico s. Giuseppe, 1907.) TALIAN ornithologists in particular, and students of palzarctic birds in general, will be grateful to Prof. Giglioli for’ this revised edition of his most valuable work. Herein he now recognises 496 species as entitled to the rank of Italian birds; but this in- cludes species which have only once been obtained within this area, and at least two which many | ornithologists will refuse to regard as species at . all. These two exceptions are of more than passing interest, inasmuch as Prof. Giglioli contends that they furnish good examples of “‘ neogenesis ’’: of the birth of new species per saltum. The first of these two cases is that of a redstart obtained by Prof. Giglioli from Sardinia. On data which can only be described as unsatisfactory, the author elects to create a new species—Ruticilla nigra— though most of us, on the same evidence, would agree that the: examples. on which this new species was based were but melanistic specimens of Ruticilla titys, the common black redstart. This view. he rejects, contending that his own hypothesis is the more reason- able. Far more importance is to be attached to the second case, which Prof. Giglioli describes at some length, not only in the pages of this work, but also in the Cc 26 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 14, 1907 Ibis, 1903. Briefly, this concerns an owl which the author then described as a new species—Athene chiaradia; in the volume now before us it is accorded still the rank of a species. Though it is scarcely to be expected that ornithologists will recognise this bird as entitled to specific rank, the history which Prof. Giglioli gives of its discovery will never lose its interest. Within the space at our disposal, it would be im- possible to tell the whole story of this most remark- able case. Suffice it to say that the bird upon which Prof. Giglioli founded his new species was a nestling taken from a nest at Pizzocco, in the province of Udine. Though obviously nearly related to the little owl (Athene noctua), it differed therefrom, among other things, in having a dark brown instead of a golden- yellow iris—a rather remarkable fact. Naturally, the author at once instituted a search for further examples from this neighbourhood, and two years later this search was rewarded by the discovery of a nest—in close proximity to that from which the ori- ginal specimen was obtained—containing four nestlings. One of these, be it noted, was a typical Athene chiaradiae, while the remaining nestlings were as typically examples of the little owl (Athene noctua)! ‘Two other nests containing both dark and yellow-eyed young were later found, and finally a nest with both types of young, together with the parents, was taken. Though these parents were undoubtedly “little owls,’? they were both somewhat abnormal specimens, both in the matter of size and color- ation. It is to be deplored that no attempt whatever was made to induce any of these birds to breed in con- finement; or that the parents were not allowed their freedom in the hope that they might at least go on perpetuating these strange aberrations. Instead, every single bird was killed to furnish specimens for the natural history museum at Florence. Thereby some extremely valuable facts were lost to science for ever! Had Prof. Giglioli endeavoured to breed these birds in confinement, he might have succeeded in establishing his hypothesis of ‘‘ neogenesis.’? As _ it is, both this and the two new species which he founds thereon must be put back to await further evidence. Though in some matters we may not agree with Prof. Giglioli, we have said enough, perhaps, to show that his book is by no means a dull catalogue of the birds of Italy. Weaebanes PHYSIOLOGY OF ALIMENTATION. The Physiology of Alimentation. By Prof. Martin H. Fischer. Pp. viii+348. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 8s. 6d. net. 4 (esas is a small but comprehensive account of modern physiological ideas concerning the im- portant subjects of digestion and absorption. The work of physiologists on these questions has of recent years been both laborious and fruitful. Pawlow has devised new methods of examining the secretions and NO. 1985, VOL. 77 the course of their action on the food-stuffs. The epoch-making work of Emil Fischer has thrown new light on their composition, especially in the case of the proteins. The doctrine that enzymes are catalytic agents has taken firm root. The importance of the chemical stimuli to secretion (secretin and other hormones) has been demonstrated by Starling and Bayliss. The sequence of events in the journey along the alimentary tube has been accurately followed by Cannon’s shadow photographs. All these points, and many others, are clearly treated by Prof. Martin Fischer in the very useful little book he has pub- lished. The introduction of new names for the enzymes so long familiar as pepsin, trypsin, rennet, and the like, will, it is to be feared, introduce confusion to the student’s mind, although the new nomenclature aims at uniformity. It is interesting, no doubt, to see the actual shadow photographs which Cannon took, but they do not lend themselves well to reproduction, and more diagrammatic pictures would have been instruc- tive. In a few cases the information given is not up-to- date, or is open to question. For instance, Pawlow’s results on the stimulation of the nerves of the pancreas require revision in the light of the discovery of secre- tin. These results are given in full, and a few pages later Starling’s discovery of the pancreatic hormone is described, but no attempt is made to correlate the two, nor is any guidance given to the reader in estimating their relative value. Again, Weinland’s ideas on the ‘‘ adaptation ’’ of the pancreas are quoted with apparent approval, and the confirmation of his views is wrongly attributed to Vernon. No mention, however, is made of the impor- tant work of Plimmer, who has conclusively shown that Weinland’s results rest on imperfect methods, and that in the cases investigated no adaptation is dis- coverable. The distinction between casein and caseinogen is mentioned, but the former is stated to be produced from the latter by the addition of acid, as well as by the action of caseinase or rennet. This view is justi- fiable if, as some have recently asserted, the difference between the two proteins is one of state of aggrega- tion only, and not a true chemical difference. But before adopting such a view it is necessary to dispose of all the work which tends in the opposite direction, and to explain how it is the two substances differ in elemen- tary composition. Prof. Fischer assigns the place of protein synthesis in the body mainly to the absorptive epithelium of the intestine, and quotes Abderhalden as holding the same view. No mention, however, is made of the work of others (e.g. Leathes, Howell, and Schryver), which appears to prove that there is no such special seat of synthesis in the wall of the alimentary tract. There are just a few points where adverse criticism appears to be necessary; there always will be differ- ences of opinion between those who interpret the facts of life. Taken as a whole, the book is not only lucid, but correct and instructive. W. D. H. NOVEMBER 14, 1907 | SCHOOL ARITHMETIC. (1) Arithmetic for Schools. By the Rev. J. B. Lock. New edition, revised and enlarged with the assist- ance of V. M. Turnbull. Pp. vii+480. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. (2) Arithmetic, chiefly Examples. By G. W. Palmer. Pp. x+339+xlii. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 3s. 6d. (3) A Modern Arithmetic, with Graphic and Practical Exercises. By H. Sydney Jones. Part i. Pp. xii+361. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 3s. E are generally accustomed to consider that the teaching of arithmetic has gained its promi- nent place in all modern educational systems for two reasons, viz., on account of (1) its utilitarian value, and (2) its culture value. The writer of a general text-book on arithmetic, as well as the teacher of arithmetic, should have both these ideas promi- nently before him, and so far as either of them fails to consider the subject from these two points of view, so far does he fail in its presentation. A little con- sideration shows that at different points in the study of the subject the relative importance of the two reasons for teaching it varies considerably; but generally, its utility must give way to the culture training. Until within the last twenty years the tendency of all works on arithmetic was to build up a system which paid no attention to either reason, but treated the subject more as a series of detached methods—the more mechanical the better—of solving problems set by the author, by the teacher, or by the examiner. We had, in fact, a period which reminds us of the paid problem-solvers of the fifteenth century. Since then we have had two parallel movements of reform in arithmetical teaching. The first was chiefly con- fined to the public elementary schools, where the cul- ture value was considered as the only value. Arith- metic was to be treated as a “series of problems,”’ and inspectors, examiners and teachers went problem- mad. The other movement was found at its height in the evening continuation schools and in the tech- nical schools. In that case, all teaching of arithmetic was considered of importance as it bore on the daily life of the pupils. Fortunately, we now see signs of a combination of these two movements, and provided their relative importance is correctly gauged, the results from the teaching of arithmetic will show a corresponding improvement. It is interesting to note that each of the three books under review claims to have treated the subject from both points of view, and they all show traces of the two movements referred to above. At the same time they all reveal and will help to promote a weakness in the teaching of arithmetic in the preparatory schools and in the secondary schools. In the public elementary schools of the country the arith- metical education of the pupils until about the age of seven consists of a thorough knowledge of the numbers 1 to to. This includes the complete analysis and synthesis of each number. Succeed NO. 1985, VOL. 77 ] NATURE 27 ing years are taken up with the extension of these principles to 20, and to 100, and this is followed by the four rules. Such work is also taken up in certain preparatory schools. These books seem to be intended for secondary schools, i.e. for pupils from the age of 12 and upwards, and yet they take up the four simple rules. The only satisfactory reason for doing so would be a more rigid and scientific treatment of the subject, with full details as to the development of the processes used. None of the books can be considered satisfactory in this respect, though both Mr. Jones’s and Messrs. Lock and Turnbull’s books show an advance on previous text-books. It would seem, therefore, that the authors, while recog- nising that pupils of twelve ought to be ready to take up a more scientific study of arithmetic, are not pre- pared to look for that improvement in the earlier work which would permit of this step being taken. All three books show signs of the former school of arithmetic. This is specially seen in the multipli- cation of money. There is no justification for the retention of the old method of tens which is simply a disguised form of practice. The objection to the direct method usually is that the working has to be roughly done with no definite place in the setting down. That can be easily overcome by setting down the working of each unit directly below that unit. The direct method corresponds closely to the method always used in division. Again, in multiplication and division by decimals, we find one of the many mechanical rules given in each book. These should only be necessary in the case of beginners, and a pupil who thoroughly understands ‘‘ place values ’’ should not require any of these mechanical aids. (1) Mr. Lock’s arithmetic has now reached its fifth edition, and we can congratulate the author on the improvement of that edition. The omissions from and re-arrangement of the text are all for the benefit of the teaching of elementary mathematics. There are still some traces of the older methods to be found. On p. 67 the old extended method of finding the H.C.F. is given, and alongside is a contracted method (the quotients are not necessary) with the remark, ‘‘ The work is best arranged thus.’’ On the succeeding page, however, the authors give the working of two examples in the old style. On pp. 96 and 97 we find a series of examples of continued and complex frac- tions which we hope the authors will remove from the next edition The importance given to vulgar fractions generally takes away from the value of the book as a modern text-book of arithmetic. (2) Mr. Palmer’s book is an example of a type of text-book which has become common during the last few years. “Tt is chiefly made up of examples. The explana- tory matter consists almost entirely of worked-out examples, except in certain parts of the book where explanation seemed necessary in consequence of some departure having been made from the ordinary method of treatment.”’ There is no doubt that such a book is the best that one can put in the hands of pupils, but it requires a teacher who is an expert in his subject. We can 28 NATURE. [ NovEMBER 14, 1907 therefore recommend Mr. Palmer’s book with confi- dence to those teachers who take a special interest in and make a special study of the teaching of arith- metic. They will probably find rules and methods which they do not approve of, but these can be neglected without any loss. The method of dealing with the multiplication of decimals is open to the objection that without any gain a much more difficult method than the direct one is given. The author makes use of rough approximations before and rough checks after working out an example. These are very good, and should be used in all working, but they should not be made the means of finding the decimal point in approximations. The placing of the point should give no difficulty if a logical method has been adopted throughout the study of decimals. (3) Mr. Jones’s book is a laudable attempt to remove the study of arithmetic from its commercial trammels and widen its scope. We are afraid that, in the attempt, he has overburdened his book. Practical worl: is introduced at all stages of the work, and the numerous explanatory diagrams will be a useful addi- tion to the teaching of the subject. There are one or two things which strike us as being out of place in a book which is intended for a general course in arith- metic. Thus the tables of weights and measures in- clude some units which are not in general use. The introduction of these tends to specialise the work, a thing which Mr. Jones claims, in his preface, that he desires to avoid. We are sorry, to see in an arith- metic of this type the instruction to ‘‘ move the point.” It is always difficult for a teacher to keep before young pupils the reason for the step, and he is not aided when the text-book adopts the mechanical method. Mr. Jones has added an index, an example that ought to be followed by all writers of school text-books. 19g Iker OUR BOOK SHELF. Die typischen Geometrien und das Unendliche. By B. Petronievics. Pp. viii+88. (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1907.) Price 3 marks. Tue author of this curious work asserts (p. 86) that it is impossible to make a one-one correspondence between the points of a linear segment and the elements of the arithmetical continuum (0, 1); in other words, he not only declines to accept the Dedekind- Cantor axiom, but asserts that it is illogical. His attempted proof (p. 85) involves the assumption of actual infinitesimal segments; thus he says ‘‘so entspricht dem ersten Punkte, der sich mit dem o-Punkte beriihrt, gar keine Zahl in der Zahlmenge o... 1, da das entsprechende Segment unendlich klein ist, und dasselbe wird auch fur den zweiten, dritten usw. Punkt gelten.’’ This idea of immediately adjacent yet different points pervades the whole tract, and leads to wonderful para- doxes ; an attempt is made to remove the most obvious difficulties by a distinction between real and unreal points (pp. 9, 10), but this is not satisfactory. There is a continual confusion between the idea of space consisting of points and that of points forming ““parts’’ of space. You cannot eat your cake and then look at it; if in one context ‘‘ point’? means something with extension, it should not be treated NO. 1985, VOL. 77] elsewhere as having position only. Moreover, no in- tuition, logic, or metaphysic can get a geometrical thing having extension from two points devoid of it. Unless something better than this can be said for it, the assumption of actual infinitesimals of different orders in geometry is not likely to be accepted, and the Dedekind-Cantor axiom will probably be retained as the simplest way of connecting geometry with analysis. From the metaphysical side we want something better than a puerile criticism of Cantor’s transfinite number-system, vitiated by misunderstand- ings. Extensional quantities (lengths, volumes, &c.) can be arithmetically defined for figures in an arith- metical space; but no one with an active geometrical imagination can enjoy this way of treating the sub- ject, although he may admire it as a logical feat. Again, take the connectivity of Riemann surfaces, or the classification of knots; here are things with char- acteristics easily recognised by inspection, but diffi- cult to specify by the arithmetical method; cannot we find some means for testing our intuitions without putting them into this newly invented arithmetical machine? To give a satisfactory answer to the ques- tions arising from the modern aspects of mathematics. is a task sufficient to strain the highest philosophical powers; and although Dr. Petronievics has the temerity to declare that Hilbert’s ‘‘ Grundlagen der Geometrie”’ is logically defective (p. 24, end), he has added little, if anything, which is of value or interest to the discussion. G: Bave Engineering Workshop Practice. By Charles C. Allen. Pp. vii+254. (London: Methuen and Co., n.d.) Price 3s. 6d. A ook for students on engineering workshop practice is, in many ways, more difficult to write than one addressed to those who, from years of actual practice, have gained an intimate knowledge of the elaborate processes by which engines and _ other machines are produced. The beginner requires ample explanations of processes, which he has probably never seen carried out, but which to the workman are as familiar as his daily paper. This book, good as it is, would have been much more useful if no attempt had been made to write for the information of both the beginner and the skilled workman; their needs are so different that the result cannot be satisfactory to either class. A typical instance of the consequences of such an attempt occurs on p. 159, with reference to the cutting of vee threads in a lathe. In a short paragraph the author points out, quite properly, that, in talking a cut over the whole form, there is a great tendency to rip the thread, and then goes on to state that the diagrams indicate the proper method, but offers no further ex- planation of them. To a skilled workman these diagrams are quite unnecessary; to a student they are merely perplexing. He is left to discover, if he can, that one diagram is intended to indicate that the roughing cut is to be taken on one side of the vee, while in a second diagram a tool, apparently floating in mid-air, lies between two objects, which he may or may not recognise as rake gauges. In other cases where explanations of the diagrams are given they are far from being clear; thus on p. 191, in the instruc- tions for cutting helical gears, we are told that ‘* The cutter used must be selected for the number of teeth there would be in a gear with outside diameter equal to the diameter of a circle determined by the curvature of the gauge in this way.’’ But the author gives no intelligible explanation of what ‘‘ this way ”’ is. hs While it is proper to direct attention to blemishes NoveEMBER 14, 1907] NATURE 29 of this kind, there is no doubt that the author has produced a book of considerable merit, the value of which would be considerably enhanced in future editions if the attempt to deal with the wants of the skilled workman were frankly abandoned. The text covers most of the elementary operations of the fitting and machine shops, and the graduated exercises are well thought out, and in a well-equipped college workshop under the supervision of a skilled instructor a beginner would no doubt make remark- able progress in the use of tools, and be of real value in a works at the end of the course of instruction. Steam and other Engines. By J. Duncan. Pp. ix4+471. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) | Pricetsys: Tue development of municipal technical schools during the last few years has given a great impetus to the production of books written especially for elementary students. Mr. Duncan’s book, on steam and other engines, is an admirable little work of this class, which students in the early part of a course on mechanical engineering will greatly appre- ciate, for it is well and clearly written, and covers a wide range of modern practice. There is nothing more attractive to young engineer- ing students than the purely mechanical details. of engines, and the wealth of illustrations accompanying the descriptive matter will no doubt prove of great interest. While the illustrations are a prominent feature of this book, the more important elementary principles of heat-engine theory and applied mechanics are also presented in a very skilful manner. Students working through the course of instruction prescribed, espe- cially if they are able to carry out the experiments and take part in the engine and boiler trials, as the author recommends, will obtain quite a considerable know- ledge of steam and other heat engines. There appear to be very few errors or mistakes of any importance, but occasionally the author is not an accurate guide, as, for instance, when dealing with the flow of steam in an expanding nozzle he incident- ally says that ‘‘ In the case of a liquid the problem is simple as the property of expansibility is absent,’”’ a statement in direct contradiction to the actual facts, as students of hydraulics are well aware. The Elements of Mechanics. A Text-Book for Colleges and Technical Schools. By W. S. Frank- lin and B. Macnutt. Pp. xi+283. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. A Book on elementary mechanics, which commences by addressing the reader as my young friend, and immediately after, in a lengthy paragraph, draws a comparison between the student and the axolotl, does not seem very promising as a scientific work. This feeling is strengthened when a little further on, in speaking of the laws of motion, one of the authors writes :-— “You, my young friend, must have in some measure my own youthful view, which, to tell the truth, I have never wholly lost, that there is some- thing absurd in the idea of reducing the more com- plicated phenomena of nature to any orderly system of mechanical law. For to speak of motion is no doubt to call to your mind first of all the phenomena that are associated with the excessively complicated, incessantly changing, turbulent and tumbling motion of wind and water. These phenomena have always had the most insistent appeal to us; they have con- fronted us everywhere and always, and life is an un- ending contest with their fortuitous diversity, which rises only too often to irresistible sweeps of destruction NO. 1985, VOL. 77] in fire and flood, and in calamitous crash of collision and collapse where all things commingle in one dread fluid confusion.’’ The book does not, happily, continue in this style after the opening chapter, but commences a systematic treatment of elementary mechanics on familiar lines, which, however, does not present any new features worthy of notice, except that inaccuracies and lack of precision in the statement of scientific principles are numerous. A new text-book on mechanics may be justifiable, if the authors can present the subject in a better way than has been presented before, or in a form more adapted to the wants of its readers, but a comparison of this work with any good elementary treatise on the subject cannot fail to show its inferior character. EaGe Ce Die Lésung des Problems der Urzeugung (Archigonia, Generatio spontanea). By Martin Kuckuck. Pp. vii+83; with 34 figs. and one table. (Leipzig : Barth, 1907.) Price 3 marks. Dr. Kuckuck made a mixture of gelatine, peptone, asparagin, glycerine, and sea-water, boiled it for an hour, put it in a sterilised vessel, and added a little chloride of barium, which brought about ionisation. The outcome was the formation of minute bodies like protozoa, which show ‘‘ nutrition, growth, reproduc- tion (segmentation), inheritance, movement (rotation), and form cell-groups (ccenobia of Haeckel), which re- semble animal morulz.’’ Barium chloride produces similar morulz in fresh white of egg and in yollx of egg. Drops of natrium nucleinecum (Merck), allowed to fall on the surface of the gelatine-peptone-aspara- gin-glycerine-sea-salt mixture, produce rotating cor- puscles, which form loose colonies. The author gives verv interesting and striking figures, some drawn, some from photographs, of his artificial cells and cell- colonies. The figures drawn from the artificial morulz would pass muster in a text-book of embry- ology; the cell-outlines are sharply defined, and each cell has a beautiful nucleus. It seems to us that these and similar experiments would be more interesting, if less were proved. On this experimental basis, Dr. Kuckuck rears a theoretical superstructure. Mixtures of inorganic and organic substances pass by ionisation into protoplasm. Salts of barium, radium, and nuclein effect this ion- isation. The process of organisation is a process of ionisation. It is so now, and it was so in the begin- ning. The first organisms arose in the sea and were non-nucleated Monera. The nucleated cell arose by the symbiosis of two aniso-electrical non-nucleated cytodes, as is proved by the fertilisation-process, for is not ontogeny a recapitulation of phylogeny ? ‘* Every- thing living has sex (negative and positive ions), and everything is living because it has sex (negative and positive ions): ohne Geschlecht kein Leben.’’ A sort of genealogical tree is given showing the origin of organisms from inorganic substances, so that the Stammbaum is now quite complete, even as to its roots. ap Aaeles The Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity. By F. P. Daniels. The University of Missouri Studies. Science Series, vol. i., No. 2. Pp. x+319. (The University of Missouri, 1907.) As a study of a local flora, this memoir, furnishing a list of the plants and an ecological survey, forms a suitable volume for the science series of the Missouri University publications. The flora is characterised by a predominance of genera belonging to the orders Composite, Graminez, and Leguminose. The sedges are numerous, since the species of Carex exceed fifty. Desmodium, Mes- 30 pilus, and Aster are large genera, and Vernonia pro- vides eight new species. The genus Quercus is important both for the number of species and also on account of their dominance in the forests of the area. Q. alba, the white oak, Q. rubra and Q. Schneckii, red oaks, are widely distributed; QO. macrocarpa, Q. platanoides, and Q. palustris occur on the coal measures; Q. acuminata and Q. tinctoria are also common. The ecological survey is detailed, almost too de- tailed, as it loses conciseness owing to the multifarious subdivisions. The forests, as the prevailing features of the district, receive the most attention; the cliff and marsh associations are also important. The charac- ters of the various formations are carefully delineated, and the text furnishes an estimable addition to the literature of plant distribution, but the area has ap- parently not been surveyed with the view of plotting on a map, nor are any illustrations provided. The Evolution of Matter, Life, and Mind. Stewart Duncan. Pp. 250. (Philadelphia : Publishing Company, 1907.) Tuts is a vade mecum of evolutionism, a sequel to a previous volume in which the author sought to show that feeling and energy are alternate states of matter everywhere. Feeling is given out as energy, and energy is experienced as feeling. Both are spiritual or non-substantial, sister properties or manifestations capable of inhering and co-inhering in one universal substance, the ether. The progress of investigation has enabled the author to make his monism even more definite. Matter is being retined away into a mode of motion in the ether. This ether is ‘‘ the fountain of all being,’’ ‘‘the hitherto unknown God.”’ Prof. Larmor and others are theologians in spite of them- selves. Helped by abundant quotations, Mr. Duncan gives a sketch of recent investigations as to the nature of matter, and he points out that he anticipated some of them. In 1893, for instance, he contended that an ordinary ray is a succession of such motions of the ether as beget waves with longitudinal as well as transverse elements of vibration, and it was only last year that Prof. J. H. Poynting showed that rays of light do exert energy in the direction of propagation. In the present volume he develops some original speculations, e.g. a theory of radiation and gravi- tation. The author tells us that we must believe in the spirituality of matter and of the ether. Physical pro- cesses are never complete chains of sequence. Feel- ing and energising arise alternately in all matter. Animal matter has sprung from vegetable matter, and the latter from inorganic matter (in the Arctic regions). All that we call ‘‘ matter ’’ is at least sensi- tive and capable of feeling. It is so because of what it produces, and it is so because the ether is the foun- tain of all being, physical and mental. Every re- ceiver of energy passes through two states, which cor- respond to those of every living personality, a subjec- tive state of feeling which results from influence from without, and an ejective state of energising which results from influence from within. We trust that this is all quite clear. Mr. Duncan gives an account of the origin of every- thing—including evil—except the ether, which is a scientific name for God. He traces the evolution of all living creatures and of the human mind, show- ing that the difficulty of thinking out the long genetic process may be in great measure overcome if we start from a broad enough basis—the psychosis of ““matter.’’ In the course of his exposition he quotes the story of a delightful orchid, discovered by Mr. E. A. Suverkrop, of Philadelphia, which sends down a tubular stem into the water when it is thirsty, fills NO. 1985, VOL. 77] By W. Index NATURE [NoveMBeER 14, 1907 the tip, and coils it up again. ‘‘ As the last coil is made the water trickles down upon the roots at the other end.’? When the discoverer touched the leaves, he was ‘‘ astonished to see the centre stem convul- sively coil itself into a spiral like the spring of a watch.’? Wonders will never cease. Nor is pathos wanting, for on dry ground ‘it was almost pitiable to see how the tube would work its way over the ground, in search of water that was not.’’ Ballistic Experiments, from 1864 to 1880. By the Rev, Francis Bashforth. Pp. 33. (Cambridge: University Press, 1907.) Price 1s. Tue pamphlet is interesting reading as an uncon- scious revelation of the timidity of thought of our military authority. Afraid to trust its opinion, it waited for approbation to come from abroad before expressing a judgment. Although carried out with our muzzle-loading guns, Mr. Bashforth’s experiments were. so careful as to re- quire slight modification only to serve for the newest pattern of modern artillery, and the arrangement of his tabular matter for practical use has been adopted universally, and is never likely to be displaced. Mr. Bashforth is the creator of the science of modern artillery, but our official world considers this a very improper remark to make, at least in his lifetime. The rapid progress in electromagnetic science has made possible a great improvement in the chrono- graph, and further experiment is needed urgently if we are to make the best use of manufacture in the production of improved weapons of war. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents, Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NaTuRE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The Origin of Radium. In his two interesting letters published in Nature of September 26 and October 10 respectively, Dr. Boltwood states that he has obtained undoubted proof of the exist- ence of the parent substance of radium, and that he finds it to be allied in chemical properties with thorium. I may be permitted to describe some experiments which afford independent evidence that the parent substance of radium possesses in a chemical sense the properties of thorium, and that it occurs with the latter. In experiments made with a new intermediate product obtained from thorium to which I have given the name ““mesothorium,’’ I was struck by the fact that old pre- parations of pure thorium contained relatively large quantities of radium. This appeared all the more note- worthy since the monazite sand from which the thorium is prepared contains only a very small quantity of uranium ; the radium corresponding to this small amount must con- sequently have been separated from the thorium during the complicated processes used in extracting the latter. A few months ago, therefore, I began a_ systematic investigation of the quantity of radium in samples of thorium salts of different ages. A weighed quantity of the pure nitrate, generally 10 grams, was dissolved in pure water, and the solution boiled and sealed up. After a sufficient interval the radium emanation was collected by boiling the solution, and shortly afterwards, after allowing the thorium emanation to decay, transferred to an electroscope and measured. Samples of thorium nitrate of very different but accurately known ages were placed at my disposal by the firm of Dr. O. Knéfler. It was found as a result that the older the sample the larger was the quantity of radium contained in it. The oldest sample of all, one dating from 1898, contained the greatest amount. In quite a new sample the quantity of radium was very small, 100 grams of the sample NovEMBER 14, 1907] NATURE 31 being required for its measurement. The radium present in this case was about 1/100 that contained in the sample nine years old. It was not to be supposed that an insufficient degree of purity was the cause of the large amount of radium in the old sample, nor is it probable that thorium itself slowly decomposes into radium, I therefore considered that in the technical preparation of thorium an active sub- stance is separated with the latter, and in turn decomposes into radium; it is probably the direct parent substance of radium, for which search has been recently made. In order to test this view, an attempt was made to show the increase in the amount of radium in a solution of thorium; 1oo grams of freshly prepared thorium nitrate was examined, the quantity of radium being ascertained. The amount of emanation collected after four days was used for calculating the equilibrium amount, which is reached after about a month. On August 17 the flask was sealed, and again tested on October 10; the amount was double as great as in the previous test. Forty grams of thorium nitrate prepared at the end of. April was examined in the same way and left during the vacation. In this case also there was a marked incr2ase in the amount of radium. Fifty grams of thorium nitrate made in June, 1907, was precipitated from acid solution with oxalic acid. In the filtrate the quantity of radium was determined, the same being also done in October. result was obtained. The parent substance of radium had therefore been precipitated with the thorium. By mistake, the precipitated material was mixed with other thorium preparations, and could not, therefore, be further investi- gated. -About 1 mg. of radio-thorium (activity about 100,000) was freed as far as possible from radium (the small amount retained being determined) and sealed up on August 15. The solution on October 14 gave the same amount. of radium emanation as before. The _ radio- thorium was prepared from thorianite by means of barium sulphate, and should not, therefore, have contained the parent substance of radium, .as, indeed, was actually found to be the case. Knowing the proportion of uranium and thorium in monazite sand, and assuming that all the thorium and the whole of the parent substance of radium are separated during the extraction of thorium, the life of radium can be calculated by determining the quantity of radium in a given weight of thorium of known age. I have assumed the monazite to contain on the average o-3 per cent. of uranium and about 5 per cent. of thorium oxide. From this it follows that 1 gram of thorium nitrate in equil- ibrium with radium contains about 2-10o-* gram of radium bromide. From the values I have found with samples of thorium of different age, the period of decay for radium lies between 2000 and 3000 years. Alterations in the pro- portions of uranium and thorium would naturally cause corresponding deviations in the value of the constant. The values given, therefore, only indicate approximately the order of magnitude of the period of decay, since I am ignorant of the exact composition’ of the monazite. used as a source of the nitrates investigated. I hope to publish more accurate details another place. Chemical Institute, Berlin. shortly in Otto Hann. The Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Bombay. I see in Nature of November 7 advertisements for a principal and professor of chemistry for the Victoria Technical College in Bombay. Though I have no con- nection with the institute, and may be charged with un- ‘warrantable interference, I think that it is only fair to intending competitors that certain facts should be made known. I wish to point out, in the first place, that the manage- ment of this institution is in the hands of a board of trustees, and that the principal is not a member of this board, nor has he the right of communicating with the board except through the medium of the honorary secre- tary. The title of principal does not even secure to the holder of it the exclusive right of calling meetings of the staff, and, in fact, confers nothing more than the power NO. 1985, VOL. 77] In each case the same. to enforce discipline. On the occasion of the opening of the new laboratories in February last, I was much impressed by the fact that not only was the principal not among the speakers, but that he and his staff were barely referred to, and that their names only appeared in the descriptive pamphlet which was published for the occasion inside the cover and at the end. Such were the conditions under which my friend Dr. Mackenzie held the appointment, and it was with no astonishment that I heard on my return from India that he had sent in his resignation. I may add that though Rs, 1000 per mensem with a residence appears to be a good salary, it must be remembered that there is no security of tenure of the appointment, and that the resi- dence offered to Dr. Mackenzie lay between the dustiest road and the busiest railway in the heart of Bombay. Should any chemist contemplate applying for the ‘chair’? of chemistry with the view of carrying out re- search in his spare time and ultimately improving his position, I should like to remind him that he will do well to take his library with him. There are no scientific books in Bombay. Before leaving Bombay I made it clear to some of my friends who are interested in the institute that, in the event of Dr. Mackenzie’s resignation being accepted, I should make the facts public, and should warn other scien- tific men against accepting the appointment upon similar terms, Morris W,. TRAVERS. London, November 9. November Meteors. Tuoucu the general conditions under which the Leonid meteor shower of 1907 takes place are not the most favour- able, still a display of moderate intensity may be expected. The shower promises to be most conspicuous on the night of November 16, when moonlight will interfere consider- ably with observations, especially in the case of the smaller meteors. The following are the times of the various maxima as computed by the writer, the results of these calculations beiag expressed in Greenwich mean time :— Leonid epoch, November 15, gh. The shower, which is of the third order of magnitude, succeeds the epoch, the principal maxima occurring on November 16, 17h., 17h. 3om., and 18h. 30m. There is also a weak secondary epoch on November 17, 10h., the shower in this case preceding the epoch, and having its principal maxima on November 16, 13h. 4om., 18h., and November 17, 2h. The intensity of the maxima of a meteoric epoch is inversely as the order of magnitude of the shower con- nected with it. Two showers, though of different intensi- ties, will, as may be seen, take place on the night of November 16. Scattered through the rest of the month are several interesting minor showers, details of the most remarkable of which will now be given :— Epoch, November 22, 4h. Shower of tenth order of magnitude. The shower precedes the epoch, the principal maxima occurring on November 20, 8h., November 21, 14h., and November 22, 3h. Epoch, November 25, 12h. This shower, which is of the ninth order of magnitude, has its principal maxima after the epoch as follows:—November 26, th. 50m., November 27, 2h. 30m. and 6h. Of these, the latter two are the heaviest maxima. Epoch, November 29, 18h. The shower, which is of the fifteenth order of magnitude, follows the epoch, the principal maxima occurring on November 29, 23h., November 30, 18h., and December 1, 4h. Closely associated with the last shower is another, which occurs early in December, is of the fifth order of magni- tude, and has its maxima on December 2, 1th., and December 3, 8h. Joun R. HEnry. An Optical Illusion. THE optical illusion described by Mr. Douglas Carnegie in Nature of October 18, 1906, may be explained as follows :— The thaumatrope generally reverses its apparent direction of rotation when the observer shuts one eye, or, better still, both eyes alternately, according to the physiological 32. NATURE. | NOVEMBER 14, 1907 law that the observation of a motion which is being stopped is in favourable circumstances followed by the per- ception of that motion in reversed direction. The accompanying figure shows the card with its plane passing through the observer 0. L and R are the inter- sections of the circumference of the card with an arbitrary horizontal line. Suppose that the card turns round its axis PQ from north to west, the observer will see L removing to the left and rR to the right, and from this he can conclude the exact direction of the rotation, pro- vided that he makes sure of L being behind and r before po, and not otherwise. For suppose L before rg in L! and R behind po in Rr’, the observed removal of these points respectively to the left and to the right would lead to an apparent opposite direction of rotation—from north to east. Moreover, the axis PQ perpendicular to LR would seem to tilt away from the vertical to p’Q’ perpendicular to’ L/R’. Hence the illusion depends upon the following condition :—if Land rR are seen in the right place with respect. to each other, the rotation appears in its true direction, but if, on the contrary, L and R are seen in L’-and Rr’, so in the wrong place’ with respect to each other, the card will seem immediately to reverse its direc- tion of rotation, and the axis will seem to tilt away from the vertical. As an observer, viewing the true direction of the rotating card, will generally be unable to distinguish the right place of the two points when she shuts one of his eyes, the circumstances are favourable for the reversing of the direc- tion of the rotating card. Utrecht, October 5. L. U. H. C: WernDLyY. The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena. Ir I have read Dr. Archdall Reid’s letter in Naturr of October 31 aright, he draws a distinction between the study of heredity in general and the study of the problems of sexual reproduction, now defined as the problem of the function of sex (an expression with which I am perfectly contented). Among the problems of sex he includes the study of the actual transmission of characters as dealt with by Mendelians. The novelty: of . this classification — is certainly attractive; but I find it difficult to understand what ‘branches of knowledge remain ‘to fall under~- the former head. In what does the study of heredity consist if not in the study of the transmission of characters from parents to offspring ? If by this apparent paradox it is only meant to imply that the Mendelians must confine their study to the trans- mission of characters by the sexual method, they may seek comfort in the reflection that this is by far the most important of all branches of heredity—it is the only one, for example, which affects the human race. Indeed, the rule that all organisms pass through a sexual cycle at some period of their existence has extremely few excep- tions; but I, for one, see no reason for restricting the experimental study of heredity even to this extent. Mendel demonstrated the segregation of the germinal represent- atives of certain characters in the reproductive cells. What reason is there for doubting that such segregation may take place among the ova of a parthenogenetic individual? There is, in fact, evidence of the actual occurrence of such segregation. More than this, we know of segregation where reproduction is purely vegetative, as in the case of bud sports. It is the claim of the Mendelians that they have dis- NO. 1985, VOL. 77] covered in certain cases some of the characters of an organism—the units of hereditary trans- mission, which are represented in the reproductive cells by definite entities known as allelomorphs. Sometimes these characters are identical with those which can be defined by simple inspection previous to experimental analysis, sometimes they are not. Sometimes the apparent character depends upon the simultaneous presence of several allelo-. morphs, each of which may segregate from its opposite in complete independence of all the others. Mendel him- self suggested that this conception, the proof of which he left to ‘his successors, might afford the explanation of certain botanical cases which do not appear to be widely lifferent from that of the mulatto. If Dr. Archdall Reid will produce authenticated pedigrees showing the repeated crossing of the mulatto with pure white blood and pure black blood respectively, together with a detailed account of all the offspring produced, he will make a very sub- stantial contribution to our knowledge of heredity in the human race, and one which will be examined with very great interest by Mendelians. In the absence of such evidence the statement that there is no segregation does not seem to me to be justified, even in this particular instance. It has been pointed out that Mendel’s discovery is lead- ing to a change in our conception of the constitution of an organism comparable with the change which the advent of the atomic theory produced in chemists’ conceptions of compound substances. Whatever biological problem we may now discuss, Mendel’s facts have to be reckoned with. It is true that the only method so far discovered of study- ing the constituent characters of organisms consists in the crossing together of individuals in which some of the characters are different. This method is so closely com- parable with that by which the chemist studies his com- pounds that Mendelians have often found a_ readier appreciation of their views among students of the more precise physical sciences than among biologists. The advantage of introducing exact experiment into the study of heredity ought to be obvious to all, and I fail to see any other objection to the method except its novelty. If Dr. Archdall Reid desires to grasp this new concep- tion, I can only recommend him to a renewed study of the literature of the subject, beginning with Mendel’s own papers. Better still, let him repeat a few of the simpler experiments. There is no royal road to this knowledge; but it is knowledge which is rapidly revolutionising our entire conception of the constitution of a living organism. Dr. -Archdall Reid is so far from appreciating this at present that further discussion seems ‘likely to be of very little profit. I will conclude my contribution to this con- troversy with a word of warning. If Dr. Archdall Reid discards Darwin’s opinion, based as it was upon an un- equalled experience, that domestic and natural varieties have arisen by essentially the same process, he may find himself landed among a crowd of unsuspected difficulties. Cambridge, November 2. R. -H. ‘Locx: Method of Observing the ‘‘ Subjective Yellow.” A sIMPLE method of obtaining the sensation of yellow produced by the mixture of red and green lights is afforded by a small direct-vision spectroscope of the ordinary kind in which the slit can be rotated to adjust its line per- pendicular to the plane of refraction. If the slit is turned slowly from this normal position, the bands of different colours of course take up a sloping direction across the spectrum, like books on a half-filled shelf. As the slope in- creases, the upper end, for example of the red, closes down on the lower end of the green, and as the two blend the clear yellow tint is produced. Other colour mixtures can be similarly noticed. It may be added that if the slit is turned thus until its length lies in the plane of refraction, the violet end of the impure spectrum obtained is drawn out and so more easily observed than in the normal method of use, and is still pure enough for most of the purposes for which a simple spectroscope is of use. Joun H. Smaxsy. University College, Cardiff. fundamental’ NOVEMBER 14, 1907] NATURE . 33 ANTARCTIC ANIMALS.* ae ae Trustees of the British Museum have pub- lished in stately form some. of the natural his- tory results of the National Antarctic Expedition (1g01- 1904), and we cannot but express our satisfaction that the volumes compare so well, both in matter and ‘get-up,’? with the similar publications of other European nations, and that they can be placed with- out reproach on the Challenger shelves. As the director of the natural history departments of the British Museum says in the preface to this second volume, ‘‘ neither trouble nor expense has been spared in order to render the illustration and presentation of the natural history of the expedition worthy of the generous efforts both of Captain Scott and his fellow- explorers and of those who provided funds for that the Australian whale (Neobalaena mar- ginata), a bottle-nose, the killer (which levies toll on the seals and penguins), the dusky dolphin, and two new cetaceans. Dr. Wilson gives a very interesting account of the habits of the seals :—Weddell’s seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), the sea-leopard (Steno- rhinchus leptonyx), the crab-eating seal.(Lobodon car- cinophagus), the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossi), the sea-elephant (Macrorhinus leoninus), Hooker’s sea- lion (Arctocephalus hookeri). We should like to give an instance of the author’s graphic style :— ““Coming back to the ship by boat from Enderby Island an hour or two after sunset, and on a parti- cularly dark night, with neither stars nor moon, we watched the sinuous and graceful movements of about six large sea-lions that followed our boat apparently out of curiosity. Diving and twisting about beneath the rorqual, Fic. 1.—Emperor Penguins’ Rookery at Cape Crozier. enterprise.’’ Another matter for congratulation is that the results are being published so promptly, and for this thanks are due to the energy and organising ability of Mr. Jeffrey Bell, who has secured the co- operation of specialists, and has acted as sub-editor of the natural history portions of the reports. The second volume begins with Dr. Edward A. Wilson’s report on the mammals, a well-executed piece of work, most beautifully illustrated. The Discovery found no traces of the southern right whale (Balaena australis), which Sir James Ross reported as abundant in the Ross Sea in the ’forties of the last century, but 1 “ National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904.” Natural History. Vol. ii., Zoology (Vertebrata: Mollusca: Crustacea). Vol. iii., Zoology and Botany (Invertebrata : Marine Alge, Musci), with numerous plates and illustrations. No continuous pagination. (London: Printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 1907.) Vol. ii., 32. ;. vol. iii., 2/. 10s. NO. 1985, VOL. 77] From the ‘‘ National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904.” us in the pitch-black water, each animal was ablaze with light. Every limb and every movement could be seen, though they moved so rapidly that the eye could scarcely follow them; they played with one another and chased one another and the boat, now coming up to blow, as we could hear, a yard or two astern, and now diving deep down under the boat to appear often close in under the bulwarks; every stroke of the long powerful fore flippers was accurately con- veyed to our eyes in the pitchy darkness by the bril- liance of the phosphorescence covering them... . The sight was a most beautiful one. The animals moved with feints, and twists, and turns, now in curves, now in circles, but always with the sinuous motion of the body like a fish, sunnlemented by power- ful strokes of the long fore flippers, and always with oa NATURE [ NOVEMBER 14, 1907 the most wonderful rapidity. All this we saw most clearly in the blackest darkness, far more clearly, indeed, than such objects are wont to be seen even under the most favourable conditions, in the day- light.”’ Of course the memoir is not exactly full of sugar- plums of this sort; there are discussions of dental formulae and plenty of other hard facts, but Dr. Wilson is to be congratulated on bringing not a little of the picturesqueness of reality into his scientific discourse. In Dr. Wilson’s report on the birds, we find abun- dant details regarding the life and ways of penguins. They are drawn or photographed in every conceivable attitude and_= situation—walking, ‘‘ toboganning,”’ feeding, sleeping, on the nest and ‘‘on the run,”’ crowing, piping, dirty and clean, moulting and “ ecstatic.’ The pictures are delightful, and reflect great credit on artists and photographers, and ‘the whole story of the life of the penguins is full of in- terest. Take the emperor penguin’s egg-laying, for instance. stake bird chooses the darkest months of, the Antarctic winter in which to- incubate its egg; it lays it upon sea-ice with no pretence at nesting, but re- moves it at once to rest upon its feet, where it is held wedged in be- tween the legs closely pressed to a patch of bare skin in the lower abdomen, and covered from ex- posure by a loose- falling lappet of abdominal skin and feathers. Of course there is no “pouch,’’ only a fold. The incuba- tion requires seven weeks, and one bird cannot undertake this task. A dozen or Fic. 2.—Hooker's Sea Lion. the paleontological evidence hints at, that the pen- guins are descended from birds which possessed full powers of flight. He gives an interesting discussion * of their relationships, and of detailed points of interest such as the sealing up of the nares, which seems to have been a common heritage of all the birds belong- ing to the great Steganopod branch, except the Colymbi. The collection of fishes, reported on by Mr. Boulenger, was a very small one, consisting of repre- sentatives of ten species, four of which are new, Dr. W. G. Ridewood deserves congratulation in respect of his fine memoir on the two species of Cephalodiscus obtained by the Discovery. He gives a detailed account of C. hodgsoni, n.sp., and C. nigrescens, Lankester, compares the six species now known, discusses their relations with Rhabdopleura, and clears up a number of obscure details. He pro- poses to divide the genus into two subgenera— Idiothecia, e.g. C. nigrescens, in which the polypides live in separate tubular cavities, and Demiothecia, From the “ National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1994.” more stand patiently round waiting for a chance to) e.g. C. hodgsoni, in which the cavity of the tubarium assist. “Every adult bird, both male and female, in the whole rookery has a keen desire to ‘ sit ’ on some- | thing. There is every reason to believe that when the sitting bird feels hungry it hands over its treasure to the nearest neighbour that will undertake the duty of incubation.”’ But we must not quote more, strong as the tempt- ation is. Dr. Wilson deals with five species of pen- guin, two skuas, Wilson’s petrel, the Antarctic petrel, the giant petrel, and a score of other birds. Mr. W. P. Pycraft has made out some very interest- | ing points in his study of nestlings and embryos of the emperor and Adélie penguins. He shows that penguins develop two successive down plumages before assuming the normal definitive feathers. Another remarkable fact is that the feathers moulted from large areas of the body at onc In their pterylosis the penguins are the most primitive of all Carinata. This accomplished osteologist also shows that the embryological evidence confirms what NO. 1985, VOL. bby Lad: are | is continuous. In both the new species obtained by the Discovery there are hermaphrodite individuals, with one ovary and one testis, as well as males and females with two ovaries and two testes respectively. Some light is thrown on the development of the buds and of the tubarium, as also on Harmer’s “* problem- atical body ’’ (obliquely interlacing cross-striped muscle fibres) and on the peculiar refractive beads in the end bulbs of the plumes of C. hodgsoni (material of the tubarium in process of secretion). The seven plates illustrating this valuable memoir are of great excellence. As to brachiopods, Mr. Edgar A. Smith describes two new species of Magellania, one of which, M. sulcata, is remarkable on account of the concentric sulcations and the coarse perforations of the shell. Its marked lines of growth have no analogue among recent forms, but recall the surface ornamentation of Terebratula sulcifera from the Lower Chalk. Turning to molluscs, we find that the Discovery obtained only one cephalopod—a larval Histioteuthid— NOVEMBER! 14;°1907 | NATORL 35 in regard to which Dr. WW. E. Hoyle communicates some notes furnished by Dr. G. Pfeffer, There were also some mandibles, obtained from the stomachs ot seals and penguins. Mr, Edgar A. Smith finds twenty-one new species of gastropods in a collection’ of twenty-six. The most striking forms are Trophon longstaffi, and a new genus, Trichoconcha, which has a flexible tough shell, like a chestnut skin, and a beautiful hairy periostracum. The collection does not show any particular resemblance to the Arctic fauna, most of the genera having a world-wide distribution. The almost total absence of colour in nearly every instance is characteristic. Mr. Smith also describes a very remarkable Chiton (Chaetopleura miranda, n.sp.), simultaneously reported by Dr. J. Thiele (Noto- chiton mirandus, n.g. et sp.) from Bouvet Island—an instance of wide distribution. The third and seventh valves are stained red, the rest being dirty-whitish. In the collection of fourteen species of lamellibranchs, Mr. Smith found ten that aré new, e.g. a beautifully sculptured Lima (Limatula hodgsoni). Sir Charles Eliot describes five species of pteropods, and points out at once the distinctness and the re- latedness of the northern and southern species of Limacina and Clione. It may be that some once cos- mopolitan species have undergone similar but not identical changes in North and South Polar waters. The same authority also reports on the nudibranchs, twelve in all, ten of which are new. He establishes two new genera, Tritoniella and Galvinella, near Tri- tonia and Galvina respectively, and comes to the con- clusion that the Antarctic and Arctic nudibranchs are similar rather than identical. As to crustaceans, Dr. W. T. Calman describes two species of decapods obtained within the Antarctic Circle, viz., Choriomus antarcticus (=Hippolyte ant- arctica, Pfeffer) and Crangon antarcticus, Pfeffer, both of which were also collected by the German Polar Com- mission of 1882-3 at South Georgia. With the excep- tion of the very imperfectly known Crangon capensis, Stimpson, C. antarcticus is the only southern species of the genus, and is widely separated from all the other species, which are confined to the temperate and (if Sclerocrangon be included) Arctic regions of the Atlantic and Pacific. No Cumacea have previously been obtained from within the Antarctic Circle, but the Discovery collected four species, which Dr. Calman describes. Three are new, and the fourth is a variety of Campylaspis verru- cosa, known from the north Atlantic and the Mediter- ranean, though probably with a much wider range. Mr. A. O. Walker reports on fifty-three species of amphipods (eighteen new) in forty-three genera (four new). As in the Arctic regions, the Lysianassidz pre- ponderate. It was quite the usual thing to take ten to thirty thousand specimens of Orchomenopsis rossi in a single haul. Some of the forms have a wide dis- tribution; thus Ampelisca macrocephala is an abun- dant Arctic specics, and the ascidiicolous Leucothde spinicarpa appears to be ubiquitous (the Discovery’s winter quarters, Ceylon, Maldives, and our own seas). Among the peculiar forms we may notice Thauma- telson herdmani, the only known amphipod with its telson in the vertical plane, Epimeria macrodonta with long curved and sharp teeth on the body segments, and I[phimedia hodgsoni, so densely clothed with fine spines directed backwards that it has a shaggy appearance. Dr. Johannes Thiele finds that the only leptostracan eollected was Nebalia longicornis magellanica; Prof. G. Stewardson Brady reports on nine species of ostracods, of which seven are new, including a new cytherid genus Linocheles; Dr. A. Gruvel briefly dis- cusses four cirripedes, including two new species of Scalpellum. NO. 1985, vor. 77] Mr. T. V. Hodgson has had an interesting task in dealing with the large collection of pycnogonids, which evidently have their headquarters in southern seas. He describes three new genera and twenty- three new species, raising the total of Antaretic forms to sixty-three. The new genus Austrodecus, perhaps a close relation of Tanystylum, is a curious little form with a slender and elongated proboscis, like the snout of a weevil beetle, no chelifori, six-jointed palps, and small ovigers; Austroraptus, another new genus, is remarkable for its spurred body and the length of its legs. These two genera, along with the genus Leionymphon, which is re-cast, belong to the family Ammotheidz, but no true member of the genus Am- mothea was found. The most interesting torm is, of course, Pentanymphon australis, which excited much interest at the time, since it has an extra pair of limbs. It is abundant in cireumpolar waters, where also the Scottish Expedition, under Dr. W. S. Bruce, collected a still finer species with the same peculiarity, which turned out to be Decolopoda australis, described by Eights some seventy years ago in a forgotten paper. The ‘‘ bipolarity theory ’’ is affected only by Colossendeis australis, for it is, among the numerous species of this genus, nearest to C. proboscidea, which occurs at the opposite end of the earth. We may direct attention to the useful device Mr. Hodgson has adopted of giving a brief résumé of the most im- portant specific characters at the beginning of each detailed description. The author also contributes an interesting essay at the beginning of the third volume on collecting in Antarctic seas. Dr. E. L. Trouessart describes an Antarctic variety of the Arctic species of halacarid—Leptospathis alberti. The two forms -hardly differ except in size and proportions, but as the author believes that the species will turn out to be cosmopolitan or subecosmopolitan, he does not attach any importance to its bipolar distribution. As a matter of fact, however, the species is not as yet known except in the two polar seas. As to ‘‘ worms,’’ Dr. G. Herbert Fowler reports on three species of Chetognatha. He found the same three and one other in an old Challenger collection. He points out that Krohnia hamata ranges from 81° 30/ N. to 77° 40! S., being cosmopolitan and fairly eurythermal; that Sagitta hexaptera is cosmopolitan and pantothermal; and that S$. serrato-dentata, though found in subantarctic as well as north tem- perate seas, was absent at the colder stations of both Discovery and Challenger. Dr. O. von Linstow describes Leptosomatum australe, n.sp., which is the largest known free nematode, the female attaining a length of almost 50 mm., the male of 37-7 mm. He proposes a new group, Adenophori, for the free nematodes, which will not fit into the three groups Secernentes, Resorbentes, and Pleuromyarii into which he has disposed the parasitic forms. Mr. Arthur E. Shipley describes three species of Dibothrio- cephalus (two new) which were found living together in the stomach of Ross’s seal. It is rather remark- able that the only cestodes brought back by the natur- alists of the Discovery were got in one rare animal, and that they belong to one genus. The pleurocer- coid stages may possibly be found in some cephalopod. We may note. the author’s enthusiasm; he speaks of D. wilsoni, n.sp., as a very attractive little tapeworm of few proglottides. Turning to Ccelentera, we find, first of all, an in- teresting memoir by Prof. S. J. Hickson on the Aleyonarians. He finds that Ceratoisis spicata, n.sp., is a connecting link between the groups of species for- merly separated into the two genera Ceratoisis and Primnoisis. The latter name must now disappear. Another new discovery is Primnoella divergens, which links Primnoella and Caligorgia. The collection in- 36 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 14, 1907. cluded another new species of Ceratoisis and five other forms previously described.- Prof. Hickson and Mr. F. H. Graveley deal with the hydroid zoophytes, which include some interesting forms, especially Hydractinia dendritica, n.sp. Though there is no definitely new generic type, there are ten certainly new species and five more probably new—a very large proportion out of a total of twenty-five. It may be noted that only two of the twenty-five were got outside the limits of McMurdo Bay and the edge of the great ice-barrier, so that-we have here a fine representation of the hydroid fauna from the most southerly limit of our knowledge of marine zoology. It is also interesting to find that three of the species are common on British coasts. Dr. John Rennie makes a note on the extra- ordinarily long tentacles of some unknown siphono- phore. They were about as stout as an ordinary boot- lace and nearly twenty feet in length. Mr. Hodgson gives a graphic account of the difficulties attending their capture. Among the sponges, Mr. R. Kirkpatrick found four species of Tetractinellids, forty-three Monaxonellids, twenty-four Calcarea, no Keratosa, and ten species of Hexactinellids. He describes the Hexactinellids, of which three were new genera and eight new species. The third volume ends with a report on the marine alge (Pheophycee and Floridez) by Mr. Gepp and Mrs. Gepp, a description of a new coralline by Dr. M. Foslie, and an account of the mosses by M. Jules Cardot. It need hardly be said that with such bully volumes before us it has not been possible to give more than a hint of the amount of sound and interesting work which they contain. THE CURE AND PREVENTION OF SLEEPING SICKNESS. aye sleeping sickness is, and unfortunately con- tinues to be, the most burning problem of European colonisation in equatorial Africa. Like any other medical problem, that of sleeping sickness has two sides, which may be distinguished broadly as prevention and cure. Investigators in all parts of the world have been experimenting actively with the object of finding a drug, or method of treatment, which shall act in sleeping sickness as quinine does in malaria; that is to say, which shall destroy the parasites in the blood, without seriously affecting the health of the patient. Up to the present, the atoxyl treatment has given the best results, but it has often failed to produce more than temporary amelioration, and it is open to doubt if it has produced a complete cure in any case, while, like other arsenical compounds, it may have serious toxic effects. On Thursday last, however, a communication was made to the Royal Society by Drs. H. G. Plimmer and J. D. Thomson, of the Lister Institute, on the effect of certain anti- mony salts; and, to judge from the preliminary ex- periments on rats, these compounds appear to be far more efficient in their curative action, and at the same time less toxie in their effects, than atoxyl. The ex- periments will be extended at once to larger animals and to man, and though it would be premature to say that the long-sought-for cure has been found, the out- look is certainly more full of hope than it has ever been ‘before. The question of the prevention of sleeping sickness is. of course, bound up with the etiology of the disease. It is known that the disease is caused by the presence of a minute flagellate parasite or ‘‘try- panosome,”’ first in the blood, later in the cerebro- spinal fluid of the patients; and it is known that the trypanosomes are conveyed from diseased to healthy subjects by the bite of one, possibly more than one, of the species of blood-sucking tsetse-flies. It cannot be NO 1985. VOL. 77] too emphatically stated, however, that the tsetse-fly is not, as so often stated, the ‘‘ cause ’’ of the disease ; if the fly be not infected, its bite is harmless, and Koch and others have reported the existence of large areas in which the fly swarms, but in which sleeping sickness does not as yet exist, although the necessary condition for its diffusion is found. It follows that the problem of prevention may be attacked in two ways; extirpation of the fly, or con- trol of the infection. Considering the vast extent of the range of the species of tsetse-flies in Africa, considering, further, that these flies, being viviparous, have no free larval stages in which they can be de- stroyed, like mosquitoes, any notion of extirpating tsetse-flies must be considered as frankly utopian. The measures adopted by our Government are wisely directed towards controlling the spread of the infec- tion. Since the fly haunts thick bush on the lake- shore exclusively, the jungle is to be destroyed at all ports, ferries, and landing-places on the lake, where it is unavoidable that human beings should visit the lake-shore; at other points the natives are to be re- moved from the shore, and persuaded or coerced to live out of the effective range of the fly. Natives known to be diseased are to be segregated, pre- vented from wandering into the “ fly-belts,’? and placed under treatment. By this means it may be reasonably expected that the spread of the infection may be checked. There remains, however, the possibility that some wild animal may play a part in spreading the infec- tion, since other animals besides man are known to be susceptible to the trypanosome when inoculated with it in the laboratory. As yet, however, no verte- brate, other than the human species, has been proved to harbour the trypanosome of sleeping sickness in a state of nature. It is well known, however, that other species of trypanosomes, in no way connected with sleeping sickness, are found commonly in wild animals of all classes; and it may be added that the tsetse-flies are quite as willing to suck the blood of a reptile or bird as that of a mammal. Hence there is always the possibility that some species of wild animal may act as a ‘reservoir’? from which the supply of the trypanosome of sleeping sickness may be kept up indefinitely through the agency of tsetse-flies. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that further researches on the etiology of sleeping sickness should be carried on, with the special object, among others, of discovering any such indigenous source of the disease, for it need hardly be pointed out that it would be of little use to prevent tsetse-flies becoming infected from human beings if they could also obtain the infection from natural sources. THE POLLUTION OF RIVERS. N Thursday, October 31, an influential deputa- tion from the British Science Guild inter- viewed Mr. Burns, M.P., at the Local Government Board, upon the subject of legislation with respect to the prevention of the pollution of rivers, and the protection of the public against the contamination of shell-fish. In most directions the tendency to the pollution of our water supplies increases with the demand for pure water, and the area from which such water can be obtained in the neighbourhood of our towns is diminishing. The existing local authorities have con- flicting interests when dealing with river pollution, and considerations of guarding the purity of streams are often subordinated to those of refuse disposal and manufacturing requirements. What too often happens is that a sanitary authority, situated toward the head of the stream or upon one of its tributaries, NovemseEr 14, 1907] NATURE collects its own drinking water from a comparatively pure source, and then adopts the selfish policy of per- mitting its refuse matter to enter the stream below its own intake, with too little regard for the needs of its neighbour lower down the course of the same river. Perhaps it is hardly to be expected that, of its own initiative, a sanitary authority will face a great deal of extra trouble and expense (beyond what is necessary for its own purposes) in conserving the quality and quantity of water when the entire benefit is to be reaped by other authorities; and this is one of the reasons why a general policy should be adopted and enforced by a central authority. Although certain river conservancy boards exist and have done good work, and several county councils have done much to reduce the contamination of streams, these bodies are unable to do all that is necessary. The Rivers Pollution Prevention Act of 1876 was not framed so as to render the assistance which such an Act could be made capable of, and most of our larger rivers course through more than one county or between the existing purely arbitrary boundary of counties. The rivers and watersheds of the country are, moreover, generally too extensive to be embraced by any existing sanitary authority. The case in favour of putting the whole of the watershed areas under one controlling authority is therefore a very strong one. The matter, both in its magnitude and importance, is clearly a national one, and a central authority for the whole country is what is needed. The duty of such an authority would be to maintain a sufficient sanitary supervision and con- trol over authorities whose districts form important catchment areas for our water supplies, with the view of maintaining the purity and volume of the waters at standards sufficient to meet the domestic and trade demands of the country as a whole. Such an authority would also arbitrate and advise upon points in dispute between sanitary authorities, or between sanitary authorities and local industries—in so far as these matters relate to the contamination of water; and the heavy expenditure now entailed by costly and often ill-advised litigation, frequently leading to un- satisfactory results, would more than pay for the expert handling of matters in dispute by the central authority. There can be no difference of opinion upon the fact that the central authority in this matter should be the Local Government Board; and in the legis- lation which it is sought to promote certain powers in the above-mentioned direction would be given to that Board, and, in addition, measures are intro- duced to protect the public health against the pollution of shell-fish. Mr. Burns received the deputation in a most sym- pathetic spirit, and expressed the hope of being able to introduce a Bill, dealing with matters referred to by the deputation, in the spring of next year. SIR JAMES HECTOR, F.R.S. EATH has removed the last of the four distin- guished geologists, F. von Hochstetter, Sir Julius von Haast, F. W. Hutton and Sir James Hector, who together laid the main foundations of the geology of the Dominion of New Zealand. Sir James Hector was born in Edinburgh on March 16, 1834, and was the son of Alexander Hector, a Writer to the Signet. He was educated at the Edin- burgh Academy and University, where he matriculated in 1852, took his degree of M.D. in 1856, and served as assistant to Edward Forbes and to Sir James | Simpson. His knowledge of natural history and medicine, and the influence of Murchison, gained him the post of surgeon and naturalist to Captain NO. 1985, voL. 77] 3% Palisser’s expedition ‘to the -Rocky Mountains -of British North America. The expedition was in the; field from 1857 to 1860, and its best known result was the discovery of the pass by which the Canadian Pacific Railway now crosses from the Great Plains of, Canada to the Pacific coast. At the close of the ex- pedition Hector visited the gold-fields of ‘Califorma’ and northern Mexico, and he reported upon the coal mines of Vancouver Island. On his return to Scot- land he wrote a series of papers on the botany, ethnography and physical geography of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and a paper, of modest length, “On the Geology of the Country between Lake Superior and the Pacific Ocean (between 48° and 56° Neslat.) aes In the year of his return from America he was appointed geologist to the Government of Otago, and there began the main work of his life. He made extensive and arduous journeys ‘through the province of Otago, which still contains the least known and most difficult country in New Zealand. Some of his results were given in 1863 in a New Zea- land Parliamentary Paper on ‘‘ An Expedition to the North-west Coast of Otago,’’ in which he described the discovery of the pass from Martin’s Bay to Lake Wakatipu. His success in Otazo soon gained Hector promotion from a provincial to a federal appointment. He was made one of the Commissioners for the New’ Zealand exhibition’ at’ Dunedin in 1865, in prepar- ation for which he made a tour through the colony to report on its economic resources; and in the same year he was appointed director of the Geological Sur- vey of New Zealand and of the New Zealand Coloniai’ Museum at Wellington. There, or in his cottage on the Hutt, a few miles away, he lived for more than forty years. During the first half of this time he issued a long series of important contributions to the natural science of New Zealand; their range was wide, for he was director of the zoological museum, the botanical gardens, the meteorological observ- atory, and the colonial laboratory, as well as of the Geological Survey. He was also for many years Chancellor of the New Zealand University. He nevertheless found time for extensive original re- searches. He wrote papers on glacial geology, the origin of the rock basins and the volcanic history of New Zealand; his zoological researches were mainly on the Cetacea, seals, and fish, and he wrote on many groups of New Zealand fossils, notably the moas, and on the discovery of the oldest known penguin, Palaeeudyptes. He superintended and edited those valuable series of annual reports issued by the Colonial Museum and by the Geological Survey, beginning in 1867, which are the great storehouse of information on New Zealand geology. In 1868 he married the eldest. daughter of the late Sir David Monro, who was then Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament. In 1873 he issued a sketch-map of New Zealand geology, of which the edition issued in 1886, with his ‘‘ Outlines of New Zealand Geology,’’ is still the best available. In 1879 he compiled an_ official ““ Handbook of New Zealand,’’ a work of reference of permanent value, of which a fourth edition was issued in 1886. In that year he also wrote his well- known report on the eruption of Tarawera; he main- tained that it was not a normal volcanic, but a hydro- thermal eruption, due to a vast explosion of the super- heated steam with which the ground around Lake Rotomahana was saturated. This view has not been confirmed for the eruption of Tarawera as a whole, but it is probably correct for the particular explosion which blew up Lake Rotomahana and its famous ' pink and. white terraces. Hector’s work had meanwhile gained world-wide recognition. He had been elected a Fellow of the 38 NATURE [NovEMBER 14, 1907 Royal Society in 1866; he received the Order of the Golden Cross from the Emperor of Germany in 1874, the decoration of C.M.G, in 1875, and promotion to K.C.M.G. in 1887, He was awarded the Lyell medal of the Geological Society in 1875, and a founder’s medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1891. In the same year Hector was elected the third president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, and delivered his address on the history of scientific work in New Zealand. But after this period his work became less important. He continued to write short papers; the last which we remember is that on the distribution of the moa in New Zealand, in 1901. But he no longer showed his old energy or success, and the staff of the Geological Survey was transferred to the Mines De- partment. Hector retained his nominal position as director of the Geological Survey until 1903, but for many years he had no control over the Geological Survey work that was being done in New Zealand. He remained director of the Wellington Museum, the condition of which was often made the subject of severe reproach. Hutton publicly complained in 1899 that the plates that had been prepared years before for the monograph of the fossil Cainozoic mollusca and echinoids of New Zealand were never published, and that the valuable collections of fossils that had been made during the geological survey of the colony were “‘useless as they now exist in the museum of Wellington.’ In 1903 Hector resigned his appoint- ments; he had for several years previously exercised little influence on scientific work in New Zealand, but the high value and wide range of his own scientific work, and the inspiring example of the energy and administrative capacity, which for so many years he devoted to the service of his adopted land, will secure him one of the foremost places in the roll of distinguished New Zealand pioneers. Je We. G.- NOTES. Tue following list of those to whom the Royal Society has this year awarded medals was received a few hours too late for insertion in last week’s Naturr. The awards of the Royal medals have received the King’s. gracious approval :—The Copley medal to Prof. A. A. Michelson, of Chicago, For.Mem.R.S., for his investigations in optics; a Royal medal to Dr. E. W. Hobson, F.R.S., for his investigations in mathematics; a Royal medal to Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., for his discoveries relating to fossil fishes; the Davy medal to Prof. E. W. Morley, of ‘Cleveland, Ohio, for his contributions to physics and chemistry, and especially for his determinations of the relative atomic weights of hydrogen and oxygen; the Buchanan medal to Mr. W. H. Power, C.B., F.R.S., for his services to sanitary science; the Hughes medal to Prof. Ernest H. Griffiths, F.R.S., for his contributions to exact physical measurement; the Sylvester medal to Prof. W. Wirtinger, of Vienna, for his contributions to the general theory of functions. Tue honours announced on the occasion of the King’s birthday on Saturday last are chiefly of political interest. Prof. T. Clifford Allbutt, F.R.S., has been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, but he is the only Fellow of the Royal Society we have been able to find in the list. The new knights include Dr. W. H. Allchin, Dr. W. J. Thompson, and Mr. Charles White- head, who is associated with scientific agriculture. Dr. A. Theiler, Government veterinary bacteriologist, Trans- yaal, has been appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. NO. 1985, VOL. 77] FurTHER particulars have reached us relating to the scientific expedition that will this month visit the Auck- land Islands and the Campbell Islands, primarily to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand to their sub-Antarctic outliers, but also to make zoological, geological, and botanical observations and collections. The expedition, as announced in NaTure of October 24 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 644), has been arranged by the Philosophical Institute of Canter- bury. The Government S.S. Hinewoa will take the ex- pedition on the occasion of her annual trip to visit the depéts placed on the islands for shipwrecked mariners. Of the two dozen members, about half will be left on the Auckland Islands and the rest on the Campbell Islands, to be picked up on the return of the steamer. Among the zoologists will be Profs. Benham and Chilton and Mr. E. Waite; botany is represented by Dr. L. Cockayne and others, geology by Dr. P. Marshall and others, while the magnetic observers will be headed by Dr. Coleridge Farr, who has been engaged for the last few years in carrying out the magnetic survey of New Zealand. A SMALL expedition will proceed from New Zealand in December to the Kermadec Islands. Five young enthusi- astic men have arranged to spend twelve months on these uninhabited islands, collecting, observing, and photograph- ing. The results of the expedition will, it is hoped, be’ worked out by naturalists in New Zealand. J A CuristMas course of illustrated lectures, adapted to a juvenile auditory, will be delivered at the Royal Institution by Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R.S., on ‘‘ Astronomy Old and New.’’ The dates of the lectures are December 28 (Saturday), 31; January 2, 4, 7, and 9, 1908. THE administration building of the Mount Weather Meteorological Observatory of the Weather Bureau was, Science reports, destroyed by fire on October 23. The loss is said to be 5000l., including some valuable instruments. Tue Times of November 7 reports that Sir Alfred Jones, president of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, has received a communication from Dr. Kinghorn from Serenje,- Zambezi. Dr. Kinghorn records the finding of tsetse-flies, and states that the general opinion throughout the country is that they are rapidly extending. Otherwise the country is singularly free from insect pests. So far, sleeping sickness has not appeared in the district. A PAPER on disease prevention in the Territorial Army, with a proposed scheme for placing medical officers of health in relation to it, was read on November 8 by Sir Alfred Keogh, Director-General of Army Medical Staff, before the Society of Medical Officers of Health. He ex- plained why an organised military department of sanitation must be called into existence. If in the Territorial Force the work involved is not done in time of war by those who constantly deal with kindred problems in time of peace, it cannot be efficiently done at all. He proposed to ask the medical officers of health of the country to combine in a voluntary organisation, having for its object the preservation of the health of the men who may one day be required to defend the country; to enrol themselves in the Medical Corps of the Territorial Force; to under- take voluntarily the duty of considering the problems to be solved during active operations within their own home area; to be ready to place their knowledge at the disposal of the authorities commanding their divisions of the Terri- torial Forces. The sanitary department of the Medical Corps would further consist of non-commissioned. officers and men. detailed to join battalions for the technical duties of water sterilisation, for disinfection, &c: NoveEMBER 14, 1907 | NATURE 39 Some interesting facts on the continued falling off in the production of natural indigo were given at a recent meet- ing of the Society of Chemical Industry by Mr. R. J. Friswell, chairman of the society. From Government re- turns it appears that for the five years ended 1904-5 the total acreage in India devoted to this cultivation was 755,900 acres. In 1905-6 this had fallen to 330,400 acres, or to less than 44 per cent. of its former area. By 1906-7 it had fallen further to 329,800 acres. Meanwhile, the production of synthetic indigo is advancing by leaps and bounds. No statistics are available as to the actual quantity made by foreign factories, but the imports into our own islands may be taken as a fair index. In 1905 synthetic indigo amounting to 32,246 cwt. was imported. In 1906 this increased to 39,042 cwt., an increase of 21 per cent. During the same years the imports of natural indigo were 8201 cwt. and 7641 cwt. respectively, a decrease of 6-8 per cent. Mr. Friswell thinks that natural indigo will for some years to come occupy a place in the world’s market. Planters have, therefore, a breath- ing time to improve their methods, both biologically and chemically—biologically by improving the content of the plant, chemically by improving the methods of winning the indigo and making iis quality constant. Tue International Congress on Tuberculosis will be held in Washington, D.C., from September 21 to October 12, 1908. We have received a preliminary announcement from the National Association for the Study and Preven- tion of Tuberculosis, which has been entrusted with the organisation of the congress. Dr. Frank Billings is the president of the National Association, and Mr. Roosevelt, Mr. Grover Cleveland, and Prof. William Osler are honorary vice-presidents, Dr. John P. C. Foster and Dr. Mazyck P. Ravenel being the vice-presidents, and Dr. H. B. Jacobs the secretary. The association has appointed a special committee on the International Congress, of which Dr. Lawrence F. Flick, of Philadelphia, is chair- man, and Dr. Joseph Walsh, of Philadelphia, secretary. The congress will be divided into seven sections, as follows :—Section i., pathology and bacteriology, presi- dent, Dr. William H. Welch, of Baltimore; section ii., clinical study and therapy of tuberculosis—sanatoria, hospitals, and dispensaries, president, Dr. Vincent Y. Bowditch, of Boston; section iii., surgery and orthopedics, ‘president, Dr. Wm. J. Mayo, Rochester, Minn.; section iv., tuberculosis in children, etiology, prevention and treatment, president, Dr. Abraham Jacobi, of New York; section v., hygienic, social, industrial, and economic aspects of tuberculosis, president, Dr. Edward T. Devine, of New York; section vi., State and municipal control of tuberculosis, president, Surgeon-General Walter Wyman, of Washington, D.C.; section vii., tuberculosis in animals and its relations to man, president, Dr. Leonard Pearson, of Philadelphia. The section work of the congress will be carried on in the week September 28 to October 3. During that week there will be two general meetings. A tubercu- losis exhibition will be open during the whole time of the congress. MayFIELD’s Cave, Indiana, owing to its short distance (43 miles) from the University laboratory, was recently selected for systematic exploration, both physiographically and faunistically. The results of this survey form the subject of a paper by Mr. A. M. Banta published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. In the summary it is pointed out that small caves contain, as a rule, prac- tically the whole cavern-fauna of the district in which they occur, while reference is also made to the probable origin of cave-animals. NO 1985, VOL. 77] Owine to the fact that radical structural differences, constant through large groups, are very few, while minor group-characters, in countless unexpected directions, are extremely numerous and varied, the beetles of the family Tenebrionide have always been extremely troublesome to the systematic entomologist. Confronted with this diffi- culty, Mr. T. L. Casey, in proposing a revised classifi- cation of the American representatives of the subfamily Tentyriinee (Proc. Washington Acad., vol. ix., pp. 276> 522), states that he does so with diffidence, although ex- pressing the hope that he is on the right track. AccorpING to the report for the year ending on June 30, the Manchester Museum has received a bequest of books and money from the late Mr. Mark Stirrup, many years secretary to the local Geological Society. The interest of the monetary bequest (the first the museum has received) is to be devoted to the improvement of the geological collections. During the year, Prof. Hickson completed his account of the alcyonarian zoophytes obtained during the Antarctic expedition, and likewise identified and described a number of representatives of the same group obtained during the cruise of the Huxley in the Bay of Biscay. Or late years the attention of naturalists interested in the phylogeny of the Insecta has been turned to the Symphyla, a group of arthropods apparently exhibiting to a certain extent characters common to millipedes, centi- pedes, and thysanurous insects. In the hope of further elucidating the generalised affinities of the Symphyla, Mr. S. R. Williams has therefore investigated the life-history of an American member of the group, Scutigerella immaculata, especially in reference to the eggs and the young larve, the results of which are published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xxxiii., pp. 461-485. In possessing seven pair of legs and ten dorsal scales, the larval Scutigerella more nearly resembles the adult than is the case with any diplopod of which the early history is known to the author, and it is therefore regarded as a highly specialised type rather than a generalised ancestral form, such as the hexapod! larve of other diplopods are generally considered. A MmonoGrapPH of the genus Lepidium, prepared by Dr. A. Thelling, has been published in vol. xli. of the Neue Denkschriften der schweizerischen naturforschenden Gesell- schaft. It consists of two parts, the first dealing with synonymy and morphology, the second with the classifi- cation of the species. The author splits the genus into five sections, differing slightly from the arrangement pro- posed by Prantl. The sections are distinguished primarily by the character of the fruit, whether winged or plain, and by the relative length and position of the style com- pared with the wing. Under morphology the variations in the number and position of the stamens and honey glands are noted; among the fruits, the three-valved capsule borne by a variety of Lepidium sativum is peculiar. The species are arranged in three geographical groups, com- prising species from Europe, Asia and Africa, from America, and from Australia. A Report on the prevention of malaria in British possessions, Egypt, and parts of America, presented by Prof. Ronald Ross to section vii. of the fourteenth Inter- national Congress of Hygiene and Demography, held at Berlin in September, has been reprinted from the Lancet of September 28 and issued in pamphlet form. In this report Prof. Ross sums up, so far as possible with the imperfect data at his disposal, the results of anti-malaria measures in British possessions. ‘‘ The ideal procedure 40 for towns in the tropics consists (1) in the removal of mosquito-breeding waters; (2) in the treatment of old cases of malaria with quinine; and (3) in the protection, as an additional safeguard, of hospitals, barracks, jails, and as many. houses as possible with wire gauze. To these we must add, as insisted upon by Stephens and Christophers, the principle of segregation of Europeans.”’ The campaign at Ismailia has been the most successful one on record, so that in 1906 the Suez Canal Company officially reported that ‘‘ toute trace de paludisme a disparu d’Ismailia.”’ In this campaign the result is due to mos- quito reduction, and also largely to cinchonisation. This example is all the more conclusive because statistics have existed for many years back. Successful and partially successful results have been obtained from many other districts, notably Klang and Port Swettenham, Hong Kong and Khartoum, and especially at Havana and Panama. Many of these results are hard to estimate on account of the insufficient data. That malaria can be stamped out—given the money—under almost any con- ditions can hardly be doubted; but for those who have doubts an experiment carefully planned, with all statistics carefully controlled and subject to criticism before, during, and after the experiment, would do much to remove pre- judices which still exist. Tue Department of Agriculture in the United £:ates has for some time advocated the sowing of early varieties of cotton in districts where the boll weevil flourishes. Another measure for reducing the pest, recommended in Circular No. 95, prepared by Mr. W. D. Hunter, consists in uprooting the cotton plants in the autumn as soon as the crop is cut off by the weevils ; many weevils are thereby prevented from developing, and especially those which pass the winter and attack the next season’s crop. It is further recommended that the plants be ploughed up and burnt. Mr. C. A. Barser has contributed to the Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, vol. i., No. 1, the second part of his investigation of the haustorium of Santalum album, the sandal-wood tree. The essential parts of the sucker are the cortical folds with which it grips the host root and the central core by which it pene- trates. Vessels are developed around the core and in the upper part of the sucker, but there is discontinuity between them. No true bast is formed in the haustorium. The inter-relation between parasite and host is often re- markable. Sometimes the root is fiercely attacked, as in the case of Cassia auriculata; in other cases the parasite is unable to penetrate, as in Zizyphus. The haustorium may even attack another sandal root, when a fusion results, or a great struggle takes place. Tue greater part of the last issue of the Kew Bulletin (No. 9) is given up to an interesting account, communi- cated by Prof. H. H. W. Pearson, of a journey from Walfish Bay to Windhuk. The author distinguishes a botanical area of Walfish Bay where Nicotiana glauca, an Argentine colonist, and the native Tamarix articulata grow on the flats, and the cucurbitaceous plant Acanthosicyos horrida inhabits the sand dunes. The last- named éxhibits a marvellous power of absorbing water and storing it in the stems thickly coated with cork. The dunes give place to a tableland, the ‘‘ Namib,’’ where Zygophyllum Stapfit is prominent. This also the re- stricted habitat of Welwitschia. Further inland from Usakos to Winterhuk an Acacia park forest occurs. In the same volume the decade of ‘‘ Diagnoses Africanz ”’ contains two new genera, Cordeauxia, a leguminous plant from Somaliland, and Peglera, a genus referred doubt- fully to the Rhizophoracee. NO. 1985, VOL. 77 | is NATURE [NovEMBER 14, 1907 Tue Bulletin of the Italian Geographical Society, vol. viii, No, 10, contains a report on the establishment of meteorological stations at the following towns in Asia Minor :—Marash, Urfa, Diarbekir, Mesereh, Calat Scergat, and Babilonia. FURTHER observations on the anomaly of the recession and progression of Alaskan glaciers are published by Dr. Otto Klotz in the Geographical Journal for October (vol. xxx., No. 4). The ‘‘ Johns Hopkins ’’ glacier has receded nearly seven miles during thirteen years, whereas the adjacent ‘‘ Grand Pacific’ has receded only about three and a half miles during the same period. Dr. Klotz emphasises the need for more observations of the Alaskan glaciers. Tue disputed question of the appearance of icebergs near the Orkney Islands in 1836 has been again raised by Prof. O. Kriimmel in the Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde, No. 7, 1907. Assisted by the marine super- intendent of the Meteorological Office in London, Dr. Kriimmel has published an extract from the log-book of S.M.S. Cove which seems to prove conclusively that two large icebergs were actually observed in the vicinity of the Orkney Islands in January, 1836. AN ingenious instrument, termed a horticultural hygro- meter, has been designed by Messrs. Negretti and Zambra. Buchan and Scott have shown that a knowledge of the temperature of the dew point in the late evening would enable gardeners and others to form a fair estimate of the probable minimum temperature to be expected, as it cannot easily fall below the dew point which existed at nightfall. The instrument in question makes use of this knowledge ; it consists of dry- and wet-bulb thermometers, and of a cylindrical scale based upon the relation of the dew point to the difference of the readings of the thermo- meters. By turning the scale to correspond to this differ- ence, it is seen at once from the position of the wet-bulb reading upon it, without the use of tables, whether the dew point is below freezing, and consequently whether frost. may be expected. So far, as regular meteorological observers are concerned, we presume that they would probably prefer to rely on the use of simple hygrometrical tables. however, Tue thick fogs which have prevailed over so large a part of the country of late, and have been more than usually dense in. London for so early in the season, have given prominence to the question of the dispersion of fog. A scheme invented by M. Demetrius Maggiora, by which a series of atmospheric vibrations are set up by means of explosions of acetylene or other gas in a strong steel cannon about 60 feet high and 6 feet in diameter, has been under the consideration of the Public Control Com- mittee of the London County Council. Before committing themselves to any action on the subject, the director of the Meteorological Office, Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., has consented to examine and report upon the proposal and its suitability to the atmospheric conditions of London, and a report on the subject is anticipated at an early date. Some South African Tardigrada form the subject of a paper by Mr. James Murray in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society for October. The material for the paper was received from Mr. W. Milne, of Uitenhage, Cape Colony, in the form of gatherings of moss contain- ing bdelloid rotifers. It yielded eight species of Echiniscus, five of Macrobiotus, and the one known species of Milnesium. Eight of the fourteen species were distinct from any species previously known. NovEMBER 14, 1907 | NATURE 41 HERBERT SPENCER’S claims as a mathematician form the subject of discussion and criticism at the hands of Dr. J. S. Mackay in the Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathe- matical Society (xxv.). The author, referring to the geo- metrical theorems which Spencer claimed to have dis- covered, shows that these were well known _ before Spencer’s time, and were not very clearly or lucidly enunciated by Spencer himself. An account of Spencer’s views of antipathy towards the metric system and his advocation of the duodecimal system are also given, but his present critic considers that “‘ his outfit of mathematical (or indeed any other) knowledge was both slender and scrappy.” ; THE occurrence of spinel in blast-furnace slags appears to have been first determined in 1880 by Muirhead, who found that highly aluminous slags left a proportion of very intractable residue, varying from 5 per cent. to 17% per cent. of the whole weight. This when analysed proved to be spinel with about one-third of the magnesia replaced by iron. An interesting instance of the occurrence of spinel in a Hungarian blast-furnace slag is recorded in an abstract of a paper by Mr. J. Krenner in the October issue of the Journal of the Chemical Society. In a white, enamel-like slag obtained on smelting iron ores rich in manganese, very hard brown octahedral crystals were found. The analysis is in accord with the spinel formula ; but this spinel contains more manganese than any artificial or natural member of the spinel group hitherto analysed. Mr. G. H. GuLtiver has contributed to the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1907, pp. 519- 524) a paper on some phenomena of permanent deformation of metals, the object of which is to correct a hypothesis suggested in a previous paper in 1905 to explain the origin of the ‘‘ contractile cross.’’ It was then suggested that while the somewhat analogous ‘‘ Liiders’ lines’? were due to slipping of the elementary crystals within the crystal- line grains of the metal, the contractile cross was the result of the slipping of the irregular crystalline grains themselves over each other. It is now established that for aluminium, and probably for other ductile metals, the phenomena of constriction and fracture are due to excessive “‘ slip-band ’’ deformation, and that the contrac- tile cross passes through the crystalline grains of the metal. It is somewhat influenced by the degree of coarse- ness of the crystalline structure, but is independent of the directions of the boundaries of the crystalline grains. A COMPREHENSIVE review of the design, construction, and performance of the Cunard turbine-driven quadruple- screw Atlantic liner Mauretania is given in Engineering of November 8. The description is accompanied by 186 illustrations, many of which are two-page plates. A similar description was recently published of the Lusitania. The Mauretania and the Lusitania are sister-ships. They are, however, the production of different firms, and differ in numerous details, and particular attention is given in the description to these variations. The Mauretania, which has a length over all of 790 feet, a length between perpendiculars of 760 feet, a breadth of 88 feet, a depth, moulded, of 60 feet 6 inches, a gross tonnage of 32,000 tons, and a draught of 33 feet 6 inches, carries 563 first- class passengers, 464 second-class, and 1138 third-class. The average speed on the sea-going trial was 26-03 knots for 1200 miles. A sIMPLE method of generating an alternating current of any desired frequency is described by Dr. Rudenberg in the Physikalische Zeitschrift for October 15. It consists NO. 1985, VOL. 77] in placing a capacity, and if necessary an inductance, in series with a series-wound dynamo, and running the machine in the ordinary way. The frequency of the current produced is determined by the. capacity and in- ductance of the circuit, while the power is derived from the machine, which should have its field magnets lamin- ated. A slight modification of the arrangement converts it into a sensitive receiver for wireless telegraphy. Tue Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesell- schaft for September -30 contains an extensive study, by Mr. L. W. Austin; of the conditions which influence the production of rapid electrical oscillations by means of the arc. He finds it possible to generate with carbon, or better with graphite, electrodes currents having frequencies of several hundred thousand per second, which, however, are not sinusoidal. The frequency with a direct-current are increases with the current strength and with diminu- tion of the are length, but seems to be independent of the intensity of the oscillations. The effect is greatly increased by running the are in hydrogen. The author recommends for telegraphic work an arc between silver or copper electrodes in air at about six atmospheres pressure, which possesses many of the properties of a rapid spark dis- charge, and allows a considerable resistance to be intro- duced into the shunt circuit. An important contribution to the study of the chemical changes occurring when air is submitted to the influence of electricity is contained in a paper by E. Warburg and G. Leithauser in the Annalen der Physik (vol. xxiii., p. 210). It is shown that, contrary to the general opinion held hitherto, nitrogen pentoxide is always formed -as well as ozone when air is subjected to the so-called ‘“ silent’? discharge. The action of ozone on nitrogen pentoxide gives a strongly coloured gas ‘‘ Y’’ having the same absorption spectrum as the substance supposed by Hautefeuille and Chappuis to be N,O,; the amount of ““Y’ formed is, however, always small in comparison with the quantity of nitrogen pentoxide present, a fact which makes it doubtful whether ‘‘ Y’’ really has the composition N,O, as first supposed, when the assumption was made that it was the only oxide of nitrogen produced by the discharge. Measurements are given of the absorp- tion of light by the substance ‘“‘ Y”’ in the region of the visible spectrum, and also of the absorption by nitrogen pentoxide in the infra-red. The prominence of an absorp- tion band at 5-75 mw in the latter case affords a very delicate means of detecting nitrogen pentoxide when present with other oxides of nitrogen. Tue Industrial Society of Mulhouse has issued a pro- gramme of prizes to be awarded by the society during the year 1908. The subjects open for competition this year remain practically the same as those for 1906, already summarised in Nature (vol. Ixxiii., p. 164), but a few minor alterations have been introduced. The programme can be obtained on application to the secretary at Mulhouse. Mr. Gustay Fiscuer, Jena, has just published the fourth revised edition of Prof. W. Kiikenthal’s ‘‘ Leitfaden fiir das zoologische Praktikum.’’ A short section on spiders has been added after the chapter on insects. The character of the work was described in a review of the second edition published in Nature of April 24, 1902 (vol. Ixv., p. 581). THE process of transmitting photographs by electricity devised by Prof. Korn, of Munich, and described in Nature of August 29 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 445), has been adopted 25 NATURE | NOVEMBER 14, 1907 by the Daily Mirror for use between London and Paris. A demonstration of the methods and results obtained by this process was given at the offices of that journal on Thursday last, November 7. A srconp edition, revised and enlarged, of Prof. Prafulla Chandra Ray’s ‘‘ History of Hindu Chemistry, from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century 4.p., with Sanskrit Texts, Variants, Translation and Illustrations,’’ has been published by Messrs. Williams and Norgate. The book appeared first in 1902, and was reviewed in the issue of Nature for May 21, 1903 (vol. Ixviii., p. 51). Some material additions have been made to the historical portion of the introduction, throwing further light on the independent origin of the Hindu system of medicine and its priority to that of the Greeks. Tue second volume of the French translation of the third English edition of Mr. W. W. Rouse Ball’s ‘‘ History of Mathematics’ has been published by M. A. Hermann, of Paris. The price is 8 francs. The translation is the work of M. L. Freund. The volume has been edited with additions by Dr. R. de Montessus, while M. G. Darboux’s paper entitled ‘‘ Etude sur le Développement des Méthodes géométriques,”’ read at the St. Louis Congress in 1904, is appended. From the same publishers we have received a copy of the second French edition—the work of Mr. J. FitzPatrick—of part iii. of Mr. Rouse Ball’s ‘‘ Mathe- matical Recreations and Essays’’; the translation follows the fourth English edition, and has been enlarged by the inclusion of numerous additions. Messrs. GEORGE BELL anp Sons have published a third edition of “A Laboratory Outline of General Chemistry,” by Prof. Alexander Smith, professor of chemistry: in the University of Chicago, which has been revised in collabor- ation with Mr. William J. Hale. The first edition of the book was reviewed in our issue for November 9, 1899 {vol. Ixi., p. 27). In the preface to the present edition, the authors remark :—‘‘In the effort to make misappre- hensions and mistakes as nearly impossible as may be, the directions have been entirely re-written, and in many cases have been amplified, and a number of the experiments have been modified. An entirely new set of figures has also been drawn. To render the exercises more instructive, and still further to discourage mechanical larger work, a number of questions has been inserted.’’ OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. OccuLtation oF NEPTUNE BY THE Moon.—Dr. Downing directs our attention to an accidental omission from the Nautical Almanac for 1907, of which he publishes par- ticulars in No. 389 (p. 412, November) of the Observatory. The data omitted were the particulars of two occult- ations of Neptune by the moon, due to take place on November 23 and December 20 respectively, and visible at Greenwich; they are as follow :— | Disappearance Reapp arance Time Angle from Time 1907 = = | Angle from g ls | ap Sidereal, Mean |N. foint|Vertex |Sidereal) Mean IN. poin Vertex | h. m. | bh. m. | a is | h. m. | b. m. re zi Nov. 23) 1.4 857 13t 17t I 47 9 40 218 260 It 14 17 20 | 180 138 | rx 23 | 17 29 195 153 Dec. | an | NO. 1985, VOL. 77) a THE IMPROVEMENT OF CELESTIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES. —In No. 31 (September 10) of the Lowell Observatory Bulletins, Prof. Lowell describes a method of combining the use of colour screens and isochromatic plates in the photography of Mars, whereby he has succeeded in obtain- ing much sharper images of the planet’s details. In the first instance, it was seen that the colour curve for the 24-inch object-glass was much flatter in the yellow region, about A 5600, than elsewhere, and further that the in- clination of the curve was much greater on the blue than on the red side of the yellow region. To obtain maximum efficiency, then, it seemed necessary to exclude those rays more refrangible than A 5000, and to bathe the plates so that the orange and red radiations should become more effective. Accordingly, Mr. Wallace was asked to con- struct screens which would absorb the rays of lower wave- length than A 5000, and a Seed ‘‘23”’ plate, bathed. with pinachrome and pinacyanol, was exposed in conjunction with the screen. This, however, was unsuccessful, and Prof. Lowell then tried Cramer instantaneous isochro- matic plates having sharp maxima at A 4600 and A 5650. Using the orange screen, which cut out the A 4600 maxi- mum, very successful photographs were obtained, and Prof. Lowell hopes that during the opposition of Mars in 1909 this method will produce much better photographs than those already obtained. He places on record that one of his plates taken at the recent opposition showed a canal which had hitherto escaped detection, but was seen for the first time on examining the planet next night. Tue Great Rep Spor ON JupiteR.—The acceleration of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is discussed by Mr. Denning in the Observatory for November (p. 411, No. 389), who points out that while the acceleration could be accounted for by the passage of the great S. temperate spot when this occurred, as in 1906, some other explan- ation must be sought for the acceleration during the past summer, when the S. temperate spot was on the opposite side of the disc to the red spot. Mr. Denning hints at the possibility of there being a minor acceleration when the two objects are in opposition, and indicates the neces- sity for further careful observations. The S. temperate spot has been visible since 1901, and seems likely to continue so for many years; it was in conjunction with the red spot in May, 1906, and will be so again in April-May, 1908. Rep Stars NEAR Nova VELORUM.—On examining a plate taken with the 24-inch Bruce telescope on June 6, Mrs. Fleming found the spectrum of a new gaseous nebula, which on further examination proved to be the spectrum of Nova Velorum. This plate includes the region R.A. roh. 36m. to 11h. 23m., dec.—51° to —57° (1875), and shows so many interesting spectra characteristic of red stars that Prof. Pickering publishes a list, in Circular No. 131, giving the C.P.D. designation, the position, the magnitude, and the spectral type of some thirty-four of the included objects. The spectrum of Nova Velorum includes seven bright lines at AA 5013, 4926, 4862, 4643, 4611, 4340, and 4101 respectively, six of which appear to coincide with bright lines in the later spectrum of Nova Persei. The strong helium line at A 4472, which was bright in Nova Persei (No. 2), is, however, absent from Nova Velorum. Tue SysTEMATIC ERROR OF LATITUDE OBSERVED WITH A ZenttH TELESCOPE.—From his observations of latitude at Berlin, Herr Battermann found a systematic difference between the latitudes observed by the east-to-west and the west-to-east positions of the zenith telescope. In No. 4207 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 97, October 17) Mr. K. Hirayama, of the Tokyo Observatory, discusses this error, basing his conclusions on the results obtained at various stations, and finds that the difference appears to vary with the zenith-distance. As to how the declination of the observed star can affect the reading of the micro- meter requires further investigation, but Mr. Hirayama suggests that it may be a physiological effect produced by the varying speed of the star in the field. NOVEMBER 14, 1907 | NATURE 43 INEQUALITIES IN THE MOTION OF THE MOON. HE most interesting result of Prof. Newcomb’s re- searches on the planetary inequalities in the moon’s motion is that he has found 1”-14 as the theoretical coefficient of the Jupiter evection term. This term was discovered empirically by Prof. Newcomb in 1876, and Mr. Nevill assigned its origin to Jupiter. Dr. Hill and Radau independently computed its coefficient as o”-9. Two or three years ago it was pointed out that the observations indicated a coefficient 1”-1, and now Prof. Newcomb has obtained the same result by theory. This term is now worked out; the subject begins and ends with Prof. New- comb, and has lasted thirty-one years. No indication is given in the memoir before us as to why Hill and Radau concurred in an imperfect value. It was a curious incident, as we know of no other case where any result of either of these two mathematicians has required revision. In order to illustrate the methods of the memoir, we briefly indicate the process of calculating the Jupiter evection term. First Stage—Using the ordinary notation supplemented by a=loga, Prof. Newcomb starts from Delaunay, vol. ii., pp. 235-6 and 800, and obtains on p. 19 the equations of variation d ee a oP, oe) ant)” 2(a, “97 ee C0 Ch ET) oP; oP, ant) © a5 Te ae 00. Pa af OPE =) ye) <( "gy Tg, +78 Og ae @(0SE ba Et +1) dnt) ° BK a 0e oy | Ey se, i) dnt) zo = @ da 4 256 ie o d a — pect ae pee d(nt) ° “(a Ca tiga 0e +% z) P, being the potential of the disturbing forces. He also gives (p. 18) the numerical values of a,, &c., as follows :— a= +2'0228 e,=- 0'0168 y,= —0'0229 @y= —O°OZ01 &,= —19°1534 y,= —0°0200 a@3= +0 0075 ¢;,= + 0°0026 y;= —5°5700 Second Stage.—Neglecting certain small terms, we have for the potential of the direct action of a planet 2 P=MK (2-7?) -4MC (p?= 36?) +MD2én, u and a similar form for the potential of the indirect action © PR, = — mG (82 = 0?) — m2] (p? = 3€2) + m212En. BL For brevity, the sum of the two may be written ig P,=10-°K’'(? — y7) — 10-8C'(p? - 3¢?) + 10-*D’2én. ra In the above formule, ~ 7, ¢, denote the lunar coordinates divided by the moon’s mean distance, the axis of & being directed towards the mean sun; p= eG; and the coefficients MK, MC, MD, m?G, m?J, mI are known functions of the positions of the earth and the disturbing planet in their orbits. Of these six coefficients, the expansion of the first three in the form SEI Gro) sore sin 2\64 8) T2855 i, j being integers, is exceedingly troublesome, and the expansion of the other three assumes that the mutual perturbations of the earth and planet have been calculated. We are going to illustrate the methods of the memoir by considering as an example the perturbations arising from terms in P, with argument 2m—2] or 2D—2g+2g'—2]J. = 1 “Investigation of Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon produced by the Action of the Planets.’’ By Simon Newcomb, assisted by Frank E. Ross. Pp. vilit+160. (Washington: The Carnegie Institution, 1907). NO. 1985, VOL. 77] Such a term may arise in P, by combining a lunar argu- ment 2D—2g+jg’ with a planetary argument —jg' +2g'—2], : j being given any integral value; but we will confine our attention to the case j7=o, which gives rise to the only: sensible term of the whole number. We require, therefore, to pick out the planetary terms with argument 2J—2g’=N,, and the lunar terms with argument 2D—2g=N. The following extracts from the memoir cover the first part of the work :— From p. 85, Table XXII. :— 10?MK = + 6’"119 cos N,+0"'006 sin N, 310?MC = —0":293 cos N,+0”'oor sinN, - 10°?MD= — 0005 cos N,+6""114sin Ny From p. 97, Table XXXIII. :—; 1097°G = — 24°668 cos Ny— 0”.358sin N; 10"?J = — $096 cos N,— 0”-061 sin Ny 10377I = + 0°363 cos Ny - 23”°488 sin Ny Hence by addition, p. 145, Table XLV., K’= + 3081 cos Ny + (07°38 sin Ny) C’=— 8':39 cos Ny — (0”:06 sin Ny) D’=(+0"°35 cos N,) — 17°37 sin Ng It will soon appear that the six terms of K’, C’, D’ fall into two groups of three; one group of three is in- dicated by brackets, and will not be proceeded with, as. the other and more important group suffices for illus- tration. Third Stage.—With the notation (see p. 24) #— 7?=2 cos N p*—3¢7=29 cos N 2in= sin N we extract from Table XL., p. 112, for this argument N=—2g+2A—2A'=2D—2g=2n—29', the values de 2p=+0°007 809 = + 0°COO 30 sues +0'284 09 1a 2g=+0°001 807 Zoe +0'003 73 af = + 07065 69 k=+0'007 185 Of _o:000 60 = +0261 €9 Ox Oe and we note that the differentials with regard to y are insensible. These expansions are derived partly from Delaunay’s- lunar theory and partly from Brown’s. ee Fourth Stage.—In the differential equations of variation put g P,=2pcos N. ‘ ad ant) (« v, u’, are the coefficients of 1, 7, @ in N, or 27—2g’, so thai 25900)» Similarly, d Ant) We shall drop the equation for y, Table XLVII., p. 146, the values a= -0°0602 y= — 38°307, as may be easily verified from the values of 2a, and 2e, at the beginning of this article. From Table XLVIII., p. 147, we extract values of pro- ducts of pqik by a, and e,:— ayP= —9'000 235 ap7= —0'000 054 3a %= &P=-O0'149 20 e7=—0'034 28 Reg = — O°137 9O Again, noting that @ OP, _ £) (: ) 2 =(245, fa fe te ee 463 2) 0 . » 2% | cos N=2L' cos N dn = {a( 42 : 2a wn Berea Ne | cos a mili op OP op | N=2P’ cos N, ~ ante { an( sa t2cl) + ec2tt bats foes 2 a= - 2fsin N.a, where @j=1a,+t/G.+ 0a; e= —2p sin N.¢ where ¢y=1e,+ Wey + tes. and extract fron» we shall drop the equation for #,, and noting that when q and k respectively replace p, then L’, P’ become in: Prof- Newcomb’s notation L”, P” and Ly, P,. 44 NATURE ‘November 14,1907 From Table XLIX., p. 147, we extract :— rotation that should simultaneously account for the motion L’ = +0°013 67 2eP’= —0:298 of the moon and the transits: of Mercury. About forty Taran 84. *2eP”="— 0'069 i years ago there was an impression that planetary astro- Ly=+0'023°51 ‘ePj= —0'275 19 in Prof. Newcomb’s value of L! we think a small error (about 0-00020) has been introduced, Now putting obi = Ke! cos N, 2fccs N —C,' cos Ny 27 cos N +D,'sin.N, % sin N we get - Ay 'o= (2K'L! ~ 20/1! =2r,) cos N,cos N a(n +D,'L, sin. N, sin N a ‘ Ms ne - -—— = Kp pn 204 = And) ™ (2 Roe Gale: - ) cos Ny cos N o +Dy'Py sin N, sin N aa =(= 2K,'ay + 2€, a7 =2a,) cos Ny sin N + Deane sin Nicos N d. Ss type F Ant) e=(—2Ke'eyp + 2C,'e99 = eo) cos Ny sin N + Dy ek sin N,.cos N. At this point we shall reject the terms ins N+N, and write zB aon” =(A, +4D,'L,=/i,.) cos (N= Ny) ds eae jTe= (m+ SDiePy= chine) €08 (N Ny) ae a=(a,—4D,ay?=Aays) sin(N-Ny) ; Fe Beem BDeea = fev) sin (N-N,). mean motion of moon mean motion of N -N, we obtain on integration Putting »’= 2Ae= — 2y'he, 4, COS (N ~ N,)=2e,’ cos (N— Ny) 2eAn=— v'2ehz,~ Sin (N —Ny)=2er,' sin (N— N,), 2 An, 3. and by a double integration, remembering that Ar= — A= ¥ (Bohan s fy, )sin (N-N,)=Z/ sin (N— Ny). From p. 153. we extract - v'=232°720 - U,/= +07°256 2é,' = — 1158 2em, = +1164. Lastly, if we substitute in v=6/+ 2be sin y+ 2 cos 2 (e5/ — cdr) ‘we get dv= —1".15 sin(g+24—J). .Turning now to the statement of final results. on pp- 156-9, we note, with the single exception of the Jupiter evection term, its mainly negative character. Results previously given by Radau and Brown are only very slightly modified, generally by quantities quite insensible to observation. Moreover, no explanation has been reached of the unknown term of long period. Thirty years ago Prof. Newcomb, in what are known as New- comb’s corrections, assigned a coefficient 15"-5 and a period of 273 years with an argument arsing from the action of Venus to this unknown term. It is now known that the argument is impossible. The present writer thinks that both the coefficient and the period require some increase. At any rate, Newcomb’s, empirical: term has now ceased to represent the observed motion of the moon. It is not, of course, to be expected that empiricism will predict with any accuracy for any length of time. In the last paragraph of his memoir, Prof. Newcomb recalls his attempt to establish an inequality in the earth’s NO. 1985. VOL. 77 nomy had been’ worked out by Hansen and Le Verrier. The lunar tables of the one and the planetary tables of the other marked immense advances on those of their predecessors, and the extant observations’ were not sufficient to sound any note of warning except that it might have been-noted that Hansen’s tables did not account for the ancient eclipses. We now have new planetary tables and the materials’ for new tables of the moon, but we cannot share the satisfaction of our predecessors of forty years’ ago. A very considerable list of residual phenomena has accumulated. Apses and nodes and secular terms do not accord with theory. In the moon some periodic terms are unexplained. In Mars it seems as if a term with one second as coefficient and period about twenty years is required to reconcile theory and observy- ation,’ In the present memoir Prof. Newcomb has _ pre- sumably excluded the action of the planets as a possible explanation of the vagaries of the moon. A word ought to be said as to the excellent form of presentation of the subject by Prof. Newcomb. It illus- trates the Roman maxim, so often quoted by the late head- master of Eton, ‘‘ Divide et impera’’—subdivide* into sections, and you will get the grip of it. ; NEW FACTS: ABOUT THE ARUNTA. HE Arunta of Central Australia have loomed large of late in -ethnological controversy, but we are destined to hear further discussion in the near future. Hitherto our information- has been derived first from the observ- ations of Mr. F.. J. Gillen in part-iv. of ‘* The Report of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia,’’? 1896, and later from the two well-known admirable books by Prof. Baldwin Spencer and Mr. Gillen.. In a recent number of Globus (Bd. xci., No. 18, p. 285) Herr M. Freiherr v. Leonhardi has an article: ‘*On~ some Religious and Totemic Conceptions of the Aranda and Loritja in Central Australia,’’ based upon information received from Herr C. Strehlow and Herr Reuther, of the» Neuen Dettelsaur Mission, who have a mastery over the language of the Arunta, or Aranda. Some of the information thus obtained is so different from that recorded by Spencer and Gillen that it opens a new phase in the discussions concerning these remarkable people. Only the more salient points of Leonhardi’s article can be here given; students will have to study it in detail, and they will await with eagerness the promised volume. i The Arunta certainly believe in a supreme, good, heaven- god. called Altjira; he is. the. god’ of the upper world, and has little to do with men. He has the appearance of a tall man with a red skin and long hair falling over his shoulders, but he. has feet like an emu, he eats vegetable food, and the flesh of the emu, which he spears. He is surrounded by beautiful youths and maidens, who are immortal. The stars are his camp-fires, the Milky Way his hunting-ground. Only certain: specially conspicuo. stars, such as the evening star, the Pleiades, &c., and sun and moon are ancestors of the Arunta, who once lived on earth and had certain totems. From this Altjira, who lives in heaven, and of whom no Tjurunga (Churinga) exists, must be clearly distinguished the ancestors, honoured as gods and endowed with superhuman powers, who lived on earth sometimes as animals, sometimes as men. In three neighbouring groups the supreme God is distinguished from the totem gods in the following way :—Dieri, supreme being, Mura, deified ancestors or totem gods, Mura-Mura ; Arunta, supreme being, Altjira (the Uncreated), totem gods, Altjira-ngamitjina (the everlasting Uncreated) or Intrara (the Undying); Loritcha, supreme being, Tukura (the Uncreated), totem gods, Tukutita (the eternal Uncreated). Originally Gillen described a great spirit (Ulthaana), of whom no mention was made in the subsequent works, but in these ‘‘ the most important spirit individual in the Arunta tribe is-Twanyirika,’’ though. we are told he is not regarded ‘‘ as a supreme being who in any way whatever was supposed to inculcate moral idezs.’’. Neither: is Altjira the guardian of cults and morals: ; NovEMBER 14, 1907 | NALORE 45 ‘ Herr Leonhardi writes :—‘‘ Among the most noteworthy of the discoveries of Spencer and Gillen was the idea that each man is the reincarnation of a totemic ancestor, and that after death, each soul, returns to its totem centre, where the spirit individuals spend the time between the two incarnations. These child-germs enter the women, conception by means of men being unknown. _ In the neigh- bourhood: of whichever totem centre a woman first. feels pregnant, that becomes the totem of the child. I was not a little astonished when Herr Strehlow wrote that he could not find any reincarnation theory among the blacks, and that it must be a misunderstanding; but Spencer and Gillen are so positive, ‘In every tribe without exception the belief in reincarnation is universal.’’’ Strehlow writes :—‘‘ I have made careful inquiries concerning the points raised. I have inquired of different blacks at different times, among others of three witch doctors, who are regarded as guardians of tradition, who grew up in heathendom. They all declare these ideas to be wrong. In different places there are numerous ratapa (origins of men, unborn men, who have body and soul, but are in- visible). The male origins are in rocks, trees, or in the mistletoe growing on the latter; the female mostly in clefts in rocks. Each ratapa belongs to a certain totem, and the ratapas of the same totem are collected in one place. This was caused by the totem-ancestors ‘ getting tired’ of their long wandering, and their bodies changed into rocks, trees, &c., and their souls collected in an underground cave. The child-germs are in these rocks and trees, and they go forth thence. If now a woman, who conceives, passes such a mistletoe branch or rock cleft, a ratapa enters as a grown youth or girl with body and soul, into her body, causing pains. The ratapa grows smaller in the woman’s body until later it is born as a child. If an apma (snake) vatapa enters into a woman, the child belongs to the apma totem. ““When a man dies his soul (etana) goes, not to the totem centre, but to the island of the dead, where it re- mains for a time. Eventually it returns to its earlier dwell- ing place on the earth and says to its former friends, ‘ Be careful, lest you meet such a fate as mine!’ If the dead man has left behind on the earth a small child; his soul enters into it and lives there until the child has grown up and has a beard, when the father’s soul departs again, or it enters into his grandson in the same manner. It is finally destroyed by a flash of lightning. Thus one cannot speak of a reincarnation, but only of the temporary dwelling of the soul of the father or grandfather in his son or grand- son.’’ Strehlow assures Leonhardi that all the Arunta have the same belief. .. ‘* There are other means by which the children enter the -women. The atua ngautja (souls of totem ancestors dwell- ing in underground caves) can also enter into the women, if they wish to return to this earth; though their final fate is utter annihilation. A child can enter its mother in animal or plant form. If a woman feels the first intimations’ of pregnancy immediately after seeing a kangaroo, which runs off and disappears, there is no doubt but that her child will be a kangaroo child. ““ Each individual has relationship with two totems, he belongs to the one by birth, or rather by conception, this totem he calls runga. The other totem belongs to him, is bound up with him, has communion (altja) with him, so he calls it altjira. Thus the totem animal or plant of his mother which is forbidden to her to eat is his altjira, which belongs to him, of which he can eat as he will. A man named Ebalanga belongs to the iguana totem, so all iguanas are regarded as his friends, or even as his relations, for according to the ideas of the blacks he is himself an iguana. He may kill iguanas but sparingly, and eat only the tail and legs. The wild duck is his mother’s totem, this is bound up with him, is his guardian, on whose flesh he feeds.’’ As Leonhardi points out, ‘‘ the great interest in these new facts is that we have here clearly a totem inherited through the mother. It may be that here is preserved a relic of earlier times, when the totem was inherited directly from the mother, as among so many other Australian tribes, and that the peculiar belief about the conception of children was a later develop- ment. As to the primitiveness of the Arunta and their NO. 1985, VOL. 77] “strator will be paid by fees, neighbours, there has been much discussion, and the above facts may give new aspects to the controversy.” ; A word of warning seems desirable. The. Arunta in- vestigated by Herr Strehlow appear to have been Christianised, and some of their statements may have been influenced by the new teaching; also there may be slightly different beliefs among various sections of the Arunta. Doubtless these points will be fully discussed in the final publication. A. (GSH. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Campripce.—At the request of the special board for biology. and geology, the general board is proposing to establish a demonstratorship in petrology. This demon- and not directly by the University. oe The same board has also received a- communication from the special board for biology and geology requesting that the title ‘‘ Readership in Animal Morphology ”’ (recently vacated by the election of Mr. Adam Sedgwick as professor of zoology) be changed to ‘* Readership in Zoology.’’ This will widen the subject of the readership so that it will include such subjects as variation and heredity, and will enable the University to provide for the teaching of these subjects, which for the last few years has been given by Mr. Bateson as deputy for the pro- fessor of zoology. The general. board proposes that the annual stipend attached to the readership should be rool., to be paid from a common university fund, and that the readership be attached to the board for - biology and geology. 2 The Senate has sanctioned an alteration to the Previous Examination of some moment, although it excited no com- ment and little interest in the University. In future it will be possible for a candidate to take a paper on elementary heat and chemistry as an alternative to the papers on Paley’s “ Evidences *’ and elementary logic. In the same part of the examination a single combined paper on arithmetic and algebra will in future be set instead of the separate papers on those subjects. There was a discussion last week on the proposal of the medical board to institute a third first M.B. Examin- ation (chemistry, physics, and elementary biology) by holding one at the commencement of the October term. The ‘proposal met with little opposition, though it was pointed out that the time of year was rather inconvenient. Supporters of the scheme hope that in time the October examination will largely take the place of the one held at present in December, and that the latter will ultimately disappear. ea : The electors to the Isaac Newton studentship give notice that the election to a studentship will be held in the Lent term, 1908. The studentships are for the encouragement of research and study in astronomy. Persons eligible are members of the University who have been admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and who shall be under the age of twenty-five on January 21, 1908. The studentship is usually of the value of 200. per annum. Pror. W. F. M. Goss, one of the leading American authorities on railway engineering, has been appointed Dean of the college of engineering of the University of Illinois. Tue Civil Service Commissioners announce, in regard to open competitive examinations for clerkships in the Upper Division of the Civil Service, that, after next year, geo- graphy, treated scientifically, will be added to the list of subjects included under the head natural science of which four may be talken up. A course of eight lectures on the function of the mineral constituents of the soil in the nutrition of plants, by Mr. A. D. Hall, will be given, as part of the advanced lectures in botany of the University of London, in the lecture room of the Chelsea Physic Garden on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning on November 11 at 5 p-m. Dr. O. Rosenheim will give a course of three advanced lectures in physiology 46 NATURE [NovEMBER 14, 1907 EE eee eee on the borderland of animal and vegetable chemistry (pro- teins, lecithins, pigments, &c.) at King’s College on Mondays, beginning on November 25, at 4.30 p.m. Tue Board of Education, South Kensington, has just issued the following list of successful candidates this year for Royal exhibitions, national scholarships, and free studentships (science) :—Royal exhibitions: W. F. Frew, Plymouth; G. E. Morgan, Portsmouth; E. Grigg, South- sea; E. A. Steed, Devonport; W. E. Curtis, London; H. Carter, Triangle, Halifax; H. W. Turner, Portsmouth. National scholarships for mechanics (Group A): A. W. Judge, Portsmouth; A. Regnauld, London; F. R. Rogers, Devonport; C. Bartlett, Plymouth; F. H. G. Marks, Plymouth; J. H. Thomas, Ovenden, Halifax. Free studentships for mechanics (Group A): S. Ll. Symns, London; F. A. Bumpus, Birmingham; R. G. M. Frost, Plymouth; E. W. Stedman, Sheerness. National scholar- ships for physics (Group B): A. G. Tarrant, London; J. Hill, Glasgow; J. Macpherson, Manchester ; A. Holmes, Gateshead; W. White, Glasgow. Free studentship for physics (Group B): W. C. Simmons, Southampton. National scholarships for chemistry (Group C): S. R. Illingworth, Shipley; H. Griffiths, Middlesbrough; A. T. Eggingion, Ibstock, Leicester; A. Caruth, Birkenhead; L. W. Burridge, London. Free studentship for chemistry (Group C): F. A. Knott, London. National scholarships for biology (Group D): E. Bateson, Bradford, Yorks; J. Sharpe, Burnley; W. Rushton, Burnley. National Scholarships for geology (Group E): C. H. Cunnington, London; T. Eastwood, Burnley; E. J. Wayland, London. Macponatp CoLtEGEr, Quebec, established and endowed by Sir William Macdonald, of Montreal, was opened to students on November 7. The object of the founder is the advancement of education, the carrying on of research, the spreading of knowledge likely to benefit rural districts, and the training of teachers for rural schools. From an article in the Times of November 9, we learn that the college property comprises 561 acres, and has been divided into the campus of 74 acres, where the buildings are located, with demonstration plots for grasses and flowers; a farm of 100 acres for horticulture and poultry keeping ; and a live-stock and grain farm of 387 acres. The build- ings have been planned in accordance with the most modern scientific principles. The main building includes departments for nature-study and household science, both with appropriate laboratories. Near the main building are buildings for biology and chemistry, each furnished with laboratories and lecture rooms. The main agri- cultural building contains greenhouses and laboratories of the live-stock farm, dairy, and horticulture department, the farm machinery hall, and a pavilion for live-stocl judging. r-mandelic acid and d-mandelic acid were indicated.—The optical activity of cyclic ammonium com- pounds: F. Buckney and H. O. Jones. Out of four- teen compounds of this type examined, only one—allyl- kairolinium-d-bromocamphorsulphonate—gave conclusive evidence of the existence of optical activity.—The action of phosphorus pentachloride on hydroxytrimethylsuccinic ester. 1: 2-Dimethylcyclopropane-r : 2-dicarboxylie —_ acid (1 : 2-dimethyltrimethylene-1 :2-dicarboxylic acid) : 18l5 Henstock and Miss B. E. Woolley.—The condensation of acetaldehyde and its relation to the biochemical synthesis of fatty acids: H. S. Raper. It has been suggested that the formation of fatty acids in animals depends, firstly, on the breakdown of the carbohydrate to acetaldehyde, and, secondly, on the condensation of this with the formation of the higher fatty acids. This hypothesis is confirmed in part, since it has been found that 6-hydroxybutyralde- hyde, the first product of the condensation of acetalde- hyde, on further condensation yields an aldehyde containing eight carbon atoms united in a straight chain.—The in- fluence of solvents on the rotation of optically active com- pounds, part x., effect of the configuration and degree of saturation of the solvent: T. S. Patterson, A. Hender- son, and F. W. Fairlie.—paraToluidine monohydrate : J. Walker.and H. H. Beveridge.—Hydrates of some quaternary bases: D. C. Crichton.—Two volumetric methods for the determination of chromium: A. W. Gregory and J. McCallum. The authors describe (1) a modified form of the persulphate method for the estim- ation of chromium in iron and steel, and (2) a method depending on the oxidation of the chromium with sodium bismuthate. Faraday Society, October 29 —Mr. N. T. M. Wilsmore in the chair._The electrolysis of salt solutions in liquefied sulphur dioxide: Dr. Bertram D. Steele. Electrodes of various metals were used, and the changes at anode and kkathode studied. With platinum and mercury a rapid NO. 1985, VOL. 77] diminution of current took place, when solutions of sulphur idioxide were electrolysed, possibly due to the formation of sulphur films. With electrodes of silver, copper, and iron of large area, constant currents were maintained. Iodine was liberated at anode, but no metallic potassium was obtained at kathode. The author concludes that sulphur cations exist in solution.—The action of aluminium powder on silica and boric anhydride: F. E. Weston and H. Russell Ellis. The authors show that it is possible to obtain silicon and boron by reduction of the respective oxides with extremely finely divided aluminium powder, the oxide being also excessively finely powdered. Great difficulty, however, is experienced in removing the alumina from the metalloids—The reduction of metallic oxides with calcium hydride and calcium: Dr. F. M. Perkin and L. Pratt. A mixture of copper oxide and calcium hydride reacts with great ease according to the equation 2CuO + CaH, =2Cu+CaO+H,0O, the ignition taking place by means of a match. Pyrolusite, tinstone, and haematite also react readily, but require to be heated in a furnace or the reaction started by means of a fuse. Zinc oxide appears not to be reduced. Wolframite and rutile react only with difficulty. Lead sulphide and antimony sulphide also react vigorously. Boron can also be produced from boric anhydride or borax, and silicon (in small quantities) from silica. Dr. Perkin has already shown the extreme ease with which metallic oxides react with metallic calcium. The authors now show that the reaction with wolframite is particularly energetic, the tungsten being obtained as a fused regulus. Calcium will also replace strontium and barium from their chlorides and hydroxides. It likewise replaces all the alkali metals from their chlorides and hydroxides, the reactions being extremely violent. Paris. Academy of Sciences, November 4.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—Comparative study of the phenols as partheno- genetic agents: Yves Delage and P. de Beauchamp. The successful results obtained with tannic acid, described in a previous paper, suggested the trial of other allied sub- stances, the phenols and phenolic acids. Experiments have been made with phenol and the three dihydroxybenzenes, resorcinol being the only active substance of the three latter. Of the trihydroxybenzenes, phloroglucinol is nearly equal in activity to resorcinol, pyrogallol and the un- symmetrical isomer being much inferior. Difficulties of solubility prevented much work being done with fhe hydroxy-acids. Salicylic and vanillic acids gave poor results, about the same order as phenol ; protocatechuic, and especially gallic, acid gave better and more constant results. The suggestion is put forward that the activity of the phenols in parthenogenesis may be proportional to their affinity for oxygen.—Contribution to the therapeutics of trypanosomes: A. Laveran and A. Thiroux. After reviewing the remedies that have been suggested, arsenious oxide, atoxyl, and mixtures of these with mercury salts, and describing their own experimental results on these substances, the authors propose the injection alternately of atoxyl and arsenic trisulphide. This treatment has given very good results in the cure of rats and guinea- pigs artificially infected with surra.—The sugar in the blood plasma: R. Lepiné and M. Boulud. The authors lay stress on the large errors introduced into the deter- mination of the amount of sugar in the blood plasma by neglecting the glycolysis which goes on during the separ- ation of the blood corpuscles. They detail the methods by which they in part surmount this difficulty, but con- clude that the estimation of the sugar in the blood can only give, at the best, a rough approximation to the amount of sugar carried to the tissues.—Observations of the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons during the second quarter of 1907: J. Guillaume. Observations were possible on forty-eight days, and the results are expressed in tabular form showing the spots, their dis- tribution in latitude, and the distribution of the faculz in latitude.—Hyperelliptic surfaces: G. Bagnera and M. de Franchis.—The adjoint functions of M. Buhl: Cc: Popovici.—Some properties of integral equations: E. Goursat.—The free path and number of electrons in metals: L. Bloch.—The influence of pressure on the absorption spectra of vapours: A. Dufour. An experi- 48 INA TOOL, [ NovEMBER 14, 1907 mental study of the change in the absorption spectrum of bromine vapour under pressures varying from one to twenty atmospheres.—A new element, lutecium, resulting from the splitting of Marignac’s ytterbium: G. Urbain. The separation was effected by fractional crystallisation of the nitrates from nitric acid of density 1-3. The characteristic lines in the are spectrum of the new element For the purified ytterbium resulting from the the name of neo-ytterbium is proposed. —Bi- are given. separation secondary butylene chloroftydrin: K. Krassousky. An account of this compound, recently described as new by M. Louis Henry, was published by the author in 1902. Further details of its preparation and properties are given. —The alkaline granite massif of Dahomey: Henry Hubert.—The uralitisation of pyroxene: Louis Dupare. —Remarks on the structure of the aleurone grains in the Graminacee: A. Guilliermond. The author modifies some conclusions drawn by him in previous publications. The aleurone grains in the Graminace offer analogous characters to those of the lupin. They are distinguished only by their smaller content of protein (the latter con- stituting only a thin layer round the globoids), by the smaller number and larger size of the ‘globoids, and by the insolubility of the protein in potash ‘after fixation by Ladowsky’s method or by alcohol.—The experimental pro- duction of grapes without pips: Lucien Daniel. The production of ripe grapes without pips can be caused by vigorous pruning immediately after the fruit is set, and is produced by overfeeding at the time when the fertilised seed starts developing with great activity.—The evolution of Frenzelina, intestinal parasites of decapod crustacea L. Léger and O. Duboscq.—Classification of the Zygo- pteridez according to the characters of their leaf impression: Paul Bertrand.—Variations of density and amount of oxygen of pools of sea water: R. Legendre. —Observation of a discontinuous lightning flash: M. Luizet. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, November 14. Roya. Society, at 4.30.—On the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neandertal Race: Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S.—Some Features in the Hereditary Transmission of the Self-Black and the ‘‘Irish” Coat Characters in Rats: G. P. Mudge.—On the Inheritance of Eye-colour in Man: C. C. Hurst.—On the Result of Crossing Round with Wrinkled Peas, with Especial Reference to their Starch Grains: A. D.Darbishire. —On the Rate of Elimination of Chloroform from the Blood after Anzsthesia: G. A. Buckmaster and J. A. Gardner.—Implantation of Actively Proliferating Epithelium: Dr. J. O. Wakelin-Barratt. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The) Dielectric’ Strength or Insulating Materials and the Grading of Cables: Alexander Russell. MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY, at 5.30 —Annual General Meeting.—Election of Council and Officers—On Hypercomplex Numbers: J. H. Maclagan Wedderburn.—Addendum to a Paper on the Inversion of a Repeated Infinite Integral: T. J. I’A. Bromwich.—Generalisation of a Theorem in the Theory of Divergent Series: G. H. Hardy.—Uniform and Non- uniform Convergence and Divergence of a Series and the Distinction between Right and Left: Dr. W. H. Young.—Application of Quaternions to the Problem of the Infinitesimal Deformation of a Surface: J. E. Campbell.—Nodal Cubics through Eight given Points: J. E. Wright.— The Invariants of a Binary Quintic and the Reality of its Roots: Dr. H. F. Baker.—Ona Transformation of Hypergeometric Series : Rev. Dr. E. W. Barnes.—On a Transformation of a Certain Hypergeometric Series : Prof. M. J. M. Hill.—A General Theorem on Integral Functions of Order less than One-half: J. E. Littlewood. FRIDAY, NovEMBER 15. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAI. ENGINEERS, at 8.—Labour-saving Appli- ances at the Mines of the New Kleinfontein Co.. Transvaal: E. J. Way. MONDAY, NovEMBER 18. SocroLoGicaL Society, at 8.—Mental Defects: Dr. Charles Mercier. TUESDAY, NovEMBER 19. Royat ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—Excavation of a Barrow on Chapel Carne Brea, Cornwall, and other Papers: H. King and B, C. Polkinghorne.—The Wild Tribes of the Ulu Plus: F. W. Knocher. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—D/scussion:—The Extension, Widening and Strengthening of Folkestone Pier: H. T. Ker.—Prodadle Paper :—The Tranmere Bay Development Works: S. H. Ellis. Royat STaTIsTICAL SocigETy. at 5.—Presidential Address: The Right Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke, Bart., M.P. WEDNESDAY, NovEMBER 20 GEOLOGIGAL SociETy, at 8.—Glacial Beds of Cambrian Age in South Australia : Rey. Ww. Howchin.—On a Formation known as “‘ Glacial Beds of Cambrian Age” in South Australia: H. Basedow and J. D. Iliffe. Rovat MergoroLoGicaL SOciETY, at 7.30.—The International Balloon Ascents, July 22 to 27, 1907: Reports by W. H. Dines, F.R.S., J. E. Petavel, F.R.S., W. A. Harwood, Capt. C, H. Ley, R.E., and Pref. W. E. Thrift.—Discussion of the Meteorological Observations made at the British Kite Stations, 1906-7 : Miss M. White, T. V. Pring, and J. E. Petavel, F.R.S. ENTOMOLOGICAL SociEt y, at 8. Royat Microscoricat Society, at 8.—(1) Francois Watkins’ Microscope ; (2) A Reply to Prof. Porter's and Mr. Everitt’s Criticism upon the Paper, NO. 1985, VOL. 77] ? On the Limits of Resolving Power for the Microscope and Telescope : E. M. Nelson.—Mercury Globules as Test Objects for the Microscope : J. W. Gordon.—Light Filters for Photomicrography : E. Moffat. Society oF ArTs, at 8.—Inaugural Address by Sir Steuart Colvin Bayley, ' K.C,S.I. THURSDAY, Novemuer 2t. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers :—Results of the Interaction of Mercury with Alloys of Other Metals : J. W. Mallet, F.R.S.—Note on the Sensibility of the Ear to the Direction of Explosive Sounds : A. Mallock, F.R.S.—On the Silver Voltameter : Part i., A Comparison of Various « Forms of Silver Voltameters : F. E. Smith ; and a Determination of the Electrochemical Equivalent of Silver: F, E. Smith and T. Mather, F.R.S. ; Part ii., The Chemistry of the Silver Voltameter: F. E. Smith and Dr. ‘I. M. Lowry.—On the Normal Weston Cadmium Cell: F. E. Smith.—On a Method of Depositing Copper upon Glass from Aqueous Solutions in a Thin Brilliantly Reflecting Film, thus Producing a Copper Mirror: Dr. F. D. Chattaway, F.R.S.—On Luminous Efficiency and the Mechanical Equivalent of Light: Dr. C. V. Drysdale.—The Dispersion of Double Refraction in Relation to Crystal Structure : T. H. Havelock. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—The Interaction of Metallic Sulphates and Caustic Alkalies: S. P. U. Pickering.—The Chemistry of Bordeaux Mixture: S. P. U. Pickering.—Aromatic Azoimides, Part iii., The Naphthylazoimides and their Nitro-derivatives: M. O. Forster and H. E. Fierz.—Studies of Dynamic Isomerism. Note on the Action of Carbonyl Chloride as an Agent for Arresting Isomeric Change: T. M. Lowry and E. H. Magson.—Emulsions: S. P. U. Pickering.—The Electrometric Measurement of the Hydrolysis of the Salts of Anilinium, Ammonium, Aluminium, Chromium, Thallium, Zinc, Magnesium, Cerium, Thorium, Nickel and Cobalt : H. G. Denham. INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY, at 8. LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Abnormal Structures in Leaves, and their Value for Morphology : W. C. Worsdell.—Specimen-preservation in Australian Museums: J.G. Otto Tepper.—Revision of the Genus Illigera, Blume: S. T. Dunn.—Z-rhibits :—Luminous Larva from British Guiana: C. W. Anderson.—Living Specimens of Peripatus, from South Africa : Prof. A. Dendy.—Linaria arenaria, and other British Plants: G. C. Druce. FRIDAY, NovEMBER 22. Puysicat Society, at 5.—On Singing Sand from New England: S. Skinner.—Exhibition of a Micromanometer: L. Bairstow.—A Diabolo Experiment : Vernon Boys.—Exhibition of a Gyroscope illustrating Brennan's Monorailway: Prof. H. A. Wilson. CONTENTS. PAGE A New Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry ..... 2 Italian Birds and Neogenesis. By W.P.P. ... . 25 Physiology of Alimentation. By W.D.H. .... 26 SchoolyArithmeticn. By /E.) LoiGeuemememictiel 2. ileieneey Our Book Shelf :— Petronievics: ‘‘ Die placed Geometrien und das Unendliche.”—G. B. 30 . 28 Allen : ‘‘ Engineering Wong Practice ” ap 28 Duncan: ‘*Steam and other Engines” . 29 Franklin and Macnutt: ‘‘ The Elements of Mechanics. A Text-Book for Colleges and Technical Schools.”— E.GaiGe a. 29 Kuckuck: ‘* Die Lisung des Problems der Urzeugung (Archigonia, Generatio spontanea).”—J. A. T. 29 Daniels : “The Flora of Columbia, Missouri, and Vicinity” . . 29 Duncan: ‘‘ The Evolution of Matter, Life, and Mind” Bashforth : ‘‘ Ballistic Experiments, from 1864 to 1880” 30 Letters to the Editor:— The Origin of Radium.—Dr. Otto Hahn ... 30 The Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, ao as oy Morris W. Travers, F.R.S. .... Me yc. 3! November Meteors. —John R. entry. ): 31 An Optical Illusion. (With Diagram. )— Dr. L. U;.H. C. Werndly —. . 31 The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena. =k: Lock .. . 32 Method of Observing the « Subjective Yellow.’ ."—John H. Shaxby. . . 5 5 2 Antarctic Animals, (Illustrated.) é Serra 15 The Cure and Prevention of Sleeping Sickness . A te 3 The Pollution of Rivers . ee Mo Sir James Hector, F.R.S. By J. W.G. ates} 3) Vea Notes... Pee is... he Our Astronomical Column :— Occultation of Neptune by the Moon... ..7 . . 42 The Improvement of Celestial Photographic Images . 42 The Great Red Spot on Jupiter ....... a tea Red Stars near Nova Velorum. . 142 The Systematic Error of Latitude observed ‘with a Zenith Telescope . . Spit cess 0) ome Inequalities in the Motion of the Moon e eue! +: ines New Facts about the Arunta. By A.C.H. .... 44 University and Educational Intelligence ...... 45 Societies’andAcademies- . scoters « -.- © ai ne4O DiaryofSocieties) 20.) 5s) aan eee nC allen crema NATURE 49 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 10907. occasionally prove too strong for him; they get be- =u eS 4 him off his feet, as it were— and rush him into a labyrinth of phrases where he MODERN SCIENCE AND AMERICAN gets effectually lost. TECHNOLOGY. The Chemistry of Commerce. A Simple Interpreia- tion of some New Chemistry in its Relation to Modern Industry. By Robert Kennedy Duncan. Pp. x+263. (London and New York: Harper and Brothers, 1907.) HE author of the book with this alliterative and not very apt title is a teacher of chemical technology States of North America. He appears to have spent a year’s leave in Europe in making himself more or fess familiar with certain manufacturing processes depending upon more or less recondite facts of modern chemistry, and he is constrained to publish what he has learnt in the hope of convincing the | American manufacturer, in particular, that modern science is “ absolutely applicable ’’ to the economy and progress of his operations. He was the more en- couraged to put forth the present attempt for the reason that, as he tells us, a former venture of his received ‘‘ words of appreciation’? from mining engineers in South Africa and school teachers in China, as well as from captains of the navy and captains of industry. From which we may infer that the professor of industrial chemistry at the University of Kansas, of whose literary productions we confess we were hitherto in complete ignorance, is in reality one of the most widely-read authors of his time. The dozen chapters of which the book is made up are so many detached fragments, and from the fact that they have been copyrighted at different times during the last three years, they would seem to be reprints of magazine or newspaper articles. Their literary style is indeed characteristic of much of Transatlantic journalism. When the author seeks to be convincing he is merely turgid and inflated, and what he strives to gain by emphasis he loses in the effect which might have been secured by sober, accurate, and impartial statement. Perhaps, how- ever, Mr. Duncan is the best judge of the appetite of the class for whom he caters. His own particular world of educated laymen intellectually eager to know of the advance of kknowledge, who, we are parenthetically informed, ‘are not fools,’? may like to have what he calls their ‘‘ pabulum”’ served up to them hot and strong, and with plenty of condiments. But in his attempts to whet that appetite the author at times comes perilously near to the ‘‘ sensational misinformation ’’ of which we gather ‘“ the other fellow ’? has been occasionally guilty. Whilst re- gretfully admitting that in his book ‘‘ there does not inhere the romantic interest attached to radio-activity and the nature of the chemist’s atom,’’ he yet claims for it ‘“‘the glorious interest that attaches to the doing of real things.’’ These extracts from the author’s ‘‘ foreword’? are characteristic of the rest of the work. He has a passion for strong words, and his vocabulary is simply amazing. But unfortunately the words N@. 1986, VOL. 77] in a university of one of the western | But to a reader who is not over-fastidious as re- gards literary style, or whose sensitiveness has been dulled by daily perusal of the journalism of Kansas, there is much in this book to interest and amuse. To begin with, the reader will not be bored by too much theory. Theory, we perceive, is not the author’s strong point, and he has little sympathy with it. To him “the doing of real things is the preferred work of the world.’’ He never forgets that he is a professor of technology. Speculations on the why and wherefore are, of course, not wanted in the eager, pushful, strenuous life of young America—at least not in Kansas; and as for the question ‘‘ Why is gold? ”’ it is, we are told, as in- soluble as the question «Why is a hen? ”’ “No man of science can justifiably make of fees self an anchorite.’? Shades of Cavendish and Cayley! Our author remembers a_ brilliant young researcher who “‘told him that he had developed a wholly new chapter in mathematics. ‘And the best of it is,’ he said with a glow of enthusiasm, ‘ that it can be of no earthly use, either practical or theoret- ical!’ Had that man passed observingly through the vicious purlieus of the Bowery or through the vast sordid stretches of East London, surely it would have struck home to him that his work was not only not right, that it was a crime.”’ Oh! Mathematics, Mathematics! What crimes are committed in thy name! Perhaps it is an acute consciousness of this that léads the man of Trinity or the ‘gentle Johnian ”’ to prefer King’s Cross as a mode of entry to London rather than gaze upon the vast sordid stretches through which Liverpool Street is reached, and which a too selfish devotion to ‘pure’? mathematics leaves neglected and un- relieved. The American manufacturer, we gather, is not over-sensitive. If he were, he would surely GHTESE under what the author calls the ‘‘ stings and arrows’ which are hurled against him in this book. The general character of much of American technology, we are told, is summed up in the aes: “Save at the spigot and waste at the bung.’’ What pulls the manufacturers through, however, “* expert office management,”’ ‘efficiency of exclusive con- trol obtained through business intrigue,’’ ‘‘ huge and lying advertisements,’? combined with ‘ gross adul- teration of manufactured products.’’? This is a fair sample of the author’s “ pretty way ”’ of expressing himself, but as he is a professor of technology in America he ought to know what he is talking about when he deals with American technology, and we must suppose, therefore, that his strictures are merited. Certainly the evidence he affords OLeen the utter- stupidity and ignorance displayed by glass- makers’? (in America) in the chemistry of their manufacture is only less marvellous than the in- genuity they display in the complicated and efficient mechanisms—for the most part of American origin dD is 50 and device—-which are to be found in their glass factories. But perhaps, after all, this is only the author’s method of adorning his tale and of pointing his moral—to enable him, in fact, to bring out in high relief, and by forcible contrast with this story of confusion and waste, how the science of glass- making is studied and practised at Jena. ““The romantic deportment of the nitrogen atom ”’ —due to a certain ‘‘ temperamental nervousness ”’ “which sends it flying on the slightest pretext from one atomic community to another,’’ is, he confesses, fascinatingly interesting, and this interest prompts him to follow the vagaries of this ‘‘ labile element ”’ —this ‘versatile restless nitrogen’’—until it is caught and transformed into what he calls “ Kalt- stickstoff,”’ whence it passes into carrots and potatoes. The story, as a_ story, loses nothing in the telling as told by Mr. Duncan, but the serious student who eagerly desires ‘‘ to know the significant results of modern knowledge ’’ will be saddened, but not made wiser, by the total lack of accurate state- ment of ascertained facts in connection with ‘ the problem of the fixation of nitrogen and what man may do when he must,’’ which constitutes the sub- ject-matter of chapter iii. America has recently grappled with the subject of industrial alcohol, and Mr. Duncan deals with the new departure in characteristic fashion. As regards the alcohols in general, ‘“‘ the one bearing the pecu- liarly graceful name of Ethyl is the flower of the sisterhood and the subject of chapter vii.’? In be- ginning to enumerate its properties, ‘it is em- barrassingly plain’’ that its properties ‘‘ are not in one bundle”’; ‘it is the most perplexing substance with which man has ever had to deal ’—‘‘a_ perfect femininity of varying and conflicting properties ”’ functioning “‘ ubiquitously and contrariously in the affairs of man.’? But chequered and dubious as is the reputation of ‘‘ the flower of the sisterhood ’*— “the theme of poets, and contrariwise, the rage of publicists,’ this ‘angel-demon”’ is sweetness and purity when compared with ‘‘ the wine of wood ’’— methyl alecohol—of which it appears some ten million gallons *‘ have, yearly, been floating about America in various use.”’ “cc ““A not inconsiderable quantity of it is absorbed by the low negro populations of the country, who drink it under the appellation ‘ white horse ’ or ‘old mule,’ or by a pleasing mode of rhetorical transition, and in order, perhaps, to distinguish it from ‘ Ethyl,’ as ‘Maude.’ Much of it again has appeared in ‘ witch hazel,’ ‘bay rum,’ ‘eau de Cologne,’ ‘ Florida water,’ essences, ‘Jamaica ginger,’ ‘extract of lemon,’ ‘liniments,’ patent medicine nostrums, and red ink. Poor and decadent people drink these things, and barring individual idiosyncrasies, whether it be a man in Indian Territory who drinks red ink, or a man in North Dakota who drinks ‘ Jamaica ginger,’ there is apparently a fairly uniform result. Out of ten men who drink four ounces each of pure methyl alcohol in any form whatever, four will prob- ably die, two of them becoming blind before death; the remaining six may recover, but of these two will probably be permanently blind. Even the absorp- tion of its vapour through the lungs, or of the liquid through the skin, may produce permanent blindness. The ‘hearings’ before the Committee on Ways and NO. 1986, vou. 77] NATURE [NOVEMBER 21, 1907 Means afford ample confirmation of this in the pro- cession that filed before it of blind wrecks that had once been hat stiffeners, varnishers or shellackers, men who did not drink methyl alcohol, but who merely handled it as a solvent. The harm wrought by the substance has been greatly accentuated in the last few years by its manufacture and sale in a puri- fied form, the so-called ‘ deodorized ’ methyl alcohol, whose smell gives no warning of its deadly nature.” Let the sporadic drinkers of methylated spirit in this country now take warning from this fearful re- cital of the risks they run. Perhaps, too, the users of industrial alcohol among us may congratulate themselves that the revenue authorities now require only half the former quantity of this pernicious sub- stance to be used in ‘‘ methylation.’’ And perhaps, too, they may see some justification, in the interests of the community, for the maintenance of the present high duty on ‘ potable ’’ methyl alcohol. It was, of course, the relatively low price of this alcohol in America—yo cents as against 2 dollars and 8 cents for the taxed ethyl alcohol, that led to such a wide- spread substitution of the wood alcohol for the alcohol of fermentation. What with the ‘whisky trust’? ‘“ nobbling”’ the “wood naphtha trust,’? and the druggists forcing up the retail price of industrial alcohol to ninety cents a gallon—‘‘a disgrace,’’? says the author, ** to commercial decency ’’—America is only at the be- ginning of her troubles in this matter, and there are already signs that the present regulations will have to be considerably modified if her manufacturers are to reap the full benefits of untaxed spirits. The other chapters of the book deal with the indus- trial applications of catalysis; the use of the rare earths in illumination; the electric furnace, the manufacture of synthetic perfumes and of medicines ; opsonins and inoculation, and the applications of cellu- lose. The last chapter gives an account of a scheme of industrial fellowships to be held in connection with a university which, like that of Kansas, enjoys the advantage of a department of applied chemistry, and the author illustrates its working by its application to the discovery of improvements in the chemistry of laundering, with the object of discovering ‘‘ how the swift and progressive disintegration of the shirt ”’ in the laundry may be arrested. Considering that the people of America pay a laundry bill of nearly twenty-five million dollars a week, Mr. Duncan thinks that a yearly subsidy of five hundred dollars, payable monthly to the holder of the fellowship for two years, in return for a comprehensive monograph on the chemistry of laundering, is the merest trifle in view of its bearing on the problem of the welfare of “What more can be desired by a young man that pro- and shirts. at the threshold of his activity, even if it means he must leave the ‘nook merely monastic’ of a fessor in embryo for a life of industrial alarums strenuous war? ”’ But this is only one of the many “ exasperating, vitally important *’ problems which await solution at the hands of him who will combine the practical knowledge of the workshop with the special know- ledge that awaits him in the class-rooms at Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A. NoveMBER 21, 1907 | THE PHILOSOPHY OF A BIOLOGIST. Eléments de Philosophie biologique. By Félix le Dantec. Pp. iii+297. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1907.) ROGRESS in knowledge takes place by the dis- covery of facts, and by drawing inferences from the facts discovered. It is commonly supposed that the facts existed before we discovered them; and this hypothesis stands the test of practical utility. But it is not supposed, except by the most careless thinkers, that the inferences which we draw from the facts— our laws and principles—are anything more than con- ceptual summaries of the facts and sequences of facts within our ken. (We use the word fact, not because in current usage it means that about which there can be no doubt, but because it includes a wider range of phenomena than the word ‘‘ thing.’’ The fact that 25 per cent. of the peas, produced by breed- ing from hybrids resulting from the union of a yellow and a green pea, are green can hardly be described asa‘ thing.”’) Our inferences may be right or they may be wrong, but they did not exist before we made them. Whether we can draw any sharp distinction between fact and inference; or, to put it in terms of space, whether we can draw a line of demarcation and say where fact ends and where inference begins, is a question which concerns the modern biologist perhaps more vitally than any other; yet it is one which very few have definitely formulated, much less . attempted to answer. The cause of the almost uni- versal failure to provide a satisfactory answer is a habit of the mind, encouraged by text-books of logic, which drives it to classify things, often dichotomously, into two mutually exclusive categories. Music affords an example. Some folk hold that the music of certain authors is good, whilst that of others is bad. Others, however, say that taste is a purely relative matter, and that no one has a right to say that the music of a given author is good, or bad, as the case may be. The real truth is that whilst at one pole there are classes of music which are unquestionably good, that at the other there are types which are equally unques- tionably bad; between the two there is a series of intermediate kinds about which it is debatable whether they are good or bad. It is the same with fact and inference. At one pole there are undoubtedly things which can be classed as facts; at the other, things which cannot be claimed fo be more than inference. But between the two there is a whole range of things which some regard as facts, whilst others regard them not only as infer- ences, but as unwarrantable ones. Biologists are far too much occupied with discovering facts and with drawing inferences to stop to consider the relation between these two processes. It is therefore with particular pleasure that we note the appearance of Prof. le Dantec’s book, ‘‘ Elements de Philosophie biologique,’’ at the present moment. The book is divided into two main divisions, of which the first embraces the methods and the second the facts—an arrangement which, at first sight, ap- pears natural, but which, on closer inspection, in our NO. 1986, VOL. 77] NATORE 51 opinion loses this feature. It seems, at first glance, natural that we should first describe the method of quarrying slate, and then dilate on the properties of the material brought to the surface by the machinery we have described. But in our opinion a truer pic- ture of nature is conveyed by displaying the profusion and chaos of her phenomena first, and then tenta- tively enunciating the general conclusions we have ventured to draw from them afterwards. When we look closer at that part of Prof. le Dantec’s book which deals with method, the temporary illusion of natural- ness of arrangement completely vanishes; for an array of possibly true but extremely abstruse general- isations meets our eyes. ‘The first chapter deals with the conceptions of ‘‘ unity ’’ and ‘‘ diversity,’’? which are surely not part of the equipment by means of which facts are brought to light, but some of the fruits which their discovery has borne. But we do not wish to convey the impression that in our opinion the book is not a valuable one. (It contains some much needed caution on the dangers of an unconscious anthropomorphism in the inter- pretation of nature, and on the dangers of, what is merely a result of that fallacy, a too premature at- tempt to analyse phenomena. But perhaps’ what makes the book more valuable than anything else is Prof. le Dantec’s familiarity with the facts with which the science of pathology deals, a range of phenomena which more directly concerns, but is perhaps less heeded by, the student of evolution than any other. THE HAMBURG EXPEDITION TO SOUTH- WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Die Fauna _ Siidwest-Australiens. Ergebnisse der Hamburger stidwest-australischen Forschungsreise, 1905. Edited by Prof. W. Michaelsen and Dr. R. Hartmeyer. Vol. i., part i. Reisebericht by Prof. W. Michaelsen and Dr. R. Hartmeyer. Pp. viii+ 116; illustrated. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907.) Price 4 marks. : HE zoological collections of the German South Polar Expedition to South Georgia in 1882-83 are preserved in the Natural History Museum at Ham- burg, the staff of which therefrom acquired a special interest in the subantarctic fauna. On the renewal of Antarctic research, the Hamburg zoologists decided they could contribute most usefully to that work by con- tinuing the investigation of the adjacent regions. The marine subantarctic fauna is most accessible on the western coasts of the three great southern continents, where its range is extended northward by cold ocean currents. The Hamburg Museum accordingly ar- ranged zoological expeditions to each of these three areas. The first went to South America, and worked in the Straits of Magellan and the western coasts of Chilian Patagonia; its collections have been described in a series of monographs issued from 1896 to 1907. The second expedition was led by Dr. Schultze to the coasts of south-western: Africa, and the series was completed by the visit of Prof. Michael- sen and Dr. Harimeyer to Westralia from June to October, They there made marine collections along 1905. 52 NATURE [NovEMBER 21, 1907 in Shark’s Bay, Champion Bay, Geographe Bay, and King George’s Sound; they collected on land, especi- ally around Perth, Geraldton, and Albany, and travelled inland as far eastward as Kalgoorlie. They describe the south-western part of Australia as zoolo- gically ‘‘a forgotten corner,’’ for as Westralia is younger and larger and has a smaller population than the Eastern States, it has not been able to organise such extensive studies of its fauna and flora. The authors regard their expedition as very suc- cessful, and their scientific results are to be issued in a series of volumes, of which the part now published is only the general introduction. It describes the authors’ journey, and gives a list, with a map of their col- lecting stations. It consists of two reports, one by Prof. Michaelsen, describing his general observations on the geography of Westralia, including its scenery, physiography, flora and fauna, and the aborigines. Dr. Hartmeyer contributes an account of the sheep- farming, the mining industry at Kalgoorlie, and of the dredging expeditions. Both essays give a pleasant account of the country in spite of sufferings from the ubiquitous Worcester sauce. They grate- fully acknowledge the ready help of the officials and people. They remark the ‘‘ extravagant’ width of the Kalgoorlie streets, and the difficulties of railway ad- ministration on lines where, as Prof. Michaelsen expresses it, there is no fear of collisions. Their Shark’s Bay boatman seems to be a typical Austra- lian; ‘‘ he speaks not much, but he understands his business, and what he does he does with hand and foot."” The report contains interesting comparisons with other faunas. Thus Prof. Michaelsen, who had previously studied the zoology of Lake Bailal, con- trasts the fauna of that very ancient, perhaps pre- Devonian, deep lake, with the life of the recent, shallow pools of Western Australia. The most generally interesting zoological result given is probably Prof. Michaelsen’s conclusion as to the relations of eastern and western Australia as indi- cated by the earthworms (pp. 49-50). He holds that sinee the appearance of the ancient genus Plutellus, south-western Australia has been united by land only to the eastern States. There are no affinities to other lands, which are not also common to eastern Aus- tralia. Comparatively few foreign earthworms entered eastern Australia, and they arrived at different dates, and crossed subsequently into south-western Australia. There they developed into distinct though closely allied species, probably at a time when the land extended farther south-westward in separate peninsulas or had been temporarily divided into islands, which gave the worms on them complete though temporary isolation. As the authors’ journey was naturally confined to the best known areas in Westralia, there was not much Opportunity for obtaining new geographical inform- ation, and the value of the work of the expedition will depend on the technical and biological memoirs which are to follow. This preliminary account gives evidence of such thorough and careful work, that important results may be expected from the work of two such skilled zoological experts. iemiVViewn Gre NO. 1986, VoL. 77] OUR BOOK SHELF. Experimental and Theoretical Applications of Thermo- dynamics to Chemistry. By Dr. Walther Nernst. Pp. x+123. (London: A. Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907:) Price 5s. net. Technische Anwendungen der physikalischen Chemie. By Dr. Kurt Arndt. Pp. vii+304. (Berlin: Mayer and Miller, 1907.) Price 7 marks. Tue first of the above volumes contains a series of ten lectures delivered by Prof. Nernst at the Yale University in 1906 under the Silliman Foundation. After two introductory chapters, a résumé is given of the experimental investigations which have been carried out by the author and his students on chemical equilibria at high temperatures. In a theoretical dis- cussion of the results, the author develops the view that relationships exist between chemical energy and heat other than those expressed by the first and second laws of thermodynamics. From a consideration of the conditions under which the principle of Berthelot comes nearest to expressing the true relation between heat and chemical energy, the conclusion is drawn that the total and free energies are not only exactly equal at absolute zero, but that their values coincide completely in the vicinity of this temperature. In the last three chapters the practical application of the integrated equation of the reaction isochore is illus- trated by calculation of the equilibrium in various dis- sociating systems at high temperatures, such as water vapour, nitric oxide, hydrogen chloride, carbon dioxide, and metal ammonia compounds. Whether the reader is interested in the fundamental theoretical speculations or the practical application of the derived formulz, Prof. Nernst’s series of lectures cannot be too warmly recommended. In his ‘‘ Technische Anwendungen ”’ Dr. Arndt pre- sents an account of certain chapters of physical chemistry and of recent investigations which have an important bearing upon technical processes. The volume does not make any pretence to be a complete treatise on the subject, but carefully chosen examples of the application of physico-chemical principles to industrial processes are discussed in considerable detail. In the first three chapters the formation of nitric oxide from air, the equilibrium in the manufac- ture of generator and water gas, the manufacture of sulphuric acid by the contact process, the formation of ammonia and of ozone are dealt with, the remain- ing ten chapters being devoted to a less detailed consideration of catalysts, changes of state, solutions, alloys, dissociation pressures, and the measurement of high temperatures. The book: is distinctly worthy of attention, has many good features, and contains a lot of useful references, although the author—if one may judge from the very small number of references to English chemical liter- ature—does not appear to be very familiar with work carried out in this country. This is an unfortunate circumstance, and detracts not a little from the value of the book. H. M. D. Die Ausgrichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate. By F. R. Helmert. Second edition. Pp. xvili+578. (Leipzig and Berlin: B. G. Teubner, 1907.) Price 16 marks. Tue principal changes in this new edition consist in the more detailed discussion of errors of observation, instrumental corrections, interpolation problems, and the reduction of triangulations. The last chapter deals with the choice of favourable conditions in various sur- veving problems. In its present form the work ap- pears to be admirably suited for those who have to make practical use of the theory of errors, especially NovEMBER 21, 1907 | NATURE BS) surveyors and astronomers. The examples are mostly taken from actual observations, and the necessary cal- culations are given in considerable detail. In the earlier chapters a knowledge of determinants is not assumed, and the explanations given ought to make the method intelligible to readers of quite moderate mathematical ability. For the more difficult and con- troversial points of the theory, reference is made to the treatise of Czuber; at the same time, a very good example of the unavoidably empirical nature’ of the whole subject is given by working out the same elementary problem according to each of three dif- ferent laws of error. Now that the measurements of physics and chemistry are approaching, not to say sur- passing, in exactness those of astronomy and geodesy, a practical work of this kind is likely to assist a larger and larger body of experimenters. — Die Purpurbakterien. Eine mikrobiologische Studie By Prof. Hans Molisch. Pp. 92. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907.) Price 5 marks. Tuts memoir deals with an interesting group of chromogenic microorganisms, viz. those producing brilliant pigments ranging in tint from pink, through rose and deep red to reddish-purple. They are prob- ably more nearly allied to the coloured algze (Phycochromacez) than to the bacteria proper, and one of the earliest descriptions of a member of the group was given by Sir Ray Lankester in 1873 under the title of a ‘‘ peach-coloured bacterium.’’? The author first discusses the occurrence in nature of these organisms. Sometimes they are met with in great abundance on the sea-coast, in river estuaries, and in hot and sulphur springs. Directions are given for obtaining growths in various organic mixtures, for the preparation of suitable culture media, and for ob- taining pure cultures in the latter. The biological and physiological properties are next considered; while light has an inhibitory, or a germicidal, action on most bacteria, the ‘* purple ’’ bacteria develop best in its presence. They are sensitive to all light rays, but in particular to the ultra-violet ones; they do not, however, evolve oxygen in the presence of light, and their need for oxvgen varies much, some species being almost anaérobic. The colouring matter produced by the “ purple ”’ bacteria is a mixture of two pigments—a green, “bacteriochlorin,’? and a red, ‘* bacteriopurpurin.”’ The chemical and other properties of these are de- scribed fully. As regards classification, the organisms are grouped in a special order, the Rhodobacteria. This is divided into two families, distinguished by the presence or absence of sulphur granules, and several new species isolated by the author are described. Altogether the book forms a very useful summary of our knowledge of an interesting and peculiar group of micro- organisms. R. T. Hew ett. The Case of Existence. By Norman Alliston. Pp. xiii+262. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 5s. net. “Or the enigmas of life,’? says Mr. Alliston in his introduction, ‘‘ all speak; but nobody acts as if there were an enigma.’’ It is his object to remove this inconsistency by exposing the confusions of thought of those who ‘‘ want life speculatively to be a mys- tery.’’ The book has three parts. The first con- tains a good account of the nature of Explanation and some not ineffective criticisms of Knowledge, Nature, &c., mingled, it must be admitted, with much rather ill-informed dogmatism. The second, in the course of a review of man’s “‘ obstinate questionings ” about existence, develops the author’s peculiar egoistic optimism. The third, in which he draws his ethical NO, 1986, VOL. 77] corollaries, unfortunately contains some chapters which many readers will find offensive both in matter and in tone. The book contains little to engage the attention of the practised student of philosophy, but, being written with obvious conviction and enthusiasm, may here and there attract a useful recruit to the study of first principles. At a later stage the student may not unprofitably return to these pages to detect and analyse the crudities and ambiguities which abound under a surface of apparent lucidity. Science German Course. By C. W. P. Moffatt. Pp. xii+228. (London: W. B. Clive.) Price 3s. 6d. Tue portion of this book devoted to grammatical construction and word formation occupies about eighty pages, and is followed by extracts for translation from the German. These selections deal with various scientific subjects, and can be commenced after the student has made himself familiar with the first few pages of the grammar that precedes them. Short vocabularies are given of technical terms in mathe- matics, physics, chemistry, geology, botany, and zoology. The book thus provides a convenient means of obtaining sufficient acquaintance with the German language to read simple scientific descriptions in it with intelligence. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum. Tuat a good vacuum can be made into a good con- ductor by the use of an incandescent kathode is known since the discovery of the Edison effect, and has been investigated with great thoroughness by O. W. Richard- son (Trans. Roy. Soc., 1903, 201A, 497). Wehnelt has shown (Ann. d. Physik, 1904, iv., 14, 425) that if the incandescent Kkathode is coated with one of the alkaline earths, surprising results can be obtained. From a platinum foil kathode at 1300 C. to r1q00° C. coated with lime, two to three amperes per sq. cm. of surface can be passed through a good vacuum, the kathode fall being practically negligible, and the total voltage across the vacuum tube being below 30 volts. This result is so very remarkable that I have repeated it in the following way to test whether, as is commonly supposed, the pheno- menon is really independent of the perfection of the vacuum. In a tube provided with a Wehnelt kathode of about a sq. cm. area was mounted an anode of the metal calcium. I have recently shown (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1907, 78A, 429) that calcium at its volatilising temperature (700° C. to 800° C.) absorbs practically instantaneously and very per- fectly all known gases and vapours except the chemically inert gases of the argon family, and have described a form of vacuum furnace suitable for this operation. The tube was prepared in the usual way by preliminary exhaustion and washing out with oxygen to remove argon, and then subjected to the action of calcium heated in a furnace attached to the apparatus. When a good vacuum had been obtained, current from the 250-volt supply was passed through the tube between the heated Wehnelt kathode and the calcium anode in order to heat the latter. The gases evolved from the anode and tube under this treatment were absorbed by the calcium in the furnace. The current was regulated by a resistance to about 1-2 amperes, and was interrupted at intervals to give the evolved gases time to flow out of the apparatus. When the gases had been for the most part removed the current was passed continuously, heating the calcium anode up to its volatilising point. Quite suddenly and completely the current through the tube stopped, and at the same moment a copious mirror of calcium was volatilised from the anode. In a little while a very feeble glow started and passed 54 NATURE intermittently from time to time, but it was not enough to move the ammeter needle, and was most likely due to a further slow evolution of gas from the still heated surfaces. A current could be passed by a coil from the hot kathode to a third electrode as anode without causing any appreciable resumption of the flow in the 250-volt circuit. More gas was then generated within the apparatus by heating the third electrode with the coil discharge, and the current in the main circuit resumed its original in- tensity, again heating up the calcium anode. The original phenomenon was repeated, a sudden cessation of current taking place when the calcium volatilised. Just before stopping, the glow of the tube changed to that character- istic of argon, so probably a trace of air had not been removed. The whole phenomenon could be repeated by admitting oxygen to the apparatus and proceeding as before. This experiment shows that in a sufficiently high vacuum the Wehnelt electrode ceases to be effective. In the ex- periments so far recorded the saturation current has increased with the improvement of the vacuum, and the phenomenon has been supposed to be in the first place independent of the residual trace of gas present. Wehnelt (loc. cit., p. 445) remarks :—‘‘ Fiir Drucke unter o-1 mm. ist die fiir eine bestimmte Temperatur ausgesandte Zahl von negativen Jonen unabhangig vom Druck,’’ and (p. 456) ‘‘ die Grenzstromstaérken um so hoher sein. . . je tiefer die Druck ist.’’ In his description of his modifi- cation of the Braun tube (Phys. Zeit., 1905, vi., 732) he says the vacuum in the tube must be as perfect as possible. Richardson, whose mathematical theory of the general phenomenon has received quantitative experimental con- firmation, and has been accepted by Wehnelt in the case of his electrode, regarded the action as purely electronic. Commenting on the magnitude of the current and the smallness of the residual gas—in one experiment 2 amperes per sq. cm. at a measured pressure of 0-0016 mm. from a carbon lamp-filament—he says (loc. cit., p. 546) :— ““This (the current) is twenty-five times the maximum value obtained by supposing each molecule to produce one ion; so that it is highly improbable that any considerable part of the conductivity investigated is due to ions produced in this way. . . . Both these points of view lead to the con- clusion that the corpuscles are not produced by a dynamical action between the molecules of the surrounding gas and the surface of the metal. In fact, all the experimental results seem to point to the view that the corpuscles are produced from the metal by a process similar to evapor- ation.” These isolated quotations, of course, may not fairly express the opinions of the authors about what is a very complex phenomenon; but the general impression their results has conveyed, I think, has been that the large currents dealt with were wholly conveyed by the expelled electrons, and therefore should pass through any vacuum, however perfect. I do not think the electronic emission ean account for more than a negligible fraction of the total current, which is carried almost wholly by the residual gas. The results here given bear out the general view I have from time to time advocated since my experience with the use of calcium, that degrees of vacuum are in practice apt to be overrated, and really high degrees of vacuum are not so readily obtained as is commonly supposed. FREDERICK Soppy. Physical Chemistry Laboratory, The University, Glasgow. The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena. I am strongly inclined to agree with Dr. Archdall Reid that Mendelian investigations throw no light on many of the most important problems of biology, such as the causes of variation, the evolution of adaptations, and many others. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand what Dr. Archdall Reid means by the statement that Mendelism is the investigation of sex. In one of his letters he describes Mendelian phenomena as “ abnormali- ties of sexual reproduction which occur under conditions of artificial selection.’’ If this means peculiarities of NO. 1986. vor. 77] “ [ NOVEMBER 21, 1907 heredity in sexual reproduction observed in cultivated varieties, it may be allowed to pass; but in an appendix to the second edition of his ** Principles of Heredity,’’ Dr. Reid states that the inheritance of Mendelian characters is probably sexual. He proceeds as follows :—* Nature has evolved alternative inheritance to create and_per- petuate sexual differentiation, but, just as blending of sexual characters sometimes occurs, so on the other hand the inheritance of non-sexual characters is sometimes alternative. As we have seen, whenever the latter happens, the non-sexual differences are, like the sexual differences, usually considerable. Nature makes the mis- take, so to speak, of treating them as sexual. Of course, however, the alternative inheritance of large non-sexual differences is not certain, not so ‘ clean’ as that of sexual differences, the alternative inheritance of which has been established by a long course of selection.”’ According to this, the alternative inheritance of non- sexual characters is of the same nature as _ sexual dimorphism. It seems to me that Dr. Reid has not sufficiently studied the inheritance of secondary sexual characters. It is admitted by almost all evolutionists from Darwin himself downwards that selection cannot have been the cause of the alternative inheritance of sexual! differences. The female in selecting a particular male cannot prevent the transmission of his peculiarities to her daughters. The male characters must be limited to the male sex from their first origin as variations, because otherwise the selection of the individual male would merely ensure their transmission to both sexes. The essential peculiarity of secondary sexual characters is their physiological connection with the primary, i.e. with the male or female gonads. It is not merely a question of alternative inheritance; both male and female characters are inherited by each individual, but normally only one set is developed. When, however, the male gonads are removed, the male characters are usually not normally developed, but suppressed. In Mendelian cases the development of alternative characters is usually entirely independent, both in theory and fact, of the sex or con- dition of the gonads. The contrast of male and female corresponds to alternative dominance in a heterozygote; male characters are dominant in male, female in female, but either can and does transmit both. In Mendelian cases alternative inheritance is segregative; a recessive transmits only recessive characters, a pure dominant only the dominant. In other passages which I could quote Dr. Reid has shown that he has failed to appreciate this fundamental distine- tion between dominance and segregation, between the heterozygote and the homozygote, between the first gener- ation of a Mendelian cross and the second. Excepting parthenogenesis, the heredity of all characters is sexual in that it is connected with fertilisation, but I do not see that Mendelian characters are sexual in any other sense. The theory that the inheritance of sexual characters is Mendelian is one which has a definite mean- ing and can be investigated. Dr. Archdall Reid’s state- ment that Mendelian inheritance is sexual is in one sense a truism, in another seems to me to have no real meaning at all, for to say that nature has evolved alternative inheritance to perpetuate sexual differentiation explains nothing. J. T. CunnincHam. Highgate, November 3. I am very willing, and, like most people with theories, I believe I am able to maintain the correctness of the views to which Mr. Cunningham refers; but to discuss my speculations now would be to confuse the issue. I may say, however, that the appendix to the second edition of my work, from which Mr. Cunningham quotes, is a mere sketch hastily thrown together to meet the objec- tions of critics who had advised the lay and scientific public that a book, which I fondly hoped contained a little that was new, and which certainly contained more than a little of which Mendelians seem profoundly unaware, was antiquated and worthless, not because there were no new facts or inferences in it, nor because its facts and inferences were invalid, but simply and solely because I had not adopted ‘‘the new method’? nor accepted the NOVEMBER 21, 1907] NATURE 55 “e new views,’’ nor limiied myself to matters which came within the range of the ‘‘ new science.’’ The criterion of merit struck me as highly remarkable and certainly very new, and indicative of a degree of toleration which, if not altogether new, is at least unusual amongst men of science. The passage quoted by Mr. Cunningham demon- strates that I expressed myself very badly. Soon, however, I shall have an opportunity of trying to do better, and I suggest that until then Mr. Cunningham shall suspend judgment. In previous communications to Nature I have admitted that Mendelism may conceivably shed a light on the func- tion of sex, but I challenged its exponents to mention a single other problem on which it has the remotest bearing. No one has as yet mentioned another problem, and Mr. Cunningham denies, apparently, that it has a bearing on that of sex. Must we assume, then, that it sheds no light on anything at all? “a Ir, instead of dwelling on the dangers incurred by those who venture to differ from Darwin, Mr. Lock (November 14) demonstrated my errors, he would be more convincing; and, since he is probably the only human being who doubts the blending of the black and white races in Mulattoes and their descendants, it would be well if he, rather than I, undertook the collection of pedigrees. He would feel himself on the track of a great discovery which would enlighten even Mulattoes, whereas I should feel I was wasting time. I do not know what I can gain from the renewed study which he is good enough to suggest. J am well aware of the three principal Mendelian doctrines—segregation of units, independent inheritance of characters, Mendel’s law is the greatest of biological dis- coveries—and the more I see and read the more thoroughly I am convinced that they are all demonstrably erroneous, and that nothing but the restricted area covered by Mendelian studies has prevented a recognition of that fact by Mendelians themselves. According to selectionists blending is the function, or at least the effect of conjugation. According to Mendelians, not blending, but segregation, occurs. Taken by itself, this doctrine assigns no function to conjugation; it merely controverts the theory of blending. Taken in conjunction with the Mendelian hypothesis of the independent inherit- ance of characters, it assigns to conjugation the function of effecting an exchange of units between the paternal and maternal sets of allelomorphs. That much the Mendelian doctrines imply—that much and no more. Clearly, then, Mendelism is concerned solely with the function of sex. At any rate, I can conceive of nothing else, and, judging from their spoken and written communications, Mendelians have been so rapt in contemplation of the grandeur of the discovery that they have given no further thought to the matter. “* But everybody said,’’ quoth he, “That ’twas a famous victory.’ Mr. Lock declares that, since conjugation is nearly universal, all, or nearly all, the questions of heredity are problems of the function of sex. He might as reasonably argue that, since assimilation and death are universal, all problems of heredity are problems of assimilation and death. The looseness of thought which pervades Mendelism is well illustrated by his remarks on partheno- genesis and bud-variation. Mendelian segregation implies the separation of allelomorphs which, through the union of two gametes, have previously met in a zygote. There can be no meeting, and therefore no separation when re- production is parthenogenetic. Mr. Lock, in fact, enunciates the surprising doctrine that all variation is Mendelian segregation. I hope he will forgive the blunt- ness of the expression, but he trifles with established terms. Southsea, November 17. G. ArcHDALL REID. The Winding of Rivers in Plains. Sir OLtver Lopce’s letter in Nature of November 7 is itself an illustration of his comment on the way in which misunderstanding of cause may lead to misrepresentation of fact. The statements quoted by him are, as is often the case in text-books, inaccurate in so far as they, are incomplete, but, nevertheless, in closer accordance with the NO. 1986, VOL. 77] facts of nature, viewed from the geological point of view, than he supposes. We are not dependent on the calculations of mathe- maticians for our knowledge’ of the behaviour of rivers ; at one time I had a goodly collection of notes of observ- ations made and published by others, but having un- fortunately lost this, I shall write only of what I have seen myself, having had many opportunities of observing the behaviour of rivers which are subject to large variations of flow. In the dry season, when the water is low and the stream flows quietly in a channel of more than sufficient size to carry the discharge, I have noticed that the current is often perceptibly more rapid over the shallow water on the inner side of the bend than in the deep channel on the outer. The line of maximum velocity of flow would, consequently, lie nearer the inner than the outer side of the bend, and be less sinuous than the general course of the river, in accord- ance with the investigation quoted by Sir Oliver Lodge; but at these times the geological activity of the stream is so small as to be almost negligible. When, on the other hand, the same stream is in flood, and a day’s work is more than that of a decade or a century of the placid flow, another state of things prevails; then the current sweeps rapidly round the outer side of the curve, and on the inner side is comparatively slack water. The line of maximum velocity must, therefore, become more sinuous than the river itself, and not only is this result to be reached by deduction, but in some cases it has been visibly perceptible. Further, the undertow on the outer edge of the curve has not been visibly distinguishable in any case that I have seen; if existing, its effect must have been insignificant in comparison with that of the horizontal movement of the stream, and often it certainly does not exist. At times, and in certain circumstances, sand and even pebbles may be thrown up to the surface of the water near the outer bank of the stream, and where the waters have overflowed the banks pebbles may be found lying on the dry ground after the flood has passed away; these facts show that there must, in some cases: at least, be an upward, not a downward, current along the bed on the outer side of the bend of a stream. Do not let me be misunderstood. So far as Sir Oliver Lodge is pleading for accuracy in text-books we are all with him, but when he states, as a positive fact, that the line of maximum velocity of current in a river is less sinuous than the river itself, and that the current along the outer bank of a curve is more rapid than along the inner, then I must join issue with him and maintain that these statements are only sometimes true. This is no question. of the accuracy of Prof. James Thomson’s calculations, but they evidently cover only that part of the problem which is least important from a geological point of view. R. D. Otpuam. ““Magic Mirror” Effects. I wap occasion recently to coat with collodion a silver surface mirror on patent plate 2 millimetres thick. During the operation the mirror was held with one of the rubber pneumatic holders frequently used by photographers when coating or varnishing plates. As the film of collodion set, a series of interference colours disposed in concentric circles appeared immediately over the region of the suction disc of the holder. I could scarcely bring myself to encourage the idea which at once occurred to me, viz. that the slight suction of the pneumatic holder. was actually deforming so thick a plate of glass and producing an appreciable concavity in its vicinity. But this seems really to have been the case. For when the beam of light from a lantern (placed with its back to the screen) was reflected back on to the screen by the mirror held with the pneumatic holder, there appeared in the rectangular patch of light determined by the size and shape of the mirror a much brighter internal circular patch which changed its position conformably with any alteration of the position of the pneumatic holder. I have never seen any reference made to deformations produced in this way; yet such deformations might be found to have a practical significance in critical coating operations where absolute uniformity in’ the thickness of the coating is desired. Doucras CaRNEGIE. 56 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 21, 1907 ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS. I. INCE the publication of my book ‘ Stonehenge ”’ some months ago I have received so much valu- NOTES that the sunrise in May or November. could be | watched from the priests’ quarters inside the cromlech | through the narrow opening necessary for their pro- able information, so many suggestions and promises | of work, that I feel it will be convenient if I refer to some of the points which have been thus raised. They refer to many sides of the inquiry, and indicate A 2 ; que) | which had been communicated to me_ by how very many questions susceptible of local study are raised by the idea of the possible astronomical use of the monuments. It is only right, however, that I should state in limine that the reviews of the book have been almost entirely condemnatory. JI am consoled, how- ever, by the fact that there is evidence that the volume had not been read, and that the reviewers have taken so little trouble to inform themselves that they confound the changes brought about in the places of stars by the precession of the equinoxes with those produced in the case of the sun in conse- © Sidbury Clearbury Fic. 1. quence of the gradual lessening of the obliquity of the ecliptic. Ignoring all the new observations the statement of which was the object of the book, they condemn what they are pleased to call my theory, as if a theory were anything but an attempt—even if only a feeble one—to group facts together so that they may be properly understood, and rigid tests applied to it by further work. It is a supreme satisfaction to me to know that further work is going on. Societies for the ‘‘ Astronomical Study of Ancient Monuments ”’ have been started in Cornwall and Wales, and local inquiries of great value are being made. I am glad to say that these efforts are being sympathetically aided by the existing archeological societies, which, I think, have much to gain by the constant companion- ship of the spade and'theodolite. I also have spent some holiday time in Cornwall, Wales, and Aberdeenshire, adding a special study of cromlechs to the inquiry. What I hz ve previously written concerning the May- year is greatly strengthened by the fact that most of the cromlechs I have examined were constructed so NO. 1986, VOL. 77] tection. later. I shall give the details of these observations The Inter-relation of Monuments. In my ‘‘ Notes on Stonehenge”? (Nature, vol. Ixxi., p. 391) I referred to some remarkable relations between Stonehenge and the surrounding localities Colonel Johnston, the late director-general of the Ordnance Survey. These are rendered manifest by the accom- panying diagrams which I reproduce. Fig. 1 shows that Stonehenge is (1) on the same straight line which contains Sidbury, Grovely Castle and Castle Ditches; (2) at the apex of an equilateral triangle of exactly six miles in the side; (3) that Salisbury, i.e. Solisbury Cathedral, from its name an old solar temple, was on the same straight line which contained Stonehenge and Old Sarum. Fig. 2 shows that the oldest cross-roads on Salis- bury Plain exactly occupy the centre of the triangle | referred to. 6 Miles Fic. 2. Such relations as the above, but on a smaller scale, are often to be noticed, in some cases between monu- ments, in others between monuments and decided natural features on the sky line as seen from them. I give some examples from Cornwall. At Trevethy is one of the most famous cromlechs in that county, and it has not been restored, so that we need not hesitate to measure it to try to determine its meaning. Close by, at St. Cleer, is a renowned holy well, and a little further away King Doniert’s stone. The accompanying photographie reduction of the Ordnance map shows the strict relation of these monu- ments. The entrance of the cromlech is directed to- wards the November sunrise, az. S. 63° E.; looking in the opposite direction it commands the May sun- set.. I shall refer to this later. As seen from the holy well the cromlech marks the azimuth of the May sunrise. The monolith, King Doniert’s stone, is true west from the cromlech, and so marks the equinoctial sunsets. In the Bodmin district are two famous circles, the © Stripple stones and Trippet stones, some half-mile apart. NovEMBER 21, 1907 ] NATURE 57 The following table shows the relation of the latter to the former, and also to the surrounding hill-tops, as I believe was first noticed by Mr. A. L. Lewis. are ore Ss et ee item f ax, > paper written by Mr. J. N. ED SS 5 Powell, on ‘ South Wilts in Sek 2 == Romano-British Times,’’ in which the writer approached the subject from the point of view of the folklorist and student of primitive religion. Mr. Powell said :—‘‘ At Wishford an oak bush is cut annually, formerly at Whitsuntide, but since the Restoration on May 29, and hauled down | into the village. It is then decked with ribbons and hung from the church tower, and the day is kept as a revel.”? Canon Wordsworth said that, if he rightly understood his drift, he supposed that that symbol of the villagers’ right to gather wood, and in olden times also to pasture cattle in Grovely Forest, was | associated with, or found its expression in, a cere- mony of prehistoric cult or nature-worship. He then read a number of extracts from documents lent by _ the Rector of Wishford, the Rev. F. W. Macdonald, amongst which were the following :—‘‘ The aforesaid | lords, freeholders and tenants of Barford St. Martin, of the May and November days from the normal. The coincidence of the dates of the possible observa- tions of Arcturus and Capella sug- gests that we have then the true date of the erecting of the circle, Brown Willy being subsequently used with Capella when the old alignment of Arcturus on Rough Tor became useless in consequence of the precessional movement. I shall have more to say on the inter-relation of monuments and double and multiple circles on a future occasion. Ancient Connection beiween Stone- henge and Grovely. Figs. 1 and 2 suffice to show the old association between Stone- henge and Grovely. Canon Words- worth, in a paper on “ Grovely Customs,’’ communicated to the annual meeting of the Wiltshire Archeological Society held in July, 1906, at Wilton, has brought to- gether some additional particulars association. Some of the new information refers to the gather- NO. 1986, VOL. 77] touching this Fic. 4.—The Trevethy Cromlech. have had, or should time out of mind have, yearly brought unto them against every Whit Sunday by the Ranger or his assigns, one fat Buck, the one half to 58 IMAL TACs [ NOVEMBER 21, 1907 Wishford and the other to Barford, to make merry withal amongst the neighbours. And the Ranger is to have from each of the Manors of Wishford and Barford one white loaf-and one gallon of beer and a pair of gloves, or twelve pence in money for the whole, and if the Ranger do not bring nor send the fat Buck then the inhabitants of any of the said Manors or any of them, after that day may go into the said forest and kill and bring away a Buck for each of the said parishes at their pleasure, and then the Ranger is not to have anything.’’ ‘‘ The custom is and ever time out of mind hath been, that the lords and freeholders of Wishford Magna, and Bar- ford St. Martin, and their tenants, by themselves, their servants and assigns, may take and fetch in the woods of Grovely, speeke rods (probably spicks or spars for use in thatching) and breeding rods, for their houses standing in the said manors of Wishford and Barford, and also fould shoars (stakes for sup- porting hurdles) and wreethrs (long rods for turning into hurdles) to be employed within the said manors at all times without controulment, and every one of the said lords and tenants that do use to fetch such ought to give the Ranger one hen yearly if he require and send for the same.’’ ‘‘ The ancient custom is that at all Courts holden for Grovely the Jury and Homage for the said forest.hath ever been made, and in Right ought still to be made, of the freeholders, tenants, or inhabitants of. Wishford Magna, or Bar- ford St. Martin aforesaid and of none other.” Among the entries in the Rector’s bool is the following :—‘‘ Whereas the lord of the manor and parishioners of the parish of Wishford aforesaid did time immemorial use and enjoy laudable custom yearly in the month of May to cut down and carry away boughs of trees growing in» the Chase of Grovely in the said county of Wilts (being part of the estate of the Earls of Pembroke) therewith to adorne the said Church of Wishford, and whereas the right honourable Philip, late Earl of Pembroke (probably seventh Earl, 1647-83), finding that the said usage and entry on the said Chase in the said month of May was a prejudice to his deer in that Chase, it being about fawning time, Did come to an agreement with the said Richard Howe, lord of the said manor of Wishford, and the parishioners of the said parish, and did grant to the said parishioners an annual rent charge in fee simple of six pounds a year issuing out of a meadow called Burdenball Meadow in the parish of Wilton in the said county of Wilts. And whereas the said rent of six pounds has been much in arrear and the right honourable Thomas, now Earl of Pem- broke (Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke 1683-1733, Lord High Admiral 1702-1708, Lieut. of Ireland 1707), hath agreed with the said lord of the said manor and parishioners to give them the sum of 260l. of lawful money of Great Britain, in case they would release their right of the said rent of six pounds of the arrears.” Here we see how dates are changed, and we get a new reason for theabolition of an ancient custom. But this is not all. There is a suggestion of the old stone worship at Salisbury, the spire of which, as we have seen, is exactly in the line Stonehenge-Old Sarum prolonged. ‘“The lords, freeholders, tenants and inhabitants of the Manor of Great Wishford, or so many of them as would, in ancient time have used to go in a dance to the Cathedral Church of our Blessed Lady in the city of New Sarum on Whit-Tuesday in the said County of Wilts and. there made their Claim to their custom in the forest of Grovely in these words, ‘Grovely! Grovely! and All Grovely!!!7” With the last extract, Canon Words- NO 1986, VOL. 77 | % Al 3 reference to worth remarked that the dance to the Mother Church of Salisbury might have been connected with the procession to pay chimney-money, ‘* smoke-farth- ings,’’? or Pentecostal oblations. But after the Restoration of Church and King in 1660 the date was changed to May 29 in connection with the annual thanksgiving then instituted. The custom was kept up until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The last survivor who took part in it died in 1891, in her eighty-eighth year, and she described it to Mr. Hill (the rector in 1855) as a regular revel, with booths and shows erected in the Close. It was therefore suppressed, but still two women, as a deputation from the bough-bearers, went in with oak branches, which they reverently laid on the altar of the Cathedral Church. The last person who per- formed this ceremony died so lately as 1853. The people taking part in the procession used to dress in white, and they assembled first at Townsend’s Tree, at the south end of the village street. They still in 1885 carried oak boughs in procession, but only as far as the Rectory, and performed their dance there. Cheap and Handy Instruments, Undoubtedly for final observations at any monu- ment a theodolite must be employed, using the sun or Polaris in order to avoid all magnetic difficulties, and reversing the telescope to secure the correct alti- tude of the horizon. But for rapid surveys there are many handy forms of instrument by means of which preliminary informa- Fic. 5.—M. Hue’s combined compass and clinometer. tion can be gathered, both with regard to azimuth and, what is equally important, the angular height of the horizon. In a reconnaissance lately among the Aberdeen circles I employed a clino-compass of Barker’s pattern; this weighs only a few ounces and is carried in a sling over the shoulders; even a tripod can be dispensed with, though it is much better to have one; the lightest form is that used by the Kodak Company for their cameras. In the clino- compass, as the name implies, both azimuths and altitudes are measured by the same instrument, the level being replaced by a pendulum; in this form, especially in the case of the altitudes, the mean of several observations should be taken. In my opinion, a desideratum for such work is a simple small instru- ment with level and reversible telescope for small alti- tudes only—a miniature dumpy level, fitting on to the same tripod which carries the azimuth compass. We learn from the ‘‘ Manual of Prehistoric Re- searches’? published by the Société piéhistorique de France that the French archeologists are much more thorough and philosophical in their inquiries than their British brethren. It is not a question of the spade versus the theodolite, but of’ the spade and the ) ee NovEMBER 21, 1907 | NATURE SY) theodolite, and as full instructions are given about one as about the other. It is quite refreshing to read the chapter ‘ Indica- tions pour faire un levé de Terrain a la Boussole,”’ and then the instructions given relating to subsequent work with the large-scale maps published by the French Government. Fic. 6.—Details of the water-level clinometer. For the angular measurement of elevation, includ- ing, therefore, the angular height of the horizon as seen from any monument, the archeologist is recommended to use a very simple and convenient addition to the compass devised by M..Hue. The method employed can be readily gathered from the accompanying woodcuts, obligingly sent to me by the publishers of the ‘f Manual.”’ It would be a good thing if some one of our many archeological societies would prepare an edition of this excellent French manual for the use of British workers. Norman Lockyer. PLAGUE AND FLEAS. lee is a matter of dispute as to where in ancient literature the first definite mention of rats and plague is to be found, and where such mention does occur it is again uncertain what the author intended to conyey. It can hardly be doubted, however, that Avicenna, who flourished about the year 1ooo, clearly refers to this relationship when he says, ‘‘ Et de eis quae significant illud (the approach of plague) est ut videas mures et animalia quae habitant sub terra fugere ad superficiem terrae et ‘pate sedar’’ id est commoveri hine inde sicut ebria.”’ It is noteworthy, however, that Avicenna does not state that the rats died. Passing over many other records of more or less definiteness we come to the important statement of the Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras, who wrote of the plague in Constantinople in 1347, ‘‘ Nec vero homines solos morbus ille usque flagellabat; sed et si quae alia animalia cum hominibus plerumque degerent et habi- tarent; canes inquam et equos et cujusque modi avium genera; ipsos etiam mures, si qui forte in domorum parietibus latitabant.’? Orraeus also, in the plague of Moscow in 1771, mentions rats, but no special stress is laid on the fact, and other animals, as by many other authors, are included. He says, ‘‘ De avibus a plurimis narrabatur quod minores cantatrices caveis detentae in domibus infectis emorerentur, immo quod mures et glires quantumvis antea copiosi disparuerint ; sed de his fides apud relatores esto.”’ In modern times the death of rats during or before evidemies of human plague was first noticed in India, viz. in Kumaon, 1833-35, by Gowan, in the Pali NO. 1986, VOL. 77 plague; 1836-8, by Forbes White; and in Kumaon, 1853, by Francis and Planck. Renny states thar during the epidemic of 1851 in Kumaon, in two huts occupied by sixteen men (twelve of whom died of | plague) a large number of dead rats was found, but that the cattle, thirty in number, escaped. Rocher, in 1878, in Gun-nam, Baker and Lovry in China, state that the rats were first attacked. Yersin, studying the great epidemic of 1894 in China, states that the rats found dead contained the plague bacillus in abundance, and many of them presented true buboes. | Many other observations of a similar kind might be | with impunity. quoted. Not always, however, is the relationship manifest, for Hankin states that despite the most careful inquiries no evidence could be obtained of the existence of an outbreak among rats during or after the outbreak among human beings in Hurdwar. Nor, again, in the epidemic of Glasgow could the relationship be established, though it was proved in the outbreak in 1901-2. Further research will show whether these exceptions are real, or due to insufficient observation. Not only rats, but other animals have in recent years been found to suffer from plague. Thus there exists in Mongolia a peculiar form of plague known as tarbagan plague. The tarbagan is a marmot-like rodent (rtomys bobac). Almost every year an epidemic disease breaks out among these marmots, and a marmot that is affected always dies. The natives of the Bailxal districts avoid handling any animal that has axillary and inguinal buboes, though dogs and wolves are said to eat them In the skinning and handling of these marmots the peasants contract the disease, and epidemics of this origin are reported throughout the whole of the east Asiatic plateau of Siberia and Mon- - golia to Tibet. The disease is almost undoubtedly plague, though bacteriological proof is not yet forth- coming. It has been noted, further, that palm squirrels (Sciurus palmarum) die of plague in great numbers in certain parts of India. Further, among the Car- nivora, dogs and cats may develop plague. In certain parts of India cats have been found in abundance with suppurating buboes in the neck, the position of the bubo, it is interesting to note, suggesting its origin in ingested food (rats). Finally, monkeys have died of plague in several places in India. Rats and Fleas.—Ogata, in 1897, succeeded in giving a mouse plague by means of bacilli got from fleas taken from rats dead of plague. Simond, in 1898, attributed the infection of man to the fleas which had left the bodies of rats dead from plague. ““Tt is usually in the morning that the carcass of a rat which has died in the night is fatal to him who touches it. We were unable to discover a single case of a rat whose death had occurred twenty-four hours previously having communicated the plague. Simond also made the following experiment. He _ placed twenty fleas (obtained from a cat) in a bell jar, with a rat dying of plague. He then placed a healthy rat in a cage into the bell jar, but also allowed the cadaver of the first rat to remain thirty-six hours in the vessel. The second rat died on the fifth day of placue. The experiment was repeated, but not always with success’? (Quoted from Nuttall, ‘‘ Insects, Arachnids, and Myriapods as Carriers of Bacterial and Parasitic Diseases,’’ pp. 9-20). Simond believed that infection from man to man takes places, but in an insignificant number of cases as compared to those where fleas carry the infection from rat to man. He regards rats as the main cause in the spread of plague among human subjects. Loir affirmed that the fleas of rats are the main 60 NATURE [NovEMBER 21, 1907 agents through which the disease is transmitted to man. Kolle*and Nuttall, however, obtained negative results in this direction. The Indian Plague Com- mission (i899) came to the conclusion that Simond’s proposition that suctorial insects play an important part in the transmission of plague from sick to healthy animals is so weak as to be hardly deserving of consideration. In 1902 Gauthier and Raybaud, at Marseilles, car- ried out further experiments, and got positive results. ““ Recueillant en bloc un certain nombre de puces sur des rats capturés sains, nous avons parasité arti- ficiellement & leur asile des animaux de laboratoire préalablement inoculés de cultures pures. Nous avons cherché ensuite & produire infestation parasi- taire et l’infection consécutive d’animaux neufs. Les résultats absolument concordants de cette série d’ex- periences (five experiments) nous permettent de con- clure que les puces des rats sont capables d’une facon constante de transmettre la peste d’animal a animal rat ou souris.’’ Further, they showed that rat fleas could bite man. Ashburton Thompson. studying the plague epi- demics in Sydney from the epidemiological stand- point, came to the conclusion that Simond’s hypo- thesis of the flea best explains the phenomena of the epidemic plague as seen at Sydney. He further states that the laboratory proof has been given by Raybaud and Gauthier, and by Dr. J. S. C. Elkington at Bombay, ‘‘ whose observations are affirmatory of Simond’s original experiments made in India.”’ Elkington ' describes his own results in the follow- ing words :—-* The technical difficulties were con- siderable . . . and a great deal of experiment was required before a satisfactory means was obtained of insuring the captivity of such a small and active insect whilst feeding. This was finally effected by confining them in a test tube of which the mouth was covered with very fine gauze through which the insect could thrust its proboscis when the gauze was applied to the skin of the feeder-animal. Fleas were then fed on experimentally infected rats. . .. The fleas were then kept in a dark drawer still in the feeding tube for varying periods, after which they were again fed on healthy young rats selected for their vigour and health. The re- sults were most successful, and I have _ re- cords of four instances in which I was able to carry out this method of infection. Captain Liston also was successful in several cases. Attempts were then made to convey the disease from human beings to rats. Two instances were successful, the period from the first feeding being eight hours. . . . Both rats died of plague, one on the fourth, the other on the sixth day.”’ Much attention was now given to the question as to what species of fleas those found on rats belong. Tidswell, in 1903, working at Sydney, found that 81 per cent. of the fleas on rats were P. pallidus (i.e. P. cheopis). ‘Tiraboschi found that 40 per cent. of fleas on ship rats belonged to the same _ species. Liston, 1005, found that while other species were found on European rats in India, 99 per cent. of the fleas were P. cheopis. Though unable himself to get positive results in the transmission, yet he says, “To sum up, then, rat fleas (P. cheopis) can always be found in (plague) infected houses; these fleas will take to an animal which is not their normal host.’’ Finally we have the experiments of the Plague Com- mission of 1905 working in Bombay. These elabor- ate and very carefully conducted experiments have Address on Fleas and Plague Convection ngton, delivered before the Victorian Branch of the sociation, July 22, 1903. NO. 1986, VOL. 77] 1 Roard of Public Health. bv Dr. J. S. C. Elki conclusively established the fact of the conveyance of plague from the infected to the healthy rat by means of the plague flea. We still require light on the exact method by which the bacilli are conveyed; why so many other investigators have failed in similar experiments, and whether rats transmit the disease in any other way, and, indeed, whether this is the most important way. In discoveries of this kind we are apt to give the credit at the time to the person who forges the last link of the chain which stretches across the gap of unknown causes. Credit is. however, also due to those who forge the inter- mediate links; indeed, perhaps most of all to him who forged the first link, without which the chain would not have been begun. Ww .. Wess Literature. Consult especially :— Abel: Zeit. f. Hygiene, Heft. xxxvi., 1901. Tiraboschi: Zeit. f. Hygiene, Heft. xlviii., 1904. Journal of Hygiene, vol. vi., No. 4, September, 1906. Loir: ‘* Histoire des Epidemie de Peste 4 Tunis.’ Rev. Scientif., 1900, No. 13,, p.. 395- Allbutt and Rolleston : ‘‘ System of Medicine,’’ vol. ii., part ii., p. 375, Art. “‘Plague.” Gauthier et Raybaud: Revue d’Hygiéne, 1903. Ashburton Thompson: Report on the Outbreak of Plague at Svdney, dated July, 1903. T. S.C. Elkington: Australasian Medical Gazette, Xxii., p. 348. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION SEISMOLOGY. “put first general meeting of the International Association of Seismology was held at The Hague on September 24 and 25, and was preceded on September 21 and 23 by a meeting of the per- manent committee, which is the body charged with carrying out the decisions of the general assembly. The following countries (in alphabetical order according to their French names) now form part of the association :—Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chili, Congo, Spain, United States, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Nor- OF way, the Colonies of the Netherlands, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Servia, and Switzerland. It was understood that the French Government was _ pre- pared to join, but as the necessary money grant had not been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the adhesion has not yet been formally made. Neverthe- less, the French delegates were requested to take part in the proceedings on the same footing as those of the other countries. The budget for the forthcoming year was submitted to the permanent committee, and was carefully dis- cussed. The income of the association is now about tgool. The secretary, Prof. Kévesligethy, of Buda- pest, on whom a great part of the labour of the asso- ciation falls, receives 200l.; 4601. is spent in other salaries, including those of a type-writer, mechanic, and in’ connection with the Central Bureau at Strass- burg; office expenses amount to about r5ol. In addition to the above salaries, two scientific assistants, Mr. Rosenthal, of Pulkowa, and Mr. Oddone, of Rome, were during last year paid out of the funds of the association, and were engaged in preparing separate catalogues of microseismic and macroseismic disturbances. The question how far scientific assistants of this kind should during the next two years be maintained by the association was left to the decision of the executive committee, which NOVEMBER 21, 1907] NATURE 61 consists of the president, vice-president, and secretary. There is no question, however, that the formation of the catalogues will always form one of the great objects of the association, and its publication will absorb a material fraction of its funds. One of the subjects discussed at the meetings was the study and origin of small periodic disturbances, some of which have short periods of 6 to 11 seconds, or the somewhat longer period of 30 seconds. The latter seem to occur when strong winds sweep over a country, but no connection of the former with meteoro- logical occurrences has been proved, and the only suggestion of a rational explanation is that due to Prof. Wiechert, who believes them to be due to the impact of ocean waves on the shores. A small com- mittee was appointed to investigate the question, and a sum of sol. was placed at its disposal. Prof. Omori, who had independently expressed the wish to investigate this matter, was also granted a sum of sol. to carry out his investigations. Another committee was appointed to report on the question of preparing a complete annual index of the literature of the subject. The committee was in- structed to enter into communication with the Inter- national Catalogue and the “‘ Office international de Bibliographie,’’ in order to ascertain whether one of the existing organisations may be utilised for the purpose. According to a resolution arrived at in Rome in October, 1906, the president of the association vacates his office on April 1 following the general meetings, which, as a rule, take place every four years. The permanent committee had therefore to elect a new president; Prof. Palazzo, who has held the office during the last year, not being re-eligible, a ballot was taken, and Prof. Arthur Schuster received the majority of votes. In thanking the meeting for the honour bestowed upon him, and accepting the office, Prof. Schuster said that he was not an expert on seismo- legical questions, but considered it to be his duty to accept the position, as he considered that it was in- tended as a recognition of the services rendered by Great Britain, and notably by Prof. Milne, not only in originating the scientific study of earthquakes, but also in first organising combined observations on an international basis. Prof. Forel, of Lausanne, who is well known through his work on seiches, was elected vice-president. a The general meeting was opened on the morning of September 24 by a speech of the Minister of the Colonies, and the two succeeding days were taken up in great part by addresses on various subjects con- nected with seismology. Of special interest were the account given by Prince Galitzin of his seismometric studies, and a paper by Prof. Wiechert on the utili- sation of seismic records towards the investigation of the physical properties of the earth. It was the duty of the general meeting to fix the locality of the central bureau, and it was resolved to retain Strassburg for the next period of four years. The delegates were most hospitably entertained; an evening entertainment, as well as a dinner, was given by the Minister of the Colonies on behalf of the Government of Her Majesty the Queen, and the meet- ing concluded with an excursion by boat through some of the characteristic canals and inland lakes of the country. Prof. van der Stok, the vice-presi- dent, and his able assistants, Dr. Hartmann, Dr. Romeijn, Mr. Levoir, and Baron van Voorst_ tot Voorst, must be congratulated on the perfection of the organisation, which more than anything else allowed the meeting to do its work smoothly and effectively. The permanent committee will come together in 1909 NO. 1986, vot. 77] at some place in Switzerland not yet determined, and the place for the next general meeting in 1911 will then have to be fixed. It was too soon to come to any definite decision, but an informal expression that the meeting might appropriately take place in England seemed to meet with a very general approval. SIR F. L..McCLINTOCK, K.C.B., F.R.S. DMIRAL SIR FRANCIS LEOPOLD McCLIN- TOCK, whose death on Sunday last, at eighty- eight years of age, we regret to announce, will be remembered so long as the story of polar exploration has any interest for the human race. Fifty years have passed since the Fox, with Sir Leopold (then Captain) McClintock in command, sailed in search of the Franklin expedition, and the fiftieth anniversary of this memorable event was appropriately marked on June 30 last by a letter of congratulation sent to him from the Royal Geographical Society. Sir Leopold McClintock’s Arctic service began in 1848, when he accompanied Sir James Clark Ross as second lieutenant on board H.M.S. Enterprise, in the expedition sent out by the Admiralty. Returning unsuccessful in November, 1849, McClintock joined a second expedition sent out early in 1850 as senior lieutenant of H.M.S. Assistance, with Sir Erasmus Ommanney. It was his fortune in August, 1850, to see, at Cape Riley, the first traces of the missing Franklin expedition. In the following spring, whilst frozen up at Griffith Island, he signalised himself by a remarkable sledge journey of 80 days and 760 geo- graphical miles, reaching the most westerly point which had been attained from the east in the Arctic regions. Upon the return of this expedition to England in October, 1851, he was promoted to the rank of commander; and in the following spring he proceeded to the Arctic regions in command of H.M.S. Intrepid, one of five vessels composing the third searching expedition, under Sir Edward Belcher’s command. In accordance with instructions from the Admiralty, the Intrepid, in company with the Reso- lute, Captain Kellett, wintered at Melville Island, in order to search for Captain McClure and his com- panions; and, fortunately, they were discovered and rescued, after their three years’ imprisonment in the ice. McClintock again distinguished himself by his sledge journey of 1to5 days and 1210 geographical miles into the hitherto unexplored region northward of Melville Island. The advances which Arctic sledge- travelling has made are almost entirely due to the improvements effected by him. Abandoning four out of the five ships imbedded in the ice, and also McClure’s ship, the Investigator, the personnel of this expedition, with McClure and his companions, returned to England in October, 1854, in the depot ship North Star, and two relief ships, freshly arrived out, under Captain Inglefield. In 1857 McClintock accepted the command of the search expedition fitted out mostly at Lady Franklin’s expense. He selected and equipped the steam-yacht Fox, of 177 tons, and with twenty-four companions sailed on July 1, 1857. He returned on September 20, 1859, having discovered, upon the north-west shore of King William’s Island, a record announcing the death of Sir John Franklin and the abandonment of the Erebus and Terror. He brought home intelligence of their discoveries and the fate of their crews, and many relics of the expedition. The story of this voyage was fully related by McClintock himself in “The Voyage of the Fox in the Arctic Seas: a Narra- tive of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions,’ a work which ran through 62 NMATORE, [ NovEMBER 21, 1907 many editions, and is a classic story of geographical achievement. In recognition of his services McClin- tock was knighted, and in 1865 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was appointed a K.C.B. in ISol. . NOTES. IN consequence of numerous reports as to the occurrence of a very serious disease among bees in the Isle of Wight, known locally as ** paralysis,’’ the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries instructed Mr. A. D. Imms to undertake an inquiry into the nature and cause of the disease; his report on the result of his investigations has now been issued by the Board in pamphlet form. Fortunately, the geographical distribution of the disease is confined appar- ently to the Isle of Wight, so that with due precaution there should be little or no fear of its spreading to the mainland apiaries. ‘‘ The disease is eminently one of the digestive system, and might be described as being a con- dition of enlargement of the hind intestine.’’ Smears made from the contents of the colon showed large numbers of bacteria, and it is possible that there may be some connection between this disease and the well-known form of ‘‘ dysentery ’’ in bees. The symptoms are complete loss of flight, crawling aimlessly over the ground or up grass stems and the supports of the hive. Tue cablegrams from America in Monday’s papers announced the tragic death of Prof. L. M. Underwood, of Columbia University, New York. His mind had been unhinged by the recent financial crisis, and he committed suicide after killing his wife and attempting to kill his daughter. He was born in. New York State in 1853, and became professor of botany in Columbia University in 1896. His published works included ‘‘ Descriptive Catalogue of North American Hepaticz,’’ ‘‘ Moulds, Mildews and Mush- rooms,’’ ‘“* Our Native Ferns and their Allies,’’ and ‘‘ Our Native Ferns and How to Study Them.”’ Ar the unanimous invitation of the executive committee of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, Dr. Wheelton Hind has accepted the presidency of the union for the forth- coming. year. Dr. Hind is well known throughout the his successful work amongst Carboniferous rocks, and in Yorkshire he has been unusually successful in identifying and tracing various zones in the Carbon- limestone. His work in Yorkshire makes the selection of him as president of the county society very appropriate, and will doubtless result in increased attention being paid to the geological problems of the Carboniferous period by the members of the union. country for iferous Tue gold medal of the Institution of Mining and Metal- lurgy has been awarded to Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., F.R.S., in recognition of his services to geological science. The Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa gold medal and premium has been awarded to Dr. T. K. Rose for his researches on the metallurgy of gold. THE programme of the arrangements for the new session of the Society of Arts which has just been issued includes a series of six lectures on industrial hygiene by different experts, who will deal with such dust in factories and in mines, lead and mercury poisoning in pottery and match-making, work in compressed air, and child labour. A course of lectures on the ‘‘ Navigation of ithe Air’? is to be given under the Shaw ‘trust by Dr. Hele Shaw, F.R.S. Four courses of Cantor lectures are announced, the first on the microscope, by Mr. Conrad NO. 1986, VOL. 77] subjects as Beck. There is a very full list of papers for the ordinary and sectional meetings,. and at Christmas Mr. Martin Duncan will lecture to a juvenile audience on the kinemato- graph. Dr. Kocu, who returned to Berlin early this month after an absence of eighteen months in German East Africa, has been promoted to the rank of Wirklicher Geheimer Rath, with the title of Excellency, in recognition of his researches into the causes of the sleeping sickness. At the meeting of the London Mathematical Society on November 14, the council and officers for the ensuing session were elected as follows:—President, Prof. W. Burnside ; vice-presidents, Prof. A. R. Forsyth and Prof. H. M. Macdonald; treasurer, Prof. J. Larmor; secretaries, Prof. A. E. H. Love and Mr. J. H. Grace; other members of the council, Dr. H. F. Baker, Mr. A. Berry, Mr. T. J. VA: Bromwich, Mr.: A. i Dixon, Prof. E. iB. Elliott, Mr. G. H. Hardy, Dr. E. W. Hobson, Sir W. D. Niven, Mr. H. W. Richmond, and Mr. A. E. Western. Tue Times correspondent at Paris gives in the issue of November 14 particulars of an improvement of wireless telegraphy apparatus on board French warships which has enabled communication to be made with facility at a distance of 750 kilometres (466 miles), while the previous maximum distance was 300 kilometres (186 miles). According to a telegram from Algiers, the cruiser République, on leaving Toulon, proceeded to Ajaccio, a port chosen in order to increase the difficulties of trans- mission to the Jules Ferry, anchored at Toulon, Ajaccio being situated in a hollow of the mountains. Communi- cation was maintained without interruption between the two ships while the République was en route. It is also stated that the République has been able to communicate with the Eiffel Tower in Paris from the Golfe de Jouan, in the Alpes Maritimes Department, a distance of 800 kilo- metres (500 miles), the ship not merely receiving messages from the tower, but communicating with it in reply. A PROMISING career has been cut short by the death, on November 12, of Dr. A. M. Pirrie, at the early age of twenty-eight. Dr. Pirrie went to the Sudan-in 1906 as anthropologist to the Wellcome Research Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum. Under the direction of Dr. Balfour, the director of the laboratories, he made his first expedition up the Nile to the southern limits of the Sudan, and penetrated to remote parts of the Bahr-el-Ghazal. A second expedition took him to the borders of Abyssinia. On both occasions he was engaged on anthropological and _ physiological researches into tropical diseases; but unfortunately he contracted fever, and was compelled to return to England. Dr. Pirrie brought back a valuable collection of objects of anthropo- logical and other scientific interest, and at intervals during his illness he was engaged on his report to the Carnegie Institution and the Wellcome Research Laboratories. Khartoum, for which institutions he acted jointly in the work he carried out in the Sudan. Tue sixth annual meeting of the South African Assaci- ation for the Advancement of Science will be held at Grahamstown during the week ending July 11, 1908, under the presidency of the Hon. Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson, G.C.M.G. The presidents of the sections are as follows :— Section A, mathematics, physics, astronomy, meteorology, geodesy, and geography, Prof. Alexander Ogg, of Rhodes University College, Grahamstown; Sections B and C chemistry, metallurgy, mineralogy and geology, engince:. NovemMBER 21, 1907 | NATURE 63 ing, mining and architecture, Prof. E. H. L. Schwarz, of Rhodes University College, Grahamstown; Section D, botany, zoology, agriculture and forestry, bacteriology, physiology, hygiene, Dr. S. Schénland; Section E, educa- tion, philology, psychology, history and archeology, Mr. W. G. Bennie; Section F, economics and_ statistics, sociology, anthropology and ethnology, Mr. W. Hammond Tooke. The local honorary secretary at Grahamstown is Prof. J. E. Duerden, of the Rhodes University College. Tue Paris correspondent of the Times states that, according to a telegram from Montpellier, a mass of earth, having a volume of about 400,000 cubic metres, and forming one whole slope, as it were, of Mont Bringuez, near Lodéve, in the Department of the Hérault, has become detached and has moved over a distance of about 1200 feet, carrying with it the tilled soil, fields, woods, and meadows, and obliterating all the ordinary landmarks, bridges, roads, &c., on its passage. A large chestnut grove has thus been moved about 500 feet without, apparently, suffering any damage, but numerous lakes have been formed in the vicinity, and the spectacle is said to resemble that of a region devastated by an earthquake. AN appeal to the charitable public on behalf of the underfed children attending elementary schools has reached us from the London County Council. For many years past various associations have rendered valuable assistance in collecting and distributing funds. With these associ- ations the Council is in close connection, and every effort is being made to bring the Council, the associations, and the schools into such relationship as will result in a highly efficient organisation for relieving distress. In order to meet the needs of the coming winter, the Council is anxious that at least 15,0001. should be raised. If, however, the response is not adequate this winter, there will probably be no alternative in the winter of 1908-9 but to resort to the rates. The Council has voted a sum for equipment and appliances, and will place every convenience at the disposal of the associations. Contributions may be sent to any of the other associations cooperating with the Council, or to Mr. H. Percy Harris, chairman of the London County Council, 98 Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park, W.; Mr. John T. Taylor, chairman of. the Educa- tion Committee, 19 Woodchurch Road, Hampstead, N.W. ; or Mr. E. A. H. Joy, chairman of the Subcommittee on Underfed Children, Tower House, Woolwich. A MEETING of representatives of sanitary committees of county and borough councils and port sanitary authorities of England and Wales was held at Caxton Hall, West- minster, on November 15. The object in view was to consider the establishment of a permanent union of such authorities to secure uniformity of action in the adminis- tration of matters relating to public health. Mr. H. W. Newton, chairman of the sanitary committee of the New- castle Corporation, who presided, moved the following resolution, which, after considerable discussion, was adopted by a large majority. The resolution approved of the establishment of a union of the sanitary authorities of England and Wales for the purpose of promoting the public-health interests of the nation. The union is to have for its immediate objects :—(1) to secure, so far as may be practicable, harmony of interest and uniformity of action among sanitary authorities in general on matters relating to the public health; (2) to stimulate and con- centrate effort for the purpose of effecting necessary sanitary reforms, whether for the public weal or the benefit of individual sanitary districts; (3) to encourage and promote the study of practical hygiene, and to educate NO. 1986, VOL. 77 | opinion with respect to the national as well as the local importance of public-health work in general; (4) to con- sider the different conditions and circumstances, general or local, whereby disease is liable to be caused to man, and, so far as may be, to obtain their removal. Other resolutions were also adopted empowering the chairman and Dr. H. E. Armstrong, of Newcastle, as a provisional committee, to draw up a constitution to be discussed after- wards, and to communicate with sanitary authorities ask- ing their adhesion to the union under the name of “National Union of Public Health Authorities.’’ Tue October issue of the Museums Journal is illustrated with a portrait of the late Mr. John Maclauchlan, president of the Museums Association, 1906-7. Mr. Maclauchlan presided at the July meeting of the association in Dundee, when he appeared to be in excellent health, but in September he was prostrated by the acute development of a mortal disease with which he had been afflicted for some time, and on October 1 the attack had a fatal termination. In the August number of the Philippine Journal of Science (ii., No. 4), Lieut. Clarence Cole records the fre- quent occurrence of the parasitic worm Necator americanus in natives of the Philippine Islands; Mr. Harry Marshall gives a good summary of the trend of recent research in immunity; and Dr. Musgrave and Mr. Richmond discuss the relation of infant feeding and infant mortality in the Philippines. WE have received No. 8 of vol. i. of the Bulletin of the Committee for the Study of Special Diseases, Cam- bridge. It contains an inquiry into the value of the opsonic index by Messrs. FitzGerald, Whiteman, and Strangeways. As the result of an enormous amount of work, the conclusion is arrived at that, unless at least 1000 cells are counted, the percentage error may be so great as to render the method worthless. In view of the concordant experience of a number of different observers on the value of the method, this conclusion cannot be: accepted as final, though it is difficult to detect any fallacy in the experimental details. To the sixth number of British Birds Mr. H. S. Gladstone communicates some interesting particulars with regard to the Irish nesting-colony of red-necked phalaropes, the one place in the United Kingdom where the species is known to breed. Although not reported until 1903, it appears that a few pairs of the birds had established them- selves three years previously. In 1902 seventeen birds, mostly females, were seen; two years later Mr. Gladstone estimated the number at thirty pairs, while in 1905, when the nesting-area had become considerably enlarged, he considered there were nearly fifty couples. Unfortunately, the original tenant, who did all he could to protect the birds, has left the farm, and there are ugly reports of a big egging-raid having taken place during the past season. A REMARKABLE new dipterid larva, Acanthomera tetra~ truncum, from Paraguay, is described by Mr. Karl Fiebrig in the Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Insectenbiologte, ser. 2, vol. ii., pp. 316-323 and 344-347. The larva, it appears, is a wood-borer, and has the mouth-parts modified into a powerful boring organ. The terminal segment of the body forms an extremely hard, chitinous shield, beneath which is a ‘‘ mouth-like ’’ chamber for the reception of the posterior stigmata, these being thereby completely protected from contact with foreign bodies. There is, moreover, a finger-shaped tracheal organ in this region which may act as a kind of “ gill-stigma.’” The adapta- 64 NATORE [NoveMBER 21, 1907 tion of the its peculiar mode of existence is thus very marked. The larval stage seems to be un- usually prolonged, an apparently almost full-grown larva observed at the end of July not having developed into the imago until the following January. As it was observed to be still active a short time before the final transformation the pupa-stage is inferred to be brief. An enlarged figure of the adult fly is given in the second part of the paper. larva to Two papers in the October number of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology relating to Australian natives are of more than ordinary interest. In the first, Dr. W. L. H. Duckworth describes several brains, pointing out that these afford evidence of the low grade of the aborigines. They frequently show, for example, features very rarely met with in the white races, which are, how- ever, normal in apes. Such simian features are, never- theless, by no means restricted to Australians, whose brains are in other respects essentially human. In the second paper Dr. Ramsay Smith, after describing the results of an investigation into the mode of development of the teeth of Australians, discusses the bearing of this on tooth-development generally. He finds that simple cuspidate teeth, like canines and incisors, are developed from a single tube of dentine, tipped or capped with enamel, and also that this development takes place by constriction. This being so, he urges that in the case of complex teeth, such as molars, in place of any fusion or absorption of cusps, development has taken place by plica- tion or constriction of an original primitive, single, simple tube, according to the method revealed by his observations. Hence the theory of the origin of ‘* heterodont ”’ teeth from fused primitive cones, as well as the theory of the aggre- gation of cusps, so far at least as it involves the origin of roots, must be re-considered. On the subject of school gardens, attention is directed in the editorial of Irish Gardening to the absence of these in Ireland, although it is an essentially agricultural country, while in most European countries they have been extensively provided. Mr. W. Johnston contributes a prac- tical article on raspberry cultivation, and Mr. P. Brock writes on the propagation of chrysanthemums; special articles are also concerned with the development and classes of carnations, and the culture of Cape heaths. Miss A. G. Stoxey has contributed to the July number of the Botanical Gazette a description of the roots of Lycopodium pithyoides, a subtropical plant in which every stem is a potential sporophyll. The stem is characterised by the large number of roots that run through the cortex, amounting to more than fifty in one instance. The roots arise within a few millimetres of the apex of apparently mature stems. The vascular strand in the root shows in transverse section a crescent-shaped mass of xylem, with phleem lying between the horns of the crescent. At the apex of the root four distinct initial regions can be dis- tinguished. Witn the object of disseminating the information locally and for others interested, Dr. W. L. Bray has prepared an account, published as Bulletin No. 82 of the University of Texas, of the distribution and adaptation of the vegeta- tion in that State. The factors that control the various plant zones are discussed upon the principles laid down in Schimper’s ‘* Pflanzen-Geographie.’’ In connection with water supply, the author distinguishes primarily a moisture-demanding vegetation in east Texas and a dry- climate vegetation in west Texas. Mesophytic types of woodland, notably long- and short-leaf pine and mixed NO. 1986, VOL. 77] forests, are characteristic of the east, whereas in the west, xerophytic formations abound, such as the ‘ chap- paral’ scrub, grassy plains, and the ‘‘ sotol ’’ country in- habited by succulents and dwarf shrubs. There is also a wide range of temperature, from the semi-tropical region where the culture of tropical plants is only prevented by occasional forests, to a cold zone where the Douglas spruce is dominant. Between these lie the ‘‘ cotton-belt ’’ and the ““ corn-belt.”” In the September number of the Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Journal, Mr. Robertson describes his investi- gations on a local cattle disease he considers to be identical with Nocard and Leclinche’s ‘‘ pasteurellose.’’ He isolated from the affected tissues a bacillus which produces all the symptoms of the disease when inoculated into healthy sheep or cattle. Dr. Nobbs also gives an account of the worl: proposed to be done at the experiment stations at IXnysna, on the wet ‘‘ sour veld,’’ and at Robertson, in the semi-arid ‘‘ Karroo”’ district. These two widely different types of country are fairly common in Cape Colony. “Sour veld ’’ is known by its vegetation; much of it is, or was, forest, but a good deal is covered with scrubby bushes 2 feet to 10 feet high, and reeds, sedges, bracken, and the sugar-bush family (Proteacez) are numerous. There is abundant rainfall. The land is being brought into cultivation, but is found to be very sterile in spite of being virgin soil of excellent mechanical condition. Cropping, manuring, and tillage experiments are in pro- gress. On the fertile ‘‘ Karroo”’ land the conditions are altogether different; the rainfall is only 10 inches or 12 inches, and as this comes chiefly in winter, recourse must be had to irrigation and special cultivation methods during summer. The experiments at Robertson are in these directions. Tue Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Nos. 7, 8, contains a paper by Miss E. C. Semple on geographical boundaries. After dwelling on the indefinite character of most natural boundaries, Miss Semple gives an account of the conditions generally existing in the border zone between two races or states, illustrations being afforded by the early history of the United States and the wide frontier between Russia and the East. The system of maintaining a waste boundary strip for pro- tective purposes has been superseded in modern States by a fixed political boundary, which, however, does not pre- vent the existence of a frontier district, the inhabitants of which are generally a mixed race of the two contiguous elements. By means of a map showing the races of Central Europe, the migrations of Slav and Teuton over the political boundary are strikingly illustrated. Attention is also directed to the tendency of border zones to become inhabited by undesirable refugees from both sides. In compliance with a request made by the Solar Com- mission of the Meteorological Congress at Innsbruck in 1905, the Weather Bureau of the Philippines has pub- lished a useful statement of the rainfall of that archi- pelago, in the preparation of which all the available data the Manila Observatory have been revised by the Rev. M. S. Masé, S.J., under the direction of the Rev. Father Algué. The rainfall differs consider- ably, owing to the extension of the archipelago in the N.-S. direction; the annual average amount is about 87 inches, the extreme values being 35-5 inches and about 157 inches. Three different climates are distinguished ; the first and worst has two well-defined seasons, wet and dry, in which more than 80 per cent. of the annual fall at the disposal of NOVEMBER 21, 1907] occurs during the summer months, The second climate consists of eight or nine rainy months, the percentage being high in both summer and winter. The third and best climate has a fairly even distribution of rainfall over the whole year. Reference should be made to the paper in question for particulars as to the location of these districts ; tables are given showing the monthly and annual rainfall at all stations. Tue Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. clxiv., No. 4) contains an interesting report on the development of the American locomotive as exemplified in the Baldwin Loco- motive Works of Philadelphia. Founded in 1831, the works in 1832 completed one locomotive and employed thirty men. In 1906 they built 2652 locomotives and employed 17,432 men. Illustrations are given of seventeen locomotives of different types made by the company, the most interesting being the famous ‘‘ Old Ironsides,’’? com- pleted and tried on November 23, 1832. In these early days mechanics were few, and suitable tools could hardly be obtained. fastened in a block of wood, whilst blacksmiths who could weld bars of iron exceeding 14-inch square were not to be “Old Ironsides " Locomotive. Cylinders had to be bored with a chisel, NATURE 65 more rapidly than the copper, it may safely be assumed that the mean composition of the alloy was 75 per cent. of copper and 25 per cent. of tin. The strikingly large proportion of tin in the alloy is quite unusual for bronzes of that period, which usually contain 90 per cent. of copper and io per cent. of tin, and the oldest bronzes of all are still poorer in tin. The die affords remarkable evidence of the metallurgical skill of the ancients. The extreme hardness required for a die was secured by in- creasing the proportion of tin, whilst the requisite malleability was secured by carefully using in the pre- paration of the alloy the purest copper and tin, absolutely free from lead or zinc, which would have made it softer, and from antimony and arsenic, which would have made it brittle. MapamMe Curie announces in the October number of Le Radium the result of her re-determination of the atomic weight of radium under conditions much more favourable to accuracy than those which existed in 1902, when she had only 9 centigrams of chloride of radium on which to work. The present determination has been made with 4 decigrams by the method used in the former case, and gives as the result 226-2, if the atomic weight of silver be taken as 107-8. Madame Curie estimates the possible error of the determination as less than half a unit. Tue Munich Medizinische Wochen- schrift for October 15 contains a de- scription of an induction coil for Ro6ntgen-ray work, constructed by Dr. J. Rosenthal, which is capable of producing a photograph of a man's thorax in two seconds with the tube 50 centimetres away. This certainly brings us nearer to the much desired Réntgen-ray kinematograph of the action of important organs like the heart, and it is to be hoped that Dr. Rosenthal will succeed in still further reducing the time of exposure. One feature of his coil is the division of both primary and _ secondary into two or more parts, which can be had. Mathias Baldwin, therefore, had to do most of the | placed in series or in parallel with each other without work himself in order to educate the men who assisted him to fashion the necessary tools for the various processes. In view of the large number of ancient coins and medals that have been preserved, it is surprising that so little is known regarding the dies used. Some important con- tributions to the knowledge of the subject are made by Prof. CC. Zenghelis in the Chemiker Zeitung of November 9. In 1904 a die used for coinage was found by a native at Tel El Athrib, Egypt, and was subsequently presented to the museum at Athens. It dates from 430 B.c. to 322 B.c., and is probably the only genuine antique die preserved. It consists of bronze, and is 6 cm. high and weighs 164-12 grams. On the base is engraved the owl exhibited by the Athenian tetradrachma pieces. surface was covered partly with a patina of copper carbonate and partly with red cuprous oxide. On analysis it was found that the die consisted of a bronze with 22-51 per cent. of tin and 69-85 per cent. of copper. The remaining 7-64 per cent. undoubtedly consisted of oxygen, as careful tests failed to show the presence of other elements. Some cuprous oxide mixed with the material for analysis, and as in such alloys the tin oxidises NO. 1986, VOL. 77] was The | stopping the coil. Tue August Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards of Washington contains an article on the melting points of the elements of the iron group by Mr. G. H. Burgess. The determinations were made by placing minute quanti- ties (o-oo1 milligram) of the elements on a platinum strip heated by the passage of an electric current through it. The temperature of the strip was measured by an optical pyrometer standardised by reference to the melting points of zinc, 419° C.; antimony, 630°-5 C.; copper, 1o84° C.; and platinum, 1753° C. The results are as follows :— iron, 1505° C.; chromium, 1489° C.; cobalt, 1464° C.; nickel, 1435° C.; manganese, 1207° C. Tue report of the director and librarian to the Warring- ton Museum Committee for the year ending June jo provides evidence that good work in the direction of encouraging scientific observation is being done at Warrington with the aid of the museum and its staff. Among other arrangements made at the museum to interest students and young pupils in natural history may be mentioned the wild-flower table, which appears to be | visited regularly by students and by teachers preparing 66 NATURE [ NovEMBER 21, 1907 object-lessons. With the assistance of voluntary helpers, the staff provided for the table during the year more than specimens of freshly gathered wild-flowers, the greatest number on a single day being 168, on July 23. Tue Proceedings of the council of the Institute of Chemistry from July to October of the present year show that the council has directed the attention of the Local ‘Government Board to the desirability of making the con- dition of appointment of public analysts attractive to candi- dates with the highest qualifications, and has also urged that the tenure of offices held by men of such ability and experience should be made more secure. Approval is ex- pressed of the actign of the County Council of East Suffolk, which has lately set an example by empowering the county coroner to order an analysis by a_ properly qualified analyst in any case of suspected poison, not being one of alleged foul play. The council has deemed it desirable to advise fellows or associates of the institute who may be seeking appointments in India to make sure they are gazetted as officers, and recognised as such in the regulations of the department under which they are seelx- ing appointment, so that they may not find themselves in a position inferior to that to which they have a right, both officially and socially. 2500 Tue annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1906, has been received. Of its 546 pages, ninety-one refer to administrative matters, and include the reports of the executive committee of the Board of Regents and the acting secretary, Mr. Richard Rathbun, together with the Acts and Resolutions of Congress relative to the Smithsonian Institution adopted during the year. ‘The appendix is again the most extensive and interesting part of the publication. Among other important contribu- tions to this part of the volume we notice the translations of Madame Curie’s opening lecture at the Sorbonne on November 5, 1906, on modern theories of electricity and matter; Prof. Himstedt’s essay on radio-activity; M. H. Radau’s account of astronomy on Mont Blanc; an abstract of M. A. Lacroix’s description of Vesuvius in eruption in April, 1906; M. E. Bugnion’s contribution to poly- embryony and the determination of sex; Herr E. Pfizen- mayer’s contribution to the morphology of the mammoth ; M. L. Cuénot’s lecture on heredity; M. A. Yermolcff’s description of the bisons of the Caucasus; Dr. Jakob Huber’s account of the founding of colonies by Atta Sexdens; M. Hugues Obermaier’s description of Quater- nary human remains in central Europe; Prof. R. Blanchard’s lecture on zoology and medicine; and M. Eugéne Lemaire’s account of the réle of chemistry in paintings. Among original contributions to the appendix are those of Mr. C. G. Abbot on recent progress in astro- nomical research, and Mr. C. J. Blanchard on the national reclamation of arid lands. Royal Institution discourses re- printed include those of Mr. Marconi on recent advances in wireless telegraphy, and Prof. Schuster on international science. As usual, the appendix contains a profusion of beautiful illustrations. A THIRD impression of Dr. David Nabarro’s ‘* Laws of Health’? has been published by Mr. Edward Arnold. The book provides a simply worded description of the organs of the human body, and much sensible advice as to how fo ensure their health and general well-being. The author has acquainted himself with the needs of schools, and his book should be of service to teachers in the preparation of lessons on elementary hygiene. Material States of the United States ’’ has No. 1986, voL. 77] Tue third volume of the ‘‘ Index of Economic in Documents of the been received. The index is being prepared for the depart- ment of economics and sociology of the Carnegie Institu- tion of Washington, and is being published by the institution. The present instalment is by Adelaide R. Hasse, and is concerned wholly with the documents of Vermont, and deals with the years 1789-1904. The index is confined to printed reports of administrative officers, legislative committees, and special commissions of the States, and to governors’ messages. It does not refer particularly to constitutions, laws and legislative proceedings, or to court decisions. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. A LarGe Sorar Prominence.—Dr. A. A. Rambaut, F.R.S., sends us particulars of a large solar prominence observed by him on Friday last, November 15, at the Rad- cliffe Obsérvatory, Oxford. Using a slit tangential to the sun’s limb, a prominence having the form of two smooth rounded hills was observed at 11h, 45m., and it quickly increased in height until it filled the slit. A few minutes “later the whole aperture in the brass plate to which the jaws of the slit were attached on the collimator was not large enough to contain the whole of the outburst. The prominence was in position-angle 273° on the sun’s disc measured in the usual way from the north point through east. A sun-spot of fair size, surrounded by masses of bright faculaz, was visible in nearly the same position-angle and near the limb. In the interval between 11h. 56m. and 12h. 10m., that is, in fourteen minutes, the height of the prominence increased 140,000 miles, so the rate of increase was 10,000 miles per minute, or 167 miles per second. The height attained was 324,600 miles. Me titsu’s Comet, 1907e.—A new set of elements, calcu- lated from places observed on October 15 and 19 and November 2, and a daily ephemeris for comet 1907e, are published by Herr M. Ebell in No. 4212 (p. 195; November 7) of the Astronomische Nachrichten. The following is an abstract from the ephemeris :— Ephemeris 12h. (M.T. Berlin). 1907 a (app.) 6 (app.) hgr log 4 Bright- h. m. ° 1 ness Nov. 20 ... 2 14°3 ... +28 8:4 ... O°1720 ... 9°7179 ... 1°66 yo) 24nd 32:0... +28 335 T en Os 1555) ... O° 780 hues mane + 20) sce I 19... +28 1959)... 071987 ....9 854i cae ye Dec. 2)... 04075... +27 S5pl pOr2TLO!... O°O172 "arog 33 LCM OUZ5 ES) <... i 27/e2Omy 0'2243 ... 9°9748 ... 0°40 At the time of unit brightness (October magnitude was about 9-5. On November 23 the comet will pass about 4o’ S. of a Trianguli, and on November 28 it will be 63° S. of B Andromedz, crossing the meridian at about 8.30 p.m. Mars aS THE Apope oF Lire.—The Century Magazine for November (No. 1, vol. Ixxv., p. 113) contains the first of a series of articles on the possibility of Mars being inhabitable, in which Prof. Lowell discusses, as an intro- duction, the possible origin and evolution of planets. He commences witha description of meteorites, and traces out the various steps of the meteoritic hypothesis, and then defines six stages through which the cooling celestial mass passes in its progress from a self-luminous sun to a cold dead body. Discussing the present aspects of the planets, he shows that these are in accord with the stages defined, and points out that the crumpling which produces landscape variations is essentially an effect of cooling. The relative roughness of the surfaces of the earth, of Mars, and of the moon is then discussed, and the com- paratively abnormal mountainous character of the last- named explained by its initial temperature being the temperature of the combined earth and moon masses, and therefore sufficient to produce, in the cooling of so small a mass, the huge lunar mountains with which we are familiar; the non-mountainous character of the Martian landscape is also explained. This first paper concludes with a discussion of the formation and distribution of continental and oceanic areas. 15) the comet's _—_-» NOVEMBER 21, 1907] Saturn’s Rincs.—Several recent observations of Saturn’s rings are reported in No. 4213 (p. 210, November 10) of the Astronomische Nachrichten. Dr. Ristenpart reports that on November 5 he was able to see the ring distinctly, as a ghost-like fine line, with the 12-inch equatorial of the Urania Observatory at Berlin. Prof. Hartwig, observing at Bamberg on November 7, was surprised to find that the ring on both sides appeared of a reddish-brown colour. The shadow of the rings on the surface of the planet was very distinct, and broader than it was four weeks previously. A telegram from Cam- bridge (Mass.) reports that Prof. Lowell confirms the observation of the symmetrical knots in Saturn’s rings made by Prof. Campbell. In the same journal Herr Paul Guthnick places on record the results of observations of Saturn’s rings and satellites made at the Royal Observatory, Berlin, during part of the week referred to by Prof. Campbell. ELEMENTS AND EPHEMERIS FOR THE MINOR PLANET . Parrocitus.—A set of elements and an ephemeris, cover- ing the period October 31 to November 16, for Patroclus (1906 VY), one of the three Jovian asteroids, are given in No. 4212 (p. 193, November 7) of the Astronomische Nachrichten by Herr V. Heinrich. The opposition will take place on November 30, the magnitude of the minor planet being 14-5. CoMPARISONS OF THE PLaces OF Mars FOR THE Oppost- TIONS OF 1907 AND 1909.—In a paper communicated to the Royal Astronomical Society (Monthly Notices, vol. Ixvii., No. 9, p- 575) Dr. Downing compares the places of Mars calculated from Newcomb’s tables with the places calcu- lated from Le Verrier’s tables near the times of opposi- tion in 1907 and 1909. The results are tabulated for every eight days from May 26 to August 14, 1907, and from August 14 to November 2, 1909. On September 23, 1909 (near the time of opposition), the correction to Le Verrier’s place is —10-5 seconds of arc in R.A. and —5"-5 in declination, to his heliocentric longitude of Mars —4"-1, and to the longitude of the sun —o!.9; the distance of Mars from the earth will be 0-39. = Se eee SCIENCE AT THE FRANCO-BRITISH EXHIBITION OF 1908. T has been announced in various newspapers that there will be a Franco-British Exhibition next year. Those who have passed near Uxbridge Road will have also noticed that a large area of ground is being covered rapidly with exhibition buildings. According to its prospectus, it is to be an exhibition of science, arts, and industries, and it is a matter of concern to all English men of science to see that in such an exhibition science is given its proper place. Up to the present time no accounts of any attempt to represent science at this exhibition have been made public ; we give, therefore, a short sketch of the efforts which are being made to have a pure science section as a part of the exhibition. Such a section is a novelty in exhibitions, and that there will be a science section is due to the action of the British Science Guild. That body approached the executive committee of the exhibition, suggesting that a section should be set apart for pure science, dealing mainly with original research as carried on both in the laboratory and in factories. The executive committee accepted the suggestion, and a committee was formed which has been at work since June last. It is hoped that the French side of the exhibition will deal with French science in a similar way. The committee is constituted as follows :—Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., chairman; Prof. John Perry, F.R.S., vice-chairman; Sir Alexander Pedler, C.I.E., F.R.S., hon. secretary. Members: Captain Sir Wm. de W. Abney. K.C.B., F.R.S.. Prof. JT. O. Arnold, Major B. F. S. Baden-Powell, Dr. F. A. Bather, Prof. C. V. Boys, F.R.S., Prof. Callendar, F.R.S., Major Close, R.E., Captain Ettrick W. Creak, R.N.,C.B., F.R.S., Mr. Horace Darwin, F.R.S., Prof. J. A. Ewing, F.R.S., Prof. Farmer, F.R.S., Rear-Admiral Field, F.R.S., Mr. L. Fletcher, NO 1986, VOL. 77] NATORE 67 F.R.S., Mr. G. H. Fowler, Sir Archibald Geilie, K.C.B., F.R.S., Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R-S., Dr. R. T. Glaze- brook, F.R.S., Prof. Gotch, F.R.S., Mr. Walter Rosen- hain, Colonel Hellard, R.E.; Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich, K.C.M.G., K.C.I.E., C.B., Sir E. Ray Lankester, F-R-S., Dr. W. J. Lockyer, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., Dr. H. R. Mill, Prof. Milne, F.R.S., Prof. Poulton, F.R.S., Lieut.-Colonel D. Prain, C.I.E., F.R.S., Sir William H. Preece, K.C.B., F.R.S., Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., Dr. Ridewood, Mr. Frederick Rudler, I.S.0., Prof. Rutherford, F.R.S., Dr. W. N. Shaw, F-R.S:, Mr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S., Mr. L. J. Spencer, Dr. J. J. H. Teall, F.R.S., Prof. Silvanus Thompson, F.R.S., Prof. ds B. Dhorpe, C.B:, F.R.S., Prof. Trouton, F.R.S., Colonel Sir Charles M. Watson, R.E., K.C.M.G., C.B., Sir H. Trueman Wood. The exhibits are for convenience subdivided into three sections :— (a) Historical apparatus which has been used by eminent scientific discoverers, or has been the means of elucidating important truths. ! j (b) Instruments and methods used in experiments and observations, including those used in laboratory and works research. : (c) Instruments and methods used in and results obtained from the exploration of (1) the land; (2) the sea; (3) the air ; (4) the heavens. The various subjects are dealt with as follows :— Division 17 arithmetic and mathematical science, metry, measurement, molecular physics, and sound. Sub- committee, Prof. Perry, Prof. C. V. Boys, and Mr. Horace Darwin; convener, Prof. Perry. . Division 2: light and photography. Subcommittee, Captain Sir Wm. de W. Abney and Sins ble. a. Woods convener, Sir H. T. Wood. 4 Division 3: invisible radiations. Subcommittee, Prof. S. P. Thompson, Prof. Rutherford, and Hon. R. Ie Strutt; convener, Prof. Rutherford. Division 4: heat. Subcommittee, Prof. Callendar Mr. Horace Darwin; convener, Prof. Callendar. ; Division 5: magnetism and electricity. Subcommittee, Prof. S. P. Thompson, Prof. Trouton, and Sir Wm. H. Preece; convener, Prof. Trouton. Division 6: chemistry. Subcommittee, Prof. Thorpe, Prof. Meldola, Sir Wm. Ramsay, and Sir Alex. Pedler ; convener, Division 7: mineralogy and erystallography. Subcom- mittee, Prof. Miers, Dr. Fletcher, and Mr. L. J. Spencer; convener, Prof. Miers. ; Division 8: animal biology. Subcommittee, Sir E. Ray Lankester. Prof. Gotch, Mr. A. E. Shipley, Prof. Poulton, and Dr. Ridewood; convener, Prof. Gotch. geo- and Division 9: vegetable biology. Subcommittee, Lieut.- Colonel D. Prain and Prof. Farmer; convener, Prof. Farmer. (1) Exploration of the Land. Division 10: geography. Subcommittee, Sir’ D: Gill, General Sic T. Holdich, Prof. J. Milne, Colonel Sir Charles M. Watson, Colonel Hellard, and Major Close; convener, Colonel Sir C. M. Watson. : ‘ Division 11: geology. Subcommittee, Sir Archibald Geikie, Dr. J. J. H. Teall, Mr. F. Rudler, and Dr. F. A. Bather; convener, Mr. F. Rudler. (2) Exploration of the Sea. Division 12: oceanography and hydrography. Subcom- mittee, Rear-Admiral Field, Captain Creak, Mr. G. H. Fowler, and Mr. D. J. Matthew ; convener, Captain Creak. (3) Exploration of the Air. Division 13: meteorology. Subcommittee, Dr. Shaw, Dr. Mill, and Major Baden-Powell ; convener, Dr. Shaw. (4) Exploration of the Heavens. Division 14: astronomy. Subcommittee, Sir D. Gill, Sir Norman Lockyer, and Dr. Lockyer; convener, Dr. Lockyer. : : 1 Division 15: geodesy. Subcommittee, Committees 10 convener, Maior Close. and 14 sitting together ; ; i eat This additional subsection Division 16: metallography. 68 has only lately been formed, and should have been in- cluded ‘between subsections 6 and 7 (chemistry and mineralogy and crystallography). Subcommittee, Prof. Arnold, Prof. J. A. Ewing, Mr. Walter Rosenhain, and Mr. J. E. Stead; convener, Mr. Walter Rosenhain. It is hoped that everyone interested in the welfare of science will materially assist the committee, the work of which is a labour of love. Such help, in the form of the loan of objects, photographs, &c., of scientific interest which they may possess, will add greatly to the value of the sections. The conveners of each section will gladly com- municate with such intending exhibitors if applications be made to them through the main office (56 Victoria Street, S.W.). THE EXTINCT VERTEBRATE PATAGONIA. IF eccentric originality stand for genius, and refusal to follow the beaten track, even when compass-bearings indicate that it is the right one, be deemed merit, then, unquestionably, the author of the work before us_ is entitled to stand in the first rank of scientific men. If, on the other hand—but perhaps it will be better to leave our readers to complete this sentence as their own judg- ment dictates after the perusal of the following remarks and criticisms. Dr. Ameghino was, it seems, engaged on a monograph on Patagonian fossil fishes, when the appearance of an article by Mr. O. Wilckens on the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of Patagonia led him to direct his attention to the task of confuting the (to him) heterodox views therein expressed. The result is the present bulky volume, which comprises within its purview a survey of the whole of the vertebrate-bearing strata of Patagonia, together with a summary of the author’s views with regard to their geo- logical ages and the relationships and phylogenies of their ~ faunas. So far as vertebrate palaontology is concerned, Dr. Ameghino has long been imbued with the idea that the Argentine Republic (like Boston in another sense) is the “hub of the universe.’”’ In previous works he has demon- strated to his own satisfaction that South America was the birth-place of every mammalian group save that typified by man. He now goes one better, and claims that even Homo sapiens himself traces his ancestry to FAUNA OF the great South American birthplace and nursery of creation, where he was represented by ‘‘ Homo pampeanus’’ in the reputed Lower Pliocene strata of Mar del Plata. There was, however, we are told, a yet earlier fore- runner of the human race in Patagonia, to wit, the still apparently unknown Homosimius of the Lower Miocene or Oligocene, and it was this hypothetical creature which passed from South America by a land-bridge across the Atlantic, in company with Cercopithecidz, to colonise the Old World, where the more bestial man-like apes made their appearance at a later date as a lateral offshoot from the human stock. Finally, to go still further back, the whole order of the Primates (not to mention other mammalian groups) traces its descent to the Argentine Microbictherium, which the prosaic palzontologists of other countries persist in regarding as neither more nor less than an aberrant type of opossum. We have thus the direct descent of man from marsupials, in defiance of the accepted view that marsupials and placentals are not in the same line. The above is merely one example from among many elaborate mammalian phylogenies to be met with in this volume; all, if we may say so, evolved from the author’s fertile imagination rather than based on any tangible foundation of fact—or, at least, upon any that is apparent 1o ourselves. To put the matter briefly, it may be said that whereas most paleontologists of repute who have practical acquaintance with the country or its fossils, or with both together, see in the Patagonian sequence a series of 1 “Les Formations sédimentaires du Crétacé Supérieur et du Tertia‘re ce Patagonie, avec un paralléle entre leurs Faunes mammalogiques et celles de l’Ancien Continent." By Florentino Ameghino. Pp. 568+plates. Buenos Aires An. Museo Nacional, vol. xv. (1906.) NO. 1986, VOL. 77] NATURE [ NOVEMBER 21, 1907 Cretaccous strata with dinosaurian remains followed, after an interval, by others containing one or two mammalian faunas of apparently Miocene age, Dr. Ameghino recognises in the lower beds a mingled mammalian and dinosaurian Cretaceous fauna, succeeded by several distinct mammalian faunas extending from the Eocene upwards. Nor is this all, for while those who do not accept his views consider that the exclusively Patagonian extinct mammalian fauna (and more especially the Ungulate) is sui generis and strictly local, the author is of opinion that the various faunas recognised by himself present numerous ramifying affinities with practically all the other Tertiary faunas of the globe, of which, indeed, he regards the former as the fons et origo. It is, however, only fair to add that at the commence- ment of the volume Dr. Ameghino puts these two irrecon- cilable views candidly before his readers, and if he elects, in opposition to, practically, the united opinion of the rest of the palaontological world, to adhere to the second alternative, he has, of course, a perfect right to do so. To, attempt to refute his views by summarising and criticising the evidence would manifestly be impossible within the limits of a single short article, and it must accordingly suffice to reiterate emphatically that they are not endorsed by even a respectable minority of expert opinion elsewhere. It may, however, be well to refer to a couple of instances (in addition to those already cited) of what we venture to call Dr. Ameghino’s idiosyncrasies in the matter of classification and phylogeny. European palzeontologists, after very careful study, have arrived at the conclusion that the remarkable Eocene Egyptian ungulate Arsin6i- therium either represents a special group of the order by itself or that it is an aberrant hyrax. Our author scouts both these opinions, and without any apparent reason refers the genus to the Ancylopoda, as typified by the European Chalicotherium (Macrotherium). Again, if there is one apparently well-established fact in palaontology it is that the Egyptian Mceritherium is on the direct ancestral line of the modern Proboscidea. In this, according to our author, palzontologists are, however, altogether wrong, and instead of Africa having been the birthplace of the elephants, we are to look for this in South America, whence, by some unexplained magic, various (shall we say imaginary?) genera with almost unpronounceable names blossomed on the one hand into Palazomastodon and the elephants, and on the other into the forlorn and childless Mceritherium. To enter into further details would be mere waste of space, and it must suffice to add, in conclusion, that, while fully appreciating the great industry Dr. Ameghino has displayed in collecting and describing the palzontological marvels of Patagonia, we sincerely regret our inability to accord him that encomium on the results of his labours which it would have been a real pleasure to bestow. R. LE. HYDROLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES. E have been favoured by the Department of the United States Geological Survey with seven* more papers on the geology and water resources of various States. Most of these, although containing valuable in- formation on such subjects as underground water supplies, rainfall and stream flow, pollution and its relation to typhoid fever, weir experiments as to the measurement of running water, are principally of local interest. Paper No. 194, on the pollution of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers by Chicago sewage, by Marshall O. 1 ‘The Geology “nd Water Resources of the Western Portion of the Panhandle of Texas.” By C. Gould. Water Supply and Irrigation Paper, No. ror. : “The Water Supply of Nome Region, Seward Peninsula.” By J. C. By T. U. Taylor. Holt and F. Henshaw. Paper No. 106 “Underground Waters of the Costal Plain of Texas.” Paper No. 190. ** Potomac River Basin.” By Parker, Willis, Bolster and Marsh. Paper No. 192. “The Quality of Surface Waters in Minnesota.” No. 193: “Weir Experiments, Coefficients and Formulas.” Paper No. 200. By Wesbraat. Paper By R. EK. Horton. (Washington : Government Printing Office, 1907-) NovEMBER 21, 1907 | NALOGRE. 69 Leighton, is of much wider interest, containing the par- ticulars of a most searching investigation as to what distance it is possible for the typhoid bacillus to travel in a running stream, and so convey disease from one place to another. It is well known that the city of Chicago, in order to preserve the purity of the water in Lake Michigan, from which it derives its water supply, diverted the sewage from the lake into a canal thirty miles long for convey- ing it into the Desplaines river, which connects with the Illinois River, and so with the Mississippi, on which is situated the town of St. Louis. The law authorising the construction of the canal required that the sewage was to be diluted with 20,000 cubic feet of water from the lake per minute for each 1000 inhabitants of the sanitary district. An epidemic of typhoid fever having broken out in St. Louis, the sanitary authorities were advised that this could be traced to germs transported from Chicago, where a large number of typhoid-fever cases had_ prevailed. The State of Missouri, in which St. Louis is situated, therefore commenced proceedings in the Law Courts against the State of Illinois and the sanitary district of Chicago for an injunction to prevent further pollution of the Mississippi water. The evidence taken ‘‘ comprises the best symposium on river pollution, its biological and chemical aspects, and general and special sanitary signifi- cance that has ever been assembled.’’ The contentions of both parties were supported by all the most qualified chemists, biologists, and sanitary experts in the United States, no less than forty-one expert witnesses having been called. The record of the evidence occupies 8000 printed pages. The paper now under notice contains a digest of this evidence and the finding of the court. The distance between the two cities is 322 miles, and there are on the main stream and its tributaries between these two points a population of 13 million inhabitants. The quantity of sewage discharged from Chicago at the time of the trial was given as 1500 tons daily, and the volume of fresh water sent down with this 300,000 cubic feet a minute. By means of float experiments, most carefully carried out, it was shown that it took nearly eleven days for the water to travel from Chicago to St. Louis. It was also shown that typhoid fever had prevailed more or less every year for the previous ten years in the towns on the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, the number of cases in 1902 amounting to more than 1200, of which 800 occurred in the Chicago district. One of the most interesting of the experiments made to determine how long a typhoid bacillus would live in a running stream was the discharge into the Mississippi River, just below the junction with the Illinois, of several millions of Bacillus prodigiosus, an organism of the same type as the typhoid bacillus, but which had never been found in the Mississippi water. This bacterium was subsequently found in samples collected at different places between the Illinois outfall and the intake of the St. Louis water supply. It was shown that this particular bacillus could live in running water for periods extending from thirty to fifty days, and was still alive when the experiments ceased. Dr. Ravold, who conducted these experiments, testified that it was highly probable that a typhoid bacillus can be carried in a virulent condition a distance equal to that between Chicago and St. Louis. Tt was admitted that sunlight was detrimental to the life of ‘‘ bacteria,’’ but the effect depends on the turbidity of the running water and the depth to which it will admit the sun’s rays. In the Illinois River the effect of the sun was dissipated in a depth of less than a foot. The factors which cause the disappearance of bacteria are aération, dilution, sunlight, sedimentation, and absence of food supply. Cases were brought forward in which it was shown that typhoid fever germs had travelled along a_ river upwards of fifty-seven miles, and caused infection in water supplies; in another outbreak of typhoid which had been investigated, the distance over which the typhoid germ had been traced as having travelled was 175 miles, and in another 113 miles. It was shown that although the dilution of the Chicago sewage by the clean water NO. 1986, VOL. 77] from the lake would render it less injurious, yet this would not destroy the typhoid bacillus or hinder it from travelling down the river. On the other side it was contended that it had never yet been satisfactorily proved how long the typhoid bacillus will live in the sewage-contaminated water of a stream, but, according to laboratory experiments, the time might be stated as varying between weeks and months. It was held by some experts that typhoid bacilli disappeared when water bacteria became active. As an illustration of this was quoted the fact that the water of the river Spree, which passed through Berlin and received the city sewage, after the course of a few miles widens out into a quiescent body of water. The sewage water entering the lake became so purified that when leaving it was practically as pure as it was above Berlin before it became polluted. The same result happened to the river Limmat, which flows into Lake Zurich. It was stated also that the river Seine, after receiving the sewage of Paris, purified itself within a distance of forty-three miles. An elaborate series of experiments was made to deter- mine the longevity of the typhoid bacillus under natural conditions in the water of the drainage canal and other places. The bacilli were placed in parchment sacks suspended in the water by floats, through which sub- stances in solution could pass, but which did not permit the bacilli to pass out. These sacks were suspended in a light cage, and into them was introduced a quantity of sewage, together with a strong culture of typhoid bacilli. The results of these experiments, closely simu- lating those in nature, indicated that the typhoid bacillus does not survive for a period longer than four days in water similar to that discharged from Chicago. Experiments made by the witnesses for Chicago as to the survival of the B. prodigiosus failed to confirm those of the complainants, and their evidence was to the effect that it was improbable that the organisms reported to have been found at the intake of the St. Louis water were the same as those placed in the drainage canal. It was also stated that, although the typhoid bacillus may remain alive in the human body for many months, and in wet soil some weeks and possibly months, yet in water it dies out quickly, the length of time depending on the character of the water, being longer in pure water than in that which is polluted, where it has to fight for its existence with other bacteria. The judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States was given in February, 1906, to the following effect :—that the case as presented to the court fell so far below the allegations that it was not brought within the principles heretofore established, and the Bill was therefore dismissed. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CAMBRIDGE.—The thanks of the University are to be given to the Rev. Dr. Bonney, who has presented to the Sedgwick Museum the whole of his collection of rock slices, consisting of two thousand seven hundred specimens, of which the British examples number about thirteen hundred. The latter represent especially the rocks of Cornwall, Charnwood, the Wrekin, the Bunter pebbles, north Wales, Scotland, and the Channel Islands. . The European collection contains some four hundred and fifty specimens collected from different parts of the Alps, Brittany, and the Ardennes. There is also a large collec- tion of specimens from the Himalayas, Novaia Zemlya, Ararat, Canada (Eozoon, &c.), Rocky Mountains, Andes, Ecuador, Bolivia, Aconcagua district, Socotra, and the diamantiferous district of South Africa. Dr. Myers has been appointed university lecturer in experimental psychology until Michaelmas, 1912, and Dr. W. H. R. Rivers university lecturer in the physiology of the senses until the same date. Mr. A. Hutchinson has been appointed chairman of the examiners for the natural sciences tripos. The Walsingham medal for 1907 has been awarded to E. Mellanby, formerly research student at Emmanuel College, for his essay on the metabolism of creatinin and 79 creatin. The Walsingham medal for 1908 will be awarded for a monograph or essay giving evidence of original re- search on any botanical, geological, or zoological subject, zoology being understood to include animal morphology and physiology. Giascow.—Dr. Charles E. Fawsitt has been appointed to the newly instituted Graham Young lectureship in metallurgical chemistry, and Dr. T. S. Patterson to the Waltonian lectureship in organic chemistry. The endow- ments for the new leciureships have been provided in part by Mr. Graham Young's trustees, in part by the Carnegie trust, and in part by the old Waltonian foundation. Mr. F. H. Downie and Mr. F. R. Stewart have been appointed demonstrators in engineering, and Dr. G. H. Clark Muirhead demonstrator in physiology. The University Court has instituted a new lectureship in psychology, general and experimental. The lecturer will be charged with the equipment and conduct of the laboratory of experimental psychology, for which provision is made in the new buildings of the physiology depart- ment, and will also give instruction in educational psycho- logy to teachers in training. The first appointment will be made on December 12. Applicants are referred to the secretary of the University Court for further information. The following regulations for the final examination for the degree of B.Sc. (pure science), proposed by the faculty of science, were adopted by the Senate on November zi (a) one of the subjects taken by each candidate shall be chosen by him to be the principal subject in his examin- ation, and the remaining two or more shall be considered to be subsidiary subjects; (b) the subsidiary subjects must be, in part at least, cognate to the principal subiect, and the examination in them shall also be upon an honours standard, but shall have special regard to those parts of the subjects which are cognate to the principal subject ; (c) candidates shall be required to state at the time they enter for the final examination in each subject whether they desire it to be regarded as their principal subject or as_a subsidiary subject, and in the event of the latter being the case they shall be required to state which subject they propose to take as their principal subject; (d) in estimating the attainments of the various candidates in any subject, the examiners may take into account the duly attested records of their practical work. i Lonpon.—The question of the establishment at South Kensington of an institute for preliminary and intermediate medical studies is being vigorously discussed. For the vacancy on the Senate caused by the resignation of Dr. Lauriston Shaw, three candidates have been nominated, the constituency being the faculty of medicine, composed of teachers of medical subjects who are recognised by the University, to the number of nearly 400. Those candi- dates are Prof. Starling, of University College; Dr. Norman Moore, of St. Bartholomew's; and Mr. F. C. Wallis, of Charing Cross. The concentration of the teach- ing of preliminary medical subiects is the principal ques- tion now before the electors. It will be remembered that Dr. J. K. Fowler and Prof. Rose Bradford, who formerly represented the faculty of medicine on the Senate, lost their seats on the Senate in a recent election owing to their advocacy of conceniration, their places being taken by Dr. Caley and Mr. Leonard Hill. MANCHESTER.—During the last two years the University has collaborated in the work of the International Com- mittee for the investigation of the meteorological con- ditions of the upper atmosphere. A kite station has been erected on the Derbyshire moors near Glossop, and the results, which have been supplemented by ‘records obtained with free balloons, haye proved most encouraging, Prof. Schuster has now intimated his intention of presenting 50ol. to the University in order to make ik possible to pursue this work aciively. An observer will be per- manently stationed on the moor, and, commencing on January I, 1908, it is intended to send up meteorological instruments daily by means of kites and balloons. The work is to be continued, in the first instance, during one year. Dr. Roel GuazeBrook, F.R.S., will distribute the prizes and certificates and deliver an address at the Sir NO. 1986, VOL. 77] NATURE [ NOVEMBER 21, 1907 John Cass Technical Institute on Tuesday, December BE The chair will be taken by Sir Owen Roberts, chairman of the governing body. There will be an exhibition of students’ work and apparatus in the laboratories, work- shops, and other rooms of the institute. Tue aggregate number of students at German technical colleges amounted last winter term to 12,000, of whom. 2700 were foreigners—that is, about 22 per cent. At the colleges at Dresden, Darmstadt, and Karlsruhe more than one-third of the students were foreigners, and of these 80 per cent. were Russians. We have received from Prof. V. Karapetoff, of Cornell University, a copy of an interesting paper read by him before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers on the concentric method of teaching electrical engineering. The method he advocates is based on the principle of pass~ ing from practice to theory instead of from theory to practice, as is now usual. The study of engineering should, he considers, begin in the freshman year, and be carried throughout four years. Engineering education should be taken up first with a bird’s-eye view of actual practice, and not with theory. Auxiliary sciences (mathe- matics, mechanics, physics, and chemistry) should not be required further than is necessary for the understanding of engineering, and should be given later in the course. Each year of study should be, so far as possible, self- contained, the mental horizon of the student being gradu- ally and concentrically widened. The same author also delivered an address before the New York Electrical Society on the human side of the engineering profession. He argues that the true purpose and value of engineering activity lie in providing better and easier ways for satis- fying ordinary human needs. This provides more leisure and opens new possibilities for a higher intellectual development of humanity. The engineer’s personal satis- faction consists in knowing this high purpose of his vocation, and in giving his service at maximum efficiency. The other compensation is a result, and not the purpose. Tue final report of the National Association for the Promotion of Technical and Secondary Education has now been published. In accordance with a resolution of its executive committee, adopted at a meeting on March 20 last, the association was wound up on June 30 of this year. The final report takes the form of a brief historical review of the work of the association, and incidentally serves to show the substantial progress which has been made in our national education during the last twenty years. The inaugural meeting was held on July 1, 1887, when the president, the Duke of Devonshire, who served in that capacity throughout the society’s existence, took the chatr. The association certainly had an excellent record of service. Largely as the results of its activities were passed the Technical Instruction Act and the Welsh Intermediate Education Act in 1889, the Local Taxation (Custom and Excise) Act in 1890, the Technical Instruction (Amend- ment) Act in 1891, and the Schools for Science and Art Act in 1891, and many administrative improvements were also secured. Several of the association’s publi- cations, too, did much to educate public opinion, and among these may be mentioned ‘‘ Studies in Secondary Education,’’ “A Manual to the Intermediate Education (Wales) Act, 1889, and the Technical Instruction Act, 1889,’’ and the quarterly issues of the Record of Technical and Secondary Education. As was only natural, many prominent men of science were from its inauguration closely identified with the association. It will suffice to refer, among many others, to the late Prof. Huxley, to Lord Avebury, Sir William Abney, Sir William Mather, and Sir Henry Roscoe. It is greatly to be hoped that the work so successfully accomplished by the association will be carried on by existing societies of a kindred nature, for, as the Duke of Devonshire remarked at the last annual meeting, a great deal more still remains to be done. The library of the association has been purchased by Sir William Mather, and presented to the Manchester Free Library, and the balance of its funds, amounting to nearly 250l., has been voted to the late secretary, Mr. Frederick Oldman, as an acknowledgment of his services. NOVEMBER 21, 1907] SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society, February 7.—‘‘ Observations on the Life- history of Leucocytes. Part II. On the Origin of the Granules.’ By C. E. Watker. Communicated by Prof. . S. Sherrington, F.R.S. The granules that are so frequently found in leucocytes generally seem to lie scattered quite irregularly in the cytoplasm of the cells in which they occur. In the bone marrow, however, where the leucocytes containing granules are often extremely numerous, a section of properly pre- served material will show that the granules are arranged in a more or less definite manner. The granules in these are, as a rule, oval in shape, and seem to lie in sequence close to each other, so that a line drawn through their long axes would appear as a thread or wire coiled up irregularly in the cytoplasm of the cell. There are many gradations in the regularity of this arrangement of the granules. It varies from a mere suggestion of some of them having been strung together, to a very definite order, and the joining of several end to end. There are again other cells in which a large number of granules join together, forming in places a thick, deeply staining thread, the axis of which is continuous with the axis of the strings -of separate granules. From these it is possible to pass by almost insensible gradations to cells where there are no granules, but only a thick thread coiled round the nucleus. From this stage it is again. possible to pass to cells where the coiled-up thread occupies a space slightly larger than, or equal to the nucleus, until we arrive at some where it seems to be about the same size in proportion to the nucleus as is the archoplasm in the case of the spermatid. Though it has not been possible as yet to trace the origin of this thread farther, it is strongly suggested that it arises in the archoplasm, which is often seen to be connected with it. During the whole of its existence the thread stains very deeply, and always with the basic in preference to the acid stain. When it has entirely broken up, the granules formed from it still stain in the same manner, but as they begin to lose their regular arrangement so they begin to lose their affinity for the basic stain. These phenomena have only been met with among the cells of the bene marrow. It has been seen that the staining re- action in some at any rate of the granular cells changes from basic to acid; the presence, therefore, of cells contain- ing acidophile and basiphile granules in various proportions is just what one would expect, and is no argument against « common origin of both from the thread here described as occurring in the cel!s of the bone marrow. The opportunity is taken of pointing out the relationship between the struc- ‘tures which arise from the true archoplasm. Among such structures are the archoplasmic vesicles found in the cells of the testis, which develop into the cephalic cap of the spermatozoon, the similar structures (Plimmer’s bodies) which appear in some of the cells in malignant growths, and the granules in leucocytes. June 27.—‘ Observations on the Life-history of Leuco- cytes. Part III.’’ By C. E. Walker. Communicated by Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S. : The author in a previous communication described the occurrence of the meiotic phase and of a number of post- meiotic generations among the leucocytes in vertebrate animals. The number of chromosomes in such cells must, if this occurs, be reduced to one-half of that found in the somatic cells. Such leucocytes will, in fact, have passed through that change which appears to be a necessary prelude to conjugation throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The present paper describes certain phenomena as occurring in leucocytes, and claims that these are most probably to be interpreted as a process of conjugation between individual leucocytes that have passed through the meiotic phase. This conjugation is said to be accomplished in a somewhat complicated manner. The nucleus of one leucocyte. sends out a process which penetrates the cyto- plasm belonging to itself and to that of the partner in conjugation. This process is in the form of a tube, and through it the linin and chromatin of the one nucleus are drawn into that of the other. The absorption of one cell ‘by another is a well-known. rhenomenon, but is a com- NO. 1986, VOL. 77] NATURE ipa paratively simple affair. The absorbed cell is taken into the cytoplasm of the absorbing cell, and is there digested. No nuclear change takes place, and the absorption is apparently carried out in the cytoplasm without the nucleus being directly involved. It is claimed that the appearance of a special and com- plex apparatus with no apparent result but the transference of the contents of one nucleus to the other without ex- posing the contents so transferred to the action of the cytoplasm, shows that some process other than mere absorption of one cell by another is taking place, and that fertilisation is the probable explanation. It is also sug- gested that this may be a form of fertilisation not hitherto observed in unicellular forms, and that its occurrence among leucocytes is a case of phylogenetic reversion. Physical Society, October 25.—Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Magnetic oscillators as radiators in wireless telegraphy: Dr. J. A. Fleming. The paper describes experimenis made with flat square coils of various sizes used as magnetic oscillators in the quadrangle of University College, London. In one circuit undamped oscillations were set up by means of a Poulsen arc, and the induced oscillations created in the other circuit at a distance were detected and measured by means of the author’s oscillation valve or glow-lamp detector. The distance separating the two circuits was varied from about 50 feet to 250 feet. Curves were obtained showing how the secondary current varied with the distance of the circuits apart and with their relative position. It was shown that the inductive effect was greatest when the flat coils were in a horizontal position and at a certain distance above the earth. The law of variation with distance proved to be something between the inverse cube and the inverse square of the distance. It was then shown that increase in size of the coils had a very marked action in increasing the inductive effect, and also that for equal power the use of the spark method, creating intermittent oscillations in the primary, gave better effects than the use of the arc or undamped oscillations. It was also shown that for the coils used the true radiation of energy was very small, and therefore that the distance effects obtained were almost entirely due to magnetic or Faradaic induction. Suggestions were then made for increasing the efficacy of the ordinary inductive type of wireless telegraphy by the use of high-frequency oscillations in the primary circuit, and a suitable detector such as the author’s oscil- lation valve combined with a telephone as a receiver in the secondary circuit. Such a method would have a far greater reach than the ordinary low-frequency alternating current inductive telegraphy, and not be open to the objec- tion of disturbing commercial telephonic circuits.—The use of variable mutual inductances: A. Campbell. In connection with wireless telegraphy, the measurement of small inductances and capacities is of importance; one of the methods described has special reference to small self- inductances. Mutual inductances can be more easily dealt with than self-inductances, for the former can be (1) more accurately calculated from dimensions; (2) are less affected by change of frequency; and (3) when variable can be made to pass through zero value. A convenient form of variable mutual inductance consists of a continuously variable part and a series of steps. The first consists of two equal parallel coils with a third coil moving parallel to their planes round an axis eccentric to the fixed coils. The scale thus obtained is very open near zero (which is an advantage), and the graduation is done by experiment, a theoretical discussion being given in an appendix. The steps are obtained by means of another fixed coil of stranded wire, each strand giving an equal subdivision. The model shown had two ranges, from o-o1 up to 200 and 2000 microhenries. Entomological Society, Novemher 6.—Mr. E. Saunders, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Exhibits—A. H. Jones: A specimen of the longicorn beetle Acanthocinus aedilis, 1.., a Rannoch species, found in Gray’s Inn Road. —Dr. F. A. Dixey: ¢ and Q specimens of a new Pinaco- pteryx, discovered by Mr. S. A. Neave in northern Rhodesia. The © resembled that of P. rubrobasalis, but the ¢ was quite distinct. Both sexes of P. rubrobasalts and-the female sex of Mr. Neave’s species were mimics 724 NATORE [| NovEMBER 21, 1907 of Mylothris agathina—W. G. Sheldon: A series of Limenitis populi and ab. tremulae with intermediate forms taken this year near Laon, and a series of Chrysophanus hippothoé from the same region, the females displaying a wide range of variation for so restricted a locality as that in which they were captured.—G,. C. Champion: A fully developed example of Mesovelia furcata, M. and R., from Slapton, south Devon, and Thamnotrizon cinereus from Lynmouth, north Devon.—A. Harrison and Hugh Main: A case of Aplecta nebulosa, arranged to show the great range of variation of this species in Delamere Forest, with series from Epping Forest, north Cornwali, and the New Forest for comparison.—R. S. Mitford: (1) Two ¢ speci- mens of Cryptocephalus bipunctatus, taken by him at Niton, in the Isle of Wight, in July, these being two forms of varieties well known on the Continent, but hitherto found in Britain; (2) Paracymus aeneus, captured on the north Essex coast in June, 1898, thus establishing the claim of P. aeneus to be regarded as a British beetle; (3) an example of the very rare Lathrobium vufipenne, taken at Niton, Isle of Wight, in July, 1906, a specimen of the rare Ceuthorrhynchus viduatus, taken by him at Brading, Isle of Wight, in July, 1907, and a specimen of Cis dentatus, taken at Sandown, Isle of Wight, in July, 1906; this species, although well known on the Continent, had never before been recorded in Britain.—Papers.—A large series of Nycteribiidz (parasitic Diptera) from Ceylon: J. E. Collin.—(1) Some _butter- flies taken in Jamaica; (2) some butterflies of Tobago: Dr. G. B. Longstaff. GOTTINGEN. Royal Society of Sciences.—The Wachrichten (physico- mathematical section) contains the following memoirs communicated to the society :— March 9.—The uniformisation of real algebraic curves : P. Koebe. May 11.—The uniformisation of given analytic curves : P. Koebe.—The radio-activity of the air over the open sea: C. Runmge.—Researches from the Géttingen Uni- versity chemical laboratory, xvii. :—(1) on oxygenated derivatives of sylvestrene; (2) on nopinone; (3) on the synthesis of higher homologues of terpin and of higher homologous terpenes: O. Waltlach.—Contribution to the theory of undamped electric oscillations in gas discharges : E. Riecke.—Numerical survey of the near and remote carthquakes 1egistered at the Samoa Observatory during 1906: F. Linke. July 6.—The effect of light upon the formation of sulphuric acid: A. Coehn.—The class enumeration of the Kérper of complex multiplication: R. Fueter. July 7.—The boundary values in the case of the differ- ential equation AAU=o: A. Haar. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, NovEMBER 21. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Results of the Interaction of Mercury with Alloys of Other Metals : Dr. J. W. Mallet, F.R.S.—Note onithe Sensibility of the Ear to the Direction of Explosive Sounds: A. Mallock, F.R.S.— On the Silver Voltameter: Part i., A Comparison of Various Forms of Silver Voltameters : F. E. Smith ; and a Determination of the Electro- chemical Equivalent of Silver: F. E. Smith and T. Mather, F.R.S. ; Part ii., The Chemistry of the Silver Voltameter: F. E. Smith and Dr. T. M. Lowry.—On the Normal Weston Cadmium Cell: F. E. Smith. —On a Method of Depositing Copper upon Glass from Aqueous Solu- tions in a Thin Brilliantly Reflecting Film, and thus Producing a Copper Mirror: Dr. F. D. Chattaway, F.R.S.—On Luminous Efficiency and the Mechanical Equivalent of | ight: Dr. C. V. Drysdale.—The Dispersion of Double Refiaction in Relation to Crystal Structure : Dr. T. H. Have- OCK. Cuemicat Society, at 8.30.—The Interaction of Metallic Sulphates and Caustic Alkalies: S. P. U. Pickering.—The Chemistry of Bordeaux Mixture: S. P. U. Pickering.—Aromatic Azoimides, Part iii., The Naphthylazoimides and their Nitro-derivatives : M. O. Forsterand H. E. Fierz—Studies of Dynamic Isomerism. Note on the Action of Carbonyl Chloride as an Agent for Arresting Isomeric Change: T. M. Lowry and E. H. Magson.—Emulsions: S. P. U. Pickering —The Electrometric Measurement of the Hydrolysis of the Salts of Anilinium, Ammonium, Aluminium, Chromium, Thallium, Zinc, Magnesium, Cerium, Thorium, Nickel and Cobalt : H. G. Denham. INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY, at 8. LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Abnormal Structures in Leaves, and their Value for Morphology: W. C Worsdel].—Specimen-preservation in Australian Museums: J.G. Otto Tepper.—Reyision of the Genus Illigera, Blume: 5. T. Dunn.—£ xhibits :—Luminous Larva from British Guiana: C. W. Anderson.—Living Specimens of Peripatus, from South Africa : Prof. A. Derdy.—Linaria arenaria, and other British Plants: G. C. Druce. NO. 1986, VOL. 77 FRIDAY, NovemBeEr 22. PuysicaL Society, at 5.—On Singing Sand from New England: S. Skinner.—Exhibition of a Micromanometer: L, Bairstow.—A Diabolo Experiment ; Vernon Boys.—Exhibition of a Gyroscope illustrating Brennan's Monorailway: Prof. H. A. Wilson, MONDAY, NovEMBER 25. Roya GEOGRAPHICAL SociETy, at 8.30.—The Exploration of the Nun- Kun Mountain Group and its Glaciers: Dr. W. Hunter Workman. Sociotocicat Society, at 8.—The Psychological Origin of Religion: Prof. J. H. Leuba. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Theory of the Microscope: Conrad Beck. INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5.—On the Valuation of Staff Pension Funds, Part ii., Widows’ and Children’s Pensions (continued): H. W. Manly, with Tables by W. A. Workman.—A Pension Fund Problem; with some Remarks on the Deduction of Salary-scales: J. Bacon. TUESDAY, NoveEmMBER 26. ZOOLOGICAL SocIETY, at 8.30.—Onsome New and Little-known Araneidea: Rey. O. Pickard-Cambridge, F R.S.—Descriptions of New Species of South-American Cryptocephalini; M. Jacoby.—A Monograph of the Chiropteran Genera Uroderma, Enchisthenes, and Artibeus: Dr. K. Andersen.—Environmental Studies on the Limpet: E. S. Russell — Contributions to the Knowledge of the Anatomy of the Batrachian Family Pelobatide: F. E. Beddard, F.R.S.—On the Microlepidoptera of Tenerife ; Lord Walsingham, F.R.S.—Dates of Publication of the Separate Parts of Gmelin’s Edition (thirteenth) of the ‘‘Systema Nature” of Linnzus : J. Hopkinson. INsTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Tranmere Bay Develop- ment Works: S. H. Ellis. WEDNESDAY, November 27. British ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION, at 5.—Address by Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R.S. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Franco-British Exhibition, 1908: Sir John A. Cockburn, K.C.M.G. THURSDAY, Novemser 28. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Thbe Development of Turbo-Generators: Dr. Robert Pohl. FRIDAY, NovEMBER 20. 5 Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Hygiene of Work in Compressed Air (Diving, Caisson Work, Sub-aqueous Tunnelling, &c.): Dr.J.S. Haldane, F.R.S. CONTENTS. Modern Science and American Technology .... 49 The Philosophy of a Biologist . . ae The Hamburg Expedition to South-Western Aus- tralia oBya)e WioiG:: cee i). =) ean Our Book Shelf :— Nernst: ‘‘ Experimental and Theoretical Applications of Thermodynamics to Chemistry” ; Arndt: ‘“‘ Tech- nische Anwendungen der physikalischen Chemie.”’— USES eee) co he ete Helmert: ‘‘Die Ausgleichungsrechnung nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate”’ eee 3 2 Molisch: ‘Die Purpurbakterien. Eine mikrobiolo- gische Studie.”—Prof,. R. T. Hewlett. . . . . . 53 Allistons:scovbhe Case of- Existencege sy) -) ‘7. | mess Moffatt: ‘‘ Science German’ Course”. . . ..... 53 Letters to the Editor: — The Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum.—Frederick SOddysewcun «i. Ae 3 Joo Oe Biss) The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena.—J. T. Cunningham; G.Archda'l Reid .. . 54 The Winding of Rivers in Plain —R. D. Oldham . 55 “* Magic Mirror” Effects: Douglas Carnegie . . Notes on Ancient British Monuments. I. (J///us- trated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S.. 56 Plague and Fleas. By J. W. W.S. Ries ©, +” sees) The International Association of Seismology ... 60 Sir F. LE. McClintock, K:C.B.))PyRiSi). .82). 3) 25) OF Notes: ((2/Zestrated.) 2... yee. ss Oe Our Astronomical Column :— AvLarge;SolariProminence! /uemeienen= - - - ol -lemnoo MellishisiGomet, 519072). (:emeienEeMsmes ce). > lane e meee MarsiasithesAbode'of Life’ -yeetuema . - ~ en eD SaturaiswRings#\..:. °.2. 1.) 5 eeeeenet os ~ Lo) Sie Elements and Ephemeris for the Minor Planet Patroclus 67 Comparisons of the Places of Mars for the Oppositions OfM9O7fandstO09)., \.) \.: SpE |. /--) een Science at the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908 . . 67 The Extinct Vertebrate Fauna of Patagonia. By ) 5) Ba bot eee Sd pk MR as Cel) Hydrology in the United States .......... 68 University and Educational Intelligence . . . «san 169 SocietiesjandyAcademies . sqpemeias +. =. ee Diaryiofi Societies) =< \. 2 y-\semeyememnein- ents :-) (enemy NATURE aS NOVEMBER 28, 1907. THURSDAY, THE VERTEBRATE NERVOUS SYSTEM. | The Nervous System of Vertebrates. By Prof. J. B. Johnston. Pp. 370. (London: J. Murray, 1907.) Price 15s. net. HE author’s aim has been ‘‘ to produce a text-book of comparative neurology, giving an account of the nervous system as a whole, to trace its phylo- genetic history, and to show the factors which have determined the course of evolution.’’ He states (in the preface) that the functional point of view is the , chief chariicteristic of the present work, but that (p. 10), as an introduction to the study of the nervous system, it deals chiefly with structure. The work starts with a brief, though clear, sum- mary of the various methods used in the investigation of the nervous system, and then proceeds toa very useful description of the general morphology of the same, more particularly as found in the Cyclostoma, Selachians, and Amphibia. Then follows a_ lucid account of the main features and processes in the de- | velopment of the nervous system, especially as seen in the lower vertebrates, and valuable light is thrown on the evolution of those parts of the nervous system associated more directly with the visceral arches, spiracular and branchial clefts, and of the lateral line structures. We note the author, without hesitation, ascribes taste, or gustatory, functions to structures distributed more or less widely on the outside of the head, and in extreme cases, as in some bony fishes, on the fins and over almost the entire body, yet the true and specific function of these organs remains still to be determined. In a brief description of the nerve elements and their functions the formulation of the neurone theory is ascribed (p. 10) to Waldever, in 1891, whereas this dis- tinguished savant did little more than suggest the term ‘‘ neurone ’’ for structures the conceptions of which in this connection had been gathering strength since the days of Schleiden and Schwann, some fifty years earlier. ; In discussing nerve degeneration and regeneration the author inter alia states (p. 90) that the proximal portion of a divided peripheral nerve remains in a healthy condition. This may be true for some of the lower vertebrates, but is incorrect for many of the higher forms, as y. Gehuchten and others have proved. In chapters v. to xii. the author discusses with much originality and lucidity the four kinds of nervous| activity, viz., the somatic afferent, somatic efferent, visceral afferent, and visceral efferent, and these chap- ters, together with that on the evolution of the cerebral hemispheres, may be accounted some of the most valuable in the book. The description of the neuromasts is especially useful, and though on debate- able and obscure ground the whole matter is sugges- ‘tively and clearly treated. However, the author not infrequently falls into the common error of confusing or using indiscriminately the term ‘afferent ’’ and ““sensory,’’ and throughout the work seems more at NO. 1987, VOL. 77] home with the subject as it concerns the lower than with that of the higher vertebrates, especially in con- nection with recent work. Perhaps, too, reference may be made to the follow- ing assertions :—On p. Ito it is stated that ‘“* sensory cutaneous fibres emit collaterals which cross directly to the opposite side of the spinal cord.’? These cross- ing fibres have never yet been shown degenerated in a mammal, and the statement is incorrect for at least the majority of the higher vertebrates. Again, on p. 115 it is stated that “‘a part of the secondary neurones of the V. nerve ascend on the same side of the body,’’ whereas recent work tends to show the contrary, at least in mammals. In the description of the cerebellum several state- ments call for modification. Thus it is stated, p. 240, that ‘‘ all three peduncles of the cerebellum carry both incoming and outgoing fibres,” whereas many recent workers on higher vertebrates have shown the inferior cerebellar peduncle to contain only afferent fibres. Again, on p. 243, it is stated that ‘* primary somatic sensory fibres from spinal roots enter the cerebellum directly."’ On p. 245 that “the direct cerebellar tract from Clarke’s column ends, according to most ob- servers, in the deep grey nuclei of the cerebellum” (instead of in the cortex of the vermis); and on the same page that ‘* the axones of the Purkinje cells pass to the spinal cord and inferior olive,’? and that “* the fibres passing to the Nucleus Dentatus seem to include fibres from the posterior column nuclei.”’ With all of these statements we are in disagreement, and natur- ally, therefore, with deductions drawn therefrom. Moreover, we regret in the account of the cerebellum the absence of reference to the views of Hughlings Jackson, or to the recent work by Sherrington, whilst the general conception that the cerebellar cortex is a large recipient surface for afferent impulses from all parts of the body; that this gives off its efferent impulses along the fibres to the cerebellar nuclei, and these gain efferent impulses to the bodily structures as advocated more particularly by Clarke and Horsley, Déjerine, Thomas, Klimoff, &c., seems insufticiently emphasised. The last chapter offers briefly a review of the more important facts concerning the neopallium, and would have been more useful had it in the discussion of the sensori-motor areas treated of such sub-divisions as the audito-sensory, audito-psychic, visuo-sensory, and visuo-pyschic, which are not mentioned; and haa the motor area not been depicted as involving the post-central gyrus which Griinbaum and Sherrington disproved for Anthropoids, and many surgeons have disproved in man. On the whole, the book gives the impression of having been written by an able zoologist interested in neurology, rather than by a pure neurologist, and therein lies a good deal of its value. No more abstruse problem has ever been presented to man than that of the vertebrate nervous system, and in the present work the author presents a very readable and succ?nct account of his subject, which forms a valuable and welcome addition to the literature relating to it. W. Pace May. E NATURE 74 ELECTRIC POWER AND TRACTION. Electric Power and Traction. By F. H. Davies. Pp. vi+293. (London: A. Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. net. LECTRIC power and traction is such an immense subject that it is rather a bold undertaking to deal with it in a small volume of 293 pages, even if the reader is supposed to know the elementary laws of electrical engineering. The book, however, does not pretend to be a regular text-book, but it is evi- dently intended for those whose knowledge of elec- trical engineering is limited, and to these as well as students it can be recommended. Four chapters deal with the generation and distri- bution of power. The various systems of direct and alternating current are briefly discussed, and descrip- tions of typical installations are given. As the author briefly touches upon the subject of direct-current high-tension transmission, it is rather surprising that no mention is made of the Thury system, which has come into prominence during the last few years. Two chapters are devoted to D.C. and A.C. motors, and their principles are expounded. In directing attention to the starting-up of induction motors, the author omits to mention the important method of changing from ‘‘star’’ to ‘‘delta’’ on the stator, which is used for most squirrel-cage motors up to 20 horse-power. The chapters on the application of electric power are the best in the book, and the advantages of electric driving are clearly brought out. On p. 124 there appears a statement which shows that, in the author’s opinion, the time is not far distant when the voltage for lighting ships will be raised to 200 or 240, but this prediction will not command universal assent. The modern tendency even on shore is to return to Ito volts, especially since the introduction of metallic filament lamps, and it seems more probable that 100 or 110 volts will remain the standard. voltage for marine work. The last ten chapters of the book are devoted to electric traction, and although one may find in them a few statements which are open to criticism, they contain a good deal of practical information. The conduit and surface-contact systems are dealt with, and the advantages of electric traction are briefly set out. Full details are given of the direct-current system in use on the Metropolitan,’ District and London tube railways. The benefits of ‘ multiple-unit control systems’ are briefly touched upon. In view of the prominence given to the Westinghouse con- trol system, it is surprising that no mention is made of the British Thomson-Houston system, the more so as the latter is in use on nearly all the London tubes and underground railways. In his remarks on substations the author, in deal- ing with motor-generators, has omitted to mention Bruce Peebles’ motor-converters, which in recent years have come largely into use, notably on the Great Western Railway, where it is the standard equipment for all substations. On p. 240 the novel statement appears that the middle rail on the Metropolitan and District railways NO. 1987, VOL. 77] [ NovEMBER 28, 1907 is not protected, ‘‘ because it is practically at earth potential.’”’? Perhaps if the author would try it, by touching it, he might change his opinion. The exposition of the pros and cons. of three-phase, single-phase, and D.C. systems is not absolutely con- vincing, because, to judge from the disproportionately numerous descriptions of single-phase locomotives, it would almost seem that the author has an unduly high opinion of this system. It might have been of interest if particulars had been given of the New York Central locomotives, as they represent the most recent practice in D.C. traction, and surpass anything that has been done, so far, with the single-phase system. The book is well printed, and illustrated by excellent photographs. It contains a good deal of sound prac- tical information, and can be recommended to the class of readers for whom it is intended. Lc. SCHOOL CHEMISTRY AND PRACTICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. The Complete School Chemistry. By F. M. Oldham. Pp. viii+416. (London: Methuen and Co., 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. Practical Chemistry for Army and Matriculation Can- didates. By Geoffrey Martin. Pp. viii+144. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1907.) Price 2s. net. Systematic Practical Organic Chemistry. By G. M.- Norman. Pp. viiit+to8. (London: W. B. Clive, University Tutorial Press, Ltd., 1907.) Price 1s. 6d. A Course of Practical Organic Chemistry. By T. Slater Price and D. F. Twiss. Pp. xiii+239- (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907.) Price 3s. 6d. A Scheme for the Detection of the More Common Classes of Carbon Compounds. By F. E. Weston. New edition. Pp. viii+95. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. R. OLDHAM’S book provides a complete course of instruction for schools. He has had in view the London matriculation .and the Army entrance examination, but has added important sections not included in either syllabus, which he says with a touch of irony ‘‘ should be taught wherever a teacher is free from the trammels of an examination syllabus and need think only of giving sound instruction.”’ Judging from a general survey of the book, we are inclined to think that the syllabuses above mentioned were not altogether present in the author’s mind when he wrote it, for sound instruction is certainly the keynote of his method. Part i. especially is excellently arranged, clearly written, and admirably illustrated. If the school time admitted of it one could not devise a better course for the beginner in chemistry ; but the standard eventually reached is far beyond that of any matriculation can- didate, and one is doubtful if even three school years would suffice to cover the ground mapped out, unless, indeed, the experimental part were performed for, instead of by, the student, which would be a mis- fortune. The programme is an ambitious one; but we believe it is thoroughly sound, and if it could be Novemser 28, 1907 | NATURE 75 begun at school and carried to the end of part i. slowly and methodically, it would form an excellent groundwork for a subsequent college course. There is little to criticise. Attention should be directed to one omission which is not uncommon in elementary text-books. It states on p. 4o that ‘‘ you have found out that hydrogen is contained in acids.”’ It is quite true that hydrogen is described as being obtained by the action of acids on metals, but there is no suggestion as to where the gas comes from, and, so far as any information to the contrary goes, it might just as well come from the metal. Some explanation or comment is called for, because a few pages further on the action of acids on carbonates is described, and in this case the process appears to be reversed, the gas coming from the solid and not from ‘the acid. -We should like to see electrolysis entirely banished from elementary books. The decomposition of water by the current is a mysterious and unconvincing ex- periment. It is difficult to understand why the gases appear at the ends of two different platinum wires, and why the volumes which collect should represent the true composition of the liquid. The union of the two gases to form water by means of the electric spark only serves to heighten the mystery. A careful drilling in these two operations gives the schoolboy an agent which in his imagination will produce or decompose every compound gas that ever existed, and he uses this knowledge, as we all know, with a reclx- less facility. It is a satisfaction to find that Lavoisier did not, as we are generally told, institute experiments to prove the conservation of matter, but, as the author states, did several experiments which showed it. Lavoisier simply took the principle for granted, as most chemists had done before him, from Boyle onward. Dalton, by the way, was not exactly a schoolmaster in Manchester, though he served in that capacity at Kendal. The attractive appearance, substantial get-up, and exquisitely drawn diagrams of Dr. Martin’s bools command at once a careful perusal. It differs essen- tially from the foregoing in confining itself to the practical, or, perhaps more strictly, to the manipula- tive side of chemistry. Each experiment stands alone, and has no necessary connection with the one that pre- cedes or follows it, minute directions being given for its performance. It is also for Army and matricula- tion candidates, and will no doubt prove very useful to both candidate and teacher as a laboratory vade mecum. : Mr. G. M. Norman’s “‘ Systematic Practical Organic Chemistry ”’ is one of the organised science series, and is intended to meet the requirements of stages i. and ii. of the Board of Education examination. It contains a description of a series of simple preparations and a variety of useful tests. It is satisfactory to find that the Board of Education now requires evidence that the candidate has carried out a number of preparations before presenting himself. It is to be hoped that before long the Board of Education will take the further step of requiring the evidence without the candidate. No kind of chemistry lends itself to a two or three hours’ practical examination, orgamic NO. 1987, VOL. 77] | chemistry perhaps least of all, and the evidence of knowledge elicited by the sort of experiment set at these examinations has very little value. That, how- ever, does not impair the usefulness of the book under review, which may be safely commended both for the purpose it is intended to fulfil and also as an intro- duction to practical organic chemistry. Messrs. Price and Twiss’s ‘‘ Practical Organic Chemistry,” like the preceding volume, owes its origin to the new syllabus of the Board of Education, and is intended to meet to some extent the require- ments of stage iii. (theoretical organic), as well as to prepare for stages i. and ii. (practical organic) of the Board’s examination. The treatment of the subject is full and comprehensive. It contains the usual series of simple preparations, an account of the qualitative and. quantitative examination of organic compounds, molecular-weight estimations, and useful schemes of analysis. Without introducing any specially novel features, it presents a fairly complete programme of practical study which if carefully carried out should form a sound basis for subsequent research in organic chemistry. The descriptions are clear and concise, and the illustrations, though not numerous, are probably sufficient for the purpose. It may be recommended as a thoroughly safe book for the laboratory. Mr. Weston’s book on the detection of organic compounds deals, as it states, with qualitative methods only. That such a book should have reached a second edition and should serve the needs of the final B.Sc. of the London University and of the honours stage of the Board of Education is a hopeful sign of the times, if we must have this kind of test. Such defects as the book possesses, and they are not numerous, are to be attributed to the fact that it is written to meet the requirements of a practical examination where time is an important factor. The author confines his attention to the study of pure organic substances only, giving directions which, if carefully followed, should lead to their detection, and at the same time to the acquisition of much useful information and manipulative skill on the part of the student. This is all thoroughly sound and satisfactory so long as it is recognised that it is an introduction to analysis, and that the real laboratory problems involve such things as the separation of mixtures and the purification of impure products. It appears from a general perusal of the book that some of the direc- tions need amplifying. This refers more particularly to the means of ascertaining the presence of oxygen, upon which the grouping of the compounds is based, to the identification of aromatic hydrocarbons (p. 12), to Fenton’s oxidation method for detecting keto- hexoses (p. 47), and to Fischer’s benzaldehyde green reaction for aldehydes (p. 40). We would also sug- gest the following additions or modifications in a future edition :—the use of bromo- and nitro-phenyl- hydrazine, methyl sulphate and semicarbazide as use- ful reagents and of Tollens’ reagent (the name, by the way, is spelt with an s’’) for pentoses, also the consistent use of the modern system of nomenclature and a good index. Jee: iC. “ec 76 NATURE [ NOVEMBER 28, 1907- OUR BOOK SHELF. Vergleichende Morphologie der Pflanzen. mit ie iheil; 200 id. Text gedr. Abbild. u. zwei lith. Doppel- tafeln. By Dr. Jos. Velenovsky. Pp. 277+plates. (Prag: Fr. Rivnac, 1905.) Dr. VELENOVSKY has written the earlier portion of a work which will be found of no small interest to botanists, not only because the author has brought together a number of new observations of his own, but because he deals with the whole mass of facts from a definite point of view. Probably, as he him- self hints in the preface, his views may not command general acceptance, and we confess to experiencing a certain sense of disappointment after reading the book. The point of view which the author adopts is, it seems to us, too rigid and formal. Morphology has really outgrown the stage of pure formalism. We have come to recognise that the task of trying to understand why and how development has followed on the lines one can actually trace, is overshadowing the. purely formal abstractions which used to constitute mor- phology. Twenty years ago it was the fashion to divorce physiological notions from morphological concepts. At the present time, probably most botanists have an inkling, if not a conviction, that morphological “laws ’’ really do resemble those of the Medes and Persians. The ‘‘laws’’ in both cases last just so long as they can continue to be tolerated. With in- creased knowledge the bonds of the old laws are loosened, and fresh working theories become needed to comprehend the increased range of intellectual vision. But it must not be thought that the foregoing remarks are intended to depreciate the value of the book before us, for it appears to us to be one that can be read with considerable interest and_ profit. Much of the author’s railing against certain practices which are not uncommon at the present time is justifi- able, although he is apt perhaps to overstate the case. ““In modern times hardly anything but a mono- graph is appreciated; each author is acquainted with his own particular genus, or it may be, family, and he cares for nothing else... .”’ But when Dr. Velenovsk’ leaves generalities and comes to closer quarters with his subject-matter, he is on ground where he will meet with less opposition, albeit his methods may awaken some surprise. In these days laborious description of anatomical detail too often replaces an attempt to give a comprehensive account of the plants themselves. The author, how- ever, scarcely devotes any space at all to internal structure, and finds room thereby to give a more complete account of the range of external variation within the cry ptogamic groups to which this volume is devoted; and it is not impossible that some of his readers may experience a kind of mild shock at find- ing many unfamiliar forms included in a group which they have hitherto only known through one or two laboratory ‘‘ types.’ The book contains many new illustrations, and it is not unlikely to meet with a better reception than its author seems to think it will obtain. ify Le 1OE De Vormen der Aardkorst: Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie. By J. van Baren. Pp. viii+ 232. (Groningen: J. B. Wolters, 1907.) Tuis little book attempts, in the course of 207 pages, to cover the whole ground of physical geology, and to give an account of the most important observations and discoveries made in this branch of science up to the year 1905. It is necessarily, therefore, somewhat sketchy, but ample compensation for this will be found in the freshness of its information, whether conveyed by illustrations or letterpress. The illustrations are NO. 1987, VOL. 77] particularly good, and the only one which strikes us as distinctly old-fashioned fs the diagram showing the distribution of seismic areas. In the opening pages the student is introduced to the meaning of elementary technical terms, with their equivalents given in English, French, and German. These would be more useful if they were more exact ; the English for ‘‘ Streichen ’’ is not ‘‘ direction,’’ but “ Strike,’’? and an ‘‘ overthrust’’ is not identical with either an inclined or a recumbent fold. It is singular that many Continental geologists, notwithstanding their apparent familiarity with the structure of north- western Sutherland, should still seem to find a diffi- culty in grasping the real significance of our ‘‘ over- thrust.” The author does not attempt to found any system of his own, and in disputed questions generally con- tents himself with summarising the opinions of others ; hence, in treating of the internal state of the earth, the important bearing of recent seismological observ- ations is overlooked, for if distortional waves do really traverse the whole mass of the planet, we need no longer give serious attention to theories which involve a gaseous interior. The origin of coral atolls is briefly discussed, and the boring in Funafuti is referred to as furnishing a proof that in certain cases Darwin’s theory holds good; on the other hand, it is asserted that this theory will not apply to the atoll-like reefs of the West Indies. This latter statement would seem to show that the author cannot have read Darwin’s ‘‘ Coral Reefs ’’ with sufficient care, for Darwin himself expressly excluded these reefs from his explanation. In this oversight, however, the author by no means stands alone. To the general reader, whose interest is restricted to results, this work will provide a useful epitome, nor is it without a claim upon the advanced student; it brings together many new facts hitherto scattered and disconnected, and builds them into the edifice of his science. Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. By A. J. North. Vol. ii., part ii. (Australian Museum, 1907.) Tus part of the second volume of the new edition of Mr. North’s excellent work on the nests and eggs of the birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania describes the greater portion of the large and impor- tant family Meliphagide, commenced towards the latter end of the preceding part, and the families Nectariniidz, Zosteropide, Dicedze, and Pardalo- tide. The figures of the eggs, which are of the natural size, were reproduced by heliotype process at the Government Printing Office from photographs of specimens. The letterpress contains descriptions of the birds, their nests and eggs, and a_ general account of their life-history. The excellent detailed description of the birds, the copious field notes, and the beauty of the illustrations all call for notice. This important and most interesting work is a publication of the Australian museum, beautifully produced, and at a very low price. In the present part we have 138 pages of letterpress (large 4to), three plates (one showing the nest of Lewin’s honey eater in situ, and the other two comprising beat figures of eggs), besides illustrations in the text of birds, nests, and breeding haunts, for 7s. 6d. Grundztige der Tierkunde fiir hohere Lehranstalten. By Prof. Karl Smalian. Pp. 304; illustrated. (Leipzig: G. Freytag; Vienna: E. Tempsky, 1907.) Price 4 marks. Tuts work, which is intended as a companion to the author’s ‘ Grundzigen der Pflanzenkunde,’’ is more attractive than the generality of school text-books on NovEMBER 28, 1907 | NATURE 77 account of being illustrated by thirty coloured plates, which are excellent examples of the three-colour pro- cess. Not only are they for the most part good pic- tures of the animals they purport to represent, but they also show in most cases the natural surroundings of the respective species, so far as these can be reproduced with fidelity to nature. Unfortunately, in one instance that has come under our notice the wrong species has been depicted. We refer to the plate of giraffes and zebras facing p. 42, where the animal purporting to be the true or mountain zebra (Equus zebra) is the northern race of the bonte- quagga, or Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchelli granti). Had the true zebra been depicted, the plate would then have been wrong, as showing a mountain animal oa the open plains. The text includes a brief but well-compiled survey of the whole animal kingdom, from Primates to Protozoa, including sporatozoans, with some mention of extinct forms, and the work as a whole appears thoroughly suited to its purpose. Précis des Caractéres génériques des Insectes, dis- posés dans un Ordre naturel par le Citoyen Latreille. A Paris, chez Prévét, Libraire, Quai des Augustins, et A Brive, chez F. Bourdeaux, Imprimeur Libraire. A Brive, de I’Imprimérie de F. Bourdeaux, an 5 de la R. [1796]. Pp. xiv+208. (Imprime a 200 Exemplaires par A. Hermann, n.d.) Price 7 francs. Tuis is a reprint of a very rare book, which is seldom to be found even in the best entomological libraries. It commences with a table of the fourteen classes into which the author divides insects (understanding by that term Arachnida, Crustacea, and Myriopoda, as well as Hexapoda), followed by systematic characters for 351 genera recognised by Latreille, one or two others, described by other authors, being passed over ‘as at present unknown to him. Several very familiar genera, such as Ypsolophus and Adela, are character- ised in this book for the first time, but without indi- cation of types, for which reference must be made to Latreille’s later works, It is always unsatisfactory to entomological authors to be in doubt respecting the actual contents of a book they only know at second- hand, and we are glad that this scarce book has now been rendered accessible to them in a complete (and, we hope, accurate) reprint. The Metric and British Systems of Weights, Measures and Coinage. By Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin. Pp. 83; with 17 diagrams. (London: Whittaker and Co., 1907.) Price 1s. 6d. Dr. PERKIN here provides a simply written and clearly expressed account of metric measures of length, area, volume and weight, and, in addition, treats of specific gravities, temperature measurements, and money. As Lord Kelvin has said, ‘* our weights and measures are time-wasting and brain-wearing,’’ and all attempts to familiarise British boys with the simplicity and convenience of the decimal system deserve encourage- ment. This small volume should prove useful in both day and evening schools, and all engaged in manu- facture and commerce would derive advantage from its study. The Story of Scraggles (A Sparrow). By George W. James. Illustrated from drawings by Sears Gal- lagher and from photographs. Pp. 88. (London: Chatto and Windus, 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. Tue greater part of this booklet is in the form of the autobiography of an ailing song-sparrow, which could not fly, and was kept in a house for three months. The story, which purports to represent the bird’s thoughts and feelings, will probably appeal to little girls, and encourage them to be kind to animals. NO. 1987, VOL. 77 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Specific Stability and Mutation. Mr. R. H. Lock at the close of his letter in NaTURE of October 17 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 616) makes a remark which, after some consideration, still perplexes me. The question involved is so interesting and, indeed, important, that I feel sure that many of your readers would be glad to know the grounds, doubtless not without weight, which led him to it. I quote the passage :—‘‘ that natural conditions lead to the obliteration of a host of mutations is as fair a deduction from the fact that such mutations appear under cultivation as the current deduction that the conditions of cultivation actually cause the occurrence of this kind of variation. We have the testimony of de Vries and others that the former process actually takes place. That the latter process does so is an assumption which still lacks the support of facts.’’ It contains two propositions :—(1) mutations appear under cultivation; (2) that the conditions of cultivation actually cause the occurrence of this kind of variation - is an assumption which still lacks the support of facts. It is the latter on which I think some discussion would probably be illuminating. At first sight the two propositions look contradictory. It is possible, however, that Mr. Lock is using ‘‘ cause ’’ in a very technical sense. But as Mill remarks, ‘‘in practice that particular con- dition is usually styled the cause, whose share in the matter is superficially the most conspicuous.’’ Now, our knowledge of mutations is almost exclusively drawn from cultivated plants. In such cases cultural conditions are obviously an inseparable antecedent to mutations. What I do not understand is why it is an ‘‘ assumption ”’ to state that there is a causal nexus between the effect and the conditions. To avoid ambiguity, I may explain that by ‘‘ variation ”’ I mean insensible and continuous organic change; by ““mutation,’’ that which is large, palpable, and discon- tinuous. I believe that in nature variation never ceases, and yet “species ’’ do not perceptibly vary. I pointed out some years ago, in a discussion at the Royal Society, the ex- planation of this seeming paradox. What we mean by a species is an abstraction which has no concrete existence. It is the mean. or average of a host of. varying individuals. It will be hardly contested nowadays that, so long as the conditions remain constant, the species remains unchanged. As has been frequently pointed out, the Egyptian flora furnishes a remarkable illustration of the fact over a long period of time.. Plant remains from tombs believed to be 4000 years old differ in no respect from the species now living to which they belong, and the mere fact 9f their preservation shows that the physical conditions have undergone no change. To this persistence under constant surroundings I have given the-name of ‘‘ specific. stability.”’ That mutations occur and exist is obvious to everyone. But that they are of frequent occurrence under purely natural conditions is, I think, unsupported by evidence, and, if they do occur, I agree with Darwin that it may be doubted if they “‘ are ever permanently propagated in a state of nature ’’ (‘‘ Origin,’’ fifth edition, p. 49). The reason is that an organism is so nicely adjusted to its surroundings that it is in the highest degree improbable that a sudden and extreme structural change would fit in with them. If species arise in nature by discontinuous variation or mutation, one would expect to see some evidence of their doing so; but in the British flora I can only call to mind a very few instances. There is a form of Chelidonium majus with laciniate leaves and petals. It is-said to have first appeared at Heidelberg-in 1590; according to Hooker it is only known in cultivation. There are two striking mutations of Plantago major, one with a paniculate in- florescence, the other with. leafy bracts, which reappear 78 NATORE [NovEMBER 28, 1907 from time to time independently, but always, I think, in cultivated ground. There is a tendency in maples to revert to a ternary symmetry, as is shown by the occasional production of three carpels instead of two. The sycamore often produces seedlings with three cotyledons. I grew some of these, and they had for a time leaves in whorls of threes, but soon reverted to pairs. I have only heard of one case of an adult wild maple with leaves three in a whorl. There are some singular mutations which occur in the broad-leaved trees of temperate countries, but probably always under somewhat artificial conditions. They seem to be merely correlated with habit, and are quite indepen- dent of affinity. The normal angles at which the branches are set on either become very acute or very obtuse; in the one case we get pyramidal forms like the Lombardy poplar, in the other weeping forms. Or the cell-sap is deeply coloured red, masking the green of the chlorophyll corpuscles (copper-beech). In other cases the leaves lose their normal circumscription, and are deeply divided (fern- leaved beech). Apparently all these mutations are in some degree perpetuated by seed, but they do not hold their own in nature, and owe their preservation to planting in gardens and elsewhere. It is not easy to speculate as to the cause of these singular mutations. One may infer from the fact that they are related to habit, and not to affinity, that they are not due to reversion. While specific stability under constant conditions appears to be the rule in nature, it is widely different in cultiva- tion. When a plant is brought under cultural conditions it maintains its type for some time unaltered, then gives way and becomes practically plastic. From my _ experi- ence at Kew, where I saw the process continually going on, I hazarded the generalisation that any species, annually reproduced from seed, could be broken down in about five years. During that period specific stability, though menaced, tends to maintain itself. Darwin was well aware of this, and as for the moment his books seem to be little studied, I will quote the passage :— ““We have good grounds for believing that the influence of changed conditions accumulates, so that no effect is produced on a species until it has been exposed during several generations to continual cultivation or domestic- ation. Universal experience shows us that when new flowers are first introduced into our gardens they do not vary; but ultimately all, with the rarest exceptions, vary to a greater or less extent ’’ (‘‘ Animals and Plants,”’’ ii., p- 261). He quotes in support the testimony of well-known experts. Thus Salter, the great raiser of chrysanthemums, states :—‘‘ Everyone knows that the chief difficulty is in breaking through the original colour and form of the species.’’ Vilmorin, the most distinguished French horti- culturist of his time, maintained that ‘‘ the first step is to get the plant to vary in any manner whatever; for the fixed character of the species being once broken, the desired variation will sooner or later appear.’’ Abundant illustrations of the fact which has been stated are furnished by the history of individual species. Thus Sabine says of the first dahlia plants introduced into Europe :—‘‘ At Madrid they were a long time in the Royal Garden without any indications of change.’? The history of the Zinnia and of the Swan River daisy is the same. A few years ago Mr. Watson, the curator of Kew, gave me notes of cases which had come under his own observ- ation. Primula japonica was introduced in 1871 as ‘‘a new crimson primrose.’? In 1877 it produced rose- coloured as well as various shades of magenta flowers. Anthurium scherzerianum, introduced in 1862, had in 1874 produced enormously developed spathes, and in 1880 a form with two spathes to each spadix. In 1874 it was crossed with a white variety, and that called rothschild- ianum, with mottled spathes, was the result. It is interest- ing to note that ‘* the seedlings are nearly all mottled like the parent.’’ Impatiens Sultani was introduced at Kew from Zanzibar in 1881. For several years it did not vary. It now exhibits half-a-dozen distinct shades of red in the flowers. The fine Cape orchid, Disa grandiflora, has long been in cultivation in this country ; varieties were unknown until it was raised from seed by Dr. Moore at Glasnevin. NO. 1987, VOL. 77] I may add two’cases which have more particularly come under my own notice. Nemesia strumosa, a rather local South African plant, was introduced about 1892. It now shows indications of breaking up into two distinct races, with the greatest variety in the coloration of the flowers. The most remarkable, however, is that of Primula obconica, introduced in 1882. For many years it was per- fectly stable, but within the last few has exhibited the most surprising variation both in the number, form, and colour of the flowers. In all these cases I think we may safely infer from the persistent specific stability at the commencement of cultivation that the changes which subsequently occur would not have occurred in nature. We cannot regard the one state as in any way a continuation of the other. The changes which occur under cultural conditions are, in fact, something sui generis. We may say, of course, if we like, that the potentiality of such changes was latent in the species in nature; but, as a matter of fact, if so, it was suppressed, and there is no evidence of its being called into activity. The evidence, on the other hand, that such changes follow cultural conditions as a result is simply overwhelm- ing, and I do not suppose that Mr. Lock denies it to be the case. The only question can be as to how they operate. Now there is one point in connection with plants under cultivation the importance of which I have not seen referred to. It is this: in nature we deal with a host of individuals; in cultivation with a very limited number. In my view specific stability is maintained partly by the weeding out of unfavourable variations, partly by wide interbreeding. Now it is obvious that under cultivation the latter agency is inoperative, and cultural conditions bring other influences to bear, especially as regards nutrition; but these I have no space to discuss. I take it that the species in nature has two weapons in reserve for self-preservation. Of these, variation is the most effective if given time, as it will act automatically. Mutation, on the other hand, though it might now and again hit the mark, is likely in most cases to overshoot it, and is therefore seldom called into play or utilised; and observation seems to confirm this. In the development of a plant under cultivation the horticulturist takes advantage of both variation and muta- tion. In the case of the Cyclamen, I have shown that the fine forms now existing are almost entirely the result of accumulated variation. As with the garden Cineraria there has been mutation in floral coloration; but the small amount of variation in the foliage proves, I think con- clusively, that in other respects the latter has gradually been evolved from the wild Cineraria cruenta, though Darwin, from second-hand information with which I supplied him, stated otherwise. The case of the Chinese primrose is extremely interest- ing. When introduced in 1820 it had probably already undergone some cultural development at the hands of the Chinese. It was slowly developed in Europe for a long period without manifesting any striking structural change, until it bore little superficial resemblance to the wild stock. This was discovered in the gorge of the Yangtse, and when introduced into this country proved very intract- able of cultivation; in fact, I doubt if at the moment it is to be found in our gardens. Within about the last quarter of a century the cultivated form has exhibited two very remarkable mutations, and it is interesting to observe that these appear to recur independently. The first was the so-called ‘‘ fern-leaved form.’’ I do not know if this was ever fixed, but, if so, it did not take the public taste, and was not preserved; but fern-leaved individuals appear to occur casually in batches of seedlings of quite distinct races with the ordinary foliage. The transition from the palmatifid to the pinnatifid form of leaf is theo- retically interesting. Nothing can well look more different than a fan-palm and a feather-palm, but we can see an intermediate stage in an Australian Livistona. The second mutation, the ‘‘ ivy-leaved form,”’ is much rarer, and in every way more remarkable. It is apparently accompanied by more or less floral abortion, and it has not been found NoveMBER 28, 1907] NATURE Ws 79 possible to perpetuate it. The fern-leaved form is, it can hardly be doubted, a reversion to an ancestral type which has been perpetuated in other species, and this may also be the case with the ivy-leaved form, though this is more obscure. The races of Ginothera which De Vries has raised are nothing more than what a horticulturist would expect; and it may be conceded that if such races could hold their own in nature, distinct species might originate in this way. But there is no evidence that they do; and the probability of their being able to do so is against them. (énotheras are pretty prolific where they occur, and so far as my experience goes they keep true to type. Cultural mutations seem, as a matter of fact, to have little, if any, capacity for holding their own in the struggle for existence. I cannot call to mind a single instance of one which has been successful, and even in cultivation there is some reason to think that they are short-lived ; but this is a point on which we are in urgent need of carefully ascertained facts. One is told, for example, that new varieties of the potato mostly cease to give satis- factory results after a few years. This is, however, a case of purely vegetative reproduction, and similar state- ments are made about the sugar-cane, which it is now hoped to regenerate by seminal reproduction. I can remember when potato-fields were covered with flowers and subsequently with fruit. I suppose it was thought antagonistic to tuber-production, as it probably was, and sterile races were selected accordingly. Prof. Hildebrand came to this country to study the subject, and I was able to supply him with information which I had collected for another purpose. There is practically nothing to add to what has been said on the subject by Asa Gray (‘‘ Darwiniana,’”’ pp. 338- _ 347). It is notoriously difficult to get hold of old culti- vated strains of garden plants, and change of fashion hardly seems sufficient to account for the difficulty. Gray points out ‘“‘ that with high feeding and artificial appli- ances comes vastly increased liability to disease, which may practically annihilate the race.’”? This has all but happened to the hollyhocl, and, left to itself, the Phylloxera would have exterminated the vine in Europe. The exist- ence of a species in nature implies a complicated adjust- ment to the surroundings. It is not sufficient to launch upon them a new form; in order that it may hold its own, the adjustment must be provided as well. It is by no means always an easy thing to transfer a species from one part of the earth’s surface to another. The seed of the Kerguelen cabbage brought back by the Challenger germinated freely at Kew, but not a single plant was raised from the seedlings, which all succumbed to a ubiquitous Peronospora. De Vries has done good service in directing attention to the study of mutations, the nature’ and origin of which deserve the most attentive study. They graduate into monstrosities which are even more mysterious. It is worth while directing the attention of those who are interested in mutations to the material which exists in Japanese horticultural books. Japanese taste in such matters is widely different from European. In the case of the garden convolvulus (Ipomoea), which is pretty stable with us, the Japanese have figured an extraordinary range of variations which no one else would dream of preserving. W. T. Tuisetton-Dyer. Witcombe, November 9. The Winding of Rivers in Plains. BEFORE writing to NATURE on the theory of winding rivers, it would have been wiser for me to have had some observations made as to the conditions of actual flow in the field in different circumstances. It is possible that the more complicated conditions which obtain in some places render the simple theory only partially applicable. My letter was immediately applicable rather to the flow in Prof. James Thomson’s simplified model, where the arti- ficial stream had a wooden bed, and the tendency to silt was indicated by short pieces of cotton pinned by one end to the bottom. It may be that the deposit of drift NO. 1987, VOL. 77] ‘groups, contained only ammonium and alkali salts. on the inner side of some streams retards their flow by an unexpected amount; and probably there are other causes which prevent the James Thomson theory from being the last word on the subject. I do not pre- tend to be a field naturalist in any sense, and my cautionary note concerning the flow of glaciers I would ask readers to apply to the flow of rivers also, and to interpret the whole of my letter as a hint and exposition of theory rather than as an assertion and statement of fact. Ottver Lopce. November 20. Str Ottver Lopce’s letter in Nature of November 7 on the winding of rivers in plains has induced me to measure the velocity of flow in different parts of a bend in the river Wey near here. A short line—17 feet—was measured on the bank at the bend, and marks set up at right angles to it, and the time taken by blocks of wood to move between the marks measured with a stop-watch. The distances of the blocks from the inner bank were estimated in terms of the breadth of the river, with the following results :— Distance from Velocity in feet inner bank per second o°3 0°30 0°5 0°45 06 o'55 08 o'71 This does not bear out his statement that ‘‘ the flow is most rapid on the inner or sediment-depositing side of the bend,’’ and that the water near the concave bank is nearly stationary, but upholds the common opinion of boating men and others. The numbers refer to the surface flow only, and it is quite probable that there may be the undercurrent across the bed of the river; in fact, the sudden shelving so often noticed in rivers, and harbour channels where there is a strong tide, has led me to suspect for a long time such cross-currents. The surface flow-lines are neither parallel nor straight. For this reason a short base line was used, and the velocities obtained are only approximate, but are certainly not far from the above values. At the end of the experiments two blocks of wood were simultaneously floated down the stream, one near the inner, the other near the outer bank, and the latter won the race by twelve seconds. However, I noticed that close to the outer bank (within 2 or 3 feet of it) there were back eddies forming a set of feeble whirlpools, and these may play an important part in the scouring. R. C. SLater. Charterhouse, Godalming, November 17. The Occurrence of Copper and Lithium in Radium- bearing Minerals. It is possible that the remarkable action of radium emanation on copper, as recently announced by Sir William Ramsay (Nature, July 18, vol. Ixxvi., p. 269), may not be confined to solutions, but may also occur in the solid state. If so, it should be found that those minerals which contain both radium and copper contain lithium also. In connection with another investigation, I had separated a sample of pitchblende, from Gilpin County, Colorado, into its principal constituents. The amount of copper in the sample was considerable. The final filtrate, remaining after the separation of the various analytical After the evaporation of a portion of this solution, representing ‘about 3 grams of the mineral, and the volatilisation of the ammonium salts, a small residue was left which, when examined spectroscopically, gave a very bright lithium line. This result led me to examine four other samples of uranium-radium minerals.. These samples com- 80 prised a second specimen of pitchblende from the same locality. as the first; carnotite from Montrose County, Colorado; gummite from North Carolina; and pitchblende from Bohemia. All the minerals, with the exception of the gummite, contained both copper and lithium in easily recognisable amounts. The qualitative analysis of 1 gram of the gummite showed no copper, but did show the presence of lithium in small amount. The discovery of lithium and copper in uranium-radium minerals does not necessarily indicate the change of copper into lithium, since the presence of lithium may have been fortuitous ; but assuming the accuracy of Prof. Ramsay’s observation, the presence of lithium in uranium-radium- copper minerals is precisely what one should expect. The presence of lithium and absence of copper in the sample of gummite may be explained by the assumption that the change of copper into lithium has been completed. It may be added that even if further investigation should reveal the absence of lithium in any uranium-radium- copper mineral, the result would not constitute a valid argument against Prof. Ramsay’s hypothesis, since the latter referred to copper in solution and not in the solid state. Hersert N. McCoy. University of Chicago, November 6. A Convenient Formula in Thermodynamics. Ir is possible that many teachers of thermodynamics may not have noticed that the characteristic equation for 1 kilogram of air takes the easily rememberable form py=T/10, when p is measured in standard atmospheres, v in cubic feet, and T in thermodynamic centigrade degrees, the accuracy of the even integer being fully as great as that of the gas law itself. These units are, of course, a curious mixture of the English and Continental systems, but this seldom makes much difference in actual problems, and the convenience of the formula for rough mental computations is sometimes very great. The data upon which this computation of the gas constant is based are the statements in the third (1905) edition of Landolt and Boernstein, that 1 litre of air under standard conditions weighs 1-2928 grams, and that an English yard is 0-91438 metre, and the value T,=273°-13 given by Buckingham in the Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards for May. The value R=o-1 is con- sistent with these assumptions within less than one-fiftieth of 1 per cent. The corresponding values of C, and C,, reduced from the mean of the results of Regnault (1862), Wiedemann (1876), and Witkowski (1896), are C,=0-3467 and C,=0-2467 cubic-foot-atmospheres. Cambridge, Mass. Harvey N. Davis. A Miocene Wasp. In Nature of June 13, 1901 (vol. Ixiv., p. 158), I described a curious variation in a bee (Epeolus), the second transverso-cubital nervure of the wings having its lower half absent. This aberration was evidently an example of ““discontinuous variation,’’ and from its occurrence in several specimens captured at the same place, it seemed that it must be inherited. There is a genus of Scoliid wasps, Paratiphia, in which the absence of the lower part of the first transverso-cubital nervure is normal. The species, found principally in the southern and western parts of North America, are quite numerous; and the broken nervure, looking exactly like the aberration de- scribed in the bee, is a good generic character. Nothing has hitherto been recorded concerning the past history of this genus, but I have before me a_ well-preserved Paratiphia from the Miocene shales of Florissant, Colorado, collected by Mr. S. A. Rohwer at station 14 in 1907. This insect, which I shall call Paratiphia praefracta, is black, with the thorax large and robust (about 4 mm. long and 3% mm. broad); the head rather small (slightly more than 2 mm. diameter); the antennz thickened; the abdomen constricted between the first and second segments, and parallel sided beyond; the hind NO. 1987, VOL. 77] NATURE [ NoveMBER 28, 1907 tibia dentate on the outer side; the wings clear hyaline, anterior wing about 7 mm. long, with the large stigma very dark, the nervures light ferruginous. The specimen is a male. The venation is perfectly normal for Paratiphia in every respect, including the broken transverso-cubital vein. It is certainly an interesting fact that a character like that of an imperfect vein, which can arise suddenly as a mere aberration, should persist from Miocene times (at least) to the present, and characterise a whole genus. From observations on bees and other Hymenoptera, it is evident that this modification has occurred many thousands of times without becoming permanent; that it has become so in the case of Paratiphia is therefore all the more remarkable. T. D. A. CockERELL. University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, November 7. The Eggs of the Platypus. SINCE writing the notice of Mr. le Souef’s book on Australian wild life in Nature for October 24 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 635), I have been making inquiries as to the existence in collections of any examples of platypus egg definitely known to have been taken from the nest after extrusion. It has been suggested to me that Mr. Caldwell and Dr. Semon might possess such specimens. The former gentle- man told me, however, some years ago that he never found an extruded specimen, and I learn from Dr. Semon that he was equally unsuccessful in this respect. In his letter he writes that ‘‘I have never found extruded eggs of Ornithorhynchus, but only intra-uterine specimens. To obtain the former, it would be necessary to open a very large number of burrows.”’ In the central hall of the British Museum is shown an egg-shell of a platypus sent from Queensland by Mr. G. P. Hill in 1902, but this, like Mr. le Soeuf’s speci- mens, was doubtless found in its present broken condition. Such broken shells might, apparently, be extruded from the uterus with the foetus; and, so far as I can find, there still appears to be no definite evidence that the eggs are really laid entire. Tue REVIEWER. November 15. Literature relating to Australian Aborigines. In Nature of May 9g (vol. Ixxvi., p. 32) I observed a communication from Mr. R. H. Mathews in which he makes certain statements imputing to me, by insinuation, what amounts to literary dishonesty. Will you kindly permit me to express my views on the subject? Mr. Mathews says that I have “‘ ignored’ certain state- ments made by him in communications to scientific socie- ties, and which were published before the appearance of my ‘‘ Native Tribes of South-East Australia ’’ in 1904, in which I record the same facts. Mr. Mathews speaks of my account of the Dora cere- mony, and makes the following insinuation :—‘‘ Dr. Howitt ‘ignores’ that I described that rite in January, 1900. If he did not avail himself of my work, which appeared four years earlier than his, then there is a wondrous agreement in our details.” My account of the Dora ceremony was given to me by Mr. Harry E. Aldridge in 1882. It was from his own experiences at the ceremonies on more than one occasion, and he had a knowledge of the tribal language. Mr. Mathews also says that I ‘ignore’? a map which he published in 1900, and which is substantially the same as one at p. 44 of my work. He adds the following sentence :—‘* In comparing the two maps and the explan- atory letterpress accompanying mine, we observe a marvellous coincidence. Many other examples could be cited.” The map showing the native tribes of South Australia at p. 44 of my work was compiled from data supplied by the Rey. Otto Siebert, who obtained them by careful and protracted inquiries from persons knowing the several localities, as well as from personal knowledge. Practically NovEMBER 28, 1907 | NATURE 81 the details as to the tribes of the Lake Eyre district and of the Flinders Range are substantially the same as those given in a sketch-map which accompanied one of my pioneer papers entitled ‘‘ The Dieri and other Kindred Tribes of Central Australia,’’ which appeared in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute of August, 1890. This was the result of investigations made from 1871 to that date. In this instance, if I were to follow Mr. Mathews’s example, I might suggest that he _ has ‘ignored’ this pioneer work, and express something similar to his ‘‘ wondrous agreement in our details.”’ There is, however, nothing to wonder at in the agreement of two investigations of the same subject. My statements are based upon independent investigations, made in some cases many years ago, when the results were recorded for future publications. If Mr. Mathews finds instances in which his information has a ‘‘ wondrous ’’ agreement with mine, he may rest assured that his conclusions are correct. My information as to the Yantruwunta class-names Tiniwa and Kulpuru was received from my correspondent the Rev. Otto Siebert, and was based on his personal knowledge, in 1897. I learn from Mr. Mathews’s letter that he has sent ““more than one hundred contributions to various scientific societies.’’ I have only met with two of them, neither of which recommended itself to me by its accuracy. It is therefore difficult to understand how I can have ‘‘ ignored ”’ statements of which I am ignorant. It will be evident that there is no foundation for Mr. Mathews’s injurious insinuations, which, I regret to say, bear upon them evidence of a personal animus. The case is one of Hont soit qui mal y pense. A. W. How1rt. Metung, Victoria, July 8. In the foregoing remarks Dr. A. W. Howitt states that at the time his book appeared, in 1904, he was not aware that I had published a description of the Toara (Dora) ceremony, and also a map of South Australia, four years previously. It seems incredible that he did not make him- self acquainted with the current literature bearing upon the Australian aborigines up to the time he published his book, If Mr. Howitt obtained his account of the Dora from Mr. Aldridge in 1882, it is remarkable that he did not publish it until twenty-two years afterwards, especially as he was very prompt in publishing his report of the Kuringal ceremony in 1884 and the Jeraeil in 1885. He does not, however, appear to have had much confidence in Mr. Aldridge’s account of the laws of marriage and descent in vogue among the same tribes who practised the Dora ceremony. He says that Mr. Aldridge sent him ‘‘a number of tables of marriages and descents, which differed considerably amongst themselves; so much so that the correctness of some of them seemed doubtful.’’* Mr. Howitt did not run the risk of printing more than one table out of them all, but even that one is erroneous, as I have demonstrated elsewhere. Mr. Howitt refers to a ‘‘sketch-map’’ published by him in 1890.7, In that map he showed the Urapuna (my Arrabunna) tribe as being located away to the north of the Awmani (my Ahminnie). Not content with this in- accuracy, he increased its magnitude by placing another tribe, which he called the Wongkurapuna, on the east of the Urapuna and Awmani. He was, apparently, not at that time aware that the two names, Urapuna and Wongkurapuna, represent the same people, the prefix wonk merely meaning ‘‘ speech.”” Again, the Kuyani (my Kooyeeunna), which I place on the southern end of Lake Eyre, is shown on Mr. Howitt’s “ sketch-map ” as occupying the country I have correctly allocated to the Kutchnamootha tribe. His map _ is altogether a blank as to the numerous tribes occupying the country from south Lake Eyre to Port Lincoln and Fowler’s Bay. Even Mr. Howitt himself did not repro- duce his own map in his book of 1904, but preferred to 1 “ Native Tribes of S.-E. Australia,” p. 231- 2 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xx., p. 30. NO. 1987, vou. 77] utilise one which is identical with mine. Spencer and Gillen were apparently misled by the worthless map of 1890. In referring to the Urabunna tribe, they speak of “the Dieri, whose territory adjoins the Urabunna on the south.’’* My map shows the Urabunna on the western or opposite side of Lake Eyre to that on which the Dieri is situated. Mr. Howitt states that he got the phratry names Tiniwa and Kulpuru independently. Even if so, he should have made himself acquainted with and referred to my prior reports of 1899 and igoo. He shirks my statement that he “‘ had never heard of the Blood divisions,’’ and he also Passes over my claim to priority in reporting certain important facts in the sociology of the Wiradjuri tribes. It is asserted by Mr. Howitt that he has only seen two of my articles on the Australian blacks. I contributed five articles to the Royal Society of Victoria, of which Mr. Howitt was a member, and I was told that he took part in the discussions upon some of them. They were all printed in the Proceedings of that society, vols. vii., ix., and x., and these volumes were issued to Mr. Howitt in virtue of his membership. Numerous articles of mine have been published by the anthropological societies of the following places :—London, Berlin, Washington, Paris, and Vienna, as well as by other societies. I presented forty separate copies (reprints) of various papers written by me on the aborigines to the public library in Melbourne in 1899. A bibliography of nearly all the articles published by me is printed in the Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. XXXVili., pp. 376-381. The whole of my works are there- fore within reach of any man who wishes to consult them. As I am about to make a strong assertion, I will con- fine myself to five articles published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria and twelve in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute. If Mr. Howitt still main- tains that he has not seen these seventeen articles, I cannot believe him. In regard to Mr. Howitt’s remark that where I find “instances ’’ in which my information agrees with his I may rest assured that my “conclusions are correct,” I may briefly mention that on one occasion, in 1894, I did rely on Mr. Howitt’s assertion that descent in the Kaia- bara tribe is in the male line. From personal inquiries among the blacks in 1898 I was able to correct my former statement, and to show that descent is in the female line.? Mr. Howitt, however, repeats his former error in his book at p. 229, where he says that ‘‘ descent [in the Kaiabara] is in the male line.’’ Mr. Howitt accuses me of ‘‘ personal animus.’ There cannot be any question about the ‘‘ personal animus ’’ which prompted him to ignore my prior work, which had the effect of temporarily misleading an English reviewer. Nor can there be any mistake about the animus evinced in the statement that he has ‘‘ only met with two of my papers, neither of which recommended itself to him by its accuracy.’’ His object in both cases is manifestly to make little of my work. Even now, while he tells us that he ignored my prior work in ‘‘ignorance,’? he does not express any regret, but attempts to justify the course he adopted. In the present case both authors reside in the same country and are known to each other as workers among the same tribes. I cannot help repeating that it is both “marvellous ’’ and ‘‘ wondrous ’’ if they did not make themselves acquainted with each other’s publications, especially as there were intervals of four, five, and eight years in which to do so. Mr. Howitt’s experiences should be a warning to others to avoid the nitfall of claiming originality for work which has already been published some years in scientific journals of undoubted repute. R. H. Matuews. Parramatta, New South Wales. [No further correspondence can be published on this subject.—Ep. Nature.] 1 ‘Native Tribes of Central Australia.” p. 59. : 2 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., Phila., xxxvii., p. 33¢, with map. 82 NOTES ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS." I1.—-The Cornish ROM the point of view of orientation, the in- terest in barrows, tumuli, chambered cairns, dolmens and cromlechs lies in the assumption that they were built for live men to dwell in. That they all represent different stages of the same structure—stages depending upon decay due to the action of rain, or wanton destruction in the interests of agriculture— can be gathered from a complete study of the whole evidence. Borlase, in his ‘‘Dolmens of Ireland”? (p. 426), refers to some of it. Mr. John Bell, of Dundalk, a famous antiquary, disinterred no less than sixty crom- lechs’ from cairns or barrows in Ulster. Many ““cairns,’? indeed, on the early Ordnance maps are marked dolmens in subsequent editions, the interior stone framework being the only thing remaining after the covering of soil had been re-distributed over the fields, an ordinary ‘‘ agricultural ’’ operation. Borlase insists upon the fact that large tumuli were not essential ; ‘‘ all that was mneces- sary was that the walls of the cell orcrypt should be impervious to the | elements and ‘to wild animals ”’ (p. 427). As a corol- lary top taisya + Inia distinction from the cist, it was the intention and object of the builders that ac- cess should be had to it [the cell or crypt] from with- out.”’ It was this in- tention which has provided us with ““creeps,’”” ‘‘ fou- gous,’’ “‘ allées ou- vertes,’’ and “‘ al- lées couvertes,”’ and these, as | shall show, are of Cromlechs. ** outlooks ’’ for the man inside; and it matters not whether the cell was as extensive, as complicated, as carefully built, and the creep as long, as at Maeshowe, or whether we deal with a cell of the simplest and rudest form, with a bare entrance and outlook, such as the creephole in one of the stones at Trevethy. Archzologists, as a rule, though not, I think, uni- versally, consider the whole series of structures we are. now dealing with as having originally, what- ever their present stage, been constructed for tombs. For them there is little difference between such a cell with an entrance such as the barrows and cromlechs reveal; and a cist, which is simply a rude small coffin built up of five or six stones, in which there is only room for the body, and to which there is no entrance at all. The evidence on which they rely is that cer- tain things have been found in these cells, which they consider can only have been associated with burials. 1 Continued from p. 59. NO, 1987, VOL. 77 NATURE [ NoveMBER 28, 1907 The argument against this view does not only de- pend upon the details of structure, such as revealed in Maeshowe, perhaps the most perfect cell now re- maining, but upon their association with other stone monuments, especially with stone circles; so that as the Gorsedd we see to-day is but a survival of the ancient stone circle which was associated with living men, the cromlechs must, in all probability, have been also associated with living men. They are not merely tombs. I hold that they were never meant for tombs, and to argue that they were built for sepulchral pur- _ poses because people have since been buried in them is to deny that a church was built for the worship of God because we find corpses in it. If we consider frankly and fairly the position of the first priests and leaders of the people who controlled the worship and the daily life of the early inhabi- tants of Britain, we can arrive at a quite plausible theory concerning these cromlechs. The circle builders had to look after the welfare of ihe surrounding population, and see what they could do to help them in every way; and when we consider Phobo. by Lady Lockyer. as high import- ance as the cell } 5 ; ‘ itself from the Fic. 7.—Cromlech on Lesqucit Farm, near Bodmin. The upright stone on the right is oriented to the May sunrise. orientation point of view. They all constituted, not only entrances, but | that, I think much of the mystery surrounding the cromlech is at once cleared away. In the first place, there is no doubt in my mind that these people, who had command of the sea, and came over here and built the circles and cromlechs along our shores, and cared very little for going inland where they could not be supported by their constantly returning ships, were Semitic in their origin, or familiar with the Semitic peoples. In any case they must have lived somewhere, and. with some kind of shelter. Now we know from Robertson Smith that Semitic worship was carried on in caves, and one reason for this might have been that the priests really lived in caves. Now the cromlech was really an improvement upon the natural or artificial cave, and, further, if there were no caves, some shelter must have been provided.. The easiest way to protect the priests and priesteraft from the elements and from animals was by erecting | such a structure as stones would enable them to do, —- NoveMBER 28, 1907] NATURE 82 re) and then covering it with earth which could not fall | They must have required food as well as drink, and upon them, and I look upon the stones of the cromlech | they must have cooked their food, or have eaten it as the skeletons of the barrows which were thus built | raw; the evidence of bones and ashes shows that they to protect the people living in them. cooked it. Considerations of ‘this kind suggest that One of the first things that they wanted to be pro- | many of the things, including structure and contents, that archeologists have associ- Spee ———— La aaeG ’ ated with death may as reason- AM. 3 ‘ : ably and probably have been & : f associated with the life con- Me : es ditions possible to the early inhabitants of our islands. The above-stated view that men really lived in the crom- lechs, which we know to have been associated geographically with the circles, would be strengthened if we could show that the construction of the cromlechs was such that they were associated with circles in other ways, and in such ways as would require the presence of the same men in both. I have recently commenced the study of the cromlechs from this point of view, using the orientation theory as my guide. The work at the circles has shown conclusively—to my mind at all events—that they were used, among other things, as calendars or almanacks, to watch the sun’s course through- LEER SEEN EED BIER out the year and so locate the Fic. 8.—Druid’s Altar at Pawton, near Bodmin, looking to May sunrise. various festivals which are all older than Christianity; and as tected from was damp. It was important to keep out | night-dials to determine the lapse of time during the the rain, because they had their fires to look after, not | night and the rising of the morning star, so that merely for cooking purposes, but for sacred purposes, the morning fire-sacrifice could be made at the and if they did not keep their sacred fires going, as’ moment of sunrise. Mr. Baring-Gould believes they did, they must have been, at all events, sure of a supply of dry wood. That is one reason why they should try to keep out the damp. Britain was then much richer in wild animals than it is now, and measures had to be taken to protect the priests, both in the day and during the night, from the incursions of animals by keep- ing them out in some way or other. I think this is a point which archeologists have not sufficiently considered. There were no carpenters in those days. They could not cut down a tree. They could not make a door. When we consider the matter carefully, we find that che only way to protect them- selves was by constructing, however large the chamber, an entrance to it which should be very small, because it must have been closed by a small stone, capable of being handled by one or two men, the only way they had of sealing it. Then these people had to drink, and it was only | Now all this would require a staff, and both the to. by Lady Lockyer. Fic. 9.—Druid’s Altar, looking towards November sunset. natural that they should have a water supply in these | staff and the fire would require some shelter. JI have cromlechs. May that not be the real origin of all | assumed the cromlech to be this shelter, and this the crockery, large or small, and the horn spoons, that | assumption enables us to go a step further. A con- one finds in these places? venient arrangement would be that much or most of NO. 1987, VOL. 77] 84 the watching during the night—it was all night work if in the term night we include the dawn—could be done in the shelter itself, and this could be managed if the entrance to it was aligned on the part of the horizon to be chiefly watched. Now what were those points? The circles supply the information, They were chiefly, as the May-year was then paramount, the sunrise place in May and August, when the sun’s declination is 16° 20! N., and that in November and February, when the sun’s de- clination is 16° 20! S., these two sunrise places mark- ing off the quarters of the year and the chief fes- tivals. Next came the rising place of the clock-star, and later the place of sunrise on the longest and shortest days—the solstices. The question to be settled, then, is, Do the en- trances to the cromlechs point in these directions? Could the priests have done their night work under shelter ? Some of the data used in the attempt to answer this question I have obtained myself from the monuments ; in other cases I have endeavoured to get the required information from the so-called plans or surveys to be found in archeological records. The great majority of these, however, I have found to be utterly useless for my purpose. A brilliant exception, however, is found in the carefully oriented work of Lukis on the Cornish monuments, so I will begin with Cornwall and the May-year sunrises. The following table gives the theoretical values of the azimuths of the sunrise places. It has been pre- viously shown in my book, ‘‘ Stonehenge,’’ that the circles conform to them. Cornwall. Lat. 50°. | True Azimuths Conditions May and |November and August sun-| February rise | sunrise Sea horizon, refraction, semi-diameter |N. 62 58 E.| S. 64 32 E $° hill nA nD N. 63 44 E.|S. 64 22 E Lees 5 4 N. 64 30 E. S. 63 34 E hss an » IN. 65 16 E.|S. 62 50 E BP Sp A . IN. 66 E.|S.62 5E Following this table I give another, showing the azimuths of most of the chief Cornish cromlechs. Orientation of Cornish Cromlechs. Name Remarks Az muths (true) SERIES I Lesquoit Farm | My own observations, April, Fs 1907, near Bodmin. Hill, 15° 64 E Druid’s Altar ... | My own observations, April, 1907, at Pawton. Hill, 14° | N. 64 E Lanyon Quoit... | This was ‘‘ re-erected ” before Lukis’s time, sol have taken Borlase (‘‘ Antiquities of Cornwall,” plate xxi), as- suming his N. is N. true... | N. 66 E Mulfra Quoit ... | Lukis, plate xix N. 63 E. Chywoone Quoit es 5p 888 N. 64 E Zennor Quoit ... 35 sexx N. 64 E Three Brothers of Grugith...] 4, xxl N. 64 E | SERIES 2. | Trewethy My own observations, April, 1907, near St. Cleer... 216215. Caerwynen | Lukis, plate xxiv ... S. 65 E. Pennance ies Per Sabo ap S. 64 E NO, 1987, VOL. 77] NATURE [ NovEMBER 28, 1907 We see, then, that many of the chief Cornish cromlechs are aligned on the May and August or the November and February sunrises as carefully as are the outstanding stones connected with the associated circles. The true azimuths have been determined from magnetic observations made by Lukis and myself by subtracting 20° 30!, the west variation in Lukis’s time, and 18° at the present in the case of my own obsery- ations; it will be seen that they agree closely with the theoretical values given above. The above list, however, does not exhaust all the cremlechs in Lukis’s work perfect enough to allow of their orientation to be determined. We have :— Name Remarks |Azimuths (true) Treglia . |Lukis, plate xv... | N. 52 E arrow Mnear he ee i Tregaseal cir- \Ieaks, plate repreducing} S. 50 E les aca: J ie a | These are solstitial alignments. The variation of 1° or 2° in this and the preceding table no doubt arises from the fact that the height of the horizon varies from place to place, and no information on this head is given by Lukis. fe} NorMANn LOCKYER. THE PRESERVATION OF EGGS, EW people not directly connected with the trade have any adequate idea of the extent to which the egg of the domestic fowl is imported into this country. Whether the volume of this..trade ought to be an unmixed source of satisfaction to us is another question, for there can be little doubt that if some of the energy, enterprise, and organising power which have been turned to such excellent account in Den- mark, for example, were applied to the production of eggs in this country, we should be less dependent than we are on foreign supplies. Intimately bound up with this question of egg production is that of their preservation, but although much has been written on the value of particular methods, no systematic inves- tigation of the conditions under which eggs must be kept to maintain and ensure their quality as food has hitherto been attempted, nor has any proper com- parison been made as to the relative merits of the various methods which are practised. Those who are interested in this important subject will therefore wel- come the appearance of a paper by Mr. Fr. Prall in a recent number of the Zeitschrift fiir Untersuchung dey Nahrungs- und Genussmittel (No. 7, vol. xiv., October 1, 1907, p. 445), in which the question is treated both observationally and experimentally with all the precision and care which should characterise a scientific inquiry. The adequate solution of this problem demands that the eggs when preserved shall maintain their normal appearance, smell and taste; in other words, they must in nowise differ in chemical and physical char- acters, or in behaviour on cooking, from fresh eggs. The chemical and physical changes to which eggs are naturally subject are largely dependent on the tem- perature and relative humidity of the air, and on the presence in it of moulds and germs. In an abso- lutely sterile atmosphere at a sufficiently low tem- perature and of a proper degree of humidity, eggs will preserve their ‘‘ freshness ”’ for very long periods of time, if not indefinitely; and all successful methods of keeping eggs imply a practical recognition of these conditions. Of the various methods of distinguishing old and NovEMBER 28, 1907 | NATURE 85 bad eggs from fresh eggs, one of the simplest is to make a hole of about the size and shape of an egg in a wooden or tin box, and hold the egg in the inside of this box against the light behind the hole. Good sound eggs are thus seen to be perfectly transparent without striations or spots, and the bubble of air within is not wider in diameter than a sixpence. Eggs selected for preserving should be those of well-fed fowls—preferably from those of which corn is the chief diet. The eggs should be quite clean; if dirty they should be washed with a little dilute alcohol (50 per cent.), and carefully dried. In what may be called ‘dry conservation,’’ the main thing is to keep the surrounding air as clean as possible, and free from smell. The temperature should be low, but should not sink much below 32° F., otherwise freezing might cause the eggs to burst. The relative humidity should be from 60 to 80. The best plan is to stand the eggs on an egg-rack in a cool, light cellar, and preferably in an ice closet, or, on the large scale, in cold-air stores, with their points downwards, so that the air can circulate freely round them. Nothing is gained by turning the eggss at short intervals, say weekly, as recommended by some; or by packing them in salt, sawdust, powdered coal, or charcoal, wood ashes, sand, &c. Some of these things are found to ‘‘ taint ’’ the eggs; others are apt to become damp and set up the action of moulds. It is occasionally recommended that the egg should be protected from the outer air by covering the shells with fat, vaseline, paraffin wax, collodion, &c., or that the shell should be treated with salicylic, boracic, or hydrofluosilicic acid, or even sulphuric acid, whereby the calcareous material is chemically altered and. made less pervious. Immersing the egg in Condy’s fluid or a solution of potassium perman- ganate has also been suggested. Eggs so treated in no case were found to keep better than by cold storage in pure air. Eggs which cannot be kept in cold stores or in an ice-chest may be preserved by Hanika’s method. This consists in first putting the clean eggs into recently- boiled water at a temperature of about 110°, and then dipping them into boiling water for 10 seconds, after which they are to be immediately put into cold water. By this treatment all organisms are killed, and a hard coating is formed between the shell and the ‘‘ white.”’ The shells are finally washed with a little strong alcohol, dried, and placed in clean, dry saw-dust. Eggs so treated were found to be in perfect condition after the lapse of nine months. Attempts are frequently made to preserve eggs by immersing them in solutions of various salts, or of substances which are known to act as antiseptics. Few of these solutions give a wholly satisfactory re- sult; indeed, many of them, as, for example, salt, salicylic acid, borax, and glycerin, penetrate the shell, and either harden the yolk or impair the flavour. Of these liquids lime-water has been most frequently used, but by long immersion in this solution the yollx is apt to mix with the white, and the shell is rendered so fragile that it is very liable to be broken on boiling. The white of an egg which has been kept in lime- water is difficult to ‘‘ whip.’’ Much better results are obtained by the use of a 10 per cent. solution of water- glass, especially if the shells are smeared with fat or vaseline, whereby the slight taste of the alkali which the eggs are otherwise apt to acquire may be obviated. Mr. Prall’s paper, which contains the results of many hundreds of experiments and carefully made observa- tions, arranged in tabular form and set out in detail, is a valuable contribution to the economics of an im- portant food problem, and merits careful study by those who are interested in the subject. NO. 1987, VOL. 77] NOTES. On Thursday last, November 21, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool presided over an influential gathering of Welsh- men from that city.and from the Principality, and the following resolution was carried unanimously :—‘‘ That this meeting believes that the time has come for the early history of Wales to receive full and systematic investigation by all the means at the disposal of modern archeological science.’’ The Oxford professor of Celtic (Sir John Rhys) supported this at some length, pointing out that sporadic excavations were not enough in themselves, and that a systematic survey should also be made of all the antiquities of Wales and the Marches. This would entail, not only the digging over of barrows and graves, but the orientation of stone circles, cromlechs, and camps. The theodolite as well as the shovel should be called into requisition; in fact, no means should be neglected which might tend to increase the value of the investigation. Two other motions were passed, and a committee, which includes Dr. Arthur J. Evans and Prof. Haverfield among its members, was appointed for the carrying out of the work. The weight of the undertaking will fall on the University of Liver- pool, which, however, is to receive assistance from the Welsh colleges. Our readers need not be reminded that Liverpool University lays special stress on the study of archeology, and includes among its staff Prof. Bosanquet and Prof. John Garstang. We have every confidence that any work undertaken by Liverpool will be done well and thoroughly. The organising secretary is Mr. Owen Rhoscomyl, 38 Bedford Street, Liverpool. Tue Wilde medal for 1908 of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society has been awarded to Prof. J. Larmor, F.R.S., and will be presented to him on March 3 next. Prof. Larmor will on that date deliver the Wilde lecture on ‘‘ The Physical Aspect of the Atomic Theory,’’ and will be entertained afterwards at a dinner in his honour. Tue Physical Society announces that the third annual exhibition of electrical, optical, and other physical apparatus will be held at the Royal College of Science, South Kensington, on Friday evening, December 13, from seven to ten o’clock. THE executive committee of the National Physical Labor- atory has appointed Mr. G. W. Walker, official assistant to the professor of natural philosophy in the University of Glasgow, as superintendent of. the Eskdalemuir Observ- atory. Mr. Guy Barr, of Christ’s College, Cambridge, has been appointed to an assistantship in the metallurgical and chemical department of the National Physical Laboratory. Tue death is announced, at the age of sixty-nine, of Prof. T. Barker, professor of mathematics at Owens College, Manchester, from 1865 to 1885. An international exhibition of applications of electricity will be opened at Marseilles on April 19, 1908, under the patronage of the Government of the French Republic, and with the cooperation of the local authorities, municipal council, general council, Board of Trade, and other bodies. Particulars can be obtained at the office of the Com- missariat-General, Boulevard Louis Salvator, 52, Mar- seilles, and at the Secretariat-General, 63 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris. THE Times correspondent at Cape Town reports on November 23 that the Chief Justice, presiding at a meet- ing of the National Preservation Society, urged the need of stronger measures to preserve rare flora and fauna from 86 NATURE extinction. The gemsbok, mountain zebra, eland, -and giraffe were all nearly extinct. He said he remem- bered, when a barrister on circuit, seeing great herds where there are now railway stations. gnu, At a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, held on November 4, the following were elected honorary follows :—(1) as British Honorary Fellows, Sir A. B. W. Kennedy, F.R.S., Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S., Dr. J. A. H. Murray, Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S. ; (2) as Foreign Honorary Fellows, Prof. Emil Fischer, Berlin; Dr. G. W. Hill, New York; Prof. F. W. G. Kohlrausch, Charlottenburg; Prof. H. F. Osborn, New York; Prof. I. P. Pavlov, St. Petersburg; Prof. G. Retzius, Stockholm; Prof. A. Righi, Bologna; Prof. L. J. Troost, Paris. THE meeting of the second International Conference on the Sleeping Sickness, which was to have assembled at ‘tthe Foreign Office on November 1, has been postponed in order that the delegates may have before them the results obtained by Prof. Koch, who has lately been carrying out an exhaustive inquiry into the subject on the spot, and is now engaged in the preparation of his report. The conference will probably not meet before the middle of February. The British delegation will consist of Lord Fitzmaurice, Sir Walter Foster, M.P., Mr. A. Walrond ‘Clarke, Mr. H. J. Read, Sir Patrick Manson, K.C.M.G., Colonel David Bruce, C.B., F.R.S., Dr. J. Rose Brad- ford, F.R.S., and Sir Rubert Boyce, F.R.S. A commMiITTEE having for its object the collection of information dealing with sleeping sickness, the stimula- tion of research into the cause, method of transference, and cure of the disease, and the publication from time to time of communications with reference to it, has been formed at Liverpool. The committee comprises Sir Alfred Jones (chairman), the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Prof. Moore, Prof. Salvin-Moore, Prof. Annett, Prof. Sherrington, F.R.S., Dr. Stephens, Dr. Anton Breinl, Dr. Prout, €.M.G., Dr. A. Evans, Dr. M. Nierenstein, Mr. J. W. ‘Garrett, and Dr. J. L. Todd. Sir Rubert Boyce, F.R.S., and Mr. A. H. Milne are the corresponding secretaries. A DESPATCH recently received at Washington from Lieut. B. H. Camden, commanding a revenue cutter in Alaska, reports the disappearance of McCulloch Peak, Bogoslof Island (which rose from the sea in 1796), as the result of volcanic disturbances. The explosion which destroyed this peak has been followed by remarkable changes in the profiles of Mount Makush and neighbour- ing mountains, which are now softened to a general sym- metry by a padding of lava dust that has almost disguised them beyond recognition. A vast quantity of this material, hundreds of feet in depth, has been deposited over the entire island. entire It is announced in Science that the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, has profited by a decision of the Chicago Probate Court to the extent of 86,o00l. The money was paid by the late Mr. Marshall Field to the trustees of the museum prior to the date of his will, which contained a bequest of 1,600,000]. to the institution. A suit was brought by the trustees against the executors of the will to determine whether the bequest was intended to be exclusive of the amount previously donated. The judge decided the suit in favour of the museum. From the same source we learn that about four acres of ground have been set apart in the block adjoining Washington Park and the Midway Plaisance to serve as a botanic garden for the University of Chicago. The garden will NO. 1987, VoL. 77] [ NovemBER 28, 1907 be easily accessible from the Hull Botanical Laboratory, and is to be strictly a laboratory garden, which will add greatly to the facilities for experimental work. The area, it is hoped, will be largely increased later. Tue Home Secretary has appointed a departmental com- mittee to inquire into the subject of artificial humidity in cotton-weaving factories. The members of the committee are Sir Hamilton Freer-Smith (chairman), Mr. J. Cross, Mr. H. Higson, Mr. T. Roberts, Mr. D. J. Shackleton, M.P., and Prof. J. L. Smith. The terms of reference to the committee are to inquire and report :—(1) what temperature and humidity are necessary in each case for the manufacture of different classes of cotton fabrics ; (2) at what degrees of temperature and humidity com- bined definite bodily discomfort arises under the conditions of the work carried on by the operatives, and what, if any, danger to health is involved by continuous work at those degrees; (3) what means of cooling humid sheds (where necessary) exist, whether combined with the means of humidifying or otherwise, which are both efficient and practicable, having regard to the conditions required for the manufacture of the several classes of goods; (4) what special arrangements, if any, are necessary in order to adinit of the proper ventilation of dry weaving sheds with- out prejudice to the process of manufacture. The secre- tary to the committee is Mr. D. R. Wilson, to whom correspondence may be addressed at the Factory Depart- ment, Home Office. One of the most famous establishments for the dis- tribution of new and rare plants in this country is that of James Veitch and Sons, Ltd., Chelsea, the late managing director of which company died on November 13 at Exeter at the age of thirty-nine years. Mr. James Herbert Veitch was a son of John Gould Veitch, who died in 1870. The son was admitted to the firm whilst still young, and when he was twenty-three years of age was sent on a botanical tour to Australia, New Zealand, India, Corea, and Japan, a tour which occupied a period of two years. After his return, Mr. Veitch published in ‘SA Traveller’s Notes ’’ some impressions he had obtained in regard to the public and private gardening and botanical establishments he had visited for the purpose of studying the cultivated plants in those countries, and obtaining inform- ation as to the possibility of introducing new species to English gardens. After the lapse of several years he was appointed managing director of the Chelsea business, and continued to discharge the responsibilities of that position until last year, when failing health compelled him to retire from business. During the time he was managing director, a special representative was dispatched to the western portion of China, approaching to Tibet, for the purpose of collecting new species of plants suitable for cultivation in English gardens. The collector, Mr. E. H. Wilson, visited China twice; the two visits occupying a period of four years,:and, as a result, a large number of new species of decorative trees and conifers, perennial herbaceous flowering plants, and some biennials were secured. One species that has already become common in gardens is the Tibetan poppy (Meconopsis integrifolia), and others that have been distributed include species of Senecio, Vitis, Davidia, Berberis, Buddleia, Clematis, Corydalis, Cypripedium, Deutzia, Jasminum, Primula, Rubus, and many other genera. Mr. Veitch rendered a good service to botanical and _ horticultural literature by publishing last year the ‘‘ Hortus Veitchii,’’ which contains short descriptions and references to publi- cation of most of the exotic plants introduced to British ” shrubs, A we we ‘NOVEMBER 28, 1907 ] NATURE 87 gardens by the firm of Veitch during a period of more than fifty years. In the introduction to a paper on parasites of Bermuda fishes, published in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum (No. 1560), Mr. Edwin Linton observes that fishes from the inner reefs appear to be freer from encysted parasites than those living on the outer reefs and in deep water outside. This he explains by the fact that, owing to the exceeding clearness of the water, sharks, which are the great dispersers of cestode ova, do not frequent the shoal-water. In contrast to the comparative immunity enjoyed by the shallow-water forms is the strong infestation of the deep-water species, the large ‘‘ groupers ”’ and rock-fish, living at a depth of about fourteen fathoms, harbouring numerous encysted cestodes on the viscera, more especially the walls of the stomach. THE young stages of two fresh-water American cray- fishes form the subject of an elaborate memoir by Prof. E. A. Andrews, of the Johns Hopkins University, pub- lished in the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge (vol. xxxv., No. 1718). Of the two genera, Cambarus is limited to North America east of the Rocky Mountains, while Astacus is common to the Pacific slope of the northern half of the American continent and the two great northern continents of the Old World. As the former is the more specialised form of the two—more especially as regards the adaptation of the young for a life of associ- ation with the female parent—it is a reasonable hypothesis that the group reached the New World by way of what is now Bering Strait, while the evolution of Cambarus from Astacus-like ancestors took place in the region of Mexico. In regard to the latter part of this theory, it might, we think, be stated that the evolution took place from Astacus itself, seeing that this genus is common to both hemispheres. The larval stages of the two genera are found to differ in a number of important particulars, and other results of the investigation furnish a basis for practical application to the problems of the artificial cultivation of crayfishes and the introduction of new species. In the October issue of the Emu Mr. A. H. Mattingley gives some harrowing details of the results of the visit of a party of ‘‘ osprey ’’-plume hunters to a colony of egrets. The writer had visited the site some months previously, when all was well, but on re-visiting the place at Christmas it soon became evident that mischief had been done. ‘‘ As we drew nearer, what a spectacle met our gaze-—a sight that fairly made my blood boil with indignation, There, strewn on the floating water-weed, and also on adjacent logs, were at least fifty carcases of large white and smaller plumed egrets—nearly one-third of the colony, perhaps more—the birds having been shot off their nests containing young. ... There were fifty birds ruthlessly destroyed, besides their young (about 200) left to die of starvation! This last fact was betokened by at least seventy carcases of nestlings . . . which had fallen from the nests into the water and been drowned; while in the trees above the remainder of the nestlings could be seen staggering in the nests.’’ Some of these unfortunates fell from time to time into the water, others died of inanition as they sat, while yet others stretched out their necks in the vain attempt to attract the attention of others of their own kind as they flew by with food in their beaks. AccorDING to the report for October, the additions to the Zoological Society’s menagerie during that month were 214 in number, of which 107 were acquired by presentation NO. 1987, VOL. 77] and three by purchase, while ninety-two were received on deposit, ten by exchange, and two were born in the gardens. Special attention is directed by the secretary to the following :—two chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), pre- sented by the Countess De Grey; five viscachas (Lago- stomus trichodactylus), three presented by the Countess De Grey and two deposited; a spotted cuscus (Phalanger maculatus), a species new to the collection, purchased ; and a naked-throated bell-bird. (Chasmorhynchus nudi- collis), a ground-hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), and two Arizona poisonous lizards (Heloderma suspectum), de- posited. Tue University of California continues its useful series of publications on the religion, sociology, and languages of the Indian population of the State. The most valuable of those recently issued is a monograph, by Mr. A. L. Kroeber, on the religion of the Indians of California. This is a form of Animism; but its distinguishing characteristic is the strong belief in Shamanism, generally in connection with disease and death. Dancing, always accompanied by singing, is a conspicuous element in all tribal ceremonials. In one tribe the dance is performed by the women, who stand up to their hips in water. The author gives full details of the mode in which the Shaman or medicine-man is initiated. The profession, though lucrative, can hardly be said to be desirable. Among some tribes, if he loses several patients in succession, he is held responsible by the relatives; in another, murder seems to be his normal end; in a third, if he fails to cure, he is obliged to return his fee. The author also gives a most interesting account of the rites of initiation for girls and boys, of the domestic and tribal celebrations, and of the mythology and popular beliefs. In a second paper he furnishes an elaborate analysis of the Washo language of east central California and Nevada. It is satisfactory to learn that the University has acquired the large MS. collections on the North American Indians made during a long service among them by the late distinguished scholar, Dr. Washington Matthews. These are now being published, the first instalment being a collection of Navaho myths, prayers, and songs, with the text and a transla- tion. Tue importance of algal growth in the colonisation of new ground is well recognised, but there are few records of detailed examination, so that the paper contributed by Dr. F. E. Fritsch to the Geographical Journal (November), embodying primarily the results of observation in the tropical climate of Ceylon, furnishes valuable data for reference and for extended inquiry. The blue-green alge, by reason of their colour and sheaths, are peculiarly pro- tected against insolation and desiccation, and therefore comprise the bulk of aérial algal colonies in Ceylon. Dr. Fritsch distinguishes four methods of growth, which he calls adhesive, tangled, tufted, and stratified. The adhesive is the earliest and simplest type; tangled and tufted colonies, being better adapted as regards respiration and_ water absorption, proceed from the adhesive; the stratified form is a special modification determined by light or possibly by moisture conditions. TuHrouGHout Germany the moors form an important feature of the vegetation, and on this account have engaged the attention of botanists, who have investigated their origin and formation. With the view of providing ocular demon- stration of their development, Dr. C. A. Weber has designed two attractive coloured plates indicating in section eleva- tion the different strata that have formed successive stages in the production of a moor. The diagram of the low-moor pictures the various zones from a mineral substratum 88 through rush-turf to coniferous forest. The plate illus- trating the high-moor decked with cotton grass shows additional layers, notably sphagnum-zones superposed. The plates, measuring 110 cm. by 150 cm., are published by Gebriider Borntraeger at the price of twenty shillings, or mounted on linen thirty-two shillings, a pair. The same firm is also publishing a set of plates illustrating pharmaceutical products at a subscription price of twenty- five shillings for five plates. A specimen plate of Lignum Guaiacum bears figures of wood and cortex as seen in different sections, also of the broken elements. The plates have been drawn by Mr. J. Pohl under the direction of Dr. E. Gilg. Tue latest Bulletin (No. 26) issued by the Geological Survey of Western Australia contains a series of miscel- laneous reports which in themselves are not of sufficient length to warrant issue as separate publications. The volume covers eighty-seven pages, and contains fourteen illustrations and six maps. Mr. A. Gibb Maitland con- tributes papers on the occurrence of artesian water in the Northampton and Geraldine district, on the geology of Princess Royal Harbour, with special reference to the occurrence of petroleum, and on recent advances in the knowledge of the geology of Western Australia. Mr. H. P. Woodward gives an account of the geology of the country between the Ashburton and Minilva rivers. Mr. W. D. Campbell describes the phosphatic deposits near Dandaraga. The discovery is one of great value to the State. The deposit occurs in a series of beds which have been followed for twenty-two miles, one bed of fossil bone and coprolite rock, 7 feet in thickness, containing 15-32 per cent. to 39-34 per cent. of phosphoric acid. Mr. W. D. Campbell also contributes some notes on a geo- logical map of the Greenough River district. Mr. E. S. Simpson describes a small meteorite, a siderite of. the octahedrite type weighing 120-2 grams, from the Nuleri district of Western Australia. He also contributes a valuable report on the prevention of the external corrosion of goldfields’ water-supply pipes. The Survey is to be congratulated upon the issue of these reports in a collec- tive form, as they cannot fail to help to make known the varied mineral resources of Western Australia. A THOROUGH change has occurred in the type of the weather during the past week, and more wintry conditions than at any time this season have been experienced. Night frosts have occurred in many parts of the country, and heavy snow has fallen over the northern portion of England. Cyclonic disturbances continue to arrive from the Atlantic with considerable frequency, and at times these are accompanied by winds of gale force. On Monday a whirlwind was experienced in the neighbourhood of Deal, and some farm buildings sustained considerable damage. The autumn has, on the whole, been exceptionally mild, the day and night temperatures being generally at least 5° above the average. WE have received the fourteenth annual report of meteorology in Mysore, being the results of observations at Bangalore, Mysore, Hassan, and Chitaldrug for 1906. To the present report the daily means for the twelve years 1893-1904 have been added for each of those important The director (Mr. J. Cook) states that, in accordance with the recent action of the Government of India, which has reduced the majority of its second-class observatories to third-class ones, the last two of the above- mentioned will hereafter be of the third class. For this reason the twelve-year means now published for N@. 1987, VOL. 77] stations. stations NATURE [NovEMBER 28, 1907 those places will be valuable as climatic standards of reference. AN important article by Captain Tancredi in the Rivista Coloniale on the climate of the Italian colony of Eritrea, from observations at fourteen stations, is summarised in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society for October. The observations at Massaua extend over ten years, and these, so far as regards temperature, rain- fall, and humidity, have also been discussed with others extending (with small interruptions) over eighteen years (1885-1902) by Drs. Eredia and Memmo in the Bulletin of the Italian Geographical Society. The lowest of the mean monthly minima, 72°-3, occurs in January, and the mean maximum, 103°-1, in July; the mean yearly tempera- ture is 86°-o. The year may be divided into two periods; from May to October the monthly means are above, and from November to April below, the mean value. The average annual rainfall is small, being only 7-19 inches, of which 6-04 inches fall between October and March; none falls in June. Malaria depends especially upon the altitude ; places above 6000 feet are practically free from it, while in the low-lying regions it is endemic, and assumes an epidemic character in some months, apparently depending upon the régime of the rainfall in the locality. Tue Smithsonian Institution has published (‘‘ Miscef- laneous Collections,’’ xlix.) a memorial of the late Prof. S. P. Langley, accompanied by a bibliography of his pub- lished writings. It contains addresses by Dr. Andrew D. White, dealing with biographical details; by Prof. E. C. Pickering, dealing with Prof. Langley’s contribu- tions to astronomy and astrophysics; and by Mr. Octave Chanute, dealing with his contributions to aérodynamies. The last-named address is of considerable interest in consequence of the conflicting statements which appeared in the Press at the time in reference to the alleged success or failure of Langley’s experiments on aéroplane flight. The facts of the case as chronicled by Mr. Chanute will now become a matter of history. In the Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (xxv.), Mr. R. F. Muirhead directs. attention to a simple method of calculating first and second moments of certain elementary figures. By ‘‘ second moments ’’ are meant the same as ‘‘ moments of inertia,’’ the term being preferred, as it does not imply that we are concerned with masses. The method in question, or one very similar to it, was known at Cambridge many years ago, but does not seem hitherto to have been much discussed in print. As applied to the triangle, this method consists essentially in dividing a triangle into four smaller triangles by joining the middle points of the sides, and applying Huyghens’s principle of parallel axes to obtain a relation between the moments of the original triangle and the four smaller ones. AN interesting account of the Amalgamated Radio- Telegraph Company’s new Transatlantic wireless station at Knockroe appears in the Electrician of November 15. The station is nearly completed, and when finished an Atlantic shipping service will be. started, while as soon as the Canadian station is opened a _ Transatlantic service will be commenced. Three masts, 350 feet high, carry the insulated ends of some 300 wires, which descend in a cone to nine short masts, 70 feet high, erected in a circle about the taller ones. The Poulsen system of wire- less telegraphy by undamped waves is employed, and it will be interesting to compare the Marconi and the Poulsen systems in-a Transatlantic service. Possibly-in this station NoveEMBER 28, 1907] NAT ORE 89 a higher voltage than that usually employed in the Poulsen system— goo to 500 volts—may be found necessary, but otherwise the apparatus installed does not differ very con- siderably from that at other stations. A great many improvements have been made in the different parts of the apparatus since Mr. Poulsen gave a demonstration of his system at the Queen’s Hall, a full account of which appeared in these columns at the time (NaTuRE, vol. Ixxv., pp. 105, 106), and the transmitter at Knockroe station has been designed to transmit waves 3000 to 5000 metres long, and capable of giving the desired wave-length with- out any variation. The company has also a new thermo- electric detector with which it expects to print Trans- atlantic messages, and in consequence to be independent of telephonic reception. The Poulsen-Pedersen ‘“‘ ticker ”’ method of reception also has been adapted to working a relay and a Morse inker. This ‘‘ ticker’? receiver has been greatly improved upon, and the latest form recently. established a long-distance record, receiving a ship signal at a distance of 2060 miles. Tue theory of the formation of the rainbow has been worked out more completely than hitherto by Prof. T. Tanakadate in the August number of the Proceedings of the Tokyo Mathematico-Physical Society. Taking account of the loss of light on reflection and refraction, and of the effect of polarisation, ihe author follows Airy’s treatment, and obtains an expression for the intensity of light of each of the four bows due to drops of a particular size, in a form suitable for numerical calculation. In the Physical Review for October Prof. W. S. Franklin and Mr. L. A. Freudenberger describe an arrangement they have found very satisfactory for measur- ing the resistance of electrolytes without the use of electrodes. The electrolyte is placed in an annular glass tank which encircles the iron of a small transformer the primary of which forms one arm of a resistance bridge. In the corresponding arm of the bridge a similar trans- former is placed, and the resistance of its secondary adjusted until the bridge is balanced, when an alternating current is supplied to it. The apparatus is so simple and the results are so good that electrodeless methods should replace some of those at present in use. Tue Physikalische Zeitschrift for October 24 contains abstracts of many of the papers read at the Versammlung deutscher Naturforscher und Aerzte in Dresden in September. The meeting, owing largely to the exertions of Prof. Hallwachs, was very successful. Of many papers of great interest, two may be mentioned. Drs. E. Gehrcke and O. Reichenheim have measured the change of wave-length of the light of the anode rays when they are seen end on, and have shown that when the anode is of sodium, lithium, or strontium the rays consist of molecules of these metals thrown off from the anode. Drs. Scheel and Heuse have measured the expansion of platinum between —183° C. and +16° C., and find as the mean result of three determinations by the two-microscope method and by Fizeau’s method 1602 x 10-* cm. per centi- metre. 2 ARRANGEMENTS are being made by which the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society may be subscribed for by the public at a uniform price per volume, the volumes to be supplied either in parts, as issued, or in volumes at the option of the subscriber. The arrangement will begin to take effect with the next volume, the first part of which will probably be published early in January, 1908. Tue Anglo-German Courier of November 23, published by the African World, is entirely devoted to an illustrated description in German and English of the recent visit of NO. 1987, VOL. 77] the German Emperor and Empress to London. This is the final number of that periodical, which was started to pro- mote friendly feelings between the people of Great Britain and Germany—a mission that may now be regarded as accomplished. Two well-illustrated and conveniently arranged cata- logues have been received from Messrs. Casella and Co. One deals with self-recording instruments for scientific, engineering, and industrial purposes, and the other pro- vides descriptions of anemometers, air meters, and wind- direction instruments. The catalogues deserve the atten- tion of meteorologists, teachers of geography, and other observers. A sEconp English edition, which has been re-written, of Prof. A. F. Hollemann’s “‘ Text-book of Organic Chem- istry,’ has been published in this country by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, Ltd., and by Messrs. John Wiley and Sons in New York. The first English edition was reviewed in Nature of June 18, 1903 (vol. Ixviii., p. 149), and it will suffice to say that the present volume is, like the former, the translation of Dr. A. Jamieson Walker, and is from the third Dutch edition. The translator has had the cooperation of the author and the assistance of Dr. Owen E, Mott. Messrs. J. M. Dent anp Co. have published the first number of the New Quarterly, a review of science and literature, edited by Mr. Desmond MacCarthy. The price of each issue is 2s. 6d. net. If science is to receive the same amount of attention in subsequent numbers, the review should become popular in the scientific world. Of the nine articles included in the present issue, four des] with various departments of scientific work. Lord Rayleigh, P.R.S., discusses the question, ‘‘ How do we perceive the direction of sound?’’ The Hon. Bertrand Russell writes on the study of mathematics; the Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S., deals with the question, Can we detect our drift through space? and Mr. G. A. Paley contributes an article on biology and politics. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN DECEMBER :— Dec. 1. 2h. Mercury at greatest western elongation (20° 20’). 3. 18h. 30m. Mercury 4° W. from the Moon. 7. 1th. 42m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 10-13. Epoch of the Geminid meteoric shower. 10. 17h. Mars in conjunction with Moon. (Mars 3 25'S.) : 10. 8b. 31m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 11. 22h. Venus in conjunction with Uranus (Venus o 59’ S.). ae 12. 3h. 35m. to gh. 28m. Moon occults 30 Piscium (mag. 4°7). ae »> 5h. 28m. to 6h. 42m. Moon occults 33 Piscium (mag. 4°6). 4 } 13. 5h. 20m, Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 3h. 54m. to 4h. 44m. Moon occults 20 Ceti (mag- 4°9)- Z E 15. 2h. 55m. to 3h. 47m. Moon occults & Ceti (mag. 4°3)- ; 17. 12h. 53m. to 13h. 18m. Moon occults 3) Tauri (mag. 3°9). . ! »{ 14h. 9m. to1sh. 18m. Moon occults 6 Tauri (mag. f 4°2). . 20. 22h. Vesta in conjunction with the Moon. (Vesta o° 59’S.). ; : 22. 12h. Sun enters Capricornus. Winter commences. 23. 2h. 6m. Jupiter in conjunction with Mcon (Jupiter Heese): : 30. 10h. 14m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 31. 3h. Mars in conjunction with Saturn. (Mars 1° 50’ N.). -90 NATURE wer [November 28, 1907 ; Saturn's Rincs.—Further observations of the invisibility of Saturn’s rings during the recent passage of the earth through the plane containing them are recorded in No 4215 (p. 249, November 17) of the Astronomische Nach- richten. According to the calculations of Prof. B. Peter, of Leipzig, the second disappearance should have taken place on October 4. M. Schaer, of Geneva, saw the rings as a luminous line without any difficulty on October 2, using a reflector of 140 mm. aperture. On October 3 the weather was unfavourable, but the rings were still visible, with a reflector of 160 mm. aperture, at 6h. 45m. on October 4. At 7h. 30m., however, the last trace of the bright line had disappeared. Continuing the observations with a refractor of 34 cm. aperture, at 7h. 45m. the rings could be seen momentarily, but were totally invisible at 8h. Bands of a brownish tint were several times seen on each sidé of the trace of the rings. Dr. Hassenstein made observations with the 13-inch re- fractor at Konigsberg on October 1 and 3. At 8h. (G.M.T.) on the former date the rings were undoubtedly visible, but at sh. (G.M.T.) on October 3 they were in- visible; at roh. the rings could not be seen, but dark streaks and the shadow of the rings were visible. Dr. Hassenstein concludes that the passage of the earth through the plane of the rings took place at oh. (G.M.T.) on October 3. PHotToGRAPHS OF JuPiITER.—The November number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France (p. 481) contains a reproduction from a photograph of - Jupiter taken by M. Quénisset at the Juvisy Observatory on March 2. The instrument employed was the Viennet objective of 016 m. (6-3 inches) aperture and 2-9 m. (114 inches) focal length, and about 100 exposures were made. The resulting images show many details, and some of them are remarkably well defined, presenting nearly all the details seen with the 240 mm. equatorial at the same time. On some of the photographs the Great Red Spot is even more apparent than in the visual observation. a Y, are regarded as coordinates of a point in a plane, the conditions that the quintic, with real coefficients, may have one, three, or five real roots are determined by the division of the plane into four regions by means of a certain quartic curve, corresponding to the vanishing of the discriminant, and an are of a certain cubic curve which touches this quartic. The number of NovEMBER 28, 1907 | NATURE 95 real roots is determined without any ambiguity by the situation of (X, Y), whether it is in one of these regions or on a bounding line.—The application of quaternions to the problem of the infinitesimal deformation of a surface : J. E. Campbell. Weingarten’s characieristic function in this problem can be interpreted kinematically as the normal component of the rotation, which an element of surface undergoes in the course of the deformation. The direct application of the method of moving axes, to obtain the characteristic equation, can be simplified very much by the use of quaternions.—Addendum to a paper on the inversion of a repeated infinite integral: T. J. VA. Bromwich. Generalisation of a theorem in the theory of divergent series: G. H. Hardy.—Uniform and non-uniform con- vergence and divergence of a series, and the distinction between right and left; Dr. W: H. Young.—Nodal cubics through eight given points: J. E. Wright.—A:’ transform- ation of hypergeometric series: Dr. E. W. Barnes.—A transformation’ of a certain hypergeometric series: Prof. M. J. M. Hill.—A general theorem on integral functions of order less than one-half: J. E. Littlewood. Paris. Academy of Sciences, November 11.—M. A. Chauveau in the chair.—A new mineral species, arising from the Athenian plumbiferous scoria of Laurium: A. Lacroix and A. de Schulten. This is one of a sevies of minerals arising from the action of sea water upon scoria rich in metallic lead and galena. Its composition corresponds to the formula Pb,(AsO,),,3PbCl,. The crystallographic measurements are given, and the hardness (3-5) and density (7-1) measured. The name georgiadesite is proposed for the mineral.—The influence of feeding on the course of experimental tuberculosis: MM. Lannelongue, Achard, and Gaillard. In sixty strictly comparative experiments, in three classes of diet in which fat, carbohydrate, and nitrogenous food respectively predominated, the animals with the fatty food died in forty days; with sugar, eighty- seven days; and with gluten, 371 days. This confirms the result of the authors’ early work, clearly demonstrating the superiority of a strongly nitrogenous diet in fighting tuberculosis.—Continued algebraic fractions: | Edmond Maillet.—The periodic solutions of the equation ~ Au+aAa(x, y, s)u=0: A, Myller.—The method of colour photography of MM. A. and L. Lumiére: Adrien Guébhard. A discussion of the phenomena attending the reversal of the image in this process.—The measurement of the anomalous dis- persion in crystals at different temperatures, and on some theoretical consequences: Jean Becquerel. It is shown that the large increase of intensity observed for the majority of the absorption bands of tysonite when the crystal is plunged into liquid air is not entirely due to the contraction of the bands, but is also caused by an increase in the total energy absorbed, corresponding to the increase in the dielectric coefficient of the electrons.—A comparison of the effects of the X-rays and radium upon the plant cell. Value of the unit M in plant physiology: H. Guilleminot.—The action of radium bromide on precious stone of the alumina family: F. Bordas. A modification of the method described in a previous paper. Colourless corundum has been transformed into topaz, the depth of colour of natural topazes increased, and a similar effect produced with faintly coloured rubies. Colourless fused alumina, submitted to the action of radium bromide, be- came first rose-coloured and then reddish yellow. Since this action takes place equally well at —200°, the con- clusion is drawn that the phenomenon of coloration is not due to oxidation.—The diastatic function of colloids: J. Duclaux. From a quantitative study of the catalysis of hydrogen peroxide solutions by colloidal solutions of ferric hydrate, the author concludes that the hydrolysed part of the salt does not intervene in the catalysis, and that it is the undecomposed ferric chloride which effects the change.— The action of gold on the dioxide of sodium and barium : Fernand Meyer. Precipitated gold reacts with fused sodium dioxide, yielding sodium aurate, and barium dioxide attacks gold similarly, although the reaction is less com- plete. From these substances auric acid can be prepared by the action of sulphuric acid. Auric acid, dried in a vacuum in the dark, has the composition Au,O,,3H,O or NO 1987, VOL. 77] Au(OH),. The preparation of the pure aurates of sodium, potassium, barium, strontium, and calcium from this acid is described. These aurates are decomposed by heat or light, the insoluble residue being Au,O, and not gold as supposed by Fremy.—The preparation of some iodides in vacuo: Marcel Guichard. The preparation of the anhydrous iodides of iron, nickel, silicon, and aluminium is described.—The action of amorphous arsenic on the alkyl halides: V. Auger. Amorphous arsenic, prepared by the reduction of a hydrochloric acid solution of arsenious anhydride with stannous chloride or a hypophosphite, is very active. It reacts with methyl iodide at the ordinary temperature, and at higher temperatures in sealed tubes with €Cl,, CHCl,, C.H,Br., C,H,!,., CHI,, and various alkyl iodides.—The iodohydrins and alkyliodohydrins derived from styrolene: Mare Tiffeneau.—The action of urea, thiourea, urethane, and some amides on xanthydrol : R. Fosse.—The application of the Hoffmann reaction to sparteine: Charles Moureu and Amand Valeur.—The estimation of fat in skimmed milk: R. Lezé. Three litres of the milk are mixed with ammonia and caustic soda, and the whole passed through a centrifugal separator.—The coloration of certain precious stones under radio-active influences: Daniel Berthelot.—The products of the volcano Monte Ferru, Sardinia: M. Deprat.—The in- fluence of high altitude on the loss of water by the organism: H. Guillemard and Aug. Moog. The effect of high altitude is not to increase the rate of loss of moisture from the body, but, on the contrary, to reduce it. The experiments leading to this conclusion were conducted at Paris, Chamonix (1050 metres), Grands-Mulets (3050 metres), and the summit of Mt. Blane (4810 metres).—The development of the energy of the voice: M. Marage. A description, with diagrams, of a set of exercises to increase the volume of air expelled from the lungs.—The visibility of night signals at sea: André Broca and M. Polack. The practical conclusions drawn from this investigation are as follows. If a signal of doubtful colour is better seen by direct vision than by indirect vision, it is red. In the contrary case the light is blue or colourless.—A new method of determining the accelerating power of neutral potassium and sodium salts on the coagulation of milk by vegetable ferments: C. Gerber.—The mitosis of cells containing Bacillus cuenoti: L. Mercier.—The ex- perimental study of medicines stimulating the movement of the stomach by the aid of fluoroscopy: G. Carriére.— A new Myxomycetum, an endoparasite of insects: Louis Leger. November 18.—M. Henri Becquerel in the chair.—The transit of Mercury across the sun of November 13 and 14, 1907. Observations made at the Observatory of Nice: M. Bassot.—Observations of the Daniel comet, 1907d, and a general plan of organisation for the complete physical study of comets: H. Deslandres.—The transit of Mercury of November 14, 1907, at the Observatory of Lyons: Ch. Andvré.—Observations made at the Observatory of Toulouse of the transit of Mercury of November 13-14: B. Baillaud.—Similar observations made at the Observ- atory of Marseilles: E. Stephan.—Similar observations from the Observatory of Bordeaux: L. Pieart and E. Esclangon.—Similar observations from the Observatory of Bourges : Th. Moreux.—The occultation of the satellites of Jupiter: G. Le Cadet.—The observation of the transit of Mercury across the sun, November 13-14, 1907; A. de la Baume Pluvinel.—Remarks on the relation between the solar activity and magnetic perturbations : MM. Cirera and Balcelli—The transit of Mercury, November 13-14, at the Observatory of Besancon: MM. Bruck, Chofardet, and Pernet.—The correction of the astigmatism of doubly refracting prisms: C. Tissot and Félix Peilin. The astigmatism can be corrected by the use of an appropriate cylindrical lens.—The propagation of telephone currents on subterranean lines: Henri Abraham and M. Devaux-Charbonnel.—The magnetic double refraction of organic liquids: A. Cotton, H. Mouton, and P. Weiss.—The multiplicity of sounds emitted by tuning forks: G. Sizes and G. Massol. The action of the Réntgen rays upon crystallised alumina : F. Bordas. The author has described in previous papers the alteration of colour produced in various forms of crystallised alumina by the action of the rays from radium 96 NATURE | NOVEMBER 28, 1907 bromide. From the fact that the radium salt acts from the inside of a glass tube, the a rays are excluded from the action. Since similar colouring effects are now shown to be produced by the R6ntgen rays, it is probable that the effects observed are due to the y rays.—The presence of p-methoxycinnamic aldehyde in essence of estragon, and on some derivatives of estragol: Maurice Daufreme. The aldehyde was isolated from the essence by repeated fractional distillation under reduced pressure, and by its reactions and analysis identified with p-methoxycinnamic aldehyde. Since, however, the constants did not agree with those of the same aldehyde, as described by Scholtz and Wiedemann, a synthetical sample was prepared, and found fo be identical with that from the essence.—The artificial reproduction of heavy spar, celestine, and angle- site, and on isomorphous mixtures of these substances Paul Gaubert. The method used is the re-crystallisation of the precipitated sulphate from sulphuric acid at, or slightly below, its boiling point.—The influence of the concentration of sugar solutions on the development of the spikes of Ulex europaeus: Marin MolWiard.—Floral anomalies due to mechanical action: M. Ducamp.—The use of heat for the treatment of coffee plants against the attacks of the Indian borer (Xylotrechus quadrupes) : Louis Boutan. To have any practical results it is necessary that all parts of the plant affected should be raised to a temperature of 50° C. This cannot be done by the direct action of a burner, and the author has designed a special stove for this purpose.—The possibility of establishing the diagnosis of death by radiography: Charles Vaillant. In a radiograph of a living person the stomach and intestines are not visible. Owing to their stationary condition after death, and possibly owing also to the development of gases which reinforce the action of the rays, these organs are clearly shown immediately after death in the radiograph, and the clearness increases with lapse of time after death. —The study of the epiploic sero-appendices : R. Robinson. —The north Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees sheets of charriage to the east of the Neste: Léon Bertrand.—An ancient bed of the Pliocene Loire: E. Chaput.—The relation between the radio-activity of subterranean waters and their hydro- logy: F. Dienert and E. Bouquet. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, NoveMBER 28, INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINFERS, at 8.—The Development of Turbo-Generators: Dr. Robert Pohl. FRIDAY, NovEMBER 20 Society or Arts, at 8.—The Hyziene of Work in Compressed Air. Pe Caisson Work, Sub-aqueous Tunnelling, &c.): Dr. J. S, Haldane, SATURDAY, NovemBER 30. Essex Fietp Crus (at Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6 p-m.—Notes on an Ancient Human Skeleton found at Foxearth, Essex : T. M. Wood.—A History of the Mineral Waters and Mineral Springs of Essex : Miller Christy and (Missy May May Thresh. MONDAY, DECEMBER 2. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Theory of the Microscope: Conrad Beck. ARISTOTELIAN Society, at 8.—Purpose: Prof. Robert Latta. Society or Cuemicat Inpusrry, at 8.—The Estimation of Naphthalene in Coal Gas and Spent Oxide of Iron: C. J. Dickenson-Gair.—Note on the Influence of Formal on the Properties of Funtumia elastica: Dr. P. Schidrowitzand F. Kaye.—The Polarimetric Determination of Sucrose : Dr. F. Watts and H. A. Tempany.—Niam Fat: Dr. J. Lewkowitscb. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8. —Experiments on Wind Pressure : Dr. T. E. Stanton. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4. GEOLOGIGAL Society, at 8.—The Faunal Succession in the Carboniferous Limestone (Upper Avonian) of the Midland Area (North Derbyshire and North Staffordshire) : T. F. Sibly.—Brachiopod Homceomorphy : Spiri/er glabey : S. S. Buckman. EnTomotocicat Society, at 8.—Notes and Descriptions of Pterophoride and Orneodidz : E. Meyrick, F.R.S. Society oF Pustic ANaLysrs, at 8.—The Volumetric Determination of Reducing Sugars: Part i.; The Determination of Invert Sugar in Presence of Varying Amounts of Cane Sugar: A. R. Ling and T. Rendle.—The Quantitative Separation of Barium from Strontium: Miss Zelda Kahan.— (1) The Action of Dimethyl Sulphate (Valenta’s Reagent) upon Oils of the Aromatic and Aliphatic Series; (2) Titration with Permanganate in Presence of Hydrochloric Acid: ‘I. W. Harrison and Dr. F. M. Perkin.— Routine Methods for the Bacteriological Examination of Water: A. R. Tankard. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5. Roya Sociery, at 4.30.—Probable Papers : Reciprocal Innervation of Anta- gonistic Musctes, Eleventh Note, Further Observations on Excessive Induc- tion: Prof. C.S. vas? F.R.S.—On the Distribution of the Different , hh » 1087, VOL: G7il Hf ’ Ar‘eries supplying the Human Prain: Dr. C. E. Beevor.—Localisation of Function in the Lemur’s brain: Dr, F. W. Mott, F.R.S., and Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S.—On the Supposed Extracellular Photosynthesis of Carbon Dioxide with Chlorophyll: Prof. A. J. Ewart.—The Influence of Increased Barometric Pressure on Man, No, 4, The Relation of Age and Body Weight to Decompression Effects: L. Hill, F.R.S., and M. G. Greenwood, jun —On the Present Distribution and Origin of the Cal- careous Concretions in Coal Seams known as ‘‘Coal Balls”: Miss Stopes and D. M. S. Watson.—On the Structure of Sigi//aria scutellata, Brongn., and other Eusigillarian Stems in Comparison with Those of other Palzozoic Lycopods: K. A. Newell Arber and H. H. Thomas. CuHemicat Society, at 8.30.—The Affinity Constants of Bases as Deter- mined by Methyl Orange. Preliminary Communication: V. H. Veley.— The Velocity of Reduction of the Oxides of |.ead, Cadmium, and Bismuth by Carbon Monoxide, and the Existence of the Suboxides of ‘these Metals: F. J. Brislee.—The Relation between Unsaturation and Optical Activity, Part i., The Menthyl and Bornyl Esters of B-Phenylpropionic, Cinnamic, and Phenylpropiolic Acids: T. P. Hilditch.—The Constituents of the Essential Oil of Nutmeg: F. B. Power and A. H. Salway.—Methyl Ethers of some Hydroxy-anthraquinones: A. G. Perkin.—The Colouring Matters of the Stilbene Group, Part iv., Ihe Action of Caustic Alkalies upon Parani rotoluene and its Derivatives: A. G. Green, A. H. Davies, and R. S. Horsfull.—The Replacement of Alkyl Radicals by Methyl in Substituted Ammonium Compounds: H. O. Jones and J. R. Hill. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Automatic Cab-signalling 01 Locomotives: J. Pigg. Civit anD MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’ Society, at 8.—Retaining Walls: A. T. Walmisley. LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Rerort on Alcyonaria of the Sudanese Red Sea: Prof. J. Arthur Thomson.—Report on the Crinoidea of the Sudanese Red Sea: H. C. Chadwick.—Notes on some Marine Alge from the Red Sea: Prof. R. J. Harvey Gibson.—£-xhibitions :—Specimens of Sfartina Townsendi, as illustrating its Distribution in Britain: Dr. Otto Stapf.— Lantern Slides showing Stages of Soil-denudation consequent on the Removal of Forests: A. P. Young. CONTENTS. PAGE The Vertebrate Nervous System. By Dr. W. nees Miayrn. ‘ 7 ee 73 Electric Power and “Traction. By L. er am 74 es oe and Practical Organic Chemistry. 17 [oi sis (Sh) OOo A of GemMIBMONS Stoo! FR Our Book Shelf :— Velenovsky : ‘‘ Vergleichende Morphologie der Pflan- zen.”—]. B. F. . . . ee ee) van Baren: ‘* De Vormen der Aardkorst : Inleiding tot de Studie der Physiographie” . 76 North: ‘‘ Nests and Eggs of Birds found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania ” 76 Smalian: ‘‘ Grundziige der Tierkunde fiir hohere Lehranstalten.”,—R. L.. ..... 76 ‘« Précis des Caractéres génériques des Insectes, disposés dans un Ordre naturel par le Citoyen Latreille” ay Perkin : ‘‘ The Metric and British Systems of Weights Measures and Coinage”. . 5 77 James: ‘‘ The Story of Scraggles (A Sparrow)” Car or 7/7/ Letters to the Editor:— Specific Stability and Mutation.—Sir W. T. Thisel- ton Dyer, K.C.M.G, FIRSShe: 77 The Winding of Rivers in Plains, —Sir Oliver Lodge, EeReG sei. C. Slater canes 79 The Occurrence of Copper and Lithium in Radiuw- bearing Minerals.—Prof. Herbert N. McCoy. . 79 A Convenient Formula in Mhgepeaaainics. —Harvey N. Davis. .. 5 80 A Miocene Wasp. Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, . 80 The Eggs of the Platypus. The Reviewer. . .. . 80 Literature relating to Australian Aborigines.—Dr. A. W. Howitt; R. H. Mathews. . . . 80 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. i \(Ulus: trated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 82 The Preservation of Eggs ..... Sire a Oe Notes... Big ER oe Our Astronomical Column :— 3 Astronomical Occurrences in December. .... . 89 Saturn’s Rings. - tS oc aCe os 6 go Photographs of Jupiter re oo - 90 Final Designations of recently discovered V. ariables . Prine 212) A Large Eruptive Prominence. ........ . « 90 Surveys of Nebule. . . Aner ca! GS New Geological SEY Maps and Memoirs. (Lllas- trated.) . . go Recent Publications of the U.S, Museum. —By Ro gl University and Educational Intelligence . . os eo2 Societiesiand’Acadmies) 92 2) ue --- 4) | | | < Mississippi Miles | Miles Miles Columbus | Memphis | 124 | 204 | 1°65 | 23 87 Memphis | Natchez 270 | 490 | 1°83 | 62 | 810 Natchez Baton Rouge| 88 | 133 | 1°51 | 18 | 7°39 Baton Rouge| Carrolton | 72 | 124 | 1°72 | 20 | 620 Columbus | Carrolton 554 oss | 1-72 |122)| 7°83 Thames Marlow Walton 18'°7 | 30°0 | 1°61 | Teddington | Isle of Dogs | 16°8 | 265 | 1°58 | 11 | 24 Danube Near mouth | 11°q4 | 22°5 | 1°97 | 13 | 1°73 Rhine kilom. | kilom | kilom Germersheim| Mannheim 342% 69%2) |) 2°03 | 1m) 6:3 Main | 114 144 1°27 | 2quiaseen Neckar | | Heilbronn Mannheim So 112 1°40 | 26 | 4°30 Lahn | | O.Lahnstein) Limburg D7c20 820 ryan 1373-4 Mosel Nr. Coblentz, 7°0 | 10°0 | 1°43 | Ahr | Altenahr | Ahrweiler 46 | 96 | 2:09 | | From the table it will be seen that over a length of nearly one thousand miles of the Mississippi the average length of stream, following the windings, is 1-72 times greater than the direct distance.. In the Lahn we find DECEMBER 5, 1907] NATURE The Lower Danube, the Rhine, The lower factors. almost the same factor. rand the Ahr show a factor approximating to 2. Main, Mosel, Neckar, and Thames have The mean of all the factors is 1-68. of the rivers the number of “‘ bows”’ is given with their average length. The size of the bows stands in some rela- tion to the volume of the river. What that relation exactly is I am not able to state. careful study of the flood waters of the river in connec- tion with the form of its bed. It is the flood waters which form the bed. When the river falls to low-water ” A ome Fic. 1. level we often see it cutting out a secondary bed on a much smaller scale, which is obliterated by the next following flood. It may be taken that the mean track of a stream traces the line of lowest level in the valley. Consequently, the ground must rise on both sides of it. The cross-section of the valley through the river resembles that through the middle of a watch glass, rising at first very slightly on both sides of the stream, then more rapidly as the confines of the valley are approached. It is evident that water displaced to one side of the river will, in returning to it, tend to pass to the other side, and to oscillate about the lowest point. If the bed of a stream flowing through alluvial ground were rectified so as to direct the water along a straight trough cut in the material, it might preserve a straight course for a time, but a stream following such a course ( NS For a certain number To arrive at it will require a | Bas fee as ee specification until some were obtained which resembled the courses of actual rivers. Fig. 2 shows one specimen out of many which were exhibited at the meeting of the British Association. It is assumed that the rhythmic motion set up in a mass of water which is disturbed in its uniform rectilineal motion will be reducible to two reciprocating motions, one in the direction of the fall of the stream and the other at right angles to it. When the gradient of the stream is very steep and the nature of the bed homogeneous, as it is in the case of water flowing down the front of a glacier, the longitudinal oscillation is swamped by the powerful and continuous action of gravity, which does not affect the transverse component. In these cir- cumstances we often meet with small streams which describe an almost perfect simple harmonic curve. In the ordinary stream of the meandering type the gradient is very small, in the case of the Mississippi from 2 inches to 4 inches per mile, so that the longitudinal pulse can pro- duce its full effect. When the two oscillations are simple pendulum motions and have the same _ period they produce an ellipse, which, when combined with the steady onward flow due to gravity, produces sinuosities os unlike those of actual streams. When the period of the transverse oscilla- tion is twice that of the longitudinal one, their combination produces a figure of eight (8). When a figure of eight is combined with steady forward motion so that both are travelled over in the direction of the arrows in the figure, then it does delineate a curve which may resemble the course of an actual stream. This is illustrated in Fig. 2. In it the sinuous curve falls into three parts, each consisting of a double bow, corresponding to a complete excursion of the tracing point round one of the figures of eight. The horizontal line indicates the path of undisturbed flow of the stream running from left to right in the direction of the arrows. It is divided into seventy-two equal spaces, each of which represents the distance which would be covered by the un- disturbed stream in the interval of time in which the circle which generates the transverse reciprocating motion describes one twenty-fourth of a revolution, so that the undisturbed stream passes over twenty-four spaces in the time that the tracing point passes once round the figure S <<, Ba Se ie SSS wy 4 Fic. 2. is in a state of unstable equilibrium. The smallest | of eight. The resultant path of the tracing point is the accident or obstruction disturbs the uniform rectilinear motion of the water, and tends to induce oscillations, both longitudinal and transverse. These begin immediately to cut into the banks, if they are yielding, and take larger and larger dimensions until they reach a limit when they -have produced a course of the sinuosity which corresponds to the laws of the harmonic motion of its waters. No attempt was made to arrive at these laws a priori. The method of investigation used was purely empirical. Curves were traced according to all kinds of harmonic No. 1988, voL. 77] sinuous curve, which cuts the horizontal line at 12 and 24 when the symmetrical 8 is used, and in 36, 48, or 60, 72 when one of the other two figures is used. It is an essential condition that the tracing point shall go round the 8 in the direction of the arrows, so that it shall be moving in the same sense as the undisturbed water when it traverses the outside parts of the figure which, are approximately parallel to the path of undisturbed flow. In describing the sinuous line it is convenient to draw the figure of eight on tracing paper. Then, when the 102 centre of the 8 is placed over any mark on the horizontal line numbered, say, 9, the point on the periphery of the 8 numbered 9 must be superposed on the point on the sinuous curve also numbered g. The description of the sinuous line is a simple case of mechanical drawing, and presents no difficulty. By vary- ing the harmonic composition of the figure of eight and the rate of undisturbed flow of the water, an infinite number of different individual curves can be produced which are all covered by the same generic specification. It is an interesting occupation, in leisure moments, to compose curves of this kind and to compare them with those traced by actual rivers on the face of the earth. J. Y. Bucuanan. Ir is not difficult to show the character of the flow at the bottom of a small river. For several years I have taken my students along the course of the river Fender near Birkenhead, and we have conducted experiments which confirm the laws of bottom flow first pointed out by Thomson. At first we put down tubes containing coloured liquids, and the stream-line motion was very clearly shown by lines of colour. Later, I have employed lump sugar soaked in a strong alcoholic solution of magenta. On placing one of these cubes at the outer bend of a curve—the ‘‘ turnpool’’—it is found that the water there is almost stagnant. Gradually an aureole of coloured water forms round the sugar as it dissolves, and this slowly creeps across the stream towards the inner bend. The advantage of this method is that the coloured sugar is several minutes in dissolving, and it is very easily carried about. For surface flow I have found mahogany sawdust to be the best, as it approaches water in density, and the fine particles are not influenced by air currents. Although in measuring the surface flow the line of maximum velocity is usually more eccentric than the middle line of the stream, there are cases where the quickest flow is near the inner bend. In a small experimental river in my laboratory I can produce both effects at will. A river is always tending towards a definite adjustment of .its parts to correspond with the characteristics of its flow. The floor becomes graded by the filling of hollows and the removal of obstacles, and the swings become regular and rhythmic like the swings of a pendulum. This condition is seldom found except in the flood plains, and I presume this is the special case referred to by Sir Oliver Lodge. In the ungraded part many exceptional and interfering circumstances come into play. I have noticed in experi- menting with my laboratory river that when the stream has become perfectly adjusted the line of maximum flow is towards the outer curves, but if any disturbing cause is introduced, such as an increase or decrease in the quantity of water flowing in the channel, a variation in the slope of the bed giving a more rapid or gentler fall, or the introduction of an obstacle to form narrows. the normal characteristics of the flow are disturbed, and the maximum flow may be on the inner curve or more violently bent to the outer curve. This is determined by the changed con- ditions and the tendency of the stream to readjust itself. Prof. Thomson’s model, not dealing with graded con- ditions, may easily have produced the abnormal effects he describes. A comparison of the flow of a river with that of a glacier shows more points of similarity than most people suppose. In a curved glacier such as the Findelen, the surface at the outer bend is higher than at the inner bend. and the inner bend is always marked by a ‘‘ toe-cap”’ moraine like the shallows on the inner curve of a river. It is only reasonable to suppose that this is the result of a cross current under the glacier, such as can be demon- strated in rivers. Moreover, we have in glaciers the phenomena of whirlpools and eddies where tributaries join the main stream. The phenomena of flow are practically the same whether the medium is solid, liquid, or gaseous. The essential feature of flow is shearing. In a stream the surface layers shear over the lower, the mid-stream portion shears NO. 1988, VoL. 77] NATURE [DecemneER 5, 1907 af through the lateral parts, and in a meandering course momentum impels the water towards the outer bends and shears it round the slower moving water in the inner bend. So in glaciers and even in solid rocks flowing under earth stresses the same laws apply. The only difference lies in the unit of shear. In the case of liquids and gases this is extremely small, whereas in glaciers it is usually the “ Kugel’? which gives rise to the corn structure in glacial ice. In rocks the unit varies from masses of gigantic size to others of very small dimensions. This, perhaps, may be regarded as a very crude conception of the meaning of flow, but I have found it useful in giving students a graphic idea of the complicated movements in rivers and glaciers. J. Lomas. The University, Liverpool. Small Flint Implements from Bungay. Tue small flint implements figured in the accompanying drawing were found in a sandy hollow about 2 feet deep at Bungay, in Suffolk. The sand in this hole was littered with minute flakes; in a few minutes I picked up between fifty and sixty, of which the figured ones are typical examples. I hesitate to describe the implements as ““pigmy flints,’’ because their fine secondary chipping is not confined to the thicker edge or ‘‘ back’ of the flakes, but, judging from photographs I have seen, they closely resemble some pigmies found recently near Brighton by Mr. H. S. Toms. So far as the untrimmed flakes are concerned, it is impossible to distinguish them from typical Citi Sree Small flint flakes and implements from Bungay. Two-thirds actual size. pigmy flakes, while the trimming of implements 3 and 5 is identical with that of the pigmies. In consequence of nearly all the English pigmies having been found on the surface of the ground, it has been impossible to say with any confidence whether they belong to the Neolithic, Bronze, or Early Iron period. In view of this, it is interesting to know that the small flakes and implements from Bungay were found in association with a polished axe of grey flint, a black flint lance-head of very delicate workmanship, one of the rare and finely chipped triangular ‘‘ knives,’?’ and some small convex scrapers showing very delicate secondary chipping. These implements were found in the same sandy hole when the small implements were discovered, and from an examin- ation of the sides of the hollow it was evident that they all came from what might be called a ‘‘ Neolithic floor ”’ about 18 inches from the surface of the ground. Nowhere on the surface of the surrounding ground could I find a single flake or implement, and if the ground had not been disturbed in order that a small quantity of sand might be carted away, not one of the implements would have been brought to light. As it happened, they were all found within an area of about six square yards. Some -DECEMBER 5, 1907 ] small bones found on the same site have been identified as those of a girl or a small woman. | The makers of the small flint implements evidently had their home or their ‘‘ workshop”? on a sandy knoll only ‘a few feet above the level of the marshes of the Waveney, Valley. On this knoll and a neighbouring one there are some saucer-shaped depressions in the ground very sug- gestive of hut-circles. W. A. Dott. Lowestoft. Graphical Interpolation. Sir Georce Darwin has directed attention (Mess. of Math., 1877; Phil. Trans., A, 1891; ‘‘ Collected Works,” p. 319) to the problem of interpolating values of vol. i. ’ Fic. 1. a function at points each half-way between two consecutive points of an equidistant set, e.g. for determining probable half-hourly values when the hourly ones are found from observations. Let q’, Q’, Q, q be four points (Fig. 1) with equidistant ordinates u’, Wi Un us It is required))to find P where the graph through these four points cuts the ordinate half-way between QO and QO’. By taking the origin on the half-way ordinate and writing the function as y=a+tbx+cex?+dx*+ .., we find that if we terms beyond x*, then neglect pe wl sO ( SG yz +"), 2 8 2 2 A rule for determining the point P is accordingly :—join QQ’, qq’ and let them cut the central ordinate in V, v re- spectively, then P lies in vV A: produced, and PV=iVv. This ui rule, although theoretically identical, is simpler in form than that discovered by Sir George Darwin, and seems to be safer, especially near a point of inflexion. It may be worth noticing that in the special case where QQ’ and qq’ are parallel, the cubic reduces to a parabola, and the rule for finding P is involved in the relation PV : Pu=QV*: qv?=1:9. At the beginning and end of the series the rule breaks down, but it can be adapted by assuming the parabolic form for the first and last arcs. In the latter case q is indeterminate, and g'v must be drawn parallel to Q’Q (Fig. 2). In the diagram (Fig. 3) the rule is applied to an example in which the assumption that the function can be expressed NO. 1988, VOL. 77] NATURE 103 as a power series is scarcely justifiable, but it willbe seen that it makes it easy to draw a smooth curve through the points Q. F.. J. W. WHIPPLE. Merchant Taylors’ School, E.C. int Reflection of Polarised Light. Some recent correspondence (vol. Ixxvi., p. 637) having directed attention to an error in Preston’s ‘*‘ Theory of Light,’’ I venture to send notice of another error in the same work (see article 158). The same error will be found in Prof. Tait’s article on light (see p. 611, vol. xiv., of the ‘* Encyclopedia Britannica ’’), and is repeated in -his text-book on light (article 271). I sent word of the error to the late Sir George Stokes, who ex- pressed himself astonished at it, and said he would look into the matter ; but I did not hear from him again, as his letter to me (dated September 19, 1902) was written only five months before his death. Let the planes of two thin plates of ordinary glass, A: and B, be parallel, so that light, which has been completely plane-polarised by reflection from A, falls at the polar- ising angle upon B. Preston states that this light will be wholly re- flected from B, whilst Tait states that this light will be reflected, almost without loss, from B. As a matter of fact, if we repre- sent by unity the intensity of the Rie polarised beam incident upon B, then the intensity of the light reflected from B will be represented by about #, and this takes into account both surfaces of B. The remainder of the beam, about $, is transmitted. To reflect the whole of the incident beam an infinite number of plates would be Vv vA < aN Fic. 3. required, and the glass would have to be perfectly trans- parent. Both authors state correctly that, when the plane of reflection of B is perpendicular to that of A, and the polarised light from A falls at the polarising angle on B, then practically none of this light will be reflected from B. I therefore think that the mistake arose from accidentally supposing that the total want of reflection in the second case should be balanced, as it were, by a complete. reflec- tion in the first case. C. T. WuitMe tv. Invermay, Hyde Park, Leeds. “104 NATURE [December 5, 1907 THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. OF JANUARY 3, 1908. ONR the third day -of the approaching new year, according to Greenwich mean time, a_ total eclipse of the sun will tale place, the line of totality passing from a point in the Pacific, about east longi- tude 155° and north latitude 12°, in a curved path through Polynesia and terminating in Mexico. Unfortunately for astronomers and others who go far afield to make observations on these occasions, | the eclipse is mostly restricted to the ocean, and the only two portions of land from which totality can be seen are two Pacific islands, namely, Hull Island, in the Phcenix group, and Flint Island, to the north of Tahiti. ; The accompanying map, Fig. 1, gives a general | idea of the path of the line of totality. It is taken from the ‘‘ Nautical Almanac”? for the year 1908, but has here been considerably reduced, and several lines which were not required for this article have been omitted, and the land areas more shaded. The positions of the two islands to which reference above has been made are de- noted by two small circles on the central line. Even these observing stations do not offer those facilities with regard to anchorage, landing, shelter, &c., which make eclipsing easy, as the following particu- lars, gathered from Dr. Downing’s paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, will show. Hull Island has a lagoon and a little fresh water, and cocoa-nut trees 50 feet high grow on it. The island surrounded by a coral reef, which makes landing very difficult except by entering the lagoon by means of the boat passages on the north-west side. There is also no anchorage. Even Flint Island does not offer more enticing facilities. It is 13 feet high, and covered with brushwood and _ trees. and is 24 miles long and half a mile broad. Fringing it is a steep coral reef, whicn at low water is dry and extends seaward about half a cable. At the northern end of the island this reef extends seaward 43 cables, and at the southern end 21 cables. Two small lagoons of brackish water are situated in the interior. Landing also is described as very bad even for surf boats, and there is either bad anchorage or none at all. So far as is known at present, no one intends going to Hull Island, but as Flint Island will be occupied the following data regarding the particulars of totality, gathered from the above-mentioned source, may be of interest. As the island is situated in longitude 151° 48’ W. and latitude 11° 26! S., the duration of totality is 4 minutes. Such a long eclipse will be specially suitable for the study of some problems, and more especially for those connected with the corona. This station is also very favour- able in another respect, because the sun at eclipse time has an altitude of 74 degrees, or only 16 degrees from the zenith. No. 1988, voL. 77] is The following table shows the times of the four contacts of the moon with the sun in both Greenwich and local mean time. Mean Solar Time. Greenwich Local d. Ss, Se Gi. Why ies: (a) ejanuanyass 7) 252 2 52 January 2 21 45 39 (2) ees oO. 22. 44 | pi 2) 23) ills; 82 (3) Seas eSho: (20144 yy) 2 23 19 32 (4) eset 2 59 4 Pe, Cte Cy/ While the accessibility of the station and the | weather conditions are not all that could be wished Fic. 1.—The track of the total solar eclipse of January 3, 1908. denote the positions of the two islands from which totality can be observed. for, the length of totality, the great altitude of the sun, and the importance of continuity of observ- ation of eclipses are sufficiently tantalising to tempt astronomers to journey to this far-off land. There is another reason which makes the observ- ation of this eclipse of great importance. The last eclipse from which successful results were obtained was that which occurred in 1905, the eclipse of 1907 not having been seen in consequence of un- favourable weather conditions. The next after 1908 The small circles on the central line will be the eclipse of 1912, which will be visible from South America for one minute. The other eclipse which will take place in this interval are as follows :— The Greenland and Siberian eclipse of 1909 is an annular one, and therefore not of any importance for physical astronomers. An eclipse will occur in Tasmania in 1910, but as totality will commence at 4h. 375m. and end at 4h. 6'4m., and as the sun will set at 4h. 53m. Hobart mean time, the sun will probably be too low for any extensive series of observations. In 1911 an eclipse track will begin in the south- eastern portion of Australia, pass across the Pacific Ocean, and finish by skirting the coast of Florida. It may. be that some islands lie in the track, in which case this eclipse can be utilised, but at the Australian end of the line the sun will probably have too small an altitude to warrant the sending of ex- peditions from great distances. In April of 1912 there will be an eclipse visible in Spain, but until the calculations are published it DECEMBER 5, 1907) NATURE 105 is not certain whether it will be ‘‘ total’ or ‘‘ annu- lar.’ This uncertainty is due to the fact that the apparent diameters of the sun and moon on that occa- sion will be so very nearly equal that it will depend on the value of the moon's diameter employed in the computations whether the sun will be totally eclipsed or not. Should it prove, however, to be total, the time of duration will probably be very short. Such an eclipse would most probably be a very valuable one from the point of view of the spectroscopic study of the chromosphere. It will thus be seen that we shall most probably have to wait until October, 1912, for a favourable eclipse following that of 1908, so it is hoped that the approaching event in the Pacific will be satisfactorily observed. The accompanying map of the world (Fig. 2) shows the tracks of all the eclipses to which reference above has been made, with the exception of that of April, 1912. This chart is taken from Mrs. Todd’s ex- cellent little book, entitled ‘‘ Total Eclipses of the Sun” (1894), but all those tracks which were == Island and back. The ship put on this special duty is the Annapolis, and she will be under the personal command of His Excellency Governor Moore, U.S.N., of the Island of Tuituila, Samoa. No doubt the officers and men of the Annapolis will prove most valuable assistants to Prof. Campbell, as they were found useful in the eclipse of 1905. On that occasion, it may be remembered, the United States Navy Department sent a ‘special eclipse squadron ”’ of three vessels to Europe, under the com- mand of Rear-Admiral C. M. Chester, U.S.N., the result of which was a complete series of observaticns only the preliminary results of which have as yet been published. To describe briefly the scientific staff and instru- ments which will be conveyed by the Annapolis, reference has been made i» the contents of an article which recently appeared in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (vol. i., No. 4, p. 254) from the pen of Mr. C. A. Chant. It is there stated that the party will probably con- sist of Prof. Campbell, with Messrs. Aitken, Perrine, and Albrecht, of the Lick Observ- atory; Prof. Lewis, of the Uni- versity of California; Prof. Abbot and his assistant, and possibly ae 1€ 2 in } y one or two other assistants. They will all sail from San Fran- cisco on November 22, arriving at Tahiti on December 4. The party will then join the Anna- polis and sail for Flint Island. With regard to- the, instru- mental equipment, corona pic- tures on a large-and small scale will be secured by a 4o-feet focal length © coronagraph pointed straight at the sun, and by a 5-inch objective of 70 inches focal length respectively. For the pur- pose of searching for intra- Mercurial planets, two groups of four cameras each will be pointed towards the east and west equa- torial regions of the sun‘s sur TRACKS oF v | } ora ECLIPSES 1905-1912 Fic. 2.—Chart showing the tracks of all the total solar eclipses from 1895 to 1912. The 1909 annular eclipse is included also, but the uncertain total eclipse of April, 1912, which might be seen from Spain, is excluded. not required have been deleted, and the year of occurrence of each eclipse has been printed in larger type. It is interesting further to point out that the eclipse of 1905 occurred at the time of greatest solar activity as indicated by the sun-spots, while that of 1g12 will take place about the epoch of minimum sun-spots. The eclipse of 1908, occurring in an intermediate year, will therefore be a useful connecting link between the two, and renders it important even from this point of view alone. The only official expedition which, so far as is known, has made preparations to view this eclipse is the one from the Lick Observatory in America, under the direction of Prof. W. W. Campbell. Flint Island will be the observing station, and Mr. William H. Crocker, of San Francisco, who has defrayed the expenses of five previous expeditions, has again offered to finance this one. The Navy Department of the United States has come forward and provided a war vessel to transport the expedition from Tahiti to Flint NO. 1988, VoL. 77] Objective-p rism spectrographs, or prismatic | | | . | roundings. | } cameras as they are often called, will be employed for obtaining photographs of the spectrum of the chromosphere. In one of these ‘running ’’ plates will. be used to record the sequences of changes in the spec- trum of the sun’s limb about the times of second and third contact. This method was, so far as I am aware, first employed at Sir Norman Lockyer’s suggestion in the prismatic camera in my charge at the eclipse of 1896 in Lapland. Unfortunately, clouds prevented any photographs at all being secured. Prof. Campbell successfully applied the method to the eclipses of 1898, 1900, and 1905, and therefore proposes to con- tinue the series. Other spectrographs included in the programme are one of low dispersion for recording the general structure of the corona, another for the determina- tion of the wave-length of the green coronal line, and a third for studying the form of the gaseous envelope responsible for the green line. For the ultra-violet spectrum of the corona, Prof. Lewis is taking out a large quartz spectrograph. Polariscopic photo- graphs will be undertaken, and a study of the bright- ness of the corona as a whole will be attempted. From the above brief sketch it will be gathered 106 NATURE » [DicEMBER 5, 1907 that Prof. Campbell’s party is equipped with a fine set of instruments, and that it is prepared to cover a wide field of research. Although the above will be the only official expedi- tion to the island, an enthusiastic amateur in the person of Mr. F. K. McClean is already wending his way there. Mr. McClean is the son of the late Mr. Franlk McClean, F.R.S., who, it will be remem- bered, besides completing a valuable spectroscopic survey of the brighter stars in both hemispheres, made valuable endowments both to the Cape Observatory and the Cambridge University. At the eclipse of t905 Mr. F. K. McClean accom- panied the Solar Physics Observatory’s expedition to Majorca as volunteer assistant. On that occasion he was in charge of a large coronagraph of 16 feet focal length, which he manipulated successfully, so he is not a novice at eclipse work. For the coming eclipse he is taking out a fine 22-inch siderostat, one coronagraph, and a_ small grating spectrograph. The coronagraph consists of a 4§-inch De la Rue objective of 8 feet focal length, which has been used on numerous occasions during eclipses by the Solar Physics Observatory expeditions. The optical parts of the grating spectrograph con- sist of a 4-inch Voigtlander of 42 inches focal length, and a Thorp’s transparent replica of a Rowland diffraction grating having 14,500 lines to the inch and a ruled surface of 3x2 inches. In the eclipse of 1905 this instrument gave such satisfactory results that Mr. McClean wished to employ it again under, it is hoped, better weather conditions. Mr. McClean has so arranged his programme that, failing any assistance at the station, he can make exposures in both the instruments. There is little doubt, however, that Prof. Campbell will be able to render him help should he require it. It may be mentioned that if the Annapolis had been able to accommodate more than twelve of the eclipse partv Mr. McClean would have been invited to join the Lick expedition. To reach Flint Island he has therefore gone to Auckland vid Australia, and has chartered a special steamer to take him and _ his equipment to the island and back. From later in- formation I find that, by arrangement with Prof. Campbell, he will pick up at Tahiti Mr. C. J. Mers- field, of the Royal Society of Sydney, and Mr. Moors, of the Sydney University, both of whom have volun- teered to act as Prof. Campbell’s assistants, and will convey them to Flint Island and back to Tahiti. Let us hope that eclipse day will be fine, and that all will return with results which will add to our knowledge of the sun. A cablegram, dated November 25, from Mr. McClean, at Auckland, states that Mr. Mersfield has joined him and will be attached to the Lick party. He further informs me that Mr. Raymond, of the Sydney Observatory, and Mr. Short, photographer to that observatory, together with the Rev. Mr. Walker, an amateur astronomer at Auckland, are going out with him and will form his party. Wiiam J. S. Lockyer. NEW AEROPLANES. AN account of the successful aéroplane flights by £ which Mr. Henry Farman has succeeded in breaking the record hitherto held by M. Santos Dumont (in the absence of trustworthy information concerning the experiments of the Wright brothers) has probably been seen by most readers of NaTuRE in the daily papers. We are indebted to an article by M. René Donciére in La Nature for the further | NO. 1988, VoL. 77] details regarding the machine and its performances which form the subject of the present notice. Mr. Farman’s machine has been constructed in the works of Messrs. Voisin Brothers, and is of the well- known cellular form, as shown in the accompanying illustration. The front pair of planes measure 12 x2 metres, the height between them being 2 metres. This pair is connected by a framework 4} metres long with the rear pair of planes, which only measures 6 metres transversely. The vertical rudder is situated between the latter planes, while a horizontal rudder is fixed right in front of the machine. The motors and tanks of petrol are contained in a spindle-shaped case in front, into which is let the seat for the operator. The motive power is furnished by an eight-cylinder ** Antoinette ’? motor of 40-50 (metric) horse-power, and operates on a propeller the two vanes of which are 2'10 metres across and 1°10 metres in pitch. The whole apparatus rests on four wheels when on the ground. The total wing surface is 52 square metres and the weight 500 kilograms; the length of the machine is 1o metres. At present—or at any rate at the time of M. Donciére’s account—the machine has a tendency to take an upward direction on leaving the ground, but while this prevented Mr. Farman from making extended trips, he has nevertheless succeeded in covering 771 to 800 metres at a height of 6 metres above the ground. These records, performed on and after October 26, following after flights of 303 and 350 metres, represented the maximum course obtain- able within the limits of the field on which the experi- ments were made. In regard to what the average Englishman would call the *‘ practical ’’? aspect of these experiments with reference to the possibilities of aéroplane machines coming into general use, reference is made to the great skill needed in controlling the machine. The operator has to manipulate or observe at the same moment the vertical and the horizontal rudder, the carburettor, the sparking, the pressure gauges of the petrol and water, to listen to the throbbing of the motor, to balance the machine laterally, taking account of the effects of wind, and finally to avoid coming into collision with the crowd of spectators. Later news states that Mr. Farman has again made several attempts to win the Deutsch Archdeacon prize, but has failed to do so owing to the wheels of his machine grazing the ground, especially in the neighbourhood of the turning points. Another aéroplane which is also attracting con- siderable attention at Paris is the ‘‘ monoplane ’’ of M. Robert Esnault Pelterie. This, unlike most recent types, has only a single transverse supporting surface, which in one machine measured 9'6 metres from tip to tip with a superficial area of 18 square metres; in a more recent machine these dimensions have been re- duced to 8°6 metres and 16 square metres respectively. The surface is somewhat concave in form. In addition there is a single horizontal rudder placed at the rear, while the motor and propeller are in the front of the machine. The motor consists of seven cylinders arranged round a circle, and it gives 25 to 30 horse- power with a weight of 44 kilograms. The total weight of the machine and its rider amount to 240 kilograms. For running along the ground the mono- plane has two wheels, arranged bicycle-fashion, at- tached to the body, and two other wheels are attached to the tips of the wings. The recorded performances, which commenced on October 22, include straight flights of about roo metres and 147 metres, and a path stated to be a semicircle of radius about 1640 feet, which, if correct, represents a flight of, roughly, 1600 metres. But at the end of the flight of 147 DECEMBER 3, 1907] NATURE 107 metres the machine fell vertically on the ground, and was damaged. An aéroplane constructed on the other side of the Atlantic is described in the Scientific American for November 16 as ‘‘a heavier than air flying machine which lacks the faults of former similar devices according to its inventor, J. W. Roshon, of Harris- burg, Pa... .’? This machine, which has not yet been tried, is characterised by its complexity to much the same extent that the monoplane is characterised by its simplicity. It has three principal supporting planes, the bottom and middle plane measuring 24 feet transversely by 8 feet longitudinally, while the top plane has only a transverse measurement of | 12 feet. Between these three planes, which are placed one above the other, giving a total height of 17 feet, there are 26 narrow flat planes placed transversely at the front and rear of the larger planes. The total wing surface is 900 square feet, say 80 square metres, and the weight with an operator is estimated at ‘600lb., say 270 kilograms. To launch this large machine into the air an inclined plane has been specially constructed curving up at the bottom in order to start the machine with its rider skyward, but for the first test a bag of sand is to take the place ot the latter.., | Academies, sleeping sickness, and Malta fever. ANNIVERSARY MEETING - OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. HE anniversary meeting of the Royal Society was held on Saturday, November 30, St. Andrew’s Day. Lord Rayleigh, the president, was in the chair. Among the subjects referred to in the report of the council are the publication of the National Antarctic Expedition results, the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, Royal Society’s Catalogue of Scientific Papers, International Association of The following statement, drawn up by the council, was presented to the Royal Commission on Vivisection in March last :— The Royal Society, from its age and the position accorded to it among scientific institutions, feels its re- sponsibility as a guardian of the general interests of science in this country. Founded as it was for the pro- motion of natural knowledge, whenever from time to time legislative changes have been proposed which might seem likely to affect the advancement of that knowledge, the | society has desired to make its voice heard on behalf of scientific progress. The recent appointment of a Royal Commission on the subject of experiments on animals has been deemed by the president and council of the Royal Society to be an occasion when they may ask to be allowed Fe TE Sora Mr. Farman’s aéroplane in full flight. From La Nature. A further departure from the present fashion of machine is the gyroplane of Messrs. Breguet, which revives interest in the attempt to overcome gravity by vertical screw propellers. As at present designed, it is supported by four propellers placed at the corners of a square, each propeller having four revolving vanes, and each vane carrying a pair of superposed planes. The machine, which with its operator would weigh 540 kilograms, was found to hover successfully in the air at a height of a few feet for a minute, this representing the limit of the experiment, and the machine being held down to prevent any accident. It is thus claimed that aérial navigation by vertical screws is possible. It is interesting to record the fact that the Scientific American estimates Mr. Farman’s longest flight on October 26 as 2529752 feet, and his longest measured flight on November 7 as 2624°66 feet. The French records are 771 and 800 metres respectively. Thus, by the use of English units, the American correspondent would appear to claim, if the results are correct, to have estimated these long-distance flights to within an eighth of an inch. But unless the figures repre- sent the results of actual exact measurements (and of this no evidence is given), their accuracy cannot be admitted. NO. 1988, von. 77] to lay before that Commission a statement of their views on the broad scientific bearings of the question. There can be no doubt that the main cause of the re- markable development of science in modern times has been the adoption of the experimental method of investigating nature. In every department of research this method has led to the most important advances, both in questions of theory and in practical applications to the useful purposes of life. From the beginning of its history the Royal Society has fostered the prosecution of experiment, not only in physical and chemical, but in biological inquiry, and its publications are full of records of the discoveries which have consequently been made. : In no branches of investigation have the theoretical and practical successes of experimental work been more con- spicuous in recent years than in physiology and its prac- tical applications in medicine and surgery. In medicine, the careful and patient testing of the effects of drugs on the lower animals has not only led to an accurate know- ledge, not otherwise attainable, of these effects as _pro- duced on the human body, but has greatly increased the number of substances now available to the physician in the treatment of disease. Without this method of investi- gation the progress of pharmacology, in recent years so astonishing and beneficent, would be arrested, and diseases, which may in time be successfully combated, would con- tinue their ravages unchecked. In modern surgery the application of similar experimental work has been attended 103 with brilliant success. Most delicate and fundamental operations on the human body have been made possible by the knowledge obtained from the treatment of animals. “The president and council of the Royal Society claim that since the continued advancement of. science in every department depends so largely upon the use of the experi- mental method, the utmost caution should be observed in any proposals for legislation whereby the prosecution of the method might be unduly limited. So much has already been gained from the application -of experiments on animals, both for the progress of physiology and for the alleviation of human suffering, and so much more may be confidently expected in the future, that the president and council trust that nothing will be done that would hamper the legitimate employment of the method. While precautions should undoubtedly be taken against improper use of experiment on living animals, it is not the province of the society to suggest what safeguards should be adopted. It is, however, the bounden duty of the president and council to urge that those safeguards should be so framed as not unnecessarily to interfere with that advancement of knowledge to promote which the society exists. Such restriction would not only cripple or arrest the growth in this country of an important branch of bio- logical science, but in so doing would reduce the efficiency of both physician and surgeon to mitigate or cure disease. It might then become no longer possible to maintain the high position which this country has gained in researches necessary for the advancement of knowledge and for the guidance of medical practice, and the investigators to whose devotion and skill the progress of medical science owes so much might be compelled to seek in foreign universities and scientific organisations the opportunities for research which they could no longer find at home. This statement is not founded on general knowledge alone. The cooperation of the Royal Society has often been sought by the Government of this country in taking measures to arrest the spread of deadly disease, and to improve the conditions of health in distant parts of the British Empire. Without the ungrudging services of physiologists and pathologists, many of whom the society is proud to count among its fellows, the services thus solicited could not have been given. The president and council gladly avail themselves of this opportunity of testifying to the laborious and unselfish devotion, often in most dangerous conditions, with which the necessary ex- perimental researches have been carried on, and to the value of these researches, not only in enlarging our bio- logical conceptions, but in alleviating the sufferings of mankind. A further sum of 350/. has been voted by the council from the Government grant towards a fund of 20001. which Sir David Gill is endeavouring to raise for the purpose of extending the work of measuring the great African geodetic are. The grant was voted conditionally upon the 20001. referred to being obtained. The main part of Lord Rayleigh’s presidential address is reprinted below. An important feature in the work of the Royal Society consists of various inquiries, undertaken for different de- partments of Government, in regard to diseases which affect the tropical portions of our foreign possessions and dependencies. Among these diseases the attention of the civilised world has been for some years directed to the malady known as sleeping sickness. The first concerted action for the study. and combating of this appalling scourge arose out of a representation made by the Royal Society to the Foreign Office in the spring of 1902, in consequence of which, at the request of the Treasury, the society’s Malaria Committee organised and dispatched a small scientific commission to Uganda. In the course of a short time the source of the disease was traced by this Commission to the presence of a trypanosome in the blood and cerebro-spinal fluid of the victims, and the further discovery was also made by the same Commission that the trypanosomes are carried by a species of biting tsctse-fly. These important revelations were followed up by detailed NO. 1988, vOoL. 77] NATURE [DECEMBER 5, 1907 studies of the character and distribution both of the disease and of the fly. Besides sending out a succession of observers to prosecute the investigations of its Commission at Entebbe, the Royal Society urged upon the Colonial Office the necessity of organising, and under an increased medical staff, a more comprehensive inquiry into the local conditions under which the disease is propagated. ‘This recommendation was carried out, and some valuable in- formation on the subject has been obtained.. Meanwhile, though various drugs had been tried with at best only temporary success, no lasting remedy had been found for the malady, which has continued to be fatal and to spread steadily over Central and East Africa. The various European Governments which have possessions in those regions have at last determined to make a united effort to cope with sleeping sickness through the instrumentality of an International Conference having a separate bureau in each country concerned and a central bureau in London. The object of this cooperation will be to collect information bearing on the disease, to devise and carry out such scientific researches as may seem to be necessary, and to concert measures for dealing with the disease and the populations affected or likely to be affected by it. The Royal Society, having led the way in this subject, has been invited to give the proposed combined international action its support. The society welcomes the proposal, and will be prepared to render every assistance in its power. In the meantime, our Tropical Diseases Committee is continuously and actively engaged in the endeavour to discover a drug that may prove effective in the treatment of the disease. Their investigations have been directed to the study of trypanosomiasis in rats, and the latest results obtained are such as to encourage the hope that at least in this direction their labours have been successful. During the present year three parts of the reports of the society’s Mediterranean Fever Commission have been published, embodying the final observations and conclusions in this important inquiry, which was undertaken at the joint request of the Admiralty, War Office, and Colonial Office. The members of the Commission have shown how the scourge of fever, which has been so long rife in Malta, and has so seriously reduced the strength of our garrison there, may be eventually banished from the island. Already their recommendations, so far as they have been followed, have reduced the amount of fever to trifling pro- portions. It now remains for the authorities to adopt the further precautions pointed out to them, which will prob- ably banish the disease altogether. Progress has been made with the National Physical Laboratory’s buildings at Eskdale Muir, some of which are now ready for occupation. It was hoped that the work might have begun this summer, and the Treasury has provided a sum of 7501. for the expenses during three- quarters of the current financial year. Owing to the bad weather in the early summer this anticipation has not been realised, but a start will be made very shortly. The build- ings are admirably adapted for their purpose, and will render possible the study of terrestrial magnetism under the undisturbed conditions which used to exist at Kew. The completion of the work on the electrical units will be satisfactory to those who have been interested in this question. At the time of my own researches, about twenty-five years ago, the ohm and the ampere were un- certain to 2 per cent. or 3 per cent., and I then scarcely hoped to get nearer than one part in a thousand. The recent work carried on at Bushey would seem to indicate that an accuracy of one part in ten thousand may have been attained. The possibility of such a refinement de- pends largely upon the use in the instruments of coils composed of a single layer of wire, the position of every turn of which is open to exact determination. The importance of this feature was insisted upon by the late Prof. Jones. Accuracy of measurement appeals less to the lay and scientific public than discoveries promising to open up new fields; but though its importance at any particular stage may be overrated, it promotes a much needed consolida- tion and security in the scientific edifice. A remarkable example of enhanced accuracy is afforded by modern measurements of luminous wave-lengths, for which we. are Decemer §, 1907] -mainly indebted to our Copley medallist. Not only did he introduce. the vacuum tube charged. with mercury or cadmium as the best source of homogeneous light, but by a most able use of an ingenious. method he determined, with the highest precision, the values of the cadmium red, green, and blue wave-lengths in terms of one another, and of the metre. His work has been skilfully followed up by Fabry and Perot, and numerous wave-lengths are now known with a relative accuracy of one millionth part. When we reflect upon the almost ultra-microscopic magni- tude of a wave-length of light, the possibility of such an achievement may well excite our astonishment. For the advancement of science the main requirement is, of course, original work of a high standard, adequately explained and published; but this is not enough. The advances so made must be secured, and this can hardly be unless they are appreciated by the scientific public. In all the principal countries of the world we have now a body of men professionally connected with science in its various departments. No doubt the attention of many of these is so engrossed by teaching that it would be hard to expect much more from them, though we must re- member that teaching itself takes on a new life when touched with the spirit of original inquiry; but in the older universities, at any rate, the advancement of science is one of the first duties of professors. Actual additions to know- ledge occupy here the first place; but there must be many who, from advancing years or for other reasons, find themselves unable to do much more work of this kind. It is these I would exhort that they may fulfil their func- tion. in another way. If each man would mark out for himself a field—it need not be more than a small one— and make it his business to be thoroughly conversant with all things, new and old, that fall within it, the danger of which I have spoken would be largely obviated. A short paper, a letter to a scientific newspaper, or even. conversa- tion with friends and pupils, would rescue from oblivion writings that had been temporarily overlooked, thereby advancing knowledge generally, and sometimes saving from discouragement an unknown worker capable of further achievements. Another service such experts might render would be to furnish advice to younger men desirous of pursuing their special subiect. A movement is on foot, and has already received valu- able support, to promote the publication of standard scien- tific works in embossed type suitable for the use of the blind. Mr. H. M. Taylor tells me that in the course of the last twelve months he has written out the whole of Mr. C. Smith’s “‘ Elementary Algebra’? in Braille type, has afterwards read the copy with his fingers, and again, later, read the whole in proof. There can be no doubt that books in embossed type on such subiects as mechanics, physics, astronomy, geology, not to mention the various biological sciences, would be an immense boon to many blind readers. I commend the proposal heartily to your notice. Another remedy for the confusion into which scientific literature is liable to fall may lie in the direction of restrict- ing the amount of unessential detail that is sometimes prevalent in the publication of scientific results. In com- paring the outputs of the present time and of, say, thirty years ago, the most striking feature that appears is doubt- less the increase of bulk, in recent years coming especially from young workers stimulated by the healthy encourage- ment of direct research as a part of scientific education. But I think it may also be observed, and not alone in the case of such early dissertations, that there is, on the whole, less care taken for the concise presentation of results, and that the main principles are often submerged under a flood of experimental detail. When the author himself has not taken the trouble to digest his material or to prepare it properly for the press, the reader may be tempted to judge of the care taken in the work from the pains taken in its presentation. The tendency in some subiects to submit for immediate publication the undigested contents of note-books is one that we hear much of at the present time. It is a matter that is difficult for publishing bodies to deal with, except by simple refusal of imperfectly pre- pared material, with its danger of giving offence to authors of recognised standing, but it seems not unlikely that at present public scientific opinion would endorse such a NO. 1988, voL. 77] NATURE 109 course of action. A related difficulty, and one that con- tributes to this trouble, is the tendency, noticeable in some public scientific organisations, to imagine that their activity is estimated by the number of pages of. printed matter they can produce in the year. Probably no con- _sideration is further removed than this from the minds of the educated. public, whose alone worth considering. judgment is CopLtey MeEpAL. The Copley medal is awarded to Prof. Albert Abraham Michelson, For.Mem.R.S., on the ground of his experi- mental. investigations in optics. In 1879 Michelson brought out a determination. of the velocity of light by an improved method, based on Foucault’s, which gave 299,980 kilometres per second. Three years later, by means of a modification of the method, capable of even greater precision, he found’ for this constant, of fundamental importance for electric as well as optical science, the value of 299,853 kilometres. Michelson has been a pioneer in the construction of interferometers, which are now indispensable in optics and metrology. With his new instrument, at Paris, he deter- mined the absolute wave-lengths of the red, green, and blue lines of cadmium by counting the number of. fringes (twice the number of wave-lengths) corresponding to the length of the standard metre of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. He found the metre to be 1,553,164 times the wave-length of the red line of cadmium, a result which is almost in exact agreement with the re-determin- ation last year by Perot and Fabry. Michelson thus proved the feasibility of an absolute standard of length, in wave- lengths, of such accuracy, that if the standard metre were lost or destroyed it could be replaced by duplicates which could not be distinguished from the original. He had the greatest share in the elaboration of precise experiments on the relative motion of ether and matter. He repeated in an improved form Fiesnel’s experiment of the speed of light in moving media, using water and sulphide of carbon. He found that the fraction of the velocity of the water by which the velocity of light is in- creased is 0-434, with a possible error of +0-02. The fact that the speed is less in water than in air shows experimentally that the corpuscular theory is erroneous; but his results, moreover, established the correctness of Fresnel’s formula for the effect, the theory of which has since. become well understood. In coniunction with E. W. Morley, he devised and carried out a very remarkable method by which, on the assumption of ether at rest, an effect depending on quanti- ties of the order (v/V)* would appear to be appreciable. No displacement of the fringes was found. Of this result the simplest explanation would be that the ether near the earth partakes fully in its orbital motion; but modern electric and optical science appears to demand a quiescent ether, and the existence of this and similar null results is fundamental for its theory. He has shown the possible application of the interfero- meter method to astronomy, by himself measuring the diameters of the four satellites of Jupiter, which are only about one second of arc. He suggests the further appli- cation of the instrument to such of the fixed stars as may not subtend less than one-hundredth of a second of arc. In 1898 Michelson constructed a spectroscope which enables us to make use of the great resolving powers of the very high orders of spectra which are absent in the use of the ordinary grating, and with the added advantage of having most of the light in one spectrum. The echelon consists of a pile of glass plates of precisely equal thick- ness, which overlap by an equal amount; with it spectral lines which appear single with the most powerful gratings can be resolved into components. This instrument has been especially useful for the direct observation of the important, because definite, influence of magnetism 9. light, discovered by Zeeman. With thirty plates, and using the 25,0ooth spectrum, the echelon has a resolving power of 750,000, while the most powerful gratings do not exceed 100,000. In connection with the analysis of radiations, he has constructed and used various machines for the analysis of periodic motions. For example, in conjunction with ‘LTO WAVURE [DECEMBER 5, 1907 ‘Stratton, he perfected a remarkable machine which is | ledge for which we are indebted to his exceptional skill - based on the equilibrium of a rigid body under the action contained in his paper in the Phil. of springs. Prof. Michelson has also investigated by his interfero- meter the important subject, both theoretically and prac- tically, of the breadth and the structure of spectral lines,, including the effect of a magnetic field, and in various other experimental optics. Royat Mepats. One of the Royal medals approval of His Majesty, to Dr. B.R.S; During the last twenty years Dr. E. W. Hobson has been distinguished for the fundamental character of his contributions to mathematics and mathematical physics. His earlier published work, from 1888 onwards, deals largely with the so-called harmonic analysis, which embraces many topics having for their common aim the solution of the potential equation in forms suitable for application to the problems of physics. The exhaustive examination of the general types.of harmonic functions Trans., 1896, has been found to be of high utility for this application. He was led by these researches, and particularly by the difficulty of describing in general terms the characteristics of a func- tion capable of being represented by Fourier’s series, to take part in the revision of the logical basis of differential and integral calculus which is now in progress; his presi- dential address to the London Mathematical Society in 1g02 on the questions here arising aroused general interest among mathematicians, and he has recently (1907) pub- lished an extensive volume dealing with the whole matter and its applications to the theory of Fourier’s series, which is of great importance for the history and development of mathematics. His Majesty has also approved the award of a Royal medal to Dr. Ramsay H. Traquair, F.R.S. Dr. Traquair is honoured on the ground of his long-continued researches on the fossil fishes of Palzozoic strata, which have culmin- ated, within the past ten years, in his discovery of new groups of Silurian and Devonian fishes, and in his complete exposition of the structure of Drepanaspis, Phlyctenaspis, and other remarkable forms. For nearly forty years Dr. Traquair has been busy with the description of fossil fishes, mostly from the Palzozoic rocks of Scotland, and he is deservedly held to be one of the most eminent paleontologists of the day. He has been highly successful in the interpretation of the often very obscure and fragmentary remains which he has had to elucidate, and his restorations of fishes have won such credit as to appear in all modern text-books of palzonto- logy. It may be said that his work, notwithstanding the great difficulties of the subject, has well stood the test of time. Dr. Traquair has done much to advance our knowledge of the osteology of fishes generally. His earliest memoirs on the asymmetrical skull of flat-fishes and on the skull of Polypterus remain models of exactness. His acquaintance with osteology enabled him to show how former superficial examination of the Palzozoic fishes had led to wrong interpretations. He demonstrated that Chirolepis was not an Acanthodian, as previously supposed, but a_ true Paleoniscid. In 1877 he satisfactorily defined the Palzoniscidze and their genera for the first time, and con- clusively proved them to be more nearly related to the sturgeons than to any of the other modern ganoids with which they had been associated. He thus made an entirely new departure in the interpretation of extinct fishes, re- placing an artificial classification by one based on phylo- genetic relationship. His later memoir on the Platysomidz was equally fundamental and of the same nature. All subsequent discoveries, many made by Traquair him- has been awarded, with the Ernest William Hobson, self, have confirmed these conclusions, which are now universally accepted. In 1878 Dr. Traquair demonstrated the dipneustan nature of the Devonian Dipterus, and somewhat later he began the detailed study of the Devonian fishes. His latest researches on the Upper Silurian fishes of Scotland are equally important, and provide a mass of new know- NO. 1988, VOL. 77] ways his genius has opened up new ground in “f 4 and judgment vertebrate life. in unravelling the mysteries of early Davy MEDAL. The Davy medal is awarded to Prof. Edward Williams Morley. Prof. Edward W. Morley is well known both to chemists and to physicists for his work in the application of optical interferences and other physical phenomena to increase the accuracy of measurement. Numerous valu- able papers have appeared, either in collaboration with Prof. Michelson and others, or in his own name, on such subjects. Special reference may be made to his experi- ments, in conjunction with Prof. Michelson, on the funda- mental question of the absence of effect of translatory motion of material bodies on luminous phenomena. His claim to the Davy medal rests on grounds closely related to these researches, for he has combined thorough mastery of accurate measurement with an intimate know- ledge of modern chemistry, and has utilised them in his attempt to solve one of the most difficult and fundamental problems of chemical science. The special problem to which he has consecrated many years of his life is the determination of the relative atomic weights of hydrogen and oxygen; it has been attacked by him with rare insight and skill, and with indomitable perseverance, and he seems to have settled it for many years to come, if not perma- nently. All the recent work devoted to this problem, and there has been much, has tended to establish more firmly the ratio arrived at by Prof. Morley. His determinations of the absolute weights of a litre of hydrogen and of oxygen, and his investigations of the amounts of moisture retained by gases dried by various desiccating agents, are of the very greatest importance for scientific progress. SYLVESTER MEDAL. Prof. Wilhelm Wirtinger, of Vienna, is the recipien of the Sylvester medal. He is distinguished for the impsrt- ance and wide scope of his contributions to the general theory of functions. Our knowledge of the general proper- ties and characteristics of functions of any number of independent variables, and our ideas for the further in- vestigation of such functions, are, for the most part, at present bound up with the theory of multiply-periodic functions, and this theory is of as great importance for general solid geometry as the ideas of Abel have proved to be for the theory of plane curves. Prof. Wirtinger has applied himself for many years to the study of the general problems here involved. A general summary of his re- searches is given by him in the Abel centenary volume (xxvi., 1902) of the ‘‘ Acta Mathematica.’’ Two of his papers may be particularly referred to, both of 1895. One of these deals with the reduction of the theory and general multiply-periodic functions to the theory of algebraic fune- tions, with a view to their expression by Theta functions; this was one of the life problems of Weierstrass, who did not, however, during his lifetime, publish anything more than several brief indications of a method of solution. Prof. Wirtinger’s memoir obtains a solution, and is, more- over, characterised throughout by most stimulating depth and grasp of general principles. This paper was followed by two others, one continuing the matter in detail, the other making an application of its principles to the general theory of automorphic functions. Another extensive paper, which obtained the Beneke prize of the Royal Society of Gottingen, deals with the general theory of Theta func- tions. In it he obtained results of far-reaching import- ance, for geometry as well as for the theory of functions, the full development of which will require many years of work. Hucues Mepat. The Hughes medal is awarded to Principal Ernest Howard Griffiths. Principal Griffiths has conferred great benefit on physical science by his series of measurements of fundamental constants, mainly in the domain of thermal and electric energy. At a time when the equivalent of the thermal unit in mechanical energy stood urgently in need of revision, he devoted himself to the problem with all the refinements and patient manipulation that could be devised, the result being a value for Joule’s equivalent which at once acquired authority in the light of the | 1 ql ‘DECEMBER 5, 1907 | evidence produced, and largely confirmed the corrections already advanced by Rowland and others. A main cause of discrepancy had been found to be the variation of the thermal capacity of water with the temperature; and by an investigation in which this variation was determined, Griffiths elucidated and correlated fundamentally the work of previous observers, from Joule onward. Of special importance also, in the domain of chemical physics, was an investigation of the depression of the freezing point of water by very dilute admixture of dissolved substances, wherein he verified, with all the refinement of absolute physical determinations, that the change of freezing point ran exactly parallel to the electric conductivity when the dilution of the electrolysable salt was comparable to that of gases, being twice as much per molecule as the standard value of the depression for non-electrolytes. Bucuanan MEDAL. The Buchanan medal is awarded to Mr. William Henry Power, C.B., F.R.S. Mr. Power’s services to hygienic science and practice have extended over a period of more than thirty years, and have been of the most distinguished kind. He has himself personally conducted successful inquiries into the causes of the spread of various diseases, and has obtained results which have proved of the greatest penefit to mankind. Moreover, in his long connection with the medical department of the Local Government Board he has planned and directed numerous general and local investigations whereby our knowledge of disease, and of the methods of coping with it, have been greatly in- creased. The medical reports issued by the Local Govern- ment Board, which are universally regarded as among the most important contributions of our time to this subject, have for many years past been either written by him or owe much to his editorial criticism and supervision. It is not too much to say that no living man in this country has advanced the cause of scientific hygiene more than Mr. Power, or is more worthy of the distinction of the Buchanan medal. In the evening of the anniversary meeting, the fellows of the society and their guests dined together at the Whitehall Rooms of the Hétel Métropole. Lord Rayleigh was in the chair, and responded to the toast of the Royal Society proposed by Lord Dunedin. Speeches were also made by several of the medallists, and by Lord Fitzmaurice and the Dean of West- minster. NOTES. In proposing the toast of ‘‘ The Royal Society ’’ at the anniversary dinner on Saturday last, Lord Dunedin referred to the popularisation of science as one of the functions of a society which exists for the promotion of natural know- ledge. This remark provides the subject of a letter by an anonymous correspondent in Tuesday’s Times. The writer urges that the neglect of science in this country is largely due to the indifference shown by scientific men to the intellectual interests of the average reader. Few men of science make any attempt to describe their investigations in language which can be understood by men of culture without special scientific knowledge, and it is scarcely too much to say that most investigators are so closely absorbed in their particular researches that whether the world in general knows anything of the results or not is regarded as no concern of theirs. This spirit, and the obscure and diffuse manner in which scientific investigations are often described are to be deplored. Lord Rayleigh, in the presi- dential address which appears elsewhere in this issue, directs attention to the undigested material often presented as papers to scientific societies; and it seems as if the zeal for research is rarely accompanied by the aspiration for simplicity of expression. Prof. M. E. Sadler suggests in Wednesday’s Times that the neglect of the teaching of the mother tongue in our schools provides a reason ‘* why so many Englishmen of learning and high scientific attain- No. 1988, VoL. 77] NATURE III ment are unable to express themselves in a lucid and stimulating way.’’ It may be pointed out, however, that though rhetoric receives more attention in the United States than it does in this country, the style of scientific papers and other works from America is not superior to that of our own scientific literature. But whatever the explanation may be, there can be only one opinion as to the advantage of increasing interest in scientific work by making the results as widely known as possible. Tue formation of the Royal Society of Medicine has already been the subject of a congratulatory note in these columns. The inaugural dinner of the society, held on Tuesday last, December 3, was a remarkable testimony to the successful establishment of what Sir Ray Lankester described on that occasion as the National Academy of Medicine. The society consists of thirteen federated sec- tions, representing fifteen pre-existing societies, and it is hoped that other sections will be included before long, so that no branch of medical knowledge will be unrepresented in the society. The number of fellows is upwards of 1800, and of members above 600, and there is every reason to anticipate that these numbers will be considerably increased now that the society is in full working order. The library, which has been strengthened by the inclusion of those of the Odontological and Obstetrical Societies with that of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical, now consists of upwards of 70,000 volumes, and in the reading-room of the society no fewer than eighty-nine British and 180 foreign periodicals can be consulted. Sir W. Church, president of the society, who presided at the dinner on Tuesday, bore testimony to the manner in which the various bodies now forming the Royal Society of Medicine have been willing to sacrifice somewhat of their indepen- dence and individual prestige for the common good. Never in the history of medicine has there been a time in which so wide a field has engaged the attention of medical men as the present. In every department of medicine, science has placed at the disposal of medical men new methods and fresh means, not only for the investigation, but also for the treatment of disease, and the ground to be covered in each branch of medicine must as time goes on neces- sarily increase. To provide every facility for diffusing the increased knowledge which is being gained and enable the profession to keep in touch with what is going on is perhaps at the present time the main object of the society ; but the time will come, and that soon, when the Royal Society of Medicine will be in a position, not only to discuss the value of the researches brought to its notice, but also, through the appointment of scientific committees, to add to knowledge. Tue Lalande medal has been awarded by the Paris Academy of Sciences to Mr. Thomas Lewis, of the Green- wich Observatory, and secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society. Sir W. H. Bennett, K.C.V.O., has been elected presi- dent of the Incorporated Institute of Hygiene in succession to the late Sir W. H. Broadbent, F.R.S. AN experiment in the breeding of Maine lobsters in the Pacific Ocean is about to be tried by the U.S. Commission of Sea and Shore Fisheries. A car-load of seed lobsters has already been dispatched by a fast express from the Government hatchery at Boothbay to the western coast. By the death of Mr. M. Walton Brown, which occurred on November 22, the Institution of Mining Engineers loses an indefatigable secretary and the profession of coal mining one of its most useful representatives. Mr. Walton Brown was the author of numerous papers on mining: i FS 4 NATURE [DECEMBER 5, 1907 engineering, and was the recognised authority in this” country on the scientific principles of -colliery ‘ventilation. A piscussion on the subject of ‘‘ Rivers Pollution from the -Naturalist’s Point of View ’’ will be introduced by Prof». R. Meldola, F.R.S., at a conference. meeting to be held, under the auspices of the Essex Field Club, on Saturday, December 14, at 6 p.m., in the physical lecture theatre of the Municipal Technical Institition, Romford Road, Stratford, Essex. Ar the meeting of the Cardiff City Observatory Com- mittee on November 30 it was announced that .arrange- ments are busily proceeding for. the installation of a seismo- ‘graph at the observatory on Penylan Hill. ‘graph is being provided by the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society, its: upkeep being undertaken by the city council. It is hoped that the instrument may be installed early: in the new year, and that Prof. Milne will be able to attend the ‘opening. Prof. Milne has urged the establishment of a Seismograph at Cardiff, which will form a triangle with the ‘existing stations at Birmingham and Shide. ' WE are pleased to learn that Mr. Haffkine has accepted an.appointment to a post at Calcutta offered to him by the Secretary of State for India. It will be remembered that Mr. Haffkine was held responsible for an unfortunate accident that occurred in the Punjab in connection with plague inoculation, an accident for which a large body of scientific opinion has pronounced him to be in no way to blame. So far the Secretary of State has recognised the strength of that opinion, but we could have wished that the recognition had taken a form more complete and more in accordance with the true circumstances of the case. Tue Paris correspondent of the Times reports that Dr. Jean Charcot, who conducted a successful expedition to the South Polar regions two years ago, is now engaged in the preparation of another expedition to the Antarctic circle. The State has made a credit grant of 24,o00l. toward the cost, but at least 60001. more will be required. Dr. Charcot intends to start next July. He will proceed by way of Buenos Ayres and Cape Horn to the Antarctic region which he discovered and named ‘‘ Terre Loubet.’’ The Marquis de Dion has offered Dr. Charcot some motor sledges, so that dogs will not be needed. THE and exhibition of new apparatus, heretofore held under the auspices of the late British Electro-Therapeutic Society, but now under the electro-therapeutical section of the Royal Society of Medicine, will be held in the Queen’s (small) Hall on _Friday, December 13. The leading makers of electro- medical and X-ray apparatus are taking part, and many “new designs will be shown, so far as possible under work- ing conditions. Communications regarding cards of admission or other matters must be addressed to Dr. Reginald Morton, hon. secretary, 22 Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square, London, W. annual conversazione Tue American. Association for the Advancement of Science will meet at Chicago on December 28. The busi- ness. meetings commence on December 30, in the morning of which the first general. session will be held, and the new president, Prof. E. L. Nichols, will be introduced by Dr. W. H. Welch, the retiring president. In the after- noon addresses will be given by some of the presidents of Prof. Edward Kasner will speak on ‘‘ Geometry and Mechanics”? to the section of mathematics and astro- nomy; Mr. Richardson will-address the section of chem- istry on ‘‘A Plea for the Broader Education ‘of the No. 1988, vor. 77] sections. The seismo- Engineer,’ and Prof. Conklin will deliver his address to the’ section of zoology. In the evening of the same day the retiring president will deliver his address. On December 31 Prof. W. C. Sabine will address the section of physics on the ‘‘ Origin of the Musical Scale ’’; Mr. Conant the section of social and economic science on the “Influence of Friction in Economics’’; and Dr. Flexner the section of physiology and experimental medicine on ‘“ Recent Advances and Present Tendencies in Pathology.” Messrs. MacDougal, Warner, and Brown will respectively address the sections of botany, mechanical engineering, and education on subjects to be announced later. Mr. Charles L. Hutchinson is the chairman of the local committee, and Mr. J. Paul Goode is the local secretary. Tue following are among the lecture arrangements at the Royal Institution before Easter :—Sir David Gill, a Christmas course of six illustrated lectures on “ Astro- nomy, Old. and New,’’ adapted to a juvenile auditory ; Dr. A. A. Gray, two lectures on the internal ear of different animals; Prof. W. Stirling, six lectures on mem- branes, their structure, uses, and products; Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge, three lectures on the Egyptian Sudan, its history, monuments and peoples, past and present; Prof. W. W. Watts, two lectures on (1) the building of Britain, (2) recent light on ancient physiographies ; Prof. W. Somer- ville, two lectures on wood, its botanical and technical aspects; Sir John Rhys, two lectures on Celtic; Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, two lectures on physics; Mr. R. Lydekker, two lectures on (1) the animals of Africa, (2) the animals of South America; Prof. Gisbert Kapp, the electrification of railways; and Prof. J. J. Thomson, six lectures on electric discharges through gases. The Friday evening meetings will commence on January 17, when Prof. T. E. Thorpe will deliver a discourse on the centenary of Davy’s discovery of the metals of the alkalis. Succeeding dis- courses will probably be given by Colonel David Bruce, Prof. E. Rutherford, Dr. C. W. Saleeby, Sir Oliver Lodge, Prof. W. A. Bone,’ Prof. J. Milne, Prof. A. E. H. Love, the Hon. R. J. Strutt, and Prof. J. J. Thomson. By the death (which was announced in the Times of November 28) of Dr. Carl Bovallius, late professor of zoology at the University of Upsala, Sweden has lost one of her most eminent ethnologists, naturalists, and scientific explorers. A graduate of Upsala, Bovallius took the degree of Ph.D. in 1875, and from some time after that date held the chair of zoology until 1897. In zoology his main subjects were Mollusca and Crustacea, especially the amphipod group of the latter, and the Swedish represent- atives of both groups. ‘‘ Contributions to a Monograph of the Amphipoda Hyperidea”’ is the title of one of his works, the first part (in two numbers) of which was pub- lished at Stockholm, 1887-9. It is only by this single part, which appears to be all that was issued, that his name is represented in the catalogue of the Zoological Society’s library. Forestry was another of his specialities, and from reports furnished by him as the results of investigations undertaken between 1889 and 1895 the present forest laws of Sweden were based. As an explorer and surveyor he travelled much in Central America from 1881 to 1883, re- turning again to Nicaragua in 1900, while in 1898-9 he visited southern Venezuela and the Amazons. From these countries he brought extensive zoological and ethno- graphical collections. In the obituary notice in the Times of November 29 he is reported to have made important contributions to the natural history departments of the British Museum, but his name does not appear as a donor in the recently published volumes on the ** History of the DECEMBER 5, 1907] NATURE 1k3 Collections in those departments; and. his donations appear to be limited to a few river crustaceans. Dr. Bovallius was the recipient of several decorations from his own and foreign sovereigns, among these being the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella Catholica and the knight- hood of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog, and of the Portuguese Order of St. Iago. Tue ascidians collected on the coast of California by the U.S. Fisheries steamer Albatross during the summer of 1904 include a number of new species, which are de- scribed by Mr. W. E. Ritter in the Zoological Publications of California University, vol. iv., No. 1. _ Tue greater portion of the October issue of the American Naturalist is occupied by a paper by Mr. A. W. Grabau on orthogenetic variation (i.e. variation along definite lines) in the shells of gastropod molluscs. Among the points discussed are the mode of arrangement and develop- ment of ribs and spines on the shell. To Messrs. Witherby and Co. we are indebted for a copy of an illustrated pamphlet entitled ‘‘ Gilbert White of Selborne.’? The text formed the subject of a lecture delivered before the Hastings and St. Leonards Natural History Society in June last by Mr. W. H. Mullens. The illustrations include several views of Selborne village, and one of the interior of the church. A good summary of the chief features of White’s career will be found in this well-got-up pamphlet, of which the price is half-a-crown. In No. 1567 (vol. xxxiii., pp. 197-228) of the Proceed- ings of the U.S. National Museum, Lord Walsingham describes a number of new North American moths of the tineid group, with the addition of a list of genera of the family Blastobasida. The specimens on which the deter- minations are based were in part supplied by the U.S. Museum and U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in part contained in the author’s own collection. Types of most of the new species are now in the U.S. Museum. Soft river-tortoises. (Trionychida) from various Tertiary horizons in the United States form the subject of a paper by Mr. O. P. Hay published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. xxxii:, pp. 847-863. To the November issue of the Zoologist Mr. W. L. Distant, the editor, contributes the second and concluding part of his article on the extermination of animals, deal- ing in this instance with the destruction dealt by man. After referring to the destruction of African antelopes and quaggas for the sake of their hides, the author quotes a statement to the effect that in the twenty years from 1856 to 1876 Africa supplied Europe with an annual average of 1,500,000 lb. of ivory, in addition to 250,000 lb. exported to India and about 150,000 Ib. to America, this represent- ing the destruction of about 51,000 elephants. Another item which bulks very large is the toll of alligators killed in Florida for their hides, this being estimated at no less than two and a half millions. In Australia, again, we find a flock-owner boasting that in the course of eighteen months he had killed, on his own estate, 64,000 of the smaller marsupials, such as wallabies and kangaroo-rats, in addition to several thousand kangaroos. As the author well remarks, no species can stand such wastage long, and kangaroos and their kin must apparently be exterminated as wild animals at no very distant date. To vol. xvi. of the Anales of the National Museum of Buenos Aires Dr. F. Ameghino contributes no less than 135 pages of “ preliminary notes’’ on an atlas vertebra and imperfect femur (which, so far as we see, may or NO. 1988, voL. 77] may not be associated) from the later Tertiary deposits of Monte Hermosa. On these two specimens, coupled with certain alleged evidence of the existence of an in- telligent being at the time the Monte Hermoso strata were deposited, he considers himself justified in naming a new genus and species—Tetraprothomo argentinus—of the family Hominid. Nor is this all, for in the latter part of the paper he publishes a series of phylogenies in which the Ungulata and Primates, together with the Patagonian extinct Carnivora, are derived from a single South American ancestral type, the Microbiotheriide, a group which most paleontologists now regard as insepar- able from the opossums. On a later page we are furnished with the names of a number of non-existent connecting links between ‘‘ Tetraprothomo’’ and man and_ gibbons on the one hand, and earlier forms on the other. It may be added that in one of the hypothetical genera is in- cluded the Neanderthal man under the name of Prothomo neanderthalensts. Tue fifth annual report of the Horniman Museum and Library, Forest Hill, S.E., dealing with the work of the year 1906, has been issued. The museum is intended to be a teaching institution where the general public, students, and school children may be able to inspect properly labelled specimens exhibited in related series. Saturday morning lectures for teachers and afternoon lectures for the general public have been held with much success. The report contains illustrations of some of the models made by the museum naturalist to illustrate natural phenomena. Among these are diagrammatic models of coral reefs designed to illustrate the manner in which they are built up and the effects of currents on the growth of the reefs. Useful though these models are, their scientific value would have been increased had they been modelled to a true scale, and some indication of the scale given. Tue Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital for November (xviii., No. 200) contains an interesting paper by Dr. Arthur Meyer on the physician and surgeon in Shakespeare. Tue pages of the Journal of Hygiene for October (vii., No. 5) are mainly occupied with two papers on ship beri- beri and scurvy by Prof. Holst and Dr. Frélich. It is stated that ship beri-beri is closely connected with food, and shows a marked congruence with scurvy. By keeping animals on certain diets, conditions were produced simu- lating human scurvy very closely. The etiology of tropical beri-beri is considered to be outside the field of these investigations. Tue reports of the Board of Health, New South Wales, on the outbreaks of plague at Sydney are important con- tributions to the epidemiology of this disease, and show conclusively the interdependence of the rat and’ plague. The latest report, by Dr. Ashburton Thompson, deals with the sixth outbreak, which occurred in 1906. A continuous’ outlook is kept for infection in rats, large numbers of which are caught and examined. In the fifth outbreak, in 1905, the last case of plague in man occurred on July 12, and the last plague-infected rat was identified on December 5. In 1906, the. first plague-rat was identified on January 23, the first case in man occurred on March. 12, the last on December 22, and the last plague-rat was identified on December 29. From December 6, 1905, to January 22, 1906, 3225 rats and mice were examined and found to be plague-free. During the epizootic period, January 23 to December 29, 1906, 27,731 rats and mice were examined, among which plague was identified in 114 NATURE [DECEMBER 5; 1907 174 rats and mice. It is again shown, therefore, that the plague epidemic is preceded by an epizootic among the rats and mice. Notes are given on the species of rodents affected, and on the clinical details of the cases. Tue Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Jamaica (August and September), contains articles on the subject of curing vanilla pods for market and on the vanilla industry, also on bastard logwood and cacao cultivation. WE have received from Messrs. A. E. Staley, of Thavies Inn, London, a list of Bausch and Lomb’s new micro- scope models fitted with an improved form of fine adjust- ment, also a brochure on the use and care of the micro- scope. Tue development of the pollen grain in the gymno- spermous genus Dacrydium is interesting because, accord- ing to the account contributed by Miss M. S. Young to the Botanical Gazette (September), a number of cells are formed in what is technically known as the microgameto- phyte. The spore passes out of the single-cell stage when a small prothallial cell is cut off; by another division of the vegetative nucleus a second prothallial cell is formed, and in a similar way a third, the generative cell, is pro- ‘duced. The generative cell gives rise to a sterile and a so-called body cell, the progenitor of the sperm cells. As the second prothallial cell not infrequently divides, the mature pollen grain may show as many as seven nuclei. In the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxiv., No. 2) a new mineral industry, the manufacture of radium, is described by Mr. Jacques Boyer. He gives illustrations of the works lately installed at Nogent-sur-Marne, where waggon-loads of various minerals (pitchblende, autunite, chalcolite, carnotite, and thorianite) are treated for an ultimate production consisting of a few minute particles of radium salts. Tue Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scot- land has reached its jubilee year, and in his presidential address Mr. John Ward gave an able retrospect of the events connected with the work of the institution, a sub- ject especially suitable in view of the fact that it is also the centenary of marine engineering as applied success- fully to ocean navigation. To the address, which is printed in the Transactions (vol. li., No. 1), is appended a useful chronology of events in the evolution of the marine steam engine. TuHE problem of peat utilisation, so often pronounced hopeless, may now be considered as practically solved. The Mond Power-Gas Corporation is building a large peat-generator gas-plant near Herne, in Westphalia; Messrs. Crossley Brothers are projecting plants on the basis of their long-continued experiments at Openshaw; and Martin Ziegler has made peat-coke and obtained the chemical by-products, at Oldenburg and at other places, ever since 1897. The Ziegler plant at Beuerberg, in Upper Bavaria, which was opened in 1906, is described in ‘detail in Engineering of November 15. The _ results obtained have been eminently satisfactory, and suggest the possibility of manufacturing at a profit peat-coke and chemicals in Ireland, where from 16 feet to 40 feet of peat can be worked over large areas. Mr. Gustave Canet, past-president of the French Society of Civil Engineers, has honoured the Junior Institution of Engineers by accepting the presidency, and in ~ his inaugural address, which was delivered on November 18, he frankly and critically compared English and French practice in connection with the design and manufacture of artillery. The conditions under which gun- NO, 1988, voL. 77] makers work in the two countries are, he pointed out, essentially different. The whole tendency of French policy has been adverse to the interests of private manufacturers. In Great Britain, on the other hand, there -has never been any restriction placed upon manufacturers with re- gard to the supply, during peace time, of war material to foreign Powers. Hence works of private manufacturers have developed and have acquired vast experience that is a valuable national asset, for they can place all their re- sources at the disposal of the Government in case of need. STRIKING evidence of the reduction in working costs and in the number of unskilled coloured labourers effected by the installation of labour-saving appliances in the Transvaal mines is afforded in the paper on the equip- ment of the New Kleinfontein mine read by Mr. E. J. Way before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on November 15. A branch line was constructed from the nearest railway station up to the mine, and the surface plant was equipped with a complete system of conveyors and elevators for handling all coal, ash, ore, waste rock, and residue sands, whilst the stopes underground have been provided with swinging conveyors specially designed to permit the rapid and easy dismantling and re-erection necessitated by blasting requirements and by the constant | shifting of the working faces of the stopes. The actual annual reduction in the working costs due to the installa- tion of labour-saving appliances is equivalent to a saving of nearly 3s. per ton milled. Tue Institution of Mining and Metallurgy has drawn up a series of standard weights and measures with the object of securing uniformity in scientific papers. The word ‘‘ton’’ shall, it is decided, represent a weight of 2000 Ib. avoirdupois; the word “ gallon’’ shall represent the Imperial gallon measure of 10 lb. of water. Tempera- tures shall be expressed in degrees centigrade. Returns of gold and silver shall be expressed in terms of fine gold and fine silver respectively, not as ‘‘ bullion.’’ Gold contents of ores, determined by assay, shall be expressed in money values as well as in weights; and in this con- nection the value shall be taken (as a convenient constant) at 85s. per troy ounce of fine gold. The adoption of these definitions in assay returns will doubtless obviate much of the existing confusion, but it is to be feared that the use of the new ton of 2000 lb. would, in the case of statistics of mineral production, not be so convenient as the statute ton of 2240 Ib. or the metric ton of 2204 Ib., both of which may legally be employed. In the Transactions of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Dr. Victor Cremieu describes his proposed apparatus for extinguishing the rolling of ships, some references to which have appeared in the daily Press. One method involves the use of a heavy sphere rolling in viscous liquid in a curved tube at the bottom of the ship; in the second form the moving weight takes the form of a pendulum swinging in a chamber in the form of a sector of a circle, again filled with viscous liquid. The paper contains no reference to what would happen in the event of the weight striking the boundaries of the chamber in a heavy sea or in a disaster. In the Rendiconto of the Naples Academy (Mathematical and Physical Section), xiii, 3 and 4, Profs. F. Bassani and C. Chistoni direct attention to a recently formed orifice in the Solfatara of Pozzuoli. This opening was first seen on February 2, and the authors consider that it affords an excellent opportunity for the study of geophysical problems connected with the changes of level of the well-known temple of Serapis. They propose that a series of observ- DecEMBER 5, 1907 | NALURE control of of Naples ations should be undertaken at once under the the department of geophysics of the University pending the formation of the geophysical which is to be established at Pozzuoli, and that Govern- ment assistance should be asked for the necessary means of carrying on the temporary researches rendered urgent by the present eruption. Prof. Bassani, in conjunction with Dr. A. Galdieri, describes further observations on the institution windows broken at Ottajano during the eruption of Vesuvius of 1906, and maintains their view, which has been doubted by other writers, that the damage was done by lapilli driven against the windows by the action of wind. “Tue Climate of Abbassia, near Cairo,’’ is the title of No. 3 of the useful Survey Department papers now being issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance. The observatory at Abbassia was founded by the Khedive Ismail Pasha in 1868, and was removed to Helwan in 1903. Summaries of the observations have been issued from time to time, except for the five years before the removal; the present report contains a careful discussion, by Mr. B. F. E. Keeling, of the results of those five years and summaries of the mean values for the whole thirty- five years. The mean annual temperature 70°:2 ; January, 54°-1; July, 83°-5; the absolute extremes, 117°-1 (August, 1881) and 28°-4 (February, 1880). Rainfall . is very small; the mean for seventeen years was only 1-18 inches; from June to September, inclusive, no rain falls. There are about 3100 hours of bright sunshine annually, not far from double the average amount in the south of England. Series of charts show the mean annual and daily curves for each of the principal elements. was WE have recently had an opportunity of inspecting and testing the binocular diffraction spectroscope patented and sold by Dr. Marshall Watts, and have found it to be a remarkably efficient instrument for the spectroscopic in- vestigation of light-sources of definite form, such vacuum tubes. It consists of an ordinary good field-glass having attached in front of each object-glass parent diffraction grating mounted optically plane glass. In examining a luminous vacuum tube we found that the bright lines apparently stood out in relief, whilst the illumination, in the and third orders, was very satisfactory. The first-order spectrum of as a_trans- on worked even second Capella, on by no means a perfect night, was seen as quite a bright colour band. For the examination of broader light-sources, such as flames or ares, a metal or ebonite plate with a slit in it may be usefully employed in order to obtain a purer spectrum. The price of the binocular spectroscope is 3/. 3s., and further details of the instrument may be obtained from Dr. Watts, ** Shirley,”’ Tue fortieth anniversary of the existence of the German Chemical Society was celebrated recently in Berlin. We learn from the Times that the meeting was devoted to retrospective addresses on important achievements of chem- istry during the last forty years. Prof. Nernst delivered an address on physical chemistry; Prof. Landolt spoke on the development of inorganic chemistry; Prof. Graebe de- scribed the successes of the chemistry of the carbon com- pounds by the process of synthetical combinations; and Prof. Otto N. Witt, who discussed the development of technical chemistry, remarked that technical chemistry has brought about a revolution in productive industry mainly by the aid of electrotechnical science. Prof. Witt directed attention to the manufacture of cellulose from wood lead- ing to the changed methods in the production of paper, to the employment of nitro-cellulose for the preparation of No. 1988, voL. 77] Venner Road, Sydenham. silk-like substances for weaving, to the synthetic produc- tion of indigo and alizarin, and to the fixation of atmo- spheric nitrogen. the Oxford and Cambridge the issue, contains two articles dealing with scientific subjects. Mr. J. Butler Burke contributes an article on.‘ Haeckel and Haeckelism,’’ and the head- master of Eton College, under the title ‘‘ More about Bio- metry,’’ tells of the introduction of the system of anthropo- metric measurement of the boys at Eton, and refers to this movement as ‘‘a united act of faith in the desirability ob knowledge for its own sake.” TuHeE current number of Review, second A sEcOND edition, which has been revised and enlarged, of ‘‘ The Practice of Soft Cheesemaking: a Guide to the Manufacture of Soft Cheese and Preparation of Cream for Market,’’ by Messrs. C. W. Walker-Tisdale and Theodore R. Robinson, has been published by Mr. John North at the office of the Dairy World and British Dairy The the described in a review of the first edition which appeared in NATURE for Juné 9, 1904 (vol. Ixx., p. 137). The practice of making soft cheese is increasing in this country, and this new edition of a useful book should assist small holders Farmer. characteristics of book were endeavouring to gain a livelihood from the land. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Mercury aS A MorninG Star.—Although the present elongation of Mercury—the planet was at greatest western elongation (20° 20’) at 2h. on Sunday last—is not so favourable for the naked-eye observation of the planet as those which took place in February and August re- spectively, there is a possibility that during the next day or two observers may be able to pick up this elusive object near the eastern horizon just before dawn. On December 6 the planet will rise at 5h. 57m. a.m., the sun at 7h. 51m., whilst on December 8 the respective times will be 6h. 4m. and 7h. 54m. At this son of the year an object near the horizon is not easy to find, and the would-be observer would do well to learn beforehand the exact rising point, and then URSA MAJOR uy OPHiUCHUS © pLipre 4 MERCURY Relative positions of Mercury and bright stars at 6 a.m. December 6 ; observer facing due east. to get into such a position that the horizon thereabouts is quite free. The planet rises a little less than 30° S. of E., and this direction may be noted, and in some way marked, on the previous evening, by observing the rise of Sirius, which takes place in the same azimuth at about 9 pm. £ Libre rises about an hour before Mercury at a point some 15° nearer the east point. The accompanying rough sketch-map may assist the observer to locate the planet. It is intended to show the approximate position of the stars, with the observer facing due east, at the time that Mercury rises, the stars being shown here as projected on to a plane parallel to the plane of the meridian. A Bricut Merror.—An exceptionally bright meteor was observed by Mr. T. F. Connolly, at South Kensington, at 116 NATURE [DECEMBER 5, 1907 1th, 30m. p.m. on November 27. The commencement of the flight was estimated to lie half-way between a Cygni and ¢ Urse Majoris, and after pursuing a vertical path the meteor died away before reaching the horizon. The colour of the object was yellow, its shape that of a pear, a round head followed by a tapering tail. The meteor travelled slowly, and no persistent trail was observed. Saturn’s Rincs.—A communication from Prof. Picker- ing to the Astronomische Nachrichten (No. 4216, p. 267, November 26) contains the following messages received from Prof. Lowell :—‘‘ Condensations in Saturn’s rings con- firmed here and measured repeatedly. They are visible symmetric and permanent. Outer situated near the outer edge, ansa b, inner at middle of ansa c. A conspicuous relative gap also detected and measured at 1-56 radius from the centre of the planet. Ring easily seen. Placed further south from shadow at west than east.’? This message was dated November 7, and the following was dated November 22 :—‘‘ Ring shadow on Saturn bisected, black medial line, phenomenon explicable by extra-plane particles only.’’ Tue Recent Transit or Mercury.—No, 21 of the Paris Comptes rendus (November 18) contains a number of com- munications regarding the observations of the transit of Mercury which took place on November 13. At the Nice Observatory the times of the contacts were observed with several different instruments, and micrometer measurements of the polar and equatorial diameters were made. For several seconds ‘“‘ before ’’ the second contact black ligaments were seen by MM. Javelle and Simonin, and before third contact; the black disc of the planet was seen to be surrounded by a whitish or yellowish appear- ance. The measurements of the diameters are not con- sistent for different observers, but they all agree in making the polar diameter the shorter. M. Charlois saw very distinctly the black ligament after the second and before the third contacts, its thickness being less than the diameter of the planet. The unsteadiness of the image rendered the proposed astrophysical observations almost impossible. At the Lyons Observatory observations of the times of contact and measurements of the diameters were also made, and none of the three observers was able to see any peculiar feature on the planet’s disc. M. Bourget, at Toulouse, found the planetary disc dis- tinctly blacker than the nuclei of the neighbouring sun- spots, and, at intervals, suspected that it was surrounded by a slight, pale yellow border. At Marseilles, where a number of observations of con- tacts and of diameters were made, M. Borrelly noted that the disc was of a dark violet colour, and appeared to be surrounded by a nebulous greyish ring of light nearly as thick as the diameter of the planet. The same observer believes he saw Mercury as a small dark disc surrounded by a violet annulus about an hour before first contact. Paying special attention to the matter, M. Esmiol was unable to discern the slightest deformation of the horns of the planet as it crossed the sun’s limb at entry, but saw a sharply defined ring, of about three seconds in thick- ness, around the dark disc of the planet during the whole of the transit. With the smaller magnifications at the Bourges Observ- atory, both the yellowish aureole and the luminous spot were seen, but Abbé Th. Moreux believes both of them to be subjective phenomena. At the beginning of the observations the bright spot was to the east of the centre, but at the end it appeared to be to the west. With a magnification of 325 it always appeared central. Comte de la Baume Pluvinel, who had set up special spectroscopic apparatus at the Nice Observatory, was un- able to find any modification of the solar spectrum near the planet’s limb, although he especially examined the absorption bands of oxygen and water vapour, both visually and photographically. \rrangements were made for observing the possible svectroscopic phenomena, visually and photographically, at the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington, but clouds prevented the observations being made. The planet was only seen for a few seconds some little time after the commencement of the transit, and appeared as a well- defined black disc. NO. 1988, voL. 77] SOME RECENT WORK IN PALAZSONTOLOGY. AMONG paleontological papers sent to us, the follow- ing have a faunistic bearing :— Mr. F. R. Cowper Reed (‘‘ Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India,’’ ‘* Palaontologia Indica,’’ new series, vol. ii, mem. 3, 1906) describes the lower Palzozoic fossils of the northern Shan States, Burma, and foints out. that we know very few fossils from pre-Devonian rocks in southern Asia. The rich finds in Burma, which have mainly become revealed through the survey by Mr. T. D. La Touche, are consequently very welcome. Dr. Bather has furnished thirty-four pages on the cystideans, and Miss Elles has assisted in the description of the graptolites, which are represented by three species of Monograptus (p. 90). The critical remarks on genera by Dr. Bather and Mr. Reed render the memoir of general importance. The Naungkangyi beds, which doubtless include more than one stage (p. 83), are shown to have affinities with the Lower Ordovician of northern Europe. La Touche believes the Nyaungbaw beds to be Upper Ordovician; but the fossil evidence is scanty. The Namhsim Sandstones (p. 152) are correlated with the European Wenlock. The Zebingyi beds, which contain abundant Tentaculites elegans, side by side with Mono- graptus, are of later age, and the fauna verges on that of the Lower Devonian of Europe; but the presence of Monograptus leads Mr. Reed to regard these Burmese strata as uppermost Silurian, the fauna heralding that which afterwards spread into the Mediterranean or south European province. The fine plates in the memoir are from drawings by Mr. T. A. Brock. Dr. Carl Diener deals with the fauna of the Tropites- limestone. of Byans, on the south-west flank of the Himalayas, adjoining Tibet and Nepal (ibid., ser. xv., vol. v., mem. 1, 1906). The author visited the sections in 1892, and extensive collections have since been made by the Indian Geological Survey in 1899 and 1900. The cephalopod-fauna includes Atractites, Orthoceras, and a fine series of ammonites, these last furnishing 155 species out of 168 forms of all kinds known from this horizon (p. 188). This fauna is now well illustrated. We have already referred (NatuRE, vol. Ixxiv., p. 530) to the con- clusion that in Byans, in one limestone band 3 feet in- thickness, the dissimilar Carnie and Noric faunas of the Alps are both represented. Transitional types of ammonites are not, however, discoverable, and _ the apparent mingling of the faunas is held to be due to lack of sedimentation, whereby a thin stratum represents a prolonged epoch of Triassic time. In the succeeding memoir (ibid., mem. 2) Dr. Diener describes ‘‘ the fauna of the Himalayan Muschelkalk.”’ The beds are mainly of Upper Muschelkalk age, yielding numerous cephalopods. India is no longer inferior to Europe in the number of species known from this stage. Ten species of cephalopods, and three common species of brachiopods (p. 135), are identical with those of Europe. | Mr. H. Woods, working, like. Mr. Cowper Reed, in Cambridge, describes the Cretaceous fauna of Pondo- land for the Geological Survey of Cape Colony (‘ Annals of the South African Museum,’’ vol. iv., part vii., 1906). He has also had the advantage of examining Mr. Griesbach’s collection in the Hamburg Museum. The whole deposit in Pondoland is regarded by Mr. Woods as Upper Senonian. Mr. Brock must again be congratulated on the beautiful plates accompanying the memoir. Mr. S. Tokunaga (Journ. Coll. of Science, Univ. of Tokyo, vol. xxi., article 2, 1906), in a paper on fossils from the environs of Tokyo, has made good use of material close to the city itself, in beds hitherto regarded as Pliocene. The fauna is almost entirely molluscan, but the author has secured from it a few remains of Elephas antiquus. Carefully comparing his results with those of his predecessor Brauns, who wrote in 1881, he is per- suaded that the affinities with the European Crag beds have been overstated; and he brings the denosits round Tokyo forward: into post-Pliocene or ‘‘ Diluvial’’ times. The new species, and many already recorded, are figured on five large plates. : We may perhaps refer here to Mr. Schuchert’s dis- cussion of the Carboniferous and Permian beds of Russia, DECEMBER 5, 1907 | India, and America (American Journal of Sctence, vol. Xxii., 1906, pp. 29 and 143), since the treatment is mainly palzontological. The conclusion arrived at is that as yet we cannot determine whether the Permian is an indepen- dent system; but hopes are expressed that the unbroken section of gooo feet in south-western Texas, opening in Carboniferous strata, may throw important light on the true Permian sequence. The Permian faunas usually known to us are detached members of an obviously larger system, which may prove after all to be the Carboniferous. We have received also a number of papers dealing with special divisions of fossil organic remains :— In the Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa, vol. ix., 1906, p. 125, Messrs. Mellor and Leslie describe the fossil forest exposed, during an unusually dry season, in the bed of the Vaal near Vereeniging. The river had etched out, as it were, the roots of trees, bedded below in coal, and a picture of a land-surface lay revealed, probably of Permian age. The authors believe that the roots and associated stems belong to Nogger- athiopsis. Photographs are given of this interesting exposure, which may not again become visible for many years. Fusulina, like Nummulites, has an interest for all geologists, apart from the fact that it is a handsome re- presentative of the Foraminifera. Mr. H. Yabe (Journ. Coll. Science, Univ. of Tokyo, vol. xxi., article 5, 1906), in describing a Fusulina-limestone from Korea, discusses the genus in general, and adds a new subgenus, Neoschwagerina, to the three proposed by Schellwien, viz. Fusulina s.s., Schwagerina, and Doliolina. He corrects (p. 17) a reference to Fusulina-limestone in Borneo, originating in the Geological Magazine in 1875, and points out that Sumatra was the locality referred to. A useful summary of the distribution of such limestones is provided, and Brazil, Persia, Turkestan, and the Salt Range are grouped together as regions on the coast of the Carboniferous ‘‘ Mediterranean Ocean”’ (p. 24). Our knowledge of Fusulina-limestone in Asia is still extending (see the recent discoveries in Burma, ‘ Records Geol. Surv. of India,’? vol. xxxv., 1907, p- 52), and strati- graphers may well read Yabe’s paper in connection with Schuchert’s faunistic review, to which attention has been directed above. A Japanese author who writes in such good English may perhaps be excused for using ** foraminifera ’’ throughout as a singular noun. An important criticism on the views of Prof. J. E. Duerden as to the primary hexameral character of rugose corals appears from Mr. T. C. Brown in the American Journal of Science for April. Brown selects Streptelasma rectum, one of the Devonian corals examined by Duerden, as a type, and discovers in its earliest stage a primary set of four septa, two forming a bar across the calicle, the other two (alar septa) being set obliquely on the cardinal one. In the next stage a secondary septum appears in each of the comparatively large cardinal spaces, and joins the alar septum obliquely. Here, then, a pseudo- hexameral effect is temporarily produced. The author comments on Mr. R. C. Carruthers’s recent paper in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, which describes a similar succession of septa, but which puts forward a different view as to the mode of development of the first pair of secondary septa. We may feel sure that Prof. Duerden’s work will be further stimulated by the parallel and critical investigations to which it has given rise. Mr. Frank Springer uses the discovery of the disc of Onychocrinus as a basis for a complete review and a new analysis of the genera of Crinoidea flexibilia (Journ. of Geology, vol. xiv., 1906, p. 467). Drawings were made from Angelin’s specimens ‘by Mr. G. Lilievall, of Stockholm, who discovered, in the course of his work, that Ichthyocrinus has an extra (primitive radianal) plate in the right posterior ray. Springer thereupon examined numerous specimens of this genus from other localities, and states (p. 478) that the Silurian ones agree with those drawn by Liljevall, while the Carboniferous ones have no radianal. For the latter, which are regarded as showing an evolutionary elimination of a‘-primitive character, the genus Metichthyocrinus is now proposed. A comparison is instituted (p. 504) between the progressive variation in position and the final removal of the radianal in time, NO. 1988, VOL. 77] NATURE 117 and the similar events that affect the anal plate during the life-history of Antedon. The six figures illustrating the disc of Onychocrinus are unfortunately not numbered, and some ingenuity is required before they can be fitted in with their descriptions. The characters of certain labyrinthodont footprints have led the Rey. Longinos Navas, S.J. (Boletin de la Sociedad Aragonesa de Ciencias naturales, tomo v., 1906, p. 208), to form a new species, Chirosaurus tbericus or Chetro- therium ibericum; but surely the reference of the beds at El Moncayo, in which the specimen occurs, to the Silurian (p. 212) rests on far too little evidence. Footprints of Chirosaurus from Lower Triassic strata are, moreover, already known in Aragon, and are cited by our author. The fact that he is not startled by his own conclusion shows that, in his zoological studies, the succession of vertebrate forms has not as yet attracted him. Mr. G. R. Wieland (Science, vol. xxiii., 1906, p. 819, and vol. xxv., 1907, p. 66) brings together good evidence on ‘ Dinosaurian gastroliths.’”’ The surface of such stones, even when they are flints, shows ‘‘ a higher polish than wind or water ever produces.’’ The deinosaurs are, moreover, credited with a selective taste for brightly coloured pebbles. In a paper on the origin of the Wasatch deposits of the Big Basin (American Journal of Science, vol. xxiii., 1907, p- 356), Mr. F. B. Loomis describes (p. 363) a new species of Lambdotherium, and one of Glyptosaurus, a terrestrial lizard. The fauna, which includes Eohippus, Phenacodus, Coryphodon, Crocodilus, aquatic turtles, and a few fishes, is explained as having accumulated in flood- plains, and not in a lake-basin, as has been generally asserted. The Rey. T. Gardner, S.J., describes and illustrates several types of small stone implements formed by primi- tive man in Rhodesia (‘‘ Zambesi Mission Record,’’ vol. iii., 1906, p. 149). The author points out that many of the specimens now found upon the surface may have been once deeply buried, and were washed out during the sudden bursts of rain. We are already familiar with the argument as to the antiquity of such implements in Africa, based on their occurrence in the river-gravels cut through by the Zambesi gorge. In Father Gardner’s paper we are brought into touch with some of the first discoverers of these interesting forms, including the observant author and the scholars of St. George’s School in Bulawayo. Finally, fossil man receives a whole-hearted greeting from the Positivists, represented by Dr. Cancalon, in an essay on ‘Le Progrés aux Temps paléolithiques ” (Revue positiviste internationale, 1907). The proofs of this paper have not been very carefully corrected; but its acceptance of long ages of mental progress in man, as not incom- patible with Comte’s conception of human nature, will no doubt be of service in certain quarters, where science has hitherto seemed fraught with pessimism rather than with a guiding inspiration. (G5 Jo lone UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Campripce.—Dr. Barclay-Smith has been appointed university lecturer in advanced human anatomy as from Michaelmas, 1907, until Michaelmas, 1912. Prof. H. S. Carslaw has been approved for the degree of doctor in science. The degree committee of the special board for mathe- matics is of opinion that the work submitted by J. B. Hubrecht, of Christ’s College, entitled “‘ An Attempt at a Spectroscopic Investigation of the Solar Rotation,” is of distinction as a record of original research. We learn from the Revue scientifique that the University of Lyons has accepted a gift from M. Théodore Wautier of 4oo0i., the income from which is to be devoted to research work in experimental physics. Sir Epwarp H. Carson, P.C., M.P., will distribute the prizes and certificates at the Borough Polytechnic Insti- tute on Thursday, December 12. Mr. J. Leonard Spicer, 118 NALCO LEE: _|-DECEMBER 5, 1907 chairman of the governing body, will take the chair at 8 p.m. Corres of the general and departmental reports on the worl of Bradford Technical College for the session 1906-7 presented to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the city have been received. The principal of the college appeals to employers of labour in the city to recognise the efforts made by those in their employ who desire to obtain instruction in evening classes, and urges masters to make arrangements to liberate students during the time the classes meet. The work of the department of textile industries is exerting a beneficial influence on the trade of Bradford. The demand for students trained in the department, and the increasing tendency of combers, spinners, and manufacturers to appeal to the college in cases of difficulty, have been very marked during the session. The reports contain other indications that the college is assisting the various industries in its neighbour- hood. At the recent annual convocation of the University of Allahabad for conferring degrees, the Vice-Chancellor, Rai Sunder Lal Bahadur, delivered an address on the need for higher technical education in the United Provinces. Referring to the conference which sat in August last at Naini Tal to consider important questions in connection with technical education, the Vice-Chancellor said, we learn from the Pioneer Mail, that ‘‘ among the matters which engaged the attention of the conference was the suggestion for the establishment of a high-class techno- logical institute for research and jnstruction, where students could receive instruction in chemical technology, mechanical engineering, and other kindred subjects. The cost of maintaining an institution like this will be large. According to Sir Norman Lockyer,’’ continued the Vice- Chancellor, ‘‘ for the up-keep of seven out of twenty-two universities, the annual sum found in Germany chiefly by the State comes up to 271,000]. When these figures are borne in mind, the cost of the proposed institute ought not to stand in the way of its establishment. Its advantages will abundantly repay the outlay. It will pro- vide an opening for graduates in science, and will divert many of them to the useful paths of industry and research. In such an institution graduates, who have studied the general principles of science in colleges, will be able to master the various methods of the practical application of science to the needs of the present day. They will there learn with what extraordinary skill, in other and more advanced countries, men are ‘harnessing science in the service of business and the other tasks of modern life.’ ”? Tue Earl of Crewe, chairman of the governing body of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, has authorised the publication of the following communica- tion:—The governing body of the Imperial College of Science and Technology has appointed three standing com- mittees, a finance committce (chairman, Sir Francis Mowatt), an education committee (chairman, Mr. Arthur Acland), and a general purposes committee (chairman, Lord Halsbury). In addition, two temporary committees have been appointed, namely, a transfer committee (chair- man, Mr. Arthur Acland), and an organisation committee (chairman, Mr. Gerald Balfour; vice-chairman, Sir William White). Matters relating to the transfer to the Imperial College of the constituent institutions, which it has been arranged shall take effect as from January 1 next, and to the transfer of land from the Exhibition Com- missioners, have been referred to the transfer committee. The organisation committee, to which have been referred matters relating to the future organisation of the Imperial College, has appointed four subcommittees to consider questions arising under this head in relation to the follow- ing sciences or groups of sciences, viz. :—(1) mining and metallurgy (chairman of the subcommittee, Sir Julius Wernher); (2) other branches of engineering (chairman, Sir John Wolfe-Barry) ; (3) biological sciences (chairman, Sir Archibald Geikie); and (4) other pure and applied sciences (chairman, Sir Arthur Riicker). The governing body has authorised the appointment of persons not members of the governing body who are specially con- versant with the sciences in question or with their in- NO. 1988, VoL. 77] dustrial applications as additional members of these sub- committees, which are now engaged in considering the questions referred to them. The governing body as also approved in principle the appointment of a principal officer of the Imperial College, and has referred the question of his title and functions to the organisation committee. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Society of Chemical Industry, November 4.—Mr. R. he Friswell in the chair.—The determination of indigotin in indigo-yielding plants: Cyril Bergtheil and R. V. Briggs. The accurate determination of indigotin in the indigo plant is of considerable importance, since a correct estimate of the efficiency of the process of indigo manu- facture depends thereon. A method of precipitating indigotin from an extract of the»plant in boiling water by means of ammonium persulphate, proposed by Rawson in 1904 and modified by the present authors, has been shown to give correct results by comparison with those obtained by fermentation of the extract by means of the indigo enzyme (Journ. Soc. Chem. Industry, 1906, xxv., 729). This method has been criticised by Orchardson, Wood and Bloxam, and two alternative methods proposed, one of which, depending on the same principle, is said to give results identical with those obtained by the authors’ method, whilst the other, depending on the precipitation of indirubin by the action of isatin in acid solution, in- dicates a considerably higher potential yield of indigotin in the plant extract used (Journ. Soc. Chem. Industry, xxvi., 4). The authors’ original method is now verified, and some minor modifications are recommended. The conclusion that the isatin method may in certain circum- stances indicate a higher indican content in a given extract than the persulphate method is not borne out by the authors’ experiments.—Analysis of indigo (part iii.) and of the dried leaves of Indigofera arrecta and I. Sumatrana : R. Gaunt, F. Thomas, and W. P. Bloxam. >. tensed DOS Graphical Interpolation. (W2th Diagrams.)—F.J.W. WWDIpple <.-... . sci) pee. s. 's. oO Reflection of Polarised Light.—C. T. Whitmell . . 103 The Total Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908. (///us- trated.) By Dr. William J. S. Lockyer. .... .: 104 New Aéroplanes. (///ustrated.) .. . «| \) Pole eOO Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society. . . . . 107 Notes Oo GROMER oO > SURGING oc o.oo Aum Our Astronomical Column :— Mercury as a Morning Star. (J//ustrated.)... .« II5 AmBushtyMeteor <0. )-t eiemememeyue! -) SNemIa 115 SatimniSeRIn gS... ... sage Me MeMReRMel ve. eyo lok ofan 116 The wRecent Transit of Mercuky . < - - eee 116 Some Recent Work in Paleontology. By G.A.J.C. 116 University and Educational Intelligence ..... II7 Societiesjand Acadmies: /Sipeyeee) ©) +) cliente TS Diarysofysocieties:.. ... .. cuemeeeue -) ile cance L2O NAROTOE 121 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1907. AN UPPER CRETACEOUS FLORA. The Cretaceous Flora of Southern New York and New England. By Arthur Hollick. Pp. 219, including 4o plates. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906.) HE Cretaceous flora is of extreme interest to botanists, for it was during this period that the great, and, as it appears, sudden, change took place from the ancient type of Mesozoic vegetation, with its predominant Cycadophyta and Conifers, to a flora of an essentially modern facies, with the Angiosperms already supreme. The recent remark- able work of Dr. Wieland (Nature, vol. Ixxv., p. 329; vol. Ixxvi., p. 113) has intensified the interest of this transformation from the old into the new, by show- ing that the Cycadophyta of the earlier Mesozoic had | | apparently been to identify his specimens, generically themselves evolved a floral organisation comparable to that ot an Angiosperm, indicating that the dominant groups of the two floras, different as they appear, may yet prove to have been genetically re- lated. Dr. Hollick’s monograph relates entirely to an Upper Cretaceous flora in which Angiosperms, or at least Dicotyledons, have completely assumed the ‘leading réle, and little trace of their cycad-like pre- decessors remains. The beds yielding the fossil plants belong to the ‘‘ Island Series” of Dr. Lester Ward, who thus described their distribution :— “From Morgan (New Jersey), . .. the formation may be traced northward across Staten Island and the northern shore of Long Island, and it re-appears on Martha’s Vineyard in the celebrated clifis of Gay Head’ (p. 13). ; The horizon of the beds mainly that of our Upper Chalk (Senonian), and possibly as old, in some cases, as late Cenomanian, but it is doubtful whether the intermediate Turonian is repre- sented (p. r19). An interesting feature of the de- posits is that the concretions containing the plant- remains almost always occur in glacial moraine, or in Cretaceous beds more or less disturbed by glacial action, and scarcely ever in their original positions (p. 26). Of the 222 species to which a systematic position is assigned, six are referred to the Pteridophyta, 27 to the Gymnosperms, four to the Monocotyledons, and no less than 185 to the Dicotyledons. In spite of the many elements of doubt involved in all determinations of more or less fragmentary impressions, these figures probably give a fair though rough idea of the true proportions, and though further investigation may somewhat add to the relative importence of the Gymnosperms, there can be no doubt that the Dicotyledons had already completely gained the upper hand in the short interval, geologically speaking, since, Lower Cretaceous times. The Cycadales, the chars teristic plants of the earlier, period, are repre- sented by a few doubtful fragments. The fossils re- ferred to Williamsonia by the author are, as he says, of uncertain affinity, and it has been suggested that they may rather be attributed to Magnoliacez, an NO 1989, VOL. 77] is | Chapters on Paper-making. order which, on leaf-evidence, was largely represented in the flora. The insignificance of the Monocotyledons is another striking point—the four fossils referred to them all seem somewhat dubious. The geological evidence, here and elsewhere, certainly weighs heavily on the side of the opinion, now widely held, that the Dico- tyledons constitute the original angiospermous stock, from which the Monocotyledons have diverged. The author’s determinations are, at the present stage of investigation, necessarily based almost wholly on impressions of leaves, for such remains of flowers and fruits as have been found seldom seem to have helped materially in the identification. The botanist can rarely feel confidence in conclusions as to affinity derived from leaf-characters alone, and it is to be re- gretted that so many of the fossils are referred to recent genera, the evidence for such attribution being scarcely ever adequate. The author’s object has or specifically, with those described by previous palezobotanists, rather than to determine their botanical affinities for himself. As an ample record of a rich flora the monograph has great value, especially from a stratigraphical point of view; but, as is usually the case with work on Upper Cretaceous or Tertiary plants, the data will need a far more critical treatment before any accurate botanical con- clusions can be drawn. In speaking of the coniferous remains, the author directs attention to the wide and interesting field open for future investigation in the examination of the internal structure of certain specimens. That the structure should so often be preserved is a most hope- ful circumstance, and the work already done on some of this invaluable material by Prof. Jeffrey, of Harvard, partly in conjunction with the present author, shows how much may be looked for when the internal, as well as the superficial, characters of these interesting relics have been more widely investigated. Deals ssi AND TECHNOLOGY. Vol. iii., Comprising a Short Practical Treatise in which Boiling, Bleach- ing, Loading, Colouring, and Similar Questions are discussed. Pp. viii+134; price 5s. net. Vol. iv., Containing Discussions upon Water Supplies and the Management of the Paper Machine, and its Influence upon the Qualities of Papers. Pp. vii+ 156; price 5s. net. By Clayton Beadle. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1907.) PAPER MILL-WORKERS HE author is one of a group of workers who aim at a progressive elevation of the standard of technological education and practice in this still very important branch of our productive industry. The paper-maker in this country has weighty reasons for preferring the ‘‘ practical man’ to, or before, the student of the theoretical basis of his practice. It is not the weighty reasons, however, which determine his attitude. It is the feminine quality or defect of pure prejudice; the argument is introduced post hoc G 122 for its justification. The author, aware of this rule of prejudice, but encouraged by distinguished exceptions, adopts the plan of ‘‘ pegging away.’’ These volumes are the records of a scheme of higher education by correspondence. Questions directed to the elucidation of typical problems arising in the ordinary routine of the mill are set and distributed through the medium of the technical Press amongst the workers, who are in- vited to transmit their solutions of the problems to be criticised and corrected. A further object is ta assist the workers in preparing for the more formal examination test of the City and Guilds Institute. At the same time, the questions propounded are judiciously chosen outside the formal or text-book range of the examinations syllabus of that excellent institution. We give a selection of subjects dealt with :—Beating, with sections on the size and speed of beater rolls, the efficiency of refining engines and edge runners; Sizing, Colouring and Loading, with special problems; the Paper Machine, with sectional treatment of dandy rolls, wire and suction boxes; the Qualities of Papers in relation to use, involving practical problems in ‘‘ bulk,’’ transparency, tenacity and stretch, special printing surfaces and the like. The chapters follow one another without any attempt at a logical sequence, and each chapter com- prises a selection of students’ answers, also without any attempt at classification. The author’s critical remarks alternate with the matter in inverted commas, and these criticisms are quite as unequal as_ his students’ efforts. The reader is consequently con- fronted on each page with a species of pictorial puzzle, with the accompanying challenge to ‘ find the police- man.’’ We say “* policeman ”’ taking the accepted symbol of law and order, and the student of technology is of course seeking instruction in these fundamental regu- lating factors of industrial processes. This defect of form, or want of form, necessarily limits the usefulness of these volumes. As a “‘ causerie ”’ on mill practice they will be found interesting and suggestive, but as a guide to technological instruction the matter should have been much more carefully ordered and edited. An important function of the teacher is to teach his subjects on positive, didactic lines, and the author abdicates this position in not prefacing each chapter with his own model answer to the questions pro- pounded. These ‘‘ Chapters on Paper-making ’’ notwithstand. ing constitute a most useful appeal to the latent intelli- gence of our mill workers. Paper-mills are often so situated as to cut them off from tuition classes, and, further, it must not be for- gotten that most workers are on night-shifts in alternate weeks, and this is a serious impediment to instruction by classes or lectures. The author’s educational work is therefore particu- larly deserving of encouragement, and with a little more conviction on his own part as to its solid value, he will probably see fit so to improve the form and style of subsequent ‘‘ chapters ’’ as more efficiently to supplement and complement the work of the techno- logical institutions. NO. 1989, VOL. 77] NATORE [ DECEMBER 12, 1907 LOCAL ORNITHOLOGY. (1) Bird-Life of the Borders, on Moorland and Sea, with Faunal Notes extending over Forty Years. By Abel Chapman. Pp. xii+458; map and_ illustra- tions. (London: Gurney and Jackson, 1907.) Price 14s. net. (2) The Birds of Kent. By William J. Davis. Pp. vi+ 304; plate and map. (Dartford: J. and W. Davis, 1907.) Price 6s. net. (3) Notes on the Birds of Rutland. By C. Reginald Haines. Pp. xlvii+175; 8 plates and map. London: R. H. Porter, 1907.) Price 7s. 6d. net. ie preparing the second edition of his pleasant and valuable account of the birds of the borders, Mr. Chapman has practically re-written on a broader basis the first section of the book, i.e. that relating to the Cheviots and the moorlands of the borders. The second part, which treats of the north- eastern sea-board, and, to some extent, may be con- sidered as a treatise on the wild-fowling to be had on that coast, as well as an account of the wild-fowl to be met with there, has been merely revised. The borderland stretching from Cheviot to the Solway comprises an area of hundreds of square miles of mountain and moor. The author defines the region covered by his observations as that mountain land which remains as it was created, unaltered by the hand of man, bounded by the line where the shepherd’s crook supplants the plough; where heather and bracken, whinstone and black-faced sheep repel corn and cultivation; where grouse and blackcock yet retain their ancient domain, excluding partridge and pheas- ant; and where the ring-ouzel dispossesses the black- bird. ‘A region largely of peat as distinguished from soil, of flowe, moss, and crag; of tumbling burns and lonely moorland, glorious in all its primeval beauty.” As on the higher fell-ranges of the borders it takes two to four acres to support each sheep; the hill country is very thinly inhabited. In this edition the author has slightly extended his purview so as to include the subjacent country, namely, the foothills which slope downwards from the higher range, ‘‘ and which zone might perhaps be termed the sub-alpine region.”? This is the fringe of the moorland, yet it lies beyond the range of the plough, and its faunal character may be exemplified by the substitution of the blackcock, peewit, and whinchat for the red grouse, golden plover, and wheat-ear of the higher land. Here we come within the outer limit of many of the low- land woodland forms. Beginning with the earlier months, the bird-life of the moorlands is traced in a succession of chapters throughout the year. The author having had forty years’ experience of the district to which he is devotedly attached, and the book being preeminently one of personal observations, and of statements of facts, as seen by him, supplemented and expanded to some extent by theories which he felt justified in founding upon these observations, it follows that in these articles we have a very complete account of the avi- fauna of a district which is little known and visited. ( (1) DECEMBER 12, 1907] NATURE 123 The bird-life of the borders is constantly changing | throughout the year, save. perhaps, just during the heart of the breeding season; and among all the 200 species of birds which may roughly be estimated to form its feathered population, the author finds that only fourteen are absolutely stationary. Interspersed among the regular sequence of the chapters detailing the bird-life at different seasons, we have accounts of the game-fish, migration, grouse- shooting, and grouse-disease; and a chapter of specific bird studies dealing chiefly with some of the rarer birds met with in, or which have recently extended their range to, the district. Among the many bits of stray information there are some very pertinent remarks on the important question of heather burning and the effect upon heather of black-faced sheep, which manage, when forced by sheer necessity, to retain life in them by grubbing down into its roots. The chapter on the process of migration advances some rather novel ideas. The author suggests, in the first place, that no one has ever seen the process of migration in actual operation, and that migratory birds seen at lightships, &c., are not in the process of migration, but at its termination, making good their landfall; and further, that the few birds one sees at sea are merely waifs and strays. He disbelieves that the journeys which small birds of little wing-power perform are accomplished in the way that is ordinarily accepted, i.e. by hard, straightaway flying. He says that birds can reach, high in the air, regions and con- ditions quite beyond human knowledge; can sustain life in rarefied atmospheres where mammals could not; and may there be able to rest without exertion, or find meteorological or atmospheric forces that miti- gate or abolish the labours of ordinary flight, or possibly assist its progress. All this is very suggestive, and facts are brought forward in support of these views ; but much of it must remain conjectural, of course, and extreme cold, and the stormy conditions supposed to prevail at high altitudes, would, we think, have to be considered. In the latter part of the book the wild-fowl of the north-eastern coast, their haunts and habits, and the way to get at them with a big gun, are fully dealt with; but, unfortunately, the impracticable or inac- cessible nature of their chosen haunts has left inquirers much in the dark as regards the specific distribution of the grey geese on those shores. As an account of the local habits and distribution of the border birds, this book is chiefly valuable—for the habits and the nature of the haunts of birds differ in different dis- tricts. To give one instance of this, speaking (and doubtless drawing on his observations of the bird somewhere or other) of the black-tailed godwit as a former breeding species in Britain, the author says of this country, ‘‘ Nowadays there are no fens; conse- quently no godwits.’’ But this is not a necessary consequence. On the Continent, this godwit known to breed.in good drained grass marshes, and its nest has been found in a dry, sandy bean-field in reclaimed lands. is been seen by himself. The author holds strong opinions, and perhaps some of his conclusions will not be universally accepted ; NO. 1989, VOL. 77 | possibly all the less so from his criticism of others, and a slight reluctance to accept the observations of some others as facts when they clash with his pre- conceived notions; and his distrust of what has not But we have no more readable bird-book on our shelves, and the new edition will be welcome to those who have for years been unable to obtain the original one. Some of the author’s draw- ings and pen-and-ink sketches are very pleasing and life-like. But with regard to the plate (not by the author) supposed to represent a coot and two Sclavon- ian grebes in full winter dress at midsummer, we should certainly say that the heads of the grebes as drawn—the shape and size of the beak, and the white passing over and behind the eye—resemble more closely those of crested grebes in winter plumage. There is a map of the district, and a good index. (2) Mr. Davis points out that hitherto no book dealing with the birds of the entire county of Kent has been published, although the works of Messrs. Dowker on east Kent, Prentis on the Rainham dis- trict, and the present author on Dartford and the north-west, have paved the way for a complete county avifauna. The information to be derived from these sources has now been brought together and supple- mented by various records in the periodicals and notes which have been furnished by observers in various parts of the county. A short description of the eggs and nests has been given in most cases, and something about the habits of the birds which are resident in or regular visitors to the county. Unfor- tunately, the author’s personal experience relates only to portions of the county, and the information re- specting many of the birds can hardly be said to have been brought down to date. Kent has given a name to no less than three birds on the British list, and we naturally turn to them in expectation of finding a full account of their history and present status in the county. It is therefore disappointing to find that the account of the Kentish plover consists of little more than a reprint of Mr. Farren’s article in Country Life (most excellent in itself) on the breeding habits of this little plover; while of the Sandwich tern, discovered at the place of that name in 1784, we are merely informed that “ no doubt they still breed on the Kentish coast.’’ As to the Dartford warbler, a perusal of the four and a half pages devoted to this species, ‘‘ probably more in- teresting to the inhabitants of the town of Dartford than any other bird,’’ leaves us in doubt whether it is still an inhabitant of Kent or not. Half a page is filled with a quotation as to the discovery of a nest and eggs of this bird in Yorkshire; but this might well have been omitted, since the Yorkshire authorities consider the record is open to the gravest doubt, and refuse to enrol the Dartford warbler on the Yorkshire list. We can only consider this little book as a further instalment towards the adequate avifauna of Kent which we still await. Iceland, where the chough is said to breed, must be a misprint for Ireland. The appendix includes a useful list of birds observed in east Kent during the past twenty years by Mr. H. S. D. Byron, received by the author too late for 124 NATURE [| DECEMBER 12, 1907 incorporation in the text. A full index and a large map make reference to the species and localities easy. (3) One by one the English counties are getting their bird-books, and the latest to acquire this distinction is Rutland, by far the smallest of them all. Pre- eminently an agricultural county, its natural features present nothing striking, and do not show any great diversity. Of its 100,000 acres, permanent pasture absorbs more than half; not a hundred acres are waste land or heath, and not 200 acres are water. But Mr. Haines is surely far below the mark when he states that there are scarcely 4oo acres of woodland. In these circumstances he has done well in being able to give so large a list as 200 of birds which have occurred in this fruitful and profitable little bit of land, Besides the natural disabilities of Rutland as a bird resort, the historian of its ornithology has to contend with a further drawback in the almost total lack of notes bearing on the subject which date back more than a hundred years. The one exception is to be found in the notes by Thomas Barker, of Lyndon Hall, Gilbert White’s brother-in-law, and two of the earliest of these are initialed by the historian of Selborne. But the notes do not amount to much, and refer chiefly to the arrival and departure, and the opening of song of iess than a score of species. The most interesting of them is the wood-lark—a very rare bird now in Rutland. A slip is made in describing the gentleman who brought these notes to light as a descendant of Gilbert White! The later printed authorities are very few, and although a work published in 1889 is entitled “The Vertebrates of Leicestershire and Rutland,”’ the Rutland birds are very inadequately treated therein. So that there was quite room for a new and complete work on the subject, in the preparation of which the present author has had the assistance of a large number of observers. The general condition and character of the avifauna of the county is treated in a lucid and interesting manner in the concluding portion of the introduction, and lists are given of the species which have increased or decreased in recent years. Lists, too, are given of the resident species which are subject to some migra- tion, and of the whole of the species actually enumer- ated as Rutland birds, showing their status in the county. The references made to the habits and life- histories of birds in the body of the work have been drawn from observations made in Rutland itself. The facts of most importance for British ornithologists in general to be gleaned from the pages of this handy little volume are: the eighth instance of the occurrence of Bonaparte’s gull; the unique nesting of the bee- eater; the addition of Rutland to the counties where the pied flycatcher has been seen; the recent appear- ance of the bearded tit in the county; the acquisition of the redshank as a nesting species; the very early return of the wryneck; and the early nesting of the cornerake and partridge. The author himself seems to feel a little doubtful about the identification of the Bonaparte’s gull, and ornithologists in general will be still more so; while as for the nesting of the bee- eater, we cannot help thinking that some mistake or NO. 1989, VOL. 77] confusion of specimens occurred; the confusion in which the authority for the record seemed to be about the smaller grebes (p. 163) inclines us more strongly to this view. The plates are pleasing, though they have not all of them much to do with Rutland especially. But there is one which will puzzle most people. As the jack snipe, the principal figure in it, is cut all to pieces by the shot which has apparently been fired, and is obviously dead in the air, we cannot see why the picture should be called ‘‘ A Narrow Escape ’’; unless the title refers to the dog, which does not appear to have been hit! We have, however, seen a plate in another book which has a striking resemblance to this one, but there it has another and more appro- priate title. A good index and a map complete this nicely got up little volume. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. (1) A Text-book of Electrical Engineering. By Dr. Adolf Thomalen; translated from the German by G. W. O. Howe. Pp. viii+456. (London: Ed- ward Arnold, 1907.) Price 15s. net. (2) The Elements of Electrical Engineering. By Profs. W. S. Franklin and Wm. Esty. Vol. i. Direct-Current Machines, Electric Distribjtion and Lighting. Pp. xiii+517. (New York: The Mac- millan Company; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1906.) Price 18s. 6d. net. (1) HIS book is an English translation of the second edition of the ‘‘ Kurze Lehrbuch der Elektrotechnik,’? and includes some additional matter which will be introduced into the third edition. It is intended to meet the needs of electrical engineer- ing students who have passed the most elementary stages and are taking a second- and third-year course at the technical colleges. It is not easy to give a satisfactory definition of electrical engineering, but in default of a better - it may be suggested that the subject should comprise the generation, distribution and utilisation of electric energy. This may be interpreted narrowly or broadly according to the judgment of the individual. If this be accepted as a reasonable definition, the book before us is by no means comprehensive enough to be justly called ‘‘a text-book of electrical engineering ”’; it should rather be called ‘‘an introduction to the theory of dynamo design.’’ Distribution of electric energy is not considered at all, and its utilisation only in so far as the theories of motors, direct and alternating current, are concerned. The theories of direct-current feeders, of switchgear for controlling generators and motors, of electric traction apparatus, are not abstruse, and a knowledge of these matters is likely to be more useful to the average engineer than the theory of dynamo machinery. Recognising, however, the limitations of the sub- ject-matter, the book may be safely recommended for what it contains, although it is surprising that there should have been much difficulty in finding books already in existence covering the same range, as stated in the preface. As a brief indication of the DECEMBER 12, 1907] NATURE 25 contents it may be stated that the first five chapters deal with fundamental principles of electricity and magnetism, the next four with the theory of direct- current dynamos and motors; these are followed by a single chapter on alternating-current theory, a chapter on transformers, four chapters on alternating-current generators and synchronous motors, and four chapters 0a induction motors. The book concludes with a few pages devoted to rotary converters, and an appendix on the symbolic method of treating vectors. The matter is well arranged and clearly set forth. Considerable space is taken up by the various types of direct-current armature windings, illustrated by several good diagrams, and the important question of spark- ing receives proper attention. The treatment of alternating-current generators is good, but it seems questionable whether students should be taught to look upon the magnetising current in the field windings of an alternator as a vector quantity. With this exception the section devoted to the behaviour of such machines on loads with various power factors is excellent, and the discussion of parallel running is particularly clear. Induction motors are considered in the light of the semicircle diagram with a good deal of theoretical elaboration, and single-phase commutator motors are mentioned briefly. Taken as a whole, the book will probably strike electrical engineers as being somewhat too theoretical. It does not claim to go beyond the principles of the subject, leaving aside altogether constructional details. There are, however, many items of information which could be given without any trouble, and which would give a greater reality to the student’s ideas. Thus, for instance, it seems a pity that a budding electrical engineer should arrive at the end of the book with- out ever having been told, that electrical apparatus must satisfy the requirements of a temperature speci- fication. There should be no need for a man to go through a course of dynamo design to learn this elementary but important fact. A word of praise may be given to the translator, who has done his work with marked success; it is sufficient to say that the bool does not read like a translation form the German, and all who have done such work will agree that this is high praise. (2) This is another book for the use of students, but it is intended not only for those taking a special electrical course, but also for others studying general engineering. With this object in view, the authors have endeavoured to differentiate between the two classes of readers, by giving in appendices and in several special sections in small type what they call the more elaborate developments of the subject. This seems a good plan, and it is well carried out. The authors are professors in Lehigh University, and the book, in consequence, caters especially for the American engineer. Apart from this, the present volume may be thoroughly recommended to students in this country, on account of the practical nature of the information contained therein. For example, the authors are not content with tracing through the pre- liminary theory of the direct-current generator and then leaving the subject at that point, as so many NO. 1989, VOL. 77] English text-books do, but they go on to discuss what limits the output of a generator in actual practice, and give a chapter on ratings and guarantees. As a whole, the book is far more in touch with practical conditions than the usual examples of this class of literature. The present volume is confined to the study of direct currents, their generation, distribution, and utilisation for lighting. The first part is devoted to elementary theory, the theory of dynamo machines, the practical aspect of such machinery, including its rating and performance guarantees, its control by switchgear, and its operation alone and in conjunction with storage batteries. The second half contains chapters on distribution and wiring, on photometry and electric lighting, and four appendices on the magnetisation of iron, on characteristic curves, on armature windings, and on problems illustrating the contents of the whole volume. The book will no doubt serve its particular pur- pose admirably, but so far as this country is con- cerned it is unfortunate that the slight differences between English and American practice are sufficient to deter many students from purchasing a book of considerable value in its own country. OUR BOOK SHELF. Modern Lithology, illustrated and defined, for the use of University, Technical, and Civil-Service Stu- dents. By E. H. Adye. Pp. 128. (Edinburgh and London: W. and A. K. Johnston, Ltd., 1907.) Price ros. net. Tue excellent microscopic drawings of rock-sections previously issued by Mr. Adye (see Nature, vol. 1xxi., p- 341), in a work entitled ‘‘ The Twentieth Century Atlas of Petrography,’? prepare us for the present series of sixteen smaller plates. With four coloured figures on each, some of them subdivided into two semicircles, we have a wide range of rocks accurately and artistically represented. The drawing and de- scription of thin sections is not strictly “‘ lithology,” however ‘‘modern’’ it may be; but Mr. Adye deals with the illustrations clearly in the accompanying text. He also gives a glossary of petrographic terms, which contains many useful references to original papers. The definitions of the crystallographic systems are, as often happens in elementary books, far too limited, and would exclude copper pyrites, for example, from the tetragonal system, and hemi- morphite from the orthorhombic. If, moreover, rhombohedral and hexagonal are to be _ taken as synonymous, as stated on p. 97, there is no place under the definition given for such common minerals as quartz and calcite. A crystallographic “‘ pyramid ”’ (p. 111) cannot nowadays be regarded as a closed form. The glossary, as a whole, however, is a mine of information, and every geologist may read it with advantage. ‘‘Tachylite,’’ here and on p. 18, should be “‘ tachylyte ’’; but this correction has been made again and again without result in geological literature. Few misprints occur; we notice “* Jan- netez,” ‘‘ Béricky,’’ ‘‘ Radanthal,’’ and Galionella. There is no strict arrangement in the subjects on the plates, and, as we have hinted, no attempt has been made at writing on lithology in the broad sense. But the book, with its complete index, is a really good companion for those who require guidance in studying the characters presented by thin sections. No small 126 NATORE | DECEMBER 12, 1907 work has hitherto given us so effective a series of coloured petrographic illustrations. We are thus not quite sure about the description of the pyroxene- andesite from Bohemia on plate v., because the drawing so closely resembles the rock of Tichlowitz, with its brown hornblende in the groundmass, its monoclinic pyroxene, and its patches of zeolites as the only pale constituents. Again and again we could name the locality of the rock selected from the accurate details of the illustration; and when we turn to the descriptive text, we find very little room for criticism. Gs AL ING Inflammation. An Introduction to the Study of Path- ology. Being the reprint (revised and enlarged) of an article in Prof. Allbutt’s ‘‘ System of Medi- cine.’’? By Prof. J. George Adami. Pp. xvi+240. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 5s. net. Reprints in book form of articles appearing in larger volumes are not always desirable, but in the present instance so much has been added to the matter as virtually to constitute a new work. We congratulate Prof. Adami heartily on the successful issue of an arduous task; no one knows how difficult until he attempts to write on inflammation. The subject of inflammation, forming, as it does, the fundamental basis of pathology, and it might be said also of the science and practice of medicine, is beset with diffi- culties. The literature on it is voluminous and_ be- wildering, and pathologists owe a debt of gratitude to Prof. Adami for having the courage to attack it. The matter is divided into sections; the first gives a general survey of the inflammatory process, the second deals with the various factors of the process—the part played by the leucocytes, the exudate, the blood- vessels, the nervous system, cells of the part, and the temperature changes; the third section deals with general considerations, and includes a chapter on the principles of treatment of the inflammatory state. Every statement made is based on published work, to which the reference is appended (and the book there- fore forms a valuable bibliography on the subject of inflammation), and critical additions and summaries are liberally interspersed. The bool is well and sufficiently illustrated, and no student of pathology can do without it. R. T. HEWLetr. By Notes on Maritime Meteorology. Commander M. W. Campbell Hepworth, C.B. Pp. vili+90; 7 plates. (London: George Philip and Son, Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. net. Tus work consists of papers contributed to societies and institutions between 1883 and 1900, compiled while the author was on active service afloat. Two of them, occupying nearly half the book, are of a more general nature than the rest, and deal with meteorology as a factor in naval warfare and with the value of meteorological observations at sea. The author contends that, given two opposing fleets equal in all respects, ‘‘ the victory in a series of engage- ments shall be to the fleet in the direction of whose movements meteorology shall have given the greatest aid,’? and some striking instances are cited of the value of weather knowledge. The other papers are of a more special character, and relate chiefly to the navigation of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Taken in connection with the useful charts dealing with the marine meteorology of those oceans published by the Admiralty and the Meteorological Office, the results of investigations by so experienced a seaman and so keen an observer as the author of the work in ques- tion will be ef great interest and value to those now afloat. NO. 1989, VOL. 77] PELE RS LO) Tite) [nO nm: (The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NatuRE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Mul'attos, Mr. H. G. WELLS, in his interesting book ‘‘ The Future in America ’’ (1906), tells (pp. 269-270) a story at second- hand which apparently, however, he accepts as accurate in perfect good faith. I transcribe the facts as they were given to him :— ““A few years ago a young fellow came to Boston from New Orleans. Looked all right. Dark—but he explained that by an Italian grandmother. Touch of French in him too. Popular. Well, he made advances to a Boston girl— good family. Gave a fairly straight account of himself. Married.”’ The offspring of the marriage was a son :— “Black as your hat. Absolutely negroid. Projecting jaw, thick lips, frizzy hair, flat nose—everything.”’ In this case Mr. Wells observes :—‘ The taint in the blood surges up so powerfully as to blacken the child at birth beyond even the habit of the pure-blooded negro.’ This is, at any rate, ultra-Mendelian. Such a_ story would hardly be told and repeated unless it corresponded to popular belief. What one would like to have is. precise evidence that such cases actually occur. If verifiable, it would be of great importance both on scientific and political grounds. I find, however, nothing resembling it in such authorities as I am able to consult. No such case is mentioned by either Darwin or Delage, though neither would have been likely to pass over such a striking instance of reversion had it been known to him. Sir William Lawrence, in his ‘‘ Lectures on Physiology, Zoology, and the Natural History of Man ”’ (1822), a book still worth consulting, has industriously collected (pp. 472-484) all the facts available at the time about mulattos, but has no instance of the kind. The problem involved is thus stated by Galton (‘‘ Natural Inheritance,’’ p. 13) :—‘‘ A solitary peculiarity that blended freely with the characteristics of the parent stock, would disappear in hereditary transmission.’’ He then discusses the case of a European mating in a black population :— “Tf the whiteness refused to blend with the blackness, some of the offspring of the white man would be wholly white and the rest wholly black. The same event would occur in the grandchildren, mostly, but not exclusively, in the children of the white offspring, and so on in subsequent generations. Therefore, unless the white stock became wholly extinct, some undiluted specimens of it would make their appearance during an indefinite time, giving it re- peated chances of holding its own in the struggle for existence.’’ Mutatis mutandis, the same law would hold for a black mating in a white population. Lawrence quotes a single case (p. 279) in which a refusal to blend certainly existed :—‘‘ A negress had twins by an Englishman: one was perfectly black, with short, woolly curled hair; the other was light, with long hair.’’ He also points out that in ‘‘ mixed breeds ’’ ‘“‘ children may be seen like their grandsires, and unlike the father and mother,’’ a fact observed by Lucretius. “Fit quoque, ut interdum similes existere avorum Possint, et referant proavorum szpe figuras.’’ On the other hand, according to Lawrence, there was a legal process in the Spanish colonies of South America by which a mulatto could claim a declaration that he was, at any rate politically, free from any taint of black blood. Of Quinterons, who were one-sixteenth black, he says :— ““Tt is not credible that any trace of mixed origin can remain in this case,’’ and even of Tercerons, who were one- quarter black, ‘‘ in colour and habit of body they cannot be distinguished from their European progenitors.’’ He says (p. 274) that Jamaica Quadroons “‘ are not to be distin- guished from whites.’’ But ‘‘ there is still a contamination of dark blood, although no longer visible. It is said to betray itself sometimes in a relic of the peculiar strong smell of the great-grandmother.’’ If these statements can be relied upon, Galton’s hypothetical law does not appear DECEMBER 12, 1907 | NATURE n27 to apply to mulattos, and some doubt is thrown on the case cited by Wells. On the other hand, Lawrence quotes from the Philosophical Transactions (‘‘ v., 55’) a case of two negroes who had a white child, the paternal grand- father being white. This seems purely Mendelian. November 25. W. T. TuiseLcton-Dyer. Specific Stability and Mutation. Tue desire to be as brief as possible has led, I fear, to some obscurity in the sentences quoted by Sir William Thiselton-Dyer (p. 77) from my letter of October 17. The meaning will perhaps be clearer if I explain the precise significance which I attached to the words ‘‘ appear ’’ and ** occurrence. ”” By the occurrence of a mutation in one of the higher plants I meant the production of a seed capable of germination and containing an embryo with definitely different potentialities from those of its parent. The appearance of a mutation, on the other hand, implies that such a seed has germinated and given rise to a plant recognisably different from other members of the species. My contention is that the conditions of cultivation are such as to allow of the safe germination and growth of plants which would have no chance of survival under natural con- ditions. It is therefore possible that mutations may occur as frequently under natural conditions as under cultivation. This being so, it does not appear to me to be an abuse of language to state that the assumption that cultivation causes the occurrence of mutations is one which requires proof. In support of this assumption Sir William Thiselton-Dyer brings forward certain evidence. With much of this evidence I was already familiar, but it did not appear to me to amount to satisfactory proof of the current position. The authority of eminent breeders is quoted for the fact that, as soon as one new variety of a cultivated species has been obtained, a host of others immediately follow. But the explanation of this may be that the breeder, as soon as he has obtained a single novelty, immediately crosses it—deliberately or by accident —with the original type, thus giving rise to endless new combinations. R. H. Lock. Botany School, Cambridge, December 2. TuaT mutations inevitably appear sooner or later under cultural conditions is not an assumption, but a fact. That they do so only casually under natural conditions, and usually fail to perpetuate themselves, equally seems to me not an assumption, but a fact. If, as Mr. Lock seems to argue, there is an equal chance of their occurrence in either case, then their appearance should be more frequent in nature than in cultivation, because the former has a larger population to work with. But it is not so. I therefore conclude with Darwin that cultivation introduces some provocative condition which is lacking (or latent) in nature. What that condition is seems to me a very important subject for research. December 5. W. T. Tuisetton-Dyer. The Winding of Rivers. Witk your permission I would like to make a few re- marks on the winding of rivers, which is at present being discussed in your pages. My observations were made while fishing, and my remarks refer to the rivers of our own country, and may not apply to rivers of greater volume. But first I would like to point out an objection to Prof. J. Thomson’s experiments. In Prof. Thomson’s paper in the report of the British Association for 1876 no details of the conditions of the experiment are given, but Sir Oliver Lodge in his letter (NaTuRE, November 28) says Prof. Thomson’s model had a wooden bed. Now it is very evident that we must be careful in drawing con- clusions from experiments made under these conditions. That wooden bed, however carefully made, would not be of the shape that nature would have given it, and any deviation from nature’s shape would cause unnatural currents. It, however, does seem probable that something of the nature of Prof. Thomson’s diagonal under-tow will exist even in river-shaped beds. The whole question of the flow of water in river beds is extremely complicated. This is evidenced by the contrary NO. 1989, VoL. 77] results of the observations of your correspondents. But little consideration is sufficient to show that this must be so; the variables are so many. We have, for instance, variations in the curvature of the bend, in the velocity of the water, and in the formation of the bed of the river, which we must remember is dug out and shaped by flood water for flood water, and is but little altered as the river falls in volume. Take, for instance, the case supposed to be represented by Prof. Thomson’s model. Here, with a certain curvature and a certain velocity of flow, we can easily imagine the formation of the diagonal under-tow. But if we were to increase the velocity of the flow this cross under-current would decrease and ultimately cease, and when a certain relation of velocity to curvature was arrived at we would get the conditions referred to in Mr. R. D. Oldham’s letter in Nature of November 21, where he says :—‘ Sand and even pebbles may be thrown up to the surface of the water near the outer bank of the stream, and where the waters have overflowed the banks pebbles may be found lying on the dry ground after the flood has passed away.” In most of the rivers I know which flow in gravel beds, where they are constantly cutting away their banks, the main flow is more sinuous at low level than when in flood. At low level the main stream runs into the pools at the bends on the deep or concave bank, and as the deep sides of the successive pools are on opposite banks of the river, the stream has to cross its bed between the successive pools. While in flood the swiftest flowing part, on the surface at least, is near midstream, but the forma- tion of the bed at the place and the flow above and below may alter this in some cases. After the flood has fallen, the river bed it has shaped has an infinite variety of forms at different places, and the flow of the water at any part must be studied with reference to that particular part, and to the part above which has determined the cross- section and velocity of the water coming to it, and also to the formation of the part below which determines its escape. There is one very common type of flow which frequently presents itself in varying forms in rivers which alter con- siderably in volume from time to time. After the flood has fallen the river becomes, so to speak, divided into streams and pools. Over the shallows the water runs rapidly, while in the pools it moves slowly and somewhat irregularly. The streams coming into the pools flow next the concave banks, and come into the pools with some velocity, which is soon lost in the slower movements in the pools. The streams thus lose their kinetic energy, which is converted into potential energy, raising the level of the water at the place where the stream loses its velocity. From this part of the pool, in addition to the stream flowing down the pool, a reverse current is started which flows back on the inner side of the pool, flowing to the upper end of it, where it curves round and flows downwards alongside the main stream. Part of the back current is no doubt due to the inflowing main current causing an induced current, but it seems to be mainly due to the loss of kinetic energy of the stream, causing a rise of the level of the water where its velocity is destroyed. As to the cutting and wearing away of the banks of rivers, that is mainly the result of eddies formed by the flowing water meeting with obstructions, such as stones, tree roots and stems, inequalities in the banks, &c., or even by water impinging on water. One of the deepest pools in a river I observed was entirely dug out of its gravel bed by eddies produced by the main river meeting a large tributary stream at right angles and mingling their waters in turbulent eddies; and it seems probable that the excavation of the deep pools generally found at the foot of waterfalls have been greatly aided by the eddies formed by the falling water meeting the quieter water of the pools. The common practice in this country of protecting the banks of rivers by means of little piers or ‘‘ tooks”’ to throw the water off them, and into the middle of the bed of the stream, generally results in failure, because the piers cause eddies, and deep pools endangering the banks are frequently dug out by these eddies; and while these piers tend to throw the water to the other side of the channel, yet the sloping bed throws it back and causes it to strike 128 NATURE the bank below the pier, thus in some cases making matters worse. The only place I know of where a know- ledge of the bad effects of eddies on river banks has been put in practice is in the river Adda, which drains Lake Como, Italy. There the irregularities of the banks seem to have been smoothed to some extent, and then simply paved with small cobble stones a few inches in diameter. Over this the water flows without eddies, and the banks, so far as one could see, gave little trouble, though one would imagine that if a break in this rather weak surface took place destruction might be rapid. Joun AITKEN. Ardenlea, Falkirk, December 3. May Gorsedds. IN my communication to Naturr, May 2 (vol. Ixxvi., p- 9), I stated that there was another plan of a Gorsedd among the Iolo MSS. at Llanover. The important differ- ence between it and the plan published in that number is the omission of the solstitial stones. It is a May- November Gorsedd pure and simple, based on the equinox, and for that reason very interesting. Both plans are truer (o ancient tradition than the present plan favoured by the bards. The present orientation is exclusively solstitial, against the best traditions in point. In the older plans the May-year is given the preeminence in one, and is the only year given in the other. In Both the older plans the circle consists of nineteen stones, leaving open a splayed avenue on the east, the breadth of which corre- sponds to the sun’s course from August to November and from February to May. Though the present plan of a circle of twelve stones at equal distance from each other is antiquarianly sound, one may regard the older plans as still sounder. I have elsewhere shown that the exclusively solstitial arrangement of the stones in the present plan is about the only point in connection with the bardic Gorsedd of doubtful antiquity. The accompanying tracing (Fig. 1), for which I am indebted to Mr. T. H. Thomas, shows how the original plan was rather carelessly drawn, just the kind of diagram which an old bard would draw to accompany a written description, as in this case, for the benefit probably of an engraver. In the formal and authentic bardic records very little is said about the significance of the various features of the Gorsedd circle. There is no dabbling in archzology. Fic. 1:—Iolo’s May Gorsedd. It is enough for the bard to be able to say that everything he records is sanctioned ‘by immemorial custom. In the second quarter of the last century a bard arose who claimed also to be a chief bard or archdruid, having the bardic name ‘‘ Myvyr Morgannwg.’’? He attempted a scientific and’ philosophical interpretation of the Gorsedd. He insisted upon the absolute identity of the bardic insti- tution with the circles of the Stone age. He made several successful hits at the truth about the Gorsedd, but wild speculations and irrelevant matter have made his various writings hardly readable. NO. 1989, VOL. 77] [DEcEMBER 12, 1907 The accompanying diagram (Fig. 2) represents Myvyr’s idea of the ** most essential elements of the Gorsedd,’’ and is reproduced from one of his controversial pamphlets. It describes a May-November Gorsedd, but with the solstitial signs, except that Virgo is fixed at the equinox. The diagram is true to the best type, but the interpretation is a_misfit. It is a forcible illustration of the disturbing effect of a solstitial cult upon sound May-year tradition. Fic. 2.—Myvyr's May Gorsedd. Myvyr has also brought his fancy to play on the central stone. A mannikin, holding up something like a bow and arrow, occupies the place of the chief bard, and the three rays look very much like three clubs. Myvyr has nothing to. say about the only valuable feature of his Gorsedd, namely, the May-November alignments. Joun GRIFFITH. A FISHING TRIP TO THE GULF OF MEXICO.* M R. AFLALO describes a journey to Florida vid New York, a fortnight’s tarpon and other fish- ing in Florida, and the journey home by way of sundry Central American and West Indian ports. The account given by the author of his outward journey differs in no material respect from numerous extant accounts of similar journeys, but is somewhat marred by a style rather reminiscent of that of the traveller who has perforce to provide his daily or weekly quota of copy for some periodical publication. Such sen- tences as “‘In the middle of the ship soft-voiced stewardesses gently raise thick curtains and say that dinner will be up in a minute. It usually is. Fore and. aft there is neither curtain nor stewardess, but one sufferer leans across a neighbour of a different race and obeys the irresistible. Everything comes up, even the moon at last . . .’’ are hardly worthy of a serious volume. There are, however, interesting if slight allusions to and photographs of the Bronx Parl Zoological Gardens and New York Aquarium, and a good account of a typical American health and pleasure resort in North Carolina. c Coming as it does from so well-known an authority on sea-fishing as Mr. Aflalo, the second section of the book is naturally by far the most interesting. The account given of tarpon fishing as pursued at Boca Grande is both full and lucid; a sufficiency of detail as to. gear, methods of using it, and expenses is given without any meedless discursiveness or undue brevity. The whole circumstances of the sport are. brought clearly before the reader; the string of boats, each with its armchair fixed athwartships for the angler, towed out to the fishing grounds by a launch in the morning; the fish gaffed long ere they are played to a finish in the fisherman’s eagerness to get back to the grounds and kill a larger one; the annoyance resulting 1 “Sunshine and. Sport in Florida and the West Indie .” By F. G. Aflalo. Pp. xv +272. (London : T. Werner Lauw-ie, n.d.). DECEMBER 12, 1907 | NATURE 129 from hooking anything that is not a tarpon, and the homeward journey to the scales, where the fish are weighed and wasted, for, unlike its Asiatic congener, the tarpon is never used for food. Notwithstanding that we are told that luck and brute force count for far more than skill in tarpon fishing, it is curious what a fascination the sport has for its votaries; there is something beyond the surroundings and beyond the huge size and strength of the fish itself (for these latter, great as they are, become insignifi- eant when compared with the power and bulk of the great serranids and sharks, which are but ‘‘ vermin ”’ to the tarpon fisher) that lends a glamour to the sport. It is curious to find the same author between the same covers dazzled by this glamour, and yet talking of ‘the semi-artificial sport of deer ‘ forests ’ (sic),”* setting the armchair and brute force of the tarpon fisher higher than the rough hillsides, patience, and skill of the deer-stalker. wish to visit the West Indies, and holds out some hope that Jamaica may hereafter find prosperity as a resort for British tourists. It only remains to add that the printing and appear- ance of the book are good, and that an excellent index is provided. The book is well illustrated from photo- graphs, and we are enabled by the kindness of the publisher to reproduce an illustration of the New York Aquarium, showing how an old fort has been adapted for this use; the open tanks built into the floor for the reception of large fishes are well shown in the picture, and present a feature which would seem worthy of imitation on this side of the Atlantic. Le W. GREEK ARCHAOLOGY. HE articles in the latest volume of the ‘‘ Annual of the British School at Athens ”’ which are of most importance are those by Mr. R. C. Bosan- B. quet, the late director of the School, and his assistants, which describe their ex- cavations in the temple and _pre- Cinch Ont sat hie goddess Artemis Orthia at Sparta. Thus, for the first time for some years, the main jinterest of the School’s worl is transferred from things “ Myce- nzean’’ of ‘ Mi- noan’’ to anti- quities of the cul) ausisstecranl 2 period. The ex- cavations of the School at Palat- kastro,.in. Crete, which have pro- duced so many interesting monu- ments of the older civilisation of Greece, have been brought to an end (Mr. Dawkins de- scribes the last flicker of this Transformation of an old fort into the New York Aquarium., From “‘ Sunshine and Sport in Florida and the West Indies.’ A chapter in this otherwise interesting section of the book devoted to speculations upon the early life- history of the tarpon is marred by the author’s pre- | liminary assumption that Megalops is a ‘‘ herring, an assumption the more surprising when it appears from other passages in the book that he is well ac- quainted with one, if not both, of its real allies, Elops and Albula. Perhaps, however, in the case of one who does not claim to write as a scientific ichthyologist, such an assumption may be pardoned, as may his want of knowledge of Gill’s paper (Smithsonian Mis- cellaneous Collections, 1905) dealing with the early histories of Megalops and its allies, and epitomising our existing knowledge of the singular metamorphosis passed through by the young of these fishes. The concluding section of the book contains some useful suggestions for the sea-fisherman who may NO. 1989, VOL. 77] work last year in Giey pre se nt volume), and a | new scene of labour, amid totally different | surroundings, and productive of totally different results, has been wisely chosen. This” is" as ” it should be. Eventually the present phase of the school’s work will also exhaust itself, and then, | all in good time, the attention of the school | will no doubt again be turned towards Mycenzan matters. Dr. Arthur Evans will by that time | have published his great book on _ Knossos, the Italian results will also be published, and we can start afresh with renewed interest and increased knowledge, derived from the complete study of the results of the previous period of excavation. Then the school will, it is to be hoped, complete the great “The Annual of the British School at Athens,” xii. Pp. xi+523; 12 plates ; and illustrations in text. (London : Macmillan and Co,, Ltd., 1905-6.) Price 25s. net. 130 NATURE | DECEMBER 12, 1907 work of excavation at Phylakopi, in Melos, which remains unfinished. Meanwhile, the Mycenzologues can discuss the results of the energetic exploring work of the last decade, and books such as Prof. Burrows’s recently publishe d ‘* Discoveries in Crete,’’ or articles like that of Dr. Mackenzie on ‘‘ Cretan Palaces and the JA®gean Civilisation,’? which appears in this volume, will help us to understand these results better. Dr. Mackenzie’s article continues his discussion of the contingent results of the excavations at Knossos and Phaistos, which commenced in last year’s ** Annual.”’ In the continuation he passes from architectural evidence to a discussion of various in which theories as to the origins of A£gean culture, Fic. x.—Cretan costume; waistcloth School at Athens.” seal-impression, showing Minoan civil and_ military and armour. From the “ Annual of the British he rightly criticises and dismisses the revived Carian theory of Dr. Dérpfeld, and urges his own view and that of Dr. Evans, which is shared by many others, apparently by Prof. Burrows, and certainly by my- self (see King and Hall, “ Egypt and Western Asia in the Light of Recent Discovery,’’ p. 128), that the ZEgean civilisation came from Africa, and was alxin in origin to that of Egypt. I mention that this view is held by me, because Dr. Mackenzie credits me in his article with believing rather that A®gean culture came from Asia. He says :—‘‘ The designa- tions ‘kleinasiatisch’ and Asianic, as salle as other statements in the passage cited (Journ. Hell. SONY Fic. 2.—Cretan seal-impression, developed from waistcloth. at Athens.” From the ‘‘ Annual of the British School would seem to indicate an under- lying belief on Mr. Hall’s part that the primary movement of the Aigeo-Pelasgian people was from an initial centre of departure somewhere in Asia.”’ But, as a matter of fact, I agree entirely with Dr. Mackenzie. The words ‘“‘ kleinasiatisch ’? and Asianic have been used by me in reference to the pre-Hellenic Stud., XXv., 323) languages of the Atgean merely because they are so used by the philologists Kretschmer and Fick; and their sole reason for using such terms is that the only later representatives of these languages which are at all well known were spoken in Asia Minor. NO. 1989, VOL. 77] | | | assigned to me, showing Minoan female costume; skirt | | Prof. Fick may regard these tongues as being of Asiatic origin. Dr. Mackenzie says :—‘‘ Even Fick continues to behold one last vestige of the same orientar mirage. The initial racial movement which led to the Atgeo-Pelasgian culture would, according to Fick, have to be assigned a starting-point at some centre in Asia beyond the Hittite country.’ But I do not, and I think % may re: isonably protest against having non-existent ‘ underlying beliefs ’ in view of the following passage in the same article that Dr. Mackenzie quotes (J.H.S.,. -xxv., p. 337), the meaning of which seems to me_ perfectly clear:—‘If we were to suppose that the prehistoric Greek and the Egyptian | civilisations had a common origin back in the dark- ness of the Age of Stone, that they were twin cultures of the same Mediterranean stock, the one having developed, however, amid the diverse isles and changing seas and skies of the AZgean, the other on the monotonous banks of the Nile, we can see how Fic. 3.—The Excavations at Sparta; piers of the Roman theatre built in the court of the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia. From the “‘ Annual of the British Schcol at Athens,” the northern culture would naturally show greater freedom and variety, often running off into mere bizarrerie, but as often exhibiting something of that spirit which we, knowing it in the renascent Ary anised civilisation of the later day, call ‘ Greek.’ ”’ From this I think it is clear that I do not believe in an Asiatic origin for the Aigean culture, and that I do believe in an African origin for it is shown by the passage, already referred to, in Mr. King’s and my book (originally published in 1905 as the final volume of an American series), in which I say :—‘‘. . . We are gradually being led to perceive the possibility that the Minoan culture of Greece was in its origin an offshoot from that of primeval Egypt, probably in early Neolithic times.’ One of the things that has always disposed both others and me to believe an African origin for it is the scanty cos- tume worn by the Mycenzeans, which has a decidedly southern appearance. Dr. Mackenzie is perhaps the first to direct attention to this point in print, and DECEMBER 12, 1907] NATURE eas rightly insists upon its importance, elaborating it at length in this article. On the other hand, we must not forget that such a south-to-north migration, from a warmer to a colder climate, is an unusual proceed- ing in the history of mankind. Returning to the excavations at Sparta, we see from the articles dealing with them how important this phase of the school’s work is proving to be. The identification of the site and discovery of the remains of the temple of Artemis Orthia, where the well- known Spartan flagellation of the boys took place in honour of the goddess, is a great feather in the caps of Prof. Bosanquet, Mr. Dawkins, and their assistants. The discovery of a regular stratum of early votive offerings, chiefly archaic bronzes of the Olympia type, but in some ways more interesting than those, is an important event, as it adds considerably to our knowledge of archaic Greek art, especially in that peculiarly inartistic and philistine place, Sparta; and the many inscriptions of Roman date throw light, not only on the flagellation ceremony, but generally on the course of life in Roman Sparta. In publishing these inscriptions, Mr. H. J. W. Tillyard insists in every case on adding a Latin translation, which is perfectly unnecessary, and savours of scholastic pedantry. If we are to have translations, let them be in English if the commentary is English. We are unable to devote more space to the discus- sion of the Spartan discoveries, owing to the claims to notice of much other interesting matter in this volume of the ‘‘ Annual.’’ Also, it is perhaps best to postpone further comment until next year, when the work will have been further advanced. Of these other articles, all are of interest and many of importance, with the exception of a note on ‘“* Boats on the Euphrates and Tigris,’’ which seems hardly appropriate to the ‘‘ Annual of the British School at Athens,’’ and contains no new information; we have known all about keleks, shahttirs and kifas, and have compared them with Herodotus, i., 194, since the days of Rawlinson and Layard. Of the other articles, perhaps Mr. Droop’s and Mr. Dickins’s are the most ‘‘ geistreich.’’ Mr. Droop on Cretan geometric pottery is illuminating, and Mr. Dickins’s article on ‘‘ Damophon of Messene’’ is an example of good archzological criticism, on which the author may be congratulated. The travel articles by Messrs. Dawkins, Wace, Hasluck and others are interesting, as usual, and we welcome a contribution by a native Cretan archeologist, Dr. Xanthoudides, who speaks our language, and, apparently, writes it as well. Finally, Mr. Traquair contributes to our know- ledge of the deeply interesting period of the Frankish domination in the Morea, with an article on the medizeval fortresses of Laconia, which will interest heralds as well as archzologists. sie EL ATT. THE FUTURE WATER SUPPLY LONDON. ae an interesting paper on “‘ London’s First Con- duit System,’’ just published in the Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archeological Society, Dr. A. Morley Davies gives an account of the lines of pipes which were laid in the thirteenth and suc- ceeding centuries to carry water to London from springs in the gravel at Paddington, Marylebone, and other rural districts. At a later date, to meet the growing wants of London, the great engineering effort of the New River was undertaken, and later still deep wells were driven into the chalk, and the Thames was tapped above Teddington Weir by several private companies. The unification of the London NO. 1989, VOL. 77] OF waterworks under one comprehensive and repre- sentative Board which bought out the old companies is so recent that it is almost surprising to find how soon the organisation of the Board has been perfected and its members set free to consider the tremendous problem of the future water supply of London. A good many years ago much was heard of the necessity for obtaining a “totally new supply of water for London from a pure and distant source which should be beyond the suspicion of impurity and capable of supplying the highest parts of the metro- politan area by gravitation. The sentimental argu- ment that the water companies pumping from the Thames and Lee had to purify a raw material which has sometimes been described as ‘‘ diluted sewage ”’ is one which cannot fail to appeal to the imagination of every water-drinker, despite the reassuring result of the supreme test—the death-rate of London. But the restrictive activity of the Thames Conservancy and the discovery of the remarkable action on raw water of storage and thorough filtration have robbed the argument of its old force, while the exhaustive bacteriological examination of the raw and _ filtered water by Dr. Houston and his staff in the Metro- politan Water Board’s laboratory has satisfied even those who heartily dislike lowland rivers as a source of water supply that the safeguards in the case ot London are adequate to ensure purity. The sufficiency of the supply is another matter, and on this point the Water Board, after prolonged discussion at two meetings, came to a decision as to their future policy on December 6. The Works and Stores Committee prepared a careful report re- viewing the situation which, after amendment, was adopted. The whole subject of London water supply had been gone into by two Royal Commissions in recent years, one under Lord Balfour of Burleigh in 1892, the other under Lord Llandaff in 1897, and the ,committee’s report does not repeat the details elicited by those inquiries. It is noted, however, that the average daily supply to London in 1881 was 143,821,000 gallons, or 33°20 gallons per head for a population of 4,331,600, while in 1906-7 the average daily supply was 225,000,000 gallons, or 32°84 gallons per head for a population of 6,851,000. Of the present daily supply of 225,000,000 gallons, 57 per cent. comes from the Thames, and the remainder in nearly equal proportions from the Lee and from wells or springs, the actual figures being :— 1906-7 Maximum From the Thames 128,842,695 ... 300,000,000 sh) Uiysbelee: - 44,150,290 ... 52,500,000 >, Wellsin Lee Valley, Kent, ‘&e. 51,355,797 -.. 67,500,000 ,, Hanworth gravel beds 564,008 — », Hampstead and eee ponds : : 87,893 ... — Total ... 225,000, 683 420,000,000 The maximum column gives the figures which the Balfour Commission held to be the greatest average daily yield of the whole district. The total amount of water which the Board can abstract from the Thames in existing conditions is 228,500,000 gallons per day, and even this amount cannot be obtained until additional storage reservoirs have been constructed. The maximum supply to be relied upon from sources other than the Thames is estimated by the chief engineer to the Water Board at 120,000,000 gallons per day, the total available being thus 348,500,000 gallons per day. It is estimated that by 1941 the population to be supplied by the Board will be 12,000,000, and in 1960 16,286,000, and, assuming a consumption of thirty-five gallons per head, this means 420,000,000 E32 NATURE [ DECEMBER 12, 1907 gallons in 1941, and 570,000,000 gallons in 1960. Of the various sources of supply, that from the Thames alone is capable of considerable expansion, and in 1960 it is estimated that 450,000,000 gallons per day may be taken from that river. In order to admit of this expansion, immense storage reser- voirs would require to be constructed; the amount of storage necessary in 1916 would be 6,436,000,000 gallons, in 1941 as much as 27,276,000,000 gallons, and in 1960 the prodigious amount of 54,059,000,000 gallons, the necessary storage increasing at a greater rate than the supply. The chief engineer believes that 450,000,000 gallons is the limit which could lbe taken economically from the Thames in any condi- tions. The works at present in existence or authorised will suffice for the supply of London until 1917, and to provide the additional works required at that date it will be necessary to approach Parliament for new powers in 1910. The new scheme which has been definitely adopted as the policy of the board is to develop the supply from the Thames valley, and to trust to that as sufficient for the next fifty years, but at the same time to acquire powers for securing a supplemental source of supply to be utilised when the existing sources can no longer be developed economically. In the report as issued reference is merely made to ‘‘a distant source ’’ being neces- sary fifty years hence, but in the debate the source was referred to plainly as Wales. It is remembered that before the creation of the Metropolitan Water Board the London County Council as water authority developed a scheme for supplying London with water from Wales in competition with the companies, and it was proposed in the debate on the report before the Water Board to proceed forthwith with a Welsh scheme, but a very large majority agreed to endorse the recommendations of the report in this particular. The three important resolutions as amended in another particular and adopted are as follows :— ““(a) That in the opinion of the Board it is desirable to seek Parliamentary powers enabling them to provide additional supplies from the Thames for as long a period as is economically practicable. “‘(b) That as the increase in population will eventually render resort to some other source than the Thames water- shed imperative, the Board view with great alarm the increasing tendency of authorities throughout the kingdom to appropriate water-supplying areas for their particular use, and in these circumstances desire to urge upon Parliament the necessity for regulating the appropriation of water-supplying areas, so that the needs of the metro- polis as well as of other populous places may receive due consideration. “That a copy of the foregoing resolution be sent to the President of the Local Government Board, and that he be asked to receive a deputation from the Board on the subject; and further, that in the event of such request being granted, the Works and Stores Committee be authorised to make all necessary arrangements with regard to the deputation. “‘(c) That it be an instruction to the Works and Stores ‘Committee to prepare and submit to the Board as early as practicable a scheme to give effect to the foregoing resolutions.”” The Metropolitan Water Board is the largest and most important water authority in the United King- dom, being responsible for the supply to one-sixth of the population of the British Isles. The distribu- tion of rainfall, on which water supply depends imme- diately or ultimately, is, speaking broadly, the inverse of the distribution of population. Taking the part of England and Wales south of the Trent, it may be said that most people live in the Thames valley, while most rain falls in Wales. Much rain falls also on Dartmoor, Exmoor, and in the Lake District, NO. 1989, VOL. 77] all of them distant and unpeopled places on which the eyes of nearer populations have been turned for some time. It is the custom of Governments to assume control of the distribution of natural treasure and to regulate the pegging-out of claims for hewing out gold or diamonds, and the Water Board now pro- poses to ask for the extension of this principle to the drawing of water for great communities. The sug- gestion is not new, but it will none the less meet with keen opposition, for the large towns with great and distant water supplies are usually permitted and sometimes compelled by Parliament to sell surplus water to the communities along the track of their aqueducts, and hence municipal foresight may involve taking thought also for possible interference with spheres of interest. It is interesting to compare the proposed appeal to Government to keep a place in the struggle for water-yielding grounds for the supply of London half a century hence with the arguments employed by Mr. Urquhart A. Forbes in a paper on ‘‘ The Water Supply of the United Kingdom” in the October number of the Quarterly Review. Mr. Forbes urges the appointment of a central water board for the country with subordinate watershed boards in order to check the depredations of the great towns on the upper reaches of rivers, and to ensure the mainten- ance of the lower streams in a condition fit for navi- gation and fishing. It must not be forgotten that rivers not only water the land, but drain it as well, and to the mind detached from all municipal or commercial schemes it appears self-evident that the same channel should not be required to act both as an aqueduct and as a sewer. On the other hand, it is an acknowledged fact that the insertion of a properly proportioned artificial lake in the upper waters of a river benefits that river by checking floods in wet weather and maintaining a good flow in dry weather, while it enables a permanent and pure supply to be drawn for the uses of a distant population. To the scientific mind the surprising thing is that steps have not been taken long ago to gauge the flow of all the rivers in the country and to establish rain gauges in remote and uninhabited places where the treasure of the heavens descends in fullest amount. Not until this has been done can the alliterative dictum of Mr. John Burns—‘ Rain to the rivers, sewage to the sea ’’—become an effective mandate. NOTES. Tue Nobel prizes, of the value of nearly 77001. each, were presented at the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm on Tuesday. In science, the prizes were awarded as follows :—physics, Prof. Michelson, University of Chicago ; chemistry, Prof. Buchner, University of Berlin; medicine, Dr. Laveran, Pasteur Institute, Paris. Tue Glasgow Corporation has decided freedom of the city on Lord Lister. to confer the A TELEGRAM from Largs states that Lord Kelvin has not been well for more than a fortnight, and has been confined to his bed. His condition on Tuesday night had improved. Mr. J. D. RockeFELLER has just given an additional sum of more than 520,0001. to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, to be held as an endowment the income of which is to be used at the discretion of the management. Tuer death is reported, in his seventy-ninth year, of Dr. Asaph Hall, professor of astronomy at Harvard since 1895. Prof. Hall received an elementary-school education in his J eee DECEMBER 12, 1907 | NARORE 133 boyhood, and worked for some time at farming and | in other countries of the old or new world. As might carpentry. In 1857 he became an assistant at Harvard | be expected, Dr. Shaw’s report, based largely upon Prof. Observatory, which he left in 1862 to enter the service of | Pernter’s article in the Meteorologische Zeitschrift of the Naval Observatory of the United States. An International Congress of Low Temperature Indus- tries will be held at Paris for the first time in June, 1908. The general effects of low temperatures and their use in connection with food, horticulture, mines, metallurgy, commerce, and transport are to be discussed. Full ticulars may be obtained from the secretary to the con- gress, 10 rue Poisson, Paris. par- Dr. J. Cossar Ewart, F.R.S., commenced a course of twelve Swiney lectures on geology in connection with the British Museum (Natural History) on Friday last, December 6. The subject of the lectures, which are being delivered on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, at 5 p.m., in the lecture theatre of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, is ‘‘ Horses of the Past and Present.” The lecture to-morrow (Friday) will be on the fossil horses of Central Europe compared with Prejvalsky’s horse. Admission to the course is free. Tue Duke of Argyll, honorary president of the Franco- British Exhibition, the Earl of Derby, president, the vice- presidents, and the executive and finance committees are this afternoon giving a reception in the exhibition grounds, to be followed by an inspection of the progress of the works. Tue annual conversazione of the Royal College of Science and Royal School of Mines will be held in the new build- ings of the college on Wednesday next, December 18. Many interesting exhibits will be shown in the various departments, and Mr. G. S. Newth will deliver a popular lecture on ‘‘ Coal-mine Explosions.’’ Tue annual meeting of the British Science Guild will be held at the Mansion House on Wednesday, January 15, at 4.15 p.m. The Lord Mayor has consented to preside and to become one of the vice-presidents of the Guild. Mr. Haldane, the president of the Guild, and other gentle- men will address the meeting. Steps are being taken by the Guild to bring the proposals for legislation for the prevention of the pollution of rivers before many societies and local bodies. WE are requested to make it known that a meeting will be held under the auspices of the Essex Field Club on Saturday, December 14, at the Essex Museum, Stratford, for the discussion of rivers’ pollution from the naturalist’s point of view. The subject will be opened by Prof. Meldola, F.R.S., and spoken to by Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., Mr. E. B. Barnard, M.P., Sir Alexander Pedler, F.R.S., Mr. William Whitaker, F.R.S., Dr. Thresh, and other gentlemen well acquainted with the question of water supply. All interested in the matter are invited to attend. Mr. W. Cole, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, will be glad to send cards. A pRoposaL made to the Public Control Committee of the London County Council by Signor D. Maggiora to apply the process of discharging cannon of special con- struction, known in Austria as weather shooting, SEO prevent the formation of fog or to disperse it in case it is already formed, and also to disperse and destroy all clouds, and to prevent rain, hailstorms, lightning, and thunder,’’ has been under the consideration of the Council. It was referred to the director of the Meteorological Office for report. The proposal is even more ambitious in its scope than its predecessors of more or less similar character NO. 1989, VOL. 77] March last, and on official reports of the Vienna Meteor- ological Office, is entirely unfavourable, and the County Council has therefore not been asked to vote money for the proposed experiments. Tue Brent Valley Bird Sanctuary consists of: a wood, nineteen acres in extent, which comes into the London postal district. About eighty species of birds have been seen in or near the enclosure, while nearly half that number are known to have bred within it; and for four years a number of members of the Selborne Society and other lovers of natural history have with their own hands main- tained the fences and brought them into a state of greater efficiency, or have contributed towards the wages of temporary watchers. Much more should be done, and the committee has therefore made an appeal for annual subscriptions from people who are interested in birds, so that a permanent custodian may be appointed. Subscrip- tions should be sent to Mrs. Webb, Odstock, Hanwell, W., honorary secretary of the committee and of the Brent Valley branch of the Selborne Society. At a meeting of the epidemiological section of the Royal Society of Medicine on December 2, papers were con- tributed by Dr. Haffkine, on the present methods of com- bating plague, and Dr. Ashburton Thompson, of Sydney, N.S.W., on protection of India from invasion by plague- Dr. Haffkine considers that the following propositions are now more or less generally recognised, viz. that (r) plague is what has been termed, in a general sense, a disease of locality ; (2) it is contracted principally at night 5 and (3) the part which man plays as direct agent in its propagation is a more or less subordinate one. After discussing such measures as desertion of the locality, dis- infection, and rat destruction, the conclusion was arrived at that the ultimate method of combating the bubonic plague in the areas in which it becomes endemic is that of conferring on the population immunity from the disease by means of an artificial treatment. Dr. Ashburton Thompson, in his paper, said the fundamental data acquired in the investigations at Sydney are that (1) the epidemic spread of plague occurs independently of com- munication of the infection from the sick, consequently the infection of plague spreads by means which are external to man; (2) the plague-rat is harmless to man, but is, nevertheless, the essential cause of epidemics; and (3) the intermediate agent between rat and man (and between rat and rat) is the flea. The infection of man is most usually contingent on his being within buildings together with plague-rats. We learn from the Lancet that Prof. Alfonso Sella, pro- fessor of experimental physics in the Royal University of Rome, died on November 25 at forty years of age. From an interesting obituary notice by the Italian correspondent of our contemporary, we extract the following particulars of Prof. Sella’s scientific career. Prof. Sella inherited from his father, Quintino Sella, one of Italy’s greatest statesmen, a love of science, abstract and applied, which carried him with special distinction through the mathe- matical and physical curriculum of the University of Turin. Like his sire he tool his annual holiday in the Alps, where, in his seventeenth year, he was the first to scale the summit of the Dent-du-Midi; and he found another pastime in aéronautic adventure, a field in which he had many followers, in conjunction with whom he founded the ‘ Societa Aeronautica Italiana.”’ “For ‘the ten years 134 NAT ORE _ [DECEMBER 12, 1907 between 1889 and 1899 he acted as assistant to the Senator Pietro Blaserna in the Roman “Istituto Fisico,’’ after which he was made professor extraordinary of experimental physics in the University. From that post, after a year’s success in the class-room and the laboratory, he was pro- moted ordinary professor of the same subject, giving also instruction (the so-called ‘‘ Corso di Per- fezionamento”’) to those students who were to make pure and applied physics the business of their lives. His scien- tific papers, read and discussed before various scientific congresses and societies, were numerous and important, always rich in independent speculation and _ research. Among these may be mentioned his study on ‘‘ L’Influenza dei Raggi Réntgen e della Luce Ultra-Violetta sulle Scintille’’ and his ‘* Ricerche sulla Radio-attivita dell’ Aria.’’ To him, in concert with Guglielmo Romiti, pro- fessor of anatomy and embryology in the University of Pisa, Italy owes her ‘‘ Association for the Advancement of Science,’’ organised on British lines and convened for the first time in September last at Parma, where it achieved a gratifying success. A committee, composed of Profs. Blaserna, Cerruti, Reina, Volterra, and Tonelli, the Rector of the University, is taking steps to place a memorial of Prof. Sella in the Istituto Fisico in the form of a bust in marble. Subscriptions should be sent to Prof. Reina at the school of applied engineering of the University. Tue second annual general meeting of the National League for Physical Education and Improvement was held on December 6 under the presidency of the Bishop of Ripon. The report of the executive council stated, in re- gard to the medical inspection of school children, that it will be possible, now a medical department has been estab- lished, to advise the Board of Education that under efficient supervision and control the best uniform system may prevail and be carried out under conditions sufficiently elastic to suit the requirements of different districts. The knowledge and experience gained in other countries are sure to have important results in their bearing upon the work of the league. On the question of pure milk, a joint committee of the league and the National Health Society, on which were members of the Infants’ Health Society and other similar organisations, the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, and the Royal Veterinary College, has now been formed, and has drawn up a preliminary report, in which it is recommended that the periodical veterinary in- post-graduate spection of all cows, the milk of which is being offered | for sale for human consumption, should be made com- pulsory throughout the United Kingdom. The Milk Com- mittee is now preparing recommendations with regard to milking and handling, transport and distribution. g, AN account of an expedition in the Himalayas, which included the first ascent of Trisul (23,406 feet), has been given to Reuter’s representative by Dr. T. H. Longstaff. The party consisted of Major C. G. Bruce, Mr. A. L. Mumm (late hon. secretary to the Alpine Club), Dr. Long- staff, and guides. Originally the object of the journey was to attempt the ascent of Mount Everest from the Tibetan side, but for political reasons this was found to be impossible. It was decided to go to the central Hima- layas, to Garhwal, and from that point attempt Trisul. After two marches along the Trisul glacier the party started up the snow slopes of the mountain on June 7, and that evening reached a height of 20,000 feet. During this period Dr. Longstaff had by far the worst experience in On the third day the party descended to the foot of the mountain, and again camped at 11,600 feet. On June 11 Dr. Longstaff and his guides marched rapidly round his old track, camping the same afternoon NO. 1989, VOL. 77] his foreign travels. at a height of 17,450 feet. On the following morning the party started at 5.30 a.m., and five hours later reached its highest camp of 20,000 feet. As dangerous crevasses half covered with snow and ice were ahead, the explorers roped themselves together, and at noon reached 21,000 feet. The party now followed the narrow N.N.E. ridge of Trisul, which leads straight to the summit. At 4 p.m., after ten hours’ continuous climbing, the summit was reached. The cold was so bitter that it was only possible to remain for fifteen minutes. To the west the view was one of extraordinary vastness, as the horizon extended over the whole of the lower Garhwal and the snow peaks beyond. To the north lay the Tibetan frontier, obscured by rolling masses of black cloud. To the east were the frowning cliffs of Nanda Devi and its untrodden glaciers. The party now turned its attention in the direction of the Tibetan frontier, and during July explored glaciers to the east and west of Kamet (25,450 feet), reaching on one occasion an altitude of 20,000 feet on the mountain. In August and September Dr. Longstaff explored the valleys to the south and west of Trisul, while Major Bruce and Mr. Mumm made more ascents in Kashmir. Tue report of the council of the Royal Agricultural Society, presented at the annual general meeting held on Wednesday, December 11, states that the frosty weather in the spring caused injury to white clover, broad beans, and wheat, and the wet summer and autumn led to ex- tensive injuries by parasitic fungi. Many investigations have been made into these diseases. Another unobserved enemy to the potato, Stylanus capitatus, has been proved by experiment to attack the living plant. A hawthorn hedge was seriously affected by Botrytis cinerea. Bacterial injuries to potatoes, broad beans, and oats have been investigated. Scouring in stock was found to be due to the mould developed on the feeding cake. In the zoological department nothing of special importance was reported, except the recurrence of the pygmy mangold beetle, which is probably a more frequent and serious pest to mangold than has hitherto been supposed. With the abnormally wet summer came a large number of complaints of cater- pillar attack, and in many instances the caterpillars were of species not usually seriously troublesome. Later again, certain pests generally associated with particularly dry seasons began to be complained of, as the results of the continued fine weeks of the late summer and autumn. The council, at its last meeting, considered a suggestion that the Board of Agriculture should be urged to schedule tuberculosis, and, after discussion, the following recom- mendation of the veterinary committee was unanimously adopted :—‘*‘ That in the event of the promotion of legis- lation dealing with the question of tuberculosis and other diseases of cattle, the council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England is of opinion that any regulations for dealing with this question should be issued by the Board of Agriculture and not to any other department.’’ A dis- cussion ensued as to the desirability of forming a national representative body to safeguard, so far as possible, the interests of agriculturists in connection with any measures to be adopted for dealing with the question of tuberculosis in cattle, and it was resolved :—‘ That a committee be formed to communicate with other societies for the pur- pose of watching the interests of agriculture, in view of possible legislation with regard to the tuberculosis ques- tion.’’ The society’s show will be held at Newcastle- upon-Tyne in 1908, and at Gloucester in 1909. Tue Hon. Walter Rothschild has recently received half- a-dozen. specimens of the Californian elephant-seal (Macro- rhinus leoninus angustirostris), a race which had for some DECEMBER 12, 1907 | NATURE U3) time been regarded as extinct. The specimens were obtained from Guadaloupe Island, off the coast of Lower California, and before they were shot the collector was fortunate enough to obtain several photographs of them as they lay on the beach, which consists of huge boulders of volcanic rock, some black and some white, with inter- vening stretches of sand. Enlargements of these photo- graphs have been presented by Mr. Rothschild to the British Museum (Natural History). The Californian elephant- seal is somewhat smaller than the typical elephant-seal of Heard Island, the Crozets, and other islands in the southern ocean, but can scarcely be regarded as more than a local race. With the exception of a specimen destroyed in the late San Francisco fire, adult male examples of this animal have hitherto been unrepresented in museums. Two of Mr. Rothschild’s specimens are being mounted for the museum at Tring by Rowland Ward, Ltd. Amon the papers in vol. Ixxxviii., part ii., of Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie is one by Dr. M. Nowikoff, of Heidelberg, on the dorsal sense-organs of chitons, with remarks on the structure of the shell in those molluscs. Certain tropical chitons, it will be remembered, possess eyes on the dorsal surface of the shell, but all, it appears, have a canal-system within the shell itself which is like wise sensory in function. Both the eyes and the canal- system are described in detail by the author, who also directs attention to the peculiarities presented by the fibrous layer connecting the eyes with the epidermis. The dorsal eyes are of two types, one characteristic of the subfamilies Toniciinz and Liolophurinz, and the other restricted to certain species of chiton itself. It is remark~- able that in certain species, especially Tonicia chiloensts, the dorsal eyes are attacked, and apparently destroyed, by an alga, which develops within the substance of the shell. Tue Health Committee of Liverpool has issued a report (published by C. Tinling and Co., Ltd.) on investigations undertaken by Mr. R. Newstead, of the School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool University, on the habits, life-history, and breeding-places of the house-fly, as observed in the city. The chief breeding-places were found to be in pits for the store of stable manure, fermenting heaps of hop refuse, and ash-pits containing fermenting vegetable matter, the infection being equally as great in closed as in open receptacles. Although the ordinary disinfectants appear to be of no avail in checking the development, barndoor fowls are of great value in reducing the numbers of grubs and pupz. The period of development (which in ordinary circumstances may last from three to five weeks) is reduced by the heat of fermentation to a mini- mum of ten days, and this accounts for the fact that in ash-pits emptied weekly in summer no flies are produced. The emptying of these and other receptacles for refuse at intervals of seven days in summer is therefore recom- mended; while, in connection with other remedial measures, attention is directed to the importance of early removal of fermentable matter from streets and other public places. Tue Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has issued an order, the short title of which is the ‘‘ American Goose- berry Mildew (Prohibition of Importation of Bushes) Order of 1907,’ under which the landing in Great Britain of any gooseberry bush or currant bush brought from any place out of Great Britain is strictly prohibited. The order also provides that if, on any examination, an inspector finds any bush which is affected with American gooseberry mildew, he is forthwith to communicate the fact to the Board, and serve on the occupier of the premises on which NO. 1989, VOL. 77] the bush is found a notice prohibiting, until the notice is withdrawn by a like notice, the removal of any goose- berry or currant bush from those premises. AmonG the papers in the September issue of the Pro- ceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, reference may be made to one by Dr. H. A. Pilsbry on the barnacles of the genus Megalasma—a genus established on the evidence of a specimen dredged during the cruise of H.M.S. Challenger in the Philippine archipelago. In the author’s opinion the genus should, however, be taken to include one sectional group of the numerous species hitherto in- cluded in the nearly allied Poecilasma. EXTERNAL parasites infesting domesticated animals in India form the subject of a special investigation by the entomological division of the Department of Agriculture. The first results of the investigation, dealing with ticks, are published in Bulletin No. 6 of the department in ques- tion. According to the author, Mr. C. Warburton, over the greater part of India the ticks infesting domesticated animals belong for the most part to four species only. Two other species may, however, occur sporadically in some numbers, but the occurrence of any other type is so rare as to be of no economic importance. Means of identifying the six species are given in the paper. Tue current number of the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology contains articles on a variety of matters bearing directly or indirectly on the subjects named in the title. An important memoir by Mr. J. E. Salvin- Moore and Dr. A. Breinl breaks new ground, and will excite much interest, perhaps also some controversy, amongst the many investigators of this important class of parasites. Valuable contributions upon African parasitic protozoa, and upon Spirochaeta duttoni, the parasite of African tick fever, are furnished by the late Dr. J. L. Dutton, Dr. J. L. Todd, Dr. E. N. Tobey, and by Dr. A. Breinl respectively. It looks at first curious to see included in this journal two almost purely zoological memoirs on Cyclopidee from the Gold Coast, by Dr. W. M. Graham and Dr. G. S. Brady, but Cyclops comes into indirect relation to tropical medicine by acting as a host for the guinea-worm. Dr. C. W. Branch writes on yaws. The contents of the journal bear testimony to the broad scien- tific spirit in which the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine carries on its work. Pror. E. pe Janczewsk1 has rendered a service to the botanical community by the publication in vol. Xxxv., part iii., of the Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d’Histoire naturelle de Géneve of a valuable monograph on the genus Ribes, embellished by some excellent illus- trations. It is particularly interesting to fitd that the author has examined numerous living specimens, and has cultivated many of the species. Six subgenera are demarcated, of which two are characterised by the pro- duction of dicecious flowers. In the subgenus Parilla the flowers bear sterile organs, but in the species of the sub- genus Berisia the staminate flowers have no distinct ovary, nor do the pistillate flowers produce pollen. The chief centres of the genus are found in North America and in China, except for the species of the subgenus Parilla, that are almost confined to South America. Eighteen hybrids are described, most of them representing crosses between species in the same subgenus. Four parts, numbered 16 to 19, of the “ Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula,’’ have been published as an extra number of vol. Ixxiv. of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Three numbers appeared in 136 NATURE [DECEMBER 12, 1907 1905; the fourth has recently been issued. Apart from the account of the genus Psychotria, that concludes the these numbers contain the orders—following the Bentham and MHooker’s system— Valerianee to Loganiacee. The authors, Sir George King and Mr. J. S. Gamble, have assumed responsibility for separate orders in addition to certain others undertaken by Colonel D. Prain. For the twenty-eight orders col- lated, the species amount to 686, of which 190 are new to science. The additions are numerous in the Myr- sinaceze and Sapotacez, notably in the genera Ardisia and Bassia, also in the genus Diospyros. A new genus, Pernettyopsis, and five species of Rhododendron, form an increment to the Ericacezee. Many of the genera of the Apocynaceze are very fully represented in Malaya, e.g. Rubiacez, sequence of Urceola, Anodendron, and Willughbeia. The Sapotaceze and Apocynacez are rich in rubber, gutta, and other economic species. THREE memoirs have recently been issued by Dr. Leather, of the Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa (India). One, on the composition of Indian oil seeds, gives the percentage of oil in eleven different varieties, including cotton-seed, linseed, and others less known here. Among other interesting points, it is stated that Indian linseed contains about 40 per cent. of oil, and is consequently richer than seed grown elsewhere. Further investigations of oil seeds are much needed on account of the commercial value of the oil and the agricultural value of the residue left after extraction. In another memoir a description is given of the pot culture house at Pusa; the only novel point is the method of watering. The soils under investi- gation cracked and caked if water was poured direct on to the top; it was therefore allowed to diffuse out from a ‘porous pot placed in the soil. This method is commonly employed to irrigate trees in parts of India, a porous ! spherical vessel being sunk in the ground near the root of the tree and kept full of water. The last memoir deals with experiments on the availability of phosphates and potash. The general result is that Dyer’s citric acid method for determining phosphates is likely to be useful in examining Indian soils. This, indeed, might reasonably have been expected. Ix the Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. clxiv., No. 3) Dr. E. Goldsmith describes a meteoric stone which was seen to fall on April 30, 1906, on the New Jersey shore. On analysis the stone yielded 44-36 per cent. of iron, 42-80 per cent. of silica, 4-18 per cent. of alumina, 2-00 per cent. of nickel oxide, 1-90 per cent. of titanic acid, and 1-84 per cent. of carbon. WE have received from the author, Mr. J. P. Johnson, a pamphlet (Johannesburg, price rs.) containing two short papers on the auriferous conglomerate of the Witwaters- rand and on the antimony deposits of the Murchison range. The former, while containing little that is new, gives a concise review of the geology of the goldfield, and the latter contains a description of some interesting antimony ore deposits which appear to be impregnations of a bed of metamorphosed limestone. The antimony occurs as sulphide, altered at the surface into a yellow oxide and the hydroxide. Ix the Journal of the No: 5) Mrowe notice of Franklin Institute (vol. elxiv., E. Levy gives an appreciative obituary Prof. Angelo Heilprin, the eminent American geographer and geologist, who died on July 17. In 1876 he studied in London at the Royal School of Mines, where he gained the Edward Forbes medal. He was the author NO. 1989 VOL. 77] published in of numerous important works, the most interesting being “The Arctic Problem ’’ (1893), which contains the story of the Peary Relief Expedition, which he organised. He lived but fifty-four years, yet within that brief period he accomplished work that would well suffice the compass of the longest lifetime. An important report, compiled by Miss A. M. Anderson and Dr. T. M. Legge, has been issued on dangerous and injurious processes in the coating of metal with lead, or a mixture of lead and tin. The Blue-book also contains the results of an experimental investigation into the conditions of operating tinning workshops, which has been written by Mr. G. E. Duckering, one of His Majesty’s inspectors of factories, who carried out the investigation. The most important of the suggested regulations set forth in the re- port is that no lead shall be used in the tinning of metal hollow-ware. Tue president of the International Aéronautical Com- mittee has sent us a summary of the places that took part in the scientific balloon ascents of July 22-27, and the heights reached, so far as at present known. This series of ascents was made in compliance with a suggestion by the recent Aéronautical Conference at Milan that a special effort should be made to obtain information regarding the conditions obtaining in the upper regions of the atmo- sphere on consecutive days; the results will be eventually detail by the Aéronautical Committee. About fifty places took part in the investigation, the extra- European ascents being at or near the Azores, Spits- bergen, Iceland, China Sea, Cairo, and the United States; at Simla unfavourable weather prevented experiments from being made. Twenty-five balloons were sent up in England and Scotland’ alone, and (so far as yet known) some of the balloons from Manchester reached the highest altitude attained in any of the ascents, viz. 21,500 metres. From Uccle (Brussels) a height of 21,140 metres was reached, and 20,000 metres near the Azores. We learn that nearly all the English balloons drifted to the east- ward, and that the temperature records proved conclusively the existence of isothermal conditions above some 12,000 metres, thus confirming the interesting theory put for- ward by M. Teisserenc de Bort. We understand that similar special ascents extending over a week will prob- ably be made next year, and that, through the efforts of Prof. Schuster, arrangements have been made by the University of Manchester for the kite station on Glossop Moor to be continued. A CLEAR and concise statement of our present knowledge of the masses of the electrons which play so important a part in electrical phenomena was presented to the Italian Physical Society in the form of a report on the subject by Prof. Levi-Civita at the recent congress at Parma, and is. published in full in the October number of Nuovo Cimento. Arter careful consideration of the various methods of determining the ratio of the electromagnetic to the electro- static unit of electricity, Messrs. E. B. Rosa and N. E. Dorsey came to the conclusion, several years ago, that the most accurate were Maxwell’s bridge method, in which a condenser rapidly charged and discharged replaces one of the resistances of a resistance bridge, and the method in which the charges or the discharges of a condenser rapidly charged and discharged are sent through one coil of a differential galvanometer, while a steady current from the charging battery is sent through the other coil. The October number of the Bulletin of the U.S. Bureau of DeceMBER 12, 1907 | NATURE L357 Standards contains an account of a determination they have made by the latter method, according to which the ratio for vacuo is 2-9971X10°, with an uncertainty not exceeding 1 part in 10,000, It is interesting to compare this result with the most probable value of the velocity of light, which, according to M. Weinberg’s recent dis- cussion of the measurements available, appears to be in vacuo 2-9986X10°°, with an uncertainty not exceeding 1_part in 10,000. A METHOD of preserving eggs by dipping them in recently boiled water at a temperature of about 110° F., then into boiling water, and afterwards into cold water, was de- scribed in an article in Nature of November 28 (p. 84). In reply to an inquiry, the writer of the article states that the time during which the eggs are immersed in the water at 110° F. in this method should be about ten seconds. Tue Silica Syndicate, Ltd., of 82 Hatton Garden, has issued a new price-list of chemical apparatus made from transparent vitreous silica by their special process. The apparatus includes evaporating basins, beakers, crucibles, flasks, retorts, and test-tubes; the prices are about 75 per cent. lower than those ruling a year ago, and it is antici- pated that as the demand grows for fused silica ware further reductions will become possible. We have had an opportunity of examining the various pieces of apparatus made by the syndicate, and have been struck by their wonderfully clear and homogeneous character as compared with that of silica ware made by other processes. They are, moreover, comparatively thin and light, a fact which makes them useful for many purposes for which coarser vessels would be unsuitable; crucibles of fused silica, for instance, can often be used in place of platinum crucibles. In spite of their thinness, the quartz vessels are very strong and tough, and much less liable to break than either ordinary or Jena glass ; even if broken they do not splinter, but merely crack, so that they can easily be repaired by fusing the broken parts together. Such repairs are executed by the syndicate at a trifling cost. To those un- acquainted with the properties of fused silica, the following points may be of interest. It does not crack when sub- jected to the most violent and sudden changes of tempera- ture. It is not attacked by acids, with the exception of hydrofluoric acid, and is harder than ordinary glass. Its melting point is approximately that of platinum, whilst it has a coefficient of expansion of 0-o0000059 per degree, that is, about one-seventeenth the value for platinum. So far as is at present known, it shows no tendency to devitrification. ; A NEw catalogue of lantern-slides has been received from Mr. C. Baker, 244 High Holborn, W.C. The list contains slides suitable for the illustration of lessons or lectures on natural history, and includes many from photomicrographic negatives, as well as photographs taken from nature with an ordinary camera. Sets of slides have also been arranged to illustrate some leading books on microscopic objects. Messrs. J. H. Dattmeyer, Lrtp., inform us that they have recently appointed several new wholesale agents for their lenses and apparatus abroad. They state that British lens manufacturers, like British dry-plate manufacturers, are able to hold their own in foreign markets in face of high tariffs walls and severe competition. In the United States the duty alone amounts to 45 per cent. of the value of the goods, whilst Germany is the home of the keenest competitors of manufacturing opticians. WE have received from Messrs. Siemens Brothers and Co., Ltd., two well-produced and conveniently arranged NO. 1989, VOL. 77] catalogues. One deals with thermoelectric pyrometers and temperature indicators and recorders which can be used for all processes in which the accurate determination of temperature between the limits of about —190° C. and’ 1600° C. is a necessary factor. The other supplies 2 descriptive account, with abundant illustrations, of a great variety of electro-medical apparatus. Among these atten- tion may be directed to the patent tantalum X-ray tubes, which can be worked with the anti-kathode at red heat, and the induction coils with variable primary windings. Medical men and others should find the clear diagrams of the characteristics of the assistance in understanding apparatus described. Messrs. NEwTon AnD Co. have sent us a copy of a descriptive lecture on the moon, illustrated by sixty lantern slides, arranged and prepared by Mr. R. Kerr. The notes upon the characteristic points of the various slides, all of which are from Messrs. Newton’s collection, will enable anyone to give an interesting reading on our satellite with- out possessing special knowledge of astronomy. Another pamphlet containing notes on lantern-slides, intended for purposes of popular lectures, deals with general astronomy. This pamphlet is now in its fifth edition, and has been revised and enlarged. It comprises much information of an old-fashioned type, and can scarcely be considered as representing the work and results of modern astronomy ; nevertheless, many instructive notes may be extracted from it. A more careful revision of the pamphlet would have prevented such errors as:—‘ Of the nature of this ring fof Saturn]... we are not acquainted ’’; 1006 instead! of 1066 as the date of an appearance of Halley’s comet; “Mr.” Huggins for Sir William Huggins; and HB instead of He. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. PuoroGrarHs oF JUPITER’s SaTELLITES VI. axp VII.— During the opposition of 1905-6 eighty-six photographs of Jupiter’s sixth satellite were secured at the Greenwich: Observatory, with the g3o-inch reflector, between August 23, 1905, and February 15, 1906. Nineteen photographs of the seventh satellite were taken between October 22, 1905, and January 26, 1906. The opposition of 1906-7 was somewhat marred by bad weather, but on twenty- eight nights, spread over a period of 222 days, fifty-six photographs of the sixth satellite were obtained. Only on seven nights, during a period of eighty-seven days, were photographs of the seventh satellite secured, amounting to twelve in all. From these photographs the positions of the satellites were determined, and the results are shown graphically on two diagrams published in the Monthly Notices for November (vol. Ixvii., No. 9, p. 561). The orbits of the four major satellites are shown for compari- son, and the difference in the size of the orbits of the four inner and two outer satellites is very striking. TEMPERATURE CONTROL OF SILVERED Mirrors.—No. 122 of the Lick Observatory Bulletins contains a short paper by Dr. Heber D. Curtis on the temperature control of silvered speculas The writer discusses first the previous records of changes in the focal lengths of large specula, briefly referring to the experience of Profs. Keeler, Perrine, Hale, and Wright in this matter. He then describes a method of artificial cooling which he has tried, and found to be effective, with the 37-inch Mills reflector, which is being used by the D. O. Mills expedition to the southern hemisphere, of which he now has charge. The large mirror has a clear aperture of 36-56 inches and a focal length of 17-46 feet, and, during his work with this instrument, Prof. Wright found that a progressive lengthening of the focal length, amounting to from fifteen to twenty-five millimetres, took place during the first four or five hours of each night’s work, the drop in tempera- ture being some 5° C. or 6° C. In the first place, Dr. 138 NATURE [ DECEMBER 12, 1907 Curtis increased the ventilation apertures about the mirror so that about one-sixth of the area of the back of the mirror was directly exposed. This, apparently, had little effect, so a refrigerating machine was obtained and put into operation. ‘The machine is of the anhydrous ammonia type, and is automatic in action. To cool the mirror the telescope is placed vertical, and a movable box brought into position to enclose the cooling pipes and the mirror end; two electric fans circulate the cooled air freely around the mirror. This operation is commenced about three hours before sunset, and when the thermometer shows a fall of 5° C. or 6° C. the case is removed, about forty minutes before sunset. No moisture forms on the silvered surface, which may be 3° C. or 4° C. below the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere when observa- tions commence. This method has proved very successful, for focal changes are, as a rule, not noticeable, and scarcely ever exceed five millimetres. Dr. Curtis’s account of his experiments also appears in the current number of the Astrophysical Journal, and is there illustrated by two photographs, the one showing the telescope and spectro- graph, the second showing the wooden cooling chamber in position. Orsits OF SpEcTROscopic Brnaries.—From plates taken with the Mills reflector, the orbits of the spectroscopic binaries a Carinz, a Pavonis, and « Velorum have been determined by Dr. Curtis, and their elements are pub- lished in No. 122 of the Lick Observatory Bulletins. a Carine is a star of magnitude 3-5, and its spectral type is given as B3A in the Harvard classification. According to the elements now published, its period is 6-744 days, the velocity of the system is +23:3 km., and the length of the semi-major axis of the orbit is 1,960,000 km. For a Pavonis (mag. 2-0) the period is 11-753 days, the velocity of the system is +2-0 km., and the length of the semi- major axis is 1,170,000 km.; the orbit is nearly circular. The period of « Velorum (mag. 2-6) is 116-65 days, the velocity of the system =+21-9 km., and the length of the semi-major axis =73,200,000 km. All three stars are of the same type of spectrum. MELLIsH’s Comet, 1907e.—A new set of elements and an ephemeris extending to December 31-5 are given in Lick Observatory Bulletin No. 124 for Mellish’s comet. The position for December 11-5 is a=oh. 12m., 3=+427° 2/, about 13° south-east of a Andromedz, and the brightness is about one-third that at the time of discovery. The following positions are taken from the ephemeris :— December 23-5 (G.M.T.), a=23h. 56m., 3=+26° 30!; December 31-5, a=23h. 52m., 5=+26° 30! (brightness =0-00). SoLar PROMINENCES IN 1906.—Prof. Ricco’s annual summary (1906) of the prominence observations made at Catania appears as an abstract from vol. xxxvi. (1907) of the Memorie della Societa degli Spettroscopisti Italiani. The following are the mean values for the year :—daily frequency=2-7, complete extension .along the limb=7°-s, height of prominences=44".2. As one would expect near the epoch of maximum, these values are nearly equal to those obtained in 1905. It is interesting to note that whereas the sun-spot frequency curve showed maxima in February and November, 1905, the prominence maximum appears to have been relatively retarded, the second greatest maximum recorded at Catania having occurred in March, 1906. Considering the heliographic latitude of the prominences in 10° zones, the principal maximum took place in +20° to +30°, as in 1905, but the secondary maximum was elevated ten degrees from +60° to +70° to +70° to +80°; this is another characteristic of the maximum epoch. Excepting the fourth trimestre, the number of prominences observed in the northern hemi- sphere of the sun was greater than that observed in the southern hemisphere, the numbers for the year being 284 and 185 respectively. SEARCH ees EPHEMERIS FOR COMET 1907a (GrIACOBINI).— Seheving ! that comet 19074 might still be observed in large instruments or found on long-exposure photographs, Prof. Weiss publishes a search-ephemeris for this object in 1 3 : No. 4218 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 300, December 2). The comet is now some 10 m. west of a Persei, and its estimated magnitude is 13-8. NO. 1989, VoL 77] PRIZES AWARDED BY THE PARIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. . Geometry.—The Francceur prize is awarded to Emile Lemoine, for the whole of his work in mathematics; the Bordin prize to F. Enriques and F. Severi jointly, the Vaillant prize being divided between J. Hadamard, Arthur Korn, Giuseppe Lauricella, and Tommaso Boggio. Mechanics.—A Montyon prize is awarded to M. Cuénot, for his experimental studies on the flexure of rails; an exceptionally honourable mention to M. Petot, for his work on the theory of automobiles; the Poncelet prize to Colonel Renard, tor his mathematical and experimental researches in mechanics, and for his contributions to aéronautics. Navigation.—The extraordinary prize of six thousand francs is divided between M. Gayde (two-thirds) and J. Estéve (one-third), the Plumey prize not being awarded. Astronomy.—The Pierre Guzman prize is not awarded. T. Lewis receives the Lalande prize, M. Giacobini the Valz prize, and M. Gaillot the G. de Pontécoulant prize. Geography.—The Gay prize is awarded to Jean Charcot, for his Antarctic explorations, the Tchihatchef prize being divided between Jacques de Morgan and Paul Crépin Bourdier de Beauregard. Physics.—Lucien Poincaré receives the Hébert prize, for his book on modern physics; P. Langevin the Hugues prize, for his work on the mobility of gaseous ions and the properties of electrons; M. Mathias the Gaston Planté prize, for his work on terrestrial magnetism; Paul Villard the La Caze prize, for the whole of his researches in physics; and Pierre Weiss the Kastner-Boursault prize, for his experimental and theoretical work in magnetism. Chemistry.—The Jecker prize is divided between MM. Blaise, Marcel Delépine, and Hamonet, and the Cahours prize between MM. Gain, Mailhe, and Guillemard. A Montyon prize (unhealthy trades) is awarded to M. Bonne- ville, for his discovery and manufacture of a cement in which metallic zinc replaces the red lead commonly used. Mineralogy and Geology.—M. Martel is awarded the grand prize of the physical sciences, for his studies on underground waters, and J. J. H. Teall the Delesse prize, for his researches in petrography. Botany.—The Desmaziéres prize is awarded to General E. G. Paris, for his ‘‘ Index Bryologicus ’’; the Montagne prize to F. Guéguen, for his work on the lower fungi; the De Coincy prize to F. Gagnepain, for his work on the classification of the Zingiberaceze; the Thore prize to M. Bainier, for his work on the lower fungi; and the de la Fons-Mélicocq prize to C. Houard, for his memoir on the parasitic deformations of plants in northern France. Anatomy and Zoology.—Charles Alluaud receives the Savigny prize, for his work on the invertebrates of Upper Egypt and the adiacent portions of Africa. Medicine and Surgery.—Montyon prizes are awarded to J. Henniquin, for his work on the treatment of fractures ; C. Levaditi, for his researches on Treponema pallidum ; and Maurice Villaret, for his researches in connection with urinary secretion. Mentions are accorded to A. Thiroux and M. d’Anfreville, for their memoir on malaria in Senegal; MM. Nicolle and Mesnil, for their memoir on the treatment of trypanosomiasis by the benzidine colours; and René Gaultier, for his memoir on the functional explora- tion of the intestine by analyses of the faces. Gustave Martin, Georges Pécaud, Pierre Breteau and Paul Woog, A. Desmouliére, and M. Guisez receive citations in connec- tion with this prize. J. Guiart and L. Grimbert receive the Barbier prize for their book on chemical, microscopical, and pathological diagnosis. The Bréant prize (interest only) is divided between MM. Vaillard and Dopter, for their researches on bacillary dysentery, and J. Ferran, for his work on the cholera bacillus. The Godard prize is given to Victor Nicaise, for his memoir on the indications and therapeutic value of total or partial nephrectomy in the treatment of hydatoid cyst of the kidney; the Baron Larrey prize to G. H. Lemoine, for his work on military hygiene; the Bellion prize to A. Chantemesse and F. Borel, for their memoir on the protection of the country from diseases introduced from abroad; the Mége prize to J. Castaigne and F. Rathery, for their work on the lesions of the convoluted tube of the kidney; and the Chaussier prize to A. Lacassagne, for his work on forensic medicine. DECEMBER 12, 1907] INATROTEE 139 Physiology.—The Montyon prize in experimental physio- logy is divided between Maurice Nicloux and Denis Brocc- Rousseu, the former for his work on the physiological saponification of fatty substances, and the latter for his researches on the alterations of seeds, cereals, and forage. H. Bierry receives the Philipeaux prize, for his studies in cytoxines ; Gaston Seilliére the Pourat prize, for his memoir on the utilisation of the pentosans by the animal organism; M. Laulanié the La Caze prize, for the whole of his work in the field of general physiology, the Lallemand prize being divided between E. Régis and Etienne Rabaud. Statistics—A memoir on statistical methods and _ their applications, by Lucien March, is accorded the Montyon prize in statistics. J. A. Fleury receives a very honourable mention for his memoir on the statistics of the city of Rouen, and Dr. Conor an honourable mention for his memoir on hysteria in the army. History of Science.—Prizes are awarded to Gino Loria and F. Brunet, F. de Mély being accorded a very honour- able mention. General Prizes.—Adolf yon Baeyer receives the Lavoisier medal; MM. Blaise, Delépine and Hamonet, Berthelot medals ; Charles Frémont, the Trémont prize; J. H. Fabre, the Gegner prize; Mmes. Beclard, Cusco and Ruck, the Lannelongue prize; Charles Nordmann and Jean Brunhes, the Wilde prize; MM. Gonnessiat and de Seguier, the Saintour prize; Pierre Duhem, the Petit D’Ormoy prize (mathematical sciences), J. Kiinckel d’Herculais, the Petit D’Ormoy prize (natural sciences); A. Cotton, the Pierson- Perrin prize; Léon Daum, the prize founded by Mme. la Marquise de Laplace; and Léon Daum, Georges Jean Painvin, Charles Marie Joseph Cambournac, and Louis pugene Galatoire Malégarie, the prize founded by Félix vot. The Leconte prize is not awarded this year. THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHRO- POLOGICAL INSTITUTE. THE new volume of the Journal of the Royal Anthropo- logical Institute is dedicated, on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, to Prof. E. B. Tylor, of whom a fine portrait forms the frontispiece. The dedication dwells on his classical contributions to the science of anthropology—his “‘ Researches into the Early History of Mankind” and “ Primitive Culture ’’—works which enjoy the almost unique distinction of never having been super- seded by the studies of later writers; on his career as professor of anthropology at Oxford, where, as the result of his teaching and personal initiative, a diploma course in the science has been established; and on the generous encouragement bestowed by him on the students of a younger generation. This compliment to a scholar who stands in the foremost rank is graceful and well deserved. The president, Prof. Gowland, in his annual address continues his studies of burial mounds in Japan which were begun by his well-known paper contributed to vol. lv. of ‘ Archeologia.*” Here he deals with the remark- able structures which cover the remains of the early emperors. Some of these are of enormous extent; one when first erected must have been not less than 1000 feet long and 600 feet broad, while in spite of denudation its summit now rises to the height of 84 feet. It seems certain that several of these mounds are as early as the first or second century of our era, and their construction continued for some five or six centuries after that date. It ceased with the establishment of Buddhism, when the custom of inhumation was replaced by cremation. The examples of metal work found in these monuments—iron armour, swords, horse-trappings of iron covered with thin gilt copper foil—illustrate the national skill in metallurgy in those early times. Terra-cotta figurines mark the transition from the custom of burying attendants with the dead sovereign, a reform which the ‘‘ Nihongi”’ Chronicle attributes to the Emperor Suinin, who reigned at the beginning of the Christian era. At many of these monuments the Japanese, ardent worshippers of ancestors, still perform annual rites, and the mounds are protected from desecration. The most important NO. 1989. VOL. 771 contribution to physical anthro- pology is the account, by Prof. Cunningham, of perhaps the most remarkable head of one of the Australian aborigines which has ever reached this country. It is that of a man who died in 1905 in a lunatic asylum, and it was most skilfully prepared by Dr. Ramsay Smith by means of injections of formalin. This head is dis- tinguished by the great prominence of the supraorbital regions of the forehead, which is receding and sloping, by the width of the zygomatic region, and by the retreat- ing chin and almost complete absence of a _ mental prominence. The type does not, as might have been ex- pected from the reported cause of death—organic disease of the brain—seem to be abnormal. Mr. H. Balfour contributes a good museum article on what he terms the friction drum, a curious musical instru- ment consisting of a drum with a single membrane, to the centre of which is attached a string, horsehair, or short stick, which on being rubbed with the moistened or rosined forefinger and thumb creates rapid vibrations communicated to the membrane. The instrument appears in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Japan, and India. It seems impossible to discover the original centre of dispersion; in fact, there appears no reason why it should not have been independently discovered in Africa or India, where it appears earlier than in other regions. Archeology is represented by an account, by Canon Greenwell, of a remarkable find by Major Sykes of bronze weapons, implements, and vessels at Khinamdn, in south- east Persia. ‘‘It is impossible,’? he writes, ‘‘ to over- estimate the interest and value of this discovery. This arises not only from the nature of the articles themselves, but from the light it throws upon the early metallic stage of cultivation in that country, about which our inform- ation is very scanty.’’ The axes are the most important and interesting. They could never have been used in war or for any other useful purpose, but were representative weapons made to be buried with the dead man in place of those which he used in life, or more probably were employed in processional rites, to be carried as a mark of dignity before a personage of rank. In the ornament- ation, as in the case of two similar weapons previously discovered within the same Asian area, the lion appears as a prominent feature of the design. EXPERIMENTS ON WIND-PRESSURE. FpURTHER experiments on wind-pressure were described by Dr. T. E. Stanton before the Institution of Civil Engineers on December 3. The first part of this research, of which the results were communicated to the same institu- tion in December, 1903, was the investigation of the result- ant pressure and distribution of pressure on flat plates normal to and inclined to the direction of a uniform current of air. The value of the constant K in the pressure velocity relation P=KV* was found to be 0.0027, a result some- what smaller than those found by Dines, Frowde, and Langley. On the completion of this part of the work it was decided to make observations on flat surfaces of areas ranging up to 100 square feet when exposed to the wind, since general experience tended to show that in actual winds the velocity of which was not uniform over time or space, the mean pressure per square foot on a large surface was considerably less than that on a small one. For the purpose of the work a steel windmill tower was erected in the grounds of the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. The experimental boards and models of structures were attached to a light framework carried by the cap of the tower, the height of the centre of the boards from the ground being 50 feet. The results of observations on three pressure-boards, one 5 feet by 5 feet, one 5 feet by 10 feet, and one 10 feet by ro feet, gave practically identical values of the constant in the pressure-velocity relation. In units of pounds per square foot and miles per hour, the mean value of this constant for the three boards was 0-0032. Further observations on the intensity of the pressure at the front and back of the boards appeared to show that the cause of the higher value of the con- stant compared with that obtained in the case of the small plates of the earlier experiments was the rela- tively greater intensity of the negative pressure at the 140 NATURE [ DicEMBER 12, 1907 back of the boards compared to that at the back of the small plates. Experiments were also made on a model of a braced girder 29 feet long by 3 feet 7 inches deep, and on a roof model the sides of which were 8 feet by 7 feet. The ratio of the resistance per unit of area of model girder to that of a square board in the wind found to be precisely the same as the ratio of the resistance per unit of area of a small model of the girder made to a linear scale of 1 in 42 to a square plate in the experimental channel and uniform current used in the previous experiments. The resultant pressures on the roof were obtained, for both windward and leeward sides, at angles of 30, 45, and 60 degrees inclination to the hori- zontal, and indicated the considerable suction effects on the leeward side of a roof when the pressure inside the building is augmented from the windward side by open doors or windows. The results lead to the conclusion that the resistance of a complicated structure in the wind can be accurately predicted from a determination of the resist- ance of a small model of the structure in an experimental channel. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampBripGr.—Sir James Dewar has nominated Mr. H. O. Jones, of Clare College, as deputy for the Jacksonian pro- fessor of mental philosophy during the Lent term 1908. This nomination has received the consent of the Vice- Chancellor and the Sex Viri. The sites syndicate recommends that a site on the Downing ground 4o feet wide, situate to the south of the botanical laboratory and parallel to it, be assigned for a building in connection with the Department of Agriculture. Mr. W. Bateson, F.R.S., has been appointed reader in zoology. Dr. Baler has been appointed chairman of the examiners for the mathematical tripos, part ii., 1908. Prof. Nuttall has appointed F. P. Jepson, Pembroke College, to the studentship in medical entomology in place of A. H. Lees, who has resigned the studentship. The board of agricultural studies is of opinion that the subjects which come under its cognisance are now too wide and too complex to be entrusted to a single professor. The appointment of Mr. T. B. Wood, of Gonville and Caius College, to the Drapers’ professorship of agriculture has adequately provided for the teaching of agricultural chemistry, but the board is of opinion that it is urgently necessary that a professor in agricultural botany should be appointed without delay. This proposal has been brought within the range of possibility by the munificence of the Drapers’ Company, which has offered a further grant of 200]. a year towards the stipend of a professor of agricultural botany. The general board has now put forward a report in which it recommends the establish- ment of such a professorship. This report will be discussed at an early date next term. The teaching of practical agriculture is entrusted to Mr. K. J. J. Mackenzie, late of the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye. Lonpon.—The committee of University College will shortly proceed to appoint a Derby scholar in zoology. The value of the scholarship is 6o!. per annum, the scholarship being tenable for two years. An examination for the award of the scholarship will be held at University College on December 18. Full particulars can be obtained on application to the secretary, University College, Gower Street, W.C. : ; Mancuester.—The University will eventually benefit under the will of the late Prof. Thomas Barker, who from 1865-1885 was professor of mathematics at Owens College. The legacy, which it is estimated will amount to about 36,0001., is to found a_ professorship of cryptogamic botany, and to establish scholarships for the assistance of students, especially those of slender means, in the depart- ments of botany and mathematics. | Oxrorp.—A portrait of Dr. A. J. Evans, F.R.S., the keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, painted by Sir William iB: Richmond, was presented to the University on Satur- ay, NO, 1989, vou. 77] tinguished company. The presentation was made on behalf of the subscribers by the principal of Brasenose, and the Vice-Chancellor accepted the portrait for the University. Mr. Hatpane, M.P., will, on Saturday, December 14, unveil the statue of the King, to be placed over the central entrance of the new buildings of University College School, Hampstead. Tue Melbourne correspondent of the Daily Chronicle reports that Mr. T. W. Stanford, brother of the founder of Stanford University, San Francisco, intends to leave by his will 50,o00/. to found eight annual scholarships at Stanford University for young Australians. All candidates must pledge themselves to return to Australia and use the knowledge gained at the University in developing their native country. SPEAKING at the Derby Municipal Technical College on December 5, Mr. Victor Cavendish, M.P., said he wished they could send forth from that gathering a message to those engaged in educational controversies that would result in placing education out of the range of controversy. He believed that money spent in extending the operations of institutions of that character was money well spent, and money from which, at no distant date, a most adequate and healthy return would be seen. Another subject was as to what extent we could improve our industrial and commercial position in the world. Upon such a question as foreign competition he felt that, however much they might differ on certain points, at any rate on the question of education they could unite in doing something for the future of the country by seeing that the youth of the nation had the very best technical education that could be given. Any money spent on such objects ought to receive the greatest support and consideration from all parties. Durinc the course of last week the Society of Merchant Venturers concluded the final arrangements for the re- construction of the main building of their technical college in Bristol, and the work will now proceed with all possible speed. The society has devoted a large sum for additions to and improvements in the equipment of the departments of engineering, chemistry, and applied physics. In order to benefit by the most recent experience gained elsewhere, the principal and other members of the staff have visited some of the best-equipped technical and university colleges in Germany and in the United Kingdom. To encourage the teaching of facts regarding weather and climate in schools, the council of the Royal Meteor- ological Society invites elementary teachers and others to send in essays in the form of an original nature-study lesson on weather or climate (not exceeding 1500 words in length), together with a brief synopsis of five other lessons to cover the whole subject of climate and weather. If essays of sufficient merit are received, thtee prizes will be awarded of 5/., 3/., and 21. respectively. The essays are to be sent in before January 31, 1908, and addressed to Mr. , William Marriott, assistant secretary, Royal Meteor- ological Society, 70 Victoria Street, London, S.W., from whom further information can be obtained. Tue fifth annual prize distribution of the Sir John Cass Technical Institute was held on Tuesday, December 3, when the prizes were distributed and an address given by Dr. R. TL. Glazebrook, F.R.S. The chair. was taken by Sir Owen Roberts, chairman of Sir John Cass’s founda- tion. Dr. Glazebrook, in reviewing the work of the insti- tute, dwelt upon the importance of the average amount of work done by cach student rather than the number of students in attendance as a criterion of the value of the instruction given, and also pointed out the desirability of encouraging students in every possible way to follow grouped courses of study of a continuous character if real advantage is to follow from their labours. Further, it is necessary always to remember that learning and_ the assimilation of knowledge, admirable though they are in themselves, are not all there is to strive for, but that research or discovery of new laws or of more complete order rests on a higher plane. Dr. Glazebrook then con- trasted the lot of the students of the institute with that December 7, in the presence of a large and dis- j of men in similar positions a hundred years ago, pointing DECEMBER 12, 1907 | NATURE 141 4ut in a review of the early life and struggles of Faraday hhow difficult it was then to obtain the least help in study compared with the accessible advantages that are so widely distributed over the country to-day. The students accord- ingly should fully appreciate their opportunities and use them to the best advantage, not merely as a means for the acquisition of knowledge, valuable and important as this is, and, above all, not as something which may lead to material advancement, but as a means of training the powers possessed by each so as to develop them for action beneficial both to themselves and to their fellows. A ‘hundred years ago men like Faraday, Watt, and Arkwright worked at a time when the world was comparatively young in knowledge; they had a clean slate to write upon. But while the difficulties of their pioneer work were enormous, and they started from a position of comparative ignorance of scientific principles, and simple in character as their respective discoveries were, the applications which have followed from them have led to a high general level of scientific knowledge to-day which has become the starting ‘point for modern conditions of study. Accordingly, if the country is to profit by the modern progress of science, the mass of the people must be educated up to this higher plane of knowledge, for it is by intelligent action and patient effort and devotion on the part of the rank and file of workers that general advances come. The work of the Sir John Cass Institute and of similar schools through- out London is exerting a most important influence in securing this higher level! of knowledge for those engaged in, work associated with the industries of the country. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON. Royal Society. June 20 —‘‘On the presence of Sulphur in some of the Hotter Stars.’? By Sir Norman Lockyer, KiG: Bay ERS: In this paper the author gives an account of the dis- covery of the strongest spark lines of sulphur in the spectrum of Rigel. These lines had not previously been traced in any celestial spectrum. It is also shown that two strong sulphur lines (4253-8, 4285-1), which are of abnormal behaviour in the spark and vacuum-tube spectra, are lacking in the Rigel spectrum: They have been found to. occur, however, in the Crucian (Bellatrix) and Alnitamian (e Orionis) types of stellar spectra, which re- present higher stages of temperature than the Rigelian type. In the two types mentioned the Rigel-sulphur lines are either lacking or very weak. Concisely, the following represents the relative and inverse behaviour of the two sets of lines in stellar spectra :— = Type Sharp Lines “pa Se Group ! Star (4253 8, 4285") Diffuse lines Alnitamian le Orionis Well shown Absent Strongest lines pre- sent, but weaker than in B Orionis Well shown 5 | 2 rt ty cer ‘Crucian ... y Orionis Present, bu veaker | than in e Orionis B res Absent November 7.—‘*‘ Note on the Association of Helium and Thorium in Minerals.’’ By the Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R:S: The question has been often raised of whether or not helium is a product of thorium radio-activity. The author’s view throughout has been that it is (Roy. Soc. Proc., vol. Ixxiil., p. 191, 1904, also March 2, 1905). Mr. Boltwood has recently argued that the helium in radio-active minerals may always be attributed to the action of the uranium-radium series of transformations (Am. Journ. Sci., vol. xxiii., February, p. 77). In the present note the author directs attention to a case where that view is ‘clearly untenable. Prof. Julius Thomsen, of Copenhagen, described, in 1898 (Zeit. physikalische Chemie, vol. xxv., part iii.), a helium mineral from Ivitgut, Greenland, similar in some respects to fluor-spar, but containing rare earths. Recently he has determined the quantity of helium liberated on NO 1989, vou. 77] Kigelian ... heating as 27 c.c. per kilogram (Bull. de l’Acad. Royale des Sciences, Copenhagen, 1904, 53-57). Prof. Thomsen kindly sent a supply of this mineral to the author, who has carefully tested it for radium, and finds that it contains no more than the traces which are ubiquit- ous in rocks and minerals. The quantity found was, in fact, about the same as in average rocks, and is insufficient to account for one-hundredth part of tne helium present. On the other hand, a solution of the mineral gave abundant thorium emanation. The author is inclined to think that there is some unknown complication about the thorium-emanating power of solutions which makes it un- safe, in certain cases at least, to infer from it the quantity of thorium present; but enough thorium emanation was given off by the solution to show that thorium was a sub- stantial constituent of the mineral. He regards it as entirely certain that the helium in this mineral has not been generated in situ by uranium or radium, and has no hesitation in connecting it with the presence of thorium. “©On the Measurement of Temperatures in the Cylinder of a Gas Engine.’’ by Prof. Callendar, F.R.S., and Prof. W. E. Dalby. It is important in the experimental investigation of the internal-combustion engine to be able to measure the temperature at a suitable point in the cycle. The difficulty of making this direct measurement arises from the fact that during the cycle of operations in the working cylinder the temperature rises above the melting point of platinum or of any thermoelectric couple which can be used for the observation. Also, since the tempera- ture is changing so rapidly, whatever apparatus is used to measure the temperature must have small mass; moreover, its insertion in the cylinder of the engine must not alter the volume or disposition of the clearance space, otherwise there will be danger of pre-ignition. The authors use a platinum wire o-o1 inch diameter and r inch long in conjunction with a compensator of the same diameter and 3-inch long, and the temperature is measured by measuring the change of resistance corre- sponding to the middle 3-inch of the 1-inch wire. To avoid the difficulty experienced by previous experimenters in this direction, the platinum thermometer is screened from the high temperature by placing it in a valve which allows the thermometer to be exposed during any part of the cycle for a suitable interval of time, and to be perfectly protected from the high temperature when the valve is closed. This valve is contrived in the spindle of the admission valve, and the gear for operating it is clearly shown in the figures in the paper. The advantage of this position is that as the whole charge of air and gas streams into the cylinder around the spindie of the admission valve the temperature of the valve and the thermometer inserted in it are brought continually into approximation during the whole of the suction stroke, so that at the instant when the contact is made for the measurement of the temperature, namely, just after the close of the admission valve, the thermometer and the temperature it is required to measure do not differ widely in temperature ; moreover, at this point in the cycle the rate of change of the tempera- ture is nearly a minimum. In measurements of this kind it is essential that there should be no missed explosions, and the authors therefore arranged the engine so that this condition should be exactly fulfilled during the whole of the experiments. Experiments were made to determine the lag of the platinum thermometer behind the temperature of the fluid it purported to measure, and to determine the effect of the valve carrying the thermometer on the temperature in- dicated by the thermometer. The conclusion arrived at by the authors is that the method may be used to give the temperature of the charge at the beginning of com- pression within 1° C. A few experiments were quoted in the paper, from which it appears that at full load the temperature rises to a point between 2000° C. and 2500° C. when the mixture is rich. Geological Society, November 6.—Sir Archibald Geikie. K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—A collection of fossil plants from South Africa; Prof. A. C. Seward. The material on which this paper is based was, for the , 142 NATURE | DECEMBER 12, 1907 most part, collected by members of the Geological Survey in Cape Colony from the Molteno and Burghersdorp beds. The Molteno beds are placed at the base of the Upper KKarroo, or Stormberg series; the Burghersdorp beds con- stitute the uppermost strata of the Middle Karroo, or Beaufort series. Mr. A. L. Du Toit, who has contributed accounts of the stratigraphy of the plant-bearing and associated rocks, describes the occurrence of a transitional zone between the Molteno and the Burghersdorp beds. A description is also given of Schizoneura africana, Feist- mantel, a species originally figured by Hooker in an appendix to Bain’s paper, published in 1845. The addi- tional plants recorded from the Molteno beds afford further evidence in favour of assigning this member of the Storm- berg series to the Rhatic period. While possessing certain Rheetic species, the Burghersdorp flora as a whole indicates a somewhat lower horizon.—Permo-Carboniferous plants from Vereeniging (South Africa): Prof. A. C. Seward and T. N. Leslie. The majority of the speci- mens described in this paper were obtained by Mr. Leslie from a sandstone quarry 13 miles from Vereeniging, on the banks of the Klip River; the sandstones are associated with shales, coal-seams, and glacial conglomerates. In the opinion of the authors, the plant beds should be in- cluded in the Ecca series (Lower Karroo). While recog- nising certain well-marked differences between the Glosso- pteris floras and the Upper Carboniferous and Permian floras of the northern hemisphere, they are inclined to think that there are more types common to the two botanical provinces than is generally supposed.—The structure and relations of the Laurentian system of Canada: Prof. F. D. Adams. This paper contains an outline of the results of the examination by Dr. Barlow and the author of an area of 4200 square miles, comprised within the Haliburton and Bancroft sheets of the Ontario and Quebec series of maps. The main conclusions reached by the author may be thus summarised:—(1) The Laurentian system of Sir William Logan consists of a very ancient series of sedimentary strata, largely lime- stones, invaded by great volumes of granite in the form of bathyliths. (2) This sedimentary series is one of the most important developments of the pre-Cambrian rocks in North America, it presents the greatest body of pre- Cambrian limestones on the continent, and it is best designated as the Grenville series. (3) The invading masses of granite are of enormous extent; they possess a more or less distinct gneissose structure, due to the movements of the magma, which developed a fluidal and, in the later stages of intrusion, a protoclastic structure in the rock. (4) The granite gneiss of the bathyliths not only arched up the invaded strata into a series of domes, but ““ stoped ”’ out portions of the sides and lower surface of the arches, the fragments torn off from walls and roof by the in- vading granite being found scattered throughout the mass of the invading rock; this ‘‘ stoping,’’ however, probably developed only a small part of the space which the granite now occupies. (5) The invading granite not only exerted a mechanical action upon the invaded strata, but also gave rise to a variety of metamorphic products, among others amphibolite, produced by its action in the limestone, which accounts for the fact that while the invaded strata are chiefly limestone, the fragments of the latter, where found in the granite, consist of amphibolite. (6) The invading bathyliths and allied intrusions of granite occupy the greater part of the great northern protaxis of Canada, which has an area of approximately 2,000,000 square miles. It has, therefore, been considered advisable to restrict the name Laurentian to this great development of the ‘‘ funda- mental gneiss,’’ which, although intrusive into the Gren- ville series, nevertheless underlies and supports it. (7) The relation of the Grenville series, which forms the base of the sedimentary portion of the geological column in eastern Canada, to the Huronian and Keewatin series, which are the oldest stratified rocks in the western part of the pro- taxis, has yet to be determined, the two not having so fer been found in contact ; nowhere, moreover, either east or west, has the original basement on which the first sedi- ments were laid down been discovered; these are every- where torn to pieces by the granite intrusions of the Laurentian. NO. 1989 VoL. 77] Linnean Society, November 7.—Prof. W. A. Herdman> F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The origin of the di- trimerous floral whorls of certain dicotyledons: Rey. G. Henslow. The object of the present paper was to show that the ternary. arrangements of monocotyledons are not derived from the same source as those of certain dicoty- ledons, every verticil of three members in the former being a single cycle of the 4 divergence, while in the latter the usually double verticils are derived from the ?. This divergence is unknown in the foliage of monocotyledons, — z or 4 being the natural sequence from a single cotyledon, whereas $ necessarily follows on the two cotyledons or from opposite and decussate leaves.—Eight very remark- able new species of Acari from New Zealand, from the collection of the late E. Bostock, six Oribatidae and two Gamaside: A. D. Michael. The species are to be called Oribata bostocki, distinguished by the pteromorphze being attached to the anterior margin of the abdomen instead of its lateral margin; Notaspis spinulosa, carrying spinu- lated hairs of extraordinary size; Notaspis caudata, with a posterior projection not hitherto found in the genus; Hermannia phyllophora, with great leaf-like processes on the legs; Nothrus cophinarius and N. unguifera, extreme exaggerations of that section of the genus represented in Europe by N. spiniger; Trachynotus sclerophyllus, in which the great leaf-like transparent hairs found on many Acari have become opaque, hard, brown chitin; and T. fimbriatus, with singular flattened borders to the first pair of legs, much broader than the legs themselves.— AEnigmatistes africanus, a new genus and species of Diptera: R. Shelford. : November 21.—Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.-S., presi- dent, in the chair.—Exhibits.—C. W. Anderson: A speci- men of a light-giving larva brought by him from near the boundary of British Guiana with Brazil, exhibiting when living a ruby light in its head, and a double row of phosphorescent spots along the body, two on each seg- ment. © These lights were not intermittent, but glowed continuously. This. presumed coleopterous larva was called *“ Macadoub ”’ by the natives, and is not uncommon in the region named.—Prof. Dendy: Two living specimens of Peripatus from the Cape, which he had succeeded in keep- ing in excellent health by supplying them with woodlice as food.—Papers.—Abnormal structures in leaves and their value in morphology: W. C. Worsdell.. Dichotomy, as in crested fern leaves, is a reversion to a primitive type of frond-branching. In cotyledons it represents a tendency, which in this case is progressive and not reversionary, to increase the number of cotyledons. Phyllotaxis: Dicho- tomy of foliage leaves is, in the author’s opinion, a re- version from the opposite, or distichous, arrangement to form a greater number of leaves on the axis; it is probably a step towards the original spiral arrangement. Spiral torsion is due to a reversion from the opposite or whorled arrangement of leaves to the spiral arrangement. Terminal leaves: This is regarded as a reversion to the primeval structure in which, according to the phyton theory, each leaf terminates each segment of the stem above which it is situated, every leaf being thus essentially. a terminal organ and not lateral. Enations and ascidia: The foliage leaves of Saxifraga ligulata show formation of basal pockets on upper side of leaf and transformation of entire leaf into a cup-shaped structure; also infolding of basal lobes, which infolding may extend right up mid- rib to apex. This infolding may also occur for a short distance from the apex downwards. A similar structure may be represented merely by slight enations on either side of the midrib. Lobing may occur at the apex; small lobes may become abstricted off as stalked structures, which may either be terminal or carried over on to the dorsal (lower surface) of the leaf in form of small, stalked ascidia. | Virescence: The various foliar organs of the flower may revert to the condition of foliage leaves, e.g. phyllody of the calyx in the rose, phyllody of carpels in Trifolium. Monocotyledonous seedlings in dicotyledons: Normal cases of this occur, as in Ranunculus Ficaria, L. ; here the conditions are regarded as primitive. Abnormal cases occur in which the two cotyledons arise congenitally fused into a single one, as in Umbellifere. This is a reversion to the primitive condition.—Two new species of DerceMBEK 12, 1907] NATE: Amphipoda: Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing. The species were described as Lepechinella chrysotheras, representing a new genus in the family Paramphithoide, and Rhachotropis palporum in the family Eusiridee.—The preservation of specimens in Australian museums: J. G. Otto Tepper. The author pointed out that the life-cycle of Anthrenus musaeorum involved visits to flowers, and that the presence of their destructive larve in museum collections was due to the eggs being laid in proximity to the cases, and the active and minute larvz subsequently finding their way into the containing cases by cracks or similar apertures. Mineralogical Socicty, November 12.—Prof. 1L A. Mi-rs, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Hopeite and other zinc phosphates and associated minerals from Broken Hill mines, north-western Rhodesia: L. J. Spencer (see Nature, vol. Ixxvi., p. 215). Hopeite is abundant as brilliant water-clear crystals or as larger white crystals reaching 2 cm. across. The crystals are orthorhombic, with a:b:c=0-5786:1:0-4758. Cleavage flakes parallel to the brachypinacoid show a zonal intergrowth of two substances, distinguished as a-hopeite and B-hopeite ; these differ considerably in their optical characters, and slightly in sp. gr. (3-0-3-1) and the temperature at which water is expelled. Associated with the hopeite crystals on the bone-breceia are brown botryoidal masses of vanadinite. The other zinc phosphates occur, not in the bone cave, but with cellular limonite and crystals of descloizite and pyro- morphite in connection with the zinc-lead ores (which consist of an intimate mixture of cerussite and hemi- morphite with interspersed limonite). The new species, tarbuttite, occurs in great abundance, and is a basic zinc phosphate, Zn,P,O,.Zn(OH),, with sp. gr. 4:15; the crystals are anorthic with ac=55° 50’, ab=84° 34’, be=76° 31’, c being a direction of perfect cleavage. Pseudomorphs of tarbuttite after calamine (ZnCO,), descloizite, and hemimorphite are not uncommon. Another new species, named parahopeite, has the same chemical composition as hopeite, Zn,P,O,.4H,O, but is anorthic, with sp. gr. 3-31. The platy crystals somewhat resemble hemimorphite in appearance; they have one _ perfect cleavage, approximately perpendicular to the plates, through which emerges one of the optic axes.—-The ques- tion of a relation between isomorphous miscibility and parallel growths: T. V. Barker. A study of the growths on each other of immiscible or slightly miscible pairs of substances has shown that, although miscibility and parallel growths are favoured by the same factor— similarity of molecular volume—yet the two properties do not always go hand in hand, for many immiscible or only slightly miscible substances form parallel growths quite readily. Mixed crystals, therefore, should not be regarded as built up of alternating parallel layers.—Notes on zeolites from Cornwall and Devon: A. Russell. The occurrence of zeolites in various localities was described, e.g. that of heulandite near Okehampton, stilbite at Botallack and St. Ives, chabazite at Luxullian, apophyllite and analcite at Lostwithiel.—Note on the crystallisation of potassium bichromate: Prof. H. A. Miers. Two stages of growth of potassium bichromate crystallising from a drop of solution were described and illustrated by lantern- slides.—Various minerals from the Lengenbach quarry and the Ofenhorn, Binnenthal: R. H. Solly. Crystals of binnite, one of them a unique twin, and examples of the regular intergrowth of sartorite and baumhauerite, were described. and the occurrence of brookite and molybdenite on the Ofenhorn was for the first time recorded.—Mr. L. J. Spencer exhibited on behalf of Dr. H. J. John- ston-Lavis some minute crystals of hamatite found in association with chlormanganokalite in blocks ejected from Vesuvius during the eruption of 1906. The crystals have the form of acute scalenohedra 81313}={2461'.—A fine series of zeolites from the neighbourhood of Belfast was shown by Mr. F. N. A. Fleischmann; a new meteoric stone from Simondium, Cape Colony, by Dr. G. T. Prior ; specimens of reconstructed ruby and blue spinel, and of the new gem, benitoite, by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith; and a specimen of artificial hematite by Mr. C. J. Woodward. NO. 1989, VOL. 77] Royal Anthropological institute, Nov. mber 19.—Mr. F. W. Rudler, past-president, in the chair.—Excavation of a barrow at Chapel Carn Brea, Cornwall: H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne. The barrow was opened in August, and was found to contain a cist built of flat- faced irregular stones with capstone. A very fine large urn, ornamented with the characteristic pattern, was found, containing partly calcined bones. Flint flakes were found, but these were of earlier date than the urn, and were probably placed in the kist from traditional motives. The barrow may have been surrounded by standing stones, as one is still in position. Above the cist at the north end another somewhat smaller urn was discovered.—Holed stone at Kerrow, St. Just in Penwith, Cornwall: H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne. This consists of a circular slab of granite with a cylindrical hole in the centre, very well worked, apparently by iron tools. Wood charcoal was discovered underneath. Its purpose is un- known.—Small cist and urn at Tregiffian Vean, St. Just in Penwith: H. C. King and B. C. Polkinghorne. The cist is a small one with a broken capstone. The urn, which is also small, dates about 400 B.c. No bones or ashes were found.—The wild tribes of the Ulu Plus, Malay Peninsula: F. W. Kmocker. The tribes dealt with occupy the upper waters of the Plus River in Perak. They are apparently of mixed Semang-Sakai character- istics. The paper dealt with their habits of life, manners, and customs. Chemical Society, Novemher 21.—Sir Williim Roemsav, K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair—Emulsions: S. Pickering. Paraffin oil, when churned with solutions of soap, glue, starch, albumen, &c., forms an emulsion, which rises, like cream, to the surface of the excess of water, and contains from 65 per cent. to 82 per cent. by volume of oil. The percentage of oil can be increased to 99 per cent., the emulsion then being practically solid. | Emulsification seems to depend on the separation from the liquid of very minute solid particles, which are attracted by and surround the oil globules, thus preventing them from coalescing. Any precipitated substance which is sufficiently finely divided will act as an emulsifying agent, but, after be- coming agglomerated by drying, it loses this property. —Aromatic azoimides, part iii., the naphthylazoimides and their nitro-derivatives: M. O. Forster and H. E. Fierz. —The triazo-group, part i., triazoacetic acid and triazo- acetone (acetonylazoimide): M. O. Forster and H. E. Fierz. The interesting properties displayed by the triazo- —CH.N, group when occurring in the complex | have led -CO the authors to prepare the simplest typical compounds of this class, triazoacetic acid and triazoacetone.—Studies of dynamic isomerism, part vii., mote on the action of carbonyl chloride as an agent for arresting isomeric change: T. M. Lowry and E. H. Magson. Labile solu- tions of nitrocamphor, in which isomeric change has been suspended, have been prepared (1) accidentally by dissolving nitrocamphor in choloroform, and (2) deliberately by adding acid to the solvent chloroform. In the latter case the solutions acquired a powerful odour of carbonyl chloride, and there can be no doubt that this is the efficient agent in arresting isomeric change in chloroform solutions. By means of this new agent it is possible to arrest the isomeric change of nitrocamphor in other solvents.—The electrometric determination of the hydrolysis of salts: H. G. Denham.—The interaction of metallic sulphates and caustic alkalis: S. Pickering. Alkalis, added to solutions of various metallic sulphates, precipitate a definite basic sulphate, except in the case of manganese and magnesium, where the hydroxide is precipitated. The further addition of alkali converts the basic sulphate either into another, sometimes consecutively into two other, more basic products (for example, copper and nickel), or into the hydroxide.—The chemistry of Bordeaux mixture: S. Pickering. The substances formed on the addition of lime to copper sulphate, as in the preparation of Bordeaux mix- ture, are dependent on the proportions of lime used, and may be either 144 NATURE | DECEMBER 12, 1907 (1) 4CuO,SO,,0-06CaSO, ; (2) 5CuO,SO,,0-25CaSO, ; (3) 1oCuO,SO,,1-3CaSO, ; (4) 1oCuO,SO,,4CaO,SO, ; (Possibly 5) 10CuO,SO,,10CaO,SO, ; or (6) CuO,3CaO ; that present in most cases probably being (4). The fungicidal action of Bordeaux mixture seems to depend on the liberation of copper sulphate by the action of carbon dioxide on the basic sulphate.—The alcohols of the hydro- aromatic and terpene series, part i., resolution of the alcohols into their optically active components and the pre- paration of the borneols: R. H. Pickard and W. O. Littlebury. The alcohol is combined with phthalic or succinic anhydride, and the resulting acid ester resolved by I-menthylamine or other strong optically active base.—The electrolytic preparation of disulphides, part i., dibenzyl- disulphide and diethyldisulphide: T. S. Price and D. F. Twiss.—The influence of solvents on the rotation of optically active compounds, part xi., ethyl tartrate in aliphatic halogen derivatives: T. S. Patterson and D. Thomson.—The interaction in solution of ferrous sulphate and copper sulphate: H. R. Ellis and W. H. Collier. No action takes place between ferrous sulphate and copper sulphate solutions in the cold, but on boiling, the copper sulphate slowly oxidises the ferrous hydroxide produced by hydrolysis. An account is also given of the action of ammonia solution on mixtures of ferrous and cupric sulphates in water.—Mercurous hyponitrite: E. Divers.— Decomposition of mercurous and silver hyponitrites by heat : E. Divers.—Cupric nitrite: E. Divers. DIARY OF SOCI«TIES. THURSDAY, December 12. Roya Society, at 4.30.—Further Consideration of the Stability of the Pear-Shaped Figure of Equilibrium of a Liquid Earth: Sir G. H. Darwin, K.C.B., F.R.S.—Preliminary Not> on the Operational In- variants of a Binary Quantic : Major P. MacMahon, F.R.S.—The Action of Ozone on Water-colour Pigments: Sir W. Abney, K.C.B., F.R.S. —On Kinetic Stability: Prof. H. Lamb, F.R.S.—The Absorption Spectra of the Vapours of Benzene and its Homologues at Different Temperatures and Pressures, and likewise of Solutions of Benzene: Prof. W. N. Hartley, F.R.S.—The Spectrum of Magnesium and of the so-called Magnesium Hydride as obtained hy Spark Discharges under Reduced Pressure: E. E. Brooks.—Magnetic Declination at Kew Observatory, 1890 to 1900: Dr. C. Chre2, F.R.S.—The Effects of Temperature and Pressure on the Thermal Conductivities of Solids. Part ii., The Effect of Low Temperatures on the Thermal Conductivities of Pure Metals and Alloys: Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S.—On Exterior Ballistics, No. 2: Prof. G. Forbes, F.R.S. Society oF Arts, at 4.30.—Big Game in India: R. Gilbert. MATHEMATICAL Society, at 5.30 —A Formula in Finite Differences and its Application to Mechanical Quadrature : Mr. S. T. Shovelton.—Weier- ass) Excess-function in the Calculus of Variations: Prof. A. E. H. ove. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13. Mavacotocicat Society, at 8.—Additions to the Marine Molluscan Fauna of New Zealand, with Descriptions of New Species: H. Suter.— Alteration to the name of Mitra recurva, Sow. (preoccupied): G. B. Sowerby.—Descriptions of New Species of Fresh-water Shells from Central Africa: C. A. Smith.—New Land and Marine Shells from West Africa: H. B. Preston. Society oF Arts, at 8.—Industrial Poisons—Lead and Phosphorus— ae Special Reference to the Manufacture of Lucifer Matches : Prof. T. iver. PuysicaL Society, at 7-10.—Exhibition of Electrical, Optical, and other Physical Apparatus. Rovat AsTRONOMICAL Society, at 5.—Observations of the Transit of Mercury, November 14, 1907: E. T. Whitelow.—Solar Parallax Papers, No. 6, Construction of a Standard Catalogue of Photographic Star-places : A. R. Hinks.—Observation du Passage de Mercure sur le Soleil, le 14 Novembre, 1907; R. Jonckheere.—Observations of Saturn's Ring at the Time of its Disappearance in 1907, made with the 4o-inch Reflector of the Yerkes Observatory : E. E. Barnard.—On the Lunar Inequalities due to Planetary Action: Ernest W. Brown.—The Transit of Mercury, 19C7 November 14: R. T. A. Innes.—Occultations of Uranus by the Moon in 1908, Visible at British Observatories: A. M. W. Downing.—On Ancient Eclipses: P. H. Cowell.—On the Mean Distances of the Groom- bridge Stars: A. S. Eddington.—Probable Paper: Note on the Single Equations which comprises the Thecry of the Fundamental Astronomical Instruments: Sir R.S. Ball. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14. SSEX Fretp Ciup (at Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.—Discussion on Rivers Pollution from the Naturalists’ Point of View : Opened by Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S. : MONDAY, DECEMBER 16. Royat Grocrapuicat Society, at 8.30.—In Search of an Arctic Con- tinent: A. H. Harrison. E Society oF Ar at 8.—The Theory of the Microscope: Conrad Beck. BEeIOL oct AL Sociery, at 8.—The Tutelage of Races: J. M. Robertson, NO. 1989, VOL. 77 } } INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5.—On the Method of Dr. Johannes Karup of Valuing in Grouns Endowment Assurances, and Policies for the Whole of Life by Premiums Limited ia Number; G. King.—Bonus Reserve Valuations: C. R. V. Coutts. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17. Society or Arts, at 8.—How to Make the Most of a Museum: Lewis F. Day. Rovat ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—A Japanese Book of Divination : W. G. Aston, C.M.G. Rovar STATISTICAL SOCIETY, at 5. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Keyham Dockyard Extension : Sir Whately Eliot—Keyham Dockyard Exten-ion ; Temporary Works, and Plant and Appliances used in Construction: G. H. Scott. Farapay Socirty. at 8.—A Pbysico-chemical Study of the Complex Copper-Glycocoll Sulphates : T. Barker.—The Centenary of the Discovery of the Alkali Metals by Davy; the Industrial Developments of the Discovery: Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18. Rovat MErgoroocicaL Society, at 7.30.—The Possibility of a Topo- graphy of the Air based on Balloon Observations with Special Theodo- lites: Captain C. H. Ley.—Indications of Approaching Frost: R. Strachan. e GEoLoGiGat Society, at 8.—Some Recent Discoveries of Paleolithic Implements: Sir John Evans, K.C.B.. F.R.S.—On a Deep Channel of Drift at Hitchin (Hertfordshire) : W. Hill. Britisu ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION, at 5. Royat MicroscopicaL Society, at 8.—Some African Rotifers: Jas. Murray.—Gregory and Wright's Microscope ; and a Correction for a Spectroscope : E. M. Nelson.—Exhibition of Selenite Specimens showing Interesting Features due to Twinning: E. Large. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—Derivatives of Tetramethyl Glucose: J. C. Irvine and A. M. Moodie.—The Characterisation of Mercerised Cotton ; pe Preliminary Note: J. Hiibner.—Attempted Synthesis of | Di- B-—CH—8 naphthacridine ; Condensation of Methylene Dichloride and 1-Substi- tuted-2-Naphthylamines ; A. Senier and P. C. Austin. LINNEAN SOCIETY, at 8. INstTiITUTION OF MiniInG AND METALLURGY, at 8. InstiTUTION OF JELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electrical Power in Railway Goods Warehouses : H. Henderson, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20. InstTiITuTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Mechanical and Thermal Efficiency of a Petrol Engine: L. G. E. Morse. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL. ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes on the Manu- facture and Upkeep of Milling Cutters: Dr. H. T. Ashton. CONTENTS. PAGK An Upper Cretaceous Flora. By D. H. S. ane 121 Paper Mill-Workers and Technology ....... I2t Local Ornithology Peco 5 OE So 1S Electucaluhngineering 3s. eeeenen) -) ee 124 Our Book Shelf :— Adye: ‘‘ Modern Lithology, illustrated and defined, for the Use of University, Technical, and Civil- Service Students." —G. A.J.C.- . . 7 eEeee25 Adami: ‘‘ Inflammation. An Introduction to the Study of Pathology.”.—Prof. R. T. Hewlett . 126 Hepworth : ‘‘ Notes on Maritime Meteorology” . . 126 Letters to the Editor:— Mulattos.—Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., ee! | See Ge 12S Specific Stability and Mutation.—R. H. Lock; Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.. . 127 The Winding of Rivers.—Dr. John Aitken, F.R.S. 127 May Gorsedds. (///ustrated.)—Rev. John Gnffith . 128 A Fishing Trip to the Gulf of Mexico. (J//ustrated.) Bye WeaB.. “... >.) Sueeaeme Le 2a eS Greek Archeology. (///ust:ated.) By H. R. Hall 129 The Future Water Supply of London. ...... 131 Notes EERE Ca. 0 0 ch UMMC sc LE Our Astronomical Column :— Photographs of Jupiter’s Satellites VI. and VII. . . 137 Temperature Control of Silvered Mirrors . 37 Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries. . ...... 138 MellishissComet: 1907¢..) sanmemeiee = a. - sake 138 SolarProminences! in! TOOOmmemecn NJ.) ulemicnns 135 Search Ephemeris for Comet 1907@ (Giacobini) . . 138 Prizes Awarded by the Paris Academy of Sciences 135 The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 139 Experiments on Wind-Pressuremi.). 1. 6) 1 seeneoo University and Educational Intelligenc Soo 0 140 Societiesjand! Academies.) 7-725) «es @ 1) ee 141 Dianyioteocieties. <5 <2. amen nen nien Cie 144 | NATURE 145 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1907. 19, MATHEMATICS IN BOTANY. Mathematische und mikroskopisch-anatomische Studien tiber Blattstellungen. By Dr. G. van Iterson, Jun. Pp. xii+331+plates. (Jena: G. Fischer, 1907.) Price 20 marks. HE subject of Phyllotaxis, which formerly involved the study of the arrangement, though now more particularly the mode of origin, of the lateral members of a plant-shoot, since it was first placed on a scientific footing by Bonnet in 1754, has afforded one of the most fascinating branches of botany, and, it must be frankly admitted, one which is very inadequately treated in text-books; this being again the expression of the fact that the more that is known with regard to it, the more complex do its problems appear, and the more hopeless of final -solution. The subject, again, possesses possibly a special interest in that it is strictly non-utilitarian, and remains a field of ab- stract scientific work dealing with some of the most fundamental questions of protoplasmic life, which attain but littke emphasis in the animal kingdom, owing to the restricted output of systems of ramifi- cation and appendage-production in the more con- densed type of animal-organisation. The literature of the subject is, however, very voluminous, and slowly increases, the present volume of Iterson being the only important contribution since the loss of Schumann, and the publication of some of the work of Church (1904). In that the arrangement of lateral members in the case of shoot-construction usually involves phenomena of periodicity or rhythm, phyllotaxis becomes capable of a certain amount of mathematical treatment; and it is to this fact, perhaps, more than to any other that the subject is often viewed with a vague distrust by the majority of botanists; mathematical results can only follow from given premises, which must first be interpolated into the question; for example, Church pointed out in 1gor that the accepted usage for seventy years of mathematical expressions based on systems of regular helices rendered all discussions of the arrangement of members on growing apices purely nonsensical, and vitiated all deductions based on the apparent imperfection of such constructions. Some working hypothesis is clearly necessary to start with, and the assumption of different data may involve a completely different mathematical presentation. Iterson’s volume, including 300 pages on the botanical aspect of the question, devotes 190 to mathematical speculations, the greater part of which will therefore not appeal to the average botanist at all. The mathematician necessarily starts with a severe handi- Cap, since the data of the actual appearances pre- sented at the apex of a vegetative shoot are so illusive. New primordia rise up as rounded pimples, wholly independent of the segmentation of the apex into con- Stituent cells, and often without any visible connection with each other, yet falling along the paths of what is often a very elaborate pattern, most readily defined as a meshwork of intersecting radiating curves; and NO. 1990, VOL. 77] it is admittedly impossible to measure any lines or angles, or even to plot the form of the actual primor- dium with any such degree of accuracy as a precise mathematical presentation would appear to demand; hence observers who are more familiar with the con- ditions obtaining at a growing-point become naturally suspicious of mathematical speculations which are incapable of verification. In all the speculations which have been introduced into the subject, the difficulty is to find anything what- ever which can be established as a reasonable proof of the working hypothesis selected; thus in Dr. Iterson’s volume, models of spheres in helicoid or conical arrangements may edify the beginner, but they have no particular relation to the origin of leaf- primordia on the surface of a shoot-apex; systems of circles in tangential contact must remain unsatisfac- torv while there is no evidence that primordia can be treated as circles, or that the tangential contact is absolute; the mathematics of a conical surface which can be unrolled has little reference to the curved dome of a plant-shoot, the curve of which is beyond present calculation, while any unrolling of the systems destroys the only essential feature of the system of intersecting curves; again, the projection of a spherical primordium to a ‘‘ folioid’’ curve gives suggestive imitative results, when these folioid curves are con- tinued in a log. spiral system; but there is no evidence to connect the folioid with the shape of a leaf-primor- dium; and it does not, as a matter of fact, fulfil the normal demands of a phyllotaxis-system. Writers on phyllotaxis in the past may be divided into three categories: first, those who seek merely for a method of simply enumerating and cataloguing the phenomena observed in the beautifully rhythmic patterns, usually expressed as spiral curves, in plant- shoots and buds, familiar examples of which are ob- served in the Pine-cone and the arrangement of the disk-florets of Composites. For these the empirical helical formula of Schimper and Braun (1835) still afford a sufficient basis, so long as observations are restricted to adult structures, and no very rigid accuracy is required. A second class of writers start off on the attempt to imitate the appearances, hoping thereby to explain them; the most unscientific line of approach conceivable, the physiological fallacy of such mimetic methods having been fully exposed by Sachs. To this line of argument botany is indebted for numerous theories of ‘‘ torsion,’’ since torsion will give a spiral effect! Such imitative conceptions cul- minate in the contact-pressure theory of Schwendener. Lastly, there is a more modern class of investigators who require something more fundamental, in the nature of a physical cause for the phenomena of rhythm, which clearly lies behind the first visible rise of rounded primordia, these being but the expression of more concealed growth-factors. The treatise of Dr. Iterson, who apparently remains in the imitative line of approach, may be briefly de- scribed as an attempt to harmonise the largely accepted theories of Schwendener and older writers with a corrected mathematical presentation which in itself renders the difficulties of these writers largely illusory ; as in the case of these observers, Iterson gets little H 146 further than the expression of certain facts of general observation, which in themselves constitute no proof. Schwendener’s theory of the influence of mechanical contact has long held the field, in spite of the fact that no such contact can be invariably proved to exist, or even to exert any mechanical action; so much so, in fact, that it has been regarded as possible to dilute the theory to one of vague ‘“stimulation.’? Dr. Iterson, by following along the well-worn paths of previous observers, has reached very similar conclu- sions; and it must be admitted that continual study of the best exhibitions of the uniform construction of vegetative shoot-systems naturally impels the observer to the old and familiar view of Hofmeister, that appendages cannot help themselves, but arise in the next ‘widest gap’’ between pre-existing ones, as they are seen to do; such a statement represents no solution of the problem, but is, in fact, a confession of failure. On the other hand, by approaching the subject from the standpoint of floral ontogeny, in which the most complex phyllotaxis-systems can be observed develop- ing before one’s eyes according to a perfectly defined architectural plan, in which the relation of the indi- vidual members may, however, be practically anything whatever, wide gaps being left in some places, spirals mixed with circular construction, and members apparently ‘‘ omitted,’”? as well as appearing ‘‘ out of their turn,’’ an investigator equally inclines with Schumann to the view that contact-relations present no contributory cause whatever to the phenomena of the initial phases, which can only be referred to autonomous growth-impulses within the substance ot the shoot-apex; a region which, consisting as it does of undifferentiated cell-units, is beyond further possi- bility of observation. Among the general conclusions for straightforward “ constant-phyllotaxis,’’ Iterson reiterates the stock considerations of ‘ bull-ratio,”’ “contact-relations,’’ and the principle of the ‘‘ widest gap” (p. 291). The fallacy of the widest gap has been exposed over and over again; it is sufficiently obvious to the un- prejudiced eye in the appearances presented at the apex of the common Fern, or shoots of Water-lilies ; primordia do not invariably arise in close contact with each other, but may be widely spaced out at first. The same want of contact, or any connecting sequence between one series of members and the next, is a common phenomenon in floral ontogeny which also includes cases of such absolute irregularity that the necessity for a ‘‘ mechanical law’ for their produc- tion becomes an absurdity ; while in examples of per- fect regularity of construction, the case of extreme mathematical interest centres in those’ few instances in which successive whorls do not fall into the gaps of their predecessors at all, but are accurately super- posed; such cases occur in certain living species of Mesembryanthemum, though the significance of this formation in the case of fossil plants may still be open to question. It is thus a matter for regret that Iter- son should revive the conceptions of ‘ close-contact and ‘‘ widest-gaps,’? which have seen so much ser- vice in the past; while again the conception of ‘ bullx- ratio,”? or the relative size of the primordium with NO. 1990, VOL. 77] NATURE [DECEMBER 10, 1907 regard to the axis on which it is ‘ inserted,”’ though extremely useful in dealing with the difficulty of dis- tinguishing between systems which involve numerals of the same summation series, OFA EVO BS, SOs can yield no practical solution of the difference, for example, between a 3:5 construction and a 3:4, or, again, of the essential difference between spiral and circular arrangement. It is also sufficiently obvious that the causes which determine the relative rates of growth (which lie behind the relative size)’ must have existed in the actual substance of the growing-point some time before the primordia be- came visible to the eye as a definite outgrowth, and, admitting the absence of any necessity for close-con- tact, the spacing of the new centres of growth is pre- sumably more important than their actual size; once the centres are initiated, the new growth-impulses from them are continued until they ultimately make lateral contacts as a wholly secondary phenomenon. Dr. Iterson’s volume affords an admirable intro- duction to the subject, and most of the branches are indicated; considerable value attaches to the résumé of the theories of Schwendener and Celalovsky, copi- ously illustrated with excellent figures (more than 100 text-illustrations, and 16 plates); these bear sufficient witness to the enthusiasm of the author in this most absorbing field of speculation, though when all is said we appear to be no nearer the solution of the problem than ever; it only gains in complexity where it seems to be most regular and simple; since an absolutely irregular construction can clearly have no explanation at all, it simply grows as one sees it grow, and can neither be accurately described nor imitated. To those who seek for the inner and ultim- ate cause of the phenomena, the subject still presents an indefinite field of research, ; Few botanists appear to realise the extent to which a proper appreciation of the subject of phyllotaxis is involved in the morphological consideration of plant- growth, and floral construction and even phylogeny ; the marvellous standpoint that a dimerous flower is simpler, and therefore more primitive, than a trimer- ous one, and a trimerous than a pentamerous, con- stitutes one of the vitiating factors of the systematic work of Eichler, and is still reflected in the modern German school of classification. : ORGANIC CHEMISTRY FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS. Text-book of Organic Chemistry for Medical Students. By Dr. G. y. Bunge. Translated with additions by Dr. R. H. A. Plimmer. Pp. ix+260. (ILondon : Long- mans, Green and Co., 1907.) Price 6s. net. HE rapid advance which has marked the pro- gress of physiological chemistry in the last twenty years, owing mainly to the remarkable re- searches of Prof. Emil Fischer, has emphasised the necessity of a sound knowledge of organic chemistry for all students of medicine. But organic chemistry has undergone developments in many other directions, and new compounds have multiplied at a most be- wildering rate. It is clearly undesirable for the student of medicine to become acquainted with any DECEMBER 19, 1907 | NATURE 147 large proportion of the hundred thousand compounds which organic chemistry is said to include. He might, after a firm foundation had been laid, study with advantage only those special subjects which come within his sphere of interest. He cannot very well know how to select these for himself, and Prof. Bunge has therefore attempted to do it for him. On the whole, Prof. Bunge has been very success- ful in the choice and arrangement of his materials, and has produced an eminently readable book. But the task cannot have been an easy one. In a small volume of 250 pages, which is assumed to start with the rudiments and finishes with such complex vital products as the purines, the proteins, and the alka- loids, there is a danger that the treatment may be diffuse and superficial. But though this is certainly not the case, it must be confessed that some prelim- inary knowledge of analysis, molecuiar-weight determinations, and especially about methods ot studying structure, is desirable, if mot indeed necessary, if the subject is to be understood. In support of this it may de pointed out that the struc- tural formula of oxalic acid is given on p. 2, of glyceric aldehyde and dioxyacetone on p. 5, and of hippuric acid on p. 8, without any previous reference to Kekulé’s structural laws. But this appears to be the only serious defect, and one which the student can easily remedy by a little preliminary study. The chapters are written in a manner well cal- culated to stimulate the reader; indeed, no organic text-book within the writer’s knowledge is so full of human interest. The following few errors have been noted :—Chlorine does not convert aldehyde into chloral, but mainly into butyl chloral (p. 50). It is not true that ‘‘no one has yet succeeded in obtain- ing directly by synthesis either a d- or a ]-compound ”’ (p. 79). On the contrary, asymmetric synthesis is an accomplished fact. A racemic compound and a mix- ture of enantiomorphs are not synonymous, and the difference is indicated by y and dl (p. 89). The author refers to the separation of synthetic tartaric acid into its d- and I-components by Jungfleisch as causing a great sensation, ‘‘ for up to that time many chemists thought that optically active compounds could only be formed by the living cell’’ (p. 89). There must surely be some confusion here, for did not Pasteur resolve racemic acid? Pasteur, it is true, considered asymmetric synthesis, or the formation of one enan- tiomorph without the other, as a peculiar property of living matter, but that is another thing altogether. Finally, on p. 147 occurs the old story of Wohler’s discovery of artificial urea in 1828, a date which tradition and the text-books have fixed upon as that of a two-fold event—the first organic synthesis and the downfall of the vital-force theory. In reality it was neither the one nor the other, and perhaps the following observations may help to put the matter in a clear light. The preparation of natural products in the laboratory began before Wohler was born, for in 1776 Scheele obtained oxalic acid by oxidising sugar. Doebereiner’s preparation of formic acid from tartaric acid in 1822, and Hennel’s synthesis Wohler’s discovery. That Doebereiner’s discovery received contemporary recognition is evident from Berzelius’s reference to it in the Jahresbericht for 1823. ‘‘ Doebereiner,’’ he says, ‘‘ has made the re- markable discovery that formic acid may be produced artificially.’’ Now Liebig, in his treatise of 1840, falls into a curious error, which may lie at the bottom of the text-book myth. In reference to formic acid he writes, ‘‘ Doebereiner was the first who prepared it by chemical means,’’ whilst in another place he says, ‘‘ Woehler found a way of obtaining urea arti- ficially, and it was the first substance formed in the animal-life process which had been successfully repro- duced by chemical means.’’ Now formic acid is as much a product of the animal-life process as urea, and no real distinction can be drawn between them. It is clear, therefore, on Liebig’s own showing, that of the two artificial products, Doebereiner’s has the prior claim. How little Wohler’s discovery served to remove the belief in a vital force is very clearly indi- cated in Gerhardt’s ‘‘ Précis de Chimie Organique,”’ published in 1844. “A number of animal and vegetable substances have been reproduced by acting with oxygenating agents on more highly carbonised compounds. . . thus, the chemist has followed a path entirely opposed to that pursued by vegetable life . . . one need not therefore feel astonished that he has not yet pro- duced cerebral matter, nor the constituents of the blood, nor equally complex substances.” Thus the vital-foree theory did not suddenly col- lapse, as generally stated; on the contrary, it died a slow and lingering death. We may, indeed, ask, is it quite dead yet? For to quote the words of an authoritative contemporary writer, ‘‘ the testimony of pure chemistry cannot as it at present stands be legitimately interpreted into a direct negation of vitalism in any form.” There only remains to add a reference to the work of the translator. Dr. Plimmer has not only rendered the German into excellent English, but has added very considerably to the text. Io 18 (Ce OUR BOOK SHELF. (1) Some Nature Biographies: Plant, Insect, Marine, Mineral. By J. J. Ward. Pp. xvii+307; illustrated. (London: John Lane, 1908.) Price 5s. net. (2) The Fairyland of Living Things. By R. Kearton. Pp. viii+182; illustrated. (London: Cassell and Cos) Ltd go 74) Pricelgs. 6d. (1) Mr. Warpb’s little work, which consists of a series of articles originally published in the Strand, Pall Mall, English Illustrated, and other maga- zines and periodicals, may be regarded as a kind of kinematograph in book form, and may be unre- servedly commended to all nature-lovers. One great feature of the several life-histories is that they are in the main based on actual personal observation, and that, too, of a kind which demands constant attention and the expenditure of no inconsiderable amount of time. In his preface the author very modestly sug- gests that he is entitled to the credit of being the pioneer in certain forms of insect photography, and to this credit, so far as our information goes, he is fully entitled. Nothing in nature-photography can, indeed, be more interesting than his pictures of the sequence of events which herald the complete liber- of alcohol from olefiant gas were both prior to | ation of the butterfly or the moth from its chrysalis, NO. 1990, VOL. 77] 148 or of the marvellous evolutions of the caterpillar of the swallow-tail when about to pupate. As the author very pertinently remarks, to obtain photographs of this description the artist has in most cases only a single brief opportunity; and if one single link in the chain be missed, the whole series of pictures is spoilt. Needless to say, the reader sees only the suc- cesses; the failures are labour lost. Among such an excellent series, it is difficult to select particular figures for mention, but those of the white admiral butterfly are especially noteworthy. Equally instructive and interesting are the photo- graphs of developing and retrograding vegetable-life ; more especially those connected with the fall of the leaf—a progress of which comparatively few persons kknow the physiological history. The senses of insects, illustrated with exquisite pic- tures of antennae and the fly’s ‘‘ tongue,’’ form another chapter. The book closes with 12 photo- graphs representing the monthly changes in a land- scape as seen from one particular spot—a fuller de- velopment of the idea of photographing particular trees in summer and again in winter. A better book of its class we have never seen. (2) In the ‘‘ Fairyland of Living Things’’ Mr. R. Kearton, aided, as usual, by his brother’s camera, offers an attractive Christmas book, which should de- light many households of young people. In_ place of confining himself to birds, the author includes in his purview quadrupeds (both hot- and cold-blooded), insects, and plants, and endeavours to interest his clientéle by dwelling on habits, instincts, and char- acter rather than by describing structural details. Whether the author has touched the right note must be left for the class of readers to whom he appeals to decide; but we have never yet seen a ‘ Kearton book ”? that has not proved a success. Physiologisches Praktikum fiir Mediziner. By Prof. Max Verworn. Pp. xii+262; illustrated. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907.) Price 6 marks Tue practical class in physiology as known in this country has never been adopted to the full. in Germany. There each student works out his own salvation by independent laboratory work, and _ re- search is started at an early stage in his career, as a means to teach him methods and resource. Elab- orate German handbooks have been written as guides to such workers, most of them dealing with one branch of physiology, and not with all. The aim of Prof. Max Verworn has not been to write an ambitious work of this character, but to furnish the average medical student with a guide to certain fundamental exercises, most of which it ought to be possible for each one to perform for himself, possibly in a class, as is the English custom. The remainder are appropriate for demonstrations. In such a books it is obvious that there should not be over-specialisation, and thus we find in the subject, sav, of the blood the study of its circulation closely following on that of its chemistry. In this way the various chapters see-saw between chemical and physical matters. In a theoretical book this is an ideal plan, but for a practical guide it has its draw- backs. Prof. Verworn is so well known for his writings on cells and what he terms ‘“ general physiology ’’ that it is not surprising to find that some of the opening pages deal with this branch of science, and simple exercises on galvanotaxis, chemotaxis, and the like are introduced. In some cases the directions are purely practical, and the descriptions of certain simple dissections are most precise. In other cases, theoretical matter and explanations are interspersed. These necessarily deal NO. 1990, VOL.=79]]| NATURE [DECEMBER 19, 1907 with the subject very briefly, and the very briefness is in some cases apt to cause bewilderment. The description of the causes of blood coagulation cannot possibly be clearly given in a single short paragraph. On the practical side we are surprised to find a study of the pancreatic juice omitted, and on the theoretical side no allusion is made to Emil Fischer’s work on the ultimate cleavage products of the pro- teins. Some passages read as though the action of pepsin and trypsin stopped at the albumose and peptone stage. Surely every student nowadays must know something of polypeptides and amino-acids. The illustrations, as a rule, are clear and judiciously selected, but the diagram of the absorption spectrum of haemoglobin is very imperfect; indeed, the whole subject of blood spectroscopy is given in the merest outline. Every teacher has, of course, his own ideas on the relative importance of the different parts of his sub- ject; it is even possible that another reviewer might commend what the present one feels inclined to criticise. Two actual errors are, however, present; one is that fibrin is spoken of as a calcium com- pound of fibrinogen; the other is found in the descrip- tion of the Adamkiewicz test for proteins, the colour reaction being described as due to the carbohydrate radical, whereas it has been proved to be due to tryptophan. V. D. H. River Discharge. By J. C. Hoyt and N. C. Grover. Pp. viii+137. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 2 dollars. WE have from time to time directed attention to the hydrographic survey that has been in operation for several years by the Geological Department of the United States Government. This survey is for the purpose of ascertaining the water resources of the country available for domestic use, irrigation or power. The authors of the book now under notice have both been engaged in the survey work, and give in a thoroughly practical and useful way the result of their experience, and of the methods adopted in carrying out the work. The information both as to the methods and the instruments used should be of great value to engineers engaged in hydrographic work and to students. The text is accompanied by twenty-four illustrations showing the various forms of current meters in use, the method of rating these, the floats used, the cables and cages used for obtaining velocities across wide rivers, weir stations, &c. The book is divided into six chapters, dealing re- spectively with rainfall and evaporation; instruments used for obtaining velocities and depths; cable-station equipments; wading stations; theory and practice of measuring discharges; weirs and weir formulas; dis- cussion and use of data; together with seventeen tables for facilitating the computations in various hydraulic problems. Constructions in Practical Geometry. By the Rev. H. F. Westlake. Pp. viiit+50. (London: George Philip and Son, Ltd., 1907.) Price 1s. A COLLECTION of simple geometrical constructions without proofs, which is said to represent the mini- mum knowledge of the subject required of candidates in the Oxford and Cambridge School Examinations, is here provided. All the work can be done with a ruler and pair of compasses. The diagrams are clear and the instructions simple. A boy of twelve years of age should have no difficulty in mastering the course of work. a by me DECEMBER 19, 1907] NATURE 149 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of Nature. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The International Memorial Statue of Lamarck. Tue subscription list for the purpose of erecting a statue of the great French naturalist Lamarck in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, where he did much of his work, will shortly be closed. English men of science will, it is hoped, realise that it is now time to send subscriptions in order to show their regard for the memory of the great man whose name stands by the side of that of Darwin as a philosophical naturalist. Subscriptions of any amount may be sent at once to me at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, S.W.; their receipt will be acknowledged, and the subscrip- tions sent to the committee of French naturalists who are collecting funds, and will issue a list of subscribers; or subscriptions may be sent direct to Prof. Edmond Perrier, director of the museum, Jardin des Plantes, Paris. E. Ray LANKESTER. British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W. Mulattos. May I have a line to correct Sir William Thiselton- Dyer’s impression (p. 126) that the tragic story of The Pure White Mother and the Coal-black Babe was accepted ““as accurate and in perfect good faith ’’? I sup- pose I ought to have underlined the gentle sneer at a blackness transcending the natural blackness of a negro baby. At any rate, I told the anecdote simply to illus- trate the nonsense people will talk under the influence of race mania, and I hope it will not be added too hastily to the accumulation of evidence on the Mendelian side. H. G. WELLs. Nest Eggs of Platypus. My attention has been directed to the review of Mr. le Souef’s book on ‘‘ Wild Life in Australia’? (NATURE, October 24) and to the reviewer’s subsequent note on the eggs of Platypus (Nature, November 28). The reviewer states that there “‘ appears to be no definite evidence that the eggs ’’ of Platypus ‘‘ are really laid entire.’ As I had the good fortune to find some in that condition a few years ago, I think it well to record the fact. I have already shown these eggs in Sydney and to the British Association (1899), the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and other scientific bodies, but, alas! I have not found time to write a full account of my material, and I have been putting off— perhaps too long—in the hope of getting sufficient leisure for the task. In September, 1897, I visited Gayndah, in Queensland, in search of the eggs of Ceratodus and Platypus. I had at once abundant success as regards the Ceratodus material, and so was tempted to devote most of my time to it. I shot a few specimens of Platypus, however, and did a little digging for eggs, without finding any. I did, nevertheless, have success of a kind with Platypus. On the last day of my fortnight in the district (September 20) I managed to find a nest with an adult female Platypus and a young male 54 inches in extreme length. The mode of finding was both interesting and instructive. My two men and I, after trying several burrows in vain, came on the productive one. After following it for about 10 feet we reached the “ breathing hole ’’; after another 7 feet we tame to an apparent end of the burrow, and were greatly disappointed, as we had seen clearly the wet and inwardly directed footprints of a Platypus all the way from the external opening. One of the men groped about eagerly for any sign that the Platypus was working away from us, and finally we were able to track the burrow—filled though it was—through the hard surrounding soil. It NO. 1990, VOL. 77] soon appeared that the tube had only been blocked for a short distance by loose soil, which was doubtless of use in keeping out intruders. After a short distance we got beyond the plug, and came again to an open passage. Fully 21 feet from the bank we came upon the nest. It was just large enough to permit of the adult Platypus turning in it. The top was about 9 inches above the bottom, and was about a foot from the surface of the soil. The nest itself was made of bark, leaves, &c. The mother and her offspring were quite buried in the material of the nest. In 1898 I was again able to spend a few days in Gayndah, and I secured several uterine eggs from Platypus and three entire nest eggs. On August 31 I got two nest eggs adhering together, each of them about 15 mm. in greatest diameter. The eggs were perfectly intact, and the shells firm. The embryos were far advanced, and measured about 1 cm. in length. On September 1 I got another intact nest egg and a female adult at the end of a burrow. The embryo in this egg was even more advanced than in the others. I secured about the same time several nest embryos, and I was inclined to think that my visit was rather late in the year for nest eggs. I may add that, as a rule, in following a productive burrow I had to work through one or several ‘‘ plugs.”’ It would seem as if the mother Platypus, even when at home, adopts the same method of securing safety as rabbits make use of when leaving their young in a burrow. Queen’s College, Belfast. GrecG WILSON. Sulphur as an Insulator. Tue gold-leaf electroscope, simple as it is, has proved itself to be an excellent instrument for showing the proper- ties of statical electricity ; but usually it has this drawback, namely, that it does not retain an electrical charge at a constant value for a conveniently long period of time. Recently an aluminium-leaf electroscope has been tested by me for insulation; the results, which speak for them- selves, may be of interest to others who employ this elec- trical instrument. The electroscope was designed by Prof. J. S. Townsend, F.R.S. Its excellence depends on the metal leaves being supported by means of sulphur. The appended table shows how it behaved during ten days, on many of which rain fell, and from the air in the room where the experiment was made moisture was freely formed on bottles and metal instruments. Each division indicates a potential difference of 100 volts. The charge was positive; * indicates rain :— Date Time Divisions Date Time Divisions *Nov. 26... Il-a.m. ... 80 Deer 1)-s- Noon! =..14:0 Sy 127) spleen 7a 53h leno. Ole eat) AS. to Seen N CON sal SOM iaRirs se Zite Noon ... 3°5 2s 28 iee Ol psuniemen ss 5 FO mmr ie esyte Zeon OLDS 00-0203 5, = 2018-. Ulasmeeerac7 sae! ana torasmieee 350 Aa 6) con MEE RING coc, 110 Hees ee te ue TCG ay 27207. Fa) BO) 2a, ON Pate ee 4225 | Remr4aeee Se SOND: Mge== 7205) | peace Noon 5 3680) H jy Ome LONpsMs, -..0°0 I have also a quadrant electrometer having a long suspension of metal ribbon. All parts of this instrument are supported on pure sulphur; an experience lasting over many years has proved the excellence of sulphur as an insulator. Of course, an instrument so constructed requires careful handling, but when once erected in a suitable niche it will be found to give hardly any trouble and to keep its charge well. It seems somewhat strange that with some few and noteworthy exceptions, sulphur as an insulator should not be more frequently employed in the physical laboratory at the present day, as its excellent qualities were known and utilised in the early days of electrical science before 1797 by Wilcke, CZpinus, Henley, and others. I may add, in conclusion, that in the con- struction of the interesting little electrical dry pile apparatus, whereby a small bell has been constantly struck for forty-two years in the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, sulphur was employed as the insulator. F. J. Jervis-Smitu. 150 INCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS. 1f1.—Some Measurements in South Wales. HANKS to the kindness of the Rev. John Griffith, Col. Morgan and other friends, I was enabled last August to visit several monuments in South Wales. 1 had previously inquired of persons living in North Wales about the existence of cromlechs and other memorials of the past in that region, and had been informed that they were very rare; but before my visit to Swansea the Rev. J. Griffith had told me that he personally knew of forty cromlechs in South Wales, so one would suppose that the conditions are very different in different parts of the Principality ; but this does not appear to be so, for I have since found that Anglesea is richer in these monuments than Glamorgan. Perhaps the explanation is that there is little general interest taken in these matters. The most important cromlech I visited under the NOTES ON NATURE | DECEMBER 19, 1907 For Sir Gardner the cromlech was a great tomb, as his description will indicate :— “The great cromlech, called Arthur’s Stone, stands’ on that part of the hill called Cefn Bryn in Gower, which is an outlying branch projecting from the north side of the main ridge Cefn, or ‘ backbone’; and the great number of earns in that locality show that it was selected as the most appr opriate spot for the burial of the dead in early British times. For though several carns, or tumuli, are found on other parts of the hill, they are more scattered, and evidently occupy positions not so peculiarly chosen for the purpose.” He next refers to the avenue. ““Near to the great cromlech is a line of four, or perhaps five, stones, standing at irregular distances from each other, and in a direction nearly east and west, which has every appearance of being the remains of an avenue. If so it passed a little to the north of the cromlech; and though these stones only form a portion of one Fic. 10.—Arthur’s Stone. auspices I have mentioned was that of Maen Ketti, or Arthur’s Stone, in Gower, whither we motored | from Swansea. The antiquities in this region, which are very numerous and important, and include the remains of one or more avenues as well as the cromlech, were carefully studied by Sir Gardner Wilkinson.” In his most interesting account of them he begins by pointing out the important place the cromlech itself occupies in Welsh tradition :— “Tf the Greeks recorded the ‘ wonders of the world’ in their time, under the mystical number seven, four of which might be claimed as their own, th: Cymry have also recorded the wonders and mighty labours of the Britons in one of their Triads under their favourite, an equally mystical, number three : namely 1, raising the Maen Cetti; 2, erecting the werk of Emrys; and 3, heaping the pile or mound, of Cyfrangon. The first of these is the stone of Cetti, or ‘ Arthur’s Stone’; the second, Stonehenge; and the third, apparently, the mound called Silbury Hill, near Abury.”’ 1 Continued from p. 84. 2 “Avenues and Cairns about Arthur's Stone in Gower,” by Gardner Wilkinson (‘' Arch. Cambrensis,” fourth series, vol. i., pp. 23-45). NO. 1990, VOL. Vail side, or of one row of that avenue, some of the corre- sponding stones may be traced on the other side, and give the avenue a breadth of about 49 feet. The five most con- spicuous stones on the north side may be the isolated re- mains of a great number which once stood there, the intervals be- tween them being respectively 165 feet, 79 feet, 149 feet, and 107 feet; and the whole length of the line, from the most easterly to the westernmost stone, nearly op- posite or to the north of a drive or grass road ap- | parently made there in later times, which passes to the north of the cromlech; and as the stone opposite the cromlech (the westernmost of the five above men- tioned) is distant from it about 60 feet, this alone suffices to show that the avenue did not run direct to that monument. It is difficult to determine whether a corresponding line of stones formerly stood on the opposite or south side, so as to form a real avenue; but even if this were so, the avenue would not, as we | have already seen, lead to, but past, the cromlech, as the grass road does at the present day. It is also | difficult to decide whether the road has talken the place of an older one, once the centre of the avenue, or is a drive of entirely recent origin made for the purpose of passing near the cromlech, and round the great | carn beyond it to the west; whence it continues over | the adjoining part of the hill. It certainly has the usual appearance of old paths, such as we find in the vicinity of ancient ruins, the grass being short and smooth; though this may have been caused by the removal of the fern and furze, and the constant use of the road after it was formed into a drive. It is, how- | ever, reasonable to suppose that the few stones, which stand here and there to the south of the grass road, constituted part of the corresponding side of the DECEMBER 19, 1907] NATURE 151 avenue, though the intervening distance of 49 feet | Yo compare theory with the actual magnetic observ- (6 feet more than the width of the eastern avenue at | ations we have :— Abury) may appear an unusual breadth for one, the stones of which do not exceed 3 feet to 33 feet in Gomi weed walee alee gees height. I may also state that other stones appear here and there, on both sides of the grass road, beyond ra ane : ie - 3 the limits of the portion of the avenue marked by the | Cyomlech, May sunrise x30: x0 *05 five stones, which may be a continuation of the same double line to the east and west. They would not, however, be sufficiently conspicuous to suggest the existence of an avenue, if the five stones had not been present to prove it. Many also stand at the extreme end, to the south-east, where the first carns are met with on this part of the hill.”’ Next follows a statement which shows what a keen and practised observer Sir Gardner was. Had I known of it earlier it would have saved me much trouble. ““T need scarcely observe that it is by no means necessary that the avenue should lead direct to Arthur’s Stone, and it is more usual to find a cromlech at one side of, and at a short distance from, it; that near Merivale Bridge, on Dartmoor, stands about 50 feet to the south of the avenue, and the Dolmens in Brittany are, in like manner, placed outside the avenue. A carn also stands about 80 feet south of the same avenue near Merivale Bridge; but about 560 feet west of the cromlech, in the centre of the avenue, is a concentric carn, of which the diameter is about three times the breadth of the avenue. The position of Arthur’s Stone with respect to the avenue is, therefore, similar to that of some other cromlechs in this country and in Brittany, but while we see that the avenues of Merivale Bridge, and in some other places on Dartmoor, terminate in an upright stone, a carn, a concentric aisle, or some other sepulchral monument, we are unable to ascer- tain how the two ends of the Cefn Bryn avenue were closed or to what they led.”’ The avenue, which was perfectly obvious, lay on our way to the cromlech, so I measured it first. The azimuth (magnetic) to the south-east was S. 136° E., height of horizon 1° 30’. In the north-west direction the elevation of the horizon was 0°. The cromlech from its state of wreckage was much more difficult to measure. The length of the quoit is roughly north-west and south-east, and the long faces are not parallel, and, indeed, a large mass has been detached, but the north-west side is pretty plane. I measured its direction as N. 82° E., and on examin- ing the supporters as well as one was able, the opening of the cromlech appeared to lie in that direction. I have no note of the height of the horizon, but Mr. Griffith tells me that it is*hilly, let us assume 1°. Now what do these azimuths mean? I can answer this question best by giving the following table, which shows without any possibility of doubt that these Gower monuments, like those in Cornwall, deal with the May-year sunrises, the avenue with the rise in November, and the cromlech with the rise in May. Gower, lat. 51° 37/ N., variation 18° W. May-year values, theoretical. 2° hill: refraction and | semi-diameter ... "E. | 137, (2) May November Conditions - True ps True Magnetic : E | Sea horizon: refraction | and semi-diameter ... N. 62° E. 80° S. 64° 40’ E. | 133° 20° r° hill: refraction and | Ss ae | sod? semi-diameter ... | N. 63° 36 =) 8x° 36’ | S. 62° 33° E.| 135° 27 NO. 1990, ie Need I say that these results of the first measure- ments made in Wales are very encouraging, and, more than that, helpful, because they show that the Cornish experience can be fully utilised, as we are dealing with no new thing. Another cromlech we visited is one of great interest. I suppose its quoit is the largest in Britain. The north side is entirely closed by a large supporter; the south entirely open along its top; in the east and west ends there are openings. This large rectangular crom- lech is situated in the parish of St. Nicholas in Duffryn Golych or Goluch (The Vale of Worship), near Car- diti. It is called by the natives Castell Corrig (Dwarf’s Castle), a name which suggests belief in the presence of fairies there. It seemed at first probable that this monument might have a high south-east alignment. Mr. Griffith noted the openings in the east and west supporters, and found the eastern azimuth of the north supporting slab to be N. 76° E. (true), with a height of horizon of 2°. This particular wall need not necessarily be parallel to the outlook of the cromlech, which for the May sunrise should be, as the previous table shows, N. 65° E. It is too early, therefore, to claim it as oriented, like Arthur’s Stone, to that sunrise; we may be dealing with the Pleiades, but to settle matters some excavations and further measures are required, and I am glad to learn that the Cardiff Naturalists’ Society has made arrangements with Mr. Cory, on whose estate the cromlech stands, for the neeessary excavations in the spring of next year. A few yards to the west of the large cromlech there are the remains of another not nearly in such a good state of preservation, but one side support is fairly in position, and, as I shall show later on, we are justified of taking this in the absence of more precise inform- ation. The azimuth of this stone towards the E. is S. 51° Evidently, then, we are not dealing with the May- year. Is ita solstitial cromlech? I give, as before, the theoretical azimuths. Solstice azimuths in lat. 51° 30! for 2! of the disc show- ing above a sea-horizon, refraction being taken into account. Summer solstice Winter N. 48° 42’ E. or W. Sh ii ety Loa roe ne We see that the azimuth tallies exactly, so we must accept it as a cromlech directed to the winter solstice sunrise. With regard to another cromlech, St. Lythan’s, in the same neighbourhood, known locally as Gwal y Vilast, ‘‘ the lair of the greyhound bitch,’’ the azi- muth of the north stone, S. 88° E., shows it to have been oriented to the equinoctial sunrises in March and September. The cromlech opens to the east. On a previous visit Mr. Griffith found outside the cromlech chamber a red sandstone pebble used both as a pounder and a rubber or burnisher. It may have been taken out of the chamber when the latter was uncovered or cleared out. It was right on top of the cairn shell, in which the chamber was once embedded. I have now referred to all the sun-temples we found in our two days’ inquiries. Both Mr. Griffith and ” 152 myself made measures of other monuments, but space fails me to refer to them now; still, I must make one exception. We measured still another cromlech of very con- siderable interest, as in it we dealt with a presenta- tion to the rise of a clock-star, and no longer to the sun. This is the remaining interior of a four-cham- bered barrow situated at Parc y Braose, or Pare Cwm, or the Green Combe. It was excavated by Sir John Lubbock, now Lord Avebury. The true azimuth is N. 8° E., the height of the horizon 6°. These data give us Arcturus 2600 B.c., a little earlier than the Cornish monuments with somewhat similar orienta- tions. It will be very instructive at some future day to compare the plans of the Castell Corrig cromlechs and that of Arthur’s Stone with a view of determining the exact alignments of the supporters. I have already done this work on the plans of the Cornish cromlechs. A study of Lukis’s plans, especially of the stones still upright, brings out many interesting points, among them the fact that there were two general methods of building. One was to plant one or two stones in the exact direction of the alignment. The location of the other stones did not matter so long as the quoit was properly supported, but in many cases they were set up parallel to the directing stone, as we may call the first one erected. Another system was to support the quoit on a tripod. When this was done its greatest length was sometimes at right angles to the direction of orientation, this direction being indicated by the alignment of the single stone at one end. It often struck me in Cornwall that the exact alignments, especially to the May-year sunrises, which really required a knowledge of the number of days which had elapsed since the last solstice, were the work, not of each local druid, but of peripatetic astro- nomer-priests who went from place to place establish- ing and orienting the circle and the priests’ house (cromlech), and then leaving subordinate priest-druids —curates—in charge, who could not go far wrong when the alignment of both circle and cromlech fixed the May, August, November and February festivals; the solstices they could easily fix for themselves, be- cause then the sun rose in the same place on three successive mornings. The study of Lukis’s plans shows that the worl of the peripatetic priest might really have been limited in the first instance to the setting up of the single directing stone. Of course he would examine the finished work in his tours of inspection, probably at the critical times of the year—the quarter days. I sent this suggestion some little time ago to the Rev. J. Griffith, who has greatly helped me by per- mitting me to draw upon his vast store of Welsh tradition. His reply really supplies us with a new line of evidence as to the tenancy of cromlechs by living men, in addition to those I have already put forward. ““T have spotted your travelling time-keeper, though I seem never to see anything until you point out what to look for. He is very conspicuous in Welsh cave legends. There is the lonely watchman—your “curate ’—waiting and waiting for him. All over the country a couplet is known as having been uttered by the ‘ curate.’ “Long the day and long the night, And long it is to wait for Aaron.’ “Sometimes his name is Noah. It is clear why the pagan should have a Bible name; Aaron is the rationalised form of the name of a Welsh legendary hero—Arawn. NO. 1990, VOL. 77] '\NATURE [DEcEMBER 19, 1907 “In two cave legends the curate is heard exclaim- ing :-— “The hour is come, but the man is not.” In one case it is the eve of New Year’s Day. ‘“ Who could the mysterious man be if not your peri- patetic astronomer-priest? He was evidently very much wanted for the great festival. Your surmise or conclusion has lit up a round dozen tales I now re- member, and doubtless I can find many more.”’ Norman Lockyer. THE INCREASED ENDOWMENT OF UNIVERSITIES, W E are glad to see that the Press is again direct- ing attention to the importance of an increased endowment of our universities, not so much, at the present moment, of the older universities as the younger ones. It is, in fact, the Government action in regard to Manchester University which has directed attention to the subject. That opinion is getting more enlightened is evidenced by the fact that it is now beginning to be recognised that the real gainer by such endowment as this is not any par- ticular locality or university, but every student throughout the length and breadth of the land who is debarred by high fees from attending university courses, the university being compelled to charge high fees in order to go on at all in consequence of the absence of adequate income from any other source. Here are some extracts from a recent the Morning Post, to take one instance :— article in ““It is necessary if the nation is to continue to be an independent Power to have a Navy able to defeat and destroy its rivals, and an Army able to do all such fight- ing, in case of war, as the Navy cannot do. But this necessity, of which no one is enamoured, does not absolve the Government from the duty of doing the very best it can for the training not only of the rank and file, but of the leaders of its population. Mr. Asquith will provide in his estimates some fifty million pounds for the needs of the Navy and of the Army. This of course cannot be reduced. For the modern universities and colleges that represent a great popular effort towards providing a better training for leaders than existed for the fathers of men now at work, and for many of those men themselves, Mr. Asquith cannot imagine that he ought to provide more than 100,o00l. But this sum might be increased without reducing the other. The fifty millions are unproductive expenditure. They are mere insurance, a disagreeable necessity. But the money spent on educating young people is the most remunerative outlay possible to a nation. ““The University of Manchester is the means, in most cases the only means, open to the inhabitants of a great area in South-east Lancashire, Cheshire, and part of York- shire, a population numbered by millions, of obtaining an education going beyond school work. It is admittedly ~ among the best of modern universities, with a large staff of first-rate professors, an admirable set of buildings, and an assiduous, devoted, and capable governing body. It represents the chance of South-east Lancashire providing itself with leaders in industry, commerce, the sciences, and the humanities. ““ Manchester may have to compete with some place like Berlin, the centre of a comparatively small population. Berlin does not limit its Government grant to university and other forms of higher education to such a sum as ten thousand a year, therefore, and Berlin tends to eclipse Manchester in the fields of industry, trade, science, art, and the humanities. ““Mr. Asquith knows as well as anyone else how many millions such men as Sir Robert Giffen and Sir Norman Lockyer think the British Government will have to spend on universities and colleges if England is to keep her place among the nations. They may talk, but he draws the DECEMBER 19, 1907] NATURE 153 line at one hundred thousand pounds. But does he not see that the welfare of England and her people depends above all things on their personal character and qualities twenty years hence, on the kind of men and women that she is turning year by year into citizens and mothers? ”’ Mr. Asquith we suspect knows more of these matters than the writer in the Morning Post thinks. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in speaking at the London Chamber of Commerce in November of last year 1 said :— “The strain of foreign competition presses upon us in every walk of business and every market in the world, and, whatever are the contributory causes of the pressure which we all in a greater or less degree experience, there is not a man acquainted with the facts who will not agree that in the case, at any rate, of some of our most formid- able competitors—for instance, Germany and the United States—one of the great sources from which they have derived exceptional strength in their commercial and _ in- dustrial struggle with us has been the superior development of their technical and educational system.”’ But it may, after all, be that Mr. Asquith is unacquainted with the methods adopted by the German Government, to take one instance, to secure this superior development. German universities are considered by our statesmen as a quantité negligeable ; all their attention is directed to the German ironclads. This is not so in Germany, as witness the increased endowment in fifteen years of some German universi- ties taken at random :— State Funds. 1891-2 1906 & & Berlin ... 107,057 161,539 Bonn 45,806 59,192 Breslau... 44,749 66,375 Gottingen 20,877 351303 Greifswald 13,974 28,889 Halle 33,284 59,819 Koel 28,188 53,072 Konigsberg 3939390 57,344 The same growth of enthusiasm for higher educa- tion which is characteristic of German statesmanship is met with throughout the more densely populated eastern United States. When a comparison is instituted between the income of universities and colleges in the States in the year 1899-1900 and the income in 1904-5 (the latest year for which detailed official statistics have been published), that is fifteen years later, an enormous increase is found to have taken place. In the earlier year the total income of these institutions of higher instruction was 2,399,000l., while in 1904-5 the amount had grown to 7,1t0,o00l. But large though these sums are, they take no account of the generous benefactions of American men of wealth referred to later. From this source the universities and colleges received in 1899-1900 2,399,000l., while fifteen years later the amount given for the spread and development of higher learning reached the mag- nificent sum of 3,335,800/. Harvard University alone received during the later year 466,o00l., Yale bene- fited to the extent of 279,000l., and Columbia was en- riched by 236,o00l. Figures such as these serve better than any words to exhibit the comparative insigni- ficance of the 122,o00l. which, as we shall show, repre- sents the total State endowments of English universi- ties. But British statesmen cannot be held responsible for the unpopularity of universities and colleges as the object in this country of the bequests and gifts of wealthy men and women. In the following table, therefore, benefactions are excluded, and the growth in the income of the universities of five important eastern States in America is given, as typical of the 1 Nature, December 6, 1906 (vol. Ixxv., p. 141) NO. 1990, VOL. 77] advance made in the eastern half of the United States in the provision for higher instruction during the fifteen years under consideration. Total Income, Excluding Benefactions. gta ies Massachusetts 521,800 614,000 New York 705,700 981,300 Pennsylvania ... 390, 100 534,400 Ohio 266,600 387,000 Illinois... 388,800 585,800 The decision of Mr. Asquith to reduce the grant of Manchester University from 12,000l. to 10,0001. a year, we presume, is based on the stern argument that as little money as possible should be spent on the higher education; even although it is the true source of national development; it is a question, not of national, but of party politics. In the case of party politics, of course, economy may be thrown to the winds. Mr. Haldane, when he opened the new college at Reading,’ told us :— ‘The present Government proposes to spend an extra 1,000,000l. a year on elementary instruction, and the late Ministry spent more than that sum addi- tionally for the same purpose, but these payments arose out of controversies which had LITTLE TO DO WITH EDUCATION.” * Dealing with the modest contribution of the British Government to the universities and colleges of England, the estimates show us that in 1903 the endowment of universities amounted to 14,8ool., which we find increased in 1907 to 22,0001. In 1903 the grant to English colleges stood at 26,000]. This has now been increased to 100,000l., we believe in consequence of the strong representation made by the British Association deputation in 1904. It is seen that at present the total State endowment of the English universities—22,o000l + 100,000l, = 122, 000l. —is some 40,0001. short of the German State endow- ment of one university alone, that of Berlin. We are told that to provide the ‘‘ superior development of our technical and eduéational system,’’ which even Mr. Asquith acknowledges is necessary to meet “* the commercial and industrial struggle,’’ we must trust to private endowment. Cambridge has recently asked for a private endowment to provide funds which the university wants at once. At the rate at which this private endowment has been coming in during the last few years, ninety years will elapse before all these funds are in hand. This is a fair sample of what private endowment does for university educa- tion in England, while the competing universities and colleges of the United States last year received nearly 5,000,000/. from this source,” every penny of which tended to reduce fees and extend the benefits of university instruction to a greater number of students, the peace army of a nation. In addition to this it is important to remember that American experience all goes to show that the best results are obtained when universities are chiefly de- pendent on the State and not upon private generosity. It has been pointed out recently in the United States (NarurE, vol. Ixxvii., p. 93) that as a result of the gifts of millions of dollars from great American finan- ciers, the universities are in danger of being reckoned the purchased servants of a narrow caste. It is being urged there, as we have urged here, that it is the duty of the State to provide higher education for the people ; and there is every indication that American authorities may be trusted to maintain the efficiency of their uni- versities and colleges. The increase in the efficiency of colleges and universi- 1 Nature, November 1, 1606 (vol. Ixxv., p. 22). 2 /bid., January 3, 1907 (vol. Ixxv., p 137) 54 NATURE ties in this country is too pressing a need to be depen- dent upon party politics. Unless our statesmen can be made to realise the supreme importance of this matter and be persuaded to deal with it in a patriotic manner, generously and expeditiously, as if there were no votes to retain or secure, we must reconcile ourselves to the idea that as a manufacturing and distributing people we shall in due course have to occupy a third or fourth place among the nations of the world. In Germany, the United States, and now in Japan rulers | have learnt the lesson that efficient education and in- dustrial success are related to each other as cause and effect; and, moreover, they appear to be supported by an enlightened public opinion. If our statesmen refuse to lead, we must make every effort to educate the voters of the country to realise the certain results of a policy of drift from which the most important of our national questions—so far as the future welfare of the British Empire is con- cerned—is suffering. If, meanwhile, our present supremacy is lost, it will not be because men of science have failed to warn their countrymen of the scientific spirit and energy which are yearly increasing the in- dustrial efficiency of our great competitors. NOTES. On the day of going to press we learn of the death of Lord Kelvin, an announcement which will be received with deep sorrow throughout the civilised world. To men of science, Lord Kelvin’s achievements in the realm of scientific thought and discovery have long been familiar ; and thirty- one years ago, in Nature of September 7, 1876 (vol. xiv.), his remarkable contributions to natural knowledge were described in our Scientific Worthies series, of which he was then the subject. His death is a loss to science which only scientific workers can adequately realise. The world has to deplore the departure of a brilliant and inspiring figure; while science mourns that a leader whose influence has stimulated progress in many directions during a re- markable period has passed into stillness. For the body of one who has brought such honour to the British nation, the only appropriate place of burial is Westminster Abbey. We trust that steps will be taken at once to secure this mark of national recognition of the greatness of one who has long been regarded as the most distinguished man of science of modern times. A ure of Lord Kelvin has been in preparation for some months by Prof. Silvanus Thompson, who was entrusted with this work, and to whom Lord Kelvin himself furnished numerous biographical details and other matter for the purpose. It will be published in the course of next year by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. Tne Prince of Wales was elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy at the last meeting of the academy. In the case of the election of a member of the Royal Family the election is by resolution, which was moved by the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Lieutenant, who is the visitor of the academy, and seconded by Mr. D. H. Madden, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dublin. Str Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., has been unanimously elected president and an honorary member of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society in recognition of his services to the study of the circles and other prehistoric remains in west Cornwall. M. Epovarp Cuyer has been elected president of the French Anthropological Society for 1908. NO. 1990, VOL. 77] | and sea ports in Russia. [ DECEMBER 19, 1907 Two lectures suitable for a juvenile audience will be delivered for the Society of Arts on January 1 and 8, 1908, at 5 p-m., by Mr. F. Martin Duncan, on ‘‘ The Scientific Applications of the Kinematograph.”’ A course of six lectures on the geographical distribu- tion of rainfall in the British Isles will be given by Dr. H. R. Mill in the map room of the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday evenings in January and February, 1908, beginning January 23 at 5.30 p.m. Pror. R. W. Woop, professor of experimental physics in the Johns Hopkins University, has been awarded, Science states, the John Scott legacy premium and medal of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for his discoveries in colour photography. Tue Russian Physico-chemical Society has arranged to hold a conference of general and applied chemistry in honour of Mendeléeff at the beginning of January, 1908, at the University of St. Petersburg. Several discourses will be delivered on the great chemist’s life and works. We learn also from the Revue scientifique that the journal Russj has inaugurated a subscription for the purchase of a Mendeléeff House, which, like the Hofmann House in Berlin, would be used for the meetings of learned societies. Tue eleventh International Congress of Navigation will be held at St. Petersburg from May 31 to June 7, 1908, under the patronage of the Emperor of Russia. The previous meetings were held at Brussels, in 1885; Vienna, 1886; Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1888; Paris, 1889; Man- chester, 1890; London, 1891; Paris, 1892; the Hague, 1894; Brussels, 1898; Paris, 1900; Dusseldorf, 1902; Milan, 1905. Arrangements have been made for com- munications and discussions on several questions relating to inland and maritime waterways, including the industrial and agricultural utilisation of rivers, and for scientific excursions and inspections of some of the rivers, canals, The address of the general secretary of the congress is 7 Ismailovsky Prospect, St. Petersburg. Tue current number of the Revue Scientifique contains an account of ‘‘ La Caisse des Recherches scientifiques.” The fund was founded by law on July 14, 1901, on the proposition of M. Audiffred, with the double object of assisting medical science in its researches and of providing financial assistance to original workers in pure science. The fund receives from the French Government an annuity of soool., and at its inauguration M. Audiffred gave 24001. The idea of the fund has not proved altogether popular, for in 1906 the Caisse des Recherches received general donations to the extent only of just under 2o0l. But there has been considerable improvement this year, and it is anticipated that the amount will be much larger ; the Paris Municipal Council itself gave 20o0l., and several general councils have given small sums. Since its creation the Caisse has distributed more than 24,100l., of which about roool. only was available for work in other than medical and biological science. M. Rigaut may well say that these sums are wholly inadequate so far as the needs of science are concerned. Pror. AsapH Hatt, whose death we announced last week, will always be remembered as the discoverer of the satellites of Mars, since the sensational character of the discovery appealed powerfully to the public mind; but in many ways he accomplished much useful work in every department of astronomy, and exhibited an industry which placed him in the forefront of American astronomers. DECEMBER 19, 1907] NATURE 5 6) Diligence and energy were his principal characteristics from the time when he entered Harvard Observatory, as a junior, fifty years ago, until he retired from the honoured position of professor of astronomy in 1901. The greater part of his work, however, was accomplished at Wash- ington, and it is difficult to say what department of astro- nomy he did not enrich. He was one of the earliest to appreciate the value of the observations of Mars as a means for deriving the solar parallax, and he took part in solar eclipse expeditions for physical work on the sun. His observations of planets, whether for position or for surface detail, were frequent and accurate. He was an industrious observer of double stars, and his work on stellar parallax, as well as in the determination of the relative positions of stars in clusters, is well known. On the theoretical side of astronomy he contributed papers on the secular perturbations of the planets, the computation of orbits, and many similar problems. As a geodetist, the value of his work in the determination of longitudes and on the employment of the occultation method has long been recognised. His career was that of a typical prac- tical astronomer, and the recognition of his work was shown by his election into many learned societies. He was both gold medallist and foreign associate of the Royal Astronomical Society. Tue subject of river pollution from the naturalists’ point of view was introduced by Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., at a largely attended conference meeting, convened under the auspices of the Essex Field Club, and held in the Municipal Technical Institute, Stratford, on Saturday, December 14. The Mayor of West Ham was in the chair at the beginning, and subsequently the president of the Essex Field Club (Mr. Miller Christy). Among other speakers upon the subject were Mr. E. B. Barnard, M.P. (chairman, works committee, London Water Board), Mr. David Howard, J.P. (past-president Society of Chemical Industry), Dr. Parsons (Local Government Board), Sir Alexander Pedler, K.C.I.E., F.R.S. (hon. secretary, British Science Guild), Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S. (president Chemical Society, and chairman Royal Com- mission on Sewage Disposal), Dr. Sanders (medical officer of health, county borough of West Ham), Dr. Sommer- ville (lecturer on public health, King’s College, London), and Dr. J. C. Thresh (medical officer of health, Essex County Council). At the close of the meeting the follow- ing resolution was moved by Sir Alexander Pedler, seconded by Mr. E. B. Barnard, carried unanimously, and ordered to be transmitted to the Local Government Board and the British Science Guild:—*‘ That this meeting, having heard the expert testimony of many qualified speakers interested in the improvement of the state of our rivers, streams, and water-ways, it is of opinion that legis- lative action is urgently needed, and would regard with satisfaction the creation of a central authority under Government for dealing with the general question of water supply throughout the kingdom, as well as with the dis- posal of sewage and of effluents from factories; such _ central authority to be given power to apportion expendi- ture on sewage treatment or other necessary work of purification amongst the communities deriving benefit from such expenditure.”’ British Birds for November contains an excellent por- trait of the late Mr. Howard Saunders to illustrate an obituary notice by Mr. Abel Chapman. The portrait is also published separately by Messrs. Witherby and Co., price 1s. 6d. The other contents include a paper by Dr. E. Hartert on races of birds peculiar to the British Islands,, NO. 1990, VOL 77] and a note by Mr. N. F. Ticehurst on the capture in Romney Marsh of a specimen of the American sandpiper, Ereunetes pusillus, this being apparently the first record of the species in Europe. To the Times of December 14 Sir T. Digby Pigott communicates an account of a luminous bird—believed to be an owl—recently seen at night in Norfolk. The idea that the ‘‘ powder-down’”’ patches of certain birds are luminous has been held, we believe, in America, but is gencrally discredited by ornithologists. The circumstantial account of the Norfolk bird may, however, lead to a re- consideration of the evidence, although we cannot admit that the name Strix flammea has anything to do with the alleged phenomenon, as it almost certainly refers to the colour of the feathers of the back. The story that the heron emits a phosphorescent light in order to attract fish also seems “‘ shaky,’’ seeing that the bird is diurnal in habits. Ar the close of a paper published in the November issue of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science on the muscles of the head in birds (as exemplified by the domesti- cated fowl) and reptiles, Prof. H. F. Edgeworth attempts to formulate the leading anatomical features of the common ancestor of those two groups. The list is too long and too technical to be quoted here, but it may be noticed that in certain respects the author finds that birds have more in common with chelonians than with any other group of reptiles. ‘‘ These features of resemblance suggest at first sight a very distant chelonian relationship for birds, but are in reality very ancestral traits, which are also present in embryonic stages of other sauropsidan groups. The secondary fixation of the pterygo-quadrate and atrophy of the elevator of the pterygoid process, which occur in Chelonia, are strongly marked differences from birds.’” IN connection with the preceding note, reference may be made to a paper by Dr. W. Sippel on the structure of the roof of the mouth in birds and mammals, published in vol. xxxvii., parts ii. and iii., of Gegenbaur’s Morpho- logisches Jahrbuch. The greater portion of the paper is devoted to the soft-parts of the palate, and it is shown at the conclusion that in homologising the constituent elements of this region in birds and reptiles several mis- identifications have been made by previous workers. The long, posteriorly widened median slit in the palate of the bird does not, for instance, represent the secondary choane, but rather the orbito-subchoanal cleft. The paper concludes with a comparison of the bones of the palate in reptiles, birds, and mammals, as illustrated by the monitor, the duck, and the dog, and here, too, some important differences distinguishing this region in the three classes are indicated. In the December number of the Popular Science Monthly Prof. Bashford Dean gives his impressions of the chief museums of Asia, as gathered during a recent eastern tour. Among the institutions referred to is the Raffles Museum and Library at Singapore, of which the author writes in terms of high commendation, the Colombo City Museum, the Madras Museum, and the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Dr. Willey’s arrangement of groups of animals to give an adequate idea of the wild life of Ceylon is regarded as one of the great features of the Colombo Museum, while, under Mr. E. Thurston’s administration, the institution at Madras is described as one of the most successful of its kind in India. The Calcutta establishment must, however, stand at the head 156 NATURE [LECEMBER 19, 1907 of all the museums of Asia, its success, in the author’s opinion, being very largely due to the policy of selecting as directors men eminent, not only in science, but in administrative ability. Reference may also be made to an interesting article in the same issue on the origin of slavery among ants, by Dr. W. M. Wheeler. Tue training of foresters for India and the organisation of the scientific work of the department form the subject of a leading article in the Indian Forester (September), in which the writer points out the necessity for a systematised programme arranging for the compilation of forestry data and research. An article on improvement fellings is con- cerned with the problem of increasing the growing stock of teak. Premising that many saplings are killed by creepers and faster growing trees, the author, Mr. H. C. Walker, adduces arguments and statistics in favour of taking measures for saving young teak trees by a judicious system of thinning. AmonG the experimental work referred to by Mr. W. Fawcett, director of the Public Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica, in his annual report for the year 1906-7, the raising of selected seedling sugar canes and the cultivation of Havana and Sumatra tobacco are of primary importance. It is recorded that as a result of comparative experiments a better yield of coffee has been obtained at the Hope Gardens under shade than without shade, and preference is given to the guango, Pithecolobium saman. The satis- factory results attending the instruction of small land- holders by travelling instructors are noteworthy; by this means, as also by the establishment of agricultural banks and prize-holding schemes, the agricultural population is developing an appreciation for improved methods of cultivation. Mucu valuable information on insect pests attacking crops is being disseminated by the Bureau of Entomology, forming part of the United States Department of Agri- culture. In Bulletin No. 68, part iii, Mr. A. L. Quaintance deals with the trumpet leaf-miner of the apple, Tischeria malifoliclla, a Tineid moth that is destructive to species of Crataegus and Pyrus. The mines are burrowed by the larve in the palisade layers of the leaf. Spraying with kerosene emulsion is recommended for destroying the larve and pupe. Mr. A. A. Girault de- scribes the life-history of the lesser peach-borer in Bulletin No. 68, part iv. The species, formerly referred to Sesia, a genus of moths of the family Sphingide, now receives the name of Synanthedon pictipes. It occurs principally on plum and peach trees, and must be distinguished from the better-known peach-borer, Sanninoidea exttiosa. In his annual address to the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. A. W. Howitt gives an account of his reminiscences of Central Australian explora- tion, and in particular of the search for the ill-fated members of the Burke-Wills expedition. The causes of the failure of this enterprise lay, he shows, in the extravagant amount of supplies provided, for which carriage was inadequate, in the impetuosity of the leader, and in want of cooperation on the part of certain members of his staff. Tur second number of the Journal of the revived Gypsy Lore Society, with its headquarters at 6 Hope Place, Liverpool, contains a reprint, revised by the author, Mr. C. G. Leland, of an article on the remarkable dialect known as Shelta, spoken by wandering tinkers, and apparently of Celtic origin. This a preliminary to a NO 1990, VOL. 77]| further study of this dialect. Mr. J. Sampson gives an interesting account of his experiences with a gang of German Gypsies at Blackpool. Mr. D. MacRitchie has collected much curious information to prove that through- out eastern Europe the Gypsies were formerly subjects of certain great noblemen, not of Gypsy race, who were appointed to that position by the rulers of those countries. Mr. W. M. Gallichan furnishes a report on the Gypsies of Andalusia, Mr. B. Gilliat-Smith on those of the Rhine Province, and Dr. T. R. Gyorjevic on those of Bosnia. A collection of interesting miscellaneous notes completes an excellent number, which has as its frontispiece a por- trait of that eminent Gypsy scholar, Dr. A. G. Paspati. Tue Reliquary, under the editorship of Dr. J. C. Cox, in succession to the late Mr. J. Romilly Allen, continues to be one of the most scholarly of our archeological publications. In the last quarterly number, issued in October, one of the most interesting articles is that by Mr. G. Le Blanc Smith on some dragonesque forms on, and beneath, fonts. Numerous examples of such a form of decoration are found in Sweden, but some in this country are equally interesting. One favourite type is that of the salamander, which is always represented as a lizard with bifurcated tail, in which there is one coil or twist. It has two legs set very far back on its body, a rather humped back covered by a pair of wings, longish ears, and a dragon-like head. In many cases the body of the animal is covered with scales, and the wings are clothed with feathers. The toes or claws are invariably three in number. Its countenance bears a look of loathing or dis- appointment, the symbol of its defeat as representing the powers of evil by the baptismal rite. The best examples of such figures are found on fonts at Norton and Youl- greave, both in Derbyshire. The second type represents dragons or grotesque monsters, humbled and abased, grovelling under the font itself, of which they form the base. Such are the fonts at Hereford Cathedral and at Castle Froome, in Herefordshire. A curious develop- ment is that at Ashford, where the animal is carved as though it actually protruded through the shaft of the font— the head at one side, the curly tail at the other. Mr. Le Blane Smith asks for aid in discovering similar re- presentations of monsters in other parts of the country. A PAPER on the predetermination of train-resistance was read by Mr. C. A. Carus-Wilson before the Institution of Civil Engineers on December 10. Among the practical conclusions arrived at are that the resistance of the air with a train of bogie-coaches, running at sixty miles per hour, amounts to about one-half the total tractive effort required to haul the train. Experiments conducted by the St. Louis Electric Railway Test Commission show that a large reduction can be made in the front and rear air-resistance by shaping the ends, and that by this means a saving can be effected of 10 per cent. of the total tractive effort with a long passenger train, and 30 per cent. with a single coach. A CotonraL Orrice report (Cd. 3794) has been issued giving Major E. H. Hill’s report on the Survey Depart- ment of British East Africa. The work at present in progress is the main triangulation of the country. Major Hill says that an additional section of two officers and six or eight surveyors is imperative to prepare topographic maps before the trigonometrical beacons are destroyed. He recommends that topographic maps should be issued on the scale of 1 to 125,000. He discusses a proposal for a school to train African natives for the survey work; but DECEMBER 19, 1907] NAGORE E57 he regards the natives of British East Africa as at present quite useless for this purpose, while those trained on the west coast could not be employed in the highlands of East Africa. Indian natives are being employed, but have not proved altogether satisfactory. REVIEWING the world’s tin-mining industry, Mr. A. Selwyn-Brown, in the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxiv., No. 2), shows that the world’s production of tin last year was 96,196 tons. The active tin-mining fields are few in number, and, as a rule, not in a very prosperous condition, notwithstanding the high value of tin and the large exist- ing demand for it. The alluvial deposits in the Dutch East Indies and in the Malay States are approaching exhaustion, and difficulties are being caused by the scarcity of coolie labour. Bolivia is advancing its consumption, but it is upon Australia and Tasmania that consumers will have to depend for the principal part of their tin supplies, unless Africa should develop into a tin-mining country of importance. A stronG gale traversed Scotland and the north-east of England during Friday night and Saturday in last week. During its progress over our island the cyclonic system increased greatly in depth, the lowest reading of the baro- meter reported being 28-39 inches, at Spurn Head, at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The greatest strength of the wind was from the north-west, and was due to a sharp rise of the barometer in the rear of the disturbance. The heaviest part of the storm occurred over the southern portion of the kingdom, where considerable damage was occasioned, and wrecks, accompanied with loss of life, occurred in the English Channel. Heavy rain preceded the storm, and large tracts of land were flooded in the Midlands and in the southern districts. A fall of temperature was experi- enced after the passage of the storm area, and frost has occurred in several places. In a lecture delivered before the meeting of German Naturalists and Physicians at Dresden in September last, Dr. E. Herrmann directed attention to his researches on the periodical variations of atmospheric pressure, and to the possibility of submitting the phenomena to numerical investigation. For this purpose he used the well-known daily synoptic weather charts of the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent continents issued by the Deutsche Seewarte and the Danish Meteorological Insti- tute. The diagrams which accompany his paper, a copy of which he has sent to us, seem to show that a succession of analogous phenomena occurs at regular intervals, and that areas of low and high barometric pressure follow each other at certain distances. - He asserts that the periods exhibited are due to the moon’s movements or to a combination of these with that of the sun. We remember that Sir J. Herschel stated that the moon’s influence is ‘utterly insignificant as a meteorological cause.’’ Nevertheless, Dr. Herrmann’s paper may be con- sidered as a painstaking endeavour to throw light upon the intricate processes involved in the general atmospheric circulation. Mr. Gustay Fiscuer, of Jena, has iust published the second edition of Prof. L. Jost’s ‘* Vorlesungen uber Pflanzen-physiologie,’’ the first edition of which was very favourably reviewed in Nature of July 14, 1904 (vol. Ixx., p- 242). The work has been translated into English, and a review of this edition appeared in Nature of December 5 (p- 97)- A THIRD edition of ‘‘ Practical Forestry and its Bearing on the Improvement of Estates,’’ by Prof. Charles E. Curtis, has been published by Messrs. Crosby Lockwood NO, 1990, VOL. 77] and Son. The work has been revised and also enlarged by the addition of an appendix on the planting of waste lands, a project which the author hopes may not only add to the wealth of the nation, but give employment to the rural population, and so keep them upon the land. It is pointed out in the volume that the management of our woodlands is improving, and that what was once a source of loss is becoming a source of profit. Tue twenty-third issue of ‘‘ Hazell’s Annual,’’ that for 1908, is even more complete than previous editions. It is an alphabetically arranged, cyclopedic record of men and affairs designed especially to be of use in 1908. Articles are provided, for example, on the Olympic games, the Franco-British Exhibition, and on recent work in colour photography. The most important of the Blue-books pub- lished during 1907 are summarised, and among these abridgments likely to be of special assistance to readers of NatTuRE may be mentioned those dealing with agriculture, education, and sea fisheries. The busy worker in many departments of knowledge will find the annual a trust- worthy and useful work of reference. Tuoucn it has not increased in price, ‘‘ Who’s Who’’ continues to grow in size. Messrs. A. and C. Black, the publishers of this work of reference, which may justly be described as indispensable, have this year added eighty- three pages of biographies, and the new volume contains 2040 pages. The biographical notices vary much _ in length, and, unfortunately, the longest notices are not always those of the most important persons; but, despite such inequalities, the book may be unreservedly recom- mended to those readers whose necessity it is to know something about the men and women who, for one cause or another, have become prominent in work or play. “Who's Who Year-book, 1908,’’ is also larger than its predecessors, and its clearly arranged and exhaustive tabular matter will continue to be consulted by everybody desiring a minimum of trouble in the task of reference. Tue Rev. Robert Harley, F.R.S., has written an interesting biographical sketch of Robert Rawson, who achieved some distinction in the scientific world by his work in mathematics and on the dynamical stability of floating bodies. Rawson was originally a Midland miner whose mathematical ability attracted the notice of Stephen- son and Prof. Eaton Hodgkinson. He became a teacher of mathematics at Manchester, and contributed several papers to the Literary and Philosophical Society of that city. In 1847 he was appointed the first headmaster of H.M. Dockyard School, Portsmouth, upon the recom- mendation of Prof. Hodgkinson, and he occupied this post for twenty-eight years, among the men who passed through the school during this period being Sir Philip Watts, K.C.B., F.R.S., Sir John Durston, K.C.B., and Dr. Francis Elgar, F.R.S. Rawson died in March, 1906, and was buried in Havant cemetery. Mr. Harley’s appreciative account of his career is published by Messrs. J. Clarke and Co., 13 and 14 Fleet Street, E.C., and Messrs. Griffin and Co., Portsea. In the ‘Day by Day” Tellurian which Messrs. G. Philip and Son have submitted to us, a simple and novel means is used to preserve the constant direction of the terrestrial axis in the course of the revolution of the earth around the sun. The tellurian is intended to be suspended on a wall or some other convenient vertical plane. The sun and earth are represented by two globes connected by a rod upon a diagram showing the months and other divisions of the year. As the terrestrial globe is moved around the globe representing the sun, a heavy bob attached by thick wire to the axis is maintained vertical by the 158 attraction of gravity, and this constant direction enables the axis to be kept inclined at the same angle to the plane of the diagram throughout a revolution. The result is that the terrestrial globe only rotates on its axis once during a complete revolution. This is misleading, and it will be necessary for the teacher to explain that though the device illustrates the different aspects of the earth pre- sented to the sun during the year on account of the con- stant inclination of the axis, it does not represent accurately the relation between the day and the year. With this reservation, the model may be found of service in teaching astronomical geography. Messrs. TayLor aND Francis have now published the first part of the fourth volume on Rhynchota, by Mr. W. L. Distant, of ‘‘ The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma.’’ These volumes are published under the authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council, and edited by Lieut.-Colonel C. T. Bingham. The third volume on Rhynchota was reviewed in Nature of July 5, 1906 (vol. Ixxiv., p. 221). The present fasciculus gives an account of the homopterus families Membracide and Cercopida, and four subfamilies of the Jasside. The second part—in the appearance of which there is likely to be some delay owing to the necessity of examining material at present contained only in certain Continental museums —will contain the remaining subfamilies of the Jasside and an appendix to the whole work. Messrs. J. AND A. CnuRCHILL have published a tenth edition of Valentin’s widely known ‘‘ Practical Chemistry.”’ Prof. W. R. Hodgkinson has added to the present issue easy experimental work in the early chapters, on the com- position of air and water, some carbon compounds, sulphur and sulphuric acid, exercises on quantitative analysis, volumetric analyses, and methods of ascertaining molecular weight. The microscopic structure of some common alloys has been illustrated by photographs, and the whole work revised and brought up to date. The volume now runs to 476 pages, and its price is ros. net. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Tue Maximum or Mira, 1906.—Mr. Naozo Ichinohe, of the Yerkes Observatory, observed Mira, for magnitude, from October 10, 1906, to March 8, 1907, and publishes his results, with a curve, in No. 4219 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 311, December 5). These show that the maximum brightness occurred on December 12, 1906, which was about seven days before the predicted date. This early date is confirmed by the results of other observers, which give December 13, 12, and 7 respectively. A FurTHER OBSERVATION OF COMET 1907a.—A. telegram to the Kiel Centralstelle from Prof. Wolf states that comet 19074 was re-observed at the Ké6nigstithl Observa- tory on December 4. At 11h. 3-3m. on that date its position was a=3h. 23m. 4os., 5=+50° 35’, a little to the north-east of a Persei, and its magnitude was 12-5. The motion of the object was found to be in accordance with the ephemeris (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4210, Pp. 315, December 5). SPECTROSCOPIC DETERMINATION OF THE ROTATION OF THE Sun.—In a paper published in No. 4, vol. xxvi., of the Astrophysical Journal (p. 203, November), Prof. Adams describes at some length the instruments and methods employed by him at the Solar Observatory, Mount Wilson, in a spectroscopic determination of solar rotation period, and, after discussing them, he compares his results with those obtained previously by Dunér and Halm. In the lower latitudes of the solar disc the recent results agree very well with the values obtained by Dunér and Halm, but in higher latitudes they lie between those of the previous observers. The rate of change of the velocity with the latitude attains a maximum in latitude "30°, be- NO. 1990, VOL. 77] NATURE | DECEMBER 19, 1907 coming less in higher latitudes, and almost disappearing beyond 70°. Twenty lines, lying between A 4190 and A 4300, and attributed to different elements, were employed in the research, and it was found that different lines gave different rotational velocities. The titanium line at A 4290-38 gave a systematically low value, although it is an enhanced line, and might therefore be expected to have its origin in the higher levels of the solar atmosphere. Two lines of manganese, A 4257-82 and A 4266-08, gave a consistently high value. Two carbon lines and a line due to lanthanum give low values, thus agreeing with the conclusion that these two elements reside in the lower layers of the sun’s atmosphere. There are no indications of a variable velocity for any one latitude during the fourteen months of observation (May, 1906, to June, 1907), and the results appear to show that the photographic method displays a considerable gain of accuracy over the visual method so far as accidental errors of measurement are concerned. NEWLY DISCOVERED SPECTROSCOPIC BiNARIES.—Bulletin No. 123 of the Lick Observatory announces the recent dis- covery of the variable radial velocities of ten stars. Two of these, x Carinze and +: Gruis, were found to be binaries on examining plates taken at Santiago; the other eight were discovered at Mount Hamilton. They are o, f, and d Tauri, 7 Cameleopardalis, A Boétis, 8 Coron, —& Cygni, and ¢ Cephei. In the same Bulletin Mr. A. B. Turner publishes a set of elements, and a velocity curve, for the spectroscopic binary » Draconis, showing the period to be 5-27968 days and the length of the semi-major axis of the orbit to be 2,632,300 km. The velocity of the system is —13-68 km., and the orbit appears to be nearly circular, its eccentricity being only 0-0107. Tue AsTRoGRAPHIC CaTALOGUE.—We have received from the Catania Observatory the first part of their contribu- tion to the International Astrographic Catalogue. Catania undertook the region dee. + 46° to dec. +55°, and the present volume contains the results for the region dec. +50° to +52°, R.A. oh. to 3h, In an introduction Prof. Riccd, the director of the observatory, describes the instruments employed—photographs of the astrographic equatorial and the micrometer appear as a frontispiece— and discusses the methods followed in the reduction of the plates. The positions (1900) of some 7ooo stars are in- cluded in the present work. STARS HAVING PECULIAR SPECTRA.—From the examina- tion of Henry Draper memorial photographs, Mrs. Fleming has discovered a number of variable stars and other objects having peculiar spectra, particulars of which are given in Circular No. 132 of the MHarvard College Observatory. The Harvard plates show that D.M.+66°-780, given by Dunér and by Kriiger as a fourth- type star, gives a spectrum at times which contains no bright lines, whilst at other times the spectrum contains HB bright; the intensity of the spectrum also varies in certain regions. WEAKENED LINES IN Sun-spot SPEcTRA.—In No. 3, vol. xxvi., of the Astrophysical Journal, Mr. Nagaraja, of the Kodaikanal Observatory, gives the wave-lengths of, and discusses, 167 lines which he has found to become weakened in passing from the spectrum of the photosphere to that of sun-spots. The photographs from which Mr. Nagaraja obtained his data were taken with a Rowland grating camera fitted up by Mr. Evershed, and include the region F—D. Considering the forty or so lines due to iron, titanium, and chromium given in this region as enhanced lines by Sir Norman Lockyer, and four more recently announced by Prof. Fowler, Mr. Nagaraja finds that the majority of them are weakened in spots. Two enhanced lines of iron at A 5169-07 and A 5169-22, one enhanced titanium line (A 5188-87), and two enhanced lines of chromium (AA 5502-9 and 5621-7) appear to be exceptions, however. With one exception (A 5284-281, Ti), all the titanium and chromium lines weakened in spots are of the enhanced type. A comparison of the chromospheric and spot-weakened lines shows that only a fraction of the former are weakened in spots, and that a large number of the weakened lines belong to the higher levels of the chromosphere. DECEMBER 19, 1907] NATURE 159 EXHIBITION OF PHYSICAL APPARATUS. HE third annual exhibition of physical apparatus, held under the auspices of the Physical Society of London at the Royal College of Science on December 13, was an unqualified success. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather there was a good attendance, many members of the society coming up from distant towns in order to take advantage of the opportunity of inspecting the apparatus itself in lieu of looking through the catalogues of so many makers. Printed and verbal information was available in abundance, and in connection with the former it may not be out of place to offer a word of advice to makers. Any catalogue, however carefully compiled, is in the case of a progressive maker out of date a few months after publication, and is generally supplemented by separate sheets sent out to customers. Wery few makers have these sheets cut the same size as their catalogues, and fewer still provide clips at the ends of their catalogues by means of which the additional sheets, sent out punched in the left-hand margin, can be permanently incorporated in the catalogue. They lie about on desks instead until they look dusty and disreputable, and are then consigned to the waste-paper basket, and the information contained in them is forgotten. As one would naturally expect, the exhibition was strongest on the electrical side, but other branches were not neglected. In general physics, the silica ware ex- hibited by Messrs. J. J. Griffin and Sons attracted a con- siderable amount of attention. Bowls of 6 _ inches diameter, boiling flasks of 3 inches, and tubes of all kinds can now be made of transparent silica, while much larger objects are made of the opaque variety. Messrs. C. F. Casella and Co. exhibited a telemeter with an 8-feet base, arranged to measure both distances and differences of level, the telescopes rotating about the base and the base about a vertical axis through its centre to eliminate errors. They showed also a _ direct-reading anemometer on which the revolutions are given by an ordinary engine counter. Messrs. Elliott Bros. exhibited their new ‘* motormeter,’’ or speed indicator, for motor- cars, which is driven from a flat rubber ring attached to the front off-side wheel of the car by means of a friction wheel and flexible shaft. In heat, the most interesting exhibit was that of the Meteorological Office, which consisted of balloon and kite meteorographs and traces obtained by means of them. Mr. Dines’s instrument for recording pressure and tempera- ture on a square inch of thin copper weighs one ounce only, and is most ingenious. Records of ascents of 18 to 20 kilometres, made at the same time at four stations in this country, showed a fair agreement in the temperatures at the same heights over the four stations at comparatively low levels, but considerable differences at high levels. In photometry there appeared to be a general adoption of the flicker photometer and of the inclined screen method of varying the effect of one of the sources. The move- ment of the screen is effected by means of a cam rotated by a milled head outside the photometer box, to which a pointer reading on a scale marked directly in candle- power is attached. The uniformity of the divisions is secured by the shape of the cam. Messrs. A. Hilger, Ltd., exhibited a large spectroscope the telescope of which was moved by a tangent screw graduated on the head directly in wave-lengths. They also had on view a Fabry and Perot interferometer with the interference bands visible, so that the displacement pro- duced by separating the plates could be observed. Two new photographic lenses giving very flat fields were exhibited, the ‘‘ Isostigmar’’ by Messrs. R. and J. Beck, and the ‘‘ Homocentric ’’ by Messrs. Ross, Ltd. The work on radio-activity, which is being carried on so vigorously, has raised the electroscope to a_ position undreamed of a dozen years ago, and amongst the many new forms it now takes may be mentioned one constructed by Mr. C. W. Cook, of Manchester, for Prof. Rutherford, and exhibited by Messrs. J. J. Griffin. It contains a compartment below the leaves in which the radio-active material to be investigated can be placed. Resistance bridges for the most accurate work appear to be tending towards the enclosed type, with oil circulation NO. 1990, VOL. 77] to ensure uniformity of temperature. The Cambridge Scientific Instrument Co. showed a Callendar and Griffiths bridge in which plug contacts were replaced by mercury, also enclosed, to prevent the mercury getting to the brass- work. Several makers seem to be alive to the possibilities of the flat form of resistance coil owing to its compactness and freedom from inductance and capacity. Mr, L. Miller’s machine for winding the wire of induction coils in flat vertical sections, the wire passing from outside to inside and back again without a break throughout the whole length of the coil, seems to make it possible to build larger coils without insulation troubles arising. His mica-disc valve, which interposes a disc of mica in a short air gap in the secondary circuit of the coil during the make, and so cuts down the make current that the secondary current is practically unidirectional, should prove a great aid in vacuum-tube work. Moving magnet galvanometers show a tendency to take the Broca form, in which astaticism is secured by making the poles between the coils consequent poles at the centres of two magnets placed vertically. Instruments so con- structed were shown by the Cambridge Scientific Instru- ment Co. and by Messrs. Clark Fisher and Wadsworth. A very useful addition to the moving coil type of galvano- meter was exhibited by Messrs. Gambrell Bros. It con- sists of a resistance within the galvanometer case, which when placed across the terminals of the instrument renders it aperiodic. One end of it is connected to one terminal of the instrument, and the other to a third terminal, so that it may also be used to diminish the sensitiveness of the galvanometer. Messrs. Paul exhibited a Campbell vibration galvano- meter, which is a moving coil instrument of very short period, the control being of the bifilar type, and the amplitude of the oscillations being observed in working with the instrument. Other instruments for small alter- nating currents were Duddell’s thermo-ammeter, on the same principle as his thermo-galvanometer, shown by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Co., and Cohen’s barretter, shown by Mr. R. W. Paul. This instrument is of the bolometer type, the filaments the resistances of which are changed by the current to be measured being those of the 24-volt lamps used on telephone switchboards. Of instruments intended for commercial work, the iron- clad indicating wattmeter shown by Messrs. Nalder and Thompson may be mentioned, as it illustrates the present tendency to secure larger torques by placing the moving coil in the field of a laminated series or shunt electro- magnet. Messrs. Nalder Bros. exhibited a compact testing set weighing only 14 lb., capable of measuring insulations up to 2000 megohms with 100 volts, and Messrs. Ever- shed and Vignoles several of their ‘* meggers ’’ of various ranges up to 1000 megohms. The Physical Society is to be congratulated on the success of its exhibition, and the various exhibitors om the interest which their display evoked. (Gy deigulls ON THE INCIDENCE OF DAYLIGHT AS A DETERMINING FACTOR IN BIRD- MIGRATION.* THE existence of the phenomenon of bird migration is only explicable, like that of all other phenomena of life in both animal and vegetable kingdoms, by the theory of natural selection. It has proved beneficial to certain families of birds in the struggle for existence to wander at certain times of the year in particular directions, and to greater or less distances, such wanderings having led them to regions which were more suitable than others for feeding or breeding. On this general question there can be no difference of opinion at the present day. But if we leave the general problem and come to deal with specific parts of it, such as the nature of the direct- ing force in migration, or why for certain birds northern latitudes are more suitable as breeding quarters than southern, why for others eastern longitudes than western, we at once enter upon questions regarding which there is 1 Address tothe Scottish Natural History Society, November 7, by Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S. 160 NATURE [DECEMBER 19, 1907 great divergence of opinion, and as to which scarcely any two naturalists who have studied the subject are in complete agreement. The part of the problem that I propose here to consider can be thus stated :—Is there any physiological reason to account for the fact that for that class of birds which we may call the north-south migrants northern latitudes have determined: themselves as the most suitable for summer quarters and breeding grounds, and southern latitudes for winter quarters? * The physiological reason for this choice of quarters which most naturally suggests itself concerns the presence or absence of food, or its relative abundance and the means of procuring it. From the Arctic circle, where during winter the whole of nature, sea and land alike, is in the grip of an intensity of cold of which we can form little conception, and which few animals can withstand, birds, at any rate, must move southward, or they would inevitably perish of cold and starvation. It thus appears easy to account for one aspect of the north-south migration problem by referring it to the necessity of avoiding de- struction by starvation; but even for this aspect of the question the answer is not quite so simple as at first sight appears. For it fails to account for the distances which such migrations often take, since a passage into the north temperate region alone would suffice to obviate this diffi- culty; yet this region is, for the most part, passed in the migration of many Arctic birds, which may not stop until a tropical or even a southern hemisphere region is attained ; and not only so, but the north-south migrants of the north temperate zone themselves share in the migration, passing away for the winter to a southerly clime. Many of these cannot be said to be driven south by the lack of food, for at the time the migration occurs food is usually still abundant, and there is plenty of food during the whole winter in many of the countries which are passed to sup- port, not only the permanent avine inhabitants, but in some regions myriads of east-west migrants besides. Moreover, there is evidence that during the Tertiary period the climate of the Arctic circle was entirely different from that which now exists—warm and mild, and abound- ing with vegetable and animal life—and there was then no necessity for north-south migration on the score of want of food materials. Yet it is impossible not to suppose but that migrations occurred then as now, since the habit of migration is so ineradicably engrained in the nature of the bird that it is difficult to believe that it was not evolved along with the development of the organs of flight. If we now turn to the other aspect of the north-south migration problem and consider the causation of the move- ment from south to north, we see that the explanation re food supply, which seems easy to formulate for the north to south movement, at once breaks down, for the tropical and temperate regions are at any rate not less abundantly provided with food during summer than the regions of the far north to which the majority of these migrants wend their way. The difficulty is a serious one. The explan- ation which was used to account for the north to south movement is not available for the opposite movement ; some other explanation must be found. Here the wealxness of the original explanation manifests itself, for it would be natural to suppose that the reversal of an effect would be the result of the reversal of the cause which produced the effect, and this is not the case in the present instance. What, then, are alleged to be the reasons for the south to north migration in the spring? One of these supposed reasons is both given and at the same time refuted by Gatke (“ Birds of Heligoland,’’ English translation, p. 144) in the following passage :—‘‘ From very old times, mainly in consequence of the phenomena which succeeded migra- tion, it was conceived that in spring, with re-awakening life in Nature generally, the reproductive instinct of birds also was roused afresh, and that it was this which urged them’ to wander to their nesting places; while in autumn, dearth of food and cold admonished them to make a temporary home in warmer latitudes. This view has, in part, held its ground up to recent times, for it is not so long ago that Brehm, in one of his talented discourses 1 For convenience of description the migrants are here assumed to belong to the northern hemisphere. NO. 1990, VOL. 77] on this inexhaustible theme, maintained that the two great factors in the world’s action, Hunger and Love, also dominated the migratory movements of birds. . . . These explanations, however, do not suffice . . . it cannot be the reproductive instinct which prompts birds to set out on their spring migration, for many species do not breed in the first, second, or even third year of their life, and yet migrate to their homes just like those of their congeners who are endowed with the capacity of breeding; nor are they induced to travel by the example of their parents, for they start on their journey alone, and independently.” Gatke concludes as follows :—‘ In regard to this question as to the immediate cause of the departure of birds in their migration . . . we are confronted with a riddle which has hitherto defied every attempt at a solution, and which indeed we may hardly expect will ever be likely to receive a final explanation.”’ We may take it, then, that the hypothesis that the commencing recrudescence of the generative functions in spring is the determining agent for the migration from south to north does not furnish an adequate explanation of the phenomenon, even if it were certain, as is by no means the case, that such recrudescence begins before the commencement of the movement. It seems obvious that there must be something in the higher latitudes which is favourable to breeding or to the rearing of offspring. Are we to suppose this favourable factor to be relative cold- ness? Prima facie this seems improbable. Other animals, including non-migrant tropical birds, breed freely in the hottest regions of the earth’s surface, and warmth is favourable for incubation. Many of the east-west migrants have their breeding grounds in the interior of the great Asio-European continent, which is in the summer much warmer than its western shores. I have been unable to come across any fact which would lead one to suppose that mere diminution of temperature assists breeding. There are, it is true, some fishes and possibly a few other animals that produce their eggs and young in the winter, but in by far the majority it is the warmer season of the year which is occupied with the propagation of the race. We are therefore forced to conclude that the south to north migration is not brought about because of the necessity or advantage of a colder climate for breeding and nesting. Is there, then, any other means of explain- ing why it is advantageous for certain birds to pass the summer, and especially to breed, in high latitudes, which will equally account for the fact that lower latitudes pre- sent corresponding advantages during the winter season? It is an answer to this question that I will now attempt to give. Let us begin by admitting that bird-migration must have been brought about by the necessity for procuring a sufficient supply of food. The importance of this at all periods is self-evident, but it becomes accentuated in the breeding season, when not only the needs of the parent birds, but also those of their voracious offspring, have to be met. It appears to have been assumed by most writers that: for the north-south migrants the higher lati- tude or summer region of distribution, to which they resort for the breeding season, represents their original home or habitat, to which it is only natural they should desire to return when the desire for breeding comes upon them, and that the migration to lower latitudes is brought about by climatic conditions, such as frost and cold, which render the procuring of food a matter of difficulty or impossibility during winter. There are, however, as has already been pointed out, difficulties in accepting the climatic conditions and accompanying deprivation of food supply as affording the only or even the chief explanation of migration, and more especially of the acquisition by birds of the north-south migratory habit. Thus it fails, as we have seen, to explain the south to north migration in the spring, and would be an inadequate reason for much of the autumnal migration which occurs from the northern temperate zone, such as that of those migratory marine birds the food of which is abundant in the northern seas throughout the winter. It at first sight appears also to fail to account for the fact that with many species of birds autumnal migration occurs before the advent of severe weather, and at a time when the food supply in the higher latitude is as abundant as ever, and that their DECEMBER 19, 1907 ] NATURE 161 return from lower latitudes often takes place when the food supply there is more abundant than in the higher latitude to which they are travelling, and may even remain abundant. But although a deficiency of food could not in such circumstances be the immediate determining cause of the movement, an approaching deficiency might, never- theless, be the ultimate cause, for the most appropriate time for leaving a region which is to become uninhabit- able would be determined for each species by natural selection, and might thus appear to have no immediate connection with deficiency of the food supply, although in reality dependent upon it. It is known, however, that, as has already been stated, during the whole Tertiary period there was a mild or warm climate and abundant vegetation throughout what are now the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, and it was under these conditions, which presuppose abundance of food supply during the whole winter, even in the highest latitudes, that many existing genera of birds were evolved. We may take it, therefore, that at that period the autumnal migration was not rendered necessary by the approaching severity of the winter months. This being the case, the question has suggested itself whether the relation of daylight to darkness may not have furnished the factor of most importance in the deter- mination of both the south to north and north to south movements, in consequence of the necessity to most birds of daylight for the procuring of food. In no other class of vertebrate animals is the sense of sight more important than in birds, and in no other is it so highly developed. For detecting and obtaining food most birds depend entirely upon vision, with perhaps, in some, assistance from audition, and, in the case of soft- billed birds, from palpation, but with little or no aid from the olfactory sense, which is in so many animals the most important of the senses in this connection. But vision is not possible in the total absence of light, nor, without special retinal adaptation, in semi-darkness. Hence the great majority of birds—diurnal birds—are dependent upon daylight for the procuring of food; relatively few, such as most owls and nightjars (crepuscular and nocturnal birds), are able to obtain food only in semi-darkness (twilight, moonlight, or starlight); a certain number, e.g. many waders, appear to possess retinal adaptation both for ordinary light and for light of low intensity; but, so far as I am aware, no birds, except those which are provided with tactile bills, are able to seek food in total darkness. From this consideration it is obvious that the propor- tion of the twenty-four-hour cycle which can be utilised by birds for obtaining food becomes greatly diminished during the winter months in high latitudes, and may be reduced to nil within the Arctic circle, while during the summer months the amount of daylight in high latitudes is proportionately increased. Many birds are voracious feeders, and during the hours of daylight are almost constantly engaged in the search for food. It is therefore a necessity that the time during which alone they can see to engage in the search shall not be unduly restricted, as would be the case in high latitudes during the winter, even in parts which are rarely or never frost-bound. This the north to south or autumnal migration provides against. During the breeding season, when the young birds also have to be fed, it is important that the time which can be occupied in the search for food should be prolonged, and this is provided by the south to north migration in the spring. Everyone who has lived in northern latitudes must have been struck with the time occupied by many birds during the long summer days in procuring food for themselves and their young; in fact, no more striking object-lesson of the utility of prolonged daylight for the rearing of their offspring can well be afforded. The objection might be taken to the relative incidence of daylight and darkness at different seasons being re- garded as a factor in causing north-south migration, that in the case of nocturnal birds the course of migration ought to be the other way, viz. from south to north in autumn and from north to south in spring (in the northern hemisphere); but, as has been already pointed out, the so-called nocturnal birds are not, as is popularly supposed, birds which can see in the dark, but birds the vision of which is adapted permanently for light of low intensity, NO. 1990, VOL. 77] such as twilight. Migration with such birds occurs in the same sense as with diurnal birds, i.e. north to south in autumn and south to north in spring (in the northern hemisphere). This is, in fact, what might have been anticipated, seeing how greatly the summer twilights are prolonged in high latitudes. Again, it might be objected that the circumstance of many birds leaving the higher or lower latitudes before the autumnal or vernal equinox militates against the assumption that the autumnal migration is determined by a relative deficiency of light in higher latitudes during the winter months, and that the vernal migration is determined by the longer daylight which obtains in those latitudes during the summer months. This objection is, however, obviously met in the same manner as with the analogous objection raised to the ““ food-supply ”” theory pure and simple, viz. that the most appropriate time for the actual commencement of migration will have been determined for each species by the process of natural selection. Further, the assumption that the relation of light to darkness rather than severity of climatic conditions has been the determining factor in producing the north-south migrations would better explain the singular constancy in the times of year at which these migrations occur. For not only are the times of migration in many cases independent of the actual climatic conditions which are supposed to be the determining cause of the movement, but the climatic conditions themselves vary considerably from year to year in their inception and progress. On the other hand, the incidence of the proportion of light to darkness is a constant factor, and might even be conceived to be operative in exciting the migratory instinct into activity in the same manner as it is here assumed to have been the original determining cause of north-south migration. That there are other stimuli seems probable from the circumstance that some birds have their winter quarters in the equatorial region, where the proportion of day to night does not vary throughout the year. There are, however, very regular seasonal changes in that region, which are accompanied by marked differences in amount of daylight, and for those migrants which winter there these seasonal changes may serve as the initiating stimulus to northerly migration. That it is a result of developmental changes in the sexual organs is improb- able, since sexually immature individuals are also subject to the migratory tendency; nor is there any evidence that such changes begin prior to migration. In any case, the regularity with which migration occurs indicates that the exciting cause. must be regular. There is no yearly change, outside the equatorial zone, that occurs so regularly in point of time as the change in the duration of daylight. On this ground this may well be considered a possible determining factor in migration, and it has the advantage over other suggested factors that it applies to the northerly as well as to the southerly movement. Besides the north-south migrations with which we are more immediately concerned, there are also the great east-west vernal and autumnal movements which are so prominent a feature in the eastern parts of these islands, and also migrations of a more local character, both of which merit some allusion in connection with the general question of migration. As regards the east-west movements, which are, in fact, for many species a part of the general north-south migrations,’ it has been supposed that these divarications from the main north-south stream have become evolved either as the result of changes in the earth’s surface, which have produced a modification of the general north-south trend,? or that they are the expression of the course of expansion of the breeding range of the species as it approaches its northern limit.’ The physiological reason for the east-west movement must ultimately be sought, as in the north-south movement, in facility for the obtaining of food, and it may fairly be assumed that in the case 1 For the evidence of this see Gatke, ‘‘Heligoland an Ornithological Observatory,” pp. 39-43. _ Also the British Association reports on bird migration, especially the ‘‘ Digest,” by W. Eagle Clarke, in report of Liver- pool meeting, 1896. 2 Evans, Cambridge Natural History, ‘ Birds,” p. 18. 3 Dixen, ‘f The Migration of Birds,” 1897, p. 35, also p. 40. 162 NATURE ri [| DECEMBER 19, 1907 of species which show no north-south tendency in migra- tion and which are confined to the temperate zones there is sufficient opportunity, even in shortened days, of obtain- ing such food as they require for subsistence in the region to which they have betaken themselves for winter quarters. Many of these east-west migrants are either gramini- vorous or live on insects and grubs which they seek in the ground or on trees. In the summer their foad is most abundant in the great grain-producing or forest-clad central regions of the Asio-European continent, while in the winter they are compeiied to seek their subsistence in a less severe climate. Another kind of migration is that which may be pro- duced by local conditions of food and pressure of bird population. If in any particular zone food of appropriate character is obtainable at all times of the year in sufficient abundance, the necessity of migration to a higher or lower latitude is no longer necessary for a specific number of individuals, and their migration, and that of their descendants, will accordingly tend to limit itself to that zone, within which such migration as does oceur will be more or less local. Newton’ suggested that the arrival of a large batch of migrants in a particular area or zone which is already occupied by birds of the same species may compel the individuals of that species which are in possession to move on in any direction where food is readily obtainable. It is perhaps more probable that later migrants into a zone already occupied by birds of the same species or hhabits may, on finding others already in possession, them- selves push on into other regions. In this case the later migrants of species which vary in the extent of their migration would tend also to become the more extensive migrants, and would by natural selection transmit this tendency to their descendants. This conforms to the statement that those individuals of a species which migrate to the higher latitudes in the range of distribution of the species start their spring migration later than the in- dividuals which migrate to less high latitudes.” The theory that bird migration in the Holarctic area was originally determined by the encroachment and sub- sequent retreat of the ice-sheet over the temperate zone during the Glacial epoch (or epochs) is one which appears impossible to accept. Such a theory in its bare form involves the assumption that the habit of migration which so extensively pervades the avine class of vertebrates has been acquired during comparatively recent geological times, for which there is neither evidence nor probability. When we consider how extensively diffused is the tendency to migration of some kind amongst girds, it appears reasonable to assume that the habic was acquired at a comparatively early period of their evolutionary history. It may even be that the advantage gained by a more and more extensive movement of the kind was the predeter- mining cause, in the hands of natural selection, of the complete evolution of the avine type of vertebrate. I have been able to find in the literature only two refer- ences dealing directly with the subject of the influence of light on bird migration. Seebohm (‘f The Geographical Distribution of the Family Charadriide,’’ London, 1888, p- 34) writes as follows :—‘‘ The first migrations of the ancestors of the Charadriidze were probably not in search of warmth, for the climate of the Polar Basin was in those remote ages mild enough: nor in search of food, which was probably abundant all the year round; but in search of light during the two or three months when the sun never rose above the horizon. The habit of migra- tion thus formed became deeply rooted in the species, in accordance with the law of heredity: and doubtless acquired additional force when the terrors of a glacial epoch exterminated the conservative party amongst the Charadriidz (if any of them were foolish enough to neglect to adapt themselves to the changed circumstances), and compelled the survivors to extend their migrations far 1 * Dictionary of Birds,” art. Migration. 2 This appears to be the case with the swallow (see W. Eagle Clarke, British Association Report, rgor, p. 10), the individuals which are to summer in Scandinavia passing through this country after our own swallows have arrived. Similarly, the return of the Scandinavian swallows also appears to be somewhat later than ours (middle of September, p. 12). (See also the same author's ‘‘ Digest," British Association Report, 1896, p: 17). NO. 1990, VOL. 77] and wide, until the shores of nearly all the rest of the world were visited on passage, or included in the winter range of some species of the family.” Seebohm evidently realised that, however warm the circumpolar area and however well stocked with food, it would be impossible for birds to subsist there all the year round on account of the absence of daylight during the winter months. It is the more strange that he should have failed to perceive the obvious corollary that these birds might seek such high latitudes during the summer months in the breeding season on account of the advantage offered for the procuring of food by the prolonged day- light. Some fourteen years prior to the publication of Seebohm’s work there appeared in the Academy (1874, vol. vi., p. 262), under the head of ‘‘ Notes and News,” the following paragraph,t which, however, bears no in- dication of the source whence the information it contains was derived :— “The aged poet Runeberg, the greatest scald that Sweden has ever had, has been in extremely weal health for many years past. It appears that as he has lain on his sick bed, at Helsingfors in Finland, he has occupied himself by close observation of the habits of birds, and specially with regard to the causes of migration, and he has at last put forward a singularly beautiful theory on the latter point. He believes, in fact, that it is the long- ing after light, and that alone, that draws the birds south- wards. When the days shorten in the north, the birds go south, but as soon as ever the long northern nights (sic) set in, with all their luminous and long-drawn hours, the wanderers return to their old haunts. It is generally supposed that they move southward to get more abundant food; but why, asks Runeberg, do they leave their rich hunting-grounds to return to the north? The central regions of Europe are in every way more desirable than the wastes of Scandinavia. Only one thing is richer there, and that is light. The same instinct that makes plants firmly rooted in the ground strain towards the light, spreading upwards in search of it, works in the birds, who, on their free wings, fly after and follow it. This very suggestive and poetical notion is further carried out by reference to various analogies in natural history. and the final sentence is quite epigrammatic: ‘ The bird of passage is of noble birth; he bears a motto, and his motto is Lux mea dux.’”’ The idea which is given voice to in the above para- graph bears a certain resemblance to that which I have endeavoured to set forth in this paper, but on close con- sideration it will be seen that the resemblance is purely superficial. What I have tried to urge is, not that these north-south migrants seek light quad light; but that the sense by which alone they are for the most part able to obtain food necessitates their passage to regions where at one or another time of year there will be sufficient day- light to procure it. This is a special part of the general problem of food supply, itself an all-important agency in natural selection, which last there can be no doubt has been instrumental in determining the habit of migration. The theory attributed to Runeberg, in so far as it seeks to explain north-south migration by the endeavour of the bird to follow light alone without reference to the ultimate reason for such movement, in no way explains why birds rather than other animals should require light, and may well have merited the criticism to which it was at the time subjected by Prof. Newton (Nature, September 24, 1874, p- 415), who pointed out that since “‘ the southern movement not only begins but is with many species in great part accomplished long before the autumnal equinox, when consequently the birds are journeying to increasingly shorter days; and in like manner their northward move- ment is set on foot before the vernal equinox,’’ the theory (that it is light alone that is the attraction) ‘‘ contains its own refutation.’’ The object of this paper has been to endeavour to give a reasonable explanation of the north-south tendency, which is the most prominent feature of bird-migration. No attempt is made to explain all phenomena of migra- tion. Obviously there are some migrations which cannot be explained on the assumption that the object of move- 1 The paragraph was copied in the 7ymes for September 18, 1874. DECEMBER 19, 1907 | ment is to obtain more extended daylight. This, how- ever, is not to be wondered at, since the quest of daylight is itself only a part of the greater problem of food supply. Any condition, local or other, which tends to restrict food supply in a particular area must produce migration from that area into more favoured areas. This is alone sufficient to account for the winter migrations which many birds exhibit, sometimes to a large extent, and for the localised migrations which some species, not usually re- garded as migrants, exhibit in spring and autumn, moving from one area into another, not necessarily in a different latitude, although often of a different altitude. Further, it must be borne in mind that some birds, and those not few in number, find both sufficient food and sufficient daylight to acquire it in the same region all the year round, and exhibit no tendency to migrate. This can in no way be employed as an objection to the view that the true north-south migrants have been driven to seek more extended daylight for the purposes of obtaining a sufficiency of food; it would equally apply to any other explanation that’ might be given to account for the migratory tendency, and could only be used to prove that there is no necessity for any migration at all, which, as Euclid would say, is absurd. Given a food supply adequate in nature and amount to maintain the species in any region, and sufficient light all the year round to procure it, there would be no need for migration. But these are not, and never have been, conditions which obtain in all regions and for all species. On the contrary, a very large number of species appear to require the prolonged daylight of the northern summer to procure a sufficiency of food for themselves and their offspring, while, apart from severity of climate, the shortened hours or absence of daylight which supervene there necessitate that they should pass the winter months in southern lati- tudes. Thus we can comprehend how the north-south migratory instinct became evolved, and we no_ longer wonder at the existence of this phase of the phenomenon. That the great east-west migrations are more complex and more difficult of explanation I am free to admit, but it must not be forgotten that we know, on the whole, less about these, and especially less about the climatic and other conditions which accompany them and may be sup posed to produce or influence them, than we do about the influences to which the north-south migrants are exposed. The fact that we are not in a position to solve the whole of a complicated problem need not prevent our attempting to deal with any part for which our existing knowledge enables us to devise an explanation. If I have approached the question entirely from a physiological aspect, it is because it is in the main a physiological question. Never- theless, no physiologist has hitherto attempted to deal with the subject, and it is only with diffidence that I encroach upon a domain which the morphologist has up to the present regarded as his own. CRETAN EXPLORATION. AN appeal is made by Dr. Arthur J. Evans, F.R.S., for funds to complete the excavation of the ‘‘ Palace of Minos,’’ which has now been carried on for seven years. At the beginning of the present year it was thought that supplementary explorations on a comparatively small scale would be sufficient, and that by the close of the season something like finality might be attained as regards at least the palace site of Knossos. This forecast, however, was by no means borne out by the result. The season’s work, which was intended to be of a more or less supplementary nature, broadened out into a some- what extensive excavation, the result of which is to show that another great campaign must be carried through before the excavation of the palace site at Knossos approaches completion. It is estimated that at least another 30001. is required to complete the work, and this must be met by public subscription, for, as Dr. Evans points out, in this matter it is unfortunately impossible for an English explorer to rely, like his French, German, and Italian colleagues, on Government grants or large subventions from national academies. Writing in support of the appeal in the Times of November 21, Prof. C. Waldstein, referring to Cretan exploration as a scien- NO. 1990. VOL. 77] NATURE 163 tific labour which has brought credit to the British nation all over the world, says:—‘In any other European country the Government would have subsidised, if not paid, all the expenses of what can in no way be considered a private enterprise. . . . Does not a wider public take some interest in the higher research carried on by the scientific representatives of the nation, and can _ the wealthier classes in England not be brought to give material support to the efforts of those who thus stand for the nation’s higher culture? Is it impossible to hope for a Government subsidy? If it be not the ‘ tradition,” good traditions can be inaugurated by those who lead the nation. No amount of immediate effort to raise our indus- tries by direct technical education will prepare us to cope with the competition of the other leading nations of the world. We must raise the tone of intellectuality by arousing the national interest in the highest forms of intellectual life.’’ Subscriptions for the Cretan Exploration Fund can be sent either to Mr. G. A. Macmillan, St. Martin’s Street, W.C., or to Messrs. Robarts, Lubbock, and Co., Lombard Street. A LUNAR “NEW JERUSALEM.” NX PAMPHLET has been received containing a series of lectures by the Rev. G. B. Berry on “*‘ The New Jerusalem,’’ with a preface by the Lord Bishop of Exeter. With the spiritual interpretation of the Apocalypse we are not concerned in these columns, but an astonishing speculation put forward in the last lecture demands a word of comment. Mr. Berry suggests that the invisible part of the moon has the same size and shape as the mighty pyramid which, according to Revelation, forms the heavenly Jerusalem. Eventually the lunar hemisphere visible to us is to bury itself in the earth, and the pyra- midal portion is to project above ‘‘ the rack and ruin of the elements ’’’ caused by the catastrophe, and to be the Celestial City in which the faithful will pass eternity- As a vision, this picture may appeal to imaginative minds, but from the point of view of celestial mechanics it can scarcely be taken seriously. A pyramid of the dimensions of that upon which Mr. Berry’s New Jerusalem rises tier upon tier would be crushed by its own weight even if it were built of steel. As, however, the structure is visionary, we imagine that this material fact affords no valid objection to it. The changed moment of inertia of a moon with the invisible side of a pyramidal form would necessitate modification of the whole theory of the physical librations of our satellite; but perhaps Mr. Berry does not appreciate the force of this difficulty. He is certainly not familiar with the theory of tidal friction or with the fact that Laplace, who studied the physical librations, showed that one side of the moon always faces the earth because that position is one of dynamical stability. A fuller knowledge of celestial mechanics might have made Mr. Berry hesitate before erecting such a visionary struc- ture as he describes upon so slender a foundation. His views would have pleased medieval schoolmen, but modern science demands that even the most fascinating hypothesis should be based upon results of observation capable of being put to the test of inquiry rather than upon ‘‘ revealed truth ’’ to be accepted without criticism. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Tue governing body of the South-Western Polytechnic has appointed Dr. Louis Lownds head of the department of physics. Dr. Lownds is the author of papers on the thermoelectric and thermomagnetic properties of bismuth crystals and on other subjects. Dr. W. H. Eccles, formerly head of the joint mathematical and physical department, has been made head of the department of mathematics. Tue annual distribution of prizes and certificates at the Borough Polytechnic Institute was held on Thursday, December 12, when Sir Edward Carson, K.C., M.P., pre- sented the prizes and delivered an address. Mr. Spicer, the chairman of the governing body of the institute, im the course of his remarks referred to the building extension 164 NATURE [DECEMBER 19, 1907 which is now being carried out at the polytechnic, at a cost of 12,000l., toward which the late chairman of the governing body, Mr. Edric Bayley, has generously con- tributed the sum of soool., the remainder being made up by a grant from the London County Council. Mr. C. TY. Millis, the principal, in his report, stated that there were nearly 3000 individual students in attendance during the past session, of whom 330 were dav students. We have received the calendar of the Camborne Mining School, Camborne, for 1907-8. This school, now in the twentieth year of its existence, has rapidly expanded, and has proved very successful in giving facilities to students for acquiring a thorough knowledge of metalliferous mining. The success has been largely due to the organisa- tion of a systematic course of practical mining, the South Condurrow, now known as the King Edward mine, having been purchased for the purpose in 1897. Students there obtain an acquaintance with practical mining, ore dress- | ing, and engine testing, as well as practice in mine survey- | its present stage. The work at South Kensington, as is well known, is largely due to his instigation and interest, ind the new Technological Institute which will begin in the coming year will be a natural outcome of that work. By means of it we hope to be brought more into line with other nations.”’ SOCIETIES AND Lonpon. Royal Society, November 7.—‘‘The Diurnal Variation of Terrestrial Magnetism.’’ By Prof. Arthur Schuster, PIRES: In a previous communication (Phil. Trans., vol. clxxx., p. 467, 1889) the author proved that the diurnal variation of terrestrial magnetism had its origin outside the earth’s surface, and drew the natural conclusion that it was caused by electric currents circulating in the upper regions of the atmosphere. If we endeavour to carry the investigation ACADEMIES. ing under the supervision of practical men under the direct | a step further, and consider the probable origin of these View underground in King Edward Mine. authority of the school. Moreover, in consequence of the situation of the school in the centre of the chief mining district of Cornwall, students have the privilege of visiting the mines. The calendar is illustrated by a number of admirable photographic views, many of which have been taken by Mr. J. C. Burrow, the leading exponent of underground photography. The photograph here repro- duced represents the so-called “‘ cathedral ’’ at the 46o0-feet level of King Edward mine. Mr. Hatpang, M.P., unveiled a statue of the King at University College School, Frognal, Hampstead, on Saturday, December 14. The statue has been erected in i niche above the main entrance, and is presented to the school by the architect, Mr. Arnold Mitchell, in com- memo f the opening of the school by the King on July 25. n a subsequent address Mr. Haldane said :— ““ There is ubject of greater general importance than education, and if Prince Albert had lived there is no doubt that education would have been ten years in advance of NO. 1990, VOL. 77] currents, we have at present no alternative to the theory, first proposed by Balfour Stewart, that the necessary electro- motive forces are supplied by the permanent forces of terrestrial magnetism acting on the bodily motion of masses of conducting air which cut through its lines of force. In the language of modern electrodynamics, the periodic magnetic disturbance is due to Foucault currents induced in an oscillating atmosphere by the vertical magnetic force. The problem to be solved in the first instance is the specifi- cation of the internal motion of a conducting shell of air, which shall, under the action of given magnetic forces, determine the electric currents producing known electro- magnetic effects. Treating the diurnal and semi-diurnal variations separately, the calculation leads to the interesting results that each of them is caused by an oscillation of the atmosphere which is of the same nature as that which | causes the diurnal changes of barometric pressure. The mathematical analysis is simple so long as we take the electric conductivity of the air to be uniform and con- stant; but the great ionisation which the theory demands DECEMBER 19, 1907 | NATURE 165° requires some explanation, and solar radiation suggests itself as a possible cause. Hence we might expect an in- creased conducting power in summer and in day-time as compared with that found during winter and at night. Observation shows, indeed, that the amplitude of the mag- netic variation is considerably greater in summer than in winter, and we know that the needle is at comparative rest during the night. The variable conducting power depending on the position of the sun helps us also to over- come a difficulty which at first sight would appear to exclude the possibility of any close connection between the barometric and magnetic variations; the difficulty is pre- sented by the fact that the change in atmospheric pressure is mainly semi-diurnal, while the greater portion of the magnetic change is diurnal. This may, to some extent, be explained by the mathematical calculation, which shows that the flow of air giving a twenty-four-hourly variation of barometric pressure is more effective in causing a mag- netic variation than the corresponding twelve-hourly variation, but the whole difference cannot be accounted for in this manner. If, however, the conductivity of air is greater during the day than during the night, it may be proved that the twelve-hourly variation of the barometer produces an appreciable periodicity of twenty-four hours in the magnetic change, while there is no sensible increase in the twelve-hourly magnetic change due to: the twenty-four- hourly period of the barometer. A good test of the proposed theory may be found in a closer examination of the diurnal magnetic changes in the equatorial regions, because, owing to the inclination of the magnetic to the geographical axis, the magnetic changes ought to have a term which does not depend on local time, but on the time of the meridian containing the geographical and magnetic pole. This term has its greatest importance at the equator and at the time of the equinox. The value of the conductivity necessary to explain the diurnal variation in the manner indicated depends on the thickness of the layers which carry the currents. If e be the thickness and p the conductivity, and the amplitude of oscillation in the upper layers is assumed to be the same as that deduced from the barometric variation, it is found that pe=3x10-°. If e is equal to 300 kilo- metres, the conductivity would have to be as high as 10-'*, while the observed conductivity of air at the surface of the earth under normal conditions is of the order 10-**; at a height at which the pressure is reduced to one degree per square centimetre, the conductivity would be 10-'*, assuming the rate of re-combination to be indepen- dent of temperature and the ionising power to be the same. The conclusion is that there must be a powerful ionising agent in the upper layer of the atmosphere. November 21.—‘ The Silver Voltameter.’’ Part I. “On a Comparison of many Forms of Silver Voltameters.’” By F. E. Smith; and ‘‘ A Determination of the Electro- chemical Equivalent of Silver.’’ By F. E. Smith and T. Mather, F.R.S. Part II. ‘‘ The Chemistry of the Silver WVoltameter.”’ By F. E. Smith and Dr. T. M. Lowry. Communicated by Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. Part I.—Very large voltameters were experimented with. Four of the kathode bowls had a capacity of 500 c.c. each, and in general from 300 c.c. to 400 c.c. of electrolyte were employed. The anodes were coated with electrolytic silver. With a Rayleigh form of voltameter containing an electro- lyte of pure silver nitrate, the mean of fifty-two determina- tions of the electrochemical equivalent of silver was 1-11827 milligrams per coulomb, the current being indirectly measured by the Ayrton-Jones balance. With a Richards’s form of voltameter, in which the pot had previously been baked in an electric furnace, the value 1-11828 was obtained, and with a syphon and other modified forms of voltameter the value 1-11827 resulted, pointing to little or no irregularities in the large-size Rayleigh form of volta- meter. Deposits were made when the voltameter was sub- ject to a gaseous pressure of 2-4 cm. of mercury, and were found to be identical with those made at atmospheric pressure. The temperature coefficient is probably nil, and is not greater than 1 part in 1,000,000 per 1° C. The range in the current intensities was from o-5 ampere to 8 amperes. NO. 1990, VOL. 77] Part I1.—Before a definite value could be assigned to the electrochemical equivalent of silver it was necessary to demonstrate that silver nitrate solutions, giving constant products, could be obtained. This was done by preparing silver nitrate from electrolytic silver, from much used silver nitrate, and from commercial samples of the salt. Attempts to confirm the observations of Novak, Rodger and Watson, Kahle, van Dijk, and others, on the effect of repeated electrolysis of a solution, show that in the form of voltameters described in Part I. there is no increase in the deposit with continued use of a solution which is comparable with that obtained by the observers mentioned. High values for the electrochemical equivalent are obtained if the solution contains oxide, carbonate, chloride, nitrite, or hyponitrite; low values are caused by acid. Silver chlorate and silver perchlorate appear to give normal deposits, but are more troublesome in use, and have no advantage over the nitrate. “On the Normal Weston Cadmium Cell.’’ By F. E. Smith. Communicated by Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. In the past many investigators have pointed out that the depolariser may produce variations in the E.M.F. so great as 0-002 volt. A mode of manufacture of mercurous sulphate was first sought which could be relied on to give a constant product. The salt was prepared in four ways :— (1) electrolytically; (2) by chemical precipitation; (3) by re-crystallisation from a solution in strong sulphuric acid ; (4) by the action of fuming sulphuric acid on mercury. The mean E.M.F. of the cells set up with the electrolytic salt is 1-01828 volts; with No. 2 product, 1-01830 volts; (3) gives 1-01832 volts, and (4) 1-01831 volts. The effect of the size of the crystals of the depolariser, to the importance of which attention has been directed by H., v. Steinwehr, was investigated by using crystals varying in size from 5 to 30 microns, and it is concluded that no large crystals which are ‘sufficiently soluble to act as an efficient de- polariser can give an E.M.F. appreciably lower than that due to crystals from 5 to 30 microns long. The recuperative power of the cell was tested by short-circuiting for from one minute, to five days. The temperature coefficient for the range 10° C. to 30° is given by E,=Ej7 — 3°45 X 10—*(¢ — 17) — 0066 x 10° (7 — 17)?. Geological Society, November 20.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—Glacial beds of Cambrian age in South Australia: Rev. Walter Howchin. The known extension of these beds is 460 miles from north to south. The greatest width across the strata is about 250 miles. The beds form part of a conformable series, with Cambrian fossils in the upper part. The rocks above the glacial beds are purple slates and limestones; below they are quartzites, clay-slates, and phyllites; passing into basal grits and conglomerates, resting on a pre-Cambrian complex. The beds consist of a ground mass of unstratified indurated mudstone, carrying boulders up to 11 feet in diameter. The thickness of the glacial series has been proved up to 1500 feet. The commonest rock-type among the boulders is a close-grained quartzite. The discovery of ice-scratched boulders has indicated the origin of the beds. The striz are often as distinct as those in a Pleistocene Boulder-clay. Eighty definitely glaciated boulders have been secured, and other erratics too large for removal noted. Under pressure and movement in their bed some boulders exhibit abrasion, but this produces features not to be con- founded with glaciation. In the movement due to pressure, which induced cleavage, some stones have become distorted, and many show pseudo-striation on exposed surfaces. The lines, however, are of equal size and depth, and parallel to each other over wide surfaces, while the glacial striae are patchy in their occurrence, of varying intensity, and divergent in direction. Mr. H. P. Woodward’s suggestion, that the ‘“‘ Boulder-clay’’ had its origin from “‘ floating ice,’ Is considered most in accordance with facts.—A formation known as ‘‘ glacial beds of Cambrian age”’ in South Australia: H. Basedow and J. D. Niffe. Eight miles south of Adelaide an exposure of the conglomerate is bounded to the east by alternating quartzitic and argillaceous bands of rock, comprising the central and western portions of a fan-fold, partly cut off by a fault. Further evidence of stress in this margin is given. On 166 NATURE | DECEMBER 19, 1907 the west side the conglomerate is bounded by the ‘‘ Tapley’s Hill Clay-slates,’’ and there is evidence that the con- glomerate is isoclinally folded. In that portion of the conglomerate adjacent to its confines, ‘‘ boulders’? of quartzite are apparently disrupted portions of quartzite- bands, since these are in alignment with the truncated portions of bands still existing, and are of similar com- position. The presence in the conglomerate of boulders of rocks foreign to the beds that border the conglomerate is not yet accounted for. Entomological Society, November 20.—Mr. G. H. Verrall, vice-president, in the chair.—Exhibits—W. West: Ex- amples of Tropideres sepicola, F., taken in the New Forest near Matley Bog, July 7, 1904; Oxylaemus variolosus, Dufs., from Darenth Wood, March 2, 1903; and Apion annulipes, Wenck, from Darenth Wood, August 27, 1905. —H. J. Turner: Two cases to show the complete life- histories of Coleophora onosmella and C._ bicolorella.— Dr. F. A. Dixey: Several species of five African genera of Pierine butterflies for the purpose of showing the strong mimetic parallelism that existed between them.—W. Gardner: A remarkably small specimen of Meloé pro- scarabaeus, with an example of the normal size.—W. G. Sheldon: A case containing many examples of Araschnia levana, var. prorsa, and intermediates, bred from larvze found in the department of the Aisne, France, in June last. —Dr. T. A. Chapman: Specimens of Araschnia levana, type, bred 1907, to give a fuller view of this form in assist- ance to Mr. Sheldon’s report.—Mr. Sheldon also showed strings of the ova in situ on nettle, these being base to apex, and in position resembling those of Polygonia c-album.—G. Arrow: A specimen of a handsome exotic cockroach (Dorylaea rhombifolia) found alive in the Natural History Museum, one of an apterous species inhabiting China, India, Madagascar, South Africa, &c.—Dr. G. B. Longstaff : A case containing thirty-five Ithomiine butter- flies of eleven species, belonging to six genera, taken at Caraccas, Venezuela, some 3600 feet above sea-level, and affording a striking exception to Darwin’s principle that closely allied forms are not usually found together.—Lieut.- Colonel N. Manders: A collection of some 200 specimens of tropical butterflies belonging to the genera Melanitis, Myecalesis, Attella, Papilio, and Catopsilia, which had been subjected to abnormal degrees of temperature, mostly in the pupal stage. The object of the experiments was to ascertain the effect of climate on the colours of tropical butterflies—W. J. Kaye: A convergent group of Heli- conine butterflies, from the Potaro Road, Potaro River, British Guiana.—Papers.—Mimicry in North American butterflies of the genus Limenitis (Basilarchia) : Prof. E. B. Poulton.—The life-history of Lomecosus strumosa, F.: H. St. J. Donisthorpe. Chemical Society, December 5.—Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The affinity constants of bases determined by the agency of methyl orange. Preliminary note: V. H. Veley. The author has applied his tintometric method to the determination of the degree of hydrolysis of hydrochlorides of a large number of organic bases ranging in type from hydroxylamine to cinchonidine. Several results are found to be in accord- ance with the expression of Arrhenius, %,/4,, = (1 — x)v/x2, whilst in the case of bases of analogous composition the ratio of the hydrolysis values found is nearly equal to the ratio of the heats of neutralisation with hydrochloric acid. —The constituents of essential oil of nutmeg: F. B. Power and A. H. Salway. Ceylon nutmeg oil contains eugenol, isoeugenol, d-pinene, d-camphene, dipentene, d-linalool, d-borneol, 1-terpineol, geraniol, a new alcohol yielding on oxidation a diketone, a citral-like aldehyde, safrole, myristicin, myristic acid (free and in the form of esters), formic, acetic, butyric, and octoic acids, and a new monocarboxylic acid, C,,H,,O,, all in the form of esters.—The resolution of sec-octyl alcohol: R. H. Pickard and J. Kenyon. d-sec-Octyl hydrogen phthalate is obtained by fractional erystallisation of the brucine salt from acetone and the I-salt by fractional crystallisation of the cinchonidine salt from aqueous acetone.—The velocity of reduction of the oxides of lead, cadmium, and bismuth by carbon monoxide, and the existence of the suboxides of these metals: F. J. Brielee. The results of the experi- NO. 1990, VOL. 77] ments confirm Tanatar’s statement that the suboxides are definite chemical compounds, but do not prove their stability—The relation between unsaturation and optical activity, part i., the menthyl and bornyl esters of B-phenyl- propionic, cinnamic, and phenylpropiolic acids: T. P. Hilditch. The boiling points and specific gravities in- crease with increase of unsaturation, but the refractive indices rise with the change to an ethylenic linking, but fall to ‘an intermediate value for the further change to an acetylenic linking. Walden’s view that increase of saturation is accompanied by increase of optical rotation is confirmed so far as the change to an ethylenic linking is concerned, but not with reference to the effect of a triple bond on the optical rotation.—Methyl ethers of some hydroxyanthraquinones: A. G, Perkin.—The colouring matters of the stilbene group, part iv., action of caustic alkalis on p-nitrotoluene and its derivatives: A. G. Green, A. H. Davies, and R. S. Horsfall.—The replacement of alkyl radicles by methyl in substituted ammonium com- pounds: H. O. Jones and J. R. Hill. The authors find that in amines or quaternary ammonium compounds the ethyl, propyl, tsopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, and tsoamyl groups are all replaced by methyl, sometimes in the cold, but more easily on heating with methyl iodide.—Note on the formation of abnormal platinichlorides. A correction : A. E. Dunstan. The three platinichlorides of the type B,,H,PtCl,, described previously, are now found to belong to a group of such substances already noted by Werner and others.—The nitrates of dimethyl- and methylethyl- thetine menthyl esters: S. Smiles. These were prepared by precipitating aqueous solutions of the bromides with aqueous ammonium nitrate.—Synthesis of brazilinie acid and the lactones of dihydrobrazilinic and dihydrohawma- toxylinic acids. Preliminary note: W. H. Perkin and R. Robinson. Brazilinic acid is formed when trimethyl- brazilin is oxidised by permanganate, and on reduction is converted into the lactone of dihydrobrazilinic acid. Brazilinic acid is produced synthetically by condensing metamethoxyphenoxyacetic ester with metahemipinic anhydride, and must be represented by the following formula (I.) :— 1) O0.CH,.CO,H VAN 7 al HO | ge C ae. BOX (COs # 2 — VW. D. H. “eee. «|. a Hoyt and Grover: ‘‘ River Discharge”... . . 148 Westlake : ‘* Constructions in Practical Geometry” . 148 Letters tc the Editor :— The International Memorial Statue of Lamarck.— Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S. .. 149 Miilattoss——rd.. (G:. VWiell Sistema). Cina 149 Nest Eggs of Platypus.—Prof. Gregg Wilson 149 Sulphur as an Insulator.—Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, 15S SCOOT SS oo Oe eo. Notes on Ancient British Monuments. III. (///us- trated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 150 The Increased Endowment of Universities 152 CLS 5 5: SORES SOS 6 Snes co TRI Our Astronomical Column :— the Maximum) of Mira, 190Gtmemei-) =. 2 eis 158 A Further Observation of Comet 1g07a . . . siatconaly O: Spectroscopic Determination of the Rotation cf the SM) o USMS a. o OS oes 158 Newly discovered Spectroscopic Binaries . 153 The Astrographic Catalogue ...... 158 Stars having Peculiar Spectra. . . . 158 Weakened Lines in Sun-spot Spectra. .... . 158 Exhibition of Physical Apparatus. By C. H.L.. 159 On the Incidence of Daylight as a Determining Factorin Bird-Migration. By Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S. 5 Rete 3 gb ee 159 Cretan Exploration Abend 163 A Lunar ‘‘ New Jerusalem”... . 163 University and Educational Intelligence. (///ustrated.) 163 Societies and Acade nies ...........-s: DiaryjofiSocieties:.)... < . Arnold, 1907.) Price 7s. 6d. net. with Reference more especially to the Fish (London: Edward 174 NATURE [| DECEMBER 26, 1907 to show that this period is normally spent in offshore waters, as occasional captures in mackerel nets would suggest. The marking of Tay smolts and control observations of the rings upon the scales of grilse have now shown that the first fish re-appear in the estu- aries as grilse twelve to fifteen months after leaving the river as smolts, and that some fish may spend a further summer in the sea before seeking fresh water, then to re-appear as small spring fish. It would, however, be premature to assume that no fish re- ascend in the year of their descent as smolts. This observation leads us naturally to the second essential fact of a salmon’s life-history, that of the distinction between the ‘‘ short migration ’’ and the “Jong migration ’’; that is between the fish which return to fresh water in the summer or as spawners in the autumn or winter of the year of descent as kelts, and those which spend a longer period in the sea and return as clean fish early in the following spring. The difference may be well illustrated by the admit? The unfortunate sacrifice of the Lismore Weir marking experiments to the objections of cer- ain anglers has undoubtedly deprived us of an oppor- tunity of reaching some conclusion upon this most important point; so far as the experiment went it certainly pointed to such fish not remaining in the Blackwater until the following spawning season, but dropping back to the estuary before ascending to the redds. Mr. Calderwood, in former papers, has adduced evidence of what he terms a “‘ pausing habit ’” of winter clean fish in the lower waters of the Spey, but he now states that ‘‘in Scotland we have not evidence that clean fish are in any sense temporary visitors to fresh water or habitually drop back into the sea ’’ He moreover notes that the spring fish enter- ing the Ness have already reached the Garry by early in February, while the Tay fish are not found above Loch Tay until May or later. This question is closely connected with the further one, why are some rivers early rivers and some late rivers? To the latter ques- A male salmon in full spawning livery, fresh from the sea in November. to the river Tay at Almondmouth. cases of two Irish fish of the same sex (female), weight (5 lb.) and length (2 feet 1 inch), marked as slats on the same day, January 18, 1902, and at the same place, one of which was re-captured on July 22, 1902, weighing 11 lb. and 2 feet 5 inches long, while the other was re-captured on June 16, 1903, weighing 18 lb. and 2 feet 11 inches long. It is possible that in some cases the ‘“‘long migration’’ period may extend over two years, and it by no means follows that any individual fish is either always a short- period fish or always a long-period fish. A remark- able fact shown by results published up to date is the preponderance of short-period fish in Ireland and of long fish in Scotland. _ Another problem is raised by the winter and spring fish of some rivers; do such fish merely -period ascend a short dista way for further feeding before finally running to spawn, or do they ascend to the head-waters of the river they enter so soon as the physical conditions N ¢ ) whe) NO. I99I, VOL. 77 ce and then drop back again to the tide- | The fish has just been marked on the dorsal fin before its return From *! The Life of the Salmon.” tion Mr. Calderwood devotes considerable space, and his remarks, whether accepted as providing an answer or not, are well worthy of attention. We can but briefly allude to many other points of interest touched upon by this book, such as the causes prompting a salmon to seek fresh water, the effects of temperature on a run of fish, and the question of fish ‘* changing rivers.” Of the salmon’s life in the sea until it comes coast- ward we can but assume at present that it is spent in pursuit of the shoals of herring or mackerel, while noting that the drift-net fishery for salmon off the west and north-west coasts of Jreland is conducted in late spring and early summer, sometimes as much as ten miles from the coast. We reproduce an illustration showing a November fresh-run male salmon in full spawning livery, photo- graphed before its return to the Tay after marking; the silver marking plate is seen on the dorsal fin. The Irish marks are similar in form and similarly DECEMBER 26, 1907 | NATURE 175 * affixed, but oxidised Recently a new mark in place of being left bright. has been introduced in Ireland, consisting of a small numbered tag attached to the base of the dorsal fin by means of a ring; marks of this pattern are made of various size to suit any fish from a smolt upwards. ENTOMOLOGY FOR HIS book is not a scientific treatise; it is intended, as the author tells us in the preface, ‘ to en- courage the intelligent life-study of insects by our younger follx, to discourage collecting, and to stimulate the profitable employment of one’s eyes and ears in town or country.’’ This object is a very estimable one, and the author has done much to produce a book admirably adapted for this purpose. It is divided into seven chapters, each containing many stories of insect life. The general introduction THE YOUNG. “The Story of Insect Life.” From Green-veined White Butterfly resting. deals with all manner of subjects in a clear and very simple way, such as structure, eggs, metamorphosis, fertilisation of plants, the story of the wild arum, re- semblance of plants to insects, &c. Then follows a chapter on beetles, some of our common forms being simply described. Earwigs, cockroaches, crickets, and grasshoppers form the theme of chapter iii., and dragon-flies, May-flies, &c., that of chapter iv. Now and again the author, unfortunately, pounces on scientific names. For many reasons, in a book for young people, these are best left out, particularly wrong ones are used, as on p. 104, where the steel- | blue wood wasp (Sirex juvencus) is called Sirex noctilo ! Some of the stories form delightful reading, such as the story of the hive bee, p. 207. Seventy-six pages are devoted to butterflies By W. P. Westell. Price 5s. net. VOL. 77 | and 1 “The Story of Insect Life.’’ (London: Robert Culley, n.d.) NO I9OI, Pp. 339; illustrated. ' scientific work, | of thermodynamics, if | moths, and then the final chapter gives a few brief notes on bugs, frog-hoppers, gnats, and other flies that may attract the young person’s attention. The iilustrations from photogré aphs are mostly ex- cellent, and some beautiful pictures are reproduced of localities where water insects abound. The author, unfortunately, in one has made a grievous error, for in Fig. 119 he gives the head of a male mosquito, Theobaldia annulata, as that of a female gnat, and refers to this in the text. For the young we should be just as careful to be accurate as for people more matured. The eggs of the vapourer moth are not in a natural position in Fig. 17, and, again, a badly set and damaged tortoiseshell butterfly is clumsily stuck on an iris blossom (Fig. 86) in a very unnatural way. There are also many entomological errors. The plates will be sure to attract the young mind, and they are excellently reproduced, but the artist appears to have a quaint idea of some of the insects, such as the blow-fly on plate viii., and also the water boatman. In spite of such faults, the book is one that may be recommended to all young folk, as it not only supplies a want, but fills that want in a clear and pleasant style. Frep. V. THEOBALD. LORD KELVIN. N Nature for September 7, 1876, there was pub- lished, with the engraved portrait by Jeans, in the series of ‘‘ Scientific Worthies,’? an account of then Sir William Thomson, and of the extending then over more than thirty years, by w hich he had rendered himself illustrious in physical science. Thirty-one years have elapsed since that appreciation was written, and now we have to mourn that this life of wonderful activity has come to its natural close. At the ripe age of eighty-three, as full of honours as of years, Lord Kelvin has passed away. To say that his eye was not dimmed, nor his natural force abated, would be scarcely strictly true, yet he retained to the last the exercise of his intellec- tual powers. The vigour and keenness with which he entered into the discussions at the British Association meeting at Leicester in August last were truly re- markable at his advanced age. It was in the course of making experiments in a corridor in his ‘country house, Ne etherhall, Largs, that he contracted the chill 5°) Lord Kelvin, | which brought about the fatal end. The article of 1876 gave in some detail those scien- tific achievements which had then made him famous; and a glance at its contents will show in brief what these were. While still an undergraduate at Cam- bridge, he had made valuable mathematical investi- gations in relation to Fourier’s theorems, and in their applications to the motion of heat and to hydrody- namics. In these investigations will be discovered the foundation of the method of evaluating geological dates from underground temperatures upon which subse- quently he built his famous conclusions as to the age of the earth. Jn the years which followed, during his early occupancy of the chair of natural philosophy at Glasgow, Lord Kelvin was largely occupied, in constant association with Joule, with the development to which not his least contribu- tion was the theory of the dissipation of energy. This was followed by investigations into electrostatics and the theory of magnetism, contact electricity, thermo- electricity, the mechanical energies of the solar system, the calculation of the tides, the size of atoms, and vortex motion. That which, however, directed popular attention to his scientific attainments was not so much these deep investigations as his connection with the more practical problems of ocean telegraphy. The pos- 176 > =o sibility of an Atlantic cable was in the early "fifties a much-discussed question : and the mathematical inves- tigation which Lord Kelvin made of the conditions governing the propagation of signals in long sub- marine cables proved to be the most important contri- bution to the practical solution of that problem. He showed that the retardation must be proportional to the square of the length of the cable; and, further, he applied the theorems of Fourier to predict the degree of attenuation of the impulses on their arrival at the distant end. This was followed by the invention of the mirror galvanometer, and later by the siphon re- corder, with both of which instruments his name will ever be associated. The final success of the Atlantic cables of 1865 and 1866 was a triumph for his inventive ingenuity no less than for his mathematical skill and insight. He had likewise been brought in- timately into nautical matters, leading him to devise the method of taking flying soundings, and to publish a set of tables for facilitating the use of Sumner’s method at sea. To heighten his public fame he also re-modelled the mariner’s compass by radical improve- ments which quickly established its superiority to all earlier forms. All this was duly recounted in the article of 1876, and might well suffice to place him in the very first rank of physicists had he achieved nothing more. Von Helmholtz, summing up his intellectual attain- ments at:that date, had remarked upon his method of treating the problems of mathematical physics how he had ‘‘ striven with great consistency to purify mathematical theory from hypothetical assumptions which were not a pure experience of facts.’’ He main- tained that “‘ the gift to translate real facts into mathe- matical equations, and vice versa, is by far more rare than that to find the solution of a given mathematical problem ’’; adding, ‘‘ And in this direction Sir William Thomson is most eminent and original.’? Happily for science this gift continued to be exercised for thirty years after von Helmholtz penned this appreciation of his friend. As the years went on Lord Kelvin con- tinued with marvellous activity of mind and body to add to his long list of scientific labours. It has been noted above at how early a date, namely, in 1842, Lord Kelvin had published the germ of his theories about the age of the earth. This was in a paper on the linear motion of heat which ap- peared in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathematical Journal. This same subject he had made the topic of his inaugural lecture in 1846 on taking up his pro- fessorship at Glasgow. He returned to it in 1876 as the theme of his address as president of the Physical and Mathematical Section of the British Association at Glasgow. To the geologists who demanded un- limited time for the operation of these formative actions, which, on the abandonment of catastrophic notions, they had assumed to proceed with constant uniformity, Lord Kelvin announced with the utmost confidence that they must hurry up their phenomena, since the age of the earth as a habitable planet, so far from being unlimited, could not possibly exceed four hun- dred millions of years, and was more probably within twenty millions of years. The proposition was sup- ported by several converging lines of argument. The surface temperature could not be what it was, con- sidering the average conductivity of rocks and the gradient of temperatures found underground, if the cooling process had proceeded from an unlimitedly long anterior date. The heat of the sun itself must be constantly dissipated, and its temperature sinks; and with the cooling of the sun the earth also cools. Its form, in relation to centrifugal forces, was incom- patible with the hypothesis of an unlimited time since it was a fluid mass. The controversy which arose, as NO. 1991, VOL. 77] NATURE [ DECEMBER 26, 1907 the biologists and geologists endeavoured to combat these arguments, lasted for a quarter of a century; and the end is indeed not yet. Hydrodynamics is a branch of natural philosophy in which the Cambridge school under Stokes has. always been strong; and Lord Kelvin, as a pupil and friend of Stokes, worked much at it. Hydrodynamics. was indeed continually in Lord Kelvin’s thoughts. His brilliant speculation of the vortex-atom remains— if we are to except recent electric theories of matter —the one and only hypothesis of the ultimate struc- ture of matter that has yet been found to hold its own against destructive criticism. It has not yet been shown to be impossible or self-contradictory. Apart from this, his other investigations into hydrodynamics have been most fruitful. He discussed the conditions of stability of fluid motion in a large number of cases, some of them of practical importance. Within the past two years he contributed to the Royal Society of Edinburgh a series of papers on deep sea waves, papers which are full of characteristic applications. of Fourier’s theorems, and show unabated keenness in following out an intricate analysis. In elasticity and the kindred problems of dynamics, the influence of the master’s hand is no less evident. The article which he contributed to the ‘‘ Encyclopzedia Britannica ’” on elasticity will remain a classic of science for many years. Those who are intimate with Lord Kelvin’s work generally will know how much in this article there is that lies behind his other studies. His con- tinual reference to the analogies which he found be- tween the phenomena of magnetism and of electricity and those of elastic solids shows the working of his mind, and the fundamental views which he held on elasticity dominate alike his Baltimore lectures of 1884 and the papers on molecular physics of his latest years. To the science of electricity, Lord Kelvin’s contri- butions have been no less notable. Imbued with admiration for Faraday’s experimental work, Lord Kelvin early set himself to ascertain whether the phenomena of electromagnetism can be explained on an elastic solid theory. Although it was left to Max- well to carry to fruition this part of the subject, it was Kelvin’s merit to have first applied mathematical analysis to the facts revealed by Faraday’s researches. It was in 1847 that he first proposed a mechanical representation of magnetic force; and to this subject he returned in 1890, in an article first published in the third volume of his collected mathematical and physical papers. It was in the early days, too, that he investigated the conditions of the discharge of a Leyden jar in circuits possessing self-induction, pre- dicting mathematically the fact that under certain conditions these discharges would be found to consist of electric oscillations. This discovery was published in 1853. Later, Fedderson and others observed these oscillations experimentally; and in the ‘eighties this abstract research of Lord Kelvin’s became the start- ing point of the investigations of Sir Oliver Lodge and of the lamented Heinrich Hertz, leading directly to wireless telegraphy. In 1851 Lord Kelvin, impelled by the characteristic precision of his scientific character, and urged by the needs of exact measurement in telegraphy, had already adopted the absolute system of measurement initiated by Gauss, and extended by Weber. In Lord Kelvin’s hands the absolute system of measurement, and with it the adoption of the metric system of standards, became almost an article of creed. In season and out of season he urged the superiority of the decimal measures over the ordinary British ones; and, consistently, he strove to bring all scientific measurements into terms of the fundamental metric DECEMBER 26, 1907 | NATURE 177 units of length, mass and time. Moreover, toward the end of the ‘fifties, electric measurement, in the hands of the cable engineers, had become much developed, and instruments of a precision exceeding anything known then in the physical laboratory had been devised for practical use. In 1861 Lord Kelvin secured the appointment by the British Association of a committee on electrical standards, a committee of which also Wheatstone, Matthiessen, Fleeming Jenkin, and, later, Siemens, Clerk Maxwell, Joule, Foster were members. Year after year this com- mittee, with younger men added, has produced its reports with little intermission, and the system of units which it evolved is practically that which is internationally recognised and of legal force. Twice Lord Kelvin gave public expositions of the system in set addresses, at a South Kensington conference in 1876, and before the Civil Engineers in 1883. The latter of these discourses is in Lord Kelvin’s most characteristic style, and even now, after twenty years, some of it is hard reading for any but a professed physicist. But mere hardness never daunted Lord Kelvin. In the same lecture, speaking of a particular point in the system of absolute measurement, he said :— ‘* Tt may be hard to accept, but the harder it is the more it is worth thinking of.’’ The acceptance and rapid development of the international system, based on the centimetre, the gram, and the second, is due to Lord Kelvin more than to any other man. After the adoption of the new units by the Inter- national Congress at Paris in 1881, Lord Kelvin de- voted much attention to the production of commercial instruments for the measurement of current, potential, and electric power. Relying confidently on the right- ness of abstract principles, he produced a series of am- pere-balances for currents of different strengths, thus putting into the hands of practical engineers a set of instruments of remarkably great accuracy and of re- markable range. When occupied with the tides, in the ’seventies, he had devised a machine for analysing the harmonic components of the periodic tidal vari- ations, the essential part of this harmonic analyser being a mechanical integrating device of globe, disc, and cylinder, first suggested by his brother; Prof. James Thomson. It seemed a bold thing to apply such mechanism to evaluate the integrals indicated by Fourier’s analysis; but Kelvin’s machine justified the hardihood of the conception. When in _ the ‘eighties he had before him the problem of construct- ing an electricity meter which should continuously integrate the varying product of current and voltage of an electric supply, he again had recourse to the same integrating mechanism. And, here, it may be remarked in passing that it is to Lord Kelvin’s evidence before the Parliamentary Committee in 1879 that we owe the circumstance that the Board of Trade adopted as its official unit of electric energy the value of one thousand volt-ampere-hours. It was once upon a time proposed to denominate this unit— now universally employed—by the name of one ‘ kel- vin.’’ Lord Kelvin’s innate modesty caused him to reject the suggestion. Surely the time has now come for the final incorporation of his name into the inter- national system, thus linking it with those of Volta, Ampére, Ohm, Coulomb, Watt, Faraday, Joule, Henry, and Gauss. Lord Kelvin had a peculiar predilection for illus- trating recondite notions by models. He once said that he could never understand a thing until he could make (or conceive) a model of it. His chain of gyro- stats to illustrate the rigidity of the ether, his systems of crystal models made of little wooden rods and balls held in stable equilibrium by india-rubber bands, are but two examples of a mode of using the concrete to realise the abstract that he practised continually. He NO. 1991, VOL. 77] and Carey: was fond of introducing into abstract dynamics terms derived from other sciences, geodesy, and crystallo- graphy. Amongst the bye-products of his genius may be found enshrined in the Proceedings of the Royal Society a short paper containing the essentials of the theory of the designing of wall-paper patterns; its title, however, is ‘‘ The Homologous Partition of Space.” Of Lord Kelvin’s later work on molecular physics, the ‘‘ tactics of a crystal,’’? the problems of zolotropic elasticity in relation to optical as well as magnetic and electric phenomena, it is less easy to speak. The lec- tures which he gave at Baltimore in 1884 to “ his twenty-one coefficients,’’ the members of the group of accomplished physicists who then sat at his feet day after day, while he led them through the mazes of the elastic-solid theory and the newly-invented spring- shell molecule, remain a witness to his extraordinary fertility of intellectual resource. All his life he had been endeavouring to discover a rational mechanical explanation for the most recondite phenomena—the mysteries of magnetism, the marvels of electricity, the difficulties of crystallography, the contradictory pro- perties of ether, the anomalies of optics. And during the preceding decade he had been confronted with a great generalisation which did not fit in with this method of intellectual apprehension, which had become to him instinctive. While Kelvin had been seeking to explain electricity and magnetism and light mechanic- ally, or as mechanical properties, if not of matter, at least of ether, Maxwell had boldly propounded the electromagnetic theory of light, and had drawn all the younger men after him in acceptance of the general- isation that the waves. Lord Kelvin had never ac- cepted Maxwell’s theory. It is true that in 1888 he gave a nominal adhesion; but later withdrew it, pre- ferring still to think of things in his own way. Kelvin’s Baltimore lectures of 1884, abounding as they do in a host of brilliant and ingenious points, and ranging from the most recondite problems of optics to specu- lations on crystal rigidity and molecular dynamics, leave one with a sense of being a sort of protest of a man persuaded against his own instincts, and strug- gling to find new expression of his thoughts so as to retain his old ways of regarding the ultimate dynamics of physical nature. During the last few years of his life Lord Kelvin himself revised these lectures, enrich- ing them with a variety of new materials, and coordin- ating the old. He was intensely interested in the new problems raised by the discovery of radium; and in its astonishing property of continuously emitting heat. He combated strenuously the hypothesis of Ruther- ford that this was to be explained by a spontaneous decomposition of the atom; and to the very last he was seeking for other explanations. At the present time, when so much of the new knowledge is in a state of flux, it would be entirely premature to attempt to evaluate the ultimate import- ance of Lord Kelvin’s later writings on radium and on the “‘ electrions.’? Suffice it to say that he brought to bear on these things the same illuminating genius, the same keen analytical instincts, that he had shown throughout his long career. To two generations, if not three, of scientific men his work, his presence, his mathematical genius, his enthusiastic faith in first principles, and his unfailing gentle courtesy have been an inspiration and a per- petual stimulus. So he rests from his labours, and his works do follow him. Sitvanus P. THompson. Lorp Ketvin’s FUNERAL IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The decision taken by the Dean of Westminster to accord to Lord Kelvin burial in Westminster Abbey met at once with a warm and responsive echo of satis- faction on the part of men of science and the com- 178 NATURE [ DECEMBER 26, 1907 munity generally. In the Abbey he has joined a noble company of departed worthies—Newton, Herschel, Lyell, Spottiswoode, Darwin—names that perpetuate some of the most glorious and imperishable achieve- ments in natural knowledge. Especially gratifying must it be to the Royal Society to feel that the remains of their illustrious past-president find a resting-place side by side with those of Sir Isaac Newton. The representative gathering that filled the Abbey on Monday, December 23, afforded ample testimony to the wide and varied interests, apart from pure science, that dominated the career of Lord Kelvin. Not only a brilliant moving figure in the hierarchy of science, he was also a great citizen, ever mindful of the best traditions of English public life. The funeral service, which commenced at noon, was of the most impressive character. The King was re- presented by His Grace the Duke of Argyll, K. G.; the Prince of Wales by Lt.-Col. Sir Arthur Bigge, G.C.V.O.; and the Duke of Connaught by Major L. Green-Wilkinson. The Princess Louise (Duchess of Argyll) was present, attended by a lady and gentle- man in waiting. Seats in the choir stalls were occupied by :-— Lady Rayleigh, the Russian and Italian Ambassadors, Mr. J. Ridgely Carter, representing the American Ambassador; Baron von Stumm, representing the German Ambassador; and Mr. Ijiuin, representing the Japanese Ambassador; the Lord Mayor of London (who was robed), and the Master of the Clothworkers’ Company. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Tweedmouth, accompanied by his secretaries, attended to represent the Board of Admiralty. The Lord President of the Council was represented by Mr. Almeric FitzRoy. At the Chapter House a procession was formed, which, headed by the choir and officiating clergy, slowly wended its way from the Chapel of St. Faith through the cloisters, and, while the hymn ‘ Brief life is here our portion ’’ was being sung, to the nave, and thence to the lantern, beneath which the coffin was temporarily deposited. The order was as follows :— Clergy and choir; bier; pall bearers; chief mourners ; Institute of France, M. G. Lippmann, For.Mem.R.S., M. Henri Becquerel, in addition to M. Darboux, For.Mem.R.S., perpetual secretary, who took part as a pall bearer ; Lord Mayor of London; Master of Clothworkers’ Company ; the Royal Society ; the Royal Society of Edinburgh and other British and foreign learned societies; Universities of Cambridge and Oxford; University of Glasgow and other Glasgow delegations; University of Edinburgh and Cor- poration of Edinburgh; other British universities. A guard of honour of the Electrical Engineer Volun- teers, of which Lord Kelvin was Colonel-in-Chief, lined the cloisters, Colonel R. E. B. Crompton, C.B., commanding. The guard fell in at the end of the procession, and took up a position in the nave. The pall bearers and chief mourners were as sub- joined :-— Pall Bearers. Lord Rayleigh, O.M. Sir Edward H. Seymour, (President of the Royal O.M. (Admiral of the Fleet). Society). M. Gaston Darboux, Mr. J. Morley, O.M. For.Mem.R.S. (Perpetual (Secretary of State for Secretary of the Paris ; India). Academy of Sciences). Sir Archibald Geikie, The Lord Strathcona and K. c B., Sec.R.S. (President Mount Royal (High Com- of the Geological Society). missioner for Canada). Pt rof. A. Crum Brown, Sir George Darwin, F.R.S. (Royal Society of K.C.B., F.R.S.- (University Edinburg ch). ; of Cambridge). The M ster of Peterhouse, Dr. MacAlister (Principal Cambridge (Dr. A. W. of the University of Glas- Ward). gow) Sir J. Wolfe-Barry, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, K.C.B., F.R.S. (Institution F.R.S. (Institution of Elec- of Civil Engineers). trical Engineers). NO; 1991, VOL. 77 Chief Mourners. Dr. J. TT. Bottomley, Mr. James Thomson. BRS: Mr. W. Bottomley. Mr. G. King. Sir Alex. Brown. Mr. W. Crum and two others, with four grand- nephews, Mr. D. King, Mr. J. F., Mr. W., and Mr. G Bottomley. On the part of the Royal Society, in addition to pall bearers and other Fellows who also represented universities, there were present Mr. A. B. Kempe (treasurer), Prof. Larmor (secretary), Sir W. Crookes (vice-president), Sir J. Stirling, Sir John Evans, Major MacMahon, &c., and Mr. R. Harrison (assistant secretary). It is unfortunately impossible to find space here to print the long list of representatives of British universi- ties, scientific societies, and institutions present at the funeral, and we are only able now to state that the following foreign societies were represented in addi- tion to the Paris Academy of Sciences already men- tioned :— Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, Lord Rayleigh; Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, Sir Norman Lockyer, Prof. J. J. Thomson, Sir David Gill, and others; the Elelktrotechnischer Verein of Berlin, Mr. A. Siemens; Societé Italiana di Fisica, Associazione Elettrotecnica Italiana, and Phys. Verein Frankfurt a.M., Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, &c. NOTES. WE announce with deep regret the death of Dr. Janssen, director of the Meudon Astro-Physics Observatory, at eighty-three years of age. A REuTER message from Copenhagen states that experi- ments made by the Amalgamated Radio-Telegraph Com- pany of London and Copenhagen, owners of the Poulsen system of wireless telegraphy and telephony, show that wire- less Poulsen telegrams between Newcastle and Copenhagen and Berlin and Copenhagen can be written directly from the receiver with ink as in the case of telegraphy by wire. Tue Royal Statistical Society’s Guy medal in gold has been presented to Prof. F. Y. Edgeworth for his services to statistical science. Dr. Tuomas ANNANDALE, Regius professor of clinical surgery in the University of Edinburgh, died on December 20 at sixty-nine years of age. On Saturday next, December 28, Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R.S., will deliver the first of the annual course of juvenile lectures at the Royal Institution on “* Astronomy, Old and New.’’ The remairing lectures will be delivered on December 31, January 2, 4, 7, and 9. Mr. Eximu THomson, writing from the General Electric Company, Lynn, Mass., U.S.A., comments upon the de- scription of the exhibition of globe lightning in West Australia described in our issue for October 31 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 671), and provides particulars of another case brought before his notice by a friend. The phenomenon referred to by Mr. Thomson is said to have appeared as a ball of yellow flame continuously in motion with a central nucleus rose-red in colour, and to have exhibited many points of similarity with the globular lightning seen in Australia on the occasion mentioned in our previous note. From Mr. Thomson’s letter it is not clear whether the report made to him relates to globular lightning or to a fireball. In the report of the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery for 1907 the committee announces that the success of the combined institution during the period under review has been very pronounced, the total number of visitors consider- half a million.- A new departure is the ably exceeding EEE tO _ DECEMBER 26, 1907 | NATURE 179 installation in the museum of a section devoted to economic biology, galls and gall-flies, together with the various animal and vegetable pests infesting orchards and forests, forming the main exhibits at present before the public. Tue luminiferous properties of the brittle-star, Amphiura squamata, and other echinoderms form the subject of an article by Irene Sterzinger in vol. Ixxxviii., part iii., of Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie. The light is dis- played at the summits, and not, as hitherto supposed, at the bases, of the ‘‘ feet,’’ where it emanates from slime secreted by the epithelium. There is, however, a lumini- ferous and a non-luminiferous slime. Similar slime-glands occur in certain other echinoderms. Both kinds of slime are soluble in hydrochloric acid. We have received a copy of Bulletin No. 72 of the U.S. Entomological Bureau, in which Messrs. W. D. Hunter and W. A. Hooker record the results of investi- gations into the life-history of the North American fever- tick (Margaropus annulatus), and the best modes of keep- ing the species in check. In parts of Texas and some of the other southern States cattle-breeding is almost impossible owing to this pest, which is estimated to cause an annual loss of one hundred million dollars. AN important addition to the somewhat scanty literature of galvanising is made by Mr. Alfred Sang, who has published in the Proceedings of the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania an elaborate monograph on old and new methods. The hot process of galvanising dates from Crauford’s patent of 1839, and the origins of electro- galvanising, or cold galvanising, as it is often called, are also remote, but commercially it is a new process. In 1902 Mr. Sherard Cowper-Coles patented his process for galvanising metal goods by packing them in zinc dust in an air-tight retort, and heating the retort to a temperature below the melting point of zinc. This process is known as sherardising. The first attempt to coat metals by means of zinc vapour was made by Jean Pierre Chambeyron in 1864. Mr. Sang’s investigations on the volatilisation of zine from zinc dust at low temperatures have led him to important improvements in the vapour process, and there is every reason to hope that this method will soon take its place in the metal industries as a powerful antidote to corrosion. Undoubtedly the proper place to search for further improvements in protective coverings for iron and steel is in the study of the true causes of corrosion. In the Bulletin of the Moscow Imperial Society of Naturalists for the year 1906, Prof. E. Leyst, director of the meteorological observatory of that place, contributes an important article on the estimation of the amount of cloud. The matter at first sight would appear to be one of the simplest of meteorological observations, but very few stations are so placed as to have a clear horizon, especially when situated in towns or in valleys. Prof. Leyst has submitted the Moscow observations for several years to a careful discussion, dividing the whole sky into three zones of 30° each. Taking the zenithal zone 60°-90° as the unit of comparison, he finds that in the lower zone the yearly mean of cloudiness is twice as great as in the zenithal zone, and that for the whole of the sky the yearly amount of cloud is 43 per cent. greater than in the zenithal zone, the amounts differing according to the season and to the time of observation. All things considered, the results seem to show that observations of amount of cloud in the zenithal zone are to be preferred; the author also considers that observers should be instructed how to divide the area under observation, so as to estimate cloud in tenths. Tue physiology and habits—the ‘‘ behaviour,’’ as it is now the fashion to call these factors in the life-history— NO. I9QI, VOL. 77] of a common American starfish, Asterias forrieri, are dis- cussed at considerable length by Mr. H. S. Jennings in a paper issued as one of the zoological publications of California University. The modes by which the creature manages to hold its own in the struggle for existence, the way in which it obtains its food, and kindred subjects, are in turn discussed, and the results of the investigation of all these factors will, it is hoped, afford an insight into the complex life of the sea-shore generally, and manifold inter-relations of the numerous organisms which make this zone their home. In vol. xxi., art. 11, of the Journal of the College of Science of Tokyo University, Mr. S. Hatta concludes his account of the gastrulation of the ovum of the lamprey (Petromyzon). In the neighbourhood of Sapparo the species during the spring spawning season resorts in numbers to the streams, and thus affords abundant work- ing material, which was developed by means of artificial fertilisation. The author considers that the ovum exhibits a kind of belated development, the blastulation and gastru- lation stages overlapping one another, so that what should be the blastula appears to be really an old morula stage. The prime cause of this belated development is indisputably due to delay in segmentation, owing to the accumulation in the ovum of a great amount of yolk. Tue culture of marine fishes and crabs and lobsters in America, by Mr. G. M. Bowers, U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, forms the subject of an illustrated article in the November number of the National Geographic Magazine. The United States, according to the author, is a long way ahead of any other nation in the matter of marine fish-culture, the only country coming anywhere near it in this respect being Norway, which was, indeed, the pioneer. This, in the author’s opinion, is accounted for by the fact that in many countries it is believed to be an impossibility to make any marked increase in the numbers of sea-fishes by artificial culture, as it is seriously to diminish them by fishing. This, however, is far from being the view entertained by the Government of the United States, which carries on fish-culture, and crab and lobster propagation, to an enormous extent in species hatcheries and laboratories. The fishes regularly cultivated —hby collecting and artificially fertilising the spawn—are cod, flounders, pollak, and, to a less degree, mackerel, bass, &c., while lobsters are reared at several stations, more especially the one recently established at Boothby Harbour. The general plan of operations is described very graphically by the author. A memoir by Mr. David Heron on the statistics of insanity and the inheritance of the insane diathesis has been issued by Messrs. Dulau and Co. for the Francis Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics, University of London. The material on which the memoir is based was provided by Dr. A. R. Urquhart, physician superintendent of the James Murray’s Royal Asylum, Perth, and consisted of 331 family trees of asylum patients, giving very full details of the brothers and sisters, parents, and in some cases grandparents and children of the patient. The general results are very similar to those of the memoir, previously issued, by Prof. Karl Pearson on pulmonary tuberculosis. The inheritance of the insane diathesis is very marked, the correlation-coefficient between parent and offspring (as calculated by Prof. Pearson’s method) lying between the values o-52-0-62. The figures are bound to be somewhat uncertain, for they involve an estimate of the proportion of the inhabitants of Scotland who have been at any time certified as insane; the census and the Lunacy Commissioners’ returns, of course, can only 180 IVAN TS | DECEMBER 26, 1907 P ; E : - | : give the number of patients at a given time or during a | genera was examined, and from each a strongly given period. Taking the figures for tainted stocks only (pedigrees of asylum patients), 21 per cent. of the offspring were insane when both parents were sane, 24 per cent. when one parent was insane, and 50 per cent. when both parents were insane, the last figure being, however, some- what doubtful, as it is based on very few cases. There does not appear to be any lack of fertility in the tainted stocks, the mean size of family in 331 families containing at least one insane member heing 5-97; eighty-seven matings in which one parent was insane gave a mean of 5-18 children, matings which were not necessarily com- pleted. Mr. T. Suepparp, the curator of the Hull Museum, continues his useful work of issuing bulletins at the cost of one penny each, describing the collections under his charge. The most recent issues are devoted to ‘* Notes on the more Important Discoveries in East Yorkshire,” and to an account of a British chariot burial discovered during the present year at Hunmanby, in the same district. In the first pamphlet he has collected records of the most notable discoveries, adding useful references to the publica- tions in which they are described. Many valuable relics have passed into other museums or into the hands of private collectors, while several have altogether dis- appeared. Now that a suitable building has been provided, the collections are rapidly increasing. The British chariot burial at Hunmanby presents many features of interest. The bottom of the grave was occupied by a great wooden shield, apparently of oak, ornamented with thin plates of bronze. The greater part of the woodwork was, un- fortunately, destroyed in the landslip which directed atten- tion to the interment. The bones were in a state of decay,, but the recovery of two teeth of a horse indicates that the animal was buried with its master. Considerable portions of the chariot were recovered; and while in other York- shire burials of this class the bridle-bit is usually of iron coated with bronze, here it is of bronze throughout. The date of the interment is fixed in the first or second century B.c. In more than seven hundred early British burial mounds excavated by Canon Greenwell, Mr. Mortimer, and others, only about half-a-dozen chariot burials were discovered. The “‘ find’’ at Hunmanby is thus of considerable archeological importance. Tue first appendix to the Kew Bulletin for 1908, being the list of seeds of hardy herbaceous plants and of trees and shrubs available for exchange with botanic gardens and correspondents of Kew, has been received. Pror. W. TRELEASE contributes to the annual report (No. 18) of the Missouri Botanical Garden a note on the genus Yucca, supplementing his monograph published in a former report (No. 13). Under the group of Sarcoyucca the author revises the species allied to Yucca valida, making a new species, Yucca decipiens, and indicates their distribution on a map. Characteristic illustrations of Yucca periculosa, and a new species, Yucca Endlichiana, are given. The latter, sent under the vernacular name of ““pitilla,’’ is said to yield good fibre; it is acaulescent, and bears very small, often dark, flowers. An account of the chemical examination, by Mr. E. A. Mann and Dr. W. H. Ince, of certain West Australian poison plants is published in the progress reports issued as two pamphlets by the Department of Agriculture for the colony. About fifty poisonous plants are said to occur in the State, of which several belonging to the genera Gastro- lobium and Oxylobium are regarded as the most general sources of stock poisoning. One species of each of these NO. 1991, VOL. 77] toxic alkaloid was isolated. The authors also attempted to find an antidote; this, so far as experiments go, is furnished by a preparation of which permanganate of potash is the important constituent. ; In the course of investigations into the nature of Para rubber, Dr. D. Spence was led to examine the constituent, always present, that is insoluble in choloroform or similar solvents. Proceeding from the known occurrence of protein substances in the ‘atex, he comes to the conclusion that the insoluble portion is a protein giving a strong xantho- proteic reaction, and comments on the peculiar fibrous structure shown markedly in sections stained with silver nitrate. This conclusion raises the practical question whether the presence of this insoluble constituent in the latex does not exercise an important physical function in the raw product. The paper is published by the Liverpool Institute of Commercial Research in the Tropics as journal reprint No. 13. Tue Journal of the Department of Agriculture of South Australia for October contains an account of the law relating to certain specified noxious weeds, with popular descriptions of them. Any landowner suffering these weeds to grow on his land, or on the adjoining roadsides, is liable to severe penalties. Should the District Council not enforce the law—and it appears this sometimes happens— the Commissioner of Crown Lands is authorised to have the weeds destroyed, and recover the cost from the council. Tue October numbers of the Transvaal Agricultural Journal and of the Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Journal have recently come to hand. The former contains an excellent article by Mr. F. B. Smith on agricultural education and research. Mr. Smith’s department has been so successful. in dealing with agricultural problems, and has appealed so strongly to the Boer farmer, that his plea for a sound and comprehensive system of agricultural education in the Transvaal is not likely to pass unheeded. There are also a number of articles dealing with practical farming matters, and some analyses of Transvaal fodder crops. The Cape of Good Hope has not the advantage of a/large agricultural department, and its journal is con- sequently smaller. Some experiments are described by Prof. Duerden which the rate of growth of ostrich feathers was found to be 13 inches per week. in WORCESTERSHIRE fruit growers suffer a great deal from the attacks of the apple sucker (Psylla mali), and arrange- ments were therefore made last year for Mr. Kenneth G. Furley, acting under the supervision of Mr. F. V. Theo- bald, to visit certain districts and carry out spraying experi- ments. The results are now issued as a report by the Worcestershire Education Committee. Very few eggs were found on the trees at the beginning of October, though the winged “ Psylla '’ were flying about in great numbers ; but about the middle of the month the eggs were thick on the trees, especially on the spurs. The dates of hatch- ing varied; some came out on April 3, while others in the same orchard only appeared on April 10; the blossom and leaf buds were then attacked. Of the various washes tried, the most effective was the mixture of lime and salt recommended by Mr. Howard Chapman. The experiments were evidently well carried out, and the example of the Worcestershire Education Committee might well be followed by others. Considering the enormous losses caused to fruit and hop growers and gardeners generally by insect or fungoid pests, and the great amount of money spent on washes, it is surprising how little systematic work on the subject is done in England. DECEMBER 26, 1907] NATURE 181 Dr. C. M. Luxmoore has sent us a copy of his final re- port on the analysis of one hundred soils from the county of Dorset, preliminary reports upon which, by Dr. Lux- moore himself and by Prof. Percival, have already been issued from the University College of Reading. The soils and their subsoils have been taken from typical localities situated upon all the formations, ranging from the Bagshot Sands to the Lower Lias, which are exposed in the county, and the report contains detailed analyses, both mechanical and chemical, together with certain determinations of their physical constants. In this latter connection one or two novel methods of examination have been proposed, de- signed to obtain some information as to the behaviour of the soils in the field. In addition to the analytical figures, the report contains a full discussion of the results, in which attempts are made to estimate the interdependence of some of the constituents and the extent to which they may be correlated with the properties of the soil. The report represents a very considerable piece of work, which has occupied Dr. Luxmoore for many years. In Nature of December 27, 1906 (vol. Ixxv., p. 197), attention was directed to the remarkable book by Dr. F. Oswald on the ‘‘ Geology of Armenia.’’ A second edition of this work is now promised; and the author has issued a large lithographed map of the country described, on | which the geological features are coloured by hand. This map and an explanatory pamphlet are published by Messrs. Dulau and Co., London (25s. net), and should obviously be secured by those libraries that possess the original work of reference. The country dealt with includes, as a central feature, the great lacustrine and volcanic plain north of Lake Van, and its extent may be judged from the fact that the scale of the map is 1 inch to sixteen miles, and that the sheet measures 373 inches by 213 inches. In the pamphlet, which is in itself a guide to the geological structure of Armenia, the striking extent of the marine transgression in early Miocene times is emphasised, the present country being due to Middle Miocene folding, followed by fault-block movements during the Pliocene period. Tue annual report of the State geologist of New Jersey for 1906 (Trenton, 1907) is a volume of 192 pages, con- taining, in addition to the administrative report for the year, valuable papers on building stones, on the glass- sand industry, on the Triassic copper ores, and on trap rocks for road construction. Mr. W. E. McCourt has made some careful tests to determine the fire-resisting qualities of New Jersey building stones. The crystalline rocks at a temperature of 550° C. were not greatly affected. The gneisses cracked parallel to the banding, and, as a rule, it is safe to assume that a gneiss will be more damaged than a crystalline rock of the same texture and composition without the banding. Clay rocks suffered badly. The sandstones resisted fairly well, while the limestones seem to have suffered the least injury of all the stones tested. The paper by Messrs. H. B. Kiimmel and R. B. Gage on the glass-sands of New Jersey shows that they contain more iron, and consequently obtain lower prices at the glass factories than do the Pennsylvania sands with which they compete. If the iron-bearing minerals could be removed by improved methods of wash- ing, by magnetic separation, or by sieving, a grade of glass-sand superior to the best Pennsylvania sand would be obtained. Mr. J. Volney Lewis gives the results of his investigations of the-petrography of the trap rocks and of the origin of the copper ores commonly found in ores are deposits from ascending magmatic waters expelled from the great intrusive mass in the vicinity appears to be well supported by facts. Lastly, a record is given of tests of the resisting qualities of the trap as determined by a series of experiments carried out in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. As the trap rocks are extensively used for road metal, these tests of their wear- ing qualities should prove of value when considered with regard to the results already shown by actual use. A COLOURED supplement to the December number of the Quarry conveys an admirable impression of the appearance of the green marble now being quarried on the island of Iona. The marble occurs in gneiss of pre-Cambrian age as a well-defined vein, and its beautiful green colour is due to the presence of serpentine derived from forsterite by hydration. AN important contribution to the study of weathering phenomena in building stones is afforded by a paper by Mr. E. Kaiser on the Stuben sandstone of Wurttemberg in the Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie (1907, ii., pp. 42-64). This stone was largely used in 1842 to 1868 on Cologne Cathedral, and now exhibits marked disintegra- tion, the weathered material showing an external layer of scale, and below it a layer of soluble calcium and mag- nesium sulphates. In the quarry, on the other hand, the weathering consists in solution of the calcium and mag- nesium constituents of the brown spar in the rock with deposition of the iron as hydrated ferric oxide. It is evident that the disintegration in Cologne is caused by sulphur derived from smoke gases. A DETAILED account has been published by Mr. N. W. Lord (United States Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 323) of the experimental work conducted in the chemical labora- torv of the United States fuel-testing plant, St. Louis, between January 1, 1905, and July 31, 1906. Interesting results have been obtained in the determinations of specific gravities of coal, in laboratory methods of determining the adaptability of coals to improvement by washing, and in the estimation of volatile matter in coals and lignites. It is shown that the value obtained for volatile matter in coal is affected by the method of heating the sample, by the fineness of pulverisation, and by the amount of loosely ; held moisture pr-sent. Tue question of the concentration of ores is one to which much attention has recently been devoted, and in- ventors have been busy in the new field of flotation pro- cesses in which the concentrate is removed from the top and the tailings from the bottom, apparently in contraven- tion of the law of gravity. A new process invented by Mr. A. P..Macquisten, and successfully applied in the United States, is described in the Engineer of December 13. It is based on the utilisation of the surface tension of liquids, it having been found that sulphide ores possess some property that prevents them from becoming wetted, whilst gangue minerals do not possess this property, and readily sink. At the Adelaide mine, Nevada, the process has been applied to copper pyrites, iron pyrites, blende, and galena with heavy gangue minerals, the presence of which rendered ordinary methods of concentration in- effective. WE have received from Dr. Van Rijckevorsel parts iii. and iy. of his laborious investigation entitled ‘‘ Constantly Recurring Secondary Maxima and Minima in the Yearly Range of Meteorological Phenomena.’’ For details as to proximity to them. The view put forward that the copper | the methods employed we would refer our readers to the NO. 1991, VOL. 77] 182 NATURE notice of part ii., relating to temperature (NATURE, vol. Ixxiii., p. 594), where it is explained that the author claims that the observations over the whole earth, collectively, and in the northern and southern hemispheres, separately, show half-yearly and other periods the epochs of which Part iii. deals with barometric pressure, for which 2755 years of observations are used, but are neces- sarily very unevenly distributed, 2255 years being to the north of the tropics, and only 381 years to the south. The similarity between the curves for the north and south hemispheres is not so pronounced as in the case of the temperature curves, as the years available for the south are altogether insufficient for the purpose, but the author thinks that with sufficient materials the results would probably be nearly identical. The results with regard to rainfall are much less satisfactory; the elimination of dis- turbances caused by heavy downpours in thunderstorms requires a much longer period of observation than is at present available. The paper is accompanied by tables and curves showing the variations exhibited by both elements. are identical. Tue foundations of geometry form the subject of the presidential address to section iii. of the Royal Society of Canada, by Prof. Alfred Baker, published in the Trans- actions of the society, 1906-7. The author traces the history of the axiom of parallels from an anecdote about Lagrange, and from the early writings on the subject of Gauss, Bolyai, and Lobachevski, and he gives a detailed abstract of MHilbert’s assumptions. Referring to an attempt made in 1570 by Sir Henry Savile, of Oxford, to stimulate interest in Greek geometry by explaining the first eight propositions of Euclid to a class of university students, and comparing this result with the performance of modern schoolboys, Prof. Baker thinks that a time may come when schoolboys will find no difficulty with the abstractions of Hilbert’s geometry, and the truth of Prof. Halsted’s claim may be felt that ‘‘ geometry at last made rigorous is also thereby made more simple.” Tue August Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards of Washington contains a detailed comparison of the four most accurate methods of comparing the capacities of condensers, from the pen of Mr. F. W. Grover. He finds that the four are about equal in accuracy when the various sources of error inherent in each method are eliminated. He advocates the use of an auxiliary adjustable air con- denser to enable comparisons to be made by the method of substitution, and shows that the power factor can readily be determined at the same time. This quantity gives valuable information as to the quality of the con- denser, the absorption, and the change of capacity of the condenser with frequency. M. Cuarres Ffry has constructed a very simple calori- meter for determining the calorific power of gases and liquids, and gives a description of it in the November number of the Journal de Physique. The combustion is effected at the base of a glass chimney, the top of which supports a nickel plate pierced with a number of holes. The air necessary for combustion passes down a similar chimney, which is connected at its base with the former. The two junctions of a constantan-copper thermo-circuit are placed at the tops of the chimneys, and M. Féry finds that the electromotive force in the circuit is strictly pro- portional to the calorific power of the combustible and to the volume of it consumed in unit time. Messrs. BEMROSE AND Sons, Ltp., have published the twelfth volume of the new series of the Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist, which contains the quarterly numbers of the review published during 1907. The separate NO. 1991, VOL. 77] [| DECEMBER 26, 1907 issues have.been referred to from time to time in these columns. It will suffice to state here that the review is now edited by the Rev. Dr. J. Charles Cox, and is devoted to the study of the early Pagan and Christian antiquities of Great Britain, the development of the arts and indus- tries of man in past ages, to the survival of ancient usages, and kindred subjects. The price of the volume is 12s. net. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Nova PrErser, 1901.—To test the question of possible proper motion in Nova Persei (No. 2), Prof. Barnard has recently repeated his measures of the Nova’s position in regard to other stars in the neighbourhood, using the 40-inch refractor of the Yerkes Observatory. Comparing the results with those obtained in 1go1-2, he finds no evidence of measurable motion. The present magnitude of the Nova is about 11-6, the star having apparently in- creased somewhat in brightness of late (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4220, p. 323, December 12). PROVISIONAL ELEMENTS FOR THE SPECTROSCOPIC BINARY a ANDROMED#.—In No. 4220 of the Astronomische Nach- vichten (p. 327, December 12), Dr. H. Ludendorff pub- lishes a provisional set of elements for the orbit of a Andromedz, which star has been announced, by several observers, as a spectroscopic binary. This following set of elements has been calculated from the measurements of thirty-eight plates :— U=97 0d. o«=70° V=-—14 km. e€=0'4 A=34 km. B=26 km. T=1004 Dec. 2 4, =98" @ sin 7= 36,000,000 km. PuHotoGraPpHs OF Mars.—The second of Prof. Lowell’s series of articles on Mars, which is appearing in the Century Magazine, is published in the December number (vol. Ixxv., No. 2, p. 303). In it the author gives an account of the inauguration and the work of, and of the results obtained by, the Lowell-Todd expedition to the Andes for the observation of Mars under conditions which could not be obtained in higher latitudes and less favour- able climates. One of the reproductions illustrating the article shows the Amherst telescope in position at Alianza, Chile, surrounded by the members of the expedi- tion; five other reproductions show prints from some of the plates obtained, each plate containing from sixty to ninety images of the planets, and, alongside, drawings made at the same time by Prof. Lowell, located some 6000 miles away, show how faithfully the photographs confirm the visual observations made at the Lowell Observa- tory. On the best series of photographs, obtained on July 25, are to be seen delicate canaliform markings which entirely refute the suggestions that such markings, previously recorded visually, are merely subjective pheno- mena. Prof. Lowell states that the results greatly exceed his most sanguine expectations, and concludes his article with the following paragraph :—‘ That life is there is founded on no assumption, but on massed evidence that is con- clusive, and the reader should realise that opposition to the idea that we now have proof of life on Mars is not based on reason, but on emotion, however speciously cloaked. All scientific objections have been met and shown untenable as to temperature, snow, &c., but human prejudice, as with the Copernican system or the origin of species, time alone can dispel.”’ SATURN APPARENTLY witHouT Rincs.—In the December Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France (p. 513) M. Flammarion discusses the recent observations of Saturn, paying particular attention to the phenomenon of bright knots, observed by Prof. Campbell, and confirmed by Prof. Lowell and others. In this connection he repro- duces two drawings made by Bond showing “‘ breaks and prominences ’’? on October 28 and November 3, 1848. These interruptions in the light of the ring were then so easily seen that the observer did not hesitate to explain the phenomenon by the light reflected from the interior edges of the rings. DECEMBER 26, 1907] PRIZES PROPOSED BY THE PARIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES FOR 1909. GEOMETRY.—The Franceeur prize, 1000 francs, is 7 awarded annually for discoveries or work useful to the progress of pure and applied mathematics. For the Bordin prize, 3000 francs, the question proposed is as follows :—The absolute invariant which represents the number of distinct double integrals of the second species of an algebraic surface depends on a relative invariant p, NATURE which plays an important part in the theory of the integrals | of total differentials of the third species and in that of algebraic curves traced on the surface. It is proposed to make a profound study of this invariant, and especially to find out how to determine its exact value, at least, for numerous kinds of surfaces. Mechanics——A Montyon prize, 7oo frances, for inventing culture, the mechanical arts, or sciences. The Poncelet ‘prize will be awarded for a work on applied mathematics. The question for the Vaillant prize, d improve in an important point the application of the prin- ciples of the dynamics of fluids to the theory of the screw. The Boileau prize, 1300 francs, is for researches on the motion of fluids, sufficient to contribute to the progress of hydraulics. Nazvigation—The Plumey prize is for improvement of Steam engines or any other invention which has most con- tributed to the progress of steam navigation. Astronomy.—The Lalande prize, 540 francs, is for the Most interesting observation, memoir, or work useful to the progress of astronomy, and the Walz prize, 460 francs, is awarded on similar terms. The G. de Pontécoulant prize, 7oo francs, is for the encouragement of researches celestial mechanics. Geography.—The Tchihaichef prize, 3000 francs, for the recompense or encouragement of young naturalists dis- tinguished in the exploration of the lesser known parts of Asia. _ The Gay prize, 1500 francs, for the study of the geo- graphical distribution of one class of cryptogams. _ Physics —The Hébert prize for the author of a treatise or di for the application or practical employment of electricity; the Hughes prize, 2500 francs, for a dis- covery or work contributing to the progress of physics; the Gaston Planté prize, 3000 frances, for the discovery of an invention or important work in the field of electricity; the L. La Caze prize, 10,000 franes, which cannot be divided, for works or memoirs contributing to the progress of physics. Chemistry —The Jecker prize, 10,000 francs, for works contributing to the progress of organic chemistry; the ahours prize, 3000 francs, for the encouragement of young chemists; the Montyon prize (unhealthy trades), a prize pf 2500 frances and a mention of 1500 franes, for the dis- ©overy of a means of rendering an art or trade less un- healthy; the L. La Caze prize, 10,000 frances, which may not be divided, for the best work in chemistry. _ Mineralogy and Geology—The grand prize of the Physical sciences, 3000 francs. The question proposed for 90g is the stages of evolution of the most ancient quadru- found in France. The Delesse prize, 1400 francs, for a work concerning geology, or, in default, mineralogy. Botany.—The Desmaziéres prize, 1600 francs, for a work cryptogams; the Montagne prize, 1500 francs, portant work bearing on the anatomy, physiology, the Thore prize, 200 francs, for a memoir on the cellular tryptogams of Europe. Anatomy and Zoology—The Savigny prize, 1500 francs, the assistance of young travelling zoologists, not re- nore especially with the invertebrates of Egypt and Syria; the Da Gama Machado prize, for the best memoir on the loured parts of the tegumentary system of animals. Medicine and Surgery —The Montyon prize, a prize of 500 francs, and mentions of 1500 francs, for works or overies useful in the art of healing ; the Barbier prize, francs, for a discovery in surgical, medical, or aceutical science, or in botany with relation to NO. I9QI, VOL. 77] or improving instruments useful to the progress of agri- | frances, is to | posec nt | origin of the anti-ferments. for | development, or description of the lower cryptogams; the | fe Coiney prize, 900 francs, for a work on phanerogams; | teiving Government assistance, who occupy themselves | > J 18 medicine; the Bréant prize, 100,000 francs. The capital sum will be awarded under the terms of the legacy to anyone discovering a radical cure for Asiatic cholera, either by a specific medicine or by discovering the causes and indicating an undoubted method of destroying these causes. In default of this, the annual interest will be awarded for a memoir demonstrating in a rigorous manner the presence of materials in the atmosphere playing a part in the production or propagation of epidemic diseases. The Godard prize, 1000 francs, for the best memoir on the anatomy, physiology, or pathology of the genito- urinary organs; the Baron Larrey prize, 750 francs, for an army or navy doctor or surgeon for a work treating of military medicine, surgery, or hygiene; the Bellion Prize, 1400 franes, for work forwarding the progress of medicine; the Mége. prize, interest on 10,000 francs. Phystology——The Montyon prize, 750 francs, for work im experimental physiology; the Philipeaux prize, 900 francs, for similar work; the Lallemand prize, 1800 francs, | for researches on the nervous system. The question pro- posed for the Pourat prize, 1000 francs, for 1909, is the Statistics——A Montyon prize, prize 1000 francs and a mention of 500 francs, for work having a bearing on French statistics. History of Science ——The Binoux prize, 2000 francs, for works on the history of science. General Prizes——The Arago, Lavoisier, and Berthelot medals. The Gegner prize, 3800 francs, for researches in the positive sciences; the Lannelongué prize, 2000 francs, for the assistance of the relatives of scientific men; the Trémont prize, 1100 francs. The Wilde prize, one of 4000 francs and two of 2000 francs, for work in astronomy, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, or experimental mechanics ; the Longchamp prize, 4000 francs, for a work on the diseases of man, animals, and plants, from the special point of view of the introduction of excess of mineral sub- stances as the cause of disease; the Saintour prize, 3000 francs; the Victor Raulin prize, 1500 francs, to facilitate the publication of works relating to geology and palzontology, mineralogy and petrography, meteorology - and physics of the globe, the prize for 1909 being limited to mineralogy and petrography ; the prize founded by Mme. la Marquise de Laplace ; the Félix Rivot prize, 2500 francs; the Jean Jacques Berger prize, 15,000 francs, for work concerning the City of Paris; the Petit d’Ormoy prize, two prizes of 10,000 francs, one for pure and applied mathematics, and the other for natural science; the Pierson-Perrin prize, 5000 francs, for a physical discovery ; the Parkin prize, 3400 frances, for researches on the curative effects of carbon in cholera, different forms of fever, and other diseases, or on the effects of volcanic action on the production of epidemic diseases; the Cuvier prize, 1500 francs, for a work on zoological palzontology, comparative anatomy, or zoology. Of the above, the Lalande, Tchihatchef, La Caze, Delesse, Desmaziéres, and Wilde prizes, and the Lavoisier medal, are expressly offered without distinction of nationality; the Gaston-Planté, Montagne, and Pierson- Perrin prizes are limited to persons of French nationality. RECENT WORK OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS. THE Geological Survey of Great Britain has issued its ** Summary of Progress for 1906 *’ (1907, price 1s.), from which it is clear that a large part of the work of the staff must always be devoted to the revision of geological details in areas already mapped. This is not work that can be carried out hurriedly, or in response to every change in popular geological opinion; but the real need for re-consideration in accordance with modern discovery is aft once apparent from the results recorded on pp. 2 to 5 of the present summary. Geological surveys have an important educational duty in addition to their economic | functions, and one can never predict where an accurate | knowledge of the earth may not lead to the foundation industrial inquiry may not to this globe on which we of an industry, or where an suddenly illumine our relation have to spend our lives. It is pleasant to observe (p. 6) that the Geological Survey of Great Britain has been in conference with the Agri- cultural Education Association ‘* for the purpose of test- ing the relationship of the geological boundaries and the soils.’? On p. 110 the palzontologists report in favour of the view that the rugose corals were primarily hexamerous, a question still under discussion, as may be seen from a note in NaTuRE, vol. Ixxvi., p. 117. The original papers in the appendix, corresponding to the well-known Bulletins of the Geological Survey of the United States, include one by Dr, Flett on the scapolite-bearing rocks of Scot- land, and. a valuable summary by Mr. D. A. Macalister of the quantity of tin, copper, and other minerals pro- duced in Cornwall. The ‘solid’? and ‘‘ drift’? maps, Nos. 230 and 247, are issued simultaneously with the memoirs describing them, under the care of Dr. Aubrey Strahan, and cover parts of the great South Wales coalfield (1907, memoirs, price 2s. 6d. each; maps, 1s. 6d. each). The former memoir deals with the country round Ammanford, north of Swansea, where the Silurian strata, through the Lud- low Tilestones, pass up into the Red Marls that form the base of the Old Red Sandstone. The usual unconformity of the latter on a Caledonian lJand-surface is revealed, how- ever, by the fact that it oversteps every member of the Silurian system (p. 53), until it rests directly on the Arenig rocks in the extreme north-west of the map. The details shown on these modern maps necessitate a good deal of freedom in the use of colours, and blues and greens and yellows are used for lithological divisions (which are, of course, supported by palzontology) in a way that would hardly commend itself to the soul of William Smith. Would not a variety of linings and stipplings in the same colour, which produce all the effect of separate tints, serve on such colour-printed maps for minor subdivisions of our British systems? The American and New Zealand surveys often provide us with examples. We note (p. 37 of Memoir No. 230) that ‘‘ Ordovician ”’ now Officially replaces the ‘‘ Lower Silurian ’’ of the older survey; but is it wise to restrict ‘‘ Silurian,’’ in the face of almost all the geological world, to the former ‘‘ Upper Silurian ’’ alone? Prof. De Lapparent in 1893 at any rate showed us a clear way out of the difficulty. Memoir No. 247 includes the busy town of Swansea, and the map brings us to the southern edge of the great coal- field. Mr. E. E. L. Dixon (pp. 11-20) furnishes an interesting account of the dolomitisation of the limestone soon after its deposition in the Carboniferous sea, and the plates and descriptions ought to be useful to workers in many other districts. The growing difficulty in drawing a line between the Lower and Upper Carboniferous series in Britain is well seen by the remarks on pp. 28-29. Mr. Tiddeman (p. 121) has traced a pre-Glacial raised beach from Mumbles Head westward, the fauna of which shows that the whole Cainozoic Glacial epoch was an episode of our own times, if we take the mollusca as our guide. It is now urged (p. 127) that Rhinoceros, Elephas, Bos, and Cervus, found in the Gower Caves, lived here before the arrival of the ice, since raised beach deposits admittedly appear in the cavern-floors. The subsidence that was shown at the Barry Docks in Cardiff to be later than Neolithic times has carried peat in the Swansea area (p. 145) to a level of 44 feet below high water. The memoir on the geology of Islay has also appeared (1907, price 2s. 6d.). The author, Mr. S. B. Wilkinson, is referred to in other memoirs as Mr. B. S. N. Wilkinson, a point of which bibliographers should take notice. The maps here described were issued some years ago, and cover a little visited and very attractive district. The ordinary pedestrian in Jura and Islay will find much romantic ground, and may still travel by introduction from one farm to another, in the good old highland style. The present writer well remembers how he was waylaid by an old peasant woman early one morning on the Jura path- way, and forced to accept a parcel of oatcake, lest he should weary before reaching the ferry at the north end of the island. Mr. Wilkinson enables us, in his first chapter, to realise the main features of Islay, and he rightly directs atten- tion to the extreme brilliance of the colouring on sunlit days along the coast. The rocks include much crushed and mylonitic Lewisian gneiss; sediments regarded as Torridonian; phyllites, limestones, and quartzites, corre- NO. T9QI, VOL. 77 | NATORE [DECEMBER 26, 1907 lated with the Central Highland series; and, resting on these with a slight unconformity (p. 44), a series in which dolomite is prevalent. A considerable thrust-plane separates the quartzite and conglomerate of this series in | the north of the island from the rocks referred to the Torridonian. Drs. Teall and B. N. Peach have made important contributions to this memoir. It is illustrated by photographic plates of exceptional beauty. It was un- necessary, however, to supply Plate ii. in our copy in the condition of a “‘ proof before letters.”’ In the Verhandlungen der k.k. geologischen Reichs- anstalt for 1907, Herr Vacek (p. 159) continues the con- troversy with Herr Heritsch on the basin of Graz, and we are led to understand that the junior author, whose youth is greatly insisted on, may now be carried off the field. He is sagely advised not to quote authorities, but to become one himself. Surely we have heard something of this kind in geological exhortations nearer home. Herr Ampferer (p. 192), in his usual systematic style, gives a reading of the structure of the Rhatikon range on the Swiss and Austrian frontier, in which he shows that he is not fascinated by what Schardt has called “ Ultranappismus.’’ Ampferer goes so far as to suggest that certain foreign blocks amid Tithonian limestone, re- garded by von Seidlitz as evidence of a ‘‘ Fenster,’’ and thus connected with overfolding, have been brought into their present position by ice which overrode the chain. The Jahrbuch of the same institute for 1907 contains many descriptive papers, from von Troll’s study of the Pontic fauna in the basin of Vienna (p. 33) to Schubert’s work on the north Dalmatian coast (p. 1). Dr. Schubert incidentally opposes the suggestion, made from a study of old maps, that extensive geographical changes have occurred in the Adriatic isles within historic times. Dr. Hinterlechner (pp. 115-374) contributes an important memoir on the sheet of the map round Deutschbrod (Nemecky Brod, the German ford), in eastern Bohemia. A broad plateau of gneiss and granite here unites Bohemia and Moravia; the traveller may find it monotonous, but for the fantastic architecture of its towns. Dr. Hinter- lechner shows what problems of metamorphism lie beneath its undulating fields and little woods. He urges (p. 332) that the great mass of the cordierite and biotite gneisses result from the contact-alteration of a sedimentary series, which has been left intact in one particular zone. Rocks once regarded as Archzan are shown to be intrusive in this sedimentary envelope (p. 351), the age of which re- mains uncertain. Here again we note the striking change of opinion forced on observers in many lands when careful field-investigation comes to be carried on. Almost all our recent researches lead us farther away from the supposed Archzean crust of purely igneous origin. Walery Ritter von Lozinski describes in the same journal (p. 375) the glacial deposits and léss of northern Galicia, and traces the ice-tongues of the epoch of maximum glaciation into the northern valleys of the central Carpathian range. He finds (p. 395) that the thin mar- ginal ice of the great continental sheet moved to a con- siderable height up gentle slopes, but was unable to climb steeper hillsides. Unglaciated areas therefore appear, say 250 metres above the sea, side by side with others invaded by ice to a height of 300 metres. Among palzontological papers may be cited a iong memoir by Dr. A. Till on the jaws of fossil cephalopods (ibid., pp. 535-082), an outcome of his previous studies on the examples found in the Neocomian (ibid., 1906, p. 89). Four new genera are proposed, and the jaws belonging to Nautilus are marked off clearly from all others (p. 658). The latter types diminish rapidly at the close of Lower Cretaceous time, and the author (p. 680), in consequence, suggests that they were connected with the Belemnoidea. Throughout both the memoirs referred to, Dr. Till writes ‘‘ Rhynchotheutis’’ and ‘“* Palzo- theutis ’’ consistently ; but surely this is a curious error in one who is so much a specialist. The Bulletins de la Commission géologique de Finlande are always of interest. In No. 23 (June, 1907) Mr. Sederholm writes, with an English summary, on ‘‘ granite and gneiss, their origin, relations, and occurrence in the pre-Cambrian complex of Fenno-Scandia.’? The subject is one in which the author has already made a reputation. Like Hinter- | i i DFcEeMBER 26, 1907 | NAAR LS. 185 lechner, quoted above, and many others, he has been forced here to oppose the notion of a primitive crystalline crust, revealed to us in a region of Archzean rocks, and urges that the’ oldest rocks in this district are of sedi- mentary origin, penetrated by younger granites. ‘‘ The strongly contorted structure’’ (p. 99) “characteristic of most Finnish gneisses . . . is not a secondary phenomenon in truest sense, but originated when the rock was in a Fic. 1.—Miocene strata, near Rockville, west of Golden Bay, Nelson, New Zealand. melting condition.’’ This is supported by a series of photographs of rocks intimately penetrated by granite veinlets. The author ‘“‘regards the foliation of the granites, where it is not of dynamo-metamorphic origin, as formed by the incomplete melting and re-crystallisation of schistose rocks. Also the spotting of granites, he ascribes, in most cases, to the existence of incompletely resorbed fragments of older rocks.” At the same time, he believes that the foliation of many Finnish granites was due to pressure after they had become solid (p. 100), and that in Fin- land ‘‘ the basement complexes of the typical Archzan sedimentary form- ations are often preserved.’’ But the base of the whole series in Fenno-Scandia has been’ melted up; mixed rocks, therefore, play a very important part in_ this area. WHutton’s conception of the circulation of types of rock through denudation of the crystalline masses and their gradual renewal, appears to Sederholm to be fully justi- fied (p. 102). The word “ migma- tite’? is proposed for the rocks that have been called by others ** compo- site gneiss.’’ In Bulletin No. 21 Mr. Tanner con- tinues his studies on the glacial phenomena of Finmark, and urges that, allowing for temporary advances of the ice during a general epoch of recession, the glaciation may here be regarded as continuous, without an interglacial break. * Turning eastward, we find Dr. W. F. Hume reporting on the geology of the eastern desert of Egypt (Ministry of Finance, Survey Department, Cairo, 1907). Gold-mining was carried on here in ancient days, and has_ recently been revived; the gold occurs in quartz-veins. The present account of the geology is merely preliminary, but includes the record (p. 29) of a new marine fauna in the Cretaceous sandstone. NO. 1991, VOL. 77] 2.—Bued River Valley, northern Luzon, Philippine Islands. ‘ In the ‘* Administration Reports of Ceylon for 1906 (Mineralogical Survey),’’ Dr. Coomaraswamy records the discovery of thorianite im situ by Mr. Parsons in a vein of pegmatite, to which the mineral was traced by follow- ing up the alluvial deposits in the bed of a seasonal stream. About 6 lb. of thorianite occur in a ton of the wet decomposed pegmatite. A geological map of part of the Kandy district is added to the report. Vol. vi. of the ‘* Records of the Mysore Geological Department *’ con- tains several coloured maps. It is suggested that the manganiferous laterite in the Shimoga district, now being mined, may represent an old lake-deposit. The work done by the survey is of a wide character; but may we suggest that such terms as “seology student’’ and ‘“‘ topo sheets’’ do not fairly represent the English language? The ‘‘ Geologists’ Report of Pro- gress for September, 1903, to January. 1907, for the Federated Malay States,” by Mr. J. B. Scrivenor (Kuala Lumpur, 1907, price 1 dollar), is another interesting piece of evidence as to present geological activity. A distinct foundation is laid in this pamphlet for a conception of the structure of the south end of the Malay peninsula, but the dense vege- tation is here, as in Borneo, a serious ‘obstacle to the explorer. On p. 18 there is a remarkable reference to Mr. H. N. Ridley’s discovery of an alga instrumental in producing laterite. Of this we shall hope to hear much more ; possibly Mr. T. H. Holland, the originator of the organic view of laterisation, has already looked into the matter. Bulletin No. 3 of the New Zealand Geological Survey contains Mr. J. M. Bell’s report on the Parapara_sub- division, Karamea, at the north-west corner of the South Island. It is well furnished with landscape illustrations, | as is usual with these publications, and a series of beauti- fully executed maps is inserted in a pocket at the end. The geological history of the district in Cainozoic times emphasises our growing convictions as to the almost world-wide occurrence of the same physical phenomena in certain geological epochs. In this corner of New Zealand, as in central Europe and Armenia, for example, we have a Miocene depression, with a marine invasion (see Fig. 1), occupying the valleys of the previous land, and then ‘‘a 186 NATURE [DECEMBER 26, 1907 period of secular elevation, accompanied by faulting on an extensive scale. Gradual uprise of the land was continued practically into modern times.’’ An epoch of extensive glaciation, with the formation of an ice-sheet in the basin of Boulder Lake, then opened in Pliocene or post- Pliocene times (p. 22). Especial attention is directed in this bulletin to the immense deposits of limonite iron-ore associated in the district with an ancient series of carbonate rocks. The ore is ascribed to the decay of iron pyrites, and to the reaction of the resulting ferrous sulphate on the carbonates. The ferrous carbonate has finally been altered to limonite, probably as a surface-phenomenon ; but the resulting ores occur on a vast scale, highly encouraging for their future prospects (pp. 75-88). The Bureau of Science of the Government of the Philip- pine Islands is responsible for the admirably produced Philippine Journal of Science, an example to our Govern- ment printers in India, or perhaps an example of the disparity of the funds officially devoted in the two countries to scientific publications. In vol. ii, No. 4 (Manila, August, 1907), Mr. A. J. Eveland describes the geology and geography of the Baguio mineral district. Here again, in the island of Luzon, we find an old crystalline basis, marine Eocene(?) and Miocene beds laid down upon it, and then an epoch of elevation and denudation. The Miocene limestone is cut through by the present Bued River valley, which reaches down to the basal diorite (Fig. 2). Gly: ARCHASOLOGY IN AMERICA." “THE first part of the second volume of the Trans- actions of the University of Pennsylvania’s Depart- ment of Archeology, Free Museum of Science and Art (it is a pity that this cumbrous title cannot be simplified), contains the usual instalment of articles on Cretan and Mexican archeology, with interesting contributions by Mr. G. B. Gordon on the western Eskimo of Alaska and on an engraved bone from Ohio, the decoration of which is very Mexican in character. The author of the article on Mexican archeology, Miss Adela Breton, draws interest- ing analogies between the Mexican conventional represent- ations of serpents and the dragons of Chino-Japanese art. There certainly seems to be some connection, however it may be explained. The explanation, when it arrives, will, however, be a genuine one, and not on the lines of the late Mr. Donnelly’s ‘‘ Atlantis,’ with its curious com- parisons of Maya signs with ‘‘ Egyptian hieroglyphics,”’ most of which had no real existence. It is a pity that the investigation of possible connections between Mexican culture and those of the rest of the world has been so seriously discredited by the ‘‘ Atlantis’? idea. Miss Breton’s description of the Xochicalco temple is interesting reading. Mr. Gordon describes, among other “ ploys’’ of the Eskimo, their elaborate cat’s-cradle games. From a personal trial we cannot say that his recipes for their production are as clearly put as they might be. The photographs of these Eskimo which Mr. Gordon publishes show a Mongol rather than American type; plate v., 2, might, but for the eyes being rather too deeply set, be a Japanese. The Cretan contribution is a good article on ‘‘ The Decorative Art of Crete in the Bronze Age,’’ by Miss Edith H. Hall, who worked at Gournia with Miss Boyd (Mrs. Hawes). As a succinct description of the most striking characteristics of the succeeding ‘‘* Minoan ’’ periods of Cretan artistic development it is very useful, and supplements Dr. Evans’s ‘‘ Essai de Classification ”’ and Dr. Mackenzie’s articles on pottery in the ‘* Journal of Hellenic Studies’ and the ‘* Annals of the British School at Athens.’’ In tone Miss Hall is perhaps just a trifle too dogmatic, and dismisses the opinions of others (e.g. s. Hogarth and Welch once or twice) too summarily. On Egyptian matters, too, she is inclined to regard as certain what those who deal with Egyptian things at first- 1 University of Pennsylvania : Transactions of the Department of Arche- ology, Free Museum of Science and Art, vol. ii., part i. Pp. 105 ; 29 plates. (Philadelphia: Published by the Department of Archzology, 1906.) Price 1 dollar. NO. 1991, VOL. 77] hand know to be thoroughly uncertain. The later system of Egyptian dates is adopted (p. 12) from Prof. Breasted’s history with hardly a qualm, in spite of the fact that it is not yet accepted by Petrie, Maspero, von Bissing, or Budge (to give only the most prominent names). ‘There are growing reasons in favour of it, true; but equally there are most serious considerations to be urged against it. To talk dogmatically of the VIth Dynasty as ending “in 2475 3.c.’’ (the italics are mine), or the XIIth as dating ‘‘ from 2000 to 1788 B.c.,”’ is absurd, though Miss Hall is not responsible for the absurdity. Also, Miss Hall makes the usual mistake of the Greek archeologist, a mistake which we had occasion to correct in the case of her colleague Mr. Seager last year, in per- sistently regarding all Egyptian representations of plants, flowers, and so forth, as stiff and conventional. They are not invariably so, as a study of plant designs on XVIIIth Dynasty pottery from Deir el-Bahari and else-_ where shows; it is these, and not the formal dadoes of papyrus plants in wall paintings, that we must compare with the plant designs of the Cretan artists. Miss Hall’s — Fig. 29 is quoted as a Cretan ‘‘ adaptation of the lotus clumps of Egyptian art. Here the method of arranging the flowers,’’ she says, ‘‘ is the same as in Egyptian art, yet every trace of Egyptian stiffness is gone.’’ I could quote several examples of Egyptian representations of flowers that are far less stiff and formal than this Cretan one. The designs of Figs. 35, 48, and 49 could all be paralleled on Egyptian pottery. Miss Hall’s classificatory table of ‘‘ Cretan Bronze Age Design’ is very useful as a conspectus of the chief examples of the designs of the ‘‘ Minoan ’’ periods. H. Re Hae THE PELYCOSAURIAN REPTILES. ALMost exactly thirty years ago the late Prof. Cope brought to the notice of the scientific world remains of certain remarkable carnivorous reptiles from the Permian strata of Texas, for which he proposed the group-name Pelycosauria. The group was regarded as a suborder of the Rhynchocephalia, and was provisionally taken to in- clude the theriodont reptiles of South Africa. Among the more typical representatives of the pelycosaurs are Dimetrodon and Naosaurus, extraordinary reptiles in which the dorsal spines of the trunk vertebrae are so enormously elongated (sometimes with the addition of transverse pro- jections) that they exceed in height the depth of the body below them. Restorations of both the skeleton and the external form have now rendered these creatures familiar even to the man in the street. As to the systematic position of these reptiles and their kindred, considerable diversity of view has obtained. By many writers they are classed with the theriodont anomodonts, but this, according to modern ideas, is altogether unjustifiable, the structure of the temporal arches in the two groups being different. Dr. Case there- fore reverts to the original view that pelycosaurs form a primitive section of the rhynchocephalians. The group is of special interest as illustrating, perhaps better than any other, the rapid evolution from a generalised type to a complex organisation that may have been the potential cause of early extinction, the life of these reptiles being coterminous with the duration of the Permian epoch. Why these specialised structures were evolved within such a comparatively short time is a sub- ject upon which we can only conjecture. Carnivorous in habit, and easily masters of their contemporaries, these reptiles, Mr. Case suggests, may have developed their spines from mere exuberance of growth from a utilitarian beginning, but that these structures eventually became useless cannot be doubted. That pelycosaurs existed outside of North America is proved by the occurrence of Naosaurus in the Permian of Bohemia and of Stereorhachis in that of France, while certain reptiles from central Germany may also belong to the group. On the other hand, they are unknown in South 1 “Revision of the Pelycosauria of North America." By E. C. Case. Publication No. 55. Pp. 176-+35 plates. (Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C., 1907.) - DFcCEMBER 26, 1907] NATURE 187 Africa or India, and it is improbable that they are re- presented in the Russian Permian. If this be so, pelyco- saurs are unknown in any country where anomodonts (in the wider sense of that term) occur, so that the two groups may apparently be regarded as belonging to totally distinct faunas. Dr. Case appears to have done his work very thoroughly, and the memoir is profusely illustrated. Before, however, expressing an opinion as to whether his restorations of cranial, and especially palatal, osteology are trustworthy, it would be essential to compare the original specimens with the figures. R. L. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. By the will of Sir William G. Pearce, Bart., chairman of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., who died on November 2, Trinity College, Cambridge, will benefit to the extent of more than 400,000l. upon the death of Lady Pearce, should he have left no child. Tue joint matriculation board which directs and con- trols the matriculation examination of the universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield has issued its report for the year 1907. The number of candidates in July was 1,294, of whom 705 passed; and in September was 438, of whom 179 passed. The board has appointed a committee to draft a scheme for the inspection and examination of schools, and it has been assured by the universities of their general approval of the objects of the proposal. A CONFERENCE of teachers, arranged by the London County Council, will be held at the Medical Examination Hall, Victoria Embankment, London, on January 2, 3, and 4. Two meetings will be held each day, and begin at It a.m. and 2 p.m. The subject for the first meeting will be nature-study, and addresses will be delivered by Dr. T. P. Nunn and Messrs. H. E. Turner and J. T. Wink- worth. At the second meeting the teaching of botany will be discussed, and. the speakers will include Miss Lulham, Miss Lilian Clarke, and Miss von Wyss. At the fifth meet- ing, manual work in the lower standards of elementary schools will be considered, and Dr. Slaughter and Messrs. J. C. Hudson and P. B. Ballard will speak. At the last meeting Mr. W. J. Hazlitt will read a paper on open- air geography. Applications jor tickets of admission should be made to Dr. Kimmins, Education Department of the London County Council, Victoria Embankment, W.C. Tue annual meeting of public school science masters will be held at Westminster School on January 14, 1908. The meeting will commence at 10 a.m., when an exhibition of scientific apparatus will be opened. During the morning the president, Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., will deliver an address upon the order in which science subiects should be taught (a) in public schools, (b) at the universities. In the morning also a discussion on teaching mechanics will be opened by papers on the educational value of mechanics by Mr. C. F. Mott, of Giggleswick School, and on the teaching of practical mathematics by Mr. H. Wilkinson, of Durham School. In the afternoon a discussion on teach- ing physics will take place, when papers will be read by Mr. C. Cumming, of Rugby School, on a scheme of labor- atory work in physics; Mr. W. E. Cross, of Whitgift Grammar School, on a suitable curriculum for the first and second years; and Mr. J. M. Wadmore, of Oldenham School, on the compulsory teaching of elementary physics to junior forms. : SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, December 5.—‘‘On the Distribution of the Different Arteries supplying the Human Brain.’’ By Dr. C. E. Beevor. Communicated by Prof. David Ferrier, F.R.S. The area of distribution of the different arteries of the brain was ascertained, when they were injected simul- NO. 1991, VOL. 77] taneously under the same pressure with gelatin containing soluble colours, a method not used before. The number of brains injected was eighty-seven. The arteries injected were the posterior communicating, the anterior choroid, the anterior cerebral, the middle cerebral, and the posterior cerebral. The method of investigation consisted in injecting simultaneously by means of pressure bottles, three, four, or five of these arteries with different soluble colours. The injection mass used was gelatin, coloured with soluble carmine, Nicholson’s blue, naphthol green, acridine yellow, and Bismarck brown. Twelve different classes of experi- ments were described. The brains were hardened in formalin, and subsequently cut and examined in the sagittal, horizontal, or coronal planes. The parts of the brain, the arterial supply of which hitherto has not been described, or which was found to be different from that described by other observers, are :-— The regio subthalamica, with the corpus subthalamicum and Forel’s field; the pes pedunculi; the corpus mam- millare; the anterior limb of the internal capsule; the caudate and lenticular nuclei; the different nuclei of the optic thalamus (the thalamus is not supplied by the lenticulo-optic arteries of Duret); the anterior part of the choroid membrane, which is supplied by the anterior choroid artery; the fornix and the anterior commissure. The absence of anastomoses of the three arteries supplying the posterior limb of the internal capsule and of the two arteries to the head of the caudate nucleus was also noted. In the cortex, the anterior cerebral area extends on the outer surface along the median line posteriorly, most frequently to mid-way between the Rolandic fissure and the external parieto-occipital fissure, and inferiorly to the sulcus frontalis superior. The middle cerebral area on the outer surface reaches the middle line for the posterior half of the parietal lobe, and posteriorly the posterior pole, or half an inch in front of it, and inferiorly the middle of the third temporal gyrus. The occipital fibres of the optic radiations in the superior lip of the calcarine fissure are usually supplied by the middle cerebral artery, and in the inferior lip by the posterior cerebral, except for about the posterior inch, which is supplied entirely by the posterior cerebral. The knowledge of the exact part of the brain which is supplied by an artery is of great importance in the diagnos’s of the parts of the brain which undergo softening when this particular artery is blocked by a blood clot. ‘©The Influence of Increased Barometric Pressure on Man. No. 4. The Relation of Age and Body Weight to Decompression Effects.”’ By Leonard Hill, F.R.S., and M. Greenwood, jun. Conclusions.—(1) Small mammals are relatively immune from decompression effects. (2) This immunity depends on rapidity of circulation, and may be destroyed by damaging the latter with chloro- form. (3) Age is probably important per se, but of far less importance than body weight. We have no convincing proof that two animals of the same weight but different ages would exhibit unequal resisting powers. (4) There is no evidence that small animals are more quickly poisoned by high pressures of oxygen than large ones. The practical outcome of this research is that young men of small body weight and possessing a vigorous circulation should be selected for compressed air works. Royal Meteorological Society, November 20.—Dr. H. R. Mill, president, in the chair.—Reports on the results obtained by the balloon observations made in the British Isles, July 22-27. The International Aéronautical Com- mission has for some years set apart the first Thursday in each month for the ascent of kites and balloons, but at last year’s conference it was decided to make a special effort to obtain information on a series of consecutive days, and the last week in July was finally decided upon for the purpose. Twenty-five balloons with registering instru- ments were sent up in England and Scotland during the week, under the direction of Mr. W. H. Dines, at Pyrton 188 IVA Tie) [DECEMBER 26, 1907 Hill, Oxon, and at Crinan, on the west coast of Scot- land; Mr. J. E. Petavel, at Manchester University; Cap- tain C. H. Ley, R.E., at Sellack, Herefordshire; and Mr. C. J. P. Cave, at Ditcham Park, Petersfield. Fourteen of the registering instruments have been found. Prof. W. E. Thrift also sent up a number of pilot balloons from Dublin. Nearly all the balloons drifted to the eastward, but several which reached a fair height fell within twenty miles of their starting point. The heights ranged up to more than 124 miles, the average being about 7} miles. The records showed that above 73 miles the temperature remained almost unaltered with change of height.—Dis- cussion of the meteorological observations at the British kite stations, session 1906-7: Miss M. White, T. V. Pring, and J. E. Petavel. The authors found that the temperature gradient varies with the direction and the velocity of the wind, and also with the amount of clouds, being greatest for a north-west wind, and on clear and fine days. It appears that the direction of the wind alters at high levels, rotating in a clockwise direction; thus a south wind tends to become more westerly. 18%.—Dr. H. R. Mill, the chair.—The possibility of a the air, based on_ balloon theodolites: Capt. C. H.. bey. The author gave the results of his own observations in Herefordshire in connection with the international balloon ascents which were carried out during the past summer. His method of observing is based on the direct estimation of the range of the balloon from its apparent diameter as measured by cross threads in a telescope; the range being thus determined, an altitude and azimuth are read, and the position if the balloon fixed and plotted on a map. The author, in conclusion, states that the varying topography of the earth’s surface produces disturbances in the atmo- sphere with effects which are transmitted throughout the lower and middle strata; and that the general effect on a current is to increase its velocity over a hill and decrease it over a valley, and this is especially the case with the vertical velocity. The origin of the phenomena is to be sought in the mechanical effect of obstruction of the lowest stratum, but there are probably various ensuing complications which may accentuate the result. The measurement of these effects can be carried out by a topography of the air made in any locality.—Indications of approaching frost : R. Strachan. For the purpose of making forecasts, the dry and wet bulb thermometers should be noted at or after sunset, or at 9 p.m., and the amount of. cloud at the time, and during the forepart of the night if con- venient. The dew point can be found by. reference to hygrometrical tables. When the dew point is at or below 32° frost is in evidence, but may be evanescent, due to a rise of temperature, with change of wind, rain, or over- cast sky. Even when it is above 32°, if the sky is clear it is possible that the temperature on the ground will become low enough for frost to form. Thus the evening observations should lead to a good idea of what may happen during the night. December president, in topography of observations with special Royal Microscopical Society, November 20.—Lord Ave- bury, president, in the chair.—Exhibits——Conrad Beck: Two specimens under microscopes of photographic plates pre- pared by the Lumiére starch-grain process for colour photo- graphy. One specimen had been exposed and the other had not. The starch grains, which were about 1/2000-inch in diameter, were stained red, violet, and green. If the object-glass of the microscope showing the unexposed plate be racked out of focus, so that the colours be blended, a very close approximation to white light is obtained. If the objective be only partially out of focus, patches and channels of colour are visible, due to the fact that the coloured grains are not sufficiently intermingled. These patches are what were seen under the microscope exhibited ; to see the individual grains a much higher power than the j-inch used would be required.—C. L. Curties: Two inexpensive microscopes. The first, termed the ‘‘ nature- study ’’ microscope, was mounted on a heavy square foot. It was non-inclinable, and for observing large objects the stage and mirror could be removed and the specimen placed on the flat base. The other instrument, named the ‘‘ meat NO. 1991, VOL. 77] examiner’s ’’ microscope, is of similar design, but the stage has grooves on its upper surface, from front to back, of a pitch equal to the field of view of a 1-inch objective; a compressor having points projecting from its under side to fit into the grooves is supplied; by sliding the compressor in one groove and then in the next, until the whole length has been traversed, the entire specimen can be examined without going over the ground two or three times.—J. T. Pigg : Photomicrographic lantern-slides from nature, show- ing the various stages in the development of the fern spore from its germination to the mature frond with its fructifi- cation.—E. Moffat: A new form of filter for agar and other media.—Papers.—The Francois Watkins microscope : E. M. Nelson.—Mercury globules as test objects for the microscope: J. W. Gordon.—Light filters for photomicro- graphy: E, Moffat.—Demonstration of the use of colour photography in metallurgy: E. F. Law. A number of photomicrographic lantern-slides were exhibited showing the brilliant colours produced on the polished surfaces of alloys by the varying degrees of oxidation caused by the heat- tinting process. Physical Society, November 22. — Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Specimens of singing sand from New England: S. Skinner. The specimens shown were from two sea-beaches in New England, one at Manchester, Mass., and the other near Small Point, Maine. The beaches are alike in character in being surrounded by hard rock walls and in not having streams which might bring silt flowing through them. The sands are consequently very clean and free from small particles, and this especially so after each tidal washing. The sand consists chiefly of angular clear quartz fragments. Mr. Skinner has been able to verify most of the facts observed by Mr. Carus Wilson (NaturE, 1891), viz. :—(1) the sounds are best obtained by plunging a hard plunger into a glazed cup containing the sand; (2) after a time the production of the sounds becomes difficult; (3) the sounding may be restored by washing, which presumably removes fine powder formed by attrition between the particles; (4) it is necessary that the displacement of the sand by the plunger should occur easily. If there is resistance due to the shape of the vessel, or due to clogging by dust, the sounding is stopped. The theory put forward in ‘‘ Sound’’ by Profs. Poynting and Thomson seems a reasonable explanation.—A micromanometer: L. Bairstow. The instrument exhibited was one of two which are in regular use at the National Physical Laboratory for measurements of pressures due to air currents. When the pressures on the two sides of the gauge are balanced, the whole of the liquids employed are in their zero positions, and errors due to capillarity and viscosity are avoided. The gauge exhibited has a sensitive- ness of 1/10,o0ooth of an inch of water and a range of three-fourths.of an inch of water. The gauge is slightly sensitive to temperature due to the expansion of the castor- oil used, but the changes are small and easily allowed for by taking time readings of the zero. The gauge is not suitable for rapidly varying pressures, as considerable dis- tortion of the oil surface leads to an irregularly displaced zero.—A diabolo experiment: C. V. Boys. The diabolo spool exhibited has the peculiar merit that no one can spin it. It is based upon the following principle. Either the ordinary spool of commerce, which has its moment of inertia about its axis of rotational symmetry a minimum, or a spool not generally made which has the corresponding moment of inertia a maximum, has stable rotation about this axis or about a transverse axis, i.e. if it is temporarily rotating about an axis inclined to one or other, it will tend to shift its momentary axis of rotation and gradually settle down so as to spin about one or other. If, however, the spool is so proportioned that the moment of inertia is identical about any axis, it has no tendency to spin stably about any particular axis, and the axis of rotation wanders about so rapidly that it cannot be spun. A heavy conical sheet projecting equally on either side of the vertex, the semi-vertical angle of which is equal to tan-*4/2, has this property, but such an ideal construction is impracticable. All added matter beyond the sheet in the direction of the axis makes the momental ellipsoid more prolate, while any outside the sheet makes it more oblate. Treating, —@~a =e DECEMBER 26, 1907 | NATURE 189 then, the ideal cone as a skeleton, and clothing it with matter within and without, a material double hollow cone may be made of the form of a diabolo spool, but with the dynamical properties of a sphere. It is preferable, how- ever, to make the spool with an axial hole and with a slight preponderance of moment of inertia about its rota- tional axis. It will then spin perfectly. It may, however, be easily adjusted by the insertion of a stick, which is cut off of such a length as to make the moments of inertia equal, as tested by suspension from a torsion wire.—A gyroscope illustrating Brennan’s mono-railway : Prof. H. A. Wilson. A gyroscope is mounted in bearings so that it can spin about a horizontal axis and precess freely. The gyroscope is further mounted at the top of a rectangular framework. The axis of spin of the wheel is first placed at right angles to the plane of the framework. Attached to the vertical axis about which the precessional motion occurs is a short crank with a spiral spring attached, so that when precession occurs in any direction the pre- cessional couple is increased and the top returns towards its initial position. The oscillations of the gyroscope about its mean position become continually larger until the stability of the arrangement disappears. Zoological Society, November 26 —Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Some new and little- known Araneidea: Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge. Eleven species were noted or described and figured :—one from Lagos, Portugal; three from Cape Colony, South Africa ; one from Mashonaland; five from the Canaries; and one from Old Calabar. Seven species were described as new to science. Five of the spiders had been accidentally imported to England in packages of bananas.—New species of beetles of the cryptocephaline division of the family Chrysomelidz from tropical South America: M. Jacoby.—The correla- tion of certain modifications of the limpet-shell (Patella vulgata) with definite environmental conditions: E. S. Russell. The method adopted by the author had been to measure the dimensions of a large number of shells from one environment and to compare them with similar measurements of shells from a second environment. The author had found the limpet a suitable animal for such investigations, as all limpets above 15 mm. ‘‘ home” accurately. Limpets from high-water localities were found to be larger, broader, and higher, but narrower in propor- tion than those from low-water localities. Limpets from exposed localities were lower, narrower, thicker, and more irregular in outline than those from sheltered spots. On the area from which the shells were collected two types occurred, a ‘‘rough’’ type with strong coarse ribs and irregular margin, associated with rough stones, and a ““smooth ’’ type on polished stones.—Anatomy of the batrachian family Pelobatide: F. E. Beddard.—The Microlepidoptera of Tenerife: Lord Walsingham.—Dates of publication of the separate parts of Gmelin’s edition (thirteenth) of the ‘‘ Systema Nature’’ of Linneus: J. Hopkinson. The paper stated that the first volume of this edition, containing the animal kingdom, was in seven parts, with a date, 1788, in the first part only, but that there was internal evidence of a later date of issue of subsequent parts. Investigations in the library of the British Museum had revealed the years of publication with some indication also of the period of the year in which each part appeared. The dates were :—part i., 1788; parts ii. and iii., 1789; parts iv. and v., 1790; part vi., 1791; part vii., 1792. The second volume, containing the vegetable kingdom, was in two parts, and the date of issue of part ii. had been found to be 1792. Contemporary authorities were given for the dates.—A small collection of Mammalia brought from Liberia by Mr. Leonard Leighton: R. I. Pocock. The paper recorded the presence in Liberia of two mammals hitherto unknown from that locality, and contained de- scriptions of one species of Genet and one Linsang new to science. December 10.—Sir Edmund G. Loder, Bt., vice- ) President, in the chair.—The origin of the mammal- like reptiles: Dr. R. Broom.—A revision of the African silurid fishes of the subfamily Clariinae: G. A. Boulenger.—A new species of hamogregarine from the blood of a Himalayan lizard, Agama tuberculata, from 4 Kasauli, India: Prof. E. A. Minchin. ‘ NO. 1991, VOL. 77] 4 Society of Chemical Industry, December 2.—Mr. R. J. Friswell in the chair.—The estimation of naphthalene in coal gas and spent oxide of iron: C. J. Dickenson-Gair. The methods of estimation described are (1) the acetic acid method; (2) the re-precipitation method.—Note on the influence of formal on the properties of Funtumia elastica : Dr. P. Schidrowitz and F. Kaye. The authors find that the rubber obtained from the latex, treated by formal, although less elastic and resilient than that obtained by other means, was extraordinarily tough. They suggest that a rubber of this character might be particularly suit- able for some purposes—e.g. for the covers of motor tyres— where toughness is of relatively greater importance than resiliency, and that it may in the future be found desirable to use different methods of coagulation for the same latex according to the purpose for which the rubber is intended. —Polarimetric determination of sucrose: F, Watts and H. A. Tempany. The authors have investigated (1) the effect of basic lead acetate on the optical activity of sugar solutions; (2) the effect of clarification with basic lead acetate on cane juice.—Niam fat: Dr. J. Lewkowitsch. Niam fat was obtained from the seeds of Lophira alata, Banks, a tree indigenous to Senegambia, Sierra Leone, and the Egyptian Soudan. The fat, freed from extraneous matter, forms 41 per cent. of the kernels. It is a soft, buttery mass melting at 24° C., and is used by the natives for culinary purposes and as a hair oil. Entomological Society, December 4.—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, president, in the chair—Exhibits.—Dr. G. C. Hodgson: A number of examples of Anthrocera trifolt, collected on the same ground in Sussex, and showing a wide range of variation, including three fine melanic forms, and several showing six spots on the upper-wings. —W. J. Kaye: A specimen of Papilio thoas thoas, with the central portions of both tails removed, apparently by a narrow-billed bird. The injury appeared so symmetrical that it was thought likely that the specimen was an abnormality, but microscopical examination showed that this was not so.—The President: Two photographs of an African locust, which had apparently caught a mouse and was preying upon it. The specimen was found in the Congo State.—R. S. Bagnall: Notes on many species of Coleoptera, Thysanoptera, and Aptera from Northumber- land, Durham, and Scotland, of which ten were new to Britain—_L. W. Newman: A long and varied series of Ennomos autumnaria (alniavia); a series of Polia xantho- mista (nigrocincta), bred from ova and fed on carrot, the specimens unusually large (N. Cornwall); three pairs of hybrid Notodonta sicsac 6 xX N. dromedarius Q, = N. newmani, Tutt; three very fine Xylina conformis bred by Evan John, S. Wales; three cocoons (in situ) of Dicranura bicuspis, collected wild in Tilgate Forest; and a fine melanic @ Oporabia dilutata, taken wild in Bexley Woods, 1907, this being the first melanic specimen of the species reported from Kent.—Dr. F. A. Dixey: Male and female specimens of a new Belenois allied to B. sochalia, Boisd., but quite distinct from the sochalia group. These were captured by Mr. Wiggins in the Tiriki Hills, north-east of the Victoria Nyanza.—Papers.—(1) The natural enemies of Bombyx rubi in Scotland; (2) note in further illustration of the convergence of Limenitis (Basilarchia) in America : Prof. E. B. Poulton.—The rest attitude of Hyria auroravia: J. C. Moulton.—The family tree of moths and butterflies, traced in their organs of sense: A. H. Swinton.—Notes and descriptions of Pterophoride and Orneodidzee: E. Meyrick.—Studies on the Blattide: R. Shelford.—Notes on the bionomics of British East African butterflies: Rev. K. St. A. Rogers. Ge»logical Society, Decemb»r 4.—Sir Archibald Geilkie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—The faunal succession in the Carboniferous Limestone (Upper Avonian) of the Midland area (north Derbyshire and north Staffordshire): T. F. Sibly. The area is the periclinal mass at the south end of the Pennine anticline. The series exposed constitutes an expanded development of the Dibunophyllum zone. The most extensive section shows a thickness of 1500 feet. Three subzonal divisions are dis- tinguished :—D,, subzone of Cyathaxonia rushiana; D., 190 NATURE [ DECEMBER 26, 1907 subzone of Lonsdalia floriformis; D,, subzone of Dibuno- phyllum @. An abnormal development of the Lonsdalia subzone forms a conspicuous local feature in parts of the western area. A local unconformity occurs in the eastern part of the area. A close similarity exists between the Dibunophyllum zone of the Midland area and that of North Wales. A comparison of the Dibunophyllum zone of the Midland with that of the S.W. province brings out important differences :—(a) the brachiopod fauna of the Lonsdalia subzone of the Midland province is richer than that of the equivalent part of the S,W. sequence; (b) the Cyathaxonia subzone of the Midland province is practically undeveloped in the S.W. province.—Brachiopod homaeo- morphy: Spirifer glaber: S. S. Buekman. The smooth, catagenetic stage of shells may have been attained by the loss of distinctive features, pointing to polygenetic origins. The series of shells figured by Davidson as Spirifera glabra do not all agree in being smooth. There is evidence that some forms ranged under this species are Reticularia (M‘Coy). The use of the generic name Martinia for various smooth Spiriferids becomes unjustifiable. The author restricts the genus Spirifer, and allocates several British and foreign species among the genera Fusella, Choristites, Trigonotreta, Brachythyris, Martinia, and Reticularia. Linnean Society, December 5.—Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—A series of specimens of Spartina townsendi, representing different stages of development and tall and dwarf forms, and for comparison also typical specimens of S. alterniflora and S. stricta: Dr. O. Stapf. The specimens of S. townsendi and S. stricta were collected by the exhibitor in the Isle of Wight; those of S. alterniflora near Millbrook Station in Southampton Water.—A_ collection of plants from Gunong Tahan, Pahang: H. N. Ridley.—Report on the Alcyonaria of the Sudanese Red Sea: Prof. J. A. Thomson and J. M.- McQueen. The collection was made in 1906 by Mr. Cyril Crossland, from Suakim, Khor Dongola, and nine other localities, and includes three species of Stolonifera, eighteen of Alcyonacea, one being new, and four of Pseudaxonia.—Report on the Crinoidea of the Sudanese Red Sea: H. C. Chadwick. The collection consisted of six species, only two of which had been previously recorded from the Red Sea.—Notes on some marine alge from the Red Sea: Prof. R. J. Harvey-Gibson. From material collected by Mr. Cyril Crossland in 1904 and 190s, under the direction of Prof. Herdman, F.R.S. The total number is thirty-five species; twelve belong to the Chlorophyceze and as many to the Phzophycez, with eleven Rhodo- phyceze. In an appendix the following phanerogams were mentioned as having been collected at the same time :— Cymodocea nodosa, Aschers., Halophila _ stipulacea, Aschers., Najas major, All., and fragments of Salicornia fruticosa, Linn.—Report on the Hydroida of the Sudanese Red Sea: Miss L. R. Thornely. Mathematical Society, December 12.—Prof. W. Burnside, president, in the chair.—A formula in finite differences and its application to mechanical quadrature: S. T. Shovelton.—Weierstrass’s E-function in the calculus of variations: A. E. H. Love. Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, December 19. —Prof. William Gowland, president, in the chair.—The assay of telluride ores: G. T. Holloway and L. E. B. Pearse. The authors have, in view of the diffi- culty experienced by assayers in the determination of the precious metals in ores containing tel- lurium and selenium and the discrepancies observ- able between duplicate assays by different assayers, endeavoured to ascertain how and why, and in which por- tion of the assay work, the losses occur, and what means should be adopted to prevent them. The possible sources of loss appear to be as follows :—volatilisation during roasting ; volatilisation and slag loss in the scorification assay ; volatilisation and slag loss in the crucible assay; loss by volatilisation or in the slag in scorifying the lead button obtained in the scorification or crucible assay; or loss by volatilisation and absorption during cupellation. The paper NO. 199], VOL. 77] contains details of a number of actual assays, and gives much valuable information in regard to the methods adopted and the results obtained.—A cheap form of cyanide plant : C. Hunter. A description of some cyanide plants of a light and portable nature actually supplied to small mining pro- positions in Rhodesia, with copies of the contracts and detailed specification. The cost of running such a plant is also stated.—The deep leads of Victoria, or the Cainozoic buried auriferous river deposits: H. L. Wilkinson. A review of the buried auriferous gravel deposits occupying the beds of ancient rivers once forming the drainage channels of Victoria at the period when large areas were covered by Pliocene seas. “These include the Loddon, Avoca, Campaspe, Smythesdale-Pitfield, Stawell, and Ararat leads and their tributaries, and cover the districts of Ballarat and Bendigo. The author points out the effects of enriching belts in aggregating the rich portions of a lead and other factors determining the quantity of alluvial gold in the wash. At the end of the paper are several pages of tabular matter relating to the working costs of alluvial mines. CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, November 11.—Dr. Hobson, presi- dent, in the chair.—A critical description of three cases of single hypogastric artery in the human foetus: Dr. Duckworth.—The inheritance of white in poultry: R. C. Punnett.—Sexual phenomena in the free-living nema- todes (preliminary note): F. A. Potts. The paper com- menced by summarising the work of Maupas, and emphasised the interest and importance of the supplemental males found in the hermaphrodite species. These are chiefly remarkable for their withdrawal from the economy of the species, though in no sense degenerate, or unfitted for reproduction. Confirmation of Maupas’s results was drawn from the study of a species of Diplogaster; some details of the culture methods used were given, and it was pointed out that this species shows that a race propagating exclusively by self-fertilisation does not of necessity show signs of degeneracy. November 25.—Dr. Hobson, president, in the chair.—The orientation of 3: 5-dichloropyridine: Dr. Sell.—The action of metallic magnesium on _ cer- tain aliphatic acids, and the detection of formic acid: Dr. Fenton and H. A. Sisson. In a previous communi- cation-(Trans. Chem. Soc., 1907, 687) it was shown that both carbonic and formic acids may be reduced by means of metallic magnesium to formaldehyde. Experiments have now been undertaken with the object of ascertaining whether an analogous reduction can be effected in other acids, and the results so far obtained appear to indicate that this is only possible in the lower members of a series. Further, it is shown that this reduction by means of mag- nesium affords a characteristic and fairly delicate test for formic acid, the special reactions for formaldehyde being of a far more positive character than those for formic acid. —Some colour-reactions of organic acids with phenols: Dr. Fenton and G. Barr. Remarkably brilliant colour- reactions are often obtained when certain organic acids are treated with phenolic compounds in presence of strong sulphuric acid, and it appeared desirable to tabulate the results obtained with some of the less common acids in order to ascertain whether the reactions might be employed for the purpose of preliminary identification. By comparing the colours obtained in this way with two or more phenols, information of a positive character may often be obtained. The method has the advantage of being applicable, not only to the acids themselves, but also to their salts or esters, and is useful for provisional identification when only minute quantities of the substance are available.—Contribu- tions to the knowledge of the oxaloimidochlorides: S. Ruhemann.—The absorption spectra of collidine and o-chlorcollidine: J. E. Purvis and W. H. Foster. The curve obtained from a study of collidine showed that it was very similar to that of pyridine and lutidine previously studied by Hartley and by Baker and Baly. The differ- ences were that there was a slight shift of the band towards the red end of the spectrum, and also that the persistence of the band was decreased a little less than that of lutidine and pyridine.—The decomposition and _ nitrification of December 26, 1907] NATURE 19I sewage (1) in alkaline solution, (2) in distilled water: J. E. Purvis and R. M. Courtauld. The results showed that after incubations extending over eight weeks there were only small quantities of nitrates produced; also that (1) there were smaller quantities of nitrates produced in the alkaline solution than in the non-alkaline; (2) a larger comparative increase of the free ammonia in the alkaline than in the non-alkaline solution; and (3) a progressive diminution in the total ammonias.—The influence of light and of copper on fermentation: J. E. Purvis and W. A. R. Wilks. The results showed that fermentation under sterilised and non-sterilised conditions in glass vessels under the influence of various spectral colours, as well as of white light, was not very seriously influenced. The most marked effects were in differences in the acidities of the fermented wort; the fermentations under the influence of red rays were more acid than those in the white light, but the differences in the numbers obtained from the optical activities were not sufficiently marked to draw definite conclusions. The influence of copper on the fermentation was very marked. Very small quantities were sufficient to cause great differences in the numbers obtained from the optical activity, the copper oxide reducing power, the attenuation, and the acidity.—Resolution of optically active ammonium salts by means of tartaric acid: H. O. Jones. —Studies on platinocyanides: L. A. Levy. The crystals of barium platinocyanide may be obtained in two forms, which exhibit a great difference in physical properties— notably in their fluorescence and colour. The present com- munication contains an account of the author’s experiments on the nature of the two varieties and the fluorescence exhibited by them.—Orientation of substituted brom- anilines: J. R. Hill.—The solutions of ordinary linear differential equations having doubly periodic coefficients : J. Mercer. Dustin. Royal Dublin Society, November 19.—Prof. Sydney Young, F.R.S., in the chair—The synthesis of glycosides: some derivatives of xylose: H. Ryan andG. Ebrill. By the action of acetyl chloride on xylose in a sealed tube acetyl-chloro- xylose was obtained. _ The substance, which crystallised well, melted at 101° C. From it the xylosides of e-naphthol and carvacrol, and the tetracetyl derivative of xylose were prepared. fSa-Naphthyl-xyloside was formed by addition of acetyl-chloro-xylose to a solution of potash and a-naphthol in absolute alcohol. It crystallises in long needles, which melt at 192° C. to 193° C. The substance is soluble in alcohol, acetone, and acetic ester, and almost insoluble in ether, carbon bisulphide, chloroform, and petroleum ether. It does not reduce Fehling’s solution. Emulsin has no action on it. In a similar manner acetyl- chloro-xylose was converted into carvacryl-xyloside. The latter substance crystallises in needles, which are soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, acetic ester, and acetone, but are insoluble in carbon bisulphide. Its melting point is 105° C. Like the corresponding a-naphthyl compound, it reduces Fehling’s solution only after inversion by hot dilute acids. Tetracetyl-xylose, which was obtained by the action of silver acetate on acetyl-chloro-xylose, is a crystalline solid which melts at 119° C. (uncorr.).—The radio-activity of sea-water: J. Joly. Examination of five samples of sea- water from various points round the Irish coast seems to show that when care is taken not to precipitate the radium in a non-emanating form when concentrating by evapora- tion (and for this purpose it is necessary to add a few ¢.c. of pure HCl when evaporating), the quantity of radium found is much greater than has been ascribed to sea-water hitherto. The larger values found may be in part due to suspended coastal materials. Experiments on mid-ocean “waters are in progress. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, October 29.— Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The atomic weight of radium: Dr. H. Wilde.—The production and origin of radium: Prof. E. Rutherford. An account Was given of the historical development of our ideas in NO. 1991, VOL. 77] regard to radium. On the disintegration theory, radium is regarded as a substance undergoing slow spontaneous transformation with a period of about 2000 years. In order to account for the existence of radium in minerals of great age, it is necessary to suppose that radium is produced from another substance of long period of trans- formation. There is a genetic connection between uranium and radium, for investigation has shown that the amount of radium in minerals is in all cases proportional to their content of uranium. If this be the case, radium should gradually appear in a preparation of uranium, initially freed from radium. No such growth of radium has been observed over a period of several years, although a very minute growth of radium can be easily detected. This is not necessarily inconsistent with the disintegration theory, for if one or more products of slow transformation exist between uranium and radium, no appreciable growth of the latter is to be expected in a short interval. A search for this intermediate product has recently proved successful. Boltwood found that a preparation of actinium, initially freed from radium, grew radium at a constant and rapid rate. Boltwood at first considered that actinium was this intermediate product, and that actinium changed directly into radium. The growth of radium in actinium solutions was confirmed by the author, who had commenced ex- periments in that direction three years before. The experi- ments showed, however, that actinium did not, as Bolt- wood supposed, change directly into radium. By a special method, a preparation of actinium was obtained by the author which showed no appreciable growth of radium over a period of 240 days. The growth of radium, if it occurred at all, was certainly less than 1/500th of that ordinarily observed. In another case, a _ solution of actinium was obtained which produced radium faster than the normal. These results are completely explained by supposing that a new substance of slow transformation is present with actinium, and this substance is transformed directly into radium. This parent of radium has distinct chemical properties, which allow it to be separated from both actinium and radium. The absence of growth of radium observed in the actinium solution mentioned above is due to the fact that, by the special method, the parent of radium had been completely separated from _ the actinium. In recent letters to Nature, Boltwood confirmed the results of the author, and described a satisfactory method of separating the radium parent from actinium. He has shown that this new body, which he proposes to call ‘“‘ionium,’’ gives out a and B rays, and has the chemical properties of thorium. The Royal Society recently loaned the author the actinium residues from about a ton of pitchblende. These residues contain the parent of radium, and experiments are in progress to isolate and concentrate both the actinium and ionium in these residues. November 12.—Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—(r) The cone of Bothrodendron mundum (Will.); (2) on the ulodendroid scar: D. M. S. Watson. In the former it was pointed out that the small hermaph- rodite lycopodiaceous cone described by Williamson in part x. of his series of monographs on the organisation of the fossil plants of the Coal-measures had an axis which agreed very closely with the wood of a small stem of Bothrodendron mundum. On the evidence of the characters of the axis and of the sporophylls, supported by constant association of the cone or its characteristic megaspores with stems of Bothrodendron mundum, it was concluded that the cone in question was really that of Bothrodendron mundum. In the paper on the ulodendroid sear, the theory that ulodendroid scars were produced by the pressure of the bases of sessile cones was shown to present difficulties, e.g. cones large enough to have pro- duced scars 6 inches in diameter were unknown, and it was difficult to see how the scars would have grown appreciably without becoming wider laterally than vertically, which was never the case. It was shown that all the ordinary features of a ulodendroid scar could be explained on the theory that it represented the base of a branch attached to the whole area of the scar. NATURE [ DecEMBER 26, 1907 New Sovtu Watgs. “Linnean Society, September 25.—Mr. J. H. Maiden, vice-president, in the chair.—The genus Petalura, with description of a new species (Neuroptera: Odonata): R. J. Tillyard. This remarkable isolated genus is probably a relic of an ancient Australian odonate fauna, which is now being steadily displaced by an _ Asiatic invasion. P. gigantea, Leach, occurs round Sydney and on the Blue Mountains, and was described nearly a hundred years 1g0. It is about 43 inches across the wings. The new species, P. ingentissima, is found in northern Queensland. It is the largest dragon-fly known to exist at present (about 6 inches across the wings), and seems to show connection with the huge Tertiary Gomphinz which have been found in a fossil state. It is exceedingly rare, and becoming obsolete; the only two specimens known are the types.— The dragon-flies of south-western Australia: R. ie Tillyard. The district worked was that lying between Perth on the north and Cape Leeuwin on the south, which has a regular and abundant rainfall. It may be divided into two portions, the Darling Ranges with their running streams, and the low coastal strip with lagoons and marshes. The Odonata of the two portions were found to be very distinct. Twenty-six species were noted, of which six are new and very interesting forms (referable to the genera Synthemis [2], Austrogomphus, Austrozeschna, Argiolestes, and Pseudagrion) ; four or five others are very rare, and the rest are common eastern species. Many of the species are black or nearly so, and seek protection on the burnt stumps or in the foliage of the ‘ black-boys ”’ (Xanthorrheea), which are abundant everywhere.—Note on a glaucophane schist from the Conandale Range, Queens- land: H. I. Jensen.—Chemical note on recent lava from Savaii: H. I. Jensen.—Revision of Australian Lepido- ptera, part iv.: Dr. A. J. Turner. This paper continues the revision of the family Geometridz, and is mainly con- cerned with the subfamily Sterrhinee. When Mr. Meyrick revised this group in 1887, he recognised thirty-two species, referred to five genera; the present revision treats of one hundred and two species, ascribed to twenty genera. Five species, referable to the subfamily Hydriomeninze (dealt with in the preceding paper), are also described as new. October 30.—Mr. A. H. Lucas, president, in the chair.—The Tertiary limestones and foramini- feral tuffs of Malekula, New Hebrides: F. Chapman. These rocks form part of the collection made by Mr. D. Mawson in 1903. The paper deals with the Miocene and the post-Miocene rocks of Malekula, south of Santo. Trillina has been found to occur in the New Hebrides ; this genus has already been proved to exist in South Australia and the Philippines, which thereby connects the south coast of Australia with the islands of east Australasia and por- tions of the East Indian Archipelago, along which line in Oligocene times there probably existed a shallow-water area where such forms could flourish. A new species of Alveolina found in the Malekula limestone had already been figured from Javan Miocene limestones. Lepidocyclina angularjs, found at Malekula, and already known from Miocene limestone in the Loo-Choo Islands, off Japan, shows a further extension of the Miocene shore-line as far north as Japan.—A collection of dragon-flies from Central Australia, with descriptions of new species, ORs Je Tillyard. The collection was made by Mr. J. F. Field, and is probably typical of the odonate fauna of Central Australia. Though well within the tropics, yet the locality exhibits no definite tropical forms. The 320 specimens examined comprise ten species; eight are common over Australia, two are new. One, Lestes aridus, is allied to L. leda and L. analis; the other, Austrosticta Fieldi, is the type of a new genus.—Memoir on a few heteropterous Hemiptera from eastern Australia: G. W. Kirkaldy. This memoir records the Heteroptera collected by Mr. A. Koebele and Dr. R. C. L. Perkins in Queensland, and by Mr. Koebele in New South Wales. Seven genera and twenty-five species are proposed as new.—The geographical significance of floods, with especial reference to glacial action: E. C. Andrews. The forms of roadside gutters and of miniature cations admit of explanation, since the NO, 1991, VOL. 77] | time occupied in their formation falls within decades. Storm-formed cafons show, in the initial stages, spurless trenches U-shaped in cross-section, the trench bases posses ing deep basins. At a later stage these cafions sho double slopes, the upper V-shaped, the base U-shaped, ‘n cross-section. This lower contour represents the flood con- tour. In river valleys, along shore-lines, and in glacial canons, forms similar to these occur. Along miniature canons generally the flood alone does the corrosive work. The application of such truths to glacial cafions explains drumlin forms and other apparent anomalies.—Solandrine, a new midriatic alkaloid: Dr. J. M. Petrie. The alkaloid belongs to the atropine group, and resembles hyoscine. ; It differs from hyoscine in its aurochloride in not reddening phenolphthalein, and it yields atropic instead of tropic acid when hydrolysed. Though the exact constitution of the alkaloid has not been worked out, the results afford evidence of the existence of a tropeine alkaloid in Solandra laevis, for which the name solandrine is proposed.— Description d’une nouvelle Espéce d’Oxylaemus (Coleo- ptera: Colydiida) : A. Grouvelle. CONTENTS. PAGE Electric Traction. By Gisbert Kapp 169 Veterinary Anatomy. =... eee 170 The Romance of Savage Life 171 Our Book Shelf :— Diels: ‘‘ Die Vegetation der Erde” . Moe oy Schaffer: ‘‘Das inneralpine Becken der Umgebung vonuWien.”—G. A.) J.,'Comaananiy. . :, « /alunemremlae “The British Journal Photographic Almanac and Photographer’s Daily Companion for 1908 ”’ Wwe Readymoney: ‘‘ Science of Nature-History” . . 172 Orage: ‘‘ Nietzsche in Outline and Aphorism ” 173 Letters to the Editor :— The Photoelectric Property of Selenium.—Prof. George M. Minchin, F.R.S. . . )) SOS ae Early Chinese Description of the Leaf-Insects. — Kumagusu Minakata..... 173 MheySalmon., | (Z//ustrated:)\ ae 5 <6 ere Entomology forthe Young. (J///ustrated.) By Fred. Vimheobald, . . ...\5 uke. «+. Clee Lord Kelvin. By Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S. 175 Lord Kelvin’s Funeral in Westminster Abbey . . . 177 INOTES ire) sc = a: |e 512) Ve ev. «ee | Our Astronomical Column :— NovaiPersel; 1901. .. «GREER 6 ss < SSS Provisional Elements for the Spectroscopic Binary a Andromedze 182 hotopraphs ‘of Mars’ ©.) eer) 182 Saturn apparently witbout Rings 182 Prizes Proposed by the Paris Academy of Sciences LOTELGOO Ways) si. 610% = eeeeGy, Letters to the Editor :— The Wehnelt Kathode in a High Vacuum.-—Prof, O. W. Richardson ; F. Soddy Sco = ee gE British Association Seismology.—Prof. John Milne, . OReSer 2 2 3. | cee. <--., cans The Photoelectric Property of Selenium.—Richard J. Moss; Dr. Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S. 198 Echelon Spectroscope.—H. Stansfield ee OS A Point in the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity.— _ EivibeMiartin: |. > ::en aie << Lae, OS Lord Kelvin: an Appreciation. ByJ.L. ... 199 Lord Kelvin and the University of Glasgow. . . . 200 Fluctuations in Himalayan Glaciers. (J///us/vated ) Bysbrotae G. Bonney, bh RiS een) eee Tidal Investigations in Canada. ByG.H.D.. 202 Education and Research in India Seren 3 202 Notes 6 o: SERENA oon 203 Our Astronomical Column :— Astronomical Occurrences in January 208 Daniel’s Comet, 19070... . 208 Ephemeris for Encke’s Comet oeS (sees Absolute Scale of Photographic Magnitudes. . . . . 208 Annual Astronomical Publications .... . war, 208 The Canyon Diablo Meteorites . . . ; 5 . » 208 The Stresses in Masonry Dams. (///ustrated.) By Prof. E. Brown . wae 5 howe ay 3. OS The Ethnologyrof Africa . = Seems. -- re ea The Place of the Laboratory in the Training of. .- Engineers. (///ust ated.) By Prof. A. L. Mellanby 211 American Investigatiors on Electrolytic Con- : Guctivityeene, =. os. : seas 13 The Tuberculin Test for Cattle . Sy LS University and Educational Jntelligence. . ... . 214 Societies and Acacemies . Poets co err: DiarysofiSocicties: . 2-5.) Eien aes ee et ats NABRORLE 217 THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1908. THE HISTORY OF AERONAUTICS. Histoire de la Navigation aérienne. By W. de Fonvielle. Pp. 271. (Paris: Libraire Hachette et Cie., 1907.) HE subject of aérial navigation is steadily develop- ing into one of importance. Invention in this line is progressing so rapidly that the expert who wishes to be up to date must perforce be busy with much new literature. The work before us, by so well- known an aéronaut as M. de Fonvielle, will, then, be eagerly sought for. The student who expects to receive full information on all the recent develop- ments may, however, feel some disappointment when he has looked through the book, since, out of its 270 pages, only some forty are devoted. to the very im- portant work which has been accomplished during the last ten years. The rest of the book is historical, throwing, no doubt, much new light on certain points, but, as a whole, containing nothing of importance that is not to be found in older works. The first chapter deals with the soap bubbles of Tiberius Cavallo, a story well known to English- men who have read that savant’s most interesting book, ‘“‘ The History and Practice of Aérostation,”’ which was published in London so long ago as 1785. In June, 1782, Mr. Cavallo read a paper before the Royal Society. in which he described how he had attempted to fill a light paper bag with hydrogen, in order to make it float in the air, but found it impos- sible to retain the “‘ inflammable air,’’ and how he then managed to blow out soap bubbles with hydrogen which rose in the air. In the following year both hot-air balloons and gas balloons were invented in France, and the accounts of them are described by M. de Fonvielle in following chapters. Elongated “ dirigible ’’ balloons, worked by hand, were designed very soon after the first ascents, but, of course, proved of little practical use. The chapters on the first scientific ascents refer to those of Robertson, Gay-Lussac, Barral, and Green, but the better-known and more complete work of Glaisher and Coxwell is not more than touched upon in a following chapter. The chapter on ‘‘ Les Ballons-sondes ’’ contains much that may be of interest to modern meteorologists, since this means of studying the atmosphere is now so much employed. Three chapters are devoted to ascents during the siege of Paris, and one to aéronautical photography, but perhaps the most complete and interesting ac- counts in the book are those of the Lebaudy and other dirigible airships. It was in November, 1go2, that the first free ascent was made with that vessel, which has now proved itself to be the first really practical aérial machine. Many more trials are described, in- cluding one on July 24, when 98 kilometres were covered; on November 12, when the airship travelled 60 kilometres to Paris; and on July 3, 1g05, when a journey of 96 kilometres was performed in 3 hours 21 minutes. NO. 1693. VOL. 77] The iast chapter, on the development of aérial navigation, is somewhat disappointing, for after referring to the Patrie and the Ville de Paris, the two most recent practical airships in France, it recounts shortly what has been attempted in this line in other countries, but makes no reference to the important experiments recently made with the ‘“heavier-than-air ’’? type of machine. As a history the work is not very satisfactory, since it jumps to and fro from period to period, and anecdotes are frequently narrated without specifying the dates. The book is fully illustrated, but though they in- clude some reproductions of photographs of recent events, by far the greater number of the illustrations are from woodcuts which have already done service in ‘* Travels in the Air ’’ (published in 1871) and other older works. We must take strong objection to some of these old blocks being reproduced with new titles, such, for instance, as that on p. 185, entitled ‘‘ Les Concours de Vincennes en 1coo,’’ and that on p. 201, ‘Ballon couvert de neige . . . . ascension de 1’Aéro Club,’’ both of which appeared in the above-named book; and especially that on p. 139, ‘‘ Descente de Lhoste en Angleterre,’’ which appears in ‘‘ Travels in the Air,’’ p. 307, as ‘‘ Descent of the Neptune at Cape Griznez.’’ As this picture is a landscape with cliffs and a lighthouse, it cannot faithfully represent a scene on the English coast as well as one on the other side of the Channel! TREATMENT OF HOME-WOODS. The Garden Beautiful: Home-woods and Home Landscape. By William Robinson. Pp. xii+170. (London: John Murray, 1907.) Price 7s. 6d. net. Py es author’s expressed object in writing this book was to induce people fortunate enough to possess woodlands to make them attractive and accessible. Having already written the ‘‘English Flower Garden ’’ and the ‘‘ Wild Garden,’’ he is careful in this case to point out that just as in the latter book his purpose was not to destroy the flower garden, so in the present instance the arguments in favour of beautifying the home-woods are intended to persuade proprietors ‘“‘ after thought of the needs of a true garden, to think more of their woods from esthetic and other points of view.”’ We are quite in sympathy with Mr. Robinson when he states that there are hundreds of acres of beautiful woods in his district never seen by anyone but the gamekeeper. Yet how delightful the effects that may be obtained by opening up such woods, in a manner that paths are made available for foot visitors at all seasons of the year! On most estates no such thing is done, but we have in our mind several instances that afford striking testimony to the deprivations voluntarily or ignorantly suffered by those who main- tain the woodlands as a closed book, so to speak, to all but sportsmen. One of these is at Keele Hall, in Staffordshire, the present residence of the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, where the woods, extending for a mile or more beyond the pleasure grounds, were L NATURE [JANUARY 9, 1908 218 laid out with suitable paths about forty years ago by the late Ralph Sneyd, uncle to the present owner of the estate. The idea in carrying out such work should be that of bringing the most picturesque portions of the wood into view, and the paths should be arranged accordingly. It would be contrary to the spirit of the thing to try and make) the woodlands a kind of pleasure- ground, for the woods are capable of yielding effects perfectly distinct from those which may be obtained from a pleasure-ground. No great amount of plant- ing need be done, but by this statement we do not mean that regard for a supposed principle need pre- vent one from planting decorative shrubs, trees, or bulbs in positions where suitable sites are available for them, and the effect can thereby be greatly im- proved. In many situations where close planting has caused trees to develop fine, straight stems or trunks, there is no need for any under-shrub to complete the scene, for the lover of trees will have his delight in viewing the magnificent stems, often devoid of branches for twenty, or even thirty, feet from the ground. But it is necessary, for change of scene, that in some places there should be a dense undergrowth of an evergreen shrub, such as the rhododendton, which is capable of thriving and even flowering well in com- parative shade. The author of the present work rightly insists on the necessity of obtaining rhododen- drons on their own roots for woodland planting, as they are usually capable of succeeding better than grafted plants, especially if the grafts have been worked on stocks of R. ponticum. Many gardeners have the idea that the old and somewhat unattractive R. ponticum is the hardiest 6f all rhododendrons, but this is erroneous. Some of the North American kinds are much hardier, and their effect when in flower is brilliant. Mr. Robinson specially recommends a variety known as ‘‘Cunningham’s White,’’ a most hardy plant of vigorous constitution, and bearing flowers of a rosy-lilac colour in bud, gradually becom- ing paler as the flowers expand. Other suitable species for forming undergrowth of a similar nature would include Berberis aquifolium (the evergreen barberry), Ligustrum ovalifolium (common privet), Laurus nobilis, Gaultheria Shallon, species of Hedera (ivy), Bambusa species, also common briars, bracken and furze, &c. When once the owner of a wood, however, deter- mines to make it accessible and attractive, he will soon discover various ways in which the views from the paths may be improved without interfering with the character of the wood itself. The sides of the paths can easily be planted with attractive, low- growing shrubs, and the scope for securing spring effects from flowering bulbs will be almost infinite. The bulbs from the forcing houses need never be thrown away, for suitable situations for them will present themselves in numerous instances, and snow- drops, crocuses, bluebells, and even the cheery little cyclamens may be planted in thousands. i The author reproduces two chapters from ‘ The English Flower Garden,’ and then in subsequent ciduous trees of the northern forest, the best of native and European trees for the British Isles, how to pro- duce wood and covert from seeds, and many other details connected with the subject, there being in all thirty-three chapters. We cannot agree with the sug- gestion on p. 76 that trees growing in isolated positions on lawns have their roots rebbed by the grasses! in anything like the measure that obtains when the trees are growing together in a plantation. Mr Robinson’s plea for the use of English names in garden literature we regard as unfortunate, unless the botanical names are employed also, as the use of . popular names alone usually leads to the greatest confusion. WATER SUPPLY. Clean Water and How to Get It. By Allen Hagen. Pp. x+178; illustrated. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. HERE is probably no engineering topic at the present day of more striking importance to the public welfare than that relating to the supply of pure water for domestic purposes to large centres of population. Health, physical fitness, comfort and general well-being are all bound up in the solution of a problem which becomes daily increasingly diffi- cult, and, at the same time, increasingly urgent, with the rapid growth and development of manufac- turing towns, quite apart from the consideration of its equally essential application to the smallest hamlet and to the individual. An age which no longer recognises disease and degeneration as the unalterable and inscrutable decrees of a mysterious Providence, but as evils to be resolutely combated, with every hope of a successful issue, cannot for one moment tolerate the idea of polluted sources and germ-ridden channels for its supplies of water—that element so indispensable to existence and so inseparable a con- stituent of nature itself. Anv publication, therefore, which tends to throw additional light on the subject, or which collates and classifies data and information already acquired for the use of those engaged in the prosecution of water- works, must be readily welcome. Mr. Hagen’s book belongs to the latter class, and his object has been to set down some useful facts and principles for the guidance of those who have had no previous experi- ence in the matter, and yet who are called upon, in connection with civic and urban duties, to participate in the control and distribution of water for their respective districts. The book is avowedly not in- tended for the expert, though even he may find some serviceable data among its pages. It is for the be- ginner and the ‘‘ man in the street,’? in order that they may thereby be led to understand and appreciate something of the rudiments of a science of such vital concern to themselves and their fellow citizens. Written exclusively from an American standpoint and based entirely on American practice, it is difficult on this side of the Atlantic to offer very effective criticism of its contents. Conditions here differ in so chapters goes on to deal with the evergreen and de- | many respects as to afford little scope for useful com- NO. 1993, VOL. 77] ————————— JANuaRY 9. 1908] NATURE 219 parison. Thus in this country we have no cases of towns corresponding to the Great Lake cities— Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Duluth—drawing their water supplies from the same limited area into which their sewage is discharged. The risk of pollution is so abundantly evident that it is not surprising that Chicago has attempted to mini- mise the evil by diverting her sewage outfall, at considerable cost, into the Mississippi River. The wonder is that the example has not been copied in other cases. Another strikingly distinctive feature is the enor- mous excess of supply per caput over that generally provided in this country. London and Liverpool are each content with less than forty gallons per head daily, whereas ten large’ American cities severally and individually exceed a demand of roo gallons per head. New York takes 129 gallons; Boston, 151 gallons; Chicago, 190 gallons; and Pittsburg, 250 gallons. The discrepancy is tremendous. One feels that Mr. Hagen has hardly put it sufficiently strongly when he remarks that, ‘‘ taking it right through, probably one-half the water supplied to American cities is wasted.”’ Mr. Hagen, in his book, first describes the various available sources of supply, viz. artificial reservoirs, small and large lakes, rivers, wells, and springs. He then discusses the chemical action of water on iron pipes and the means of effecting and maintaining the purification of stored water. There are chapters on pressure and on metering; the financial side of the subject is also considered. Altogether, the book is a most useful compendium of information relating | to American methods of water supply. VETERINARY PHYSIOLOGY. A Manual of Veterinary Physiology. By Colonel F. Smith, C.B., C.M.G. Third edition, completely “revised and in parts re-written. Pp. xvi+715. (London : Bailliére, Tindall and Cox, 1907.) Price 15s. net. AS interval of twelve years has passed between the issue of the last edition of this text-book and the present, third, edition. So many and notable have been the advances in physiology during that time that the book has had to be practically re-written ; only the chapters on the senses, locomotion, and the foot stand nearly as they were. The chapter on the nervous system has been read, and some new matter added to it, by Prof. Sherrington, F.R.S., and other sections have been amplified by the cooperation of men who have special knowledge of the particular subject dealt with. The book is not a text-book of human physiology with a little veterinary material added, but is a treatise which takes the horse as the type, and pre- serves that type throughout. Other animals of in- terest to the veterinary surgeon are not thereby ex- cluded; the ox, sheep and pig, where differing essen- tially in their physiology from the horse, are fully considered. A special feature of the work is the in- terest it arouses in the reader; the physiology is applied to the practical requirements of the student NO. 1993, VOL. 77]| $$$ — and practitioner, and the book is, in its way, partly a clinical manual. An appendix to many of the chapters takes up shortly the more common features of path- ological interest liable to occur in the organ or organs the physiology of which has just been considered. The addition of a little pathoiogy is, in the words of the author, meant to enforce the lesson that pathology is only physiology out of health. It certainly adds greatly to the interest of the book, and serves to emphasise the importance of a thorough understand- ing of the normal. For many of the discoveries in the physiology of the horse we are indebted to the researches of Colonel Smith himself, and no one is in a better position to unfold them. This he does in the simplest and clearest language; many of his statements, indeed, throw light on processes which go on in the human body, or are at least extremely suggestive. The ob- servations, founded on universal experience, that, in order to get a horse fit for hard work, or cattle and sheep ready for the butcher, the diets given must be strongly nitrogenous and limited only by the appetite, are quite opposed to the recent theories so strongly advocated by Chittenden. This is not the only instance where theory and practice come into opposi- tion; the custom of watering a horse before feeding it is physiologically correct, but, according to Ellen- berger, a horse, in order to derive the fullest possible nutriment from its oats, should be given hay first, then water, and finally oats. This does not accord with the English views of watering and feeding horses, which, however, as Colonel Smith says, have stood the test of prolonged practical experience. The chapter on digestion is particularly good; the horse, ox, pig, and dog are separately considered. Occasionally one meets with statements that require further amplification; that pilocarpine is antagonistic to atropin and produces a profuse flow of saliva reads as though pilocarpine overcomes the effects of atropin, and that nicotine paralyses ganglion cells is not quite exact. The text, however, bears evidence of careful revision, and the book will prove a most valu- able one to veterinary students and practitioners. Recent discoveries have been generally incorporated. Special mention may be made of the chapter on generation and development, which are particularly well treated. The work is one that can be read with interest from beginning to end, and claims the atten- tion of all interested in veterinary work. Percy T. HERRING, OUR BOOK SHELF. The Polarity of Matter. By Alex. Clark. Pp. vii + 134; illustrated. (London and Edinburgh: Gall and Inglis, n.d.) Price 3s. 6d. net. Tuts book claims to be a trustworthy text-book for the student of physics, but we cannot recommend it in this respect. Very few of the statements of fact which it contains are correctly made; and the deduc- tions from them are supported by little consistent proof. At least, these are the conclusions to which we have come after a genuine endeavour to under- stand the meaning of the book. At the present. time, when there has been such a rush of new facts, there is abundance of room for a book of a speculative 220 NATURE [ JANUARY 9, 1908 character. The author must not think, therefore, that we speak unfavourably of his work because of its novelty. The true explanation of physical phenomena will sound exceedingly novel, we have no doubt, when it is first put forward. It may be that in the author’s mind there is a germ of an idea which deserves developing. But if he wishes this to be recognised it would be well if he were to get some friend to assist him in the process. The main aim of the book is to reduce all ‘‘ forces ”’ to one origin; and the secret by which it is done is the recognition of the ‘polarity of matter.’’ Con- sidering the thoroughgoing attempts of Sutherland and others to explain gravitation by means of polar systems of electrons, he would be a rash man who should say that the author’s idea is absolutely chim- erical. Whether or not he is qualified to develop it may perhaps be learned from the following extracts :— “When the magnet is a straight bar... the dis- tance between its pole being 2a... the magnetic force is 3°14 times the gravitational force. If the mag- net be bent into the form of a horse-shoe so that the distance between its poles is a, the magnetic force is 12°5 times the gravitational force. . . When the poles of the magnet come together the force is unity... .” “The position of a fragment of iron in a magnetic field may therefore be defined as tangential to an ellipse of which the magnetic poles are the foci.’’ ““The force of attractive interest in each of two bodies forming the poles of an electric force is a constant quantity, and when the force radiates equally in all directions its magnitude is gravity.’ “Tn all cases of magnetisation by means of an electric current, certain waves proceed from the cur- rent by which the effect is produced. These waves are commonly called Hertzian waves.”’ If the seeker after novelty finds in the above ex- tracts the particular kind of novelty for which he seeks, we cordially commend the book. to him; and we wish him greater success in unravelling its mean- ing than we have attained. Wild Bees, Wasps and Ants, and other Stinging Insects. By Edward Saunders, F.R.S. With numerous illustrations in the text and four coloured plates by Constance A. Saunders. Pp. xili+144. (London: Routledge and Sons, Ltd., n.d.) Price RSsmOd: Since the death of Frederick Smith, probably no man has given more attention to the study of our British Hymenoptera Aculeata (the section of the order which contains stinging insects, such as bees, wasps, and ants, &c.) than Mr. E. Saunders. This order of in- sects is much less hackneyed than the Lepidoptera or Coleoptera, and Mr. Saunders’s work will be very useful to beginners commencing the study of perhaps the largest order of insects of all, and also of the most interesting section, for there are only four groups of insects known which include species living in organised communities, three in Hymenoptera—bees, wasps, and ants—and only one in Neuroptera—the termites, impro- perly called white ants. The non-aculeate Hymenop- tera, not here dealt with, are far more numerous, and are very imperfectly known or studied at present; they comprise the sawflies and gall flies, and also the ichneumons, and other parasitic insects, hundreds of which are of very small size, including among them the smallest known insects. But it will be sufficient for most entomologists who are inclined to study Hymenoptera to follow the lines laid down by Mr. Saunders for the examination of the structure and habits of the more familiar and less difficult group of Hymenoptera Aculeata. The infor- mation given, though, of course, much condensed, is NO. 1993, VOL. 77] well arranged and thoroughly trustworthy, besides being expressed in an attractive manner. The last chapter, *‘ On Structure,’’? with a good diagram and clear descriptions, will be particularly useful, for nothing is more troublesome to an entomologist taking up the study of an order or group of insects unfamiliar to him than the absence of a clear explanation of the terms applied to the various details of insect structure. Das Problem der Schwingungserseugung. By Dr. H. Barkhausen. Pp. iv+113. (Leipzig: S. Hirzel, 1907.) Price 4 marks. Tue author of this book discusses the conditions under which an instrument or piece of apparatus can produce undamped vibrations when the source of energy does not vary periodically. The organ pipe and violin string illustrate the phenomenon in the case of vibrations produced by mechanical means. For the mathematical theory, however, electrical vibrations are the most convenient, and as the problem of creating undamped electrical vibrations is of present-day importance in wireless telegraphy, the greater part of the book is devoted to its consideration. The first result obtained is that a necessary con- dition for the production of permanent vibrations is the presence of a variable alternating resistance, self-induction or capacity in the current system. The variation of the resistance may be due to external action, as in the microphone and in a new arrange- ment called the resonance interruptor, which is capable of giving high frequencies, or it may arise from the current flowing through the apparatus as in the electric arc. The author makes frequent use of graphical methods, especially in the discussion of three different types of vibration which can be produced with the arc. These are investigated separately, and compared with regard to their capacities for resonance, high frequency, and performance of work. The questions of stability show that permanent vibrations can be obtained only when the interval for re-kindling after extinction increases more rapidly at first than it does afterwards. Various methods are given by which this can be ensured. The book concludes with a chapter on mechanical vibrations, particular attention being paid to those produced by friction. On the whole, the exposition is good, and we can confidently recommend the book to those who wish to obtain a grasp of the principles of the subject. H. B Album de Aves Amazonicas. (Para: Museu Goeldi, 1907.) WE have been favoured with a copy of the third and final fasciculus of this superbly illustrated work, of which the first part was noticed in our issue of August 22, Ig01. The present fasciculus includes plates 25-48, which are executed in the same first- class style as their predecessors, and a re-issue of the descriptions of the entire series, together with several well-arranged indices. We can add little in the way of commendation to what has been already written in our notices of the two earlier issues. Throughout the work the figures are for the most part well drawn, and coloured with such a near approximation to nature as to render the various species easily recog- nisable. That the work will tend to promote the study of Brazilian ornithology cannot be doubted, and the author is to be heartily congratulated on having given to the world such a splendid series of portraits of the most striking representatives of a tropical bird-fauna,. By Dr. E. A. Goeldi. JANuaRY 9, 1908] NATURE 221 LETTERS TO THE: EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] A Specific Gravity Balance for Large Rock Specimens. Tue specific gravity balance represented in the accom- panying illustration was devised by me some ten years ago for the determination of the specific gravity of hand specimens of rocks in the laboratory of the Geological Survey of India, Calcutta. In the ordinary form of Walker’s balance the weight used on the short arm must be considerable in order to balance even a very small frag- ment of rock on the longer arm, and in consequence the specific gravity of an ordinary hand specimen has to be inferred from that of a small chip, which, unless the rock is of very homogeneous composition and texture, may give a very misleading result; and it is evident that if this form of balance were capable of accommodating a fairly A specific gravity balance for large rock specimens. ys full size. large specimen, the whole instrument would have to be immoderately large. It occurred to me that if the speci- men could be substituted for the heavy weight of Walker’s balance, not only would it be possible to construct a balance of moderate size by which the determination of large speci- mens could be made directly, but the manipulation of the specimen and of the vessel containing the water might be greatly facilitated. This object was attained by counterbalancing the beam A (see diagram) by means of a weight B, which is made so that it runs fairly easily on the screwed rod c, attached to the shorter arm of the beam. The adiustment is made before commencing a series of determinations, after remov- ing the sliding piece p from which the scale pan £ depends (the back of this sliding piece being cut away for this purpose, as shown in the separate figure), but with the hook F for the suspension of the specimen in place. Both the frames to which the hooks are attached are supported on knife-edges, that at F being fixed to the beam, while that at p is attached to the sliding-piece, so that it can be placed at any point on the longer arm of the beam. The beam itself is balanced on a knife-edge at G, supported on grooved agate bearings let into the top of the pillar H. The beam is divided along its upper edge into millimetres, measured from the point of support at G. The dimensions NO. 1993, VOL. 77] of the instrument are indicated in the diagram; it was constructed by the Mathematical Instrument Department of the Survey of India in Calcutta. _ On the left-hand side of the table supporting the balance is shown an arrangement for raising and lowering the jar I, containing water. The jar is supported by a block of wood J, to which is attached a rack and pinion actuated by the handle kK, a ratchet wheel and pawl enabling the jar to be fixed at any convenient height. This apparatus has been found very convenient in manipulating large specimens, and it enables one to get rid of the air-bubbles which attach themselves to the specimen when first im- mersed, by raising and lowering the jar two or three times before moving the scale pan. In making a determination the knife-edge carrying the scale pan is placed at the 500 mm. division on the beam, and small shot are poured into the pan until the specimen in air is exactly balanced. The water-jar is then raised until the specimen is entirely immersed, and then the scale pan is moved to the left along the beam until equilibrium is again established, the weight in the pan remaining the same. The number of millimetres at which this occurs is noted, and the specific gravity corresponding is found at once from a table suspended near the instrument. A portion of this table is given here :— mm. sp. gr. mm sp. gr. 300 2°500 — — 301 2512 — — Boz 2°525 348 3289 303 2°538 349 3°311 304 2°551 350 3°333 = ae 351 3°355 The specific gravities corresponding to each division might, of course, be engraved on the beam, but with milli- metre divisions the figures would have to be inconveniently minute. In practice the balance has been found to be very accurate, on comparison with a large balance of the ordinary description, the error only affecting the third place of decimals; and where a large number of hand specimens has to be determined, the saving in time made possible by its use is very great. Broken specimens and small fragments. of rock may be enclosed in a cage of fine copper wire, the error introduced by which can be easily calculated. In Calcutta, when the cage is in use, the error is corrected by adding 1 to the number of millimetres read when the specimen is immersed in water. , There is, of course, nothing new in the principle of this balance, but the general arrangement, especially the water- lift, is, I think, novel, and it has been found so convenient where large numbers of hand specimens have to be dealt with that I trust it may be introduced into other geo- logical laboratories; I shall be happy to furnish more precise details of the dimensions of the instrument to any- one desirous of having a similar one constructed if he will kindly communicate with me. T. H. D. La Toucue. Kingstown, Treland, December 7. A Point in the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. I po not recollect that in. Prof. Karl Pearson’s recent memoirs embodying the results of tests on jelly models of dams he asserted that the distribution of stresses due to the water pressure on and the weight of a dam is entirely different in a thin slab cut from the dam from the dis- tribution in the actual dam. In fact, Prof. Pearson used many such model slabs in an endeavour to ascertain experimentally certain stress distributions in actual dams. Prof. Pearson will doubtless be able to reply to criticisms from engineers or others regarding any statements he has made in this connection, either in his published memoirs or elsewhere; it is difficult to follow Mr. Martin’s argu- ments (p. 198) at all points, more particularly with respect to the effects of the cancellation forces yy=F(xz). It seems to me, however, that the stresses in a thin slab, due to its weight and water pressure, must be different from those in an actual dam. A dam is fixed as 222 NATURE [| JANUARY 9, 1908 rigidly as possible along its base and at its ends, and if the plan of the upper edge is originally straight there must be some horizontal displacement at the centre of the length from the line joining the abutments, quite apart from such displacement as may be due to the overturning effect of the pressure on a vertical slab. The dam resembles in some measure a built-in beam, and, recog- nising this fact, some large dams have been built slightly convex on the water face. If a balcony consisting of a plate of variable depth is rigidly supported at its ends and along one side, I imagine that the vertical displacement caused by a load at the centre and front of the free edge of the balcony could not be estimated without some regard for its end and side supports, nor could the strésses due to it be easily deter- mined. There would be some stress along the horizontal fibres joining its ends, and the elevation of the front edge of the balcony must show contraflexure, since its ends are horizontal and the centre portion is concave upwards. Can we deny the existence of such effects, whatever their magnitude may be, if a masonry dam is regarded as an elastic body? An engineer should be conscious of all the forces at work on a structure which he is design- ing, and if these forces and their effects can be correctly estimated, a design may be prepared having due regard to the physical properties of the materials employed and .their’ liability to variation, owing to natural causes and errors of workmanship. When the forces and their effects are in any measure uncertain, the exercise of due caution, accompanied by mature judgment based on experience, will usually lead to a successful design. It does not seem probable that a mathematical solution can be obtained for the stresses in a homogeneous isotropic dam, rigidly fixed at its ends and base, which can take account of the conditions existing in practice. The solution of the theoretical case would be of interest, but it is questionable to what extent it would be applicable to practical conditions, in which dams are not homogeneous and isotropic, and foundations and abut- ments are not absolutely rigid. Engineers recognising these facts have used a simple but approximate method of estimating the stresses in a dam, based on the flexure of beams. The solution based on the theory of elasticity, as presented by Prof. Pearson, may be nearer the truth, but it may be questioned whether this can be known to be the case in an actual dam. E. Brown. Echelon Spectroscope. FurtTHER observations on the secondary bands referred to in my letter in Nature of January 2 (p. 198) seem to indicate that they are faint spectra of a much higher order than the primary spectra. Faint spectra of a very high order must be formed by a series of beams that have suffered two reflections at the external surfaces of the echelon. Each of these secondary beams has traversed the echelon three times, and the re- tardations of the beams form a series the common differ- ence of which is seven times that for the series of beams giving the primary spectra, taking the index of refraction to be 1-5. These secondary beams would only have about one six-hundredth of the intensity of the primary beams, and I thought that the resulting spectra would be too faint to be observed until I found that the reflections that take place at the interfaces of the echelon assist in forming the same secondary spectra. Assume that each interface reflects the same very small proportion of the light incident upon it, and neglect beams that have been reflected more than twice. Imagine the echelon being built up one plate at a time, commencing with the largest. Each plate that is put on starts a series of secondary beams and adds another term to each of the eries started by the earlier plates. The retardations in each of these series have the same seven-fold common difference as the first series, and so they all help in form- ing the secondary spectra. Each member of the series started by the nth plate has n times the intensity of the unit secondary beam produced fram the primary beam by two interface reflections, con- sequently the iast few steps of the echclon are much more NO. 1993, VOL. 771 effective in producing the secondary spectra than the steps formed by the first few plates, and the clearness of the secondary spectra given by the echelon may be much improved by covering over, say, the first half of the whole number of steps built up. In this way better photographs of the secondary bands have been obtained, and I hope to be able to test this explanation of their formation quantitatively. H. STANSFIELD. The University, Manchester, January 6. The Photoelectric Property of Selenium. I HAvE to thank Mr. R. J. Moss (January 2, p. 198) for the true explanation of the extraordinary increase of conductivity of a selenium bridge enclosed in an exhausted tube. The air pump employed, in the first instance, to produce the exhaustions was the mercury pump of Tépler, and it occurred to me that the mercury vapour might be objectionable. The enormous magnitude of the effect, however, induced me to ignore this vapour. The drop in resistance was finally from 61 megohms to 9-7 ohms. After seeing Mr. Moss’s letter I made another bridge, enclosed it in a glass tube, and exhausted this tube with a Fleuss. The result was now an increase of resistance in the bridge from 57 megohms to 110 megohms—an increase which can be easily explained. Whether or not the exhaustion produces increased sensitiveness to light and other benefits I cannot yet say. Dr. Shelford Bid- well’s conjecture that there was a short circuit in the bridge is the first explanation that naturally occurs, but from the nature of the bridge no short circuit is possible. The metallic parts are absolutely fixed, and separated by thicknesses of glass or mica sometimes amounting to I mm. The result proves the undesirability of exhausting by mercury pumps in certain cases. Oxford, January 5. Grorce M. Mincuin. Musical Sands. In Nature of December 26, 1907 (p. 188), Mr. S. Skinner’s recent exhibition of ‘‘singing’’ sand at the Physical Society is referred to. These particular sands were said to consist chiefly of angular grains. In all my investigations, which have extended over a period of many years, I have never been able to produce musical notes from any sands composed of purely angular grains; indeed, as I have frequently stated, a certain proportion of angular grains mixed with a musical sand will effectually silence it! I dealt fully with this point in my paper on musical sand published in 1888. Again, I have never yet met with purely angular grains possessing smooth and rounded surfaces—conditions which, with others, are essential in the production of music from sands. Perhaps Mr. Skinner meant subangular grains? I do not think the explanation of the cause of the pheno- menon suggested by Profs. Poynting and Thomson in “Sound ”’ (‘* Text-book of Physics’’) meets the case. It is based on the erroneous assumption that the sand-grains are arranged as a number of equal spheres in contact. If this supposition were correct, and the condition an essential one in the production of notes, then my experi- ments with many sands composed of highly spherical grains (like the ‘‘ millet seed,’’ for instance) should have yielded notes of the highest quality, instead of being, as they all were, mute under the most favourable conditions. The late Prof. Tyndall, who took a great interest in my work, and personally confirmed the results of my experi- ments, agreed with my conclusions, and thought hardness of grain an important consideration, believing that the loudest notes might be emitted from ruby and diamond sands—if I could get them! I am under the impression that if the theory proposed by Profs. Poynting and Thom- son is tenable, it should be possible to obtain notes from comparatively soft spherical seeds (like fig, &c.), but though I have experimented with many kinds, I have not been successful in this direction. I still think my friction theory the simplest, and as many leading men of science have supported it, and no one has as yet disproved it, why may it not be retained ? “ce Ceci: Carus-WILson. eal rat ees JANUARY 9; 1908] NATURE 223 SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY.) (1) ite works of the present nature, Mr. Millais is at his best; and his best, alike with pen and with pencil, is, it is almost unnecessary to say, very good indeed. Caribou-hunting was the main object of his expedition, and in this work the author has given us an account of the local race of the reindeer which has never before been equalled, a feature of special value being a coloured plate of the animal from a sketch by himself. Some magnificent and perhaps unrivalled photographs of heads of this handsome animal are also reproduced. Mr. Millais is never content with following in the | beaten track; and during his expedition. he succeeded | in making his way into previously unknown tracts in the interior, where he succeeded, from a clue given by Mr. F. C. Selous, in locating. a large non-migratory southern herd. It will probably come as a surprise to many of his readers that a large area of the interior of the country is still unknown, even to the Govern- ment surveyors. Here reindeer abound, these swampy tracts of the interior being, in fact, fit for nothing else than reindeer. A most satisfactory feature is that, despite an organised annual slaughter during migration, the caribou continue to increase in the island, and, in the author's opinion, are likely to do so for cen- turiés. Mr. Millais estimates the number of caribou in the island at 200,000. The rate of destruction is esti- mated as follows :—‘ Put- ting the death-rate at the highest estimate of three animals each to 4000 shooters, 12,000 would be killed out of 200,000, that is, a depreciation of 6 per cent. Now this is a much smaller rate of killing ) than takes place among the stags of Scotland, and they are undoubtedly on the increase.’’ ; The book is, how- ever, by no means restricted to Newfoundland | and _ caribou, for we have, near the middle, an interesting chapter on the author’s experi- ences in whaling, in which the game were the blue finner and the humpback. In the course of this chapter we notice (pp. 162, 178) two different dates | assigned to Svend Foyn’s invention of the bomb-har- | poon, the one last mentioned being correct; and at least one slip in proof-reading is observable. ‘The coloured plates of scenery and animals are ex- quisite, and ought by themselves to ensure a large sale for this charming volume; while the reproduc- tions from photographs and pen sketches are no less admirable and interesting. As an example, we re- produce the illustration of a party of caribou swim- ming a lake, with Mount Cormack in the distance. (2) In place of stirring jungle adventures and hair- 1 (1) “Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways.” By J. G. Millais. Pp. xvi+340; illustrated. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1907.) Price 215. net. E (2) “ Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal.” 4 | « By Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Cunningham. Pp. xi+385; illustrated. (London: John Murray, 1907.) | connection Price r2s. net. NO. 1993. VOL. 77] breadth escapes from tigers and wild boars, we have in this attractive and beautifully illustrated volume a series of chapters on the insect and other invertebrate (we really want a word equivalent to the Spanish becho, which will serve for all these creatures) life of the plains of India, followed by others on Indian trees, plants, and gardening. From preface to index the work is written in a style and with a charm which cannot fail to interest a large circle of readers; while the numerous references to details connected with the habits and environment of the various species cited serve to proclaim the author (already well known to the reading public by an earlier work on the same lines) as an accurate and painstaking observer. So graphic, indeed, are his descriptions that we can almost imagine ourselves in the veranda of a bungalow on a hot night at the beginning of the rains, surrounded by pests of many sizes and sorts, or wandering in spring through the incomparably beautiful glades of the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta. Among the larger pests to which the author pays much attention are centipedes and scorpions; and in with the latter he relates how a yogi Fic, 1.—Caribou swimming a lake: Mount Cormack in the background. From ‘‘ Newfoundland and its Untrodden Ways.” from Mirzapur, who had the reputation of being im- mune to the scorpion’s sting, submitted himself to a, trial in Calcutta. To make sure that there should be no “‘ bogus ”’ in the matter, a good supply of freshly- caught scorpions of the most venomous type was pro- vided. After some’ hesitation, he allowed several of the creatures to affix themselves to his fingers, when he appeared to suffer no special inconvenience or pain, and thus demonstrated the truth-of his asser- tions. The immunity was, in Col. Cunningham’s opinion, probably due to frequent inoculation with the venom, aided possibly by an innate tendency in that direction, and the consequent development of an antitoxin, the case being, in fact, analogous to that, comparative immunity to mosquito-poison which re- sults in most persons after lengthened preliminary suffering. Among other trials to which the resident in India is subjected, the author waxes eloquent on the difficulty of preserving books from the ravages of ‘ silver-fish ”’ and white ants; while he also refers to the voracity of the huge land-snails (achatinas) introduced into Cal- 224 NATURE [ JANUARY 9, 1908 cutta gardens from Mauritius, and the unpleasant re- sults which ensue if their destruction is not conducted on special lines. Let no one, however,-imagine that an Indian life has not its lighter side. What, for instance, can equal the glory of its sunsets, so graphically described by the author, or the luxuriance and beauty of its gardens, which he brings to our notice with the aid of both camera and pen? As an example of what can be done in the way of effect with foliage alone, > Fic. 2.—Palms in an Indian Garden. the accompanying illustration, with which we must, reluctantly, take leave of a charming, thoughtful, and instructive worl. Ree: “ KIMBERLITE i” AND THE SOURCE OF THE DIAMOND IN SOUTH AFRICA. HE origin of the volcanic pipes of South Africa and the genesis of the diamonds contained in their ‘‘ blue-ground’’ filling are as productive of controversy as that other geological puzzle—the source of the gold in the Witwatersrand conglomerates —the discussion of which was revived by Prof. J W. Gregory at a recent meeting of the Institute of Miring and Metallurgy; and agreement among the disputants is as little likely to be arrived at in the one case as in the other. Quite a crop of papers on the diamond-pipes has recently appeared,1 and a 1 A. W. Rogers and A. L. du Toit: The Sutherland Volcanic Pipes and their Relationship to other Vents in S. Africa (Trans. S.A. Phil. Soc., vol xv., p. 6t, 1904). H. S. Harger: The Diamond Pipes and Fissures of South Africa (Trans. Geol. Soc. S.A., vol. viii., p. 110, 1905). ». S. Corstorphine : The Occurrence in Kimberlite of Garnet-pyroxene Nodules carrying Diamonds (Trans. Geol. So>. S.A., vol. x., p. 65, 1907). F. W. Voit: Kimberlite Dykes and Pipes (Trans. Geol. Soc. S.A., vol ; P. 69, 1907). F. W. Ve the Origin of Diamonds (Trans. Geol. Soc., S.A., vol. x., P. 7 7) A ‘. iu Toit : Geological Survey of the Eastern Portion of Griqualand West enth Ann. Rep. Geol. Com. Cape of Good Hope, p. 135, 1906) A. Wu. »: Ueber die siidafrikanischen Diamantlagerstatten (Zeitsch. der deutsch. geol. Gesellsch., vol.-lix., p. 76, 1907). R. Beck: | bungen jiber einige siidairikanische Diamantenlager- stiitten (Zeitscl cutsch. geol. Gesellsch., p. 276, 1907). NO. 1993, VOL. 77 we reproduce | From “ Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal.” | perusal of these reveals so remarkable a variation of opinion that it may perhaps serve a useful purpose to give in these columns a brief summary of the different | views as to the nature of the original matrix of the /diamond and the place in which it was produced, | that have been put forward from time to time since | the discovery of the ‘‘ dry diggings ’’ at Kimberley |i in 1870. | Prof. E. Cohen, who visited the diamond field in | 1872, gave the first scientific explanation of the origin of the volcanic pipes in a letter addressed to Prof. Leonhard, and published in the “Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie ’’ (1872, p. 859). Ac- cording to Cohen the diamond oc- currences — repre- sent the centres of tuff - eruptions, whereby the greater part of the erupted material was provided by older crystalline rocks underlying the present known formations. These furnished not only the diamonds, but probably most of the accompanying minerals. Forced violently upward by volcanic ex- plosions, the shat- tered rocks be- came pulverised, and the diamonds either survived as complete crystals or were broken into fragments (the ‘‘ splints’ of the dealers). This view “explains the fragmentary character of the minerals that accompany “the dia- | mond; it also accounts for the presence of so many fragments of crystalline rocks in the pipe-material (‘‘ blue-ground ”’), and for the strongly. brecciated character of the latter. Cohen’s view. was subse- quently somewhat modified by Chaper (Bull. Soc- Minér. de France, ii., 1879, p. 195), who found it neces- | sary to assume a repetition of explosive eruptions in order to account for the variation in one and the same pipe of large masses of the blue ground in colour, mineral composition, richness in diamonds, &c. On the other hand, Dunn, who wrote in 1874 (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., xxx., p. 54), described the blue ground as a ‘‘ decomposed gabbro or eupho- tide *’?; while Maskelyne and Flight, who gave the first description of the microscopic character of the | diamantiferous rock (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., xxx., 1874, p. 406), considered that it *‘ was probably the «“ original home of the diamond, possibly at the places of its contact with carbonaceous shales.’’ These ideas were further developed by Carvill Lewis in papers read before the British Association in 1886 and 1887, and subsequently. published by Prof. T. G. Bonney under the title ‘“Papers and Notes on the Genesis and Matrix of the Diamond.’’ After an ela- borate microscopic investigation made in Prof. Rosen- busch’s laboratory in Heidelberg, Lewis pronounced the rock to be a true eruptive lava—‘ a porphyritic January 9, 1908] NALTORE 225 volcanic peridotite of basaltic structure, or, according to Rosenbusch’s nomenclature, the palzeo-volcanic re- presentative of a biotite-bronzite-dunite, being an olivine-bronzite-picrite rich in biotite.’”’ To this rock he gave the name of kimberlite, distinguishing be- tween kimberlite proper, a typical porphyritic lava; kimberlite breccia, the same lava broken and crushed by volcanic movements within the pipe, and crowded with included fragments of foreign rock; and kimberlite tuff, the fragmental and tufaceous portion of the same volcanic rock, all these varieties passing into one another and occurring together in the same neck or crater. The kimberlite breccia consti- tutes, according to Carvill Lewis, the greater portion of the pipe material, but it is traversed by dykes of kimberlite proper, and contains streaks and patches of a soft, ‘‘ soapy ’’ material which. appears to be kimberlite tuff. As to the diamond, it is as much a constituent of kimberlite as the more. commonly occurring biotite, garnet, titanic and chromic iron and perovskite, and. consequently must have been produced in situ. From this view Bonney was led to dissent by a microscopic examination, made in ,1899, of. speci- mens from the Newlands mines in West Griqua- land (‘The Parent - Rock of. the Diamond in South Africa,’’? Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. Ixv., ©1899, p 620). Among these’ specimens was. a rounded boulder of a rock which was described by him as a ‘““holocrystalline mixture of chrome-diopside and garnet, with a few small enclosures of olivine, in other words, a variety of ecklogite and of igneous origin.’? The interest of the specimen lay in the fact that it contained diamonds, and from this Bonney drew the momentous conclusion that the birth-place of the diamond and of the garnet, pyroxenes, olivine, &c., was not the ‘blue ground” itself, but the ecklogite which occurred in the latter as foreign boulders. He further concluded, from the smooth ex- terior of the specimen examined, that the boulders were water-worn, and were derived from a conglom- erate bed ‘‘at the base of the sedimentary series in proximity to a crystalline floor.” The blue ground then, according to Bonney, is a true breccia produced by the destruction of both crystalline and sedimentary rocks, the ‘result of shattering explosions followed by solfataric action.”’ R. Beck (Zeits. fiir prakt. Geol., 1879, p. 417), to whom similar specimens from the Newlands mines had been sent, differed from Bonney as to the origin of the so-called boulders of ecklogite, which he considered to be concretions formed at great depth in the kimberlite magma—tlike the well-known olivine nodules in the basalt of Finkenberg, near Bonn, described by Rosen- busch and others as early segregations from the basalt magma. The serpentine breccia which represents the present condition of the kimberlite magma _ con- tains all the constituents of the nodules. The round- ing of the boulders is to be ascribed to attrition during the upward course of the pyroclastic material in the pipe. Beck agreed with Bonney that the diamonds were formed at great depth, but for a different reason, namely, that only at great depths could such coarse- grained granular segregations from the magma have been produced. In a more recent paper (Zeits. der deutsch. geol, Gesellsch., 1907, p. 226), Beck gives re- sults of a further examination of the Newlands eck- logite, which, by the way, he proposes to call “ Griquaite.’? In addition to the constituents already named, he finds biotite, perovskite, zircon, rutile, and graphite. He repeats his conclusion that the ‘boulders’? are deep-seated (intra-telluric) segre- gations from the same magma from which the pipe material is derived, and ascribes the genesis of the NO. 1993, VOL. 77] 1 diamond to the presence in the original magma of metallic carbides, it being his opinion that not only the diamonds contained in the ecklogite, but also the isolated individuals in the blue ground, must have been formed at great depth. The views of the earlier writers can be grouped into two distinct theories :—(1) The pipe material is a breccia or tuff produced with its contained diamonds, by violent volcanic agencies, from pre-existing rocks (Cohen, Chaper, Bonney, Beck). (2) It is a true eruptive lava which has solidified in situ, the dia- monds having been separated out during this consoli- dation (Dunn, Maskelyne, Flight, Carvill Lewis). Among the recent writers on the subject, H. S. Harger and G. S. Corstorphine support the view that the diamonds have been derived from a deep-seated source, the former mentioning that out of a parcel of 372 stones examined by him, 119 were found to be broken fragments of original, crystals. F. W. Voit, on the other hand, regards the “ splints’ as either imperfectly formed crystals or as having been broken during the processes of mining and washing., (He would find it difficult, however, to explain the frac- tured character of the Cullinan diamond! by either of these hypotheses.) Voit regards the pipes as em- bryonic volcanoes. According to him, the igneous magma which rose in the pipes, being unable. to reach the surface, was forced to solidify under the pressure of the superincumbent strata in circular or elongated moulds, thus giving rise to what he terms ‘‘ conical batholites.’”’ While the extruding magma was still in the semi-plastic state, it was agitated by further gaseous eruptions, to the action of which the brecciated character of the blue ground is largely to be ascribed. He regards the ecklogite “boulders ’’? as concretions of the kimberlite magma, formed in situ. He admits, however, the presence in the blue ground of boulders of granite, gneiss and crystalline schists of exotic origin. A. L. du Toit, of the Cape Geological Commission, who during 1906 was working in the Kimberley dis- trict, has formulated a theory which combines parts of both the earlier views, and is more in accord with modern ideas of petrogenesis. According to him, lkimberlite is a hybrid rock derived from a deep-seated magma (having the composition of a limburgite) which incorporated the shattered fragments of the various holocrystalline basic and ultra-basic com- ponents of the floor through which it broke. During its further ascent the eruptive mass caught up and included in its body fragments of the sedimentary beds through which it passed. Mr. Barnett edited the pioneer volume of this description, and the comparison is favourable to the craftsman schoolmaster of the present day. ’ MAINTENANCE OF ROADS. Road-making and Maintenance. A Practical Treatise for Engineers, Surveyors, and Others. By Thomas Aitken. Second edition. Pp. xviii+527; — illus- trated. (London: Charles Griffin and Co., Ltd.) Price 21s. net. HE first edition of this book was published in and the fact that a second edition of a technical book of this character should be called for within so short a period testifies to its value, and also to the greater attention that has been given to the maintenance of roads within the last few years. \iter the advent of railways, and the abolition of Igol, turnpikes, road-making became a very neglected | science; the advent of bicycles and the inconvenience felt by a very large section of the public caused pres- sure to be brought on highway authorities, and a gradual improvement set in. NO. 1994, VOL. 77] The subsequent intro- duction of motor-cars brought road maintenance very much to the front, and, taken generally, the main- roads of this country are now kept in very fair condi- tion. This, however, has involved a very large ex- penditure. It was stated at a recent discussion on motor vehicles at the Institution of Civil Engineers by the surveyor of the county of Middlesex that the cost of main roads in his county had increased from 49,0001. in 1889 to 90,3911. in 1905. In the two years 1904-6 improvements on the roads had amounted to 86,5361. The cost of the main roads of England and Wales has increased from 2,120,332/. in Igor to 2,478,4811. in 1905. The book now under notice has been revised and brought up to date, and much new matter has been added. The question of damage done to the roads by motor-cars, and the nuisance arising from dust caused by the speed at which these vehicles are driven, has been fully treated in a new chapter. A descrip- tion of the various remedies that have been tried for dealing with the dust problem is given. The conclu- sion at which the author has arrived is that no real solution for dealing with this nuisance has yet been found, but he has no doubt that the system of “ tar macadam ”’ or “‘ building up the road stone coating with a matrix of tar, chips and dust as a binding medium is the best possible method of solving the dust problem in a_ satisfactory and permanent manner. ”’ The advantages of tar macadam are -increased durability over ordinary macadam, imperviousness to moisture, capability of being kept clean, and the surface is not liable to be disintegrated by frost. Owing to its greater durability and to the fact that the surface of the road can be renewed by a thin coating of fine tar macadam, from time to time, with- out disturbing the subsurface or foundations, the cost over a series of years, when everything is taken into consideration, is not more than that of a steam-rolled ordinary macadam road. The author of this book, however, expresses the opinion that its first cost pro- hibits its adoption on an extensive scale on rural main roads. The book is divided into eighteen chapters, dealing in an exhaustive and practical manner with the fol- lowing subjects :—Historical sketch of road-making ; resistance to traction on roads; laying out new roads and the improvement of those already made; retain- ing walls, culverts, bridges, &c.; materials used for repairs; quarrying road stone; breaking and haulage ; rolling and scarifying; prevention of dust; footways; wood pavement; asphalt; brick pavement; tar macadam; testing the surface of roads and use of the viagraph; subways. OUR BOOK SHELF. A History of Chemistry. By Hugo Bauer. Trans- lated by R. V. Stanford. Pp. vii+232. (London : Edward Arnold, 1907.) Price 3s. 6d. net. Tue philosophy of chemistry can only be properly studied by the historical method. Present-day chem- ical philosophy, like present-day religion, is a product of evolution, and to understand it thoroughly it is necessary to be able to trace the successive stages aie anh Gene tt — a laa JANUARY 16, 1908] NATURE 245 by which past beliefs have become merged into present doctrine. Hence the increased attention which is now paid to the history of chemistry, and especially to the history of the development of chemical theory ; and hence, too, the large increase in the number of works dealing with the historical aspects of chemistry which have appeared within recent years. Dr. Bauer’s little book cannot be considered as an important addition to the list. To tell the story adequately of the origin and growth of chemistry from the earliest times down to this age of ions and elec- trons is hardly possible within the limits of 220 small octavo pages. The book, however, may serve to whet the student’s appetite for a fuller acquaintance with the subject, although in reading it he will have something to unlearn. To accuse Priestley of ‘* per- sonal intolerance ’’ (p. 69) is wholly to misjudge his character, and the translator—a Priestley research scholar in the University of Birmingham—should have been more careful of what was due to his memory. To say, too, that Cavendish ‘‘ contended against Lavoisier’s theory of combustion until hi. death ’”’ is hardly consistent with accuracy. Caven- dish never ‘‘ contended’ against anything; ‘‘ con- tention’? was absolutely foreign to his disposition, and, as a matter of fact, he ceased to take interest in chemical subjects long before his death. Nizza, as the place of his birth, may stand in the original German, but the English reader is more familiar with if) aS meNICe,” John Dalton is said to have led (probably from his hard up-bringing) ** a very modest life,’ and to have ‘‘ died at Geneva in 1829.” If this is a faithful rendering we must suppose that Dr. Bauer got his notes into confusion, since Dalton died at Manchester in 1844. The date and place evidently refer to Humphry Davy, of whom, however, no biographical account is given. To come down to later times, Kekulé is said to have become professor of chemistry at Geneva in 1858; for Geneva read Ghent. Ultramarine is not usually classed as a dye- stuff. Thallium was not discovered by Mosander in the earth from Ytterby, as stated on p. 189; nor was fluorine isolated by Moissan by the aid of the electric furnace (p. 216). The name of Lord Rayleigh is not usually associated with the discovery of helium, xenon, krypton, and neon (p. 217), nor did M. and Mme. Curie isolate radium from ‘natural pitch- blende ”’ as the bromide. Boyle, we are told, ‘‘ left many writings, which give us pleasure by their simple style and clearness of expression. ‘Whatever may be the merit of Boyle’s writings, their style is hardly that of Addison, and probably no man living has had the courage and tenacity to work through them. Dr. Bauer is evidently not familiar with Swift’s ‘‘ Pious Meditation on a Broomstick in the Style of the Honourable Mr. Boyle.” In spite of minor blemishes the book is not without merit; indeed, it is eminently readable, and interest- ing. But it needs careful revision, since in its present form a judicious teacher could hardly commend it i his pupils. Neolithic Dew-ponds and Cattle-ways. By Dr. Arthur John Hubbard and George Hubbard. Second edition. Pp. xxiv+116; illustrated. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. net. Tuis interesting work has been considerably enlarged since the appearance of the first edition (1905), which was reviewed in Narvure for April 27, 1905 (p. 611, No. 1852). The older work, with its convincing argu- ment of Neolithic man fortifying the heights in order to escape the ravages made by the wolves of the plains on his flocks, has been retained and added to, NO. 1994, VOL. 77 and we also find the astronomical significance of some ancient works discussed. In chapter ii. the authors state that they have found the orientation of Maumbury Rings, near Dorchester, to coincide accurately with that of Stonehenge; it would be of great interest to have the exact azimuth of the axis, and also the angular height of the horizon over which the sun is supposed to have risen, in order that the solstitial evidence could be more rigorously tested. Should this prove a true case, the discussion of the data would probably give us an earlier date than the 1680 B.c. + 200 years (not 1800 B.c. + 200 years, as stated by Messrs. Hubbard) found by Sir Norman Lockyer and Mr. Penrose for the more im- posing structure on Salisbury Plain. One of the added chapters (vii.) discusses the possible astro- nomical origin of some earthworks on the top of Firle Down, in Sussex, and the authors tentatively suggest that they were probably constructed about 1900 B.c. for the purpose of observing the critical seasons of the May and solstitial years. But the evidence needs very careful sifting before one may fix a solstitial date, as was shown in the above-mentioned investiga- tion of the much more permanent stone structure at Stonehenge. Denudation, subaérial, human and animal, will probably have played havoe with earth- work alignments, and the fixing of the original lines, it seems to us, must be more or less an arbitrary pro- ceeding. We would point out that the straight line G.O. ia on the plan given on p. 99 could not pos- sibly indicate the rising and the setting points of the May sun, as stated in the notes; probably the authors mean the rising of the November sun of the May year, for which the azimuth S. 62° E. would be approximately correct. The book is beautifully printed and illustrated with reproductions from photographs, and should do a great deal to increase the general interest now being taken in the ancient monuments of these islands. W. E. Rotston. aus der anorganischen Experi- By Heinrich Biltz und Wilhelm Biltz. (Leipzig : Wilhelm Engelmann, 1907.) marks. Ubungsbeispiele mentalchemie. Pp. xi+232. Price 7 THERE are many books devoted to the preparation of organic compounds, but one rarely comes across one written especially for the study of inorganic pre- paratory work. It seems to be imagined that great skill is required to prepare organic compounds, but that anyone can prepare inorganic compounds in a state of purity and with good yields without any previous study. Asa matter of fact, the preparation of pure inorganic compounds is by no means simple, and it is a great pity that this branch of chemistry is very rarely taught in a systematic manner. Conse- quently almost all the research carried out in this country is along organic lines, because owing to the interest aroused by the preparation of organic com- pounds, the student naturally turns to organic chemistry. The book before us deals in the organic preparations, and is arranged, so far as pos- sible, upon systematic lines. Thus chapter i. deals with reductions of oxides, by means of carbon, aluminium, potassium cyanide, and other reducing agents. The sequence mercury from cinnabar and then sodium and ammonium amalgam is rather strange, as some would expect the amalgams to be treated of in connection with alloys. Chapter ii. treats of polymerisation and dissociation, for example. the allotropy of silver sulphide, the mmadiiieations of sulphur, the passive state of iron, colloidal solutions, and so on. Then follows the preparation of various Cc main with in- 246 NATURE [JANUARY 16, 1908 oxides and hydrides, acids, bases and salts, halogen compounds and sulphides. The preparation of the nitrides of calcium and boron strange. The calcium or boron are and so one obtains a mixture of oxide and nitride. As, however, the oxide and nitride cannot be separated, there seems very little point in the experiment, except that the student’s attention is directed to ammonia from the air. Certainly, but if the air is first passed over red-hot copper, thus freed from oxygen, and subsequently passed over the heated cal- cium or boron, surely the experiment is much more striking, and, ‘further, the pure nitride is prepared. This method of preparation would also lead up to a discussion of argon and similar gases. The book will undoubtedly be of great use to teschers of inorganic chemistry and others who wish to study the subject from a preparatory point of view, but it is rather too full for the average student, who would certainly require very careful direction, or he would be inclined to wander along in a rather aimless fashion. 1 Mia. dee The Bacteriological Examination of Disinfectants. By William Partridge. With a preface by Major C. E. P. Fowler. Pp. 66. (London: The Sanitary Publish- ing Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. net. Tue subject of disinfectants has lately attracted con- siderable attention, and Mr. Partridge’s little book forms a very useful summary of the me ethods employed for testing bacteriologically the germicidal value of disinfectants. The Rideal-Walker or ‘ drop *? method is rightly that most favoured, and the major part of the book is devoted to it. We doubt if the explanation strikes us as heated in the air, given on p. 17, that a forty-eight hours’ culture of B. typhosus is less readily killed by a disinfectant than a twenty-four hours’ one, because it is more vigorous, is correct; we should ascribe the fact rather to the greater number of bacilli and to clumping in the older culture. On p. broth having a reaction of +1'5 is suitable for the culture of the typhoid bacillus, for the diphtheria and cholera organisms a ‘‘ neutral or alkaline broth must be substituted.’’ acceptation of the term; though acid to phenolph- thalein, it is still alkaline to litmus. On p- 34 an experi- ment is quoted to show that an organism from different sources may havea different resisting power from a disinfectant. Doubtless this is so, but the experiment does not prove it. The experiment shows that two strains of the typhoid bacillus, with strengths of car- bolic of 1 in 70 and 1 in 100 respectively, are killed in between 5 and 73 minutes; obviously the one might have been killed in 5} minutes, the other in 73 minutes, and actually there might have been little difference between them. Everyone has his own method of mani- pulating tubes for inoculation, but we do not like either method depicted in Figs. 3 and 4. Major Fowler, R.A.M.C., contributes a useful introduction. R. T. HEewtert. der Zoologie. Edited by Ergebnisse und Fortschritte \ i., part i. (Jena: Gustav Dr. J. W. Spengel. Vol. Fischer.) Unper the above tithe Mr. Gustav Fischer is issuing a new zoological journal, of which a variable number ot parts are to appear each year, the whole to form an annual volume at the price of sixty marks. As no prospectus is issued with the part now before us, we are unable to indicate the ground which the publi- cation is specially intended to cover. The present part contains 235 somewhat closely printed 8vo pages, illus- trated by fifty text-figures; and from this we presume that plates do not enter into the scheme of the new NO 1994. vor. 77] 18 it is said that while a The broth named is quite suitable | for these organisms, for it is alkaline in the ordinary | venture. The name of the editor is a_ sufficient guarantee that only papers of a high order will be accepted for publication, this being fully borne out by the contents of the initial number. These comprise 2 discussion on chromosomes by Mr. Valentin Hacker, of Stuttgart; an article by Dr. Richard Heymons on the various types of insect metamorphosis, and their relation to the metamorphoses of other arthropods ; and another, by Mr. O. Maas, of Munich, on the scyphomeduse. The new enterprise has our best wishes for success. Re LE: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Seismographs and Seismograms. As I have had occasion to study and compare the records of nearly all the types of seismographs for recording distant earthquakes which are now in use, I may perhaps be permitted to add something to Prof. Milne’s letter in Nature of January 2. The nature of the records, and the relative merits of different types, of seismographs, are not generally apprehended in England, and appear to be mis- understood in Strassburg, from whence much of the recent seismological literature has been inspired. The two leading problems of seismology, as it stands at present, are the determination, firstly, of the exact nature and amount of the movement which takes place, and, secondly, of the time requisite for the transmission of the different types of disturbance from the origin, to various distances, and in various directions, through the earth, or along its surface. The first of these is naturally the special object of purely seismological stations and observatories, and for it no single instrument or type of instrument will be sufficient. From the mathematical and experimental investigations of the mechanics of seismo- graphs by Prince Galitzin, Prof. Rudzki and others, it has been conclusively established that no form of instru- ment, having a pendular period of vibration of its own, however perfectly the oscillations may be damped, can possibly record with exactitude an undulatory movement of the soil such as is caused by earthquakes. As every instrument giving a continuous record must necessarily be of the nature of a pendulum of some sort or other, owing to the necessity for bringing the recording point back to the zero line of the record, it is obvious that no single instrument can suffice for this purpose, and that the only way, by which an understanding of the nature of the movement of the soil can be arrived at, is by installing a number of instruments, of different types and varying response to movements in diverse directions and of unlike period. For the second purpose a totally different set of con- ditions comes in. It is no longer necessary to attempt an exact, or even an approximate, representation of the actual movement of the ground, so long as the instru- ments give records in which the different phases of wave motion can be recognised with reasonable certainty; but, since the solution of this problem involves the collection of numerous records from many stations, it is necessary to obtain the cooperation of astronomical, physical, meteor- ological, and other observatories, and, consequently, certain conditions, which may be ignored in a_ specially seismological station, have to be taken into consideration. These are (1) The bully; it moderate floor space, foundations. (2) It must run without moderate a cost as possible. (3) It must be sufficiently sensitive and consistent in its action to give records capable of interpretation as a general instrument must not be unduly cumbrous or must be easy of transport, occupy only a and not require special and expensive at as much attention, and January 16, 1908] rule—no instrument has yet been devised which will in- variably do this—but should not be too sensitive, or the record of important disturbances may be lost. (4) The records should be capable of easy and rapid reproduction. Of the instruments which have been designed or sug- gested for this purpose, four types are in use to a greater or less extent. The Wiechert so-called astatic pendulum is an inverted pendulum with a bob weighing more than a ton, kept in position by two springs, and provided with an ingenious system of air-damping of its vibrations. This instrument has been recommended for general use, because its sup- posed astatic nature is believed to make it record the movement of the soil in an accurate manner; as already pointed out, this condition is immaterial, and, moreover, cannot be completely fulfilled. The instrument is un- doubtedly a fine one, and gives valuable records, but its proper place is in an observatory specially devoted to seismology; for general use it is too heavy, requires too much attention, and gives records which are not adapted for ready and rapid reproduction. The Rebeur-Ehlert instrument is a horizontal pendulum, of the form devised by y. Rebeur-Paschwitz, combined with a recording arrangement devised by Prof. Ehlert. This instrument is an extremely sensitive one, and there seems to be none better for recording small disturbances ; in the case of large earthquakes the record is apt to be lost. The record is photographic, and the seismograms are readily reproduced by photography. Its cost of main- tenance and too great sensitiveness are the points in which it fails to meet the requirements of an instrument for general adoption. The so-called Omori pendulum is a horizontal pendulum " presenting no special peculiarities, and is a modification, in details only, of a type of instrument in very general use. It fulfils all the first three requirements, being moderate in size, needing little attention, and gives good records, easy of interpretation and measurement. It fails in the fourth requirement only; the record, being taken on smoked paper, is not readily reproduced by photography, and is on too small a scale to obviate the risk of intro- ducing error when copied by tracing. The fourth type of instrument is the Milne pendulum, a horizontal pendulum with photographic record on a prin- ciple quite different from that adopted in any other instru- ment. This fulfils all the first three requirements, and the fourth too; the seismograms are easily reproduced by contact printing on to the same photographic paper that is used for recording, and the copies are practically as serviceable as the originals. This alone, if the instrument had few other merits, would mean much; but in addition to this I have found its seismograms the most convenient of any for determining the exact time of any point on the record, and had it not been for the general adoption of this type of instrument, and the ease with which its records can be reproduced, a considerable part of what seismological work I have been able to do could not have been attempted. The only improvement I have ever desired to see is an increase in the rate of movement of the recording surface, and this has now been introduced. I have examined and studied hundreds of records of this instrument from different stations; from Victoria, Toronto, Cape Town, Bidston, Paisley, and many other places, its records are consistently good; at a few stations, whether from a defect in the particular instrument, a want of proper adjustment, or, more probably, something in the foundations or the subsoil, its records are less satisfactory, but from none do they seem to be so bad as at Strassburg ; having never seen a seismogram of that instrument—it is not easy to get copies from Strassburg—it is impossible to hazard a suggestion of the reason for the failure of the instrument at this station. No one would wish to see one pattern of instrument adopted to the exclusion of all others, nor has it ever been pretended that the pattern adopted by the organisation which has grown up under the auspices of the British Association is faultless; but for the purpose of securing a large number of records for comparison with each other, and thereby determining the rate of transmission of earth- quakes across, through, and around the earth, it is no NO. 1994, VOL. 77] NATURE 247 more faulty than any other pattern, and has one crownints merit which they do not possess. Can it be to this, to the ease of reproduction of its records, which renders unnecessary the centralisation of seismological research, that we must attribute the continuous vilification of a valuable type of instrument? R. D. Oxpuam. An Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating. In the ‘‘ GEuvres complétes’’ of Christiaan Huygens (tome x., p. 571) occurs the note given below. It was destined for Ph. de la Hire, and of date November, 1693. Huygens’s remarkable observation and his ingenious ex- planation of the musical note produced by reflection from a large flight of steps of the noise of a fountain in the park of Chantilly will be read with interest also by those who, though having no ready access to the ‘‘ Guvres complétes,’’ are still concerned with the (reflecting) echelon grating :— ““Je veux adjouter icy au sujet de la réflexion du son une observation assez singuliére, que j’ay fait autrefois estant a la belle maison de Chantilly de la Cour ot est la statue Equestre on descend avec un degré large de. . . marches dans le parterre ou il y a une fontaine de celles qu’on appelle gerbe d’eau, qui fait un bruit continuel. Quand on est descendu en bas et qu’on se tient entre le degré et la fontaine on entend du costé du degré une résonance qui a un certain ton de musique qui dure con- tinuellement, tant que la gerbe jette de l’eau. On ne scavoit pas d’ol venoit ce son ou en disoit des causes peu vraisemblables ce qui me donna envie d’en chercher une meilleure. Je trouvay bientost qu’il procédoit de la réflexion du bruit de la fontaine contre les pierres du degré. Car comme tout son, ou plustost bruit, réitéré par des inter- valles égaux et trés petits fait un son de musique, et que la longueur d’un tuyau d’orgue détermine le ton qu’il a par sa longueur par ce que les battements de |’air arrivent également dans les , petits intervalles de temps que ses ondoiements emploient a faire deux fois la longueur du tuyau scavoir quand il est fermé par le bout, ainsi je concevois que chaque bruit tant soit peu distingué qui venoit de la fontaine, estant réflechi contre les marches du degré, devoit arriver a l’oreille de chacune d’autant plus tard qu’elle estoit plus éloignée, et cela par des différences de temps justement égales a celuy que les ondoiements de lair employent a aller et venir autant qu’estoit la largeur d’une marche. Ayant mesuré cette largueur qui estoit de 17 pouces, je fis un rouleau de papier qui avoit cette longueur, et je trouvai qu’il avoit le mesme ton qu’on entendoit au bas du degré. “Je trouvay comme j’ay dit que la gerbe n’allant point l’on cessoit d’entendre ce ton. Et aiant eu occasion d’aller & Chantilly pendant I’hyver, qu’il estoit tombé beaucoup de niége qui ostoit la forme aux marches, je remarquay que on n’entendoit rien quoyque la gerbe allast et fit du bruit 4 l’ordinaire.”’ A slight confusion is caused by Huygens’s first referring in his note (apparently only drafted) to a closed organ- pipe and later to an open one. Taking a pouce=2-7 cm., the depth of the steps becomes 17X2-7=45-9 cm. At 10° C., the corresponding sound of about 368 vibrations per second would be given by an open pipe of 46 cm. The effect of gratings on impulsive motion of light is now well understood, thanks to the labours of Lord Rayleigh, Gouy, Schuster, and others. It remains interesting, however, to contrast the opinion concerning the supposed regularity of white light, held by some high authorities before these discussions, with Huygens’s state- ment that the regularity in the nature of the sound which he observed has been impressed upon it bv outside influence. P. ZEEMAN. Amsterdam, January 6. The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters. May I ask for information upon the interpretation of two sets of facts? (1) Prof. Henslow states that’ the garden parsnip “known in the trade as ‘ The Student’ was raised from seed of the wild plant by Prof. J. Buckman in 1847 at the Agricultural College, Cirencester,’’ and also that M. 248 Carriére ‘‘ raised several garden forms’” of radish ‘* of various colours from the seed of the wild species (KR. raphanistrum), and found that they produced the long form in a light soil, and the turnip-rooted form in a stiff soil. A similar result has occurred with carrots. By selecting seed from plants having the best formed roots, these ’’ (characters) ‘‘ have become fixed and hereditary ”’ (‘* How to Study Wild Flowers,’’ 1902). (2) I was delighted in the early summer by the marvel- lous skill and intelligence exhibited by some collies in the annual sheep-dog trials, which reveal apparently much more than the results of individual training. I have lately seen a pack of hounds streaming over the same country after a fox. The hound (triste lupus in stabulis) would make an indifferent sheep-dog, and the master who brought a pack of collies to a meet would provide some novel sport for the field. The collie is trained individually, but he has an inherent, if not*inherited, aptitude, just as the foolishly good-natured hound puppy who is “ put out to nurse’ in his earlier days readily learns his work when he joins the pack. Further than this, an ordinary dog- show displays group peculiarities in different types of dog. The fox-terriers snarl savagely at each other, the grey- hounds and their allies. bark and yelp continuously, and appear as though on the verge of neurotic insanity, while the foxhounds lie and appear to drowse silently with a well-bred air of tolerant boredom that forms a curious contrast to the howling multitudes around them. Yet they are all dogs, and have reached their typical specialisa- tion by characters acquired in some way. If we are forbidden to believe that acquired characters are hereditary, what is the explanation of the seed of the “student ’’ parsnip and the *‘ turnip ’’ radish coming true to type, and why does a collie drive sheep and a hound give tongue at the scent of a fox? Is ‘it suggested that in the “* germ plasm’ of the wild dog all these special qualities are already involved, just as the digestive peptones gathered functionally and localised in the leaves of Dionzea and Drosera are found wandering aimlessly and to no purpose in some fruit trees? If so, what is the nature of the directive impulse that localises these characteristics in hound, collie, Drosera, and _ radish immediately fertilisation takes place? And again, how does the ‘‘ peppered moth” contrive to appear in the black country hatched with sooty wings that harmonise with the now smoke-stained bark whereon he must rest? The whole subject of mimicry seems to be involved, and if vour reviewer is right (NaturE, January 2, p. 193) in noting with ‘“‘a sense of weariness mingled with surprise the appearance of a book on the transmission of acquired characters,’’ it is quite certain that the ‘* isolated bio- logists, and whole hosts of medical men who still hold the belief that acquired characters are transmitted ’’ would regard it as a great boon if he would tell those who “make him tired’’ what are the conclusions apparently already established by ‘‘ the modern, and_ still infant, science of heredity’ that will satisfactorily account for such facts as I have ventured to state. It will hardly do to say that in one sense the problem is “‘ as unreal as the question of the apple dumpling which puzzled one of the Georges, because the characters of an organism do not get into its germ-cells any more than the apple gets into its crust, for both the germ-cells and the apple were there all the time.”’ ‘One of the Georges ’? would doubtless have been grateful for a little culinary instruction, just as ‘‘ whole hosts ’’ of somewhat puzzled people with open minds would be _ honestly sincerely grateful for a definite explanation from ‘* the infant science of heredity ’’ as to how the sheep-driving impulse really got into the sheep-dog. For ‘‘ nature’’ is more luminous than a text-book. E. C. SPIcErR. Waterstock, Oxford, January 3. The Diamantiferous Rock of Kimberley. My friend, Dr. Hatch, is not quite correct in stating (January 9, p. 225) that I was led to dissent from the late Prof. Carvill Lewis’s view that the diamantiferous rock of Kimberley was a volcanic peridotite ‘‘ by a micro- scopic examination made in 1899 of specimens from. the Newlands Mines’’ (Proc. Roy. Soc., Ixv., 1899, Daez23))s NO. 1994 VOL. 77] NATURE [JANUARY 16, 1908 Four years earlier 1 expressed the opinion that this rock was a breccia, and that the diamonds, with other conspicuous minerals, were not formed in situ (Geol. Mag., 1895, p. 500). This belief was strengthened rather than shaken by editing Prof. Carvill Lewis’s notes and examining his specimens (‘‘ The Genesis of the Diamond’’), and was expressed yet more decidedly later in 1897 after examining. another series of specimens from Kimberley (see Geol. Mag., 1897, p. 501). To discuss the *‘ magma’? and “concretion ’? hypothesis would be out of place here, but elsewhere I may have something to sav on those subjects. T. G. Bonney. Musical Sands. Mr. Carus-Witson’s failure (January 9, p: 222) to obtain sounds from ‘‘ millet seed ’’ sand of highly spherical grains puts a difficulty in the way of the suggestion made in “‘ Sound ”’ by Poynting and Thomson, though I do not think that it finally disposes of it. I have not been able to follow the friction explanation as given by Mr. Carus-Wilson (Nature, August 6, 1891), and | write in the hope that he may give more detail as to the moving system which produces the musical note. It appears probable that the musical sounds excited in a body by friction are due to the natural vibrations of that body. Obviously the grains of sand are far too smalt to give the notes heard. I suppose that the fundamental period is of the order of the time taken by an elastic wave to travel half round the grain. With elastic moduli of the order 10'' and density 23, the fundamental frequency would be not less than 10°. What system does the friction set in vibration ? J. H. Poyntine. The University, Birmingham, January 11. In Nature of January 9 (p. 222) Mr. Carus-Wilson’s letter asks for further details of the ‘* singing sands ”’ that I exhibited to the Physical Society. I am able to give the mineralogical description, by Mr. A. J. Maslen, of the Maine sand from Mareen’s beach, near Small Point, at the entrance of the Kennebec River. A subangular sand very free from very small grains. Clean. Quartz. Principal constituent. As perfectly colourless grains showing conchoidal fracture (rock-crystal) and as more or less coloured grains of quartzite. Muscovite Mica. Small quantity. Flakes. Glauconite. Dark green grains, many of fairly large size. Almost black. Topas (?) Square pieces due to cleavage. Opaque white substance. (Felspar ?) Magnetite. Small grains. Rare. The other specimens of sands were very similar to tha~ from Maine. SIDNEY SKINNER. South-Western Polytechnic, Chelsea, S.W., January 13. Yellow. Intensity of Spectrum Lines. Very little attention has been paid in the past to the accurate measurement of the optical intensity of spectral lines in vacuum tubes under different conditions, probably on account of the considerable experimental difficulties. Hence I may, perhaps, be allowed to indicate a relation I have obtained between the optical intensity, current strength, and pressure of the glowing gas. Throughout the whole experimental range, using the so-called ‘* electrode- less ’? tube—with wholly external mercury electrodes, when the current is of a slowly oscillating character—the optical intensity, with an end-on tube, is accurately proportional to the readings of a thermo-galvanometer in series, and over a more limited range of measurement, at constant current, is inversely proportional to the pressure of the gas. In other words, the intensity is proportional tor csr, where A is the mean free. path. Measurements on the monatomic gases are now in progress, and it is intended later to investigate the in- fluence of temperature. A. D. Cowper. University College, London, W.C. January 16, 1908] NATURE 2 49 NOTES ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS.* | ence of the avenue in this direction, in the fragments 1V.—Avenues. measured ”” T HAVE several avenues since ‘‘ Stone- henge ’’ was published, and I have studied others of which the orientation could be determined by the Ordnance maps. Many of them have been found to have had the same astronomical use which had been suggested in those measured on Dartmoor. The longest avenue I have seen is at Avebury—the Kennet Avenue—which, in Stukeley’s time, was more than a mile long. Associated with it is the Beckhampton Avenue. These avenues must have been very im- posing parts of the complete temple when it was in full use. | Avebury is such a mass of ruins that it is difficult to reconstruct it in the mind’s eye in its entirety, but some parts of it, considered by them- selves, present no difficulty. Mr. R. H. Caird, of Devizes, has twice enabled my wife and myself to visit the region by driving us from Devizes in his motor- car, and these visits gave us time enough to see that the Beckhamp- ton Avenue and the remains of the Cove were both oriented to the May sunrise, were, in fact, probably closely associated in the May ceremonials, the avenue abutting on the north circle, in the centre of which the remain- ‘ing gigantic stones of the cove still stand. The theoretical conditions for the azimuth of the May sunrise at Avebury (lat. 51° 30’, variation 16° 48’ W. in 1906), are, with 2! of limb showing : N. 62° E. with sea horizon 63° 40’ hills 1° Figh 65° 12’ 2° ” 2” ” ” A rough measurement on the spot gave me N. 65° E. for the out- look of the cove, the horizon being about 2° high, and on the 1-inch Ordnance the line joining the two large monoliths at the west end of the Beckhampton Avenue and the cove gives N. 64° E. Further, this line studied on the 25-inch map passes close to the stones indicated by Stukeley, who expressly says that he saw the remains of the avenue. I give his description.* “The Beckhampton Avenue goes out of Abury town at the west point, and proceeds by the south side of the churchyard. Two stones lie by the parsonage gate on the right hand. Those opposite to them, on the left hand, in a pasture, were taken away in 1702, as marked in the ground-plan of Abury. Reuben Horsal remembers three standing in the pasture. One now lies in the floor of the house in the churchyard. A little farther one lies at the corner of the next house on the right hand, by the lane turning off to the right to the bridge. Another was broke in pieces, to build that house with in 1714. Two more lie on the left hand opposite. It (i.e. the Avenue) then passes the beck south of the bridge. Most of the stones here- abouts have been made use of about the bridge, and the causeway leading to it.”’ Smith’s account goes on :— ‘““ Moreover, we have some evidence of the exist- 1 Continued from p. 152. 2 Avebury described, Pp. 34, quo‘ed in Smith's ‘‘ British and Reman Anti- quities of North Wiltshire,” p. 146. NO. 1994, VOL. 77] ~yat Re Stones of sarsen stones which may still be seen there, as the Rev. Bryan King has pointed out in his note on this subject, to which I have already called attention; ! therein he says: ‘ Beginning with the walls of the churchyard and of the church, and of the manor-house, with its enclosures, in an entire length of full half-a- mile from the earthwork on the west side of Avebury to the corner of the large field in which the two large stones near Beckhampton now stand, there are very few lineal yards which are not occupied by cause- way, walls or cottages, all formed of sarsen stone, sufficient and more than sufficient, to absorb all the stones of the Beckhampton Avenue’: and then he goes on to enumerate the several stones, or portions of stones, which still exist, and which are apparently the remnants of those described by Stulkeley.”’ On the accompanying plan of Avebury, photo- I have indi- determined from the graphed from the 25-inch Ordnance map, as roughly cated the two circles Stowe y= 120 Shae 2040 795, He Grcnefan tel | Devise... Wal= stay | teens me ae Stee | | | $.385 Fic. 11.—Avebury, showing the circles and avenues. remaining stones. It will be seen that the May-year avenue line is directed nearly, but not quite, to the centre of the northern circle, the cove occupying the centre itself, and so blocking the view from the avenue or processional road to the S.W. I next come to the south-eastern or ‘ Kennet Avenue.’ Stuleley * says of it : ‘* The Kennet Avenue consisted originally of one hundred stones on each side, reaching from the vallum of Abury town to the circular work on Overton Hill. Mr. Smith, living here, informed me that when he was a schoolboy the Kennet Avenue was entire from end to end. The stones composing it were of all shapes, sizes, and heights that happened, altogether rude. Some we measured six feet thick, sixteen in circumference. If the stones were of a flattish make, the broadest dimen- sion was set in the line of the avenue, and the most sightly side of the stone inward. The founders were 1 Wiltshire Magazine, vol. xVill., pp. 377-383- 2 Avebury described by Stukeley, quoted in ‘British and Roman ntiquit es of North Wiltshire,” p. 145. A 250 sensible that all the effect desired in the case was their pull and regular station. When I abode here for some time on purpose, for several summers together, 5 Photo. by Lady Locky /. Fic. 12.—One of the Monoliths at Borobridge. I. was very careful in tracing it out, knew une distinct number of each stone remaining, an? where every one stood that was wanting; wiluich often surprised the country people, who remembered them left on the ground or standing, and told me who carried them away. Many of the farmers made deep holes and buried them in the ground; they knew where they lay. Lord Win- chelsea with me counted the number of the stones left, 72, anno 1722. I laid it all down in the nature of a survey, on large imperial sheets of paper, and wrote a detail of every stone present or absent; but it would be very irksome to load the press with it.’ Mr. Long, after describ- ing the war of extermination which had been waged against them, and how such stubborn blocks as_ re- fused to succumb to fire and hammer were buried in the pits dug for them, continues : ‘* Two of them fe six feet underground in the pre- mises of Mr. Butler of Kennet, and ver another the Bath road passes. Che work of destruction has been RE, so successfully carried out that only 4; nineteen stones or their stumps are ;ye now visible between West Kennet and Abury; four in the bank on the left-hand side of the road from Marlborough as it enters Kennet, and which can only be seen by going into the adjoining field: these stones lie about thirty paces apart, and NO. 1994, VoL. 77] NAT GRE [JANUARY 16, 1908 that these were the original, or nearly the original, distances, seems confirmed by Stukeley’s twentieth plate.” As will be seen from the map, this avenue apparently was connected with the southern circle as the Beck- hampton one was with the northern one. If this were so, certainly the enormous bank, erected appar- ently for spectacular purposes, which is such a striking feature of Avebury, was not made until after the Ken- net Avenue had fallen out of any astronomical use. The alignment of this avenue, as measured on the 25-inch map, is S. 32° E., the elevation of the horizon from the 1-inch map being 49/. This gives a declin- ation of 31° 34/ S. I shall return to this point later on. This avenue seems to have struck another aligned from the circle on Overton Hill, which formerly was oriented to the May sunset or the November sunrise, to judge from the positions of the stones given in | Smith’s map. At Borobridge, near Harrogate, is another avenue I have visited; only three stones remain, two have dis- appeared in recent times, the extreme stones being separated by about 700 feet. They are not in a line. | Lukis was the first to suggest that’ they were the remains of an avenue, and | agree with him. Accord- | ing to my measurements the breadth of the avenue was about 25 feet. With a clino-compass the mean of three readings gave N. 355° E. as the magnetic azimuth; taking the variation as 17° (October 4, 1907), this gives us S. 22° E. or N. 22° W.; the true northern horizon is 13° high, the southern one 1°. I give a copy of a photograph of the central stone; this seems to have been squared, and the east and west sides are slightly slewed from the general line of direction. Mr. Lewis,” in an interesting account of these stones, tells us that the most northerly stone is 18 feet high | by 7% by 3% feet, the second (the one illustrated), 1973 feet away, 22 feet high by 4% by 43 feet; and the southerly one, 362 feet away, 23 feet high by 43 by 4 feet. They are called locally the Devil’s Arrows. ' Of another Dartmoor avenue, that at Assacombe, in 1 | | | | Fic. 13.—Assac.mbe Avenue looking west. the Chagford district, 1 am enabled, by the kindness of Mr. Falcon, the author of ‘‘ Dartmoor Illustrated ”’ 1 Wiltshire Magazine, vols. iv., pp. 327-9 3 XVil., Pp. 329-31. 2 Journal Anthropological Institute, November, 1878. January 16, 1908] NEATAUTELS 251 (a book which everybody interested in the monuments | avenue, for the true azimuths of the many stones on should possess), to give two photographic views from | the E. side of course depend upon this. the east and west ends. It is a May-year avenue | ~ This avenue and the fine one at Callernish can be (Az. N. 63° 30! E., from 25-inch Ordnance map) like | treated together. For the latter the conditions are as the Beckhampton Avenue at Avebury. | follows :— Azimuth of Avenue.—N. 0° E. hill) 1° 26/5; dec. 32° 267 N! Capella, 1720 B.c. _ This avenue is associated with a circle 42 feet in diameter, within which is a remarkable chambered cairn referred to elsewhere. The avenue consists of two parallel lines going off to the northward 270 feet in length, and about 27 feet in width. The total number of stones is forty-eight, and the total length of the monument, from the extremity of the double line, through the centre of the circle to the extremity of the single line beyond, is 408 feet. It will be seen, then, that the more recent measurements give us avenues directed, on the orientation theory, both to sun and stars. The sun is the May sun, and the solar avenues are at Avebury, Assa- combe, and Gower. Of new stellar avenues parallel to others previously shown by the investigations to be aligned on - northern clock-stars, we have those at Callernish and St. Colomb. , But these are not all. Norman Lockyer. ’ , Fic. 14.—Assacombe Avenue looking east. It will be noticed that, like the avenues at Merrivale, THE CALIFORNIAN EARTHQUAKE OF 1906. the row ef stones is furnished at the west end with JX eecohure only twenty months have passed since monoliths larger than ordinary, and that the other Central California was devastated and San Fran- end has a well-marked blocking or sighting stone | cisco destroyed, partly by earthquake but largely by ending the avenue. | fire, some fifty papers have appeared from technical and I may here refer to yet another May-year avenue | other journals describing this great catastrophe. The which I] measured in South Wales. It is near | last appears as a Bulletin (No. 324, Series R, Struc- “* Arthur’s Stone,’’ a famous cromlech , ; Sie in Gower to which I refer elsewhere. The true azimuth is S. 61° E., height of horizon 1° 30’. Theretis no doubt, I think, that the “Nine ‘ Maidens’ near St. 4 : f Colomb, Cornwall, : pa of which a plan is given by Lukis (plate xxxii.), is the remains of a double or multiple avenue. With Lukis’s value of the magnetic variation, I found from his plan an azimuth of N. 28° : : x ; Zs ae i 7isi oto. by Lady Lockyer. ae Apeaeeew oa Fic. 15 —The Nine Maidens. assuming a varia- k ‘ : tion of 18° W. (with hill 2°), I got the same , tural Materials, 1) of the U.S. Geological Survey. It value, giving Dec. N. 33° 47: that of Capella | is a volume of 158 pp., illustrated by fifty-seven excel- in 1480 B.C. lent process plates, in addition to which there are two This is a locality worthy of minute study, especially | maps. The introduction is by Dr. G. K. Gilbert, and with reference to the actual commencement of the | it treats of the earthquake as a natural phenomenon. NO. 1994, VOL. 77 | BE: OD) -5- NATURE [ JANUARY 16, 1908 The earthquake, Dr. Gilbert tells us, had its origin | of the area of the molar displacement. Its thickness chiefly along the line of an old fault. This can be traced from San Juan, about ninety miles south-east of San Francisco, to Point Arena, about 120 miles north-west of that city, the total length being approxi- Fic. s.—Fence parted by Earthquake Fault. The fault trac: quake: is inconspicuous although the hcrizoatal displacement is consile-able. . K. Gilbert.) 200 miles. There are, however, good reasons for believing that the fracture extends very much farther to the north. The total length of the line of yielding would therefore have been 300 or even 400 miles. Its general appearance is that of a huge furrow, the dis- placement of one side of which relatively to that of the other side has varied from 2 to 20 feet. In Fig. 1 the furrow-like appearance is not visible, but the fence, which is broken across and _ shifted mately 84 feet, indicates the existence of a sheer, the trace of which is hidden. The vertical displacements were comparatively small. Passing out from the main fault are branching cracks. These are par ticularly noticeable in soft ground. The depth to which this shattering ° has extended cannot be directly measured, but that it has descended to a considerable depth is indi- cated by alteration in the general circulation of underground waters. New springs have been created, whilst old springs have been closed or altered in their flow. The great length of the main fault suggests that it had a great depth. Further, s the initial impulse was sufficient ) send earth waves round the shock came. rid it is reasonable to suppose hat this was occasioned by the sudden dis- | placement of a very large earth block. We know something about its length. Its breadth | may be estimated from its distance from more or less parallel faults which yielded or from the width | NO. 1994, VOL. 77] or racture accompanying the ear h- (Photegraph by fic. 2.—Memorial Arch, may be that of the earth’s crust. A suboceanic mass movement of this size might disturb the Pacific Ocean for twenty-four hours, or “shake the world from pole to pole. Were it very much less it is difficult to imagine that such far-reaching commotions "o=em could be originated. This may be mere speculation, but to shake the world a heavy blow needs to be applied over a considerable area. A curious observation relating to the length of earthquake waves was made in Temales Bay, where, be- fore the earthquake, there was the usual smooth mud plain commonly seen on tidal flats. After the earth- quake this plain was ridged, the crests of the ridges being ten to twenty metres apart. Whether these represent the solidification of gravity waves we are told is not quite clear, but whatever their his- tory may have been, they illustrate the response of a mud flat to earth- quake motion. The major and most important part of the publication is w ritten by three engineers, Messrs. R. L- Humphrey, J. S. Sewell, and Proj. Soule. All have had experience of fires, whilst Prof. Soule has for many years watched the growth of San Francisco and was present at its fall. We are told that the whole secret of earthquake-resist- ing power depends upon ‘ proper design, firsi- class materials, and honest workmanship.’’ The first condition, inasmuch as it involves radical methods of ordinary construction, changes in ae) | | ey Effect :—The beams designed to stiffen the walls were not tied to them, and helped to batter them down when the (Photograph by Richard L. Humphrey.) Leland Stanford Junior University. might have been underlined. The greatest destruction came from fire, and the modern structures | which best resisted both fire and earthquake seem to have been those made of reinforced concrete. Tunnels, flumes, wrought and cast-iron pipes, particularly where 7 =.) & January 16, 1908] NATURE 258 they crossed the fault line, were interrupted, but the chief reason that fire gained the upper hand was the failure of the water systems in the city. Steel skeleton buildings withstood the earthquake, but although these “and. their supporting columns had been encased in fire-resisting material, under the effects of heat the protecting surfaces flaked off. Internal metal-work expan buckled, and _ then collapsed. Fire-proofing had been inefficient. Although there is much of scientific interest in the bulletin, its chief value will be to the practical engineer, who has to contend against, not simply the effects of earth- quakes, but chiefly against the effects of fire. PUBLIC CLOCKS AND TIME DISTRIBUTION. HE interesting correspondence on “ Lying Clocks ”” inaugurated by Sir John Cockburn in the Times has tended to degenerate into a display of advertisements by different firms interested in various systems of clock synchronisation. But in its original form, the point raised is one of great import- ance, and if it is not appreciated by the public as fully as it should be, the explanation is probably to be found in the general contempt for accuracy exhibited in this country, and the non-scientific habits which have been so long cultivated or permitted. It seems impossible to get the man in the street to understand the significance of seconds. He is ready with his old adage, De minimis non curat lex, and thinks he has settled the question. But this is not so, and the interest taken in the Times discussion indicates the possible introduction of a healthier state of things. We may look forward to a time when every pro- gressive town or city will be provided with clocks, publicly exhibited, which will declare the correct time. If such mechanism were provided, it would not only tend to economy in various directions, owing to the more complete appreciation of small intervals of time, but such clocks would furnish a wholesome lesson in accuracy, and by the introduction of scientific pro- cesses into everyday life inculcate the importance of paving greater attention to scientific methods. The term synchronisation seems to be used very vaguely. For its successful operation, two distinct processes have to be considered—the distribution of correct time signals and the control of local clock dials. Some secm to think that the problem would be sufficiently solved if clocks were all made to show the same time. This result could be ensured by simple methods of control, and it is true that so long as we remained in one town the annoyance of a ‘** lying timekeeper *’ would not have to be. tolerated, but the uncertainty would reappear’ as soon as we entered another town, and the only way to secure uniformity is to arrange for the exhibition of correct standard time. This essential preliminary of the distribution of correct time signals is provided for by the Posi Office authorities, “working in cooperation with the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The telegraphic service throughout the country is suspended for a few seconds, while the signal is sent through the trunk lines at 10 a.m. But, unfortunately, it is to be feared that the duty of forwarding this signal to the smaller towns is very carelessly and_ inefficiently performed, simply because the officials who are responsible for its wider distribution have not sufficiently apprehe nded the necessity for accuracy. From perscnal experience we are afraid that this signal is not sent on auto- matically. Here is the first necessity for reform. If it were thoroughly well known that there did exist in every town and village an office where correct time could be had, even at some personal incon- venience careful people would take the trouble to NO. 1994. VOL. 771] keep their clocks fairly accurate, and by so doing gradually educate the more indifferent to a higher standard. The control of the clock dial is a much simpler matter, and has passed into the commercial stage. The convenience of having a number of clocks in one establishment indicating the same minute is so evident that a variety of patents has been secured with the view of effecting this purpose. But most of the patentees do not concern themselves with ex- treme accuracy, and are content if no greater differ- ance than half a minute can be perceived between any dial and the master clock, from which the signal is sent generally at intervals of half a minute. There’ are several processes which can be easily utilised,: some of which are admirably adapted for outside dials, and could be supplied at small cost. Probably it would not be wise to insist on extreme accuracy, but to endeavour to establish a system that could be im- proved. The trouble is that London, and other large towns generally, have no system of clocks under muni- cipal control which could be synchronised. It is necessary to make a new departure, and the discussion in the Times is so far valuable that it tends to create a public opinion, which may induce the authorities to’ take the initiative. LORD KELVIN AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. @> January 6, at the first meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh since the death of the president, Lord Kelvin, Prof. Crum Brown, FRSS vice-president, read the following appreciation, a copy of which has been communicated to us by the society :— We meet here to-night for the first time since the death of Lord Kelvin. This is not the time to enter into an enumeration or a criticism of what he did. Our thoughts now are of the loss which we have sustained. But it is impossible in our mind to separate the man from his work. For the trans- parent truthfulness, the simplicity and straightforwardness, the absence of the least trace of affectation or trick, which contributed so much to the charm of his manner, felt by everyone who came, even in the slightest and most transient way, into relation with him, are to be seen in all that he did. It was his love of truth and his sympathy with nature that led him in all his investigations directly to the root of the matter, and made him so zealous and successful in his searches for the essential principles under- lying the phenomena of nature. And when a_ truly essential new view was obtained, by himself or by another, of the way in which nature works, he rejoiced greatly, and called on his friends to rejoice with him. Nature was to him very real, and no demonstration seemed to him quite satisfactory until it had been ‘‘ realised.’’ This and his sympathy with men and with their work gave everything to him a practical aspect. And so in almost every direc- tion. in which he worked he devised working models and instruments of -precision. Some of these are known only to specialists, and by them used and valued, but everybody has heard’ of his compass and of his sounding apparatus, and knows something of the enormous benefits he has conferred on navigation. It was not only in pure and applied science that he was interested; everything that affects the life of the people, education, politics, “religion, occupied his thoughts, and on all subjects which he “had seriously considered he had definite opinions. While he would, on occasion, defend with zeal and energy what he believed to be the truth, he was always perfectly fair to his opponents, as he was always courteous to everybody. We have already had emphatic evidence that the world knows that a great and good man has left us; we who knew him more intimately “also mourn a dear, trustworthy, and trusted friend. 254 NATURE | JANUARY 16, 1908 NOTES, M. Buivtaup, director of the Toulouse Observatory, has teen appointed director of the Paris Observatory. Sim Greorce Darwin, K.C.B., F.R.S., has been elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg. Imperial Lizut.-CoLoneL R. E. Crompton, C.B., has been elected wo the presidency of the Institution of Electrical Engineers wacant by the death of Lord Kelvin. Pror. Boucuarp has been elected a vice-president of the Parts Academy in succession to M. Henri Becquerel, who has passed to the presidential chair. Tue Hayden memorial geological medal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia has been awarded to Mr. ©. D. Walcott, secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- tion. We regret to see the announcement of the death of Lieut.-Colonel R. L. J. Ellery, ©.M.G., F.R.S., late Government astronomer and director of the Melbourne Observatory, at eighty years of age. We learn from the Paris correspondent of the Chemist and Druggist that the appointment of Prof. E. Jungfleisch, sof the Paris Superior School of Pharmacy, as successor to Berthelot’s chair of organic chemistry at the Collége de France was formally signed by M. Briand on January 6. Tue Geological Society of London will this year award its medals and funds as follows :—Wollaston medal _ to Prof. Paul Groth, of Munich; Murchison medal to Prof. A. C. Seward, F.R.S.; Lyell medal to Mr. R. D. Old- thham; Wollaston fund to Mr. H. H. Thomas; Murchison fund-to Miss Ethel G. Skeat; and Lyell fund to Mr. H. J. Osborne White and Mr. T. F. Sibly. Reports have appeared in the daily Press of a new treatment for consumption in which the diseased portion of the lung is removed by operation. The only novelty seems to be the use of hot water or steam to control the hemorrhage, for excision of a portion of ‘the lung has ‘ecasionally, been performed during the last seventy years. Such a procedure could only be of service in a very few selected cases. We deeply regret to announce the death of Prof. C. D. West on January 10 in Tokyo. He had then been twenty- five vears in the service of the Japanese Government, and was one of those men the Japanese did not wish to lose. He never cared to write scientific papers, but his thought can be traced in those written by others. “‘ West’s formula’ relating to the destructive power of earthquakes is certainly the basis of all other formulz on this subject, and these have had a wide application. He was a pioneer in the education of engineers in Japan, and is looked up to as the father of engineering in that country. A modest man has been called across the bar. As the result of a vigorous sanitary campaign, involving an expenditure of more than 40,000l., bubonic plague has now been almost eradicated from San Francisco. One of the most notable features has been the destruction of 130,000 rats during the last four months. Of this number, 11,391 were examined by bacteriologists in the laboratory of the Health Department, and 108 were found to ‘be infected. Up to the end of December, 1907, the total number of persons reported as plague-stricken was 136, of whom seventy-three died. The sanitary measures adopted NO. 1994, VOL. 77] | invention for the manufacture of diamonds. have been under the control of an officer of the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, with the cooperation of the local health authorities. New awards will shortly be made from the “ Elizabeth Thompson Science Fund,’’ which was established ‘‘ for the advancement and prosecution of scientific research in its, broadest sense,’’ and now amounts to 5200!. Applications for assistance from this fund should be sent promptly, with full information, to the secretary of the board of trustees, Dr. C. S. Minot, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. The trustees are disinclined, for the pre- sent, to make any grant to meet ordinary expenses of living or to purchase instruments, such as are found commonly in laboratories. Decided preference will be given to applications for small amounts, and grants exceed- ing 601. will be made only in very exceptional circum- stances. In honour of the memory of the great Russian chemist Mendeléeff, a Congress of Chemistry and Physics was held at the University of St. Petersburg on January 2-12. The congress organised by the Russian Physico- Chemical Society, and the following telegram, signed by Prof. Borgmann, Rector of the Imperial University, who presided, was sent to Sir James Dewar :—‘‘ The Russian Physico-Chemical Society, with members of the first Mendeléeff Congress, express to you—a friend of the late Prof. Mendeléeffi—great esteem for your scientific labours opening new ways for investigations of Nature.’’ Many British men of science will be glad that their Russian colleagues have thus shown their appreciation of the greatness of Mendeléeff’s work and of the high regard in which his memory is held in this country. This sympa- thetic feeling and unanimity of aim among scientific men is of international importance, and makes the congress at St. Petersburg’ an event in which the whole scientific world is interested. Mr. Henry Farman on Monday won the Deutsch- Archdeacon prize by flying toward a goal previously fixed and returning to the starting point, the total distance being more than one kilometre, with a machine heavier than air. The course was marked out by delegates of the Aéro Club of France upon the military ground of Issy. Five hundred metres from the starting point, two posts were placed fifty metres apart, and the conditions of the contest were such that the aéroplane had to pass between these posts in the journeys both out and back. At the starting signal the machine ran along the ground for a few yards and then rose easily in the air and headed toward the turning post. This point was reached by a steady flight, and after sweeping round it, Mr. Farman returned to the starting point with perfect ease. The entire flight occupied 1m. 28s. A description, with an illustration, of Mr. Farman’s aéroplane was given in Nature of December 5, 1907 (p. 106). was An electrical engineer, M. Lemoine, is under arrest in Paris charged with having obtained more than 60,0001. from Sir Julius Wernher in connection with an alleged The ‘‘ secret ”’ of the process was deposited in a London bank at the time the negotiations were entered upon, and the magis- trate appears to be in a legal difficulty, since the defendant refuses to allow the document to be examined. The defendant has, it is reported, given several demonstrations of his process, and some of these were in the presence of witnesses. During the progress of the case, a Times correspondent states:—‘‘ An Englishman, Mr. Jackson, said that he had been present at two experiments in M. a oe January 16, 1908] NATURE 24) Lemoine’s Jaboratory. Mr. Jackson himself compounded the substances, put them into a crucible, and sealed it up. M. Lemoine then ran the crucible into an electric furnace, and after about twenty-five minutes he drew the crucible out. Mr. Jackson opened it, and found in it twenty-five little diamonds. At another time they obtained thirty. He offered the diamonds to a London jeweller, who found them very fine, and an expert to whom he showed them thought they came from Jagersfontein.’’ A representative of the Daily Chronicle has had an interview with Lord Armstrong, who was present at one of the demonstrations, and affirms that diamonds were really produced. Lord Armstrong is reported to have said:—‘M. Lemoine handed me a powder, which, in order to convince myself, I worked up with my fingers. It was nothing but a powder. ._I myself put this powder into an empty crucible, which I closed again, and I personally put the crucible into the furnace. When, under the instruction of M. Lemoine, who stood some distance from me, and could in no way interfere in the operation, I withdrew the crucible I found in it an agglomerated mass, which I allowed to cool before my eyes. I myself broke this shapeless mass, which presented the appearance of carbonised matter, and there I found these pure diamonds and these other diamonds less perfect.’’ As the case has not yet been decided, it is undesirable to comment upon it at this stage. So far as we have seen the evidence, nothing is added to what has been known by chemists since Prof. Moissan found that diamonds could be produced by allowing carbon to crystallise from solution in molten iron or silver. Prof. Moissan used pure sugar charcoal to obtain his artificial diamonds. This carbon was com- pressed in a plugged cylinder of soft iron which was placed in a crucible containing iron rendered molten by an electric furnace. The best crystals were obtained when the crucible was afterwards cooled rapidly by immersion in molten lead. As these particulars have been matters of scientific know- ledge for the past fourteen years, the Reuter telegram from Paris that the substance of the formula contained in the sealed envelope is as follows, is amusing reading :—‘ Take carbon of sugar, place it in a crucible, and heat to the requisite temperature. The result will be diamonds.”’ We have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of No. 18 of the Bulletin of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg for 1907, which contains, among other articles, an account by Dr. W. Salensky of the interesting accelous turbellarian worm Haplodiscus ussowii, a species named in 1896. Tue fifth number of vol. ii. of the Philippine Journal of Science is almost exclusively devoted to ornithology, no fewer than fourteen out of fifteen articles dealing with this subject. A number of new species (one referable to a new genus) are described, but perhaps the most generally interesting article is one on the rare monkey-eating eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) from Mindanao and Luzon. None of the specimens was perfect, and no additional informa- tion appears to have been ascertained with regard to the habits of this remarkable species. IN British Birds for January, Messrs. Bentham and Mouritz record the breeding of the hen-harrier and the hobby in Surrey in 1907. A nest of the former was dis- covered in May, originally containing four eggs, out of which two were hatched, and in due course the young took wing. Sad to relate, both parents were shot by a gamekeeper, and there is some doubt whether the young birds survived. In the same issue Mr. J. B. Nichols records a specimen of the grey-backed warbler (Aédon NO. 1994, VOL. 77] familiaris) shot at Hythe, Kent, in July, 1907, this being the first occurrence of the species in Britain. It breeds in Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, and further eastwards. The allied rufous warbler (A. galaetodes) has occurred’ thrice in England and once in Ireland. WHETHER or no they agree with all the opinions ex- pressed, readers of the January number of the Fortnrghily Review will unite in welcoming an article on ‘* Evolution and Character ’’ by the veteran evolutionist Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace. Despite the absence of any advance in human character during the whole period of which we have any definite ken, such an advance will, in the author’s opinion, make itself apparent in the not distant future. It is added, however, that ‘‘ our imperfect human nature- can only make a systematic advance through the thoroughly sympathetic and ethical training of every child from infancy upwards, combined with that perfect freedom of choice in marriage which will only be possible when all are economically equal, and no question of social rank or material advantage can have the slightest influence im determining that choice.’’ AccoRDING to the latest report of the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee, the Marine Biological Station at Port Erin, Isle of Man, has had a most successful year’s work, this being especially the case at sea, where greater activity in submarine exploration than in any previous season was rendered possible by means of a steam-yacht. This yacht, although small, has been fitted with apparatus for dredg- ing, tow-netting, and various other purposes in the com- paratively deep water outside the bay, and it is hoped that she may be available for much further exploration in the Irish Sea. The aquarium, to which nearly sixteew thousand visitors were admitted during the summer, eon- tinues to be a great success. As regards the economic side of the work, the number of plaice larva hatched was considerably below the average, a large percentage of the eggs being infertile. Lobster-culture, on the other hand, made steady progress, although it was found that the experiment of placing the “‘ berried’’ lobsters in one of the ponds did not prove a success. A FEW weeks ago we referred to a paper by Mr- Graham Renshaw on the Californian condor (Gymnogyps californianus). In the Century Illustrated Magazine for January appears an article by Mr. W. L. Finley based om several visits to the actual haunts of the bird, and illus- trated with photographs of the egg, young, and adults taken at close quarters. The interviews took place high up: in the San Bernadino Range of southern California, and one of the most remarkable events was the near approach the writer and his companion were able to make to the old birds without any manifestations of alarm or fierce- ness on the part of the latter. These birds, it appears, lay only a single egg in a season, and the young is of remarkably slow development, the black: quill-feathers not showing until the nestling is more than two months old. It has been ascertained that there are only forty-one eggs of the species in collections (against about seventy of the great auk), and the number of adult birds in captivity is half a dozen. The photographs obtained during these trips—which include several of the young at different stages of development—are claimed to be absolutely unique. An example of a plant which sheds its leaves in summer is afforded by Euphorbia dendroides. The large yellow bushes which in winter time adorn the Jurassic limestene rocks on the northern shores of the Mediterranean are represented in August by a network of bare brown ramify— 256 NATURE [JANUARY 16, 1908 -ing stems. In September the new leaves begin to sprout for the winter growth. Pror. M. C. Porter records in a leaflet his observa- tions on a barley disease prevalent in the north-eastern counties last year, producing undeveloped grains known locally as ‘‘ deaf ears.’’ Examination of diseased flowers showed that development had followed a norma! course until pollination had taken place, but at this stage arrest of development in the ovary was caused by the attack of the fungus Helminthosporium gramineum. In the Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Beférderung des Gewerbfleisses, Berlin, is published the substance of a lecture delivered by Dr. F. Frank before the society on caoutchouc, dealing mainly with its exploitation from natural sources and on plantations, also with the methods of its preparation and the regeneration of old rubber. Reference is made to the development in Mexico of a trade in guayule, the substance obtained from the shrub Parthenium argentatum, that is worked up in local factories. Special information is furnished with regard to plantations and methods of treating the crude latex of different rubber German colonies in Africa and New Guinea. trees in IN connection with the problem of natural regeneration of forests in tropical and subtropical climates, an article contributed by Mr. A. W. Lushington to the Indian Forester (October, 1907) on sucker reproduction in certain forest reserves and jungle scrub in the Kistna district of Madras points to the importance of this mode of regenera- tion. The grouping of shrubs of Bauhinia tomentosa and Ormocarpum suggested that they were not produced from seedlings, and subsequent examination showed that sucker reproduction was the potent factor, not only in the spread of the shrubs, but also of the trees. A note by Mr. Daya Ram in the same number refers to the sporadic flowering of Strobilanthus Wallichii and Strobilanthus alatus in 1906 in the United Provinces. Previous flowerings were re- corded in 1894 and 1882, giving twelve years as the normal life-cycle of these species. From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, we have received the final part (No. 10) of the Kew Bulletin for 1907, and appendix v. to the volume, containing a list of literary contributions by members of the staff during the years 1896 to 1906. In the case of systematic papers, it has been thought ‘useful to add to the title the names In the Bulletin, Dr. O. Stapf furnishes an account of the gums ammoniac of Morocco and the Cyrenaica. The latter, which is the gum ammoniac de- scribed by referred to Ferula marmarica. The Morocco product has been identified as a variety of Ferula The gum of European markets to-day is yielded by the Persian plant Dorema which has ousted the African drug. Mr. W. Dallimore contributes an article on gardens of interest same of new species. Dioscorides, is communis. ammoniacum ammonia cum, near Newport, Mon., making special reference to tree cultivation. In another article attention is directed to Zapupe fibre, the product of an undetermined species of that is proposed as an alternative to the Agave in tropical countries such as the West Indies. Agave sisal Tue report of the early proceedings at the West Indian Agricultural Congress, held in Jamaica in January, 1907, together with the papers that would have been read but been published in the West Indian Bulletin (vol. viii., parts i. and ii.). A review of the year’s work in connection with the mére important agricultural presented by Sir Daniel for the earthquake, has industries was NO. 1994. VOL. 77 Morris in his presidential address. On the subjeet of sugar canes, Mr. J. R. Bovell and Mr. F. A. Stockdale dis- cuss new seedling varieties and the methods of obtaining hybrids. Artificial cross-fertilisation offers so many difficulties that other methods, such as planting alternate rows of two selected varieties throughout a plot, have been adopted. Cacao, pine-apples, limes, and cotton pro- vided the subjects for several papers. With regard to varieties of rubber, it is noticeable that Castilloa has re- ceived more attention than Hevea. Mr. B. H. Jones, writing about the collection of rubber in the forests of British Guiana, makes special reference to three in- digenous species of Sapium. A RETURN of the frost occurred during the past week over the whole of England, and in many places the thermometer fell as low as in the severe frost in the early part of the month. At Greenwich the thermometer in the screen registered 19°1 on the morning of Saturday, January 11, while on the grass the temperature was 111, and on Sunday the shade reading was 17°-9, which is in agreement with the lowest temperature in the earlier frost, whilst the exposed thermometer fell to 8°-8, which is more than a degree lower than during the previous frost. Among the lowest temperatures reported to the Meteor- ological Office on Sunday, January 12, were :—18° in the screen at Bath and Oxford, 19° at Nottingham, 20° at Dover, and 22° at Dungeness. In the Bulletin of the Italian Geographical Society (1907, pp. 738-745) Prof. L. Palazzo, director of the Italian Meteorological Service, under the title ‘‘ I brontidi del Bacino Bolsenese,’’ gives an interesting account of the mysterious phenomenon generally known as ‘‘ mist- poeffers,’’ or in English as barisal guns, from rence in the delta of the Brahmaputra. The paper is compiled from reports supplied by persons living on the shores of the lake of Bolsena (Latium) and adjacent parts, and deals with the sonorous character of the phenomenon, its frequency, and the accompanying meteorological condi- tions. The sounds generally appear to come from the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, about twenty-four miles distant from the lake; the description of them agrees entirely with reports from other parts, and with the accounts published by Van den Broeck, Gtinther, and others. The paper contributes much information on the subject, but throws no additional light upon the physical cause of the phenomenon, whether the origin be aérial or subterranean (see Nature, vol. lii., p. 650, and vol. liii., p. 4). In the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. xviii., Prof. A. L. Rotch makes a timely publication of Franklin’s descriptions of the first balloon ascents. These interesting documents consist of five copy-press letters written to Sir J. Banks, P.R.S., in 1783, when Franklin was Minister to the French Court. One of them probably has never before been published; the others are little known, although printed, with some alterations, in the editions of Franklin’s works by Bigelow in 1888 and Smyth in 1906. The first ascent was made from the Champ de Mars on August 27, 1883; the) balloon was filled with hydrogen, and was capable of lifting a weight of 39 lb.; about 50,000 people assembled to see the experi- ment. The second ascent was a_ hot-air balloon from Versailles, apparently in September; it carried a sheep and some poultry. The first and second manned balloons ascended on November 20 and December 1, 1783, filled with hot air kept up by burning straw and by “ in- flammable air’’ respectively; both experiments were successful. Referring to the first manned ascent, Franklin its occur- | January 16, 1908] NATURE 257 wrote :—‘‘ I] am sorry this Experiment is totally neglected in England where mechanic Genius is so strong... . Your Philosophy seems to be too bashful. . . . This Experience is by no means a trifling one. It may be attended with important Consequences that no one can foresee.”” THE most noteworthy article in the Journal of the Franklin Institute for December, 1907, is that by Prof. J. W. Richards reviewing the progress made in the electro- thermic production of iron and steel. There is also a paper by Mr. E. S. Cole describing the pitometer, an ingenious instrument for measuring the leakage of water in mains. Tue current issue of the Central, the organ of the Central Technical College Old Students’ Association, con- tains as a frontispiece an excellent portrait of Prof. W. E. Dalby. There is also an article by Prof. H. E. Armstrong on the nature of chemical change, in which he reviews the excellent research work accomplished by the chemical department of the college since 1885. Ar a meeting of the Association of Engineers in Charge held in London on December 11, 1907, Mr. L. Gaster read a paper on the province of the illuminating engineer, in which he directed attention to the waste which is going on in the conversion of energy into light, and to the utilisation of the illuminants so as to produce the best illumination. He suggested a method for reducing the existing waste, and indicated some of the important problems with which the illuminating engineer has to deal. A patcn of publications received from the Department of Mines of Queensland affords striking evidence of the excellent work that is being done by the Geological Survey in investigating the mineral resources of the colony. Mr. B. Dunstan (Publication No. 207) describes some copper, gold, and bismuth mines in the Burnett district, west of Maryborough. Mr. L. C. Ball (No. 208) gives a careful report on the Norton goldfield, where gold was discovered in 1871, the total yield since then having amounted to 16,630 ounces. The reefs have hitherto been worked for their gold and silver contents, and the returns would, but for the complex sulphides in the ore, have given a profit. If a suitable method of treating these sulphides were adopted, many reefs hitherto neglected would probably be opened up. Mr. W. E. Cameron (No. 209) describes some goldfields of the Cape York Peninsula. The same author (No. 210) gives an exhaustive account, illustrated by a map and fourteen admirable plates, of the Annan River tinfield, Cooktown district. He shows that rich alluvial tin occurs at numerous points over an area twelve miles long by eight miles broad. Recently, hydraulicing the face with water under pressure has been adopted, and an attempt has been made to deal with the deposits by machinery by dredging the alluvial flats. Mr. B. Dunstan (No. 211) describes the Stanhills tinfields near Croydon, where recent operations have revealed ore of exceptionally rich quality, and the field has become very active. The tin is found in lodes and in alluvial deposits, and the area of the field amounts to about 100 square miles. Mr. B. Dunstan also publishes a further report (No. 212) on some Croydon gold- mines, with special reference to Bennion’s reef and to the Highland Mary reef. Publication No..213 is a map, on a scale of six miles to the inch, of the copper-mining district of Cloncurry, compiled by Mr. L. C. Ball. To the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, Prof. Cleveland Abbe contributes a on the possibility ef studying the movements of the atmo- NO. 1994 VOL. 77] xii. 10; short note sphere by laboratory experiments with projections of a globe. It being necessary to use flat models, the con- ditions are necessarily different from those on our earth, and the author discusses the projections of the sphere best suited for taking account of different effects. Tue Transactions of the American Mathematical Society (viii., 4) contain a paper by Prof. A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., on the elliptic integral in electromagnetic theory. The in- vestigation was undertaken during the lifetime of the late Principal Viriamu Jones, F.R.S., in connection with the calculation of the mutual attraction of coaxal helices employed in the ampere balance designed by Prin- cipal Viriamu Jones and Prof. Ayrton. The object is to exhibit the third complete elliptic integral in the form most suitable for computation. two In the Revue générale des Sciences (November 30, 1907) M. Th. Reinach publishes, with an introduction by Prof. Painlevé, a translation of the manuscript of Archimedes 1899 by Papadopoulos Kerameus on a palimpsest parchment. This manuscript soon attracted the attention of Profs. H. Schoene and Heiberg, and the latter visited Constantinople in 1906 to study the precious docu- ment. It consists of four parts, some containing works already known, and the present article deals with the fourth, namely, the treatise on method (Ephodos), which is dedi- cated to Eratosthenes. It deals with the quadrature of a parabola, and with the volumes and centres of gravity of spheres, ellipsoids, paraboloids and hyperboloids of revolution, and the ‘‘ method of exhaustion ’’ adopted by Archimedes distinctly anticipates its modern equivalent of integration. A further interesting feature of the problem is Archimedes’ use of the principle of the lever in com- paring different solids of revolution by a kind of method of balancing the elements of one against the corresponding elements of the other. In the Verhandlungen dey deutschen phvystlalischen Gesellschaft for November 30, 1907, Drs. U. Behn and H. Geiger give 1-63 as the result of their determination of the ratio of the specific heats of helium at constant pressure and at constant volume respectively. Their method is a modification of Kundt’s. The tube containing the gas is sealed at both ends, and is clamped in the middle. Its frequency for longitudinal oscillations is adjusted by attaching metal discs to the ends with sealing wax, until the lycopodium within is set in motion by the resonance of the gas. One end of the helium tube pro- jects in the usual way into a second tube containing air, and produces dust figures in the air from which the fre- quency of the oscillation is calculated. discovered in Part vii. of vol. xxi. of the Journal of the College of Science of the University of Tokyo consists of an account of the work done by Messrs. K. Honda and T. Terada on the reciprocal relations of stress and magnetisation in a irons and steels. The specimens, in the form were magnetised under magnetising coil, and the induction ballistically both. with change of stress at constant field and with change of field at constant stress. The result is a verification of the theories of Prof. J. J. Thomson and others so far as the principal effects are concerned, but hysteresis effects appear to make it impossible to test experimentally the correctness of the terms of the second order, in which the theories differ from each other. A memoir by Miss E. M. Elderton, Galton scholar in national eugenics of the University of London, assisted by Prof. Karl Pearson, on the resemblance between, first cousins, has been issued by Messrs. Dulau and Co. number of of wires, tension in a_ vertical was measured research The memoir gives the results of two scries of investiga 258 tions, the first dealing mainly with qualitative characters— such as health, ability, temper, temperament, and success in life—the second, not yet completed, with certain measurements on the hand, eye-colour and hair-colour, as well as health. In the current number of Science Progress, published by Mr. John Murray at five shillings net, there are several articles of interest on applied science. In the first place we nolice a paper by Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S., on work under pressure and in great heat, giving a very good précis of the author's researches in this department, which have altered the Admiralty practice as regards diving, and should alter the factory-mining regulations, when these well-meant rules are inspired by knowledge as well as good intention. The article by Dr. F. H. A. Marshall, on nutrition and fertility, touches on matters of great importance to breeders of stock, and furnishes a curious {and unintentional) commentary on the work of Prof. “Chittenden on the minimum of food-stuffs. Articles that also call for mention are those of Prof. Halliburton on the repair of a nerve, and Mr. A. D. Darbishire on Mendelism. A fine portrait of the late Lord Kelvin appears as frontis- piece. Amonc the subjects of lantern-slides from photographic negatives, in the supplementary list just issued by Messrs. Newton and Co., are :—steel-making, showing operations af a great steel-works ; coal-mining ; wild life; pathological tissues ; animal life in earlier times; eruption of Vesuvius in 1906; bacteriology of tropical diseases; and colour photography. The slides should be of real service in illustrating popular lectures upon scientific subjects. Tne old students of the Finsbury Technical College are to be congratulated on the first number of the magazine produced and published by their association. The cover of the magazine carries a medallion portrait of the prin- ‘cipal of the college, Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson, F.R.S., and a portrait of the first president, Dr. M. O. Forster, F.R.S., forms a supplement. The reading matter includes a greeting from Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., in which he refers to reformed methods of teaching mathematics and physical science. Tue tenth issue, that for 1908, of ‘* Wellcome’s Photo- graphic Exposure Record and Diary,’’ will prove of assist- ance to photographers. Much useful guidance is provided, and the mechanical calculator attached to the cover will be found serviceable. In addition to a complete diary for 1908, the book also contains tables for interior work, tele- photography, copying, enlarging and reducing, moving objects, night photography, and for printing by artificial light. Three editions,, adapted respectively to the con- ditions of various latitudes, are published, and the price of the volume is one shilling. WE have received a copy of the first number of a new monthly magazine entitled the Illuminating Engineer, which is to be devoted to the subject of scientific illumination. The periodical is edited by Mr. Leon Gaster, and the price of each issue will be 1s. technical The first number, which runs to eighty-eight pages, contains a variety of articles and notes, some of which are well illustrated. Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S., describes vacuum tube electric lishting; Dr. C. V. Drysdale deals with the production and utilisation of light; Mr. A. P. Trotter discusses the distribution and measurement of illumination; and Dr. Hugo Kriiss gives an account of some researches on re- Weeted transmitted light. The new periodical should appeal fo all engineers concerned with illumination. NO. 1991, VOL. 77] NALORE [ JANUARY 16, 1908 OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Comets DUE To RetuRN THIS YEAR.—In No. .392 of the Observatory (January), Mr. W. T. Lynn number of particulars concerning the periodical comets due to return during the present year. The first named is that discovered by M. Giacobini in December, 1900, and found to have a seven-year period. The comet discovered by Mr. Denning on October 4, 1881, has, according to the calculated elements, a period- of 8-8 years. In 1890 and in 1898-9 its position was not favourable for observation, so there is a likelihood of its being re-discovered in the early part of this year. Encke’s comet has been observed at every return since it was recognised as a periodic comet in 1819, and has already been found by Prof. Max Wolf. The comet dis- covered by Tempel in. 1869 November 27, and recognised as periodical by Swift in 1880, should reappear during the coming summer; its period was found to be a little greater than 53 years. It was not seen in 1903, when it was last due, or in the preceding return of 1897, but was well observed in 1891. DETERMINATION OF THE Moon’s Licut witH A SELENIUM PHOTOMETER.—Some interesting results, accruing from pre- liminary experiments on the determination of the amount of light received from the moon at different phases, by means of selenium cells, are published in the December (1907) number of the Astrophysical Journal (vol. xxvi., No. 5, p- 326) by Messrs. J. Stebbins and F. C. Brown. The moonlight was compared with the light of a standard candle burning under known conditions, the values obtained being subsequently reduced by correcting for atmospheric absorption, &c. For the light given out by the full moon the observers derived a value of 0-209 candle-power, but other cells employed gave different values, the mean value being very near to the 0-23 candle-power adopted by Miller as the mean obtained from visual observations. The results show that at full moon we receive about nine times as much light as at half moon, and they also indicate that the moon is brighter between first quarter and full than in the corresponding phase after full moon. Observations made during the partial lunar eclipse of July 24, 1907, gave the instant of least light as 16h. 23m., whilst according to the American Ephemeris it was 16h. 24m. The differences obtained by using different cells are probably due to the fact that the cells are not equally colour-sensitive, and to this point the authors propose to pay considerable attention; presumably the question of colour would not enter into the determination of the values at various phases when the same cell was employed throughout. THe APPEARANCE OF NEPTUNE IN SMALL TELESCOPES.—A paper recently communicated by Mr. Holmes to the British Astronomical Association gave rise to an interesting dis- cussion at the November (1907) meeting. The question discussed was the planetary appearance of Neptune in small telescopes, and whilst some sf the members averred that it was difficult to recognise the disc with a 6-inch telescope, others, including Mr. Maw, stated that they had found such an instrument sufficiently large for this observation. The general result of the discussion appears to have been the conclusion that some of the earlier descriptions of the size and brightness of the disc of Neptune are misleading, although the form should be clearly recognised with an instrument of equivalent power to a 6-inch achromatic telescope (the Observatory, No. 392, p- 47): Tue ‘‘ ANNUAIRE ASTRONOMIQUE ’’ FOR 1908.-—The excel- lent year-book of astronomy and meteorology issued by M. Flammarion is one of the most useful of its type and prigée to the amateur astronomer who reads French. It contains practically all the data he is likely to require in his work, besides a valuable annual review of the progress of astronomy. Many of the notes and directions are illus- trated, and, in addition to the diary giving the astro- nomical phenomena for each day of the current year, there is a map of the sky for different times and dates in each month. The price of the volume is 1.50 francs. publishes a. noah OE NE aE oe January 16, 1908 | NATORE 25, SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATIONS OF JUPITER. JN the December Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France for 1905 (p. 556), readers who telescopes were invited to collaborate in a scheme for the simultaneous observation of Jupiter on prearranged dates, and to make drawings and notes of what they saw, which were to be forwarded to a central authority for correlation and discussion. The valuable results likely to accrue from such a com- bined attack are too obvious to need recapitulation, and when M. Nicolas Poutiata suggested the idea to M. Camille Flammarion, that indefatigable organiser trans- mitted it immediately to the French Astronomical Society, and asked for its cooperation. A scheme was drawn up, thirty-six observers in various parts of Europe responded to the invitation in the December Bulletin, and Dr. Jean Mascart undertook to discuss all the drawings and notes possessed purchase an instrument of serious size, a very gaad sub- stitute may be made “ par un peu de wolonté et beaucoup d'huile de bice Following the seriattm dis- play of each day’s the author points out briefly the similarities differences of the various drawings, directing particular attention to any striking peculiarity of any one of them. These notes are too numerous to give in detail here, but it is safe to predict that they will amply repay the close study of every Jovian observer. The various undula- tions of the great southern equatorial band, the various tints of the polar regions, the fine rifts in the several bands, and many other features of interest, and of possible variation, are all recorded and commented upon. One item of more practical interest perhaps, illustrated, for example, in the drawings of January 5, is that the smaller apertures appear to give a greater relative intensity to the tints of the polar regions. Several curious globular struc- tures, attached to the northern edge of the south equatorial ions notes, and sent in. The present brochure collects his discussions, | band, and some striae in the north polar re: were which have been appearing month by month in the | recorded by Senor J. Comas Sola, using the 380 mm. Bulletin, and gives some valuable hints for any similar undertaking in the future. Briefly, the programme arranged was as follows :—(1) Observers were to draw on prepared discs all the markings they were able to see on the planet’s surface, at 2oh. om. (8 p.m.) precisely (G.M.T. Paris), on every clear night from January 2-20, inclusive, 1906. (2) Arrangements were made so that observers residing in other longitudes than Paris should know the exact local time at which the observations were to be made, thus preventing any ambiguity to the precise shour of observation. (3) Drawings were to be made on previously prepared white discs identical in size and shape, the scale being such that 1 mm. on the disc corresponds to about 2000 km. on the planet. (4) De- tailed instructions were also given as to the preparation of fair copies of the drawings, their orientation, ., and also as to the noting of any written details which would assist the general discussion. The instruments employed varied in aperture from 75 mm. to 380 mm., and eve-pieces of various powers were used. The number of observations varied from five, on January 15, seventeen, on January 14, and, altogether, 172 individual observations were made. To illustrate the general character and variety of the drawings, we reproduce the set made on January 2, 1906. It interesting to note that the personality of many of the individual observers appears throughout the entire Thus, for example, No. 4 here reproduced was made by Herr Phil. Fauth, who for twenty years has been training his eye to see finer and finer details on the moon’s surface, and it is decidedly characteristic of all the drawings made by him in this series. The similarity of the drawings of this observer and those of Dom Amann, of Aosta, Italy, is a feature of each of the series where both occur, and the apertures and powers employed were practically the same in each case. No. 5 was drawn by the latter observer. Dr. Mascart gives the notes made each day by each observer, and reproduces the drawings with numbers so that each may be identified, the latter being arranged, so far as possible, in the order of the instrumental aperture employed. Thus No. 1 in the above series was made by an observer using a telescope of 75 mm. aperture, No. § with a refractor of 170 mm., and No. 7 with a reflector of mm. aperture made by the observer himself, M. Paul Vineart, of Antwerp, who thus demonstrates to his co-workers that, lacking the necessary wherewithal to 1 **Ob ervations simultanées de la Surface de Jupiter réunies.” By M. Tean Mascart. Extrait du Bulletin de la Société astrconom que de Franze. (1g07-) NO. 1994. VOL. 77] as to is series. 19s The Planet Jupiter : simultaneous drawing made by different observers, January 2, 1906. Mailhat equatorial, on January 12. The seventeen draw- ings of January 14 form the most extensive and most valuable series, of which the various features previde- plenty of material for a detailed study; one unique feature is the delineation of the south tropical band by M. Crouzel,. who used the 380 mm. equatorial of the Toulouse Observa- tory, and shows this band as a chain-like series of loops. When the January campaign was ended, several observers expressed the desire to continue, but it was found that the notice was too brief to organise the matter effectively. Nevertheless, some of the observers did con- tinue, and valuable results, which Dr. Mascart discusses, were obtained. An attempt was made by M. Blum, at Dr. Maseart’s request, to obtain photographs showing the combined results of each day’s work. The methods employed are fully described in the paper, and some reproductions of the combined photograph for January 8, obtained by different methods of exposure, &c., are shown, and seem to give excellent promise. 260 NATURE [ JANUARY 16, 1908 In conclusion, Dr. Maseart points out that perhaps the | is a large dark chamber, constructed like a fume cupboard most valuable result of the recent attack is the experience | in which plants may be grown in complete darkness, or gained, and he emphasises the details in the programme | illuminated by light transmitted through special filters. which need greater attention, such as the closer observ- | The greenhouse he a separate neating system from the ance of the precise prearranged hour, the correct orienta- | rest of the building, and a centrally placed case in it may tion of the final drawing, the care which should be | be heated by a special radiator to a higher temperature exercised in confirming the presence of a faint marking | than the rest of the greenhouse. Much thought has been before showing it on the drawing, and so on. Finally, he gives, with full detail, descriptions of various objectives and eye-pieces, showing in each case, by means of diagrams, their action on rays of light. ; Taken a whole, this preliminary campaign appears to have provided very valuable results, and it is to be hoped that future similar organisations will be guided by the experience now gained. as Wientebeineics THE NEW SCHOOL OF BOTANY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. HE science schools committee of Trinity College, Dublin, is to be congratulated on the completion of the second item in its scheme for the scientific develop- ment of Trinity College. This proiect, which was first instance originated by Prof. John Joly, F.R.S., and has since owed much to his activity and devotion, was inaugurated in 1901 by a handsome subscription from the chancellor, the Ear! of Rosse. At an early stage in the movement success was assured by a munificent gift from TRINITY ' ! ‘ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ' 4 t ------- 3550 First Floor Plan. Viscount Iveagh. According to the terms of this gift, Lord Iveagh undertook to build those departments for which the friends Trinity College subscribed a capital sum requisite to yield the annual upkeep. Last year the School of Physics was completed, and at the beginning of the present the School of Botany, the second department which has been benefited by this movement, was opened for work. The School of Botany is a two-storied building of cut granite, situated in the east end of the college park, and lies east and west. This orientation gives a large number of windows facing north, with the best light for micro- of session scopic work. The western end, being octagonal, is occupied by a lecture theatre in the upper storey, on the ground floor by a very fine laboratory for general physiolog The northern side of the upper storey is occupied by a large microscope room, which can accommodate about sixty students working simultaneously. Through a large double door in the west end of this room access is ob- tained to the theatre. The auditorium in the latter is octagonal, so that every seat is close to the lecture table. On the ground floor on the north side is a room for roscopie research, a library, professor’s laboratory, and laboratory for general physiology, which also forms the st end of the building. A solidly built greenhouse run- ning Out en the north side of the building is immediately conn ith the physiological laboratory; on the south side of latter opens a chemical laboratory. In addition = the il fittings in the physiological laboratory, there NO. 1994, VOL. 77] in the | given to the working out of the plan and fittings of this new school, and as it stands the School of Botany in Trinity College must rank with the best in the British Isles. The architect was Mr. Wm. C. Marshall, of London, who also designed the Botanical Laboratory in Cambridge. ON THE COLOURING MATTERS OF FLOWERS. HIRTY or forty years ago I devoted much attention to the colouring matters in plants, studying them with my newly invented spectrum microscope. I published a few papers on particular- branches of the subject, but there are other very wide questions the importance of which I did not perceive until altered circumstances led me to devote my attention to work out other things studied was the variation flowers, which is manifestly a very extensive subject, and for which I had only limited opportunity to obtain the requisite material, having to rely to a great extent on wild plants and flowers in my garden. Though the results are incomplete, they are probably characteristic; and it may be well to publish them, since it now impossible for me to complete them, and what I did will at all events serve to show what might be done. The+whole subject is very complex in more ways than one. The colouring matters of plants may be divided into two divisions, viz. those soluble in water but insoluble in at sea. Amongst in the colour of is carbon bisulphide or benzol, and those soluble in the latter reagents but not in water. Both are soluble in hydrous alcohol of the usual strength. Nearly all the blues and purples belong to the former, and most of the yellow and orange to the latter. I found the best way of dealing with the flowers was to boil the petals or other portions in the usual hydrous alcohol, which dissolves both groups of pigments, and, after evaporating to dryness, to re-dissolve the constituents filter, and finally evaporate to dryness in a small saucer, in which, if kept fairly dry, the pig- ment will remain unchanged for a considerable time. Some pigments may be kept unchanged for a long time in a concentrated solution of lump sugar. When re-dissolved in water many of the matters soon become pale or nearly colourless, Assis lants Room “3a” soluble in water, colouring but recover their colour when evaporated to dryness. I never saw proof of this in living flowers, but it may occur when they die and fade. If there be any colour insoluble in water, it may be dissolved in carbon bisulphide, but this is seldom the case in blue, red, or purple flowers. In those cases where the predominant colour is in- soluble in water, it may be separated by agitating the alcoholic water. solution with carbon bisulphide, The bisulphide carries down the adding a little pigment in solu- tion, which may then be evaporated to dryness in a small saucer and kept. When dissolved in alcohol or carbon bisulphide the colour fades more or less quickly, especially sealed up almost absolutely free from many years, at all events in the light, but if air, it will remain unchanged for in the dark. Having, then, obtained the pigment in a fit state, the next thing is to examine it when in appropriate solution, either in its natural state or after the addition of a suit- able reagent. To enter into full detail would make this paper far too long, but it seems desirable’ to give some particulars in order to show how the various pigments can be distinguished. Speaking generally, this is by their January 16, 1908] NAGORE 261 optical properties, occasionally by the fluorescence, but usually by the absorption, as studied by a spectrum micro- scope, and whenever possible by the position of absorption bands under identical known conditions. This latter is very important, since their position may vary considerably with the character of the solution. I never attempted to obtain the pigments pure, in a state fit for chemical analysis, so as to determine their chemical composition. The number of distinctly different colouring matters in flowers must be very great, and to study them completely would occupy a long time. The distribution of the different kinds is sometimes very definite, but often the reverse. In the genus Hypericum are sometimes small dark spots in the petals, and sometimes small dark rounded bodies are attached to the sepals. These are coloured by a pigment which gives a spectrum with narrow, well-marked absorption bands, which could not be mis- taken for any other. This occurs in all the species I examined, but in no other flowers. On the contrary, there is a blue pigment, giving a sufficiently well-marked spec- trum with several absorption bands, met with in many flowers separated about as much as possible botanically. Much may be learned by the use of reagents. Vegetable pigments may be divided into three groups by the action of sodium sulphide, which I called Groups A, B, and C. Group A is at once made nearly or quite colourless by the addition of a small quantity of this salt. Group B is not at all altered when alkaline or neutral, but is at once made nearly colourless when acid. Group C is not changed even when acid. When made colourless the pig- ments are not permanently decomposed, but recover their colour when evaporated to dryness. I do not fully under- stand the cause of these effects. Then, again, much may be learned from the action of citric acid and a weak alkali. The colour and spectra of many reds, purples, and blues are very different in acid, neutral, or alkaline solution. Some yellow pigments are made thirty times more intense by an alkali, whilst others are unchanged. As a rule, none of the above changes is due to a permanent alteration, but in some cases it is useful to employ stronger reagents, which decompose the natural pigments, such as nitrite of soda with the addition of a little citric acid. As an example I may cite the pigment of the common yellow garden crocus. This gives a strongly fluorescent yellow substance, unlike that produced in the case of any other flower I have examined. The only objection to such powerful reagents is that they may produce highly coloured substances from colourless bodies in the plant, and not merely alter the coloured constituent. As an interesting example I may name a deep red substance produced in the case of the different species of geranium examined, but not in the case of any other plant. My remarks so far apply only to colouring matters soluble in water. Orange, orange-yellow, and lemon- yellow flowers are in most cases coloured by one or other of the four yellow pigments met with in green leaves, or by various mixtures of them, which are distinguished by the absence or presence of two absorption bands. These vary considerably in position according to the nature of the solvent, lying much nearer the red end of the spectrum when the pigment is dissolved in carbon bisulphide than when in benzol or alcohol. These absorption bands can also be seen in the spectra of the flowers themselves, and for some time I was unable to understand why in the case of Chelidontum majus they lay materially nearer the red end than in-nearly all other yellow flowers which gave the same spectrum when the pigment was in solu- tion, until I came to the conclusion that in Chelidonium it occurs in a free state, and not dissolved in oi! or wax. There are other cases in plants where the spectra show that the pigments exist in a solid state, which would ex- plain slight differences in tint. We may now consider facts very common in cultivated plants, viz. a great variety of colours. In many cases this is easily explained, because we can see that two pig- ments exist, either alone or mixed in various proportions, one frequently being a vellow insoluble in water, and the other a blue or red soluble in it. As an example. I refer to the common wallflower of our gardens (Calendula vulgaris), which is sometimes a clear yellow, sometimes NO. 1994, VOL. 77] a sort of crimson, but more commonly a crimson brown. The yellow is a xanthophyl soluble in carbon bisulphide ; the crimson is a pigment soluble in water; the common colour is a mixture of these two, and gives the same spectrum as a yellow and a purple petal combined. We have a similar case in chrysanthemums and various other flowers. The common garden marigold is sometimes a pure yellow and sometimes a true orange or an_ inter- mediate tint, which is due to two different pigments alone or variously mixed. One or other of these may occur separate in different parts of the same flower in some plants. In some flowers we find a considerable variety of tints, probably due to another cause. The common _ bedding geraniums of our gardens are a good example of this. At one time I thought that such varying tints might be due to varying acidity, but did not obtain satisfactory proofs, though it may be true in some cases. I, however, studied several closely allied pigments from other plants, and found that they seemed to agree in nearly every particular, except that the absorption bands in the spectra were not exactly in the same place. An excellent example of this kind is the red pigment of blood, giving two very well-defined absorption bands, which differ in position if the oxygen is replaced by carbonic oxide or nitrous oxide. Also the red pigment found in many birds’ eggs, which I named oorhodeine, gives precisely the same remarkable and well-marked spectrum as the product of the action of strong sulphuric acid on the red pigment of blood, except that the position of the absorption bands differs distinctly. My suggested explanation of the differ- ence in the colour and spectra of a number of the pig- ments in flowers is that some fundamental constituent is the same, but modified by some varying substance in combination. A few flowers contain pigments which give spectra with unusually well-marked absorption bands. As remarkable examples I may mention the crimson Cineraria and the deep blue Lobelia of our gardens. The spectra are of almost exactly the same character, having two darlx absorption bands, only they occur at a different part of the spectrum. I am unable to say whether this shows any relationship between the pigments, but the difference in the position of the bands is perhaps too great. It will thus be seen that a very great number of distinct pigments are found in flowers, sometimes having a_very restricted distribution, and sometimes the reverse. Then, again, the plant may be able to form two or more quite distinct colouring matters, either alone or mixed in vary- ing proportions. In some cases the pigments seem to be easily subject to change, as though some constituent could be substituted for another. In one way or another there is thus great scope for variation, perhaps not brought into play, or only to a limited extent, in wild plants, but some- times to a remarkable extent by cultivation. H. C. Sorsy. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGe.—The Vice-Chancellor has received a_ letter from Baron von Hugel, curator of the Museum of General and Local Archeology and of Ethnology, recording a gift from the Rev. John Roscoe, of the Church Missionary Society, of exceptional value and interest. It consists of a second instalment of selected native manufactures from Uganda. The chief value of the gift lies in a unique set of relics of deceased Baganda kings, which, enclosed in ornate cases, were preserved by the people under the name of Lubare (i.e. the Deity) in special shrines placed under the guardianship of hereditary custodians. Of these es three gods, the most sacred obiects of Baganda cult, generations are represented in the present collection. With the first Roscoe collection, which was supplemented by a valuable gift of obiects from the Katikiro of Uganda, the University acquired Kibuka, the war god of the Baganda. who with all his appurtenances was safely un- earthed from his ruined shrine in the Mawokota district. In this deity, as in’ the Lubare, personal relics form the essentials, and in Kibuka are enshrined the jaw-bone, &c-., 262 of the deified chief of that name, a renowned fighter who lived in the reign of Nakibinge, the eleventh king of the Baganda. Objects such as these are not readily to be obtained; indeed, it required years of careful investigation and all the knowledge and experience gained in the field by this veteran missionary to negotiate their safe removal from the ancient shrines of Uganda to the show-cases of the University museum. MancuestEr.—Daily observations at the meteorological Observatory of the University at Glossop Moor are now being taken with kites or captive balloons, and preliminary records of the results are being published every day in the Daily Telegraph and other papers. The work, which has been instituted by Prof. A. Schuster, F.R.S., is under the immediate direction of Mr. J. E. Petavel, F.R.S., assisted by the following stafi:—Mr. Travis Rimmer, resident observer at Glossop Moor; Messrs. T. V. Pring and W. A. Harwood, and Miss Margaret White, voluntary assistants. The generous cooperation of the meteorological observa- tories at Buxton, Huddersfield, Stonyhurst, Sheffield, and Manchester will facilitate the working out of comparative results, in the subsequent utilisation of the observations, and should add greatly to the value of this investigation of the meteorology of the upper atmosphere. At a dinner of the Bristcl University College Colston Society on Tuesday, the president, Mr. G. A. Wills, stated that contributions towards a university for Bristol have in the past two years amounted to 40,0001. He also announced that his father, Mr. H. O. Wills, has promised 100,000l. towards the endowment of the university for Bristol and the west of England provided a charter be granted within two years. THE national importance of brain-power produced by universities, as well as sea-power obtained by a strong navy, was insisted upon by Sir Norman Lockyer in his presidential address to the British Association in 1903 ; and a comparison was made of the expenditure on higher education with that on battleships. Prof. Turner, of the University of Birmingham, speaking at Stourbridge on January 6 in connection with the Stourbridge and District Higher Education Committee, used similar illustrations in referring to the cost of technical education. He pointed out that the Birmingham University and other local colleges and universities obtain a total grant per annum of about 100,000l. Let this be compared with our naval expenditure, and it is found that to build one battleship of the Dreadnought type absorbs the whole of the funds allocated to the local universities for seventeen years. Battleships are a necessity, but the Army and Navy cannot exist apart from the nation’s third line of defence—its internal manufactures—and these depend largely upon the rearing of an educated and skilled people. Tne annuai meeting of the Geographical Association was held on January 8. Mr. Douglas Freshfield, who presided, said that last year he had found it necessary to comment on the extraordinary decision of the Civil Service Com- missioners to exclude geography from the examinations for the higher branches of the Civil Service, including the Foreign Office, but now he was able to congratulate the association upon a reversal of that decision. The report read supplied evidence that the association continues energetically its work of improving geographical instruc- tion. Major Close delivered a lecture on map projection. It may be noticed that various lectures on the teaching of geography have been arranged by the association. The first will be delivered by Mr. G. G. Chisholm on January 24, at 8 p.m., at University College, and the second, on scientific method in the teaching of geography, by Prof. R. A. Gregory, on February 14 at the same place and time. The remaining lectures will be delivered on alternate Fridays upon the following subjects :—Physical geography as an essential part of school geography, Mr. T. Alford Smith; how to teach the geography of a country, Prof. L. W. Lyde ; orographical maps as the basis of the geography lesson, Dr. A. J. Herbertson; and geographical laboratories, Mr. A. T. Simmons. Particulars may be obtained from Mr. J. F. Unstead, 5 Wiverton Road, Sydenham. NO. 1994, VOL. 77] NATURE [JANUARY 16, 1908 THE issue of Science for December 20, 1907, contains the annual opening address delivered last October by Prot. F. F. Wesbrook, of the University of Minnesota, before the faculty of science of the University of Manitoba at Winnipeg. Discussing the needs of the Canadian uni- versity, Prof. Wesbrook instituted an interesting com- parison between what is required in the direction of higher education in Manitoba and the similar needs of the University of Minnesota, which was founded nine years earlier than the Canadian institution. Although Manitoba has had a university since 1877, it cannot be said as yet to have made provision for it which is at all adequate. Manitoba has now a population of about 380,000, and with all the demand on her for increased university facilities has only been able to expend approximately 16,0001. for building and permanent improvement, and for mainten- ance 3000]. per annum (which until last year was only 1200l.), with an addition of s5o000l. from land grant and other sources, making a total current expenditure of So00ol. per annum. In the case of Minnesota University, there were in 1887 only 412 students registered out of a State population of 1,180,000, and there was available 7oool. from State funds and a total of practically 14,o00l. from all sources, with a total student attendance per ten thousand population of 3-49. In 1906 the population of the State had nearly doubled, the University attendance had increased to 3956, the total funds derived from the State to 50,300/. per annum, the total annual current ex- pense of the University, exclusive of buildings and _ per- manent improvements, was 108,400]. per annum, and the attendance at the University for each ten thousand of State population was twenty students. The total expendi- ture for maintenance, exclusive of State grants for hospital maintenance, special investigations, library expenses, re- pairs, and so on, will this year be above 132,60ol1. Well may Prof. Wesbrook urge the people of Manitoba to emulate the American example he cites. It is to be hoped that the approaching visit of the British Association to Winnipeg will assist the Canadian authorities in developing the University. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, November 14, 1co7.—‘‘ On the Cranial and Facial Characters of the Neandertal Race.’’ By Prof. W. J. Sollas. As a result of a comparison of the calvarium of the Neandertal race with that of the aborigines of South Australia, it is shown that a much closer resemblance exists than some authorities have supposed, especially as regards the calottal height, Schwalbe’s ( bregma ”) angle, and the bregma index. The chief differences are to be found in the cephalic index, the continuity of the frontal torus, and the deeply impressed character of the frontal fossa. ; Comparisons based on the glabella-inion line are mis- leading, owing to the inconstancy in position of the inion. The exterior foramino-basal angle owes its perplexing anomalies to the fact that its magnitude is determined by five variables, one of which is connected with the cranial height, so that in depressed forms of skull it acquires a higher value than might otherwise be expected. The Gibraltar skull is the only example of the Neandertal race which presents the bones of the face and the basi-cranial axis in undisturbed connection with the calvarium. Its characters, apart from the cranial vault, are unique; no other known skull possesses so long a face or such a large and broad nasal aperture. In profile, the nasal curve flows into that of the glabella, without any sudden change of flexure, that is, there is no nasal notch, such as occurs in the Australians. The orbit, as in all skulls of the Neandertal race, is distinguished by its excessive height above a line drawn from the nasion to the middle of the fronto-zygomatic suture. The sphenethmoidal angle has been measured from the limbus sphenoidalis by a line drawn to the crista galli on the one hand and the basion on the other; it exceeds the corresponding angle of the lowest known South Australian skull, similarly measured, by 16° 30/. JANuARY 16, 1908] NATURE 263 The palate is very dolicho-uranic. The thickness of the frontal bone, measured on one side of the crista galli, is 24 mm. The prognathism of the upper jaw, in whatever way measured, is extremely small, so that the skull must be classed as orthognathous. The ‘cranial capacity is estimated at 1250 c.c., a close approach to that of the Neandertal calotte. The average capacity of South Australian skulls is very similar, but ranges from 1460 c.c. to 1100 c.c. If the calotte of Pithecanthropus represents the mean of a similarly variable race, then the extreme forms of such a race would almost completely bridge over the hiatus between man and the higher apes. Society of Chemical Industry, January 6.—Dr. J. Lewkowitsch in the chair.—Some observations on the keeping power of Fehling’s solution, together with notes on the volumetric process of determining reducing sugars with it: Dr. Francis Watts and H. A. Tempany. The authors point out that, contrary to the commonly expressed idea, Fehling’s solution, or at least Violette’s modification of it, is not liable to deteriorate rapidly if kept in the dark, and if access of air is prevented. The solution can thus be kept mixed. ready for use for many months, and it is not necessary to keep the stock in the form of two solutions to be mixed as required.—The determinations of small quantities of bismuth: H. W. Rowell. Methods of separation suitable for ores, copper, and base bullion are given which eventually precipitate the bismuth, together with various impurities which do not affect the subsequent colorimetric estimation, but aid in the collection of the bismuth. The colour test depends upon the solubility of bismuth iodide in excess of potassium iodide producing a yellow colour. The test is very delicate, and the amount of bismuth in copper or base bullion may be determined within five hours. Mathematical Society. January 9.—Prof. W. Burnside, president, in the chair.—The distinctive character of Lord Kelvin’s mathematical investigations: Prof. A. E. H. Love.—A formula of interpolation: C. S. Jackson. Hilbert’s invariant integral in the calculus of variations : T. J. VA. Bromwich.—An operator related to q-series: Rey. F. H. Jackson. ; Paris. Academy of Sciences. January 6.—M. Henri Becquerel in the chair.—Report presented in the name of the section of geography and navigation concerning a subject put forward by the Geographical Society of Paris relating to meteorological telegrams from Iceland: Bouquet de la Grye.—The transformations of the comet 1907d: Ernest Esclangon. The variations in the form of the comet on approaching perihelion were studied under very favour- able conditions of weather and atmosphere, and are illus- trated by six diagrafhs.—The use of flames as valves for alternating high-tension currents: André Cathiard. When two electrodes, one of which has a very small section compared to the other, are placed in a flame and in a high-tension (2000 volts to 10,000 volts) circuit, a small continuous current passes, a sort of faintly luminous are being produced in the flame. In the experiments described, the frequency was forty per second, and a current was obtained, not exceeding 0-03 ampere, capable of producing. galvanic deposits. The nature of the current has not yet been studied with the oscillograph.—Contribu- tion to the study of the formation of certain precious stones of crystallised alumina: F. Bordas. Exposure to a temperature of 300° C. for a long time causes the yellow colour of both natural (Oriental topaz) and artificial yellow corundums to disappear. The Oriental emerald, a very rare stone, can be produced by starting with a sapphire-blue stone and subjecting it to the above tempera- ture for a certain time. Further experiments with the kkathode rays, analogous to the B-radium rays, do not cause colourless corundums to pass to yellow, and the yellow stones are not affected.—The harmonics of a vibrating body: G. Sizes and G. Massol.—Some new homologues of diglycollic acid: E. Jungfieisch and M. Godchot.—The mechanism of the transpositions of the phenyl group in the iodohydrins and aromatic glycols: Mare Tiffeneau. Although the mechanism of the trans- NO. 1994, VOL. 77] positions of iodohydrins of the type Ar(R)C(OH).CHI.R is definitely established, the interpretation of the mechanism of the transpositions of the aromatic glycols by the formation of diethylene oxides can only be con- sidered as provisional.—The structure of the fundamental substance of hyaline cartilage: Ed. Retterer. From the morphological and structural point of view, the funda- mental substance of hyaline cartilage is identical with bone substance. It represents, in fact, only the second stage of evolution of the cytoplasma of the cartilaginous cell—The development and structure of the spores of Thelohania Giardi: L. Mercier.—The existence of six branchial arches and six aortic arches in the embryo of the .mole: A. Soulié and C. Bonne.—The fertilisation and development of the eggs in Rhopalura ophiocomae : Maurice Caullery and Alphonse Lavaliée. The egg evolves into an embryo with perfectly individualised cells, and having none of the plasmodial structure of the ulterior parasitic stages. Ten figures of the egg in different stages of development accompany the paper.—Prolonged anzs- thesia by mixtures of oxygen and ethyl chloride: Pierre Rosenthal and Albert Berthelot. The authors have been able to prolong the anzthesia due to ethyl chloride by administering it mixed with oxygen. In experiments with animals, a true anzesthesia lasting an hour was obtained, the subject going under very rapidly, the narcosis quiet, and recovery prompt. They hope to be able to apply the method to human subjects, more especially as_ this anzesthetic has the great advantage of not causing the after effects of ether and chloroform.—The slow action of chlorinated products derived from bacilli: MM. Moussu and Goupil.—The value of the magnetic elements at the Observatory of Val-Joyeux on January 1, 1908: Th. Moureaux.—The study of a series of specimens of sea- water collected in the English Channel: A. Chevallier. Determinations were made of the density, temperature at the time of collection, chlorine, and sulphuric acid. A curve is given showing the difference of density as ordinates, and the distance from Dieppe as abscissa. New Soutn WaALEs. Royal Society, October 2, 1907.—Mr. H. Deane, president, in the chair.—Law of meteorological pheno- mena: A. G. Williams.—A simple form of Sprengel vacuum pump: Prof. J. A. Pollock. A modified short- fall Sprengel vacuum pump of moderate dimensions is described, in which the raising of the mercury, necessary for continuous working, is effected by evaporating the mercury at a lower and condensing it at a higher level. Note on the internal structure of some gold crystals: Prof. A. Liversidge. The author exhibited sections of isolated crystals and groups of gold crystals, mainly octahedra and rhombic dodecahedra, and photographs of the same before and after cutting. The simple faces on polishing and etching showed that the internal structure did not corre- spond with the external; e.g. in one case the rhombic planes of an externally simple dodecahedron were found to be made up of two triangular faces; on these triangles there were also faces of smaller crystals. Some showed a still more complex structure. November 6, 1907.—Mr. H. A. Lenehan, vice-president, in the chair.—Notes on the Arranda tribe: R. H. Mathews.—A short, accurate method for the estimation of iron, alumina, and phosphoric acid when occurring together: Dr. T. Cooksey. When iron, alumina, and phosphoric acid occur together the iron is estimated by a volumetric process (as, for instance, by means of potassic iodide and thiosulphate of soda); the phosphates of the two metals are weighed, and the phosphoric acid in filtrate estimated, as previously described. These data are sufficient for the determination of all three quantities. The method is short and very accurate.—Note on the formation of formaldehyde in solutions of cane sugar, and its bear- ing on Hehner’s test for formaldehyde in saccharine mixtures: A. A. Ramsay. The author directs attention to the production of formaldehyde when cane sugar and water are heated at a temperature below that at which caramelisation might take place. This fact ex- plains how a reaction for formaldehyde by the Hehner test (which is one generally used, and _ particularly delicate) may be obtained from manufactured products 264 such as jams, sweetened condensed milk, or saccharine liquids, &c., and to which the manufacturer has added no formaldehyde, by the usual analytical operations of dis- tilling a slightly acidified aqueous solution of the substance and testing the distillate, since the act of distilling a saccharine liquid results in the formation of formaldehyde. Linnean Society, November 27, 1907.—Mr. J. H. Maiden, vice-president, in the chair.—The geology of the Nandewar Mountains, New South Wales: H. I. Jensen. The physiography and geology of the Nandewars offer points of similarity to those of the Warrumbungle Mountains. For example, the Nandewars present the features of arid erosion, and the level country to the west of them forms an arid-erosion peneplain. In late Palaeozoic times the present line of trachyte necks was practically a shore-line, with land to the west and sea to the east. By the end of the permo-Carboniferous period, the sea had given place to a fresh-water lake. In Triassic and Cretaceous times sedimentation took place west of this line, and erosion east of it. During late Mesozoic times the area of the Nandewar Mountains was reduced to a peneplain; basic laccolites were injected, and basic lavas flowed over parts. During early Tertiary times much faulting took place. Lavas escaped from the main fissure and from numerous cross-fractures. Tuffs, ashes, and breccias were ejected, and alkaline lavas solidified in their vents. Gradually more basic types of lava were emitted. In one respect the Nandewar Mountains differ from the Warrumbungles in that, in the Nandewars, sill-structure is represented on a grand scale. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, January 16, Roya Society, at 4-30.—Alternate Current Measurement: Dr. W. E. Sumpner.—Prominence and Coronal Structure: Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer. —The Conversion of Diamond into Coke in High Vacuum by Kathode Rays : Hon. C. A. Parsons, C.B., F.R.S., and A. A. Campbell Swinton. On the Perception of the Direction of Sound: Prof. C. S. Myers and Prof. H. A. Wilson, F.R.S.—Preliminarv Note on Certain Phenomena of the Electric Discharge through Rarefied Nitrogen: Dr. G. J. Burch, F.R.S., J. E. Marsh, F.R.S., and R. de J. F. Struthers. Ree UuON, at 3.—The Building of Britain: Prof. W. W. Watts, INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY, at 8.—The Vaal River Diamond Diggings: M. Park.—The Eruptive Diamond-bearing Breccias of the Boshof District, South Africa: J. P. Johnson.—The Auriferous Banded Ironstones and Associated Schists of South Africa: U. Letcher, Society oF ARTs, at 4.30.—Indian Agriculture: Henry S. Lawrence. Linnean Society, at 8.—(1) Brassica Crosses, illustrated by lantern slides : (2) Notes on Wild Types of Tuber-bearing Solanums, illustrated by Jantern slides: A. W. Sutton.—Revision of the genus Illigera, Blume : __S. T. Dunn.—New Conifera of Formosa: Bunzo Hayata. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—Colour and Constitution of Azo-compounds. Part Il. The Salts of #-Hydroxyazo-compounds with Mineral Acids: J. J. Fox and J. T. Hewitt.—The Oxidation of Aromatic Hydrazines by Metallic Oxides, Permanganates, and Chromates: F. D. Chattaway. —Studies in Fermentation, II. The Mechanism of Alcoholic Fermenta- tion: A. Slator.—Organic Derivatives of Silicon, Part IV. The Sul- phonation of Benzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxide and of Benzylethyldipropyl- silicane: H. Marsden and F. S. Kipping.—!he Formation and Re- actions of Imino-compounds. Part VI. The Formation of Derivatives of Hydrindene from o-Xylylenedinitrile : C. W. Moore and J. F. Thorpe. FRIDAY, JANUARY 17. Royat Institution, at 9.—The Centenary of Davy’s Discovery of the Metals of the Alkalis: Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICA! ENGINEERS, at 8.—Third Report to the Gas-Engine Research Commit'ee: Prof. F. W. Burstall. InsTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Principles of Engineering Geology: Dr. Herbert Lapworth. SATURDAY, January 18. Ree INSTITUTION, at 3.—The Electrification of Railways: Prof. Gisbert app. MONDAY, JANvARY 20. Socizty oF Arts, at 8.—The Theory and Practic2 of Clock Making: _H. H. Cunynghame, C.B. VicTorIa INSTITUTE, at 4.30.—Resemblances between Jewish Ideas and Customs and Those of India: Col. T. H. Hendley. TUESDAY, January 21. Royat Institution, at 3.—The Internal Ear of Different Animals: Dr. Albert A. Gray. Roya STATISTICAL SOCIETY, at 5. \IINFRALOGICAL SociETY, at &.—On Zeolites from the Neighbourhood of Belfast: F. N. A. Fleischmann.—On Striiverite and its Relation to Ilmenorutile: Dr. G. T. Prior and Dr. F. Zambonini.—Twin-structure : Dr. J. W. Evans.—On a Simple Method of Drawing Crystals of Calcite and other Rhom bohedral Crystals, and of Deducing the Relations of their Syn : Prof. W. J. Lewis. NSTITUTION OF CivIL_ ENGINEERS, at 8.—Experimental Investigations of the Stresses in Masonry Dams Subjected to Water Pressure: Sir Jeni Ottley, K.C.1.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore.—Stresses in Dams: an K xperimental Investigation by Means of India-Rubber Models: J. S. Wilson and W. Gore.—Stresses in Mascnry Dams: E. P. Hill. js NO. 1994, VOL. 77 NATURE [JANUARY 16, 1908 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22. GEOLOGIGAL Society, at 8.—The Origin of the Pillow-Lava near Port Isaac in Cornwall: Clement Reid, F.R.S., and Henry Dewey.—On Sub- division of the Chalk of Trimmingham (Norfolk): R. M. Brydone. Society oF ARTS, at 8.—Siam and its People: H. Hillman. THURSDAY, JANUARY 23. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Proballe Papers: Report on the Eruption of the Soufriére in St. Vincent in 1902, and on a Visit to Montagne Pelée in Martinique. Part II. : Dr. Tempest Anderson.—On the Intimate Struc- ture of Crystals. Part VI., Titanic Oxide, its Polymorphs and Isomorphs = Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S.—Dietetics in Tuberculosis. Principles and Economies: Dr. N. D. Burdswell and Dr. J. E. Chapman.—The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism Part I., On the so-called Hippocoprosterol ; C. Dorée and Dr. J. A. Gardner. Rovau Inst1vuTion, at 3.—Recent Light on Ancient Physiograj hies : Prof. W. W. Watts, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Standard Perform nces of Electrical Machinery : R. Goldschmidt. FRIDAY, JANUARY 24. Roya InsriruTIon, at 9.—The Extinction of Malta Fever: Col. David Bruce, C.B., F.R.S. Puysicat Society, at 5.—Recalescence Curves: W. Rosenhain.—An Experimental Examination of Gibbs’ Theory of Surface Concentration Regarded as the Basis of Adsorption, and an Application to the Theory of Dyeing: W. C. M. Lewis. InsTITUTION oF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—A Cost Theory of Reinforced- Concrete Beams: J. R. Wade.—The Neutral Axis in Reinforced-Concrete Beams: E. I. Spiers. SATURDAY, January 25. Rovat InsriruTIon, at 3.—The Electrification of Railways: Prof. Gisbert Kapp. MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION, at 2.30,—Address by the President, Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S.—On the Teaching of Elementary Mechanics, with Special Reference to the Preparation and Use of Simple and Inexpensive Apparatus: W. J. Dobbs.—On the Teaching of the Elements of Analysis : C. O. Tuckey.—On the Geometrical Treatment of Series in Trigonometry, with Lantern Illustrations: F. J. W. Whipple.-—On a New Treatment of Similarity in Elementary Geometry : W. E. Bryan.—Machine for Draw- ing Rectangular Hyperbolas: H. L. Traclh.tenberg. CONTENTS. The Cotton Plant. ByF. Fletcher ... aoe A Concise Work on Evolution. ByR.S.... 242 Studiesiny Education’ 2) (0s cee. ss os eee Maintenancelof, Roads =. :) suemceemenn «1 > nee Our Book Shelf :— Bauer: ‘' A History of Chemistry”... . ... =. . 244 Hubbard and Hubbard: ‘* Neolithic Dew-ponds and Cattle-ways.”—W. E. Rolston ....... . 245 Biltz and Biltz: ‘‘Ubungsbeispiele aus der anor- ganischen Experimentalchemie.’—F. M. P. . . . 245 Partridge: ‘‘ The Bacteriological Examination of Dis- infectants.”—Prof. R. T. Hewlett. .... ... 246 Spengel: ‘‘ Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der Zoologie. ——R:, L.. - 3.).)¥o eR) |) =) eA Letters to the Editor :— Seismographs and Seismograms.—R. D, Oldham . 246 An Early Acoustical Analogue of Michelson’s Echelon Grating.—Prof. P. Zeeman . PE ee te The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters, —Rev. E. C. Spicer metic, - 3. AE 2) The Diamantiferous Rock of Kimberley.—Prof. aGabonney, F:RoSian aegeeene 3) eee Musical Sand:.—Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S.; Sidney Skinner... ci. 4 Intensity of Spectrum Lines. —A. D: Cowper . -.+ 248 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. IV. (///us- trated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 249 The Californian Earthquake of 1906. (/i/ustvated.) . 25% Public Clocks and Time Distribution ....... 253 Lord Kelvin and the Royal Society of Edinburgh . 253 Notes 5 eS (oo <0 Ree) Oe! Our Astronomical Column :— Comets due to Returnthis Year ......... 258 Determination of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium Photometer Re eonc on oc Ov cme eco The Appearance of Neptune in Small Telescopes . . 258 The ‘*‘ Annuaire Astronomique” for 1908 ... . . 258 Simultaneous Observations of Jupiter. (///usti ated.) By VVAREIIRGN osc: * 7. +27 [a oie eae t= Seg The New School of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin. (With Diagram.) . . A 260 On the Colouring Matters of Flowers. By Dr. H. C. Sorby sR RaSas sc -.° 1) ; Tee Oe Gees Yo eo University and Educational Intelligence. . . . . . 261 Societies and Academies .:......:.... 262 Diarysofmsocieties: .).. .+ 5 5 SUNS See eo — se Se NTE er 265 THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1908. MANX ARCHASOLOGY. Manx Crosses; or the Inscribed and Sculptured Monu- ments of the Isle of Man from about the end of the Fifth to the beginning of the Thirteenth Century. By P. M. C. Kermode. Pp. xxii+221. (London: Bemrose and Sons, Ltd., 1907.) Price 63s. net. HIS handsome volume contains notes and illus- trations of the inscribed and sculptured stones of the Isle of Man from the time of its conversion to the end of the Scandinavian rule, that is to say, from the close of the fifth(?) to the beginning of the thir- teenth century a.p. The individual descriptions are preceded by some ninety pages on the early history of the island and the leading features of the monuments as a whole. These are of great value for the study of Celtic art in general, and many readers—all, indeed, who are unable to study the crosses on the spot—will give them more attention than the remainder of the book. In view of this fact and the somewhat recon- dite nature of the subject, it may not be out of place _ if we touch on the more important of their contents before proceeding to speak of particular instances. The earliest monuments in the island are, without question, the rude boulders inscribed with Oghams. | In language, formula, and characters these do not differ from those of the fifth century in Pagan Munster, but if we are to judge from the frequency with which the names of Irish ecclesiastics occur in the appella- tions of the Manx keeils or chapels, and the dedica- tions of the parish-churches, it seems reasonable to suppose that the Irish came to Man to christianise it, and that the Ogham writing was introduced by, and the stones erected to the memory of, Christians. The date of the conversion of the Celtic Manx is un- certain, but we know that it was in the sixth century that the Irish missionaries began to wander over Europe, and it would have been strange indeed if they had neglected a people so near at hand. The advance among them of the new creed, though never actually checked, was fated to be disturbed some three cen- turies later by the raids of the Vikings. They ap- peared in the Irish Sea in 798, and harried the island at intervals during a considerable period. At the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century, it began to be definitely occupied by the Scandinavian invaders, and for the next hundred years it was ruled by the successors of Olaf the White, King of Dublin. The Northmen, as we have said, did not attempt to stamp out Christianity among their Manx subjects; en the contrary, our author thinks it not unlikely that the Celtic church revived, and that the later Celtic pieces carved in relief and highly decorated were erected during this period. The conversion of the settlers themselves he shows ground for assigning to the first quarter of the eleventh century, and it is significant that after 1050 we hear of a Norwegian bishop, ‘‘ Hroolwer or Hrolfr,’’ who, according to the chronicle, was succeeded by another, William, before Godred Crovan began to reign in 1075. The year of Hroolwer’s coming or death is unknown, but NO. 1995, VOL. 77] this mention of him enables us to fix approximately the date first Scandinavian monuments, which cannot be earlier than 1025 or 1030, and as in one of his inscriptions (Kirk Michael 74) Gaut claims to have made all the crosses in Man, we must suppose enough time to have elapsed for the late Celtic pieces to have been overlooked. Yet neither from this nor from the appearance of the Norwegian ecclesiastics should we be justified in assuming a break in the continuity of the Celtic Church; that there was no such thing is shown by the fact that the later Scandinavian pieces preserve the Celtic type, and are found on ancient sites dedicated to Celtic saints. But if its ascendency was undisputed by the Northmen it was fated to pass away before another power; the year 1170 saw the foundation of the Abbey of Rushen, and this resulted in the virtual subjection of the Manx hierarchy to the great English house of Furness. Under these new conditions the native school of art ceased to develop, the foreigners being opposed to anything savouring of paganism, such as the Runic inscriptions, or likely to interfere with the spread of Catholicism. The Gothic coffin-lid at Rushen may well have belonged to one of the last of the Scandinavian rulers. In any case it is unlikely that the specimens of Celtic art in the island are, any of them, later than the beginning of the thirteenth century. From the circumstances of their production our author passes on to speak of their distribution and artistic features. As most of us are aware, they form part of the monumental system of the early British Church, which was an extension westward of that of Christian Rome in the period succeeding the death of Constantine. They will be found, however, to show distinct local peculiarities. Of the 116 pieces discussed in the book forty-five are classed as Scandinavian, seventy-one as of earlier date. Maughold has by far the greater number, thirty-seven ; Michael comes next with ten, Braddan with nine. Both groups alike are of local rock, usually clay-slate, derived from the immediate neighbourhood. Almost all are sepulchral, and though described as crosses, they are, strictly speaking, cross-slabs, upright, rectangular blocks, varying from 2 feet 6 inches to 6 feet in height, by about fifteen to twenty-four inches wide, and from two to four inches thick. A few are wheel-headed or rounded; only in two late instances is the stone itself cruciform. We are not surprised to find that the pre-Scandin- avian monuments are more numerous in the old parishes Maughold, Braddan, Conchan, Rushen, Lonan and German. After the Ogham-stones already mentioned come a certain number with crosses in- cised, linear or in outline, all of them plain except for three with hexafoil and one with triquetra. A further stage is reached by those with the figure sculp- tured in relief. Of the stones of this group, seven show practically no decorative treatment, thirteen are plain or have decorations only of the simplest, cross- lets, pellets, bosses, &c., while the remaining eighteen have geometrical designs, zoomorphic interlacings, and figure subjects. These latter are hard to date exactly, but they clearly reached down to the period of the Scandinavian occupation if they did not overlap N of our 266 NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 it. We must not forget to mention, midway between the incised and decorated pieces, six monuments with sunk background or design. These pre-Scandinavian crosses vary greatly in shape, particularly those of the earlier groups. Among those incised in outline we find some pure Latin, some equal-limbed, some with expanded arms, one crux ansata, &c. At first, at any rate, we are not con- fined to the type with recessed limbs and joined ends, which it is customary to associate with Celtic art, and which came to predominate here as in other Celtic countries. The art motives remind us, if anything, of those of the Irish school, but it would be a mistake to suppose that the Manx artists were slavish imitators of foreign models, Irish or otherwise. Some well- known designs, viz. the step, the key-fret, and the spiral, are feebly represented or altogether missing. Nor do we meet with the lacertine and bird-like figures with interlaced top-knots, tongues, tails and legs, which are regarded as Irish par excellence, the nearest approach being the dragon-plait on the fragment from Cardle (Maughold 60). On the other hand, these monuments boast a certain number of patterns, e.g. the double twist with diamond ring and the various developments of loop-plait, which cannot be matched elsewhere, and show originality of conception as well as technical skill. Except at Maughold and Braddan, the Scandinavian monuments are most numerous where there are few or no Celtic, as at Andreas, Michael, and Jurby. A few pieces are unadorned—these are late, strange to say—the remainder are handsomely decorated on both fronts, sometimes even on the edges. As we have pointed out, this series is to all intents and purposes a continuation of the earlier one. The crosses are Celtic in form; the decorative treatment and the de- signs are of Celtic origin. For one feature, indeed, it is not indebted to any Celtic, or indeed any Christian, model; we allude, needless to say, to its inscriptions in Runes. These occur on twenty-six out of the total of forty-five stones, eighteen in the northern and eight in the southern district. All are Scandinavian, in the Norwegian tongue excepting, perhaps, that on Maughold 104, which Prof. Bugge believes to be in Swedish. The one Anglo-Saxon example occurs on a stone of the Celtic group. A good deal of space is devoted to this subject, not only to the Runes of Man, but to runes in general, and we do not doubt that this section will prove of great value to the student. Though the designs on these monuments are based on Celtic types, it would be a mistake to imagine that the men who made them drew their inspiration from pieces already in the island. On the contrary, several of their patterns, the step, the divergent spiral, and the chevron, are en- tirely absent from the Celtic pieces. The tendril and the forms of link-twist introduced by Gaut, Mr. Kermode believes to have been suggested by the carved stones of Scotland and the north of England; the other designs on these later pieces he derives from the Celtic MSS., basing his view on the frequent use of the triquetra and other local peculiarities. The origin of the figure-drawing is harder to determine. It is true that some of the stones have zoomorphic patterns of NO. 1995, VOL. 77] Norse type, and scenes from Norse mythology. Yet for all that, these latter have no more in common with the drawings of Scandinavia proper, which are inferior and rare, or the Viking-pieces of the lake- district, than with the rude efforts of the Welsh or the later Irish work. They have some affinities with the drawings on the stones of East Scotland, but what we find on them for the most part are original representations taken direct from nature. Generally speaking, these Scandinavian monuments show less regard for accuracy, a bolder treatment, and greater freedom than the earlier pieces. It remains to say something as to individual crosses, no easy task when the space is so limited, and there is so much to detain the artist and antiquarian. We must be content to touch very briefly on a few of those most worthy of attention. Of the stones of the Celtic group a great number are interesting mainly for the light they shed on the development of the figure or the design; the most striking in itself, far more stril- ing than the more highly decorated pieces, is the stone found in the Calf of Man (50) with a unique example of the Byzantine treatment of the Crucifixion, We have alluded more than once to the Ogham stones of the fifth century Irish type. To these must be added two monuments, not Celtic, by the way, but Scandin- avian, inscribed with scholastic or Pictish Oghams. Qn one of these, the beautiful Mal Lumkun Cross (Michael 104), along with Runic legends we find one of the earliest instances of the Ogham alphabet. Of the Latin inscriptions, that on Maughold 48 is perhaps the most interesting, the Guriat to whom it refers being connected in all probability with Cynan, King of Gwynedd, whose daughter Etthil he may be supposed to have married. The Anglian Runes on Braddan 25 form the word “‘ Blagkimon,’’ a known Anglo-Saxon personal name. Among the Scandinavian monuments the most re- markable beyond a doubt, though not always the best preserved, are those with Norse mythological scenes (Jurby 93, Malew 94, Andreas 95, Bride 97, &c.). The representations of Sigurd slaying the dragon Fafni, or Heimdal blowing his horn, of Vidar spearing the Wolf, show great vigour and originality. We have endeavoured to give an idea, however im- perfect, of the contents of this long and interesting volume. We have but little to offer by way of criticism. One thing strikes us, and that is that the author is not of those antiquarians who are for ever wresting facts to support a theory. If anything, he is afraid of being thought dogmatic. In expressing his own opinions he is careful not to shut out possible alter- natives. He agrees, for instance, with Mr. Romilly Allen in deriving the Celtic cross from the monogram of Constantine’s dream; he points out, none the less, that it might well have been developed from a form similar to that of the lost cross at Braddan, with equal limbs and circles between them. So, too, in the chap- ter on runes already mentioned, he places at the dis- posal of the reader a complete résumé of all the views on the subject. Except for many repetitions the ar- rangement of the work is admirable, and the style, all things considered, unusually lucid. The erudition dis- played in it is considerable, and the standard of accu- JANUARY 23, 1908] NAT ORE 267 racy a high one. Mr. Kermode may fairly claim to have bestowed on the student a lasting possession, and to have done for the Isle of Man what Dr. Anderson and the late Mr. Romilly Allen did for Scotland. A word must be said in conclusion as to the plates, which greatly enhance the value of the work. They are taken, not from photographs, but from reduced copies, made with the greatest care, of full-sized drawings, founded on rubbings of the stones. CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL TABLES. Van Nostrand’s Chemical Annual, 1907. Edited by Dr. J. C. Olsen. Pp. x+496. (London: A. Con- stable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 12s. 6d. net. HEMICAL and physical tables required by various kinds of chemists have been collected in this annual. Among the ninety-three tables it contains are five-figure logarithms, constants of the elements, some very complete tables of factors and their logarithms for the calculation of gas, volumetric and gravimetric analyses, constants of fats, oils and waxes, the more important. constants (molecular weight, specific gravity, melting point, boiling point, solubility, crystalline form and colour) of some 4000 inorganic and 5000 organic compounds, specific gravities of solutions, vapour pressure, conversion, and heat of combustion tables. The remainder of the book is taken up with classified lists of the chemical papers and books published since the beginning of 1905, and an index. This matter forms a volume which has been much needed, and will be most useful to all chemists. No pains have been spared to make many of the tables accurate and comprehensive, as, for example, the above-mentioned data for some go000 com- pounds. The classified list of chemical papers, on account of its conciseness, should, if kept com- plete, be quite useful even to those who have the fuller abstracts of the Chemical and American Chem- ical Societies; the list of books will be even more valuable. Unfortunately, references have been given only in a few cases to the original observers of the data used in the annual. In future editions such references should be made more complete. The following quan- tities are not defined :—electrical conductivities, specific heat of gases (whether C, or C,), and the various ** constants ’? and ‘‘ values ’’ for oils, fats and waxes. To give Reichert-Meissl values without definition when two sets of values are current is confusing. The table of gas densities is quoted, unfortunately, from Landolt-Bérnstein-Meyerhoffer Tabellen, where the densities are calculated on certain assumptions (clearly wrong in the light of the work of D. Berthe- lot, P. Guye, Lord Rayleigh and others) instead of being the observed densities; further, the values found by E. Morley for hydrogen and oxygen in his classic work are not given. While laborious determinations are being made to improve the second decimal place of atomic weights, there are scarcely any other physico-chemical constants known to anything like the accuracy which atomic NO. 1995. VOL. 77 | “examinee, as weights now have. The energies of many of the workers on atomic weights might now with great advantage be turned to improving the accuracy of many other constants. Boiling points are an example of this; scarcely any are known to 0° 1, and many current values for the same substance differ by whole degrees. The boiling points of organic substances in this book are from Beilstein, yet for five out of the six esters we have tried, the very careful determin- ations of Young and Thomas are not given. We have detected few misprints; the logarithm of 2011 is incorrect. The value of the inch in milli- metres is given to eight places, or to 10~° cm.; this is less than the accepted value for the diameter of an atom, and the minimum length visible. The boiling point of helium is given as —267°; we were not aware that it had been liquefied; Olszewski failed to do so by cooling it to a calculated temperature of = 270°. We know of no other tables of this kind in English which are so complete and so up to date as this annual. It is convenient in size, and clearly printed on good paper. The five-figure logarithms are the best arranged we have seen. Ate 1G ee A NEW TEXT-BOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY, Elements of Psychology. By Dr. S. H. Mellone and Margaret Drummond. Pp. xvi+483. (Edin- burgh and London : W. Blackwood and Sons, 1907.) Price 5s. net. a IS book is the joint work of two authors who are evidently well acquainted with the needs of the well as those of the more genuine student of the science of psychology. It is therefore not surprising to find in the preface the statement that the book is intended as “a contribution to the teach- ing of psychology.’’ Every stone of offence is care- fully removed from the learner’s path. Even the usual order of treatment is altered for his benefit. After a few introductory chapters on the method and subject-matter of the science, the student is brought face to face with the most essential characteristic of consciousness, viz. mental activity, and in its most pronounced form—volition. Not until the emotions and pleasure-pain have been treated with like fulness and concreteness do the authors descend to the conventional sequence of sensation, percep- tion, &c. This order is determined by relative diffi- culty of introspection, the prominent complexes of mental life being taken before their more abstract elements. It will thus be seen that the introspection standpoint is avowedly adopted as the fundamental one. Al- though the objective conditions of consciousness are by no means neglected, no attempt is made to develop that objective and functional view of mental life which is so popular in certain quarters at the present day, and, to the present writer’s mind at least, seems so full of promise. The standard authorities—Ward, James, Stout, &c.—are closely followed, and to such good purpose that the book forms an_ excellent introduction to the study of these authorities them- 268 INA TOTE. [ JANUARY 23, 1908 selves. A notable feature is the list of detailed refer- ences inserted at the end of each section. Altogether, the book will be found admirably suited for its purpose, viz. to serve as a general text-book for pass examinations in the subject at a university, and will probably earn a well-deserved popularity. One is tempted, however, to look for something more in a text-book on such a science as psychology. The science is a comparatively new one, with an ever- broadening outlook, and a text-book such as we have before us might well be expected to extend or at least define this outlook by discussion of the most recent experimental results attained by psychologists, where they appear to involve important modification of theory. Yet we look in vain for any reference to the important experiments of Drs. Head and Rivers on cutaneous sensibility, or, again, to those of Prof. Sherringto1 on the relation between the two eyes in their response to intermittent light stimulations. A treatment of the latter would probably have reminded the authors likewise to discuss the general problem of psychical fusion, over which they preserve a dis- appointing silence. These are two instances out of several that might be quoted. Objection might also be made to the method of treatment of the general psychophysical relation in the chapter headed ‘* Mind and Brain.’? A more con- crete and detailed discussion would have given greater relevance to the suspense of judgment therein advo- cated, or might even have opened up the prospect of a reconciliation of interactionism and parallelism on metaphysical lines. Not even a beginner is likely to be satisfied with a crude ‘‘ either—or ’’ in this case. The book should be valuable alike to teachers and students, as being a compact, sound, and thorough statement of current views in psychology. W. B. OUR BOOK Die Physik Roger Bacos. By Sebastian Vogl. 106. (Erlangen: Junge und Sohn, 1906.) In this dissertation, Dr. Vogl has collected a large number of interesting facts relating (i) to Roger Baco’s, or, as we commonly say, Bacon’s, biography, his educa- tion and his friends and colleagues; (ii) the literature of the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, from which he derived his physical ideas; and (iii) his physical works. As the result of this study, Dr. Vogl has given us a typical insight into the state of science in the thir- teenth century. Baco was born about the time that the Dominican and Franciscan orders were founded, and in these circumstances the position of a man who was far in advance of his times is not difficult to understand, especially in such an atmosphere as that of Oxford, where he remained until 1240. As usually happens, Baco’s claims to fame can hardly be said to be well understood even at the present time. Dr. Vogl considers that no great importance can be attached to his predictions of steam engines, flying machines, and other modern inventions, all of which only reproduce ideas current in Arabic and other writ- ings. On the other hand, Dr. Vogl considers Baco has claims to be regarded as the founder of mathe- matical physics, and the large portion of the opus majus devoted to the uses of mathematics in science doubtless constitutes one of the most important ad- vances with which Baco was associated. His physical writings dealt mainly with optical problems, and this NO. 1995, VOL. 77] SHELF. Pp. is scarcely to be wondered at, for geometrical optics is the simplest and at the same time the most perfect branch of applied mathematics. When we remember the great hostility and apathy which exist at the | present time against mathematicians in England (as exemplified by a remark on p. 49 of Nature, Novem- ber 21, 1907, if this is to be taken seriously), we cannot wonder that in an age of religious super- stition and ignorance Baco fared badly. Although seven hundred years have elapsed, the world has not yet realised the great extent to which ignorance of mathematics is responsible for human crime, poverty, and misery. The Preservation of Infant Life. A Guide for Health Visitors. - By Emilia Kanthack. Pp. iv+g2. (London: H. K. Lewis, 136 Gower Street, W.C.) Price rs. net. Tuts small boolx consists of six lectures which were delivered by Miss Kanthack to voluntary health visitors in St. Pancras. In the words of Dr. J. F. J. Sykes, the medical officer of health of that borough, who has written a short preface, it ‘‘ may be strongly recommended to those who intend to undertake health visiting amongst the poor.”’ 2 It would be difficult to conceive of the subject of the preservation of infant life being better presented to the class of audience to which Miss Kanthack had to address herself, and the lectures furnish evidence of a considerable study of her subject, together with a sound practical acquaintance with it. They will well serve as models for those who may have to address similarly constituted audiences, and they may be read with pleasure and profit alike, not only by every woman health visitor, but by every educated woman. The information is so happily expressed and tellingly pre- sented that one lays down the book with the sincere wish that Miss Kanthack may give us more. / In her opinion, personal influence is the keynote of success in dealing with infantile mortality. She emphasises the fact that the baby is an entity long before it is born; therefore, to give it a good start the mother must be looked after during pregnancy. Speaking of the dangers of the artificial feeding of infants, she makes the following stricture :—‘' If one of the brute creation refused to suckle its young it would be thought a monstrous violation of nature, and yet a woman may evade this natural function and it arouses no comments.”’ Sanitation in Daily Life. By Ellen H. Richards. Pp. ix+82. (Boston: Whitcomb and Barrows, 1907.) Price 60 cents net. Ir is now generally agreed that in every efficient school the pupils should receive instruction in the simple laws of personal hygiene and of public health. The short, bright chapters which this book contains on subjects like ** the clean city,’’ ‘‘ the clean house,”’ and ‘‘ habits of cleanliness ’’ should be of value to teachers, especially those in elementary schools, as indicating the possibility of explaining vitally impor- tant truths in a manner which can be understood by children. The illustrative experiments at the end of each section should be studied by teachers who give lessons on health. Der neue Leitfaden. brock Pp. x+126. Price 2s. 6d. A saTISFACTORY course for students—juvenile or adult— commencing the study of the German language is provided in this book. In addition to being gram- matically and educationally sound, and of good literary quality, the volume contains many extracts on scientific subjects as exercises for reading and translation. By L. M. de la Motte Tisch- (London: John Murray, 1907.) JANUARY 23, 1908] NATURE 269 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NatuRE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The Stresses in Masonry Dams. Ir Prof. E. Brown will refer again to my letter pub- lished in Nature of January 2, he will see that I specifically stated that I did not question that in so far as the dam acted as a horizontal beam, the stresses xx and sz will be different in an actual dam and a slab dam. The real point is that Prof. Karl Pearson has said tial, apart from any action of this kind, the stresses xx and 5 in a slab dam and in an actual dam are widely different. Thus, on p. 11 of Pearson and Pollard’s paper, he says Messrs. Wilson and Gore put the stress yy zero, and ““hence the vertical and horizontal pressures they caleu- lated have no direct application to real dams.’’ He has since explained in Engineering, September 20, 1907, that he did not here refer to any action of the kind mentioned by Prof. Brown and by myself in my original letter to you, but_ that, apart from any action of this kind, the stresses xx and 22 are entirely different in a slab dam and a long dam. Messrs. Wilson ‘and Gore deduced the stresses for their slab by the equations E Ry where E is Young’s modulus, e, and e, the measured strains, and m Poisson’s ratio. So far as I can see, these = equations give correctly the stresses xx and zz for the slab, and if my reasoning in my previous letter to you is correct, these stresses will be unaltered when the slab forms part of a complete dam and is then exposed to stresses yy at right angles to the plane of the other two. H. M. Martin. Croydon, January 1o. 83 St. James’s Road, May I ask whether the interesting experiments on gelatin models of masonry dams, recorded in your issue for January 2, p. 209, do not ignore one factor on which the stability of actual dams is calculated largely to depend, namely, the weight of its materials? This factor does not seem to be reproduced in the model, and I conceive that it may account for the rupture depicted on p. 210, which is hardly of a kind that one would expect to have to guard against in a real dam. OLIvER LopcE. Mr. Martin in his letter to Nature of January 2 cites the body stress-equations of elasticity aa, aa | ax az . Ze B, Pe: Wieoh ver ead) aAXS ae + + pg= a ae o| and appears entirely to overlook the fact that two equa- tions will not suffice to determine the three stresses xx, sz, and xz. There is another relation between the stresses, and this relation depends on the relation between the strains, which is purely geometrical, namely, aon _@s, as, i) dxdz G2 We ~~ °° ‘ In substituting for these strains in terms of the stresses the resulting third equation differs for the cases of the dam and of the slab. NO. 1995, VOL. 77] For the case of the dam abutting at its terminals against rigid supports :— zy hs d2 a2 ~ = a2 @ san +35) (= + #2) + (S - =) (# 0 =) (iii) For the slab with free faces :— axs —1+2n Gare eas ve Ge aoe ox -- 33 3-2n\ax* az ad? dx* dxaz Bo (0h) where 7 is Poisson’s ratio. 7. . . >: - Messrs. Wilson and Gore have determined their xx, zz, os and xs from measuring oz, 5;, and s, on an india-rubber slab with, I presume, 7=}4. Their values for these stresses therefore ought to satisfy (i) and (iv); it is difficult to understand how Mr. Martin can believe them to satisfy (i) and (iii) with m=4, which is needful in the case of the masonry dam. To Sir Oliver Lodge I can only reply :—‘‘ Read our memoir and you wili find that the influence of the weight of the dam is fully discussed, and experimentally determined. You, will also find that the actual tearing was only reached by ‘ excessive water pressure.’ ”’ With regard to Prof. Brown’s views on the effect of the terminals, “the following words are used to limit the actual theory applied : —“Let us suppose an indefinitely long dam, or if it be of finite length that its terminals abut against rigid supports.’’ The words abut against were purposely used instead of are built-in to mark what con- ditions were being assumed. It is quite another point how far my theoretical dam may be considered an approximation to a real dam. Prof. Brown, emphasising the variability of conditions in any practical case, says that engineers “have used a simple but approximate method of estimating stresses in a dam, based on the flexure of beams.”’ “My criticism is that this is not an approximation at all, and that if it were they have neglected to apply their own conditions to the vertical sections, in which case they would have found any exist- ing dam so lacking in stability that they would have promptly dropped a theory which, if carried to its logical conclusion, condemns all existing dams! Now, when an engineer treats a dam as a beam, he forgets two points :—(1) That the length of a beam must be large compared to the linear dimensions of the cross-section. In the case of the dam, its base, the built-in cross-section, is of the same dimension as to depth as the length of the beam, t.e. the height of the dam. The ordinary formule of flexure are thus absolutely inapplicable, as anyone who knows de Saint-Venant’s classical memoir on flexure will at once realise. (2) That the faces of the beam must be free to expand in order that the theory may apply. In applying his theory of flexure, therefore, the engineer, so far from building-in his terminals, does not even suppose them to abut! I contend that if Prof. Brown’s balcony were roo feet broad, but half a mile or a mile long, he would find little difference in the stresses except relatively close to the abutments, whether he supposed the terminals abutted or were built-in. In any case, I am convinced on both theoretical and experimental grounds that for the bulk of the dam far better results will be obtained by applying the uniplanar equations of stress than by anv attempt to deal with a solid practically as broad as it is long by a theory of flexure. That the terminal conditions produce effects goes with- out saying; I agree with Prof. Brown that we should, if possible, consider them, but their order of importance is that of two terminal supports to a balcony, say 1 foot broad, 1 foot deep at the built-in edge, uniformly loaded, , and perhaps 50 feet long. Such effects are purely secondary, and it will be time enough to consider them when we have reached some agreement as to the main stresses; these stresses can be fairly reached by taking, as I have done, an indefinitely long straight dam abutting against rigid terminals. With most of Prof. Brown’s statements in his appre- ciative criticism I am in complete harmony. No theory will replace local knowledge—that of the geologist as well as that. of the engineer—no theory will perhaps be of equal value with past experience, but it can be helpful and even 270 suggestive. Mr. Pollard and I did not smooth our observations, as has been done in some other cases, because it was desirable to show how much variability is due to local conditions, how much to observational error. Much of what Prof. Brown would attribute to want of homogeneity in our material I know to be due to the changes in external contour, and this is one of the urgent problems of dam construction. Our experimental work shows that very large changes are made by modification of the contour. Is it not possible to reach experimentally better forms for the flank of a dam than are at present in use? The cost of experimental work on a suitable scale is prohibitive to the individual experimenter, but it appears to me that something on a really big scale ought to be done by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The problem is a very important one, and I do not believe, notwithstand- ing what I have read to the contrary, that the keen mathematician feels anything but intense awe in the presence of the creative engineer, who has succeeded, not- withstanding the weak-kneed theory provided by men of science, in producing such monumental works as the Assuan and Vyrnwy dams by the force of mechanical appreciation alone. Kari PEARSON. The Nature of y and X-Rays. In a letter to Nature of October 31, 1907 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 661), a copy of which arrived here recently, Mr. Barkla criticises a paper of mine which was published in the Philosophical Magazine for October. In that paper I tried to show how closely the properties of y and X-rays Were in agreement with the hypothesis that they consisted mainly at least of neutral pairs, and I pointed out that even the peculiar polarisation effects which Mr. Barkla had shown to exist might be explained, not unreasonably, as a consequence of the rotatory motion which such pairs would probably possess. I suggested that a pair might be more likely to become entangled with and deflected by an atom revolving in the same plane as itself. Mr. Barkla describes an experiment in which he has measured the amount of scattering of X-rays in different directions, and compares his results with those which he expects to obtain as the result of calculations based on each of the two hypotheses in turn, that of the neutral pair and that of the ether pulse. He states the results to be against the former theory. But for the result from his calculations in the case of the neutral pair, he makes the assumption that the probable direction of motion of a neutral pair on emergence from an atom with which it has been entangled is in- dependent of its original direction of motion. There is no justification for this assumption. It does not even appear to be probable. Consequently, the experi- ment has no value as a critical test. Yet I fully agree with Mr. Barkla that the dependence of the amount of secondary radiation upon the angle which its line of motion makes with that of the primary ray is a very proper sub- ject of study; it might be expected to furnish much-wanted information. For this reason I also have been investigating one aspect of this question. With the assistance of Mr. J. P. V Madsen, of this University, I have been comparing the secondary radiations issuing from the two sides of a plate through which y rays are passing. On the ether pulse theory there should be complete symmetry, provided that the rays have not been appreciably absorbed on their way through. Secondary radiation, whether material or not, originated in an atom by a passing pulse, is just as likely to go forwards as backwards. This is, indeed, always assumed by writers on the ether pulse theory, e.g. by Mr. Barkla himself in the letter already referred to. On the other hand, if the y rays are material, it is quite possible, though not necessary, that the secondary radia- tions on the two sides of the plate should be different. As a matter of fact, there is the most remarkable want of symmetry, and this is fatal to the ether pulse theory of the y rays. Moreover, all our experiments so far show that, on the whole, the kathode radiations from a given stratum of matter traversed by y rays possess momentum in the original direction of motion of the rays, and this Shows that the rays are material. NO. 1995, VOL. 77] NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 The experiments are very simple, and are’ not wholly new. The secondary kathode radiations due to a stream of rays impinging on a plate have been studied by many observers, who all concur in the statement that they increase with the atomic weight of the material of the radiating plate. For example, the figures for Pb, Al, and C are about as 100 to 30 to 15. In fact, they follow almost the same law as in the case of B particles. The reason for this will appear presently. The secondary kathode radia- tions that appear where y rays emerge from a plate have been less studied, but Eve has shown that they consist largely of kathode particles, and Dawes (Phys. Rev., xx., p. 182) that they do not appear to follow the same law as what may be called the ‘‘incidence’’ radiations. Further, Wigger has made the very important observation (“‘ Jahrbuch der Radioaktivitat,’’ Bd. ii., pp. 428-430) that in certain circumstances the y rays issuing from a plate of Al which they have traversed make more secondary rays than when they issue from Pb. All these facts may be conveniently studied together. Let an ionisation chamber be made of cylindrical form with plane ends, and let a pencil of y rays be directed along the axis. Let the rays first pass through a cm. or so of lead. Let them then pass through a pair of plates which can be inverted; a convenient pair may be made of a lead plate 1 mm. and a carbon plate 1 em. thick; these are to form one end of the chamber. It will then be found that there is more current through the chamber when the C plate is next to it, and the ‘* emergence” secondary rays are produced in the carbon, than when the Pb plate is next the chamber. But if the plate closing the other end of the chamber be at one time Pb, at another time C, the reverse effect occurs. At this plate ‘‘ in- cidence ’’ secondary rays are produced by the same pencil of y rays, and these are greater when the plate which is struck is Pb than when it is C. The differences are of the order of 10 per cent., 20 per cent., up to 60 per cent., depending on the circumstances of the experiment. The materials and the form of chamber may be largely varied, but the same want of symmetry is always there. It appears that the ‘‘ emergence’’ radiations from the plate through which the y rays have entered are more important than the ‘‘ incidence ’’ radiations from the other plate. The latter serves mainly as a reflector or scatterer of the rays from the former, and this is the reason why there is less current when it is formed of a material of smaller atomic weight, following the usual rule for B rays. This effect is a general one, and it serves to explain why all observers have found less kathode radiation due to y rays from Al or C than from Pb, when actually the rays produce more from the former than the latter when they have been first sifted by a cm. or so of lead. A stream of y rays contains B particles derived from the y rays by the influence of the last substance traversed. It is the scattered portion of these which constitutes the main portion of the secondary radiations due to y rays, and the reason why the incidence radiations run parallel to those of B rays is obvious. Nevertheless, there are small variations due to secondary rays formed in the material of the plate itself, the quantity of which is influenced by the nature, not only of this material, but of the screens through which the rays have previously passed. This is because the y rays are heterogeneous, as first shown by Kleeman. It is when the rays have passed through some thickness of lead that they are acted on with greater effect by Al or C than by lead. The quantity of kathode radia- tion set free in the radiator itself depends on the quality of the rays as well as on the radiating material. The particles at first move mainly, perhaps entirely, in the original direction of motion of the y rays, but are sub- sequently scattered, and contribute to some extent to the ““incidence ’? secondary radiation. But the principal por- tion of the incidence radiation is due to B particles which were in the stream of y rays before it struck the plate. It would make this letter too long if I were to discuss these results with any fulness, or to show their relations to results already obtained. I hope to publish a fuller account in a short time. Meanwhile, I will point out that the experimental proof of the material nature of the y rays carries with it, almost surely, a corresponding proof as regards the X-rays. The points of similarity are too numero: fer it to be ctherwise. Only, as I have said in JANuARY 23, 1908] NATURE 271 the paper already quoted, there should, of course, be ether pulses in the X-ray stream, and the y stream also for that matter, and it may possibly be these which have been the subject of experiment by Marx, and which show Mr. Barkla’s polarisation effects. But I think it is certain that -at least the y rays are material, and those X-rays which give rise to a secondary kathode radiation of a speed due to a few thousand volts. W. H. Brace. The University of Adelaide, South Australia, December 12, 1907. Drifted Ice-crystals. TuHE accompanying photographs, showing the incipient freezing of the sea during severe frost on January 4 at Fic. 1 — Bank of drifted Ice-crystals. Littlehampton, may be of interest to readers of They were taken about high water, at Ir a.m. the angle between the east side of the small pier shore, until they were collected in a viscous layer the whole angle. The layer seemed to be more inch thick. The photographs show the border of ice-crystals thrown up on the beach, with a vertical front towards the sea about 18 inches high. The effect disappeared rapidly when the tide began to fall. The timbers of the pier were thickly coated with ice at high-water mark, and as far above as the splashing reached, but remained perfectly clear below this line. Watter Lear. and the covering than an The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena, Dr. G. ArcupaLtt REID has recently suggested (1) that Mendelian phenomena occur only under artificial condi- tions, and (2) that they are to be explained in terms, not of segregation, but of ‘‘latency’’ and ‘“* patency.’’ As regards the latter contention, it appears to me that it would be justified if, in the case of experiments conducted under stringent conditions, dominant characteristics were, even occasionally, to appear in recessive generations or vice versd; but if this is not the case it seems an abuse of language to describe a thing as ‘‘ latent’? which never gives any manifestation of its existence. Further, Dr. Reid’s theory does not explain—as the Mendelian theory does—why these characteristics not only appear and dis- appear, but play this game of hide-and-seek in accordance with strict numerical rules. As to the other point, that Mendelian phenomena are confined to cultivated varieties, it is extremely difficult to prove or disprove, because to ascertain the phenomena you must experiment, and to experiment is to place under artificial conditions. But the well-ascertained facts of conjugation and cell-mitosis, which Mr. R. H. Lock re- gards as affording considerable support to the doctrine of gametic purity, are certainly not confined to cultivated varieties. That all inheritance may be particulate was long ago suspected by Galton, who speaks of skin colour as possibly ‘‘a fine mosaic too minute for its elements to be distinguished in a general view ’’ (‘* Natural Inherit- anGe,e+ p- 02) May I suggest one line of inquiry that may possibly prove fruitful in competent hands? Is there any connec- tion between the variability of a plant or animal and the number or size of its chromosomes? Man, for example, has a large number of chromosomes, and is extremely variable. The correspondence would he ae Fic. 2.—Layer of drifted Ice-crystals. N.E. wind and the flowing tide had drifted ice-crystals formed on the surface of the sea into the slack water in NO. 1995, VOL. 77] / no doubt be far from exact if we sup- pose with Mr. Lock that the biological units are not the chromosomes them- selves, but the chromomeres or some even minuter subdivisions. But it might be assumed, at any rate as a first approximation, that the ultimate units were roughly proportional to the number and size of the chromosomes, and in that case species possessing many and large chromosomes would be likely to have a larger stock of the raw material of variation than their fellows. H. H. O’FAarRELL. East India United Service Club, St. James’s Square, S.W., December 30, 1907. Musical Sands. In reply to Prof. Poynting’s letter (Nature, January 16), may I say that the article which appeared in NaTurRE (August 6, 1901) was only intended to supplement my paper of 1888, by re- cording the results of further investi- gations up to date, and to show that I claimed, both by analytical and synthetical methods, to have proved the theory previously dealt with in detail? In that paper (1888) I rejected the conception that the notes emitted from musical sands were due to the vibra- | | 279 NAIUKRE [JANUARY 23, 1908 tion of the individual grains as separate particles, because | structures more clearly than they are often visible the contact of one grain with another would prevent such vibrations, and suggested that the only other explanation possible was that certain grains, in rubbing one against another, might produce the required vibrations through surface friction. The music from sands is a cumulative effect, and only possible under the prevalence of numerous favourable con- ditions, and I found that if I eliminated one apparently insignificant factor from the conditions upon which my theory was ‘based, the production of musical sands artificially became impossible. Until an artificial musical sand can be produced ex- clusively under the conditions suggested by Profs. Poynting and Thomson in “ Sound,’’ I submit that my. explanation may be retained. Cecit Carus-WILSON. Filtration of Rain Water. I wisn to ask the opinion of someone in regard to the filtration of rain water, and the removal of any sediment, before it finds its way into large underground cisterns holding fully 15,000 gallons. It will not, be difficult or pump it up for use in a large laundry. worked by the engine close by. The point is how to prevent a lot of smuts, &c., finding their way into the cisterns, which would necessitate the frequent removal of this stuff, an operation that would be both difficult and expensive. Is there any way by which filtration can be carried out above ground ? I shall be glad to know of any way to meet the difficulty. January 13. ENQUIRER. costly to collect the water and A pump can be THE HIGHLAND OVERTHRUSTS.1 HE controversy regarding the structure of the north-western Highlands was a_ disturbing factor in the progress of geology from 1819, when the problem was first raised by Macculloch, until it was closed in 1884 by Sir Archibald Geikie’s announce- ment in NaTurRE (vol. xxxi., p. 29) that the generally accepted view could no longer be maintained. The NaTuRE article—perhaps the most sensational an- nouncement in geological literature—was followed in 1888 by a report from six members of the Scottish Geological Survey (Messrs. Peach, Horne, Gunn, Clough, Hinxman, and Cadell), giving a summary of the evidence which they had collected as to the struc- ture of the north-western Highlands; and it has taken another twenty years to complete the survey of the whole overthrust region and prepare the detailed observations for publication. The full results are now issued in an elaborate monograph, the most important and the cheapest publication ever issued by the British Geological Survey. It includes 700 crowded pages, 52 artistic and instructive plates, and a_ beautiful colour-printed geological map of the whole area on the scale of four miles to the inch. The price of the book is 10s. 6d. The Survey is to be congratulated on having secured for this memoir a style of produc- tion far superior to the usual standard, and on its issue at a price which should ensure for it a wide circulation. The book no doubt suffers from the inevitable com- promise between conflicting requirements. Many readers will never have the opportunity of visiting north-western Scotland, and they will seelk in this volume for a clear statement of the general results; their needs are satisfied by the fine photographic plates of the scenery, which show the overthrust 1 Memoirs of the Geological Survev of Great Britain. The Geological Structure of the North-west Highlands of Scotland. By B. N. Peach, John Horne, the late W. ( Sain, C. T. Clough and L, Hinxman, with Petrological Chap ters and Notes by J. a H. Teall. Edited by Sir A. Geikie. © Pp. H.M. Stationery Office, 1907.) xvilit+668: plates Price 10s. 6d. NO. i., ma Glasgow if 1995, VOL. 77] through the persistent mists of the west Highland hills, and by the masterly introductory statements by Dr. Horne in chapters i., iii., xxxii., and xl. (of the last of which Dr. Teall is joint author), and the corre-. sponding chapters by Hinxman on the Torridonian, and by Horne and ‘Peach on the Cambrian. The memoir has also to serve as a field handbook to those who can visit the district. Accordingly it has to give precise information, which cannot be too detailed, as to localities and sections. The bulk of the book con- sists of detailed local descriptions, written by Messrs. Peach, Horne, Clough, Hinxman, and the late W. Gunn, with notes by Cadell, Greenly, and Harker. A third group of geologists will turn to the volume for help in the investigation of other regions of crystalline schists, for nowhere has so large and com- prehensive an area of these rocks been subjected to such a searching investigation. The conclusions of this work and the most important evidence are given in a detailed account by Dr. Teall of the gneisses, and altered sedimentary rocks associated with them. The appendix includes a list of fossils and fossiliferous localities, a chemical study of the Durness Dolomites by Dr. Pollard, and a full bibliography by Mr. D. Tait. The book therefore combines chapters which can be read with advantage by any geological student and others which have to be judged as a collection of materials for reference by specialists. The memoir is appropriately edited by Sir Archibald Geikie, who | started the worl in 1883, and carefully supervised its progress for eighteen years, until his retirement from the Survey in 1901. It is doubtless due to his literary skill and sense of proportion that the book enjoys a greater uniformity in style and treatment than would be expected in a work extending over so many years, and written by so many men. The history of the north-west Highlands controversy is summarised in a chapter by Dr. Horne, who lucidly states the results of all previously published geological work on the district. The geological interest of the area dates from the announcement by Macculloch, in 1819, of his discovery of fossiliferous rocks lying above gneisses, and covered by the gneisses and schists that form the great bull of the Scottish Highlands. Mur- chison, with his keen scent for a good clue, visited the area, and he re-examined it after the discovery by C. Peach, in 1854, of the better fossils (now known to be Cambrian) in the Durness limestones. Murchison was convinced that the fossiliferous rocks were covered by the eastern gneisses, and, in accordance with the law of superposition, accepted the eastern gneisses as younger than the rocks beneath them. He regarded the fossils as Lower Silurian, and therefore did not shrink from the apparently inevitable corollary that most of the crystalline rocks of the Scottish High- lands are post-Lower Silurian in age. This conclu- sion had a world-wide influence. Similar crystalline schists form vast regions in all the continents, and they were at first regarded as all pre-Palzozoic ; but if the Scottish schists are altered Palaeozoic sediments, then the similar rocks elsewhere may include rocks of any geological age. To this day vast regions of schists and gneisses are mapped as altered Silurian, in consequence of Murchison’s work on the north-west Highlands. Murchison’s views were at once opposed. The common-sense judgment of James Nicol showed him the improbability of Murchison’s conclusions, and his keen and careful field-work revealed that the super- imposing of schists over sediments was not an original arrangement, but was due to subsequent earth move- ments. The first controversy was short. Nicol’s inter- JANUARY 23, 1905] NATURE 273 of the evidence had not the fascinating Nicol’s researches (p. 23), was not enough, al- pretation simplicity of the other theory, and it was not wholly right. The eastern and western gneisses are not simply repetitions of the same series, and Murchison was apparently right in his view that the upper gneisses and schists are an independent and younger series than the Lewisian gneisses, which underlie the Cambrian band to the west. Moreover, Nicol failed to realise that the apparent bedding planes in the eastern gneisses were not original, but secondary structures due to earth movements. Murchison, with a theory attractive by its charm- ing simplicity and far- reaching results, and right in his recognition of the essential “differences between the eastern and western gneisses, swept his critic from the field. Nicol, disheartened by the fate of views Unconformability of Cambrian quartzites on Tcrridon sandstone Loch Coire Mhic Flearcha’r, Beinn Eighe, Ross-shire. though it was supported by the work of Call: uway and “Hudleston. In 1882-3 Prof. Lapworth mapped in detail the classic sections on the shores of Loch Eriboll; he proved that the apparent sequence was deceptive, and that the eastern gneisses were older than the fossiliferous rocks, and had been piaced above them by earth movements ; and it was his | crowning glory to recognise that many of, the fine- grained, shale-like rocks, which look like compara- tively unaltered sediments, are the most intensely altered rocks of the area; they consist, like ordinary shales, of fragments of primary rocks, but instead of having been formed by the usual agents of denudation and deposition, they are due to crushing along planes of earth movement. Reproduced with the atthority of the Controller of H. M. Stationery Office. which he knew to be essentially correct, practically rave up geological research, and went to his grave, his geology despised and his conclusions rejected—by all except his wife. In 1878, the year before Nicol’s death, the controversy was re-opened by that geo- logical knight-errant, Dr. Hicks, who ran a tilt against the Murchisonian theory. It survived his onslaught, but two years later it received an almost fatal blow from Prof. Bonney, who, by work near Loch Maree, demonstrated that some of the rocks of the eastern series were the old Lewisian gneiss brought up by faults. The establishment of this fact, which is de- scribed in the memoir as “ the first important advance towards the solution of the problem of the succession in the north-west Highlands since the publication of NO. 1995, VOL. 77] The close of the controversy was now near at hand. In 1883 Sir Archibald Geikie arranged for the detailed mapping of the Loch Eriboll district by the Geological Survey. The work was soon found to be far more complex than had been expected; it was attacked with invincible patience and thoroughness by the surveyors under Peach and Horne; the essential conclusions of Nicol and Lapworth were confirmed, and it was promptly announced in Nature that the Murchisonian theory must be abandoned. In 1888 a preliminary report on the Survey's investigations was published by the Geological Society, but it has taken another nineteen years to extend the survey along the whole of the overthrust line, and to prepare the materials for publication. 274 NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 The worl: is of the highest geological importance, | pleted on the island. Mr. McClean provided himself and in spite of its necessary descriptive details, every page contains observations of interest. The account of the Torridonian series, for example, describes the oldest considerable land surface known, and some traces of fossils in these pre-Cambrian rocks. The part of most interest is the account of the movements by which the eastern gneisses have been overthrust on to the younger rocks. The movements have taken place along a line more than 100 miles in length, and have carried the rocks in places for ten miles westward. The thrusting forward of these hard rock slices has produced a most intricate system of faults, and ex- treme changes in the rocks, some of the fresh struc- tures, as in the pseudo-rhyolites, simulating those of igneous rocks. The extent of the metamorphism is one of the secondary questions of most interest. Its ‘range appears to be very variable; in places the altera- tion is confined within very narrow limits; elsewhere it may extend to a mile from the plane of movement ; but it never appears to be regional, and evidence is given that some of the schists had their present structures before the great disturbances. The pro- blems connected with the eastern schists are handled with reserve, as there seem to be marked differences of opinion as to their age and origin; but on the main question, the relation of the schists to the fossiliferous rocks, the memoir, with its convincing combination of fulness of detail and clearness of exposition, leaves no room for doubt. J. W. Grecory. THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF JANUARY 3, 1008. (pee first cablegram, containing news relating to the eclipse of January 3, observed by the parties stationed on Flint Island in the South Pacific, reached this country on Saturday last. The cable was from Mr. F. K. McClean, and was dispatched imme- diately on his arrival at Auckland, New Zealand. It read as follows :—‘‘ Partial success, fine morning, heavy rain several minutes until totality; first minute cleudy, remainder clear. Four corona results; none spectrum; bad plates; other observers not developed. Campbell reports success.”? The above news is really very satisfactory, because it was anticipated by those at home that the weather conditions which generally prevailed at that time of the year would most probably prevent any observa- tions at all being made. There is, however, no doubt that the parties were very fortunate, since, according to the above account, the clouds only just cleared from the neighbourhood of the sun in time. Those who have been on like expeditions will be able to picture to themselves the anxiety which must have prevailed among the observers as totality was approaching. The heavy rain must have necessitated the covering up of all the instruments, more especially the silvered mirrors and object glasses. The clearing up, after totality had begun, must have created a condition of affairs which was probably not legis- lated for in the ‘* rehearsals ’’ which had no doubt been daily gone through. The fact that the length of totality was of four minutes’ duration gave probably sufficient time for all the instruments to be brought into use. It is hoped, therefore, that a very complete record has been obtained of the latter portion of totality, and, if this be so, then the term ‘‘ partial success? may be changed to complete success. ‘ With regard to actual results obtained little is known at present. The.reason of this is that the development of the negatives‘ secured was not com- NO. 1995, VOL 77] with a dark room on board the steamer he had chartered, so he may have developed his corona nega- tives on his way back to Auckland. According to his cable four of the plates he exposed were successful, but the words ‘‘ bad plates ’’ seem to suggest that the results he obtained were not so good as they might have been. Reuter reports that the observations of the different parties at Flint Island and Samoa were, generally speaking, fairly successful, and mentions specially that the bolometric measurements of the heat of the corona made at Samoa were successfully made. Witiiam J. S. Lockygr. THE BRITISH SCIENCE GUILD. “THE second annual meeting of the British Science Guild was held on January 15 at the Mansion House, the Lord Mayor being in the chair. The large assembly of fellows and members, and the presence of distinguished representatives of many departments of intellectual activity and national interest, show that the Guild is strengthening and extending its influence over a wide field. The report, which was adopted, referred to the missionary work of the Guild in educating the public in the following terms :— The executive committee believes that in this direction the labours of the Guild are becoming more effective each year, and there is a gradually increasing volume of opinion chronicled or expressed in the daily and weekly Press in harmony with the main objects of the Guild. For this result a large debt of gratitude is due to the president, Mr. Haldane, who has taken many opportunities of expressing and emphasising the views of the Guild before large audiences in connection with various educa- tional institutions. It is in the direction of primary education that the most rapid advance in public opinion has taken place, and on this the nation is to be congratulated, for it is on the proper education of the children that all future progress must ultimately depend. At the inaugural meeting of the Guild in 1905, the chairman of committees, in referring to the subject of education, pointed out that a complete educa- tion must be based upon things and thinking as well vas words and memory, and that we want “one kind of education for everybody—the Best.’’ Further, that no-one should be stopped on his upward course save by his own incapacity ; and that all impediments should be removed. These views are now being acted on in many places. The Guild is not alone in pointing out that our great commercial competitors are those lands where there is the greatest number of complete and State-aided univer- sities, and in which as a consequence ‘‘all the national activities are carried on in the full light of modern science by men who have received a complete training both in science and the humanities, in close touch with the Governments.” Some of the City livery companies have shown great interest in the work of the Guild. The Cloth- workers’ Company has made a donation of tool. to the funds, and the Drapers’ Company one of tos]. This evidence of the interest taken in the movement is very gratifying, and it is hoped that other City com- panies will similarly assist in furthering the objects of the Guild. Numerous subjects have occupied the attention of the executive committee during the year, and several deputations to various Ministers of State have been arranged. Among questions thus dealt with may be mentioned the amendment of patent laws, the anthro- pometric survey of school. children and adults, and the prevention of pollution of rivers. Deputations had also been planned to the Colonial Premiers and in connection with vivisection licences, but subsequent circumstances made these unnecessary. JANUARY 23, 1908] NATURE 275 In addition to this work of the executive com- mittee, committees have been appointed by the Guild to deal with education, inexpensive apparatus in science teaching, agriculture, chemical industries, the Franco-British Exhibition, postal reform, and_bio- logical subjects. The question of university endowments has received the earnest attention of the Guild; and the following considerations relating to it are stated in the report :-— The necessity for increased endowment has been, to a large extent, conceded, especially by the last Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Austen Chamberlain. In 1904 the then endowment was increased, and a still greater in- crease was promised. But it was pointed out that, until | the universities themselves had considered to what extent they were willing to come under inspection, it was difficult to deal with the question of still higher endowments. The existence of large college endowments at Oxford and Cambridge places these universities in a different posi- tion from the rest, although the small endowments of the universities themselves are felt as strongly as in the other universities. The Scotch universities, like Oxford and Cambridge, receive no Government assistance. The University Act of 1889 gave to the Scotch universities, not as a boon or gratuity, but as an absolute right, 42,000]. a year. This represented obligations which the Government had taken upon itself. when it assumed possession of property which belonged to the universities, and which, had it remained to them, would have brought in a larger revenue. In 1892, 30,000]. a year was added; it was not a special grant from Government, but came entirely from the Scottish Local Taxation Fund, in which no other part of the kingdom had any concern. England might, had it pleased, have assigned a share of the English Local Tax- ation Fund to the universities, but she did not do so. Whether or no it is desirable that a large proportion of the college funds at Oxford and Cambridge be applied to various branches of real university teaching and of post- graduate research is a matter on which members of the Guild might have much to say. It is also hoped that in time the new universities will be provided with funds for the establishment of hostels, such as the Oxford and Cambridge colleges are to a large extent. This provision, however, may fairly be made in the case of the newer, as of the older foundations, by private munificence, and not by Government aid. The ultimate aim should be State, municipal, private endowment for all universities. and Universities supported entirely by municipalities are im- | practicable, as the influence of a university must extend over a large area, which will increase as its specialisation is proceeded with; this renders the application of local rates, and therefore local control alone, unfair and undesir- able. It is possible that the old English universities themselves would be among the first to welcome an inquiry which might consider the best way of placing matters on a more | satisfactory footing. ‘In July the question of a Royal Commission on the, older universities was brought forward in the House of Lords by the Bishop of Birmingham. Lord Crewe, in communicating to the House the decision of the Govern- ment, stated, ‘‘ it is important for us, before arriving at a final conclusion, to know what the most thoughtful and the most competent opinion at both universities really demands, and we also must either inform ourselves or be) informed exactly what the universities cannot do of their) own motion, and for what purposes legislation would be, required.”” u H In consequence of this decision no further action has so! far been taken by the executive committee. After the meeting had been opened, Mr. Haldane,| Secretary of State for War, and president of the! Guild, gave an address to the members. For the sub- joined report of his remarks, and of those made by Dr. T. H. Warren, vice-chancellor of the University’ NO. 1995, VOL. 77] of Oxford, we are indebted to the Times of January 16 :— Mr. Haldane said that the Guild was a body of people who had come together for the purpose of organising interest in science, an interest which had not been, as they thought, sufficiently great. It also aimed at assisting those who had scientific objects to accomplish to find the means of accomplishing them, They endeavoured to stimulate successive Governments. Governments were very apt not to be quite as scientific as everybody might desire, and the most perfect embodiment of the work of the Guild was when they got the two functions combined. For instance, the War Minister in this country was apt to take an easy- going view of organisation, but if the president of the Guild was always at his elbow to remind him that what he was doing was unworthy of one who was acquainted with the principles of the Guild, then something was gained, and if the two happened to be rolled up into one person physically who could divide himself spiritually into two, then they had an ideal combination. It was encouraging to see signs of progress everywhere in this country. Only that morning he had seen the announce- ment that Mr. Wills had offered the University College of Bristol 1o0,oool. if it was incorporated into a University of Bristol. | This enterprise would come within the range of the criticisms of those who complained of small universi- ties, but the matter had been threshed out before the Privy Council when the question of the granting of a charter to the University of Liverpool came before it. The special committee of the Privy Council selected to give a judicial opinion on that question pronounced in favour of an increase in the number of universities in England. That policy had been carried out with the utmost success. An extraordinary development was going on just now in the direction of the application of science to industry. At Armstrong College, Newcastle, which was a part of the University of Durham, he found the other day a change which he could hardly have credited had he not witnessed it. In certain buildings there were organised the scientific foundations of the shipbuilding industry in a fashion which was beyond praise. The professors of mathematics, of “engineering, of physics, of applied mechanics, of designing were all working with one purpose, which was to provide a school of the university type, for, among other people, those who were to be engaged in the practical business of shipbuilding. On the other hand, the shipbuilders on the Tyneside were sending up their young men in order that they might acquire knowledge of the principles of the construction of compound engines, and how to solve the thousand and one problems constantly coming up in the construction of a great liner. The effect of that was immense, not only in stimulating the interest in university work, but upon the great industries in the neighbour- hood. He saw the same thing at Sheffield. Part of the university looked very much like a steelworks. There were places with great crucibles and all the apparatus for the purpose of casting steel. There were brawny workmen there, obviously come from the works, and students of the university were working with them and mastering that most important work of metallurgy. He did not suggest that they should bring down the university to the simple function of applying science to industry—far from it—but they would gladly see in our provincial centres, which the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge could not reach, facilities given which existed in other countries, but did not exist in our own country. He wished God-speed to the new enterprise, and he knew that his colleague in the Government, Mr. Birrell, who sat for the city of Bristol, was deeply interested, like himself, in the success of the movement. This year, moreover, the Government had in its programme the giving of teaching of a university type in an enlarged and extended degree to Ireland. Ireland had one great uni- versity, the University of Dublin, consisting of Trinity College, but they felt that, valuable as was the work and greatly to be reverenced which the University of Dublin had done, it could not provide for the needs of the Irish people, who suffered much from there being no outlook, no career for the talent of their young men, and par- ticularly of the Catholic and middle classes. The Govern- 270 NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1808 ment had to provide cducation, not of a sectarian kind, but in an atmosphere which would not offend sectarian pre- judices. The negative was a very different thing from the affirmative in that matter, and if that was attained he did not see why education could not be given to Belfast and Dublin, to the Presbyterians and Catholics of Ireland alike, an education of a university type which would not run athwart those feelings and considerations which ob- tained to so high a degree among the Irish people. That was a step in the direction of solving a very difficult problem which had embarrassed Governments before now and which might embarrass this one, but they hoped to try, and it was a sign of the times that they should try. In Scotland a step forward in the spirit of that guild had been taken very recently. They had brought the teachers into close relation with the Scottish universities. The training of those teachers used to be undertaken by the churches. It was no want of reverence or respect for the churches which led him, speaking from that platform, to say that in Scotland they preferred that the universities should train their teachers rather than that they should be trained in any denominational atmosphere, however excel- lent. He was not touching in the least on the question of denominational colleges. The university, after all, ought to be at the head of education, and to permeate downwards, and could not do that unless it trained the teachers for the work. It was not only in the direction of university teaching that the signs of the permeation of the new spirit were to be seen, and in the departments of the Government numerous little things had happened lately to show how progress was being made. In these days science was be- coming more and more of moment in the race between nations. No industrial community could retain its place unless it had got the highest science at its disposal. If he were to adopt a motto for that guild, it would be the motto of a German trade association, which ran :—‘‘ Science is the golden guiding star of practice ; without science there can be only a blind groping about in the region of undefined possibilities.’ The change that had come over things in the last fifty or sixty years was immense. Without science no one could organise his business; without science no nation could keep its place in the van. Therefore he said that one of the great responsibilities of a nation was not only to keep her knowledge in the minds of a few in- dividuals abreast of the age, not only to produce her Kelvins and her Darwins, but to see that her science was disseminated, and that it had entered the minds and actuated the endeavours of her captains of industry generally. That was the creed of that guild, and that was the lesson which they had come together to endeavour to teach. In moving the adoption of the report, the Vice- Chancellor of Oxford said that in the report they would find some remarks and some criticism, implied rather than developed, upon the older universities. Speaking for Oxford, he did not deprecate that criticism. He desired measures and large measures of reform in Oxford and her colleges. He did not agree with his friend the Bishop of Birmingham in invoking as a first step the interference of the State. He would like to see Oxford reform herself. But he fully recognised that when the Government had given her, as it had, this opportunity of doing so, if she failed to use that opportunity this Government, or any other Government, would have strong justification for step- ping in and reforming her from outside. He wished to see reform both in her constitution and her curriculum, both in the colleges and the university. On what lines should that reform proceed? He would say on the lines indicated by the British Science Guild. They would find in the report a suggestion that college funds might be more largely used to aid the university. He believed they might, and he believed they ought to be more largely used in this way. But they would find also a recommendation that the new universities should be provided with funds to establish hostels such as the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge very largely were. He took it that the British Science Guild did not want to abolish the colleges. He certainly thought that would be a pity. Hostels they were, but hey were something more than hostels. Some would say they were only glorified hostels. He would say they were glorious hostels. Trinity College and King’s College NO. 1995, VOL. 77] at Cambridge and Christ Church and New Goll and Magdalen at Oxford—he thought all who knew them would agree that they merited that description, and that their glory was part of the educating influence and the attract- ing spell of the older universities, that they were an aca- demic, aye! and a national asset which it would be folly to throw away or destroy. In the appendix to the report there were some remarks about the tardy and sluggish response on behalf of the private benefactor to the appeal of the University of Cambridge, to the unattractiveness of the universities generally to the benefactor. To bring that appendix up to date mention should be made of a new fact. The president had brought the report up to date by referring to the splendid gift that was announced in the Times of that morning, the gift that one of the heads of a great and generous family in the ancient city of Bristol had made to its college. Might he, as an old Bristolian, ask them to send their thanks to that generous family which had already done so much for that city, and had now come forward with this benefaction? He remembered the famous motto in which Bob Lowe suggested that money might be made out of matches—ex luce lucellum. He thought the Wills family had taken a better motto. Theirs seemed to be ex fumo dare lucem. ‘They had all read, a few weeks ago, of the magnificent bequest left by Sir W. Pearce to the Royal and religious foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge—money made, by the way, in applied science; it was enough to make, and he believed made, mouths water, not only in the University of Cambridge, but in the other colleges of Cambridge, and in some col- leges in Oxford too. For his part he welcomed that bequest. He congratulated his old friends of Trinity College. It was a great example. If Trinity used it well, and he believed the college of Newton and Clerk Maxwell, and Macaulay and Tennyson, would use it well for the public benefit of the university, not for any self-aggrandise- ment, it would be a greater example still, and might well prove contagious. He thought that college funds should be used much more largely for the university, and that the college should be brought into closer and more responsible relation with the university. He thought, too, that the university needed reform in its curriculum. If there was anything about which he had been persistently keen all through his academic course it had been the desire to introduce science into the regular and compulsory curri- culum of Oxford, to ensure ‘that everyone who took the ordinary degree should at least know what science and the scientific attitude of mind were like. But he did not want literature excluded. The ideal was, he thought, that all literary men should be scientific and scientific men literary. The highest ideal, to his mind, would be that Oxford scientific men should know Greek, for Greek literature was the most educating literature, and the Greek language the finest language that an Englishman could study. But he was afraid that was not practicable, and if they were not to know Greek, they should know our own splendid litera- ture, the next in fertility and force to that of Greece. They should know, too, the lucidity of French and the philo- sophy of German. If they could not study Sophocles and Plato, let them at least study Bacon and Pascal, Goethe and Tennyson. Sir A. Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., in seconding the motion, remarked that one great function of the Guild is to lose no opportunity of saying a word in season and out of season to educate the Government and the people to realise that, unless we have a scien- tific spirit and method, we cannot compete with nations’ which are working in that spirit and by that method. After the adoption of the report, the following vice- presidents were appointed upon the proposal of Sir William Bousfield, seconded by Sir John Rhys :—Lord Curzon, the Rev. the Hon. E. Lyttelton, Lord Iveagh, and the Prime Ministers of Australia, Cape Colony, New Zealand, and Natal. Sir E. Busk moved, and Mr. F. Verney, M.P., seconded, a resolution, which was carried, approving of the members of the executive committee. Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., then moved a vote of thanks to the January 23, 1908 | NATURE 277 Lord Mayor, and in the course of his remarks referred to the attitude of science toward the public and of the public toward science; he pointed out that although there are branches of science which cannot be popu- larised, the practical results can be described. The vote of thanks was heartily accorded, and the Lord Mayor having briefly acknowledged it, the meeting dispersed. The following telegram was dispatched to the Lord Mayor of Bristol :— “Tord Mayor of London, on behalf of British Science Guild at annual meeting, sends warm congratulations to Lord Mayor and city of Bristol on generous munificence of Mr. Wills to Bristol University College, and hopes soon to welcome University of Bristol.’ The following reply was subsequently received from the Lord Mayor of Bristol :— “On behalf of my fellow-citizens and myself I beg to thank your lordship and the British Science Guild for your warm congratulations on the munificent promise towards the endowment of a Bristol University by our fellow-citizen, Mr. Harry Overton Wills.” J. MACFARLANE GRAY. W E regret to announce the death of Mr. John Mac- farlane Gray on January 14, at his residence in Edinburgh, in his seventy-sixth year. Mr. Gray had a varied experience as an engineer, and was for many years chief examiner for marine engineers at the Board of Trade. The work which first brought him into prominence was his invention in 1866 of the steam steering gear which was first applied to the Great Eastern. The results led eventually to the general adoption of the system. Mr. Gray contributed numerous important papers to the various institutions to which he belonged, and frequently toolx part in discussions at the meetings, his contributions being characterised by pawky humour and sound knowledge of the subject. His contributions to scientific know- ledge were for a time curtailed by the action of the Board of Trade, who, on the ground that the indivi- dual opinion of any of their engineering officers must not be made public, refused him permission to dis- cuss the report of a research committee of the In- stitution of Mechanical Engineers. Fortunately he had previously been able to publish the results of his important investigation of the Theta-Phi diagram. The most valuable of Mr. Gray’s papers were prob- ably those on the theoretical duty of heat in the steam engine (Institution of Naval Architects, 1885); the ether pressure theory of thermodynamics applied to steam (ibid., 1889); the rationalisation of Reg- nault’s experiments on steam (Institution of Mechan- ical Engineers, 1889, and Royal Society, 1900); and the variable and absolute specific heats of water (Institution of Civil Engineers, rgor). Mr. Gray was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was a vice-president of the Institution of Naval Architects, and vice-president of the Institution of Marine Engineers from its incep- tion. Of humble origin, he was essentially a self- trained engineer, and his early training undoubtedly influenced his attitude towards scientific research, his independence of judgment being specially noticeable. His seventy-six years show a record of useful activity, and he may be said to have created a field of in- vestigation for younger engineers, who have fully recognised the influence of his guidance. An excel- lent portrait of Mr. Gray accompanies the lengthy biography published in Engineering of January 17, from which source these brief particulars have been drawn. NO. 1995, VOL. 77] NOTES. WE regret to see the announcement of the death, on January 4, of Prof. C. A. Young, for many years professor of astronomy at Princeton University, at the age of seventy-three. Dr. FEopOR CrErnysuHeV, St. Petersburg, has been elected a foreign correspondent of the Geological Society of London. Pror. Recrnatp W. Brock, professor of geology in the Queen’s University, Kingston, has been appointed director of the Geological Survey of Canada. Ar the annual meeting of the Royal Meteorological Society on January 15, the Symons memorial gold medal was presented to M. Leon Teisserenc de Bort, of Paris, ‘“in consideration of the distinguished work which he has done in connection with meteorological science, especially the study of the upper air.’’ Tue freedom of the city of Glasgow was conferred upon Lord Lister on Tuesday at a large and representative meeting of citizens, over which the Lord Provost, Sir William Bilsland, presided. In making the presentation, the Lord Provost recalled Lord Lister’s connection with the city while professor of surgery at the University and visiting surgeon at the Royal Infirmary, where he achieved world-wide distinction as an investigator and a surgeon by discovering and perfecting the antiseptic system ‘of treating wounds, which marked a new epoch in modern surgery. Lord Lister was unable to be present at the meeting owing to his condition of health, but a letter was read from him in which he said :—‘ Having in due time been elected by the managers of the Royal Infirmary as surgeon to that institution, I experienced uniform con- sideration at their hands when applying to the treatment of wounds the great truth which had been recently revealed by the illustrious Pasteur regarding the nature of fermentative changes in organic substance. That truth, though it seemed to me to shine clear as daylight from Pasteur’s writings, was for many years not generally recognised, and thus it was my privilege to witness in my own practice, as the application of the principle became greatly improved, the revelation of pathological truths of fundamental importance and a_ revolution in practical surgery, and I looked upon the years spent in your city as the happiest period in my life.” Ox Tuesday next, January 28, Prof. F. J. Haverfield will deliver the first of two lectures at the Royal Institu- tion on Roman Britain. The Friday evening discourse on January 31 will be delivered by Prof. Rutherford, on recent researches on radio-activity, and on February 14 by Dr. C. W. Saleeby, on biology and history. The discourse on March 13 will be delivered by Signor G. Marconi, his subject being Transatlantic wireless telegraphy. Ar the annual meeting c? the Entomological Society on January 15, the following fellows were elected as officers and to serve on the council for the session 1908-9 :— President, Mr. C. O. Waterhouse; treasurer, Mr. A. Ele Jones; secretaries, Mr. H. Rowland-Brown and Com- mander J. J. Walker; librarian, Mr. G. C. Champion; other members of the council, Dr. T. A. Chapman, Mr. A. J. Chitty, Mr. A. Harrison, Mr. W. J. Kaye, Dr. G. B. Longstaff, Mr. H. Main, Mr. G. A. K. Marshali, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., Prof. L. C. Miall, F-R-S., Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., Mr. R. Shelford, and Mr. G. H. Verrall. The president read his address, which 278 NATURE [ JANUARY 23, 1908 dealt chiefly with the present unsatisfactory state of nomen- He also advocated the museum, on the lines clature in entomological science. establishment of a central “‘ type experimental collection now formed at South Kensington, for the purpose of loaning specimens to institutions, whereby it was suggested that the existing confusion might be avoided, and the general work of identification made easier. ” of an At a meeting of friends of the late John Samuel Budgett held in Cambridge on February 8, 1904, it was decided to perpetuate his memory by the publication of a memorial volume which should contain reprints of his various zoological papers, together with descriptions of the more important material brought back by him on his various expeditions. The syndics of the Cambridge University Press undertook the responsibilities of publication, the necessary expenses of illustration being met by a fund subscribed by Budgett’s friends. The volume has been edited by Prof. Graham Kerr, and Mr. A. E. Shipley, honorary treasurer of the fund, has contributed a_bio- graphical sketch. The preparation of the volume has taken a considerable time, particularly the working through of the extensive embryological material of Gymnarchus and Polypterus so as to make it possible to give a fairly complete sketch of the development of these forms. We regret to announce the death of Dr. H. G. Knaggs in his seventy-sixth year. Though little known to the present generation of entomologists, his name deserves to be honoured as that of one of the founders of the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine in 1864. At that time he possessed one of the finest collections of British Lepido- ptera in existence, but ten years later he found that his professional engagements required all his attention, so he sold his collection and withdrew from the staff of the magazine, to, which, however, he continued to contribute occasionally up to July, 1906. He also published one or two small books and pamphlets, especially ‘‘ The Lepido- pterist’s Guide,’? one of the most useful publications on the collectign and preservation of these insects which we possess. It originally appeared in separate papers in the early volumes of the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine, and was afterwards enlarged and published in book form, and has gone through several editions. Dr. Knaggs was born on March 21, 1832, in High Street, Camden Town, and educated at University College School, and trained for the medical profession at University College Hospital. He practised as a medical man in Kentish Town and Camden Town until about ten years ago, when he retired in consequence of ill-health, and settled at Folkestone, where he died after a long and painful ill- ness on January 16. His remains were interred in High- gate Cemetery on January 20, in the presence of a small company of relatives and friends. was Nos. 5 and 7 of vol. li. of the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College are devoted to echinoderms. In the former, Messrs. A. Alexander and H. L. Clark describe the echinuses collected during the cruise of the Albatross in the North Pacific. In the latter, Mr. Clark publishes a revision of the Cydaris group, with a full account of the intricate questions connected with nomenclature. Tue ‘‘ waltzing instinct’’ in ostriches forms the subject article by Dr. J. E. Duerden in the Journal of the African Ornithologists’ Union for December, 1907. Ostriches, it appears, are in the habit of running off suddenly with a peculiar whirling movement, sometimes one way, sometimes another, simultaneously spreading NO. 1995, VOL. 77] their wings, which are alternately raised and depressed. These movements, the author suggests, may be connected with escape from the clutches of the large Carnivora. ‘“Tndulged in instinctively as play while young, and even when adult, the performance gives the bird expertness in the rapid jerking movements which are those first followed on alarm.” Tue use of chrysanthemum powder as a means of destroying mosquitoes in houses is strongly recommended by Dr. A. L. Herrera, of Mexico City, in a paper published in the Proceedings of the nineteenth annual meeting of the Association of American Economic Entomologists (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Entomological Bulletin No. 67). Care has to be exercised in order to avoid the pro- duction of throat-inflammation in the operator, and also against ignition, but if proper precautions are taken in these respects, the powder seems to produce most satis- factory results. The consumption of the powder has largely increased during the last year, while the sale of tablets, which only paralyse the insects, and at the same time give off noxious fumes, has shown a corresponding decrease. An interesting addition to the exhibition galleries of the British Museum (Natural History) has been made in the shape of a copy of a water-colour drawing made about 1585 by John White, containing the earliest known re- presentation of the American king-crab, Limulus poly- phemus. John White, who was one of the first settlers in Virginia, of which he was for some time Governor, served as lieutenant to Sir Walter Raleigh. In three volumes of drawings by him preserved in the department of prints and drawings in the British Museum, many of the delineations of natural objects are of great beauty, and show a fidelity to nature rare at the period. The draw- ing in which the king-crab is depicted was engraved, with some modifications, for de Bry’s ‘‘ America’’ (‘‘ Grands Voyages,’”’ part i., pl. 13) in 1590. In the engraving the king-crab is, however, shown in somewhat greater detail, thus suggesting that the engraver had an actual specimen or another drawing from which to copy. Ir is encouraging to find Dr. Whitehead, Bishop of Madras, giving an example to other missionaries of the true method of dealing with the beliefs of those non-Aryan tribes which offer the most promising field for Christian work in India. He is, we believe, a comparative stranger to the people of the south, and hence his essay lacks that intimate familiarity with these strange cults which is essential to one whose mission is to comprehend and refute them. But in his pamphlet on “‘ The Village Deities of Southern India,’’ recently published in Mr. Thurston’s valuable series of Bulletins of the Madras Museum, he has collected much curious information hitherto inaccessible to English students. Although most of his facts appear to have been derived from Christian converts, his account of these strange beliefs seems as complete as is possible in the present state of our knowledge. He points out that these deities are usually female, are almost universally worshipped by animal sacrifice, and that their priests are not Brahmans, but drawn from the lower castes. He describes in detail the grosser modes of sacrifice, which he regards as not in the nature of gift or propitiation, but as methods of gaining communion with the deity. This study of the seamy side of Hinduism shows that this com- prehensive faith is not, as is too commonly believed, a purely philosophical creed. His essay will be useful to ethnologists as a study of the lower beliefs of a pagan polytheism, which, crude and monstrous as some of its JANUARY 23, 1908] practices are, is still on a higher level than the foul Sdkta worship current in Bengal, to which it presents many obvious analogies. In the Times of January 17, Dr. H. R. Mill gives an interesting statement of the rainfall of the British Isles during the past year, compiled from a preliminary ex- amination of the large mass of material so far received from the observers of the British Rainfall Organisation. It shows that, for the United Kingdom generally, the year - 1907 was not a wet one, despite the popular belief, but that, in fact, the rainfall was very close to the average of thirty years (1870-1899). Expressing the amounts in the percentages, following provisional values are obtained :— General Rainfall in 1907. Average=100. England England British (South) Wales (North) Scotland Treland Teles Gor .-4 On... 97 106 102 IOI The most prominent features were the very wet three months of spring and early summer, and the extremely dry September; this month scarcely yielded a quarter of its average rainfall in England and Wales, and less than a third for the British Isles as a whole. In London (Camden Square) the annual fall was 23-01 inches, 8 per cent. below, and the number of rain-days 9 per cent. above, the average of fifty years (1858-1907). Dr. Mill states that the large number of rain-days, combined with the unusually low temperature of the summer, quite account for the general impression that last year was very wet in London. In Mitteilungen aus den deutschen Schutzgebieten (vol. Xx., part iii.) there is an important discussion of the climate of Swakopmund by A. Giilland, based on observa- tions for the years 1899-1905. Swakopmund lies in 22° 42’ S. lat., on the west coast of the German South- West African Protectorate. A paper on the fruits and seedlings of Rhus succedanea, contributed by Mr. S. Tabata to the Journal of the College of Science, Tokio (vol. xxiii.,. article 1), furnishes a brief account of a microchemical examination of the substances found in the fruits. The fruits are the source of the fat or tallow that enters into commerce as Japan wax. The fat is present in all parts, but only assumes a waxy consistence in the mesocarp. Before germination of the seeds, the cotyledons contain fat, magnesia, and proteins in considerable quantity, but no starch. Starch is formed during germination at the expense of these substances. Aw article on the absorption spectrum of protochlorophyll is communicated to the Bulletin du Jardin impérial botanique, St. Petersburg (vol. vii., part ii.), by Mr. N. A. Monteverde. An alcoholic solution of the colouring matters prepared from the leaves of etiolated oats and wheat plants provided the protochlorophyll and accessory yellow pigments. Five bands were observed in the absorp- tion spectrum, of which one in the blue is attributed to the yellow pigments, and the other four, in the orange, yellow, green, and blue, are referred to the protochlorophyll. Tne first of a series of papers by Dr. L. Cockayne dealing with the coastal vegetation of the South Island of New Zealand is published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, vol. xxxix. In this part the author presents a general sketch of the coastal plant covering. Although the saline nature of the soil and the strong winds are recognised as potent factors influencing dis- tribution, the opinion is expressed that the coastal plants as a whole occupy their peculiar station, not from ehoice, but from necessity, having been driven out of more favour- NO, 1995, VOL. 77] NATURE 279 able situations by better equipped competitors. The vegetation of the South Island below the parallel of 42° S. bears the impress of a subantarctic origin in some of the coastal formations, whereas in the North Island a subtropical element is more characteristic. Of ninety- four species enumerated, more than half are endemic and thirteen are subantarctic. Unper the title of ‘‘ Heredity and Forestry,’’ Prof. W. Somerville discusses in the Transactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society (vol. xxi., part i.) an interesting matter with regard to the results obtained by sowing seed of forest trees from different localities. Com- parative experiments in Switzerland have shown that plants raised from the seed of the common spruce grown at a high elevation, e.g. 6000 feet, make much slower growth than plants raised from seed grown at a lower elevation, e.g. 2000 feet. Similar results. have been recorded for spruce in Austria. Other characters, such as the weight of the seed, length of growing period, and possibly tendency to disease, appear to vary with the situation of the trees from which seed is taken. It becomes, there- fore, important to obtain seeds for afforestation purposes from a locality similar to that in which the plantation will be made. The conclusions appertaining to the spruce do not necessarily apply to other trees, such as the Scots pine, for which data are not available. Mr. DryspaLte TuRNER contributes to the December (1907) number of the Agricultural Students’ Gazette—the organ of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester—an interesting summary of the life-history of the warble-flies Hypoderma lineata and H. bovis. Considerable losses are caused by the ravages of this insect in Great Britain, and farmers and stock-keepers are fully alive to the necessity of keeping it in check. H. lineata resembles a bee in appearance, and can be seen from the middle of May to the beginning of September. It attaches its eggs to the hair on the various parts of the bodies of cattle, particularly the legs, just above the hoofs. The animal licks the place where the eggs are deposited, and the larvee are carried by the tongue into the mouth and to the gullet, through the walls of which they pass, and eventually lie just under the skin on the animal’s back ; the developed maggots finally work their way out of the skin about June, and fall to the ground, where they pupate. H. bovis probably has a similar history. Various remedial measures are quoted, and in particular it is stated that the parish of Bunbury, in Cheshire, has been freed from the pest by systematically destroying the maggots. The same journal also contains a résumé, by Prof. Duncan, of the regulations that have been made from time to time concerning contagious diseases in animals. Tue Journal of the Department of Agriculture of South Australia for November, 1907, contains an account of the wheat yield during the last decade, and the estimated yield for the present season. The figures are very striking; they are as follows :—1897-8, 2-64 bushels per acre; 1898-a, 4-91 bushels; 1899-1900, 4-64 bushels; 1900-1, 5°88 bushels; 1901-2, 4-60 bushels; 1902-3, 3-64 bushels ; 1903-4, 7-72 bushels; 1904-5, 6-53 bushels; 1905-6, 11-46 bushels ; 1906-7, 10-19 bushels. The fact that the last two seasons gave much higher yields than usual is attributed to the use of artificial manures and to timely rains. As the rainfall during the past twelve months is below the average, a yield of only 8-75 bushels is predicted for the present season. When we remember that the average wheat yield in Great Britain is 30:9 bushels, and the average of ‘the yields of all other countries. is 17-5 bushels, 280 NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 it would appear that there is considerable scope in South Australia for agricultural investigation, and that a strong scientific staff would prove a really sound investment. In a paper on ‘‘ ghost images ’’ published in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, clxxxi. (December, 1907), Mr. A. A. C. E. Merlin discusses the resolution of. the images of a substage stop formed by the secondary mark- ings of the diatom Coscinodiscus. asteromphalus. The diameter of the secondaries was 1/83300th of an inch, and the appeared well defined under a magnifying power of about 3200. In connection with this effect, the author discusses the advantage of high magnification, in- images dependently of the question of resolving power, and especially advocates the use of powerful eye-pieces in studying minute structures. While a_ structure may be equally well defined under a lower magnifica- tion, and may be visible when it is known to exist, the author considers that for the recognition and detection of unknown detail a powerful eye-piece is a necessary adjunct to a picked objective. Tue Transactions of the Theosophical Congress for 1907 contain much matter that falls outside the range of ““science ’’ as included in the columns of Nature. There are two papers on the dimensions of space which form in some ways an exception to the above statement, and the writer of one of these, who does not publish his full name, gives some diagrams by which it is possible to construct models of projections of the simpler four-dimensional solids. The author, however, considers that the sections of the 600-cell and the 120-cell ‘‘ become so complicated as not at present'to be worth calculating,’’ and on p. 258 he shows by his own statements that he is unaware of the work that has been done in “ exhausting ’’ the regular figures in space of higher dimensions than four. Indeed, he says:—‘‘ It seems to me quite possible that we might find that in a five- or six-dimensional world no regular hypersolids at all were possible.’’ But a little thought can be made to show anyone with a small mathematical knowledge that the triangle-tetrahedron series, the square- cube and the octahedron series are capable of extension to space of any dimensions whatever. Tue December (1907) number of the periodical of popular science, Himmel und Erde, published by the scientific society ‘‘ Urania,’’ of Berlin, contains an article on the microscopic structure of photographic films by Dr. W. Scheffer. It is illustrated by twenty-two reproductions of photomicrographs, which show how the nuclei of silver salt are affected by various modifications of the times of exposure, the method of development, and the use of intensifiers and of restrainers. series, ’ Tue December (1907) Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards contains the results of a long investigation on the Clark and Weston standard cells, by Messrs. F. A. Wolff and C. E. Waters. They conclude that the agreement between cells set up with different samples of mercurous sulphate prepared by any of the recognised methods, or by treatment of commercial sulphate with sulphuric acid, is highly satis- factory, and suggest that the standard cell should serve as one of the two fundamental electrical standards. It has been shown that the cells now constructed can be carried long distances without changes of electromotive force of more than a few parts in 100,000 being produced. It will be seen from this statement that the results obtained in America are in agreement with those found at the National Physical Laboratory and communicated to the Royal Society a few weeks ago. Aw article on some of the present problems of radio- activity, by Dr. G. A. Blanc, appears in the December NO. 1995, VOL. 77] (1907) number of Le Radium. ‘The author considers that Rutherford’s disintegration theory is the explanation of radio-activity, and asks whether disintegration is not taking place in all forms of matter? After reviewing the evidence for the a particle being either half an atom of helium with a unit charge or an atom with a double charge, he comes to the conclusion that neither is satisfactorily established. Nor is the genealogical tree of the radio-active elements yet made out. Is it possible, he asks, that lead and silver, which are so intimately associated in nature, belong to this tree, and that one is the parent of the other? The amount of radium in the earth’s crust is more than sufficient to maintain the temperature constant, and now he finds there is more thorium present than is necessary to supply the heat required. He is sanguine that some means will eventually be found which will allow us to stimulate radio-active disintegration, and thus obtain a source of energy the utility of which we can scarcely at present conceive. Tue product of the world’s gold mines for the year 1906 could be all packed in a room 1o feet square and 9 feet high, says Mr. T. F. Van Wagenen in an article on gold in the current number of the Popular Science Monthly. The value of this 90 cubic feet of gold was nearly eighty-one and a half millions sterling, and its weight nearly 674 tons. Very nearly one-third of this amount was obtained in South Africa, about one-fifth from Australasia, and nearly a quarter from the United States and Alaska. Eighty-three per cent. of the totak output was secured by the Anglo-Saxon world. According to calculations and estimates made in 1900 by the director of the United States mint, the gold taken from the mines of the world since the discovery of America has amounted in quantity to about 21,424 tons, and in value to mors than 2,520,000,000]. Nineteen per cent., or nearly one- fifth of the whole, has been mined in the last ten years, and 30 per cent. in the last twenty years. Messrs. SAMUEL BAGSTER AND Sons, Lrp., have puk- lished a fifth edition of Mr. W. T. Lynn’s ‘‘ Astronomy for the Young.” A sEconpD edition of Mr. George J. Gray’s ‘‘ A Biblio- graphy of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton, together with a List of Books illustrating his Works,’’ has been pub- lished by Messrs. Bowes and Bowes, of Cambridge. Th work has been revised and enlarged, and many importan’ additions have been made. Tue first volume of the sixth edition of A. Wiillner’s “Lehrbuch der Experimentalphysik,’’ dealing with genera physics and sound, has just been received from Mr. B. G. Teubner, Leipzig. The volume contains more than a thousand pages, about seven hundred of which are con- cerned with the general properties of matter, while the remainder deal with wave motion and sound. ‘The price of this elaborate treatise on the fundamentals of physics is sixteen marks. Tue ‘International Geography,’’ edited by Dr. H. R. Mill, and written by seventy authors, with special know- ledge of the subjects on which they contribute articles, has been re-published by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. The work is now issued, not only in one complete volume, but also in parts. The sections dealing re- spectively with the British Isles, Europe, Asia, Australasia, North America, South America, and Africa can be obtained separately. The parts each contain a selection of original questions and exercises, and a miscellany of ques- tions ‘set in various public examinations, and they should prove of great service in the higher classes of schools. January 23, 1908] NATORE 281 OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. OBSERVATION OF ENCKE’s COMET ON DECEMBER 25, 1907. —From No. 4226 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 31, January 7) we learn that, having found Encke’s comet on January 2, Prof. Wolf examined some earlier plates, and found an image of the comet on one taken at 7h. 20m. December 25, 1907 (K6nigstuhl M.T.). Its position at that time was R.A.=22h. 57-4m., 5=+0° 54’, and its magnitude 13-0. Owing to its being near the edge of the plate, this image was overlooked at first. From this observation it appears that the recently published ephemeris (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4222) requires corrections of +2-4m. and —24’. A NEWLY DISCOVERED BRIGHT MINOR PLANET (1908 B.M.). —A comparatively bright planet was discovered by Dr. Kopff at Heidelberg on January 4. Its position at 12h. 27-6m. (KO6nigstuhl M.T.) was a=7h. 33m. 48s., 6=+14° 57’, and its daily motion —1-4m. and —20’. The magnitude of this object was recorded as 9-2. Dr. Przybyllok observed the planet with the 12-inch refractor of the Astronomischen Institut on January 5, and found it to be equal in magnitude to B.D.+14°.1717 (magni- tude, 9-4) (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4226, p. 31, January 7). Measures OF Dovuste Srars.—In No. 4227 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 33, January 8), Messrs. C. P. Olivier and R. E. Wilson publish the results of 420 observations of 116 double stars made at the Leander McCormick Observatory, University of Virginia, during the years 1904-7. Seven of the doubles in this list were discovered by Mr. Olivier, and are now published for the first time. Notes as to the probable motions of some of these doubles are appended to the paper. EPHEMERIS FOR COMET 1907¢.—A bi-daily ephemeris for comet ago7e, covering the period January 13. to February 22, is published in No. 4226 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. by Herr M. Ebell. An observation by Dr. Wirtz, made at Strassburg on December 4, gave the magnitude as 12-7. Tue ApsorpTion oF D, (HELIUM) IN THE NEIGHBOUR- HOOD OF Swun-spots.—In an article appearing in the Observatory (p. 51, No. 392, January), Father Cortie dis- cusses some photographs of sun-spot spectra obtained by Mr. Nagaraja at the Kodaikanal Observatory last year. The special point of these photographs was that, with a spot near the limb of the sun, they are supposed to show the bright line at the limb and the dark absorption line in the region of the spot at the same time. Father Cortie’s discussion tends to show that the dark line in question is, possibly, not coincident with D,, and is perhaps the water- vapour absorption line at A 5875-963. He has many times recorded lines attributed to water-vapour in the spectra of sun-spots, and suggests the possibility of the presence of superheated steam in sun-spots. In regard to the recent suggestions that a permanent dark D, line occurs in the solar spectrum, Father Cortie points out that Mr. Higgs and he thoroughly investigated the question seventeen years ago, and concluded that there was no permanent dark line coincident with the bright D,; since then no conclusive evidence has been adduced to lead him to alter that conclusion. Tue Orpir oF THE SPECTROSCOPIC BINARY 0 AQUILE.— No. 6, vol. i., of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (p. 357, November—December, 1907) contains a preliminary set of elements for the orbit of the spectroscopic binary @ Aquile. This star has a_photo- graphic magnitude of 3-6, and its spectrum is of the type Vila. Mr. W. E. Harper, of the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, who publishes the elements, finds that Deslandres’s conjecture of a 16-8-day period and a high eccentricity is confirmed. The present elements give 17-17 days as the period, —26-7 km. per sec. as the velocity, 0-725 as the eccentricity, and 8,455,500 km. as the length of the semi- major axis of the orbit. EcLipsE OBSERVATIONS, AuGuUST, 1905.—No. 15 of the Bulletin de WAcadémie Impériale des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg contains M. Donitch’s report of the results obtained by the expeditions dispatched by the academy to NO. 1995, VOL. 77] observe the eclipse of 1905. Two expeditions were organised, one going to Alcala de Chisvert (Spain), the other to Assouan. The object of the former was to study the chromosphere and corona, whilst the attention of the latter was chiefly devoted to observations of terrestrial magnetism. In the present paper M. Donitch, who directed the expedition to Spain, discusses the purely astro- nomical results. Photographs of the chromospheric spec- trum were obtained, and the wave-lengths and origins of some 110 lines are given in tabular form. In addition to those) ofihayiHe, Ga Sc). Ty Er, Fe, Sr, ¥t,. and) Bae there are indications of the presence of lines of Co, Zr, Eu, and, possibly, Ge in the spectrum. The depths of the layers of these various elements in the chromosphere were measured, those of hydrogen and calcium giving the highest numbers, 49,300 kilometres and 44,000 kilometres respectively. The dimensions of five prominences as shown in radiations of various wave-lengths are also given. The photographs of the corona show it to have been of the ‘‘ maximum” type, as one would expect in 1905. Reproductions from several of the photographs obtained accompany the paper. We have also received a finely illustrated volume con- taining a full discussion of the results obtained by the astronomical section of the Observatory of Cartuja, Granada, Spain. In this work, published under the direc- tion of P. José Mier y Terdn, S.J., most of the questions and theories arising from eclipse observations are discussed at length, so that the volume, which is printed in Spanish, forms a useful reference work for future observers. AT RECENT EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES. HERE is no ebb in the tide of educational congresses. On the contrary, the number of teachers’ organisa- tions increases year by year, the number holding annual meetings during the last month in London alone running well into double figures. Nor is there any falling off in the vigour of the individual associations; indeed, in the case of the London County Council Conference, large numbers were unable to gain admission owing to the crowded state of the hall. This particular conference brought together more than twelve hundred workers in education, the majority of whom were teachers in L.C.C. elementary and secondary schools and technical institutes. We propose to review this meeting and that of the Public Schools Science Masters’ Association, but desire to preface SCIENCE a few remarks on the effect of the multiplication of societies for the furtherance of various branches of education. The time has gone by when a schoolmaster was ex- pected to be able to teach all the subjects of the curri- culum. Improved methods of teaching have in every sub- ject called for a greater mastery on the part of the teacher, so that just at present we appear to be saved from having a specialist for every subject in the curriculum solely by considerations of financial economy. The science master teaches nothing but science, and is apt to lose interest in, and to be out of touch with, other subjects, and, mutatis mutandis, this is true of the modern language master and of the others. Hence we find segregation of teachers into their respective associations, each dealing with its particular branch of study. The advantages of these independent meetings are not far to seek. If the discussion refers to the teaching of physics, for example, the whole audience may be assumed to have some expert knowledge and to be intimately concerned in arriving at a right judgment. The informal and social side of the meetings, not their least valuable function, may be easier to promote, because each feels that he can exchange views with his neighbour to their mutual profit. But there are drawbacks to this segregation. Nothing was more frequently insisted on during the debates of the Public Schools’ Science Masters than the need for cooperation between the teachers of mathematics and physics. One speaker urged that nominees of the Public Schools’ Science Masters’ Association should confer with nominees of the Mathematical Association to promote this end. In our opinion, this proposal falls very short of what is required. It would be better to hold a joint general meeting of the 282 two associations, which would be better calculated to lead to an appreciation on the part of individual members in each body of the aims and difficulties of their colleagues in the allied camp. It would be easy to suggest other joint meetings of associations which would be helpful just now. Sections of the British Association unite to discuss problems on their boundaries, and this with better effect than by joint committees. Moreover, the various sections of the British Association belong to one body, and the general public recognises the importance of conclusions carrying its imprimatur. Would not teachers have more public influence if the existing associations were federated ? The specialising influence to which we have referred should not be allowed to become a narrowing influence, and to that end teachers should from time to time hear addresses from first-rate men on subjects outside their own branch. The influence of science is probably weakened at the present time by the confinement of all scientific subjects to a technical society or body of experts. Science was prac- tically omitted from the agenda of all the educational conferences this winter, except of the two which we will now describe. Lonpon County Councit CONFERENCE. The subjects dealt with fall under the four heads nature-study, commercial education, manual work, and pedogogic experiments, and we will omit all further reference to the second of these. ““The Place of Nature-study in the School Curriculum ”’ was the title of the opening paper by Dr. Percy T. Nunn, and it would be difficult to imagine a better introduction than the philosophical exposition given by the vice- principal of the London Day Training College. The basis of Dr. Nunn’s arguments was the principle that it is the business of the educator to cultivate groups of interests rather than to teach useful subjects. While recognising that nature-study could well contribute to the zsthetic side of the curriculum, it had clearly to be recognised on the whole as an integral part of the instruction in science. The science curriculum should be so thought out as to secure continuity of development in conformity with the characters which distinguished the successive levels of the scientific process. Of these levels or stages, the highest and latest was the stage of system pursued for its own sake, a stage scarcely reached at school by ordinary pupils. Before this was the utilitarian stage, in which the greater part of elementary science teaching should fall. The foundation should be the nature-study stage, in which “science is born of wonder.’? These stages were not separable by clear lines of demarcation, and it was a mistake to allow their continuity to be interrupted, as when topics introduced in the nature-study lessons were afterwards allowed to drop. In the case of rainfall, for instance, the first simple studies should lead through the investigation of dew-point to hygrometry, the measurement of vapour-pressure, and thence to the doctrine of the con- tinuity between liquids and gases. Dr. Nunn stated, in conclusion, that science of the higher type could not be a completely healthy growth unless it sprang out of the foundation of nature-study. The papers which followed, on school excursions, and the use of the school museum, dealt with practical points in the management of these aids to teaching. Both authors and subsequent speakers emphasised the importance of observations being made under conditions as little artificial as possible. The superiority of open-air work was generally admitted, but, in addition to difficulties with regard to time and place, some speakers found obstacles in the regulations under which they worked. The afternoon discussion was practically confined to the subject of botany teaching in girls’ schools, Miss Lulham discussing the approach to the subject through nature- study, Miss Lilian Clarke describing the botanical labora- tory and school gardens at Dulwich, and Miss von Wyss tackling the difficult problem of teaching large classes in elementary schools. Space does not permit us to enter into detail, so we must content ourselves with stating that each of these papers bristled with practical sugges- tions based on actual experience, and suited to ordinary conditions of work, where the pupils are many and the time circumscribed. readers that a We may remind our NO. 1995, VOL. 77] NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 verbatim report of the conference will be issued by the County Council, and advise teachers working with strictly limited funds and a lack of cupboards and other fittings to study the very helpful recommendations made by Miss von Wyss. It is not surprising that, stimulated by her teaching, a natural history club could be started and be continued as an evening class after leaving school in a district which at first sight appeared unpromising. In passing, we may note that Miss Lulham pointed out the virtues of colt’s-foot as a plant for all-the-year-round study by beginners, so we may bless as teachers the persistent weed which as gardeners we are disposed to ban. In the discussion the papers met with hearty approval, an inspector of secondary schools pointing out that many important girls’ schools had given up botany after trying to teach the subject on wrong lines. There was general agreement that the study of botany became highly interesting and educative if the following conditions were fulfilled :—(r1) the living plant must be studied; (2) the pupils must keep plants under observation for lengthened periods, making notes and diaries illustrated by their own sketches direct from nature; (3) the pupils must experiment; (4) the teacher must prepare the lessons very carefully, and then leave as much as possible to be done by the pupils themselves. The moral and esthetic influences of the study of nature were not forgotten, and it was rightly pointed out that the teacher must not forget that plants are living and beautiful. Is it too much to hope that a love of nature may attract youngsters to healthier interests than those stimulated by the poor silly trash which is so much read? Sir John Cockburn presided at the discussion on manual training, and pointed out its importance from the physio- logical standpoint. Motor instruction conformed to natural methods, and the moment these methods were departed from the work of the teacher became a distortion of what it should be. The brain could only be built up properly through the action of the muscles. Dr. Slaughter, late assistant to Dr. Stanley Hall, read a paper on the need of manual training in the lower standards, in which he insisted on the idea of training all classes for citizenship. Scientific investigation showed that the human body was no longer to be regarded as separate from the human mind, and that thought was truncated action. He based his hopes for the future of education on manual training, although present methods were open to serious criticism. Perhaps their greatest fault was that they aimed too much at the acquisition of technique, whereas such train- ing should be in daily use for its adaptive educational value. It should mean more than hand training, should make use of drawing, and should give knowledge about geography, animals, and plants. Mr. J. C. Hudson gave an account of manual work in American’ elementary schools, some making it merely supplementary, whilst others use it as a means of correlating all subjects. Perhaps the underlying idea may be indicated by the sub- stitution of the terms ‘‘ expression work ”’ and “‘ associative activities ’’ for the term ‘‘ manual training.’’ Mr. P. B. Ballard considered the position of manual work in Standards I. to IV. of the senior departments of English elementary schools. As the result of a recent inquiry, he obtained replies from 120 educational authorities, which showed that only sixteen authorities adopted a systematic course of hand-work. As regards London, courses in brush- work, clay-modelling, &c., were rare, except in the special schools for the mentally and physically defective, so that in the matter of motor training the lost sheep was looked after and the ninety and nine forgotten. Mr. Ballard proceeded to advocate the application of hand-work to ordinary school subjects, and gave a series of illustrations of his ideas as anplied to arithmetic, geography, and history. He wished to bridge the gap at present existing between the kindergarten occupations of the infants’ department and the manual and domestic work of the senior standards. During the sitting devoted to educational experiments in elementary schools, a paper was read by Mr. H. J. Hazlitt, in which the author described in detail how he had been conducting classes in open-air geography. By making previous provision of home-made survey maps and notes, the class was able to tale an enlightened interest JaNuaRY 23, 1908] NATURE 283 in an excursion to Crowhurst. Open-air work gives a genuine foundation to the study of geography, and thereby that essential factor, the map, can be properly understood. Pustic Scnoors’ Science Masters’ ASSOCIATION. The salient features of the annual meeting, held at Westminster School on January 14, were :—(1) the address from Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S.; (2) the instructive ex- hibition of apparatus; (3) the discussion on the position of mechanics in the physics course; (4) the repeated expression of the need for cooperation between the masters responsible for mathematics and physics respectively. Prof. Miers took as his subject the order in which scientific ideas should be presented. He deprecated any rigid division of science into subjects, and believed that harm had resulted from attempts to keep mathematics, physics, and chemistry apart from each other, and to confine them to separate teachers. He desired to leave freedom to the individual teacher as regards method, but felt that as regards order there should be more system in our science teaching. In other subjects there was an advantage in having a recognised order based upon pro- longed experience, and science should stand upon the same level as languages and mathematics in our schools, and should form an integral part of any liberal education. It was not easy to find out at the moment what the pupil understood of the instruction, and where he had succeeded in analysing the difficulty of a pupil he generally dis- covered that he himself was at fault in having presented ideas in the wrong order, and assumed something which was not yet familiar to the pupil. He found a useful guide to the proper order in the succession in which the ideas of a science had been developed in its past history. Prof. Miers advocated nature-study in the wide sense; the boy should be taught to notice the ordinary objects and events of his own world, and to draw scientific nourish- ment therefrom, including in his intelligent observation all that was going on around, and not merely the processes of nature familiar in country life. If only the ordinary boy could get into his head the notion that science was the intelligent study of ordinary things, he would cease to regard it as a mere educational task. It was unwise, if not impossible, to teach chemistry and physics as_in- dependent subjects. In the preparatory school the boy should be trained in observational work, which would impart information useful in the experimental science that was to come next. The systematic teaching at a public school should from the outset be experimental, and the spirit of inquiry should be cultivated, and scientific dogmatism guarded against. Coming to the university teaching of science, we had now to deal with mature minds, and the spirit of research should absolutely dominate the teaching. There was nothing better for encouraging research than natural history, which was admirably suited for advanced study at the university. Original papers were more stimulating than text-books, and there is need for an English series | reproducing the original researches of highest importance, perhaps with the translation of archaic expressions into modern equivalents. Lectures should follow the historical order, laboratory work the method of research. Prof. Armstrong felt it to be a deplorable fact that science had lost ground in public estimation. We felt the absence of Huxley and Playfair, and it rested with the public schools to carry the banner forward. The Davy- Faraday laboratory had, with one exception, failed to attract the gilded youth, fired with enthusiasm for science by their work in public schools. We must teach so as to excite more interest, so as to make that interest more continuous and permanent, and so as to cultivate, not powers of observation only, but the faculty of keen, in- telligent criticism also. He held that Germany had achieved her position owing to the cultivation of originality by her universities. The other papers read during the meeting were :— (1) the educational value of mechanics, by Mr. C. F. Mott (Giggleswick); (2) the teaching of practical mathematics, by Mr. H. Wilkinson (Durham); (3) scheme for laboratory work in physics, by Mr. Cumming (Rugby); (4) a suitable physics curriculum for the first and second years, by Mr. W. E. Cross (Whitgift); (5) the compulsory teaching of NO. 1995, VOL. 771 elementary physics to junior forms, by Mr. J. M. Wad- more (Aldenham). In the course of the discussions, it was pointed out that there is a great leakage from schools of boys who are under the proper leaving age, and that such boys neces- sarily receive little scientific education. There was no lack of enthusiasm for science on the part of boys who fulfilled the course of instruction. The fact that boys were promoted in many schools without regard to their science work placed difficulties in the way, such as were met by re-arranging the schools in sets in the case of mathematics. The study of scientific mechanics might be postponed until boys had obtained some experience in seneral experimental physics; practical work in heat could be introduced earlier. Boys should be allowed to use modern electrical plant, such as the cheaper voltmeters and ammeters now available through being put on the market for motorists. Mr. Cross advocated the abandonment of the usual exercises in mensuration and Archimedes’s prin- ciple, and the substitution of a course of experimental con- struction of working cranes, &c. He would devote the first two years to such work, which stimulates interest and leads to a grasp of principles, e.g. the inquiry into the transmission of power by belts leads to true notions about energy and friction. It is a pity that there was little criticism of this interesting and unorthodox paper, for there is no doubt that most boys want to know “ how it works ’’; moreover, the course which Mr. Cross out- lined can readily fulfil Prof. Miers’s requirement that the application of the instruction to everyday life should be straightforward. The relative merits of working collec- tively or individually in the laboratory were discussed, and Mr. Cumming claimed that the former system proved successful at Rugby. In summing up the discussion, Prof. Miers remarked upon the extreme diversity of methods adopted in different schools. The exhibition of apparatus attracted well-deserved attention. Several dealers in apparatus, and some of the leading publishers, sent extensive exhibits, but the most gratifying, and in many respects the most instructive part of the exhibition was the ingenuity of the home-made contrivances sent from a good number of schools. We must consratulate and thank those responsible, and par- ticularly Mr. D. J. P. Berridge, to whose organisation | much of the success of this feature of the meeting was due. There were so many items of interest that it is impossible to describe them all, and it seems invidious to select. On the score of daring simplicity, we may perhaps award the palm to a motor armature shown by Mr. C. J. L. Wagstaff, which consisted of a bottle-cork, a few turns of insulated wire, and a dozen pins. Dr. T. J. Baker reached the acme of simplicity in his supports for prisms, lenses, &c. These were mounted by being stuck: in their appropriate positions into lumps of plasticine— voila tout! We would suggest to the management the advisability of printing a large number of copies of the catalogue; they might be put on sale; in any case their wider diffusion would help to improve experimental teach- ing by simple apparatus of homely invention and make. G. F. Dantev. THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF MEDICINE AND OTHER SCIENCES." N historical sketch, necessarily brief and inadequate, of some of the principal phases in the reciprocal relations between medicine and the physical sciences, up to the time when the latter became fully independent at the close of the seventeenth century, will show with what propriety medicine has been called the ‘‘ mother of the sciences.” Physical science has derived from the Greeks no such extensive records of sound observation and experience as those which medicine has inherited from the writings of Hippocrates and his followers. Physical theories embodied in the speculations of the nature-philosophers concerning the constitution and properties of matter furnished the 1 From an address delivered bv Dr. W. H. Welch, professor of patho- logy, Tohns Hopkins University, Baltimore, as the retiring president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at Chicago, December 30, 1G07. NATURE [ JANUARY 23, 1908 284 starting point for the Hippocratic doctrine of the four humours and other generalisations, but these theories sat so lightly upon Hippocrates that his name is attached to that method of medical study which rejects dogma, authority, and speculation, and confines itself to the ebservation and record of clinical facts. As Gomperz in his admirable work on the ‘‘Greek Thinkers ’’ has clearly pointed out, the age of enlightenment in scientific thought was inaugurated by temporaries. The influence of physical theories upon medical thought in antiquity can be traced, not only in the humoral doc- trines of Hippocrates and of Galen, but also in rival schools, and especially in the so-called methodic school founded upon the atomistic philosophy of Democritus, which is so interesting in the history of scientific theories. As this school produced such admirable physicians as Asclepiades, Soranus, and Aretzeus, it is to be regretted that their solidistic pathology was so completely displaced by the authority of Galen. The large body of medical knowledge and doctrine which had grown up during the six centuries since Hippo- crates was further developed and fixed by Galen at the end of the second century after Christ into a system not less complete in its field, nor less satisfying to the minds of men for nearly fifteen centuries, nor scarcely less re- markable as a product of the human mind than the physical and philosophical systems of Aristotle. Within their respective spheres the system of doctrine of each of these great men has exerted a similar dominating influence upon human thought, and has met a similar fate through influences almost identical. The great awakening of western Europe, marked by the revival of learning and the Reformation, stirred the long dormant spirit of inquiry and led to revolt against authority, a fresh outlook upon a wider world, the study of original sources, the questioning of nature at first hand, and the search for new knowledge in all her kingdoms. The seat of learning was transplanted from the cloisters to the universities, which multiplied and flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as never before. In the sixteenth century practically all the valuable contributions to botany and to zoology were made by physicians, so that natural history scarcely existed apart from medicine. Of the medical contributors to botany, it must suffice to mention the names of Brunfels, Fuchs, Dodoens, Gesner, and, above all, Cesalpinus, who has been called ‘‘ the founder of modern scientific botany,”’ the most important name before John Ray in the history of systematic botany, and a distinguished figure likewise in medical history. Of names associated with the history of zoology in this century, the most important are those of the physicians, Conrad Gesner, a marvel of encyclo- pedic learning, and Aldrovandi. who ranks with the founders of modern zoology and comparative anatomy ; of lesser lights Edward Wotton may be singled out for mention as the pioneer English zoologist. He was doctor of medicine of Padua and of Oxford, president of the Royal College of Physicians, and physician to Henry VIII. A name of the first rank in the history of science is that of the physician, Georg Agricola, who founded before the middle of the sixteenth century the science of mineralogy, and developed it to a state where it remained for nearly two hundred years without important additions. The student of medical history who takes up a history of physics will probably be surprised to find how many of the contributors to the latter subject in the sixteenth century were physicians, and that among these are such old friends as Fernel and Fracastorius, whom he has identified so intimately with the annals of his profession. Tt is to be presumed that he already knew that the most famous of all, Copernicus, was a doctor of medicine of Padua, and practised the medical art gratuitously among the poor in Frauenburg. Far more important for the subsequent history of science than any relations between medicine and physics at this period was the union between medicine and chemistry effected by Paracelsus. and strengthened by van Helmont and Sylvius in the following century, a union so intimate that for nearly a century and a quarter chemistry existed only as a part of medicine until freed by Robert Boyle NO. 1995, VOL. 77] Hippocrates and his medical con- from bonds which had become galling to both partners. The story of this iatro-chemical period, as it is called, has been told by Ernst von Meyer in his fascinating ‘‘ History of Chemistry ’? in a way not less interesting to the student of medicine than to one of chemistry, and should be there read by both. William Gilbert, second in importance only to Galileo among the creators of experimental science, the founder of the science of magnetism, and a significant name in the history of electricity, was fully identified with the medical profession, being the most distinguished English physician as well as man of science of his day, physician to both Queen Elizabeth and James I., and president of the Royal College of Physicians. Galileo’s younger contemporary, William Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the blood, occupies in the history of experimental science an independent position quite unlike that of the other experimental physiologists of the century. These other physicians, as Sanctorius, Borelli, Lower, Mayow, consciously took possession of the method of experiment as a powerful and newly discovered instrument of research, and were swayed in all their physiological work by the discoveries of the physicists. | Not so Harvey, who was influenced but little by con- temporary physical science, and is linked on, not to Galileo or to Gilbert, as exemplars of experimentation, but in a very direct way to the experimental physiologist, Galen, and to Aristotle, as well as to the Italian anatomists of the preceding century. Harvey’s genuinely scientific mind was in greater sympathy with Aristotle than with the essentially unscientific Lord Bacon, who was _his patient, and of whom he said, ‘‘ He writes philosophy like a Lord Chancellor.” : Descartes was an anatomist and physiologist as well as philosopher, mathematician, and _ physicist, and John Locke, the other great liberator of thought in this century, was educated in medicine, practised it, and, like Boyle, accompanied Sydenham on his rounds. Kepler studied the pulse, contributed to physiological optics, and calculated the orbits of the planets. Borelli was an important mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, as well as one of the greatest physiologists and physicians of the century. Bartholinus was also professor of mathematics as well as of medicine, and discovered the double refraction of Ice- land spar. His even more remarkable pupil, Steno, left a name memorable in geology and palzontology, as well as in anatomy and physiology, and died a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Mariotte, a pure physicist, dis- covered the blind spot in the retina. Boyle anatomised, experimented on the circulation and respiration, started chemistry on new paths, and perpetuated his name in attachment to an important physical law. Hooke, most versatile of all, claimed priority for a host of discoveries, and did, in fact, explore nearly every branch of science with brilliant, though often inconclusive, — results. Malpighi was an investigator equally great in vegetable and in animal anatomy and physiology, and what a slorious time it was for the microscopists, like Malpighi, Leeuwenhoek, Swammerdam and others, who could immortalise their names by turning the new instrument on a drop of muddy water, or blood, or other fluid, or a bit of animal and vegetable tissue ! After the seventeenth century in Europe the natural sciences, though often cultivated by those educated in medicine and practising it, were independent, and followed their own paths, which, however, communicated by many by-ways with the road of medicine and with each other. “Botany and zoology acquired their independent position probably more through the work of Ray and Willughby than by that of any other naturalist. Botany, however, remained for more than a century still mainly in the hands of physicians. An interesting chapter in its history is the story of the various apothecaries’ and other botanical gardens established through the efforts of physicians, and conducted by them primarily for the study of the vegetable materia medica. From such beginnings has grown the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, started by two physicians, Herouard and la Brosse, in 1633, into the great museum of natural history made by Buffon, Cuvier and others - as famous for the study of zoology as by the de Jussieus and by Brongniart and his successors for botany. Less JANUARY 23, 1908] humble was the foundation of the British Museum and its appanage, the great Museum of Natural History in South Kensington, the gift to the nation of his valuable collec- tions in natural history and other departments by Sir Hans Sloane, a leading London physician in the first half of the eighteenth century. Aspects of my subject, full of interest, which I can now barely touch upon, are the influence of previous medical or biological training upon the work of a physicist or chemist, and closely connected with this the extent to which purely physical problems have been approached from the biological side. Call to mind how the central physical and chemical problem of the eighteenth century, the nature of combustion, was throughout this period intimately associated with the identical physiological problem of respiration, and how John Mayow in the seven- teenth century, approaching the subject from the biological side, reached a conclusion in accord with that fully demon- strated a century later by Lavoisier, who thereby opened a new era for physiology as well as for chemistry. For the first time clear light was shed upon the function of respiration, the nature of metabolism, and the sources of animal heat, and such physical interest was attached to the study of these physiological phenomena that physicists of the rank of Laplace, in association with Lavoisier, Dulong, W. E. Weber, Magnus, A. C. Becquerel, Hirn, Regnault, and of course Helmholtz, have all made valuable contributions to the elucidation of these subjects. The study of electricity, especially after the physiologist Galvani’s epochal discovery, more correctly interpreted by Volta, engaged the attention of physicians and _physio- logists scarcely less than that of physicists. The latter became greatly interested in animal electricity, a subject partly cleared up by the physicists Ritter and Nobili, but mainly by the physiologist Du Bois Reymond. There is no more striking illustration of the correlation of two apparently distinct lines of approach to the same problem than the attack from the biological and from the purely physical sides upon the thermodynamic problem, which is as fundamental for biology as for physics. The conception of the principle of conservation of energy was supplied independently and almost simultaneously, on the one hand, by students of the conditions of mechanical work done by the animal machine, and on the other by investigators of technical machines. Much of the essential preliminary study was on the biological side by Boyle, Mayow, Black, and Lavoisier. Mainly from the same side the physician and physicist, Thomas Young, first formulated the modern scientific conception of energy as the power of a material system to do work. Davy and Rumford contributed, and from the physiological side Mohr, Mayer, and Helmholtz, and from the purely physical side, after preliminary work by Poncelet and Sadi-Carnot, Joule, Thomson, and Clausius reached the same grand conception. The first to enunciate clearly and fully the doctrine of the conservation of energy and to measure the unit of mechanical work derived from heat was the physician J. R. Mayer. Joule’s work completed the demonstration, but Mayer’s name is deservedly attached to this principle by Poincaré and others, as Lavoisier’s is to that of the conservation of mass, and Sadi-Carnot’s to the principle of degradation of energy. As regards this last principle, it is almost as interesting to biologists as to physicists that in the so-called Brunonian movement, discovered by the physician and more eminent botanist Robert Brown, and the subject of interesting physical investigations in recent years, we behold an apparent exception to the principle of degradation of energy, such as Clerk Maxwell pictured as possible to the operations of his sorting demon. I must forego further citation of examples of this kind of correlation between the work of physicists and of physiologists, and leave untouched the chemical side, which is much richer in similar illustrations. The signifi- cance to organic chemistry of the synthesis of urea by Wohler, and to agricultural chemistry of the bacteriological studies of nitrification in the soil and fixation of nitrogen in plants, will perhaps indicate how large and fascinating 2 field I must pass by. The light which has transformed the face of modern practical medicine came, in the first instance, not from a NO. 1905, vow. 77 | NATURE OD nQ= <9) physician, but from a physicist and chemist, Pasteur. The field of bacteriological study thus disclosed was placed on a firm foundation and thrown open to ready explora- tion by Robert Koch, and thereby that class of diseases most important to the human race, the infectious, became subject in ever-increasing measure to control by man. Thus hygiene and preventive medicine, through their power to check the incalculable waste of human life and health and activities, have come into relations, which have only begun to be appreciated, with educational, political, economic, and other social sciences and conditions, and with the administration of national, State, and municipal governments. It is an especial gratification to record the stimulating recognition of these relationships by the social and economic section of this association, in which was started a year and a half ago a movement for public health, particularly as related to the Federal Government, which has already assumed national significance. To the marvellous growth of the medical and other sciences of living beings during the past century, and especially in the last fifty years, physics and chemistry and the application of physical and chemical methods of study have contributed directly and indirectly a very large and ever-increasing share. In many instances there is no telling when or where or how some discovery or new invention may prove applicable to medical science or art. Who could have dreamed in 1856 that Sir William Perkin’s production of the first aniline dye should be an essential link in the development of modern bacteriology, and there- fore in the crusade against tuberculosis and other infectious diseases? As Robert Koch has said, it would have been quite impossible for him to have developed his methods and made his discoveries without the possession of elective dyes for staining bacteria, and colouring agents of no other class have been discovered which can serve as substitutes for the anilines in this regard. And how much assistance these dyes have rendered to the study of the structure and even the function of cells! If we trace to their source the discovery of Réntgen’s rays, which have found their chief practical application in medicine and surgery, we shall find an illustration scarcely less striking. No important generalisation in physical science is with- out its influence, often most important, upon biological conceptions and knowledge. I have already referred to the great principles of conservation of mass and of energy which are at the very foundation of our understanding of vital phenomena. Although we cannot now foresee their bearings, we may be sure that the new theories, regard- ing the constitution of what has hitherto been called matter, will, as they are further developed, prove of the highest significance to our conceptions of the organic as well as of the inorganic world. The ultimate problems of biology reside in the cell. Whatever the future may hold in store, at the present day only a relatively small part of these problems are approachable by physical or chemical methods, and the day is far distant, if it ever comes, when cellular physio- logy shall be nothing but applied physics and chemistry. We cannot foresee a time when purely observational and descriptive biological studies, which to-day hold the first place, shall not continue to have their value. They re- present the direction which makes the strongest appeal to the great majority of naturalists. The broadest generalisations hitherto attained in biology, the doctrine of the cell as the vital unit and the theory of organic evolution, have come from this biological, as distinguished from physical, direction of investigating living organisms, and were reached by men with the type of mind of the pure naturalist, who loves the study of forms, colours, habits, variations, adaptations, inheritances of living beings. It is well that the sciences of nature hold out attractions to so many different types of mind, for the edifice of science is built uv of material which must be drawn from many sources. A quarry opened in the interest of one enriches all of these sciences. The deeper we can lay the foundations and the farther we can penetrate into the nature of things, the closer are the workers drawn together, the clearer becomes their community of purpose. and the more significant to mankind the up-building of natural knowledge. 286 NATURE [JANUARY 23, 1908 RAINFALL AND WATER-SUPPLY.* [Tt happens that rainfall is not only the most difficult of all the meteorological distributions to map accurately, it is also that one which is of the greatest importance, for by rain the rivers are fed, and the rivers both water and drain the land. Every year makes clearer the vast national importance of accurate knowledge of the rainfall of a county, for the problem of the rivers is becoming acute. The growing populations of the great towns are tapping the upper waters and diverting the water from its natural channels, and at the same time they are polluting the lower courses with the waste of the factories and the streets. Toll is taken all along the banks of industrial streams for raising steam and carrying on the multitudinous processes of manufacture. There is some- times anxiety as to whether the waterways can be kept sufficiently supplied to float the water-borne traffic or to fight the silting action of the tides, and there is growing alarm as to the possibility of fish traversing the depleted and polluted streams to reach their spawning beds. Of recent years, the value of the water-power which may be generated in the lonely and lofty places amongst the western heights of Great Britain, where the rainfall is large and unfailing, has been recognised, and chemical works for the production in electric furnaces of what a few years ago were rare substances are becoming familiar features in Wales and the Highlands. In Ireland, too, the rainfall is an unrecognised source of wealth which as yet has not been drawn upon to any appreciable extent. The increasing strenuousness of the struggle for the possession of large water supplies is producing in England, and especially in Wales, a great amount of local jealousy and strife, for the boundaries of parishes and counties coincide but rarely with water-partings, and the argument has been brought forward again and again that the rainfall of one county should not be diverted for the use of the inhabitants of another. The feeling is intensified when the boundary to be crossed is that of a historical division of national importance, like the boundary between England and Wales, but the map-study of rainfall can do something to suggest the lines on which such disputes should be settled. Although the exceptional deluges of a thunderstorm or a great depression fall with equal and impartial heavi- ness on the hills of the west or the flat plains of the east, the common every-day rains are precipitated on the high lands and in the mountain valleys which: cross the track of the prevailing wind in much greater abundance than on level and low stretches of country. Most of the rain is borne to our islands from the Atlantic, and when it comes torrentially it is of the air, and no boundary checks it; the largest annual falls come down on and near the water- sheds, because there the Jand produces its maximum influence as a rain compeller. From the high ground the rivers seek the plains, carry- ing off the excess of rainfall into the less liberally watered districts. The Dee, the Severn, the Wye, and the Usk restore to England part of the rains which the Weish mountains have abstracted as the air passed over them. The high rainfall of the whole Pennine district, sometimes by circuitous routes across the comparatively dry plains of the east, swells the volume of fresh water that pours into the Humber. The Thames itself receives the com- paratively high rains of the Cotswolds, the Chilterns, and the Downs, and forwards the water slowly through less and less rainy districts, until it reaches the sea in the driest part of England. Thus, I think, at least as good an argument can be drawn from this consideration of physical geography in favour of supplying the great towns of the east from the large precipitation of the west as can be drawn in the opposite sense from the artificial divisions of political geography. Care for the water supply of the country, coming as it does from the air that knows no bounds across the land, is by no means a parochial, but in the fullest sense a national matter, and should be dealt with in the interests of the nation as a whole, the units of subdivision, when such are required, being the natural units of river-basins. 1 From the presidential address Celivered befor the Roya Meteorological Society on January 15 by Dr. H. R. Mill. NO. 1995, VOL. 77] UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGE.—The Senate has approved the affiliation of the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Quebec, under the conditions laid down in the report of the council of the Senate dated November 25, 1907. The Senate has assigned a site on the Downing ground, situate to the south of the botanical laboratory and parallel to it, for a building in connection with the Department of Agriculture. Dr. James, Provost of King’s College, has been appointed a member of the council of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. The special board for physics and chemistry reports that the prize of sol. from the Gordon Wigan fund for an investigation in chemistry was awarded in the year 1907 to F. Buckney, of Sidney Sussex College, for his essay entitled *‘ A Study of some Quinquevalent Cyclic Nitrogen Compounds. ”’ MANCHESTER.—A communication has been received from the Treasury intimating that to remove any uncertainty which may prevail in regard to the arrangements of the University during the current session, a special grant of the same amount as that paid before the proposed reduc- tion, viz. 12,000l., will be made to the University for the current year. The question of the future distribution of the Treasury grant is left open for decision after the Chancellor of the Exchequer has consulted the Advisory Committee which deals with grants to universities and colleges. Mr. F. M. Saxerby, head of the department of mathe- matics at the Technical College, Belfast, has been appointed to a similar position at the Battersea Polytechnic. In the Engineer of January 17 is published the first instalment of a series of articles on the training of engineering apprentices, describing the methods followed at a number of works. The result of the inquiry has to a great extent been disappointing. No real general upward movement in the training of apprentices has peen observed, and, with the exception of a few firms, the old indifferent method of training by hazard still obtains. Tue Government of Mysore has, the Pioneer Mail states, made public the new rules for regulating the grant of scholarships for scientific research and technical education from the Damodar Dass charities fund. The scholarships will be open to all Indians who have taken with credit a degree in arts, medicine, or engineering in an Indian or other recognised university. Each candidate selected will be given travelling allowance to England or elsewhere from Bangalore on the completion of his course of study or research. He will be allowed, during his stay in England or elsewhere, outside India, a sum of 200]. per annum, this allowance to be inclusive of college fees, cost of books, instruments, and boarding charges. Lorp Avesury was formally installed as Lord Rector of St. Andrews University on January 16, and delivered his rectorial address. Lord Avebury, during the course of his remarks, said there never was a time when St. Andrews was more adequately equipped, had a more dis- tinguished list of teachers, and a curriculum more generous, wider, and less one-sided. The question is not, as is sometimes alleged, between a scientific and a classical education. No scientific man wishes to exclude classics. No degree should, in the opinion of scientific men, be given without demanding some classical knowledge. A man who is entirely ignorant of the classics, even if he is a profound mathematician, biologist,, chemist, or geologist, is but a half-educated man. But the same is true even of the profoundest classical scholar who knows nothing of science. Science is of vital importance in human life; it is more fascinating than a fairy tale, more brilliant than a novel, and anyone who neglects to follow the triumphant march of discovery is deliberately rejecting one of the greatest gifts with which we have been endowed. Tue prospects of a university for Bristol were much discussed at the annual dinner last week of the Bristol University College Colston Society. The financial posi- JANUARY 23, 1908] tion was explained by Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith. Eight or nine years ago, about 4ool. was collected yearly to for- ward higher education in Bristol, and the amount is now nearly 6oo0l. per annum. In all, the society had collected a sum of 4732I. Speaking as to the University itself, Mr. Arrowsmith said the promise of Mr. H. O. Wills, announced in Nature last week, was satisfactory to all, and all welcomed it very heartily and with deep gratitude to Mr. Wills. But the 100,001. gift is not everything. The amount aimed at before the Privy Council is asked for the charter is 250,000]. The aggregate sum of 30,0001. was promised at the dinner a year ago. The sums were :— Lord Winterstoke, 10,o00l.; Mr. J. S. Fry, 10,oo0ol.; Mr. Frederick Wills, 5oool.; and Mr. F. J. Fry, 5000/1. Adding for buildings and endowments in connection with Uni- versity College the sum of 55,000l., a total of 85,000l. is reached. Add to that the 1o00,o0ol., and 185,o00l. is obtained. Mr. Arrowsmith said that a friend, since he had been in the building, had added another 10,000l., giving a total in hand or promised of 195,000!. It is obvious, therefore, that a sum of 55,o00l. must be secured before the charter can be sought. Four sums each of 1oool. from Mr. .Charles Thomas, Mr. Edward Robinson, Mr. Hiatt Baker, and an anonymous benefactor have also been offered. It should not be long, therefore, before the quarter of:a million required for the university is raised by the men of wealth in Bristol who realise the value of higher education. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, December 12, 1907.—‘‘ The Effects of Temperature and Pressure on the Thermal Conductivities of Solids. Part ii. The Effect of Low Temperatures on the Thermal Conductivities of Pure Metals and Alloys.”’ By Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S. The object of the work described in the present paper was to extend the measurements of thermal conductivities of metals and alloys made by Lorenz, Jager, and Diessel- horst and others at temperatures between 0° C. and 100° C. down to the temperature of liquid air, and thus provide a means of comparing the thermal and electrical conductivi- ties of these substances over a much wider range of temperature than has hitherto been possible. The method adopted was a modification of that used originally by Wiedemann and Franz. The results obtained are tabulated, together with those given for higher temperatures by Jager and Diesselhorst, and they justify the following statements :— (1) The thermal conductivities of most decrease as the temperature rises within —160° C. to 100° C. (2) The thermal conductivities of all alloys tested increase as the temperature rises within the range —160° C. to 100° C. Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, January 16.— Prof. William Gowland, president, in the chair.—The Vaal River diamond diggings: Mungo Park. A _ brief description of the diamondiferous terrace deposits flanking the course of the Vaal River. The author stated that the diamonds obtained from the river gravels are, taken collectively, probably the- finest stones obtainable, averaging about 61. per carat as sold to buyers on the diggings. Methods of*working these deposits, and a few notes on the general Conditions of digging, are dealt with in this short paper.—The eruptive diamond-bearing breccias of the Boshof district, South Africa: J. P. Johnson. A paper describing the three occurrences of diamond-bearing rock in the district, principally from a geological point of view. Special attention is directed to the lherzolite and eclogite boulders, which contain in proportionate abund- ance all the characteristic minerals of the eruptive diamond-bearing breccia, and which the author thinks are the more resistant portions of a rock which has gone to form the bulk of the breccia, and was the real home of the diamond. This lherzolite-eclogite rock may exist either as a widespread consolidated formation occurring at great depths or as a deep-seated molten magma, the former condition being more likely. The author can see nothing NO. 1995. VOL. 77] metals range pure the NATURE 287 in the breccia other than a purely fragmentary formation, nor has he been able to detect traces of contact meta- morphism either of the walls of the vent or of the included boulders. He concludes, therefore, that the type of volcanic phenomenon producing the peculiar features of these diamond-bearing vents would be a geyser rather than a volcano, more especially as there is not the least evidence of any molten rock or lava having passed through them. —The auriferous banded ironstones and associated schists of South Africa: Owen Letcher. Five principal mines working in the banded ironstone beds and associated schists are passed under review in turn under the follow- ing heads :—salient geological features; occurrence of gold in the formation; methods of mining and productive and economic values; and metallurgy of the series. The author points out that these banded ironstones are the oldest known auriferous sedimentary rocks in South Africa, lying between the basement schists and the con- glomerate series, and he considers that on account of what is at present known as to the great width of. the gold-bearing formation, the occurrence of gold in many places in payable quantities, and the amenability of the ores to a simple method of treatment, the exploitation of mines in the series is likely to assume considerable importance in future South African history. Paris. Academy of Sciences, January 15.—M. Henri Becquerel in the chair.—Note on the density of graphite: H. Le Chatelier and S. Wologdine. On account of the wide range of densities which various experimenters have given for graphite, it has been assumed that graphite is not a single variety of carbon, although this is contra- dicted by the constancy of the heat of combustion of purified graphite. The authors have examined the follow- ing :—Acheson graphite (artificial); graphite from Ceylon, Australia, Bohemia (Mugrau and Scharzbach), Greenland, commercial graphite, and from cast iron. The method employed was flotation in a heavy liquid (mixtures of acetylene bromide and ether), care being taken _ to eliminate all air bubbles. The figures for the unpurified material from these sources varied between 1-62 and 2-66. Purification by Moissan’s method was then tried, but the results were no more concordant, the deviations being finally traced to the imperfect removal of air. This was surmounted by removing the air by a vacuum, strongly compressing, breaking up again, placing a second time in a vacuum, and re-compressing. Under these experi- mental conditions all the natural and artificial graphites after complete purification gave the same density of 2-255 at 15° C. compared with water at 4° C.—The utilisation of turf for the purification of sewage: A. Muntz and E. Lainé. The experiments detailed show that natural turf is a highly satisfactory medium for forming sewage filter beds. The experimental filter has been at work for more than seven months, and its activity is still un- impaired. It is capable of treating a volume of from three to four cubic metres of sewage per square metre of surface per day. Figures are given of the chemical and bacterial purification effected, and fish live without inconvenience in the effluent. If loaded above this, the effluent is fair, but not so good, and it has been noted that on reducing the load to the normal figure the filter immediately recovers to original efficiency.—Observation of the transit of Mercury at the Observatory of Rio de Janeiro: M. Morize. The atmospheric conditions were unfavourable to good observations.—Observation of the transit of Mercury of November 13-14, 1907, at Schoi, Italy: Fr. Faccin. The atmospheric conditions were bad.—The summability of Fourier’s series: A. Bubhl.—The choice of the exponent of convergence for integral functions of in- finite order: A. Denjoy.—The measurements of general movements of the soil by means of levellings repeated at long intervals: Ch. Lallemand. An analysis of the degree of exactitude practically possible in levelling opera- tions shows that it is only in exceptional cases that a repetition of the measurements will permit the demonstra- tion with certainty of gradual general movements under 1 decimetre.—The statics of a deformable surface and the dynamics of a deformable line: Eugéne and Francois Cosserat.—The transformations of solutions of white phosphorus into red phosphorus: Albert Cotson. Experi- 288 NALTURE | JANUARY 23, 1908 ments with solutions of phosphorus in carbon bisulphide and in turpentine at various temperatures between 230° C. and 290° C. showed that the presence of the solvent causes the rate of transformation of the white into the yellow modification to be reduced.—The constitution of cast irons containing manganese: L. Guillet. Manganese displaces the eutectic point, which is produced for lower percentages of carbon than with the iron-carbon alloys. Other changes caused by the gradual increase of the percentage of manganese are noted.—Ammoniacal cuprous sulphate: M. Bouzat. The salt is formed by the interaction of aqueous ammonia, cuprous oxide and ammonium sulphate, and pre- cipitated by alcohol. It is filtered off on asbestos, and washed with alcohol and ether. Great care has to be taken to exclude all traces of air, all reagents being freshly boiled, and the whole series of operations carried out in a current of pure hydrogen. Analyses of the precipitated salt show it to possess the composition Cu,SO,.4NH,. The reactions are those of a cuprous salt, oxidising instantly when exposed moist to the air, and giving copper, cupric sulphate, and ammonium sulphate when treated with dilute sulphuric acid.—Syntheses in the camphor group. The complete synthesis of 8-campholene lactone: G. Blanc. The starting point of this synthesis is aa-dimethyladipic acid, and this is converted successively into its sodium derivative, dimethyl-cyclopentanone-acetic acid, and the ethyl ester of the latter. The bitertiary glycol obtained from this by Grignard’s’ reaction forms a lactone identical with B-campholene lactone.—The consti- tution of the a- and 6-methylsparteines and of isosparteine : Charles Moureu and Amand Valeur.—The synthesis of racemic dihydrocamphoric acid: L. Bouveault and R. Locquin.—The innervation of the sterno-mastoid and cleido- mastoid muscles: F. X. Lesbre and F. Maignon.—The action of fresh kola nut on work: J. Chevalier and M. Alquier.—The apparent double refraction of vibratory cilia : Fred viés.—The action of choline on the arterial pressure : A. Desgrez and J. Chevalier. Choline furnishes the first example of a physiological substance of well-defined chemical composition, producing a marked lowering of the arterial pressure. It behaves as an antagonist to adrenaline, and it is possible to associate these two sub- stances in such quantities that the one neutralises the effect of the other on the blood pressure.—Hexamer sea- urchins: Edouard de Ribaucourt.—La graisse in wine: E. Kayser and E. Manceau. The change in wine known technically as la graisse is complex, and is not caused by a single organism, but by the combined growth of several organisms.—The diminution of the salinity of sea water after filtering through sand: J. Thoulet. It is popularly supposed that the salinity of sea water is considerably reduced by filtration through sand. Direct experiments of the author have failed to confirm this. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, January 23. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Report on the Fruptions of the Soufriére in St. Vincent in_r902, and on a Visit to Montagne Pelée in Martinique. Part II.: The Changes in the Districts and the Subsequent History of the Volcanoes: Dr. Tempest Anderson.—Petrographical Notes on the Products of the Eruptions of May, 1902, at the Soufriére in St. Vincent : Dr. J. S, Flett.—On the Intimate Structure of Crystals. Part VI., Titanic Oxide, its Polymorphs and Isomorpbs: Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S.— Dietetics in Tuberculosis ; Principles and Economics: Dr. N. D. Bards- well and J. E. Chapman.—The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. Part -I.: On the so-called Hippocoprosterol : C. Dorée and J. A. Gardner. Rova Institution, at 3.—Recent Light on Ancient Physiographies : Prof. W. W. Watts, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Standard Performances of Electrical Machinery : R. Goldschmidt. FRIDAY, JANUARY 24. Royav InstiruTion, at 9.—The Extinction of Malta Fever: Col. David Bruce, C.B., F.R.S. PuysicaL Socirty, at 5.—Recalescence Curves: W. Rosenhain.—An Experimental Examination of Gibbs’ Theory of Surface Concentration Regarded as the Basis of Adsorption, and an Application to the Theory of Dyeing: W. C. M. Lewis. INSTITUTION OF Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—A Cost Theory of Reinforced- Concrete Beams: J. R. Wade.—The Neutral Axis in Reinforced-Concrete Beams: E. 1. Spiers SATURDAY, January 25. Rovat Institution, at 3.—The- Electrification of Railways: Prof. Gisbert Kapp. MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION, at 2.30.—Address by the President, Prof. 3. H. Bryan, F.R.S.—On the Teaching of Elementary Mechanics, with Special Reference to the Preparation and Use of Simple and Inexpensive NO 1995. VOL. 77] Apparatus: W. J. Dobbs.—On the Teaching of the Elements of Analysis : C, O. Tuckey.—On the Geometrical Treatment of Series in Trigonometry, with Lantern Illustrations: F. J. W. Whipple.—On a New Treatment of Similarity in Elementary Geometry : W. . Bryan.—Machine for Draw- ing Rectangular Hyperbolas: H. L. Trachtenberg. Essex Fretp Civp (at the Essex Museum, Romford Road, Stratford), at 6. —Report of Club's Delegate at British Association, Leicester, 1907: F. W. Rudler.—Cn Plant Distribution in the Neighbourhood of Felstead, Essex: J. French. MONDAY, January 27. Socrety or Arts, at 8.—The Theory and Practice of Clock Making: H. H. Cunynghame, C.B. . Roya GeroGrapHicat Society, at 8.30.—Exploration and Climbing in the Gurhwal Himalayas: Dr. T. G. Longsteff. INsTITUTE OF AcTuARIES, at 5.—On the Construction of Mortality Tables from Census Returns and Records of Deaths: G. King. TUESDAY, January 28. Roya Instirurion, at 3.—Roman Britain: (a) Its Frontiers and Garri- son: Prof. F. J. Haverfield. Royat ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.30, —Annual General Meeting. —President’s Address : Anthropology in the Eighteenth Century: Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S. J INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Continued discussion: Experi- mental Investigations of the Stresses in Masonry Dams subjected to Water Pressure: Sir J. W. Ottley, K.C.L-E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore. —Stresses in Dams; an Experimental Investigation by Means of India- rubber Motels: J. S. Wilson and W. Gore.—Stresses in Masonry Dams: E. P. Hill. WEDNESDAY, January 29. Society of Dyers anp Co.ourists, at 8. Colloidal Dyestufis: Dr. E. Feilmann.—Notes on the Dyeing of Celluloid : Dr. J. N. Goldsmith. BritisH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION, at 5. THURSDAY, January 30. ; ‘ Roya Society, at 4.30.—Prolatle Papers: On the Observation of Sun and Stars made in some British Stone Circles. Third Note: The Aber- deenshire Circles: Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S.—On the Non- periodic or Residual Motion of Water moving in Stationary Waves: Mrs. W. E. Ayrton.—The Refractive Index and the Dispersion of Light in Argon and Helium: W. Burton.—On the Generation of a Luminous Glow in an Exhausted Receiver moving near an Electrostatic !Field, and the Action of a Magnetic Field on the Glow so produced: Rey. F. J. Jervis-Smith, F.R.S. FRIDAY, JANUARY 31. 4 Royat InstiruTion, at 9.—Recent Researches on Radio-activity: Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S. CONTENTS. PAGE ManxjArchzeology'’ .' 2.) Cee. Seen Chemical and Physical Tables, By T. H.L. ... 267 A New Text-book of Psychology. By W. B. .. . 267 Our Book Shelf :— Moglis i siDie Physik: RogeryBacosia: .. . 1. steel SnNmmcOD) Kanthack : ‘‘The Preservation of Infant Life. A Guideifor Health Visitors “ees + + se eaOS Richards: *‘ Sanitation in Daily Life” ..... . 268 Tischbrock : ‘‘ Der neue Leitfaden” ..... 268 Letters to the Editor :— The Stresses in Masonry Dams.—H. M. Martin; Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S.; Prof. Karl Rearson,-F.R.S:° 2.5. (eee ss OD The Nature of y and X-Rays.—Prof. W. H. Bragg 270 Drifted Ice-crystals. (///ustrated.)—Dr. Walter Leaf 271 The Interpretation of Mendelian Phenomena.—H. H. OyBarrell’:.°. J. ST. eee Musical Sands.—Cecil Carus-Wilson ..... . 271 Filtration of Rain Water.—Enquirer ....... 272 The Highland Overthrusts. (J///ustrated.) By Prof. J wWerGrerory F.RS. 5) iveaeeiteney.s!. (emma The Total Solar Eclipse of January 3, 1908. By DraWalliam'J.:S-. Lockyer agement.» < '. 1 3) eee PherBritish science Guild!) oeeeeqae c ). . 1 seinen 4: Ja:-Macfarlane Gray .. .-'4 .co)speieew =) |-> «1s eRe Notes (Ore Oo Ceo ey, Our Astronomical Column :— Observation of Encke’s Comet on December 25, 1907 281 A newly discovered Bright Minor Planet (1908 B.M.) 281 Measures'of Double) Stars) -sn i % % = >. .- een eee Ephemeris foxiComet :19072, (irene. =) 15. /2) tec The Absorption of D, (Helium) in the Neighbourhood GESUN:SpolS; .)-.0'.} pees et os aie eee The Orbit of the Spectroscopic Binary @ Aquile . . 28 Eclipse Observations, August, 1905 . ...... . 281 Science at Recent Educational Conferences. By Ghipwbaniell::. -.\). faite, Meecmereyte nee The Interdependence of Medicine and other Sciences.: By Prof. W..H. Welch) .) 4.) ca 8." 283 Rainfall and Water-Supply. By Dr. H. R. Mill. 286 University and Educational Intelligence. . . . . . 286 Societiesiand Acacemies. 5):"2922) © =) sbasemne 207. Diarylomsocieties|}.<\%. hi) > eesiene caret 288 NAT OTE 289 THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1908. THE FUNCTION OF THE STAPES. On the Impulses of Compound Sound Waves and their Mechanical Transmission through the Ear. By Sir Thomas Wrightson, Bart. Pp. 40, and port- folio of diagrams. (London: Thomas Kell and Son, 1907.) ITTLE has been added to our knowledge of the auditory ossicles since the classical researches of Helmholtz, although the subject is of much in- terest. Sir Thomas Wrightson shows that, owing to the peculiar arrangement of the footplate of the stapes and the formation of the annular mem- brane, to and fro movements of the _ stapes are accompanied by vigorous transverse vibra- tions of its frame. These movements will be repre- sented in any compound wave form by the points at which ‘‘ the compound curve cuts across the average line representing the central or normal position of the membrane.”’ With the help of a very ingenious model, evidence is adduced that this complex of motions affords a reasonable basis for the analysis of compound notes, which is usually attributed to the fibres of the basilar membrane. Careful examination of the numerous wave forms reproduced by the author will, we think, make it clear that the theory advocated is worthy of attention. Sir Thomas Wrightson’s criticism of the theory associated with the name of Helmholtz is not, however, entirely just. The statement that ‘“ In fact there is no intelligible explanation furnished by Helm- holtz’s theory why we can hear each note of a com- bination when all the component notes are sounded together ’’? can be made with respect to any theory whatever. The reai value of the hypothesis of Helm- holtz is that it describes, not explains, a large series of phenomena which cannot easily be reconciled with rival theories. It remains to be seen whether Sir Thomas Wrightson’s theory will better describe the facts. For example, the peculiar condition described by Jacobson under the name Diplacusis binauralis dysharmonica, in which the same note heard by the two ears simultaneously produces a dissonance, is mest easily described by a theory of resonators in the cochlea. Again, if it be true that ossification of the fenestra ovalis is consistent with a partial preserva- tion of hearing, as asserted by K. Schaefer (appar- ently on the authority of Frutiger), the function of the stapes would seem to be relatively unimportant ; but evidence on this point is conflicting. The author assumes that an impulse is always imparted to the membrana basilaris by friction of the perilymph on its under surface; this is not necessarily the case. As Schaefer remarks :— / ““ Tt is conceivable that the fluid of the labyrinth, receding before the pressure of the stapes, flows from tbe Scala Vestibuli through the Helicofreme into the Scala Tympani, and conversely when rarefaction NO. 1996, VOL. 77] occurs in the auditory passage. But there is no time for this during the rapid sound vibrations, and it is far more probable that the membranous partition of the Cochlea bulges towards the Scala Tympani when the stapes moves inwards.”’ Z Whatever position may ultimately be assigned to the theory of stapedial analysis, Sir Thomas Wright- son and Dr. Arthur Keith, who is responsible for the anatomical part of the work, are to be con- gratulated on the performance of an interesting re- search which throws much light on the mode- of action of a structure not readily accessible to the physiologist. M. G. LIFE AND DEATH. The Prolongation of Life. By Elie Metchnikoff. The English translation edited by P. Chalmers Mitchell. Pp. xx+343. (London: W. Heinemann, 1907.) Price 12s, 6d. net. M OST people desire to live long, and hence Prof. Metchnikoff’s book is sure to have many readers. He not only discusses the means by which life may be prolonged, but he also examines: the ques- tion whether it is desirable to prolong it. About this he has no doubt; he is a confirmed optimist, and points triumphantly to celebrated men who have begun life as pessimists and have ended it as optimists. The chief of these is Goethe. Several chapters are de- voted to the consideration of Faust, the sorrows of Werther, and Goethe’s life. But this part of the book and that which treats of morality will probably appeal to fewer readers than the earlier part, for the sub- jects are so vast and so difficult that it is not easy to deal with them in the short space given to them by the author. It is of interest to observe that Prof. Metchnikoff carries his optimism to the point of thinking that living has become easier from a moral point of view owing to the advances of science. For example, as science gets rid of or improves the treatment of plague and diphtheria, there will no longer be any need of the high moral courage of those who went freely among sufferers from these scourges in order that they might alleviate them. Life is already so difficult that this is a point of view we commend to the con- sideration of those who oppose scientific workers, and hinder them by vexatious restrictions. ‘The Prolongation of Life ’? is a remarkable book in many ways. It and the ‘‘ Nature of Man,” of which it is an extension, treat of a subject about which little has been written. The whole range of literature is ransacked by the author, and the facts and opinions collected are discussed with an origin- ality, a width of view, and knowledge that give the book an especial fascination and constantly arrest the attention. Prof. Metchnikoff is of opinion that when old age approaches, the phagocytes, which have hitherto been man’s friends, become his enemies, and hasten death by devouring the -essential cells of the vital organs of the body, especially those of the nervous system. Oo 290 NALORE [JANUARY 30, 1908 These cells are rendered particularly vulnerable to phagocytes by the action of poisons manufactured by the bacteria of the large intestine, and Prof. Metchni- koff suggests that this*might to a large extent be prevented by taking skimmed milk which has been boiled and rapidly cooled, and on which pure cultures of the Bulgarian bacillus have been sown. This pro- duces a pleasant, sour, curdled milk containing about 1o grams of lactic acid per litre, the lactic acid of which prevents intestinal putrefaction. The author is dependent mainly upon two kinds of evidence, experimental and numerical, and therefore his difficulties are chiefly two. Many experiments which might bear upon the prolongation of life must necessarily be observed for many years. For example, he devotes much space to the uselessness of the large intestine; so far as his facts go there is nothing to be said against them—indeed, from them and others we are probably justified in thinking poorly of the large intestine—but before we can cer- tainly know much about this numbers of human beings who have been deprived of their large intestine will have to be observed for many years. As the question is the prolongation of life, the numerical evidence as to how long certain animals and plants live is of the greatest importance, but the author has to depend largely upon hearsay. Very few of his statements are evidence in the technical sense of the word. We are more likely to be correct in our know- ledge of very old human beings than very old animals, but even with regard to human beings the evidence of extreme old age—say over 100 years—often breaks down when carefully examined. Those in doubt on this point should read T. E. Young ‘‘ On Centen- arians.’’ Sometimes the age is accepted because it is on the tombstone, but, as Johnson says, ‘‘ In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath.’’ Prof. Metch- nikoff is inclined to accept the commonly stated age of Parr, but there is no real evidence as to his age at death. Still, when we remember the extreme diffi- culty of getting suitable facts to support his views it must be admitted that the author has shown marvel- lous skill in the presentation of his case. No one can put down the book without feeling that it makes us think, will well repay careful critical reading, and induces gratitude to Dr. Chalmers Mitchell for his translation and excellent introduction. PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. New Series, Vol. vii, 1906-7. Pp. iv+244. (London: Williams and Norgate, 1907.) Price tos. 6d. net. HIS volume contains the papers read before the society during the twenty-eighth session, 1906-7. The papers are eight in number, with titles and authors as follows :—(1) Nicholas de Ultricuria, a Medizeval Hume, by Hastings Rashdall; (2) on the nature of truth, by the Hon. Bertrand Russell; (3) on causal explanation, by T. Percy Nunn; (4) logic and identity in difference, by Miss E. E. Constance Jones; (5) Humism and humanism, by F. C. S. Schiller; (6) NO. 1996, VOL. 77] 7 fact, idea, and emotion, by Shadworth H. Hodgson; (7) intuition, by A. T. Shearman; (8) philosophy and education, by Benjamin Dumville. Both in the subjects chosen and in the standpoints adopted for their discussion, the series is quite repre- sentative of modern English philosophy. In the first paper, by the late president of the society, we find that element of historical appreciation, one might almost call it antiquarianism, without which English philo- sophy would be reft of half its distinctive charm. The second is virtually a criticism of Joachim’s recent ‘“ Essay on Truth.’’ The monistic theory cham- pioned in that book, viz. that ‘‘ only the whole truth is wholly true,’? is shown to rest upon an assumed “axiom of internal relations,’’ which may be formu- lated as follows :—‘‘ Every relation is grounded in the natures of the related terms.’’ The arguments in its favour are shown to be fallacious, and the way is thus cleared for a return to the dualistic theory that facts are completely independent of our knowledge of them —that experiencing does not make a difference to the facts. Finally, two theories, each admitting the pos- sibility of a plurality of truths, are mapped out as tenable, between which the author prefers not to decide. The third paper is a very thorough and lucid treatment of the methods of explanation adopted in the various sciences, and should be found useful by those interested in the more concrete side of epistemology. Miss Constance Jones’s paper is good, but too tech- nical in nature to receive further mention here. In his paper, Dr. Schiller devotes many pages to the orientation of the pragmatic philosophy, defending it especially against the charge of kinship with the empirical scepticism of Hume. Particularly good is his exposition of Hume’s theory of ‘‘ activity,” a portion of Hume’s system unduly slurred over by the historian of philosophy. To his own panegyric of voluntarism the best antidote is to be found in the following paper (No. 6), by Dr. Shadworth Hodgson. This paper is excellent. However untenable one may feel some of his conclusions to be, one cannot but admire the clearness of conception and the feeling for reality which Dr. Hodgson displays. The analysis is carried out under the influence of the fundamental antithesis of ‘‘ real conditions ’’ and ‘‘ conditionates.”’ It is attempted to show that consciousness is a con- ditionate of which the real conditioning is to be looked for in something which is not consciousness. ‘* This ‘something ’ is known to us as matter and motions of matter’’; therefore, says Dr. Hodgson, it is not a thing-in-itself. His argument takes no account of the alternative possibility that the reality of which matter is the phenomenon is itself mental, and that the efficiency of matter is really mental efficiency. Mr. Shearman’s paper is an attempt to map out the position of intuition in philosophy, and is ex- tremely suggestive. In the last paper of the series we meet the well-needed reminder that philosophy is still indispensable in any theory of education. Philosophy alone is fitted to preside over the ideals which all educational systems must recognise. W. B. JANUARY 30, 1908] NATURE 291 PRIMITIVE INTERPRETATIONS. (1) Ancient Egypt the Light of the World: a Work of Reclamation and Restitution. In twelve books. By Gerald Massey. Two vols. Vol. i., pp. vi+ 544; vol. ii., pp. iv+545-944. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907.) (2) Primitive Traditional History: the Primitive History and Chronology of India, South-Eastern and South-Western Asia, Egypt, and Europe, and the Colonies thence sent forth. By J. F. Hewitt. Two vols. Vol. i., pp. xxviii+448; vol. ii., pp. viii +449-1024. (London: James Parker and Co., £907.) (1) (@ 2s of the recreations of an archzologist is the reading of the various remarkable works that are produced by persons of untrained mind who know a little of the subject on which they write and are possessed of violent prejudices either for or against some particular form of religion. The latter element adds spice to the recipe. The peculiar nature of the late Mr. Massey’s preface to his present ‘‘ work of reclamation and restitution in twelve books,’’ as he called it, disarms the critic, however, to some extent. He does not know what he ought to say in the circumstances. Mr. Massey had in the course of a long life read much and noted much. Unluckily he had not read deeply enough. He never attempted to get his own knowledge, but depended on what others said. Hence in any case his book would be of no value except as a compilation. But, further, he had little idea of what is and what is not permissible in logical argument; very few of his syllogisms are without a flaw; he had no perception of what is possible or impossible in respect of philological com- parisons, and he was dominated by a fanatical belief with regard to the origin of Christianity which at once takes his bool out of the realm of science. It is no use collecting anthropological data if all that one wishes to do with it is to prove that Christ and the evangelists and disciples were ancient Egyptian gods, whose names are twisted to suit the argument. For Mr. Massey, Jesus Christ is the deified scribe Imouthes or Iemhetep (why, we are not told), Thomas is the god Tum, Matthew is Maati (‘* The two Truths ’’), while for John he makes out an Egyptian equivalent called Aan. ‘‘ The Ritual,’’ he says (Pp. 905), ““preserves the sayings of the Egyptian Jesus who was Iu the Su, or Sa of Atum-Rei |? meaning] and Iusaas [she was a goddess!] at Ou, and who was otherwise known as the Lord in different Egyptian religions. . . This is the original Evangelium Veritas |sic: Mr. Massey’s Latin was usually unin- flected: cf. jus prima noctis]: the Gospel ac- cording to Mati=Matthew; to Aan=John; or Tum= Thomas,’’ and so forth. On p. 41 Mr. Massey says, “In that fi.e. the Egyptian language] we find the word Ba signifies to be, Ba therefore is a form of to be. Also it is the name for the Ram and the Goat, both of whom are types of the Ba-er or Be-ing, both of whom say ‘ Ba.’ The Cow says Moo. Mu (e.g.) means the mother, and the mythical mother was represented as a moo-cow.”’ . NO. 1996, VOL. 77] Mr. Massey does not tell us the fact, which rather upsets his theory, that the Egyptians did not call a cow mu, but ahu. Apart from this, his statement that in Egyptian ba means ‘‘ to be’’ is contrary to fact; in Egyptian ‘“‘to be” is un or iu, and “‘ to become ’’ is kheper; there is no such word as ba meaning “‘ to be.’’ The word for mother was m-t: what the vowel was we do not know, probably au (maut). Mr. Massey goes on to say, ‘““The Ibis was one of the self-namers with its cry of ‘ Aah-Aah,’ consequently Aah-aah is one name of the bird in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and also of the moon which the Ibis represented.” Mr. Massey did not know that, though the word for ‘“‘moon’’ (not for ‘‘ibis,’’ which is tekhen or hib) is written conventionally aah, it was probably pronounced something like ‘‘ioh.’’ Do ibises say ‘“joh-ioh ’?? These are simple misconceptions as to matters of fact, and they give us reason to doubt whether Mr. Massey has any right to speak patronisingly of the work of an anthropologist like Mr. Frazer, as he does on p. 672 :— ““Here we may say in passing, that the Golden Bough contains a learned, large, and serviceable col- lection of data, but the theories of interpretation derived from the writings of Mannhardt are futile. Besides which, mythology is not to be fathomed in or by a follx-tale, and the Golden Bough is but a twig of the great tree of mythology and sign language—a twig without its root. The reception of the work in England served to show how prevalent and profound is the current ignorance of the subject-matter. It was hailed as if it had plumbed the depths instead of merely extending the superficies.’’ The last remark may be rather a point, but we can assure the Gallio, who may say, ‘‘ How these anthropologists love one another,’’ that Mr. Massey was no anthropologist, but a somewhat peculiar kind of mystic, and had no right whatever to criticise Mr. Frazer. (2) Mr. Hewitt has unaccountably omitted China, Mexico, Peru, and Australia from his title. His work is comprehensive: it covers the whole world. And what it is all about it is difficult to discover. ““ History ’’ it is not; there is no history known to science in it. But doubtless there is much known to Mr. Hewitt, and his Indian confidants, alone. The fact that Mr. Hewitt regards avatars of the Buddha *“ about 10,700 B.c.,’’ and from ‘‘ about 6700 to 4500 B.c.,’’ as historical personages (p. 45) is enough to stamp him as a peculiar ‘‘ historian.’’~ His book is an omnium-gatherum of primitive traditions truly, and from them Mr. Hewitt, the believer in the historical character of avatars of Buddha, essays to disinter the early history of the human race by the help of an astronomical key. The astronomy we leave to the astronomers; of the ‘‘ history ’’ the following excerpt may suffice as a specimen :— ““The worship of the left thigh was succeeded by the worship of the right thigh of the independent sun-god, who took his own path sun-wise through the heavens, in whose ritual the right thigh of the sacrifice was given as their perquisite to the Jewish priests of the house of Kohath, the wearers of the 292 NATURE [ JANUARY 30, 1908 inspiring Ephod, and sons of the almond-tree. This age is historically most remarkable as that of the great moral upheaval which gave birth to the wide- spread movement towards individual regeneration, and the attainment of sanctity in mind and deed, which characterised the history of the Buddha, born as the divine physician Osadha-Dharaka, the medicine-child in the age of the Yama Devaloko, the twin-stars Gemini, when the sun entered the Ashvin constellation Gemini in January-February, about 10,700 B.c., and which continued through the next succeeding periods of his Vessentara birth in the Tusita heaven of wealth. . . . This age was, as I show, contemporaneous with that characterised in Persian and Zend history as the introduction of the religion of Zarathrustra , during this period a wide-spread régime of active trade, under the guidance of affiliated managers in touch with the Indian trade-guilds, was extended round the world from India as the centre, to the west of Europe under the Pheenicians, and to America. During this time of universal peace the world was governed by traders and was undisturbed by tribal wars.:. . .”’ (pp. 45, 46). This sort of “history ’’ is worthy of a Mahatma. We have heard it from Indian and ‘ theosophical ”’ lips before, and we do not believe a word of it. This age of universal peace about 10,700 B.c. “‘ under the guidance of affiliated managers in touch with the Indian trade-guilds ’’ is as unknown to scientific his- torians as Mr. Ignatius Donnelly’s story of “ Atlantis.’’ It will be news to them, also, to hear that Zoroaster lived about 10,700 B.c. ! OUR BOOK SHELF. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. Edited byleeeble Bailey. Vol. ii, Crops. Pp. xvi+690. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 215s, net. Tue second volume of Dr. Bailey’s ‘ Cyclopedia ’’ deals with the field crops of North America, and opens with some interesting chapters on the economic side of plant life in general—the control of diseases, the principles of plant breeding and introduction, seeding, and the management and preservation of the crop. Though the plants dealt with in the main section of the book include the staple farm crops of this country, one cannot but be struck with the enormous diversity of the production of the United States. Its agriculture started practically on the basis of our own, with crops characteristic of temperate and humid climates, cotton being the only early addition on a large scale; but as population spread south and west, all the products of the Mediterranean region became included, and latterly the addition of the Sandwich Islands, Cuba, and Porto Rico to its territory has brought tropical and subtropical plants into the United States list. The valuable work done by the plant introduction division of the United States Department of Agriculture finds ample recognition here; the navel orange, Egyptian strains of cotton, with the date palm, the olive, and durum wheat for the arid regions, are striking ex- amples of successful acclimatisation, and elaborate attempts are now being made to introduce tea. The account of any individual crop is perhaps hardly full enough to be of much value to the farmer who is already engaged in that particular industry, and American conditions of climate and labour render much of the information inapplicable to British agri- culture ; but this volume of the ‘‘ Cyclopedia ’? would be of the greatest service to any settler breaking ground in NO. 1996, VOL. 77] a new country, and looking round for profitable crops outside the accepted routine. As in all cyclopedias, many of the illustrations are rather trivial and point- less, but the full-page reproductions from photographs are of real value and often of beauty. Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, 1907-8. Vol. xiii. Edited by William Gamble. Pp. xvi+184. (Lon- don: A. W. Penrose and Co., Ltd., n.d.) Price 5s. net. Tuts annual has now reached its thirteenth volume, and although its predecessors have attained a very high order of excellence as regards text, illustration, and style, the present issue eclipses them all. The volume before us is of perhaps more than usual interest, because a fundamental and important change has been made throughout the whole book. The editor, in his excellent and interesting summary of the year’s work, tells us that on previous occasions the chief difficulty which became apparent in prepar- ing these volumes was to present something con- spicuously new in process work. The difficulty arose through the wonderful standard of excellence which had already been reached in photo-mechanical pro- cesses. Owing to certain criticisms which indicated that the best effects from halt-tones and three-colour blocks could only be obtained on highly-glazed paper, and with brilliant inks, and this did not comply with the canons of good art, an attempt has been made in the present volume to meet these views. The paper- maker has been asked to make a paper which should have a perfect surface without the gloss, and the ink- maker has been requested to prepare inks that would be suitable to the new kind of paper. To give the text illustrations a better chance, screens with 133 instead of 150 lines to the inch have been employed. The result of this combined effort, which is presented in these pages, is distinctly good, and throws great credit on all concerned in the endeavour. As in former years, the volume teems with a great number of excellent illustrations by various processes, and the text contains a wealth of information on allied topics. The frontispiece is a fine heliotype reproduction frony an old copper engraving, and the general appearance of the book leaves nothing to be desired. The book should be found more useful than ever to anyone who wishes to seek the best process for book or catalogue reproduction, no matter whether the illustrations have to deal with the reproductions of oil paintings, photographs, black-and-white drawings, or such subjects as machinery, woodwork, or china. The Education of To-morrow. By John Stewart Remington. Pp. 115. (London: Guilbert Pitman, 1907.) Price 2s. net. “Ir is my honest belief,’? says Mr. Remington towards the end of his book, ‘‘ that at the bottom of almost all British failure in business or in industry is the nightmareish, unpractical nature of British education.’> Though he does not appear to be familiar enough with the progress which has been made during the last ten years in devising and intro- ducing practical methods into our schools, Mr. Remington has much to say that deserves the earnest attention of schoolmasters and educationat authorities generally. ‘‘ The education of to-morrow will be an education for practical men, every branch of which will have to justify itself by ultimate useful- ness.’’ He combats successfully the common criticism that this would be to make education merely utili- tarian and to ignore the need for culture. To foster in public schoolboys the belief that ‘* the best people ’” cannot go in for trade, he describes as ‘‘ suicidal.’” Altogether the little book provides much material for NATURE JanuaRY 30, 1908] ' 293 thought, and it may be commended to all who desire The long pendulum presents the greatest practical the welfare of their country. We hope, however, the education of the future will teach that it is unpardon- able for a book of this kind to be published without an index. Scouting for Boys. A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship. By Lieut.-General R. S. S. Baden-Powell, C.B. Parts i. and ii. (London: Horace Cox, 1908.) Price of each part, 4d. net. In an earlier volume, ‘‘ Aids to Scouting,’’ Lieut.- General Baden-Powell has shown that the charac- teristics of the good scout are those which distinguish the successful man of science. In his appeal to headmasters in 1901, Prof. Armstrong pointed out how full of good advice in the training of children that book is. The present book, which is to be com- pleted in six parts, two of which have now appeared, also may be recommended as likely to result in the development of faculties of observation, regard for accuracy, conscientiousness, and other desirable characters. Photograms of the Year 1907. Text, pp. 48; illus- trations, pp. 112. (London: Dawbarn and Ward, Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. net. BETWEEN the covers of the book we have a collection of reproductions of about 200 different pictures, about one-fourth of which are selections from the exhibi- tions held recently in London, while the remainder serve as examples of the pictorial work of the year, not only by home, but by colonial and foreign workers. The pictures are excellently reproduced, on stout paper, and every care seems to have been taken to ensure their being as true as possible to the originals. In the text Mr. H. Snowden Ward gives us an interesting critique of the ‘‘ Work of the Year,’’ and contributions are included from the pens of various well-known colonial and foreign photographers. Those who wish to make themselves acquainted with the main features of last year’s worlx in pictorial photography will find much to interest them in the present issue. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taleen of anonymous communications.] Stability in Flight. Now that two or three people have succeeded, by skilful manipulation, in travelling on a more or less determinate course in the air, it would be well that inventors should turn their thoughts to securing stability in flight without the demand of constant attention on the part of the aéronaut. In a note written some years ago on this subject, I said :—‘ No flying machine will be satisfactory which does not contain some automatic device for securing stability. The principles which must be embodied in such a governor are in themselves simple, and may be realised in many ways. “The principal axes of the flying machine have to be kept related in a definite way to the direction of the force of gravity and of the accelerations. “To do this, the action of the governor must depend on the position of the axes of the machine in relation to the direction of two pendulums (or their equivalents), one having a very long and the other a very short period. In this connection, ‘long’ and ‘short’ have reference to what may be called the rate of instability.’’ (A twenty- second period for the long, anda tenth of a second for the short pendulum, would be the sort of thing required.) NO. 1996, VOL. 77] difficulties, but they can be met. Until something of this kind is done, flying will remain a feat of personal skill. Probably most people could acquire this skill if they could practise when young, but, in learning to fly, any accident generally puts an end to the power of gaining further experience. A. MALtock. 6 Cresswell Gardens, Kensington, S.W. The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters. May I have space for a communication dealing, not with Mr. Spicer’s letter (p. 247), but with some problems it suggests? An individual develops from the germ-cell under the influence of various stimuli, of which the principal are nutriment, use, and injury. Nutriment supplies the material, but not the stimulus, for all growth. Up to birth, the human being, for example, develops wholly or almost wholly under this stimulus. Subsequently some of his structures continue to develop under it, for instance, his hair, teeth, external ears, and organs of generation, which grow whether or not they be used. But most of his structures now develop mainly, if not solely, under the stimulus of use, for example, his voluntary muscles, limbs, heart, and brain. Thus if the limb of an infant be paralysed it grows comparatively little, and the muscles atrophy. If the individual be injured, as by a cut, the injury supplies the stimulus for the growth (scar) which repairs the damage. Scientific writers are accustomed to divide the characters of a living being into those which are ‘‘ inborn” or “innate ’’ and those which are ‘‘ acquired,’’ and are in the habit of declaring that the former tend to be ‘“‘ in- herited ’’ by offspring, but not the latter. I doubt if any- thing in science has been provocative of more confusion, misunderstanding, and futile controversy than this use of inaccurate terms. All our evidence indicates that the structures of the child are derived, not from the corre- sponding structures of the parent, but wholly from a germ-cell which dwelt as a parasite within the parent. Only in a purely metaphorical sense, then, does the child inherit from the parent. It resembles the parent merely because parent and child are derived from very similar germ-plasms which have been acted on to a very similar extent by very similar stimuli. If we analyse the words of biologists carefully, we find that by an inborn character they imply one which has developed under the stimulus of nutriment, and by an acquirement one which has developed under the stimulus of use or injury. When they speak of the ‘‘ transmission ’’ of an ‘‘ inborn ”’ character, they imply that it has developed in bcth parent and child under the stimulus of nutriment; when they speak, as is still sometimes done, of the trans- mission of an acquirement, they imply that a character which developed in the parent under the stimulus of use or injury has developed in the child under the stimulus of nutriment. Apart from the immediate effects of injury (e.g. loss of tissue), I think it would puzzle anyone to indicate in what respects an ‘‘ inborn ’’ character is more innate and inherited than an acquirement. Obviously these vitally useful powers of growing, of developing in certain fixed directions under the stimulus of use and injury are just as truly inborn and rooted in the germ- plasm, just as truly products of evolution, as the power of growing under the stimulus of nutriment. It follows that the so-called acquirements are ‘‘ innate ’’ and ‘‘ inherited ”’ in precisely the same sense as the so-called inborn characters. It is true that, since no character can be used or injured until it exists, all structures begin to develop under the stimulus of nutriment, and therefore that all acquirements are modifications of innate characters. But early develop- ment is no evidence of innateness, and most acquirements, like most of the growth made under the stimulus of nutriment, are nothing other than extensions. of growth previously made. It is true also that innate characters arise inevitably as the child develops, whereas some acquirements are more or less rare. But this is only because the stimulus of nutriment is inevitably received, 294 whereas the stimulus of a particular use or injury may not be received. If, however, the latter be received, the acquirement arises just as inevitably as the innate character. Thus if the child receives a like injury, it reproduces the scar on its parent’s nose as certainly as the nose itself. If the nose is inborn and inherited, then the scar is inborn and inherited in the same sense. Had the true nature of the distinction between innate and acquired characters been realised, had it been realised that the difference is one of stimuli, not of innateness or inheritability, and that acquirements are just as much products of evolution as innate characters, it is impossible that the controversy as to the alleged ‘‘ transmission ’’ of the former could have endured so long as it did. In effect, it was maintained by Lamarckians that a character (e.g. a scar) which the parent was able to acquire in a certain way (as a reaction to injury) because a long course of evolution “had rendered such acquisition possible to the members of his race is reproduced by the child in a different category of characters, and in a way (as a reaction to nutriment) that no member of his race had ever acquired it before, and with which, therefore, evolu- tion had nothing to do. An actual miracle was supposed to happen, the miraculous nature of which was concealed under a misuse of terms. At the present day the majority of biologists are apt to regard ‘‘ acquirements ’’ as mere accidents, as things inferior to and less worthy consideration than ‘‘ inborn ’’ traits. Very little study has been given to the evolution of the power of making acquirements, especially use- acquirements, and hardly any attempt has been made to ascertain in what proportions the ‘‘ normal ’’ individual of any species is compounded respectively of innate and acquired traits. Lloyd Morgan, Baldwin, and Osborn have certainly dealt with this power under the name of “plasticity.’’ But plasticity is not the same as growth, as development, and the fact that they have regarded acquirements as useful to the species mainly as affording time and opportunity for the evolution of corresponding inborn traits indicates an adherence, even if only a modified adherence, to the prevailing biological view. The evidence seems clear that animals low in the scale of life have little or no power of making use-acquirements, but that this power increases as species are more highly placed until in man the main difference between the infant and the adult is due to the use-acquirements made by the latter during development. The power of making use- acquirements is present only in structures where it is useful, and only to an extent that is useful. Great adaptability is thus conferred on the individual, for he develops only those traits which are useful to him in his particular environment, and is burdened with no others. We have a special name, memory, for the power of making mental use-acquirements. Memory is nothing other than the power or faculty of storing mental experiences, and so adding to the mental growth. It is strictly analogous to the faculty of storing physical experiences, and so adding to the physical growth. Without memory there could be feeling and (instinctive) emotion, but no thought, for the materials of thought would be lacking. Animals low in the scale of life appear to have little or no memory; they are guided more or less entirely by instinct. Man is intelligent and adaptable because he has a memory. He is the most intelligent of animals because he has the largest faculty for storing experiences. Memory, the power of learning, develops under the stimulus of nutri- ment, but intelligence and reason develop under the stimulus of use. They are amongst the contents of memory. We learn to think and reason just as surely as we learn the facts about which we think and reason. Reason, therefore, is an ‘‘ acquirement.’’ Probably no problem in biology is of greater theoretical interest than that of the evolution of the power of making use-acquirements. Certainly no problem is of nearly such practical importance as that of determining the extent to which the individual develops, on the one hand, under the stimulus of nutrition, and, on the other, under the stimulus of use. From the times of Lamarck, Spencer, and Romanes, biologists have very generally assumed that use tends to cause development in all the structures of all animals, but that the amount of this modification is trivial. NO. 1996, VOL. 77] NATURE | JANUARY 30, 1908 As a fact, use causes development in only some structures in some animals, and the major part of the development of the human being is due to it. If, for example, biologists had ascertained and were agreed as to the amount of this development, we should know to what extent races and generations of men differ ‘‘ innately ”’ and to what extent by acquirement, and therefore what effect could be produced by this or that system of mental training. Educationists could then apply this knowledge to the training of the young. At present the basis of bed- rock fact is lacking, and biology is shorn of much of the practical importance which is its right. I venture to write this letter in the hope of directing attention to one, at least, of the great problems of biology which are neglected under present fashions. Experiment itself, for example, loses much of its value unless the worker has clear and comprehensive notions concerning the subject with which he deals. G. Arcupatt REID. The Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered Moth.” Mr. Spicer asks (January 16, p. 247), among other questions, ‘‘ how does the ‘ peppered moth’ contrive to appear in the black country hatched with sooty wings that harmonise with the now smoke-stained bark whereon he must rest? ’’ His point, I conceive, is that the melanic variety is due in some unexplained way to the inheritance of acquired characters. If Mr. Spicer found that an actor whom he had seen perform the part of Hamlet on Tuesday was cast for Macbeth on the Wednesday, he would not necessarily, I suppose, conclude that the actor had added the part of Macbeth to his repertoire during the intervening time. Now there is more than a possibility that the black colora- tion of the variety Doubledayaria may in like manner be a repertoire pattern of the ‘* peppered moth ’”’ evolved in the remote ages of the history of the species. The dark form is not necessarily atavistic in the general acceptation of the term, as it may only have been developed by some stocks of the species in a more or less restricted portion of its range, the stocks in question having reverted when the factor that put a premium on blackness gave place to the original conditions of their habitat. The facts of mimicry prove that the germ plasm of the Lepidoptera can carry more than one distinctive pattern, and the tempera- ture experiments of Standfuss and Merrifield suggest that such latency may extend over long periods of the insect’s history. Mr. Spicer has tacitly assumed that the variety is con- fined to the black country, but this is by no means the case. The dark form is, I believe, taken in the Black Forest in Germany; certainly it occurs in Denmark, and records from our own southern counties are not wanting. It is by no means uncommon in and round London, and has been taken as far out as Brentwood and Bexley, both of which are outside the smoke limit as regards soot- stained bark. In the last-named district, my friend Mr. Newman has taken melanic forms of several other Geo- metriid moths in addition to var. Doubledayaria. There seems to be no doubt as to the increase of melanism among the tree-resting species of Lepidoptera in certain districts of England during the past fifty years, but this increase is apparent outside the actual smoke- stained area, though not perhaps beyond the range of darker bark owing to the destruction of the lichens—a cause that may have operated locally on more than one occasion during the life-history of the species quite irrespective of a sooty civilisation. Apart from lichens, even a change in the species of trees composing a forest might have a marked effect on the cryptic coloration of the bark-resting species of moths in the locality. Birch would favour a pale coloration; oak, cherry, and especially the thorns, a darker one; beech, with its dense shade and wide range of bark coloration, a darker or lighter pattern, according to the dampness of the situation and whether the particular species emerged before or after its full leafage was attained. The time during which the dark form could have been evolved from the normal coloration of the species by the action, direct or otherwise, of smoke is less than a ee JANUARY 30, 1908] NATURE 295 century, say from fifty to seventy-five generations—pre- sumably a quite inadequate period for the evolution and fixing of the form by the selection of small chance varia- tions. Certainly, if the analogy of language in the human race is permissible, the number of generations is far short of what would be required to impress any character on the heredity of a species by the inheritance of acquired characters, even if we could find any reasonable connec- tion between soot-stained bark and darkened wings for the purposes of the theory. But gradual adaptation during the present epoch does not fit the facts for another reason. The darkening, if gradual, would have been noticed by entomologists, as is the case with Aplecta nebulosa in Delamere Forest and Hybernia leucophaearia in Epping Forest. The species would be a beautiful example of a mutation if it were not for the fact that intermediates, though rare, have a puzzling habit of turning up; and, what is more serious, a careful examination of the melanic forms reveals the fact that on the upper margin of the hind wings, where they are covered by the fore wings when the moth assumes its normal resting position, there is an area of the original pale coloration. As in the reverse case of the exposed tip of the underside of the fore wings of many butterflies being coloured quite differently from the rest of the wing area, in order that it may match the cryptic pattern on the under- side of the hind wings, the retention of the pale area in var. Doubledayaria can only be accounted for by the sup- position that the variability is the work of natural selection. If the above reasoning be correct, the black variety must either be regarded as the recurrence of a pattern slowly evolved in some previous epoch, or we must consider it as an example of the working of Weismann’s germinal selection. The needs of cryptic adjustment to environ- ment having put a premium upon darker, but not neces- sarily black forms, the determinants of the darkened characters tend by the operation of selection within the germ to increase progressively to a point where they are cut off by the operation of natural selection upon the individual. As a consequence, a few rare examples will always be thrown having such a progressive character in excess, and should any rare and sudden chance such as is afforded to melanism by our smoky civilisation occur, an enormous premium is placed upon the survival of their offspring. A. Bacort. 154 Lower Clapton Road, London, N.E. Inductance in Parallel Wires. A PROBLEM of some considerable importance to the prac- tical engineer or physicist is that of calculating the effective self-induction of a circuit consisting of two parallel wires, the one being the return of the other. When the wires are not very close together, and their current’ is either steady or only very slowly alternating, satisfactory results are known to be given by the formula 1b, (a) 7 =2 log gt leat Ma)s where L is the self-induction of a length I, c the distance between the wires, which have radii a, b, and u,, mw, the permeabilities of their materials. But if the current oscillates rapidly, this formula fails to give even approxi- mately correct results. Now in many practical problems, such, for example, as the measurement of small induct- ances not greater than 1000 microhenries, it is necessary to employ long leads to keep them at some considerable distance from bridge and other circuits. A knowledge of the self-induction of such leads is very desirable. Some results which I have recently obtained are capable of find- ing this quantity in most useful cases, and it may prove of use to give a short statement of them, pending more detailed publication. The self-induction has a simple expression only if the two wires be equal in radius. In this case it takes the form Seiiop 4H bee ber! x — bei « bei'x Z ie Ee (ber’ x)? +(bei’ 2)? NO. 1996, VOL. 77] where berx, beix are the functions introduced by Lord Kelvin, and subsequently tabulated (vide Presidential Address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1889). Ue be the frequency of alternation per second, oa the specific resistance of a wire, mw its permeability, then ¥ Tun pana, fT, IN, iG: This formula, passing naturally into the former when the frequency is small, becomes less accurate as © decreases and as the frequency or radius of a wire increases. So far as the first cause is concerned, it is subject to an error of not more than 1 per cent. when c=10a, and 4 per cent. if c=5a. If c=3a, which is the limiting closeness for most practical purposes, the error is about ro per cent., which is not usually too great. The other causes of error may be considered together. 202 . ya The per cent. error they produce is of order 100.799 where V=3-10". Practically, a is mever more than about 2 millimetres, and thus, with a frequency of a hundred million per second, the error is not more than one-tenth per cent. The range of application of the formula is therefore extremely wide. A formula equally accurate may be given when the wires are unequal, but it is somewhat cumbrous. J. W. NicHo.tson. Trinity College, Cambridge, January 21. Stock Frost or Ground Ice. DurinG the recent frosty weather the subject of what is locally called ** stock frost’? has been much to the front in this neighbourhood. This phenomenon is known to the scientific world, I believe, as ‘*‘ ground ice,’? and the circumstances in which it appears and disappears present to the ordinary observer a very great many puzzling features. I should be exceedingly glad if some of your readers would kindly give me, through the columns of NaTuRE, their opinion on several points which puzzle and interest me and others in connection with ‘‘ stock ’’ or ground ice. (1) I wish to know, first of all, what are the essential conditions for the formation of ground ice on the bed of a river? (2) Is it essential, or does it favour the formation of “ground ’’ ice, that there should be no surface ice? We notice that when a very cold and very strong north-east wind is blowing, violently agitating the surface water, there is no surface ice, but a formation of ground ice at the bottom of the river. (3) What are the circumstances to which is due the presence of ice-cold water at the bottom of a river, cold enough to be precipitated into ice? This ice-cold water cannot reach the bottom of the river by gravitation, because its density is inferior to that of water at a higher level. To what, then, is due this cold temperature on the river bed? (4) Can the bulk of water in the river bed be a conductor of cold from the surface to the bottom of the river in any other way than that of the mechanical action of running water? I assume that when ground ice appears in a river the whole of the water above it is of an ice- cold temperature, but it has not formed into ice because of the lack of the ice-precipitating conditions which exist on the bed of the river. (5) Do the conditions necessary for the formation of ground ice operate more favourably in ice-cold still water or in that which is agitated, say, by passing through a mill? My own observation is that ground ice appears nearer to a mill on its upper side than on its lower side, and I want to know the reason of this. There is quite a long list of questions which might be asked in connection with the formation of ground ice, but I fear that I have already trespassed too much upon your space. Joun J. Hampson. Costessey Vicarage, near Norwich, January 20. 296 NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 THE PRODUCTION AND MANIPULATION OF INDIA-RUBBER.* jes this work the author gives a description of the various stages through which india-rubber passes from the time when it oozes out of the tree until it leaves the factory, a finished article, fashioned and fit for the service of man. The book is expressly designed for the general reader. It does not, except incidentally, deal with the chemistry of india-rubber, nor with the minute details of manufacture; the volume is neither a laboratory guide nor a factory handbook. There are, however, many people in- terested in india-rubber who are neither chemists nor manufacturers, and the author thinks that a volume conceived on broad general lines to expound the natural and commercial history of rubber cannot be deemed a superfluity. Similarly it may, perhaps, not be amiss to give here a short outline of the matter for the benefit of those readers of Nature who, like- wise, are neither chemists nor manufacturers. Many species of plants are now known to yield marketable rubber. They range from the lofty Hevea braziliensis of the Amazon swamps to the Landolphia Smoking Para rubber with palm nuts by the method which has recently superseded the paddle to a great extent. creepers of West Africa and the Clitandra shrubs, a foot or two high, the rhizomes of which yield the “ root- rubber ’’ of the Congo. The chief genera are Hevea, Manihot, and Micranda (Euphorbiacez); Castilloa and Ficus (Artocarpaceze); Hancornia, Funtumia, and Landolphia (Apocynacez); and Callotropis (Ascle- piadez). The bark of the trees yields a milky latex, which is obtained generally by ‘‘ tapping,’’ though sometimes by the wasteful process of felling the tree. In various ways the latex can be caused to “coagulate, much as ordinary milk is made to ‘‘ curdle ’’; and the separated coagulum, after undergoing a process of “curing,’’ is the ‘‘ raw ”’ rubber of commerce. This raw rubber, which comes here in various forms— loaves, biscuits, balls, cups, sheets, lumps, and slabs contains water, sand, woody fibre, and other im- purities, ranging in quantity from 15 to 50 per cent., hich are removed by washing and rolling; and there 1 India-Rubber and its Manufacture; with Chapters on Gutta-Percha and. Balata By Hubert L. Terry,. Pp.ix+294. (London; A. Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. net. NO. 1996, VOL 77] From ‘“ India-Rubber and its Manufacture.’ are also present resinous bodies, relatively small im amount, but important in their effect upon the quality of the rubber, that are not eliminated by washing. The cleaned rubber is ‘‘ compounded ’’ where neces- sary (i.e. having regard to the purpose it is destined to serve) by kneading it with various mineral in- gredients, such as antimony sulphide, litharge, and barium sulphate, and is eventually vul- canised by treatment with sulphur before it emerges in its final form as’ motor-tyre, cable, or other article. Mr. Terry writes on these subjects with the autho- rity of personal knowledge, though perhaps without the lightness of touch desirable in a work of this character. Probably the ‘second and fifth chapters of the book will be found'of the most general interest. They treat respectively of ‘‘ the production of raw rubber ”’ and of ‘‘india-rubber plantations,’’ giving as fully as the scope of the work allows a sketch of the present aspect of these matters. Among points mentioned as calling for special atten- tion, it is urged that more care should be given to the ‘‘ tapping ’’ operations, so that other juices iv the trees shall not be allowed to mix with the rubber latex. Further, the exudations of other trees are sometimes mixed with the rubber latex for the purpose of increasing the bulk. The author mildly stigmatises this as an ‘injudicious *’ practice; it is surely a fraud. Another important point to which the atten- tion of producers is directed is the desir- ability of removing or sterilising the fer- mentable albuminous substances “present in the latex. They give rise to evil odours and become a nuisance, even if they do not in- juriously affect the quality of the rubber itself—a point which is perhaps debatable. As regards plantation rubber, an estimate of the area under cultivation about two years ago gave a total of some 150,000 acres, and this, no doubt, has now considerably in- creased. The chief regions concerned are Ceylon (40,000 acres), the Malay Peninsula (38,000), Africa (33,000), Mexico (10,000), and India (S000). Young plantations in a more or less experimental stage, covering in the aggregate some 20,000 acres, are also found in Borneo, Java, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Central America, and the West Indies. As to the quality of the plantation rubber, recent experiments seem to indicate that, judged by vulcanisation tests on a small scale, some plantation rubber at least is not inferior to the best ‘* hard cure ’’ Para. The author, however, remarks that up to the present there is a unanimous opinion amongst experts that plan- tation rubber is deficient in ‘* strength ’’ compared with the Brazilian forest product. Nevertheless, it commands a higher price, owing to its greater free- dom from waste. ““Never before,’’ say some recent writers, ‘‘ have brokers or manufacturers had presented to them a raw rubber of the purity of the best plantation rubbers.’ For this very reason, ‘they urge, it may well be that the present rough’ practical tests applied to the raw rubber are insufficient for proper valuation. At present the question of the relative merits is an open. one; we shall probably know much more about it during the next year or two, when larger quantities of the plantation product are expected to come inte the market. ©. SIMMONDS. iron oxide, January 30, 1908] NATLTORE SCENERY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND. EW countries enjoy so many natural advantages of scenery and climate as New Zealand, and none of similar extent can compete with this favoured land in the variety and interest of its indigenous fauna and flora. ‘The scenery of the Southern Alps, with their snow-fields and glaciers, rivals that of Switzerland, and it may be doubted if the fjords of Norway can be compared in romantic’ beauty with the west coast sounds. The weird volcanic district of the North Island, with its hot lakes and geysers and the still smouldering fires of Tongariro and Ruapehu, stands in startling contrast to the peaceful forest-girt lakes of the south, with the snow-clad mountain peaks reflected in their clear waters. ‘The luxuriance of the subtropical vegetation in the far north, with its kauri forest, tree ferns, and nikau palms, is only eclipsed by the still more luxuriant mixed forest of the wet west coast, with its gigantic evergreen eeches, conifers, and crimson-flowered ratas. The peculiar alpine and subalpine floras, again, with their beautiful Celmisias, their mag- nificent species of Ranunculus, their Ourisias, and, most interest- ing of all, the so-called ‘‘ vege- table sheep’’ of the genera Raoulia and Haastia, are probably unsurpassed in botanical interest in any part of the world. By far the greater number, at any rate of the flowering plants, are endemic, and even the out- lying islands have many species absolutely peculiar to them. Some of the more striking plants, such as the cabbage tree (Cordyline, known to English horticulturists as Draczena), the flax bush (Phor- mium, shown in the foreground of our illustration), Olearia haastii (one of the many beautiful species of this genus found in New Zea- land), and some of the shrubby Veronicas, have already found their way into English gardens; but no one who has not been in the country can form any idea of the wealth and beauty of its native flora. Associated with this striking vegetation is a no less unique and interesting indigenous fauna, in which the ancient tuatara and the numerous flightless birds of divers families—kiwis, kakapos, wekas, and Notornis—form the most conspicuous features, to say nothing of hosts of remarkable invertebrates, such as Peripatus, land planarians and nemertines. It was inevitable that the process of settlement of | the country by Europeans, with the consequent clearing of the forests and the introduction of carniv- ecrous animals—dogs, cats, rats, weasels, and so. on— should have a disastrous effect both upon the scenery and upon the plants and animals. Already much of the forest has been destroyed, and many of the unique native birds are almost extinct, especially those which have lost the power of flight, while the tuatara is no longer found on the mainland, having, it is said, been exterminated there by the pigs introduced by Captain 1 (1) ‘* Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7.” by the New Zealand Government, 1907 ) (2) ** Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island.” (Published by the New Zealand Government, 1907.) NO 1996, VOL. 77] (Published By L. Cockayne. Along the Route of the Cook, though still surviving on some of the small islands. In these circumstances any attempt to arrest the progress of destruction must be heartily welcomed, and the New Zealand Government is to be congratu- lated upon the vigorous. efforts which it is making in this direction. The report on scenery preservation recently issued by the Department of Lands is a most interesting document, with a wealth of beautiful photographic illustrations, one of the most striking of which we reproduce. We learn from this publica- tion that already nearly three million acres have been set aside as national parks, and since the Land Act of 1892 came into force ‘‘ the protection and preserva- tion of the beautiful natural scenery with which New Zealand is so richly endowed has been steadily kept in view, and when any portion of Crown lands has been opened for settlement, areas of specially attrac- tive forest, or land surrounding waterfalls, caves, or thermal springs, have been excluded from sale and set apart for all time by permanent reservation.”? In 1903 a special Scenery Preservation Act was passed, dealing with the acquisition and reservation of all Nort Islaid Main Trunk Raiway : Ruapehu Mountains, from Raurimu. (Photo. C. Spercer.) suitable lands, whether Crown, freehold, or native. A further Act provided for the formation of ** The Scenery Preservation Board,’’ which now acts as an advisory board to the Government, and reports on all cases of suggested reservations. That this board is no mere shadow but a really efficient instrument for the pur- pose in view is proved by the amounts which have been paid by way of compensation for land acquired during the three years of its existence. In 1904-5 the amount was only 2161. 4s. 10d., but in 1906-7 it had already risen to.78551. 19s. rod. ! No less important is the work which the Goyern- ment has long had in hand in protecting the native animals and providing sanctuaries where they may remain unmolested, either by man or by the noxious animals which man has introduced. For this admir- able purpose some of the small islands off the coast have been selected, such as Little Barrier Island in the north, Resolution Island in the south-west, and Kapiti Island in Ceok Straits. These islands have been well chosen so as to give as great a range as 298 possible in climatic conditions, nor has the purely scientific aspect of the question been neglected, for simultaneously with the document to which we have already referred, the New Zealand Government has just issued a detailed ‘* Report on a Botanical Survey of Kapiti Island,’’ by Dr, L. Cockayne, a botanist who is already widely known for his researches on the New Zealand flora. This exhaustive and pains- taking piece of work deals with the physical geography and climate of the island, and with the introduced plants and animals, as well as with the indigenous flora. The latter is treated under the headings of the various plant-formations—classified as forest, shrub, coastal, meadow, and rock-forma- tions—and much attention is devoted to ecological problems. The suitability of the island as a plant and animal sanctuary is discussed, and lists are given of the native and introduced plants. This report, again, is illustrated by numerous excellent photographs taken by the author. The interesting monograph which we have thus briefly summarised is a good example of the activity and enthusiasm with which the representatives of natural science in New Zealand are carrying on the good work initiated by such pioneers as von Haast, Hutton, Hector, Kirk, Buller, and Parker, to mention only some among those who have already passed away from the scene of their labours. ARTHUR DENDy. LIBUT-COL, Re haf. HELE RY, CMe Gi ERS. [EUT-COL: Ree ee) ses IG Revere hose death we announced on January 16, was for many years the director of the Williamstown and Melbourne Observatories. To review his career is to recall the history of astronomy in Aus- tralia, so intimately was he connected with its progress. When he took up work as Govern- ment Astronomer in a rising colony, the instruments at his disposal were small, and the funds avail- able for promoting astronomical research neces- sarily limited. The extension witnessed in the last forty years is due in no small measure to his initiative, and not the least of his services was to induce the colony to recognise the claims of science and to make more liberal provision for its needs. By his efforts arose the new observatory at Mel- bourne, and by his activity it became the centre for the prosecution of much useful work. There, too, at his instigation was mounted the four-foot reflector, at the time of its erection the most powerful instru- ment in the southern hemisphere. This instrument was much used for the examination of Herschel’s nebulz, but in a new society, intent upon material progress, such a telescope was perhaps of even greater use by the interest it aroused in science generally. It served as a permanent reminder of the progress of science, and of the necessity of meeting its demands. For as the colonies enlarged, the claims of science required increasing support. In climatology, Col. Ellery’s powers of organisation were invaluable. Not only did he collect the neces- sary information which indicated the more valuable localities for settlement, but gradually issued isobaric charts and storm warnings, at first applicable to the coast, but afterwards, as other colonies joined in an uniform scheme, published daily weather charts ex- tending over the whole continent. Terrestrial mag- netism was another subject he pursued with great eagerness, and geodesy, including pendulum experi- ments and longitude determinations, also claimed the attention of the staff. ‘In a word, the observatory was the centre of enterprise and activity, encouraging the scientific spirit in many directions. NO. 1996, VoL 77] NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 Forty years ago, the condition of meridianal astronomy in the southern hemisphere was in a backward condition, and naturally much attention had to be paid to the determination of star places. ‘wo standard star catalogues were issued from the Melbourne Observatory under Col. Ellery’s direction, and, in addition to this special work, zone observa- tions on a large scale were carried out. Taking part in the work of the International Star Chart has increased the meridian measures very considerably, since the observatory has loyally assisted others in providing the positions of guiding stars, where required, and for the final reduction of the measures on the photographic plates. Both in 1874 and 1882, Australia furnished a number of stations for the observation of the transit of Venus, and particularly on the former occasion the late director was instru- niental in providing suitable equipment, and assisted the general programme very materially. Col. Ellery retired from the office of director in 1895. Some portion of his leisure he devoted to the preparation of a history of the beginnings and growth of astronomy in Australia, and in various ways he was prominent in promoting scientific interests. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1873, was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and of many colonial societies for the promotion of scientific aims. NOTES. In the Henry Sidgwick memorial lecture at Newnham College, Cambridge, on January 25, Mr. Balfour spoke on decadence, and remarked that progress is with the West and with the communities of the European type. “ If our energy of development,’’ he is reported to have said, ““were some day exhausted, who can believe that there remains any external source from which it can be renewed ? Where are the untried races competent to construct out of the ruined fragments of our civilisation a new and better habitation for the spirit of man?’’ He answered his own questions with the assertion that such nations do not exist. But Japan has been steadily assimilating what is most important in European civilisation for some years now, and her system of education is every year approach- ing in efficiency anything the West has to show. In the contingency of which Mr. Balfour spoke, it is easily con- ceivable that a people with a genius for development, such as Japan has shown, may take naturally the place of superiority and develop a system which is a distinct advance on any civilisation the world has yet known. Men of science will be pleased with Mr. Balfour’s tribute, in the latter part of his lecture, to the achievements effected by science and to the extent science has assisted human development, but they will at the same time remember that the Government of which Mr. Balfour was the leader assisted scientific work no more than other Governments. Statesmen are eloquent in praising scientific work and methods, but few of them have sufficient courage of their expressed convictions to make adequate provision for the extension of natural knowledge which is the life-blood of the modern State. WE regret to see the announcement of the death of Sir Thomas M’Call Anderson, regius professor of medicine in the University of Glasgow since 1900. Mr. Morris K. Jesup, who died last week, bequeathed 200,000l. to the American Museum of Natural History for its collections. Mr. Jesup was’ president of the museum for twenty-five years; his name is familiar to anthro- pologists, and naturalists: generally, as that of one who ‘ January 30, 1908] NATURE 299 gave generous assistance to various expeditions and other scientific enterprises. Lorp Avepury has been elected president of the Royal Microscopical Society, and will deliver an address on seeds, with especial reference to British plants, at the March meeting of the society. We learn from the British Medical Journal that the Secretary of State for the Colonies has appointed Dr. W. J. Simpson, professor of hygiene at King’s College, London, to proceed to the Gold Coast to assist in com- bating the present outbreak of bubonic plague at Accra. Prof. Simpson left for the Gold Coast on January 18. To the Times of January 22 Miss L. L. Veley con- tributes a letter on the subject of luminous barn-owls, in which it is suggested that the emanation is due to the feathers of the birds having come in contact with luminiferous decaying wood in their roosting-places. This suggestion, which has doubtless occurred to many naturalists, affords a probable and satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon. Tue Philosophical Society of Washington held its 643rd meeting at the Hubbard Memorial Hall, in the City of Washington, on January 18, the entire evening being devoted to commemorative addresses of the life and work of Lord Kelvin. Prof. A. G. Webster spoke of Kelvin’s life and work, Prof. R. S. Woodward confined his address to Kelvin’s contributions to geophysics, and Prof. Simon Newcomb devoted his remarks to -Kelvin’s character and personality, to which topic the British Ambassador also contributed some reminiscences. The president of the society, Dr. L. A. Bauer, presided. Dr. G. A. Dorsey, curator of anthropology in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, has recently visited Cambridge before embarking on a protracted tour through the East Indian Archipelago, Australia, and Melanesia. After visiting the Philippines, where three of his students are engaged in ethnological researches, he will return to Chicago by way of China, Japan, and the Hawaiian Islands. He expects to be away from Chicago for about one year. This is merely a tour of inspection, but it may not unreasonably be expected that it will lead to future investigations by others in certain localities. In the Rev. Dr. Lorimer Fison, who died near Mel- bourne on December 29, 1907, Australian anthropology has lost one of its earliest scientific workers. He was born in England on November 9, 1832, and went up to Caius College, Cambridge, but never took a degree; after residing some time in Australia he became a Wesleyan missionary and went to Fiji, and it was from him that Lewis Morgan drew important information for his ** Systems of Consanguinity.”” Returning to Australia, Dr. Fison met Dr. A. W. Howitt, and a joint work on Australian marriage customs, &c., ‘‘ Kamibaroi and Kurnai,’”’ appeared in 1880. Whatever his views at that date, Dr. Fison subsequently dissented from Morgan’s interpretation of the facts in favour of primitive pro- miscuity, for in an address to the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science he took the view that the group marriage did not mean more than marital right or qualification by birth. Dr. Fison, unfortunately, found little time for writing; papers by him on Fijian customs and kinship systems appeared in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute; he dealt with Fijian land tenure in the Expository Times of 1905, and a year earlier he published in ‘‘ Tales of Old Fiji’? a small part of his NO. 1996, VOL. 77 | great store of knowledge of that island. Some years ago he received a Civil List pension, but, to the loss of anthropology, broken health forbade him to do much literary work. In the Engineer and in Engineering of January 24 a large amount of space is devoted to the Board of Trade inquiry into the facts relating to a disastrous explosion of a thermal storage-drum in connection with a Babcock and Wilcox boiler at Greenwich. The explosion took place on December 20, 1906, and the inquiry (one of the longest on record) ended on January 22, 1908, when judgment was given by the commissioners. The finding was that the primary cause of the explosion was a crack which had been formed in the end plate, owing to the bad treatment to which the plate had been subjected while being fitted into the drum. Any fears that existed as to the peculiar liability of thermal storage-drums to fail were removed. Many points of scientific interest occurred during the inquiry, notably in the reports by Mr. W. Rosenhain and Dr. T. E. Stanton, of the National Physical Laboratory, showing from the results of chemical, microscopical, and mechanical tests that the plate in question was of good normal commercial quality, but that it had received severe treatment in the hands of the boiler-makers. Last spring Dr. J. Elberts, the German geologist, con- ducted an expedition to investigate further the fossiliferous deposits of the Bengawan River, near Trinil, in Java, rendered famous by the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus by Dr. Eugene Dubois in 1891-2. Although extensive collections were made and fresh forms discovered, no trace of Pithecanthropus was found; but, according to the correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette (January 17), Dr. Elberts found roughly fashioned implements of bone, “a fireplace, and the remains of extinct animals, from which he became convinced that the ape-man must have existed at a remoter period.’’ Unfortunately, this state- ment is so vague that nothing can be accepted until more information comes to hand. The implication is that some beings made fires and cooked animals, now extinct, before the gravel beds were deposited which contain Pithecan- thropus and other extinct forms. In the province of Madium a fireplace was discovered 20 feet below the surface containing stone arrow-heads and fragments of pottery, broken and partly burned bones, and charred teeth of a fossil buffalo, together with the bones of deer, pigs, and a fossil elephant (Stegodon) ; some of these bones had been split open in order to extract the marrow. Dr. Elberts computes that these people lived 20,000 years ago, but, as the correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette does not give the data upon which this estimation is based, this date must await the publication of all the facts. It is evident that we may congratulate our German colleagues on having discovered remains of early inhabitants of Java who were apparently in their ‘* Neolithic ’’ stage of culture. It is to be hoped that when the finds are published in full it will be possible to learn what manner of men they were. We understand that the expedition is now in south Sumatra, where fossil plants will also be collected, in the hope of determining whether Sumatra had an Ice age. TuHE correspondence on the winding of rivers in plains which followed the letter from Sir Oliver Lodge published in these columns on November 7 last (vol. Ixxvii., p. 24), and to which Mr. J. Lomas contributed on December 5 (vol. Ixxvii., p. 102), has led Dr. D. T. Smith, of Louis- ville, Ky., to remind us that the subject is discussed in a book of his entitled ‘‘ Philosophy of Memory,’’ which was | reviewed in Nature of May 18, 1899 (vol. Ix., p. 51). 300 NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 In his book a chapter on the laws of river flow is in- | noteworthy for the large number of skins of the proboscis- cluded, in which he expresses the opinions supported by Mr. Lomas. Dr. Smith’s views were arrived at after many years of close observation of streams, ranging from rivulets to the Mississippi, on the banks of which he resides. As was said in the review of his book, his results merit careful consideration as an important contribution to the inquiry. Mr. R. I. Lyncn writes commenting on the review of ““The Garden Beautiful ’’ which was published (p. 217) in our issue of January 9. He takes exception to the remark :—‘‘ We cannot agree with the suggestion on p. 76 that trees growing in isolated positions on lawns have their roots robbed by the grasses! in anything like the measure that obtains when the trees are growing together in a plantation.’’ Mr. Lynch reminds us of the experiments carried out at the Woburn Experimental Fruit Farm, and of the serious results that were found to follow when grass grows over the roots of a young tree. These experiments were personally inspected by our reviewer, who wrote with full knowledge of the results obtained. Mr. Lynch appears rather to have misunderstood the meaning of the sentence in the review. It was not in- tended to deny the deterring influence of the sward; the statement is that a tree growing on a lawn suffers less robbery at the roots from grasses than is suffered by a tree growing in a plantation, and therefore exposed to the competition caused by the encroachment of roots from adjacent trees, which in course of time must interlace. The question raised is, in fact, one of degree, and degree only. of In the course of an article on the “ Atlantic flora Scandinavia in Naturen for January, Mr. E. Jorgensen gives a figure, taken from a living specimen of the Lofoten variety of the fjord-horse, which affords a much _ better idea of*this pony than does the one from a badly mounted skin in the Bergen Museum published last year by Dr. Stejneger in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. To the January number of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology Dr. D. Forsyth contributes the first part of an important paper on the anatomy of the thyroid and parathyroid glands in mammals and birds, embodying the results of the examination of these organs in a large number of species. Since the conclusions are reserved for the continuation, a fuller notice of the paper may likewise be deferred. In the same issue Dr. W. L. H. Duckworth continues his account of the brain of native Australians, while Dr. Ramsay publishes additional observations on the dentition of the same race. BuLLeTIN No. 56 of the University of Arizona Experi- ment Station is devoted to scale-insects infesting palms and the best means of exterminating these pests. One of the most troublesome, which much resembles the jujube- scale (Parlatoria zizyphus) commonly infesting oranges from the Mediterranean countries, and appears to belong to the same genus, was introduced on palms from North Africa. Unfortunately, it has been described independently by three different naturalists, in Italy, America, and New Zealand, under as many distinct names, of which Parla- toria blanchardi is entitled to stand. To Dr. W. L. Abbott, who has previously done such good service to America by collecting in the Malay countries, the U.S. National Museum is indebted for a series of specimens of mammals from western Borneo, a notice of which is given by: Mr. M.'’W. Lyon in No. 1577 of the Proceedings’ of that institution. The collection is NO. 1996, VOI. 77 monkey. The animal referred to under the disguise of Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus appears to be the orang-utan. Other recent issues of the same publication include an account of the North American — parasitic crustaceans of the family Caligida (No. 1573), by Mr. C. B. Wilson, and a list of the land-shells of the family Pyramidellidee, with descriptions of new species, from the Oregon district (No. 1574), by Messrs. Dall and Bartsch. A NOTABLE contribution to the botany of Texas is pub- lished in the eighteenth annual report of the Missouri Botanical Garden under the title of ‘‘ Plantae Lind- heimerianz, Part iii.’’ Mr. F. Lindheimer was one of the early German pioneers in Texas, and from 1833 to 1851 made botanical collections that were to be named by Dr. G. Engelmann, of St. Louis, and Dr. Gray, and distributed among subscribers. Four fascicles were col- lected and distributed, and the first two parts of ““Plantee Lindheimerianz ’’ determinations were given for in the orders as far as. Composite (Bentham-Hooker’s sequence). The present part, prepared by Mr. J. W. Blankinship, contains a biography, the determinations for the remainders of the early fascicles, and for another series that may be regarded as fascicle y. Also the author has compiled a revised index of names for all the collections. FERTILISATION in the genus Cypripedium forms the sub- ject of a paper by Miss L. Pace published in the Botanical Gazette (November, 1907). The species spectabile and parviflora were examined, and the development of the embryo sac furnished results of peculiar interest. The original mother cell divides to form two daughter cells, one micropylar, the other chalazal. The nucleus of the micropylar cell rarely divides, but the nucleus of the chalazal cells divides, giving rise to two nuclei, so that three megaspore nuclei are usually produced. The chalazal cell becomes the embryo sac, in which two mega- spore nuclei are used; another nuclear division completes development in the embryo sac, that contains then one egg cell, two synergids, and a polar nucleus. Fertilisa- tion of the ovum is normal, and so-called double fertilisa- tion is effected by the fusion of one synergid, the polar nucleus, and a male nucleus. Boranists, more especially those who favour the view that the derivation of the angiosperms should be traced through the gymnosperms, will be much interested in the theory with regard to the embryo sac advanced by Dr. O. Porsch in a small brochure published at Jena by Mr. Gustav Fischer. The original and essential points in the argument lie in the interpretation of the antipodal cells as an archegonial complex, and in homologising the polar nuclei with ventral canal cells. This postulates an arche- gonium consisting of an ovum and two neck cells, and a vestigial ventral canal cell nucleus at each end of the embryo sac. Dr. Porsch bases his arguments on a sequence starting from the condition of numerous archegonia found in Sequoia through types of the Cupressacee and Ephedra, where the archegonia are reduced in number and complexity, to a hypothetical case of two archegonia, at first juxtaposed, but subsequently located at the poles of the embryo sac. In the latest addition (No. 15) to the series of Bulletins issued by the University of Illinois, Mr. L. P. Brecken- ridge discusses the burning of Illinois coal without smoke. The fundamental principles that apply to smokeless furnace construction and working are enumerated, and, by means of units in actual operation, several ways are indicated in which these principles have been satisfactorily applied. copepod . J anvary 30, 1908] NATURE 301 Tue report of the Chief Inspector of Mines for the year 1904-5, issued by the Mysore Geological Department (Madras, 1907), has just been received. It contains the mineral statistics for 1904, and, as regards gold mining, is a record of steady progress. The value of the gold pro- duction in 1904 was 2,323,194l. The total value of gold produced from the commencement of mining operations up to the end of 1904 was 21,011,075/., and the total dividends paid amounted to 9,329,487/. In addition to gold, statistics are given of the production of salt, iron ore, corundum, soapstone, limestone, clays, laterite, granite, and other building stones. IN a review of engineering in the United States last year, reference is made, in the Engineer of January 17, to the spectacular feature of building as an engineering work in the construction of the numerous steel-frame office buildings of enormous height in New York. The highest of these is the tower of the Manhattan Building, 75 feet by 85 feet, 660 feet high to the top of the cupola. This has forty-eight stories. Next to this is the tower of the Singer Building, forty-two stories, with a height of 612 feet. The main portions of these buildings are re- spectively eleven and fourteen stories high. On the other hand, the City Investing Company Building has the main building, twenty-five stories high, with a tower 7o feet square, having thirty-two stories, and rising to a height of 400 feet above the street. In all these cases the towers are used as offices, &c., like the main parts of the build- ing. This requires very elaborate lift equipment, with high speeds. The city now has one building each of forty- eight, forty-two, and thirty-two stories; twenty buildings of twenty to twenty-six stories; fifty of fifteen to twenty stories; and 465 buildings of ten to fifteen stories in height. We have received from Dr. Eredia, of the Italian Central Meteorological Office, an article on the rainfall of the Ligurian Riviera, reprinted from the Rivista Agraria for October, 1907. This paper, like his other useful investi- gations of the meteorology of various Italian provinces, collects into convenient tables the most trustworthy data relating to the object in view, and discusses them in an interesting explanatory téxt, dealing with monthly and seasonal values. The latter clearly show that in all seasons of the year the rainfall along the eastern Riviera is greater than along the western, and that autumn is the wettest and summer the driest period. Next to the autumn season, winter is wettest at Genoa, Spezzia, and San Remo, i.e. near the centre and extremes of the province, but at other places the greatest fall occurs in the spring. The mean yearly values are 52-8 inches at Genoa, 57-7 inches at Spezzia, and 31-9 inches at San Remo; the period dealt with is 1880-1905. by Mr. Conrad Beck in have been reprinted in of the Society of Arts Tue Cantor lectures, delivered November and December last, recent numbers of the Journal (December 27, 1907, to January 17); they deal with the theory of the microscope, a subject of never-failing interest, whether it be considered from the theoretical or the practical standpoint. The first lecture deals with the problem of arranging lenses so as to obtain an enlarged view of an object; although most of the matter is well known, many points are considered in a most interesting and instructive manner, as, for instance, the interpreta- tion of the Gauss surfaces for a thick lens or system of lenses. The second lecture is concerned with the quality of the image formed. The methods of correcting certain classes of lenses for spherical and chromatic aberration NO. 1996, VOL. 77] may be found in most books on geometrical optics, but the microscope objective is so complicated in its structure, and the conditions to be complied with in its design are so far different from those which determine the design of other lenses, that but scanty notice is generally given to this most important and interesting lens combination. Mr. Beck outlines the principles which must guide the designer of such a lens combination. The third lecture is devoted to the consideration of diffraction, so far as this applies to the microscope. The theory due to the late Prof. Abbe is outlined, and Mr. J. W. Gordon’s criticisms of the theory are then explained; an experiment shown by Mr. Beck in his lecture proves conclusively that the Abbe theory is at fault in certain respects. The fourth lecture, which is concerned with the practical use of the microscope, should prove of great value to those who wish to employ that instrument to its greatest advantage. Messrs. E. B. Rosa and L. Cohen examine critically the formule given by different authors for the self- inductance of a circle in the Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards for December, 1907. They consider Wien’s formula the most accurate, Maxwell’s and Rayleigh’s next, Minchin’s, Hicks’s, and Blathy’s untrustworthy, and the simple formula of Kirchhoff, t.e: L=4za(log Sa/r—1-75), in which a is the radius of the circle and ry the radius of its cross-section, as a very close approximation to the correct value. Tue Journal de Physique for December, 1907, contains Prof. Schuster’s address to the Société francaise de Physique on some electrical phenomena of the atmosphere and their relations with solar activity. Prof. Schuster points out that the most important free periods of oscilla- tion of the atmosphere of the earth are, according to the calculations of Lord Rayleigh and M. Margules, about twelve and twenty-three hours, and that in consequence the semi-diurnal motions are more pronounced than the diurnal. Assuming that the conductivity of the upper atmosphere is much greater than that of the lower, he shows that the electric currents produced in the atmo- sphere by its motion across the earth’s magnetic field are capable of explaining the diurnal variations of terrestrial magnetism. The negative charges brought down by rain drops he considers account for the maintenance of the earth’s negative charge. He points out that the evidence with regard to magnetic storms and sun-spots only establishes a general connection, and does not warrant us in attributing a particular storm to a particular spot. Finally, he urges the substitution of short organised attacks on definite problems for the present rather aimless accumulation of observations carried on for such long periods at so many places. A copy of, the prospectus of Dr. J. W-. Spengel’s Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der Zoologie (see NATURE, January 16, p: 246), giving a sketch of the lines upon which that serial is to be conducted, and the names of the editors for special subjects, has been received from. the publisher, Mr. Gustav Fischer, Jena. Goop pictures often serve to direct the attention of children to the beauties of nature and to encourage them to seek out the objects themselves in order to study them at first hand. A series of beautiful slides illustrating wild bird life, all of which have been made from photographs taken from nature, submitted to us for inspection by Messrs. Sanders and Crowhurst, should certainly succeed in attracting to the observation of birds in their natural surroundings those who are fortunate enough to see them. 302 Messrs. MacmiLtan ANnp Co., Ltp., have published a third edition of ‘‘ Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates,”’ which has been adapted from the sixth German edition of Prof. R. Wiedersheim’s work by Prof. W. N, Parker. The present edition has been almost entirely re-written, and with Prof. Wiedersheim’s permission, alterations desirable in the interests of English students have been made. The general plan of the original has been retained, but some portions have been extended and others abridged. The second English edition was reviewed in the issue of Nature of September 1, 1898 (vol. lviii., p. 409), when the characteristics of this widely known student’s manual were described. The price of the new edition is 16s. net. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN FEBRUARY :— Feb. 4. 4h. 11m. Moon in conjunction with 9 and 3° 48'S. 5. 6h, 22m. to1rh. 12m. Transit of Jupiter’s Satellite IV. (Callisto). », 13h. 19m. to 17h. Im. III. (Ganymede). Io. 7h. 50m. Venus and Saturn in conjunction. II. 10h. 28m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). », 12h. 22m. to 13h, 19m, Moon occults ¢ Tauri (Mag. 3). Transit of Jupiter’s Satellite 13. 2h. Mercury at greatest elongation (18° 9’ E.). >, Ith. 45m. to 13h. om. Moon occults 6 Gemfnorum (Mag. 3°6). 14. 7h. 17m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 15. 2h. 7m. Moon in conjunction with Jupiter and Tmel2ieN », Illuminated portion of the disc of Venus =0'797. 27. 12h. 48m. Moon in conjunction with Uranus and Onze Ne PHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS OF ENCKE’S COMET (1908a).—Encke’s comet was photographed at the Heidel- berg Observatory on January 13, 14, 15, 18, and 19, and in No. 4229 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 79, January 21) Prof. Wolf records the positions and magni- tudes derived from the plates. On the first three dates the recorded magnitude was 12-0, on the last two 12-5. The observed positions have been compared with those given in the ephemeris, and corrections to the latter are appended; those for R.A. are fairly constant at +3m., but those for declination vary from —24’.o (December 25, 1907) to +1/-4 (January 109). Saturn, A New RinG SuspectEp.—Observing at an elevation of 1550 metres, at the Revard, Puy-de-Déme, France, under exceptionally favourable conditions on September 5, 1907, M. G. Fournier suspected a faint, transparent, and luminous ring exterior to the principal rings of Saturn. On September 7 the same observer con- firmed the presence of a very pale luminous zone sharply defined at its edges, but neither he nor M. Jarry-Desloges, who communicates the discovery to the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France (p. 36, January), was able to find it on September 11. The latter observer suggests the possibility that the ring is subject to periodical fluctua- tions of brightness, and may, therefore, only become visible at certain intervals; he also suggests that observers situated in high altitudes, such as the Arequipa and Flag- staff stations, may, alone, be able to observe this difficult detail of the Saturnian appendage. A drawing accompany- ing the communication shows the nebulous ring, extend- ing beyond the principal rings, as it appeared at 22h. 25m. on September 7. DETERMINATION OF THE Moon’s Licut wITH A SELENIUM PHOTOMETER.—In a recent note in these columns (p. 258, January 16) reference was made to some results obtained by Messrs. Stebbins and Brown in a determination of the brightness of moonlight with a selenium photometer (Astrophysical Journal, vol. xxvi., p. 326). The result was given as 0-23 candle-power, but, as there seems to be some misconception as to the meaning of this, an explana- tion seems desirable. American observers state quantities NO. 1996, VOL. 77] NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 of this kind in candle-metres, and thus interpreting the above result it means that the light of the full moon illuminates a white surface to the same extent as an illuminating source of 0-23 candle-power, placed at a distance of 1 metre, would illuminate it. Owing to the colour-sensitiveness of the selenium cells being as yet unknown, this result must be accepted as purely preliminary; different cells gave results varying from 0-07 to 0-37, the mean being 0-22 candle-power, and very near to the 0-23 adopted by Miilller (‘‘ Die Photo- metrie der Gestirne,’’ Leipzig, 1897, p. 344) as the mean of several visual observations by different observers. The method of observation adopted by Messrs. Stebbins and Brown was to determine at what distance from the selenium cell the standard candle would produce the same deflection as the light from the moon, and then to reduce this distance to terms of the standard candle-metre, after- wards applying the corrections for atmospheric absorption. The determinations of the variation of moonlight with the moon’s phase gave consistent results for each cell, and forms the most valuable part of the work. The standard candle employed is by Max Kohl, and burns amyl acetate ; the diameter of the round wick is 8 mm., and the height of the flame was regulated to 4o mm. A UseFuL Sun anp PraneT Cuart.—From the firm of Carl. Zeiss we have received a copy of their chart for showing the position of the sun, or of any of the planets, at any epoch during the present year. The chart is con- structed on a principle employed by Mr. R. H. Bow, of Edinburgh, and consists of two sets of curves and a star map. On the one set of curves, which is placed to the right of the star map, the declinations of the various bodies during the twelve months are shown, whilst the second set, placed directly below the star map, shows the right ascensions. To find the position of a planet on any date, the declination of the planet on that date is found on the former set of curves, and from the point thus determined a horizontal line is drawn across the star map. A vertical line is then drawn from the corresponding point on the right-ascension curve, and where these two lines intersect on the star map is the position occupied by the planet. A calendar of oppositions, quadratures, and con- junctions is also shown on the chart. CHICAGO MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. THE fifty-eighth meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of its affiliated scientific societies was held at Chicago from December 30, 1907, to January 4, 1908, under the presidency of Prof. E. L. Nichols, professor of chemistry at Cornell University. The attendance was estimated at about 1400, the accurate registration of the affiliated societies having not beea handed in at the time of writing. The programme was one of unusual interest, and a number of important measures were adopted. The opening meeting of the association was held on the morning of Monday, December 30. Addresses of welcome were made by Dean G. E. Vincent, of the University of Chicago, in the enforced absence of the president, Dr. H. P. Judson, and by Mr. G. E. Adams, vice-chairman of the local committee for the meeting. The retiring president, Dr. W. H. Welch, of Johns Hopkins University, introduced the president of the meeting, Prof. Nichols, who replied to the addresses of welcome. The address of the retiring president, Dr. W. H. Welch, was given on December 30 before a large audience, and consisted of a masterly treatment of the subject of the interdependence of medicine and other sciences of nature (see NATURE, January 23). At the conclusion of the address a reception was given to the members of the association and affiliated societies. The vice-presidential addresses, that is, addresses of presidents of sections, were distributed through the week at afternoon sessions. That before Section A (mathematics and astronomy) was delivered by the retiring vice-presi- dent, Edward Kasner, of Columbia University. Its title was ““Geometry and Mechanics.’’ The address of the retiring vice-president of Section B (physics) was given by Prof. JANuaRY 30, 1908] NATURE 303 W. C. Sabine, of Harvard University, under the title of ““The Origin of the Musical Scale.’’ The address before Section C (chemistry) was given by Mr. Clifford Richard- son, of the New York Testing Laboratories, on ‘‘A Plea for the Broader Education of the Chemical Engineer.’? There was no address before Section D (mechanical science and engineering). The address of the retiring vice-president of Section E (geology) was delivered by Dr. A. C. Lane, State Geologist of Michigan, at the summer meeting of the section held at Lake George. The address of the retiring vice-president of Section F, Dr. E. G. Conklin, of the University of Pennsylvania, was entitled ‘‘ The Mechanism of Heredity.”’ The retiring vice-president of Section G (botany), Dr. D. T. MacDougal, of the Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C., discoursed on ‘‘ Heredity and Environic Forces.”’ The retiring vice-president of Section H (anthropology and psychology), Prof. A. L. Kroeber, of San Francisco, spoke on ‘** The Anthropology of California.’’ The address before Section K (physiology and experimental medicine) was given by retiring vice-president Simon Flexner, of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York, on the subject ‘‘ Recent Advances and Present Tendencies in Pathology.’ An address was given before the newly established Section L (education) by the Hon. Elmer Brown, United States Commissioner of Education, on ‘“ The Future of the Section of Education.” The character of the papers read before the different sections and the affiliated societies was of a very high order. ing of joint sessions and symposiums on subjects of allied interest. The section on mathematics and astronomy, that on mechanical science and engineering, and the Chicago branch of the American Mathematical Society, for example, held an important joint session to consider the teaching of mathematics to engineering students, in which the present status in the United States was discussed by Prof. Edgar J. Townsend, of the University of Illinois, and in other countries by Prof. Alexander Ziwet, of the University of Michigan. Section K held an important symposium on January 1 on the subject of immunity, in which the following papers were presented after introductory remarks by the vice- president of the section, Dr. Ludwig Hektoen, of the University of Chicago :—anaphylaxis and its relation to immunity, by Dr. M. J. Rosenau and Dr. John F. Ander- son, of the United States Public Health and Marine- Hospital Service (paper read by Dr. Anderson); hyper- susceptibility and immunity, by Dr. Victor C. Vaughan, of the University of Michigan; the hemolysins of animal toxins, by Dr. Preston Kyes; artificial immunity to gluco- sides, by Dr. W. W. Ford; the differentiation of homo- logous proteids by serum reactions, by Dr. S. P. Beebe; immunity in spirochztal infections, by Dr. F. D. Novey; immunity in Rocky Mountain spotted fever, by Dr. H. T. Ricketts and Dr. L. Gomez; virulence of pneumococci in relation to phagocytosis, by Dr. E. C. Rosenow; the mechanism of streptococcus immunity, by Dr. G. F. Ruediger; immunity in tuberculosis, by Dr. M. P. Ravenel ; chemical aspects of immunity, by Dr. H. Gideon Wells. The American Society of Naturalists, in the afternoon of January 1, held an important discussion on the topic of cooperation in biological research, in which Prof. F. P. Lillie, of the University of Chicago, Dr. W. Trelease, of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Dr. H. H. Donaldson, of the Wistar Institute, Dr. Simon Flexner, of the Rocke- feller Institute, Prof. W. H. Howell, of Johns Hopkins University, and Prof. J. R. Angell, of the University of Chicago, took part. Under the auspices of Section I an important symposium was held on the subject of federal regulation of public health. This session was held jointly with the National Legislative Conference of the American Medical Associa- tion and other interested organisations. Addresses were given by Dr. W. H. Welch, Hon. George L. Shiras, Dr. Charles A. Reed (president of the National Legislative Council of the American Medical Association), and Dr. F. F. Westbrook, of the University of Minnesota. There was also a lengthy prepared discussion by representatives of the various organisations concerned. NO. 1996. VOL. 77! A prominent feature of the meeting was the hold- | Section G and the Botanical Society of America held a symposium on the species question, in which the taxo- nomic aspect was discussed by Prof. C. E. Bessey and Dr. N. L. Britton, the physiologic aspect by Dr. J. C. Arthur and Dr. D. T. MacDougal, and the ecologic aspect by Prof. F. E. Clements and Prof. H. C. Cowles. The American Chemical Society, as usual, held a very important meeting with a lengthy programme in joint session with section C of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As the result of a letter from the President of the United States, Mr. Roosevelt, to the president of the association, Dr. Nichols, concerning the necessity for active measures to conserve the natural resources of the United States, resolutions were adopted announcing the importance of such an effort, and appointing a standing committee of the association to consider plans and to forward the general movement. Resolutions were also adopted favour- ing an increase in the facilities given by Congress to the United States Bureau of Education. Further resolutions were passed urging the establishment of a research labora- tory in tropical medicine in the Isthmian Canal zone; favouring the efforts to preserve from extinction the great sea animals of the waters adjoining the United States; and urging upon Congress the establishment of an Appalachian Forest Reserve, reiterating a recommendation urged at the last meeting of the association. At the meeting of the general committee on the night of January 2 it was decided that the next regular meet- ing of the association be held in Baltimore during convo- cation week, 1908-9, and that a summer meeting be held in the week beginning June 29 at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. A resolution was also adopted recommend- ing that arrangements be made, if possible, for a meeting in the summer of 1910 in the Hawaiian Islands. Officers for the present year were elected as follows :— president, Prof. T. C. Chamberlin, of the University of Chicago ; vice-presidents, A, no election; B, Prof. K. E. Guthe, State University of Iowa; C, Prof. L. Kahlenburg, University of Wisconsin; D, Prof. G. F. Swain, Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology; E, Prof. Bailey Willis, U.S. Geological Survey; F, Prof. C. J. Herrick, University of Chicago; G, Prof. H. M. Richards, Columbia Uni- versity; H, Prof. R. S. Woodworth, Columbia University ; I, no election; K, Prof. W. H. Howell, Johns Hopkins University; L, Prof. G. Stanley Hall, Clark University ; general secretary, Prof. F. W. McNair, president Michigan School of Mines; secretary of the council, Prof. D. C. Miller, Case School of Applied Science; treasurer, Prof. R. S. Woodward, Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C. (as before); permanent secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (as before). STRESSES IN MASONRY DAMS. HE stresses in masonry dams, to which much attention has recently been devoted in our correspondence columns, formed the subject of three papers read before the Institution of Civil Engineers on January 21. In the first, Sir John W. Ottley, K.C.1.E., and Dr: A. W. Brightmore described some experiments, occupying about fourteen months, made with plasticine models of a dam of typical triangular section under perfect conditions. The height of the model was 30 inches, and the length of the dam 12 inches. From the results of the experiments the following conclusions were drawn :—(1) If a masonry dam be designed on the assumption that the stresses on the base are uniformly varying, and that these stresses are parallel to the resulting force acting on the base, the actual normal and shearing stresses, on both horizontal and vertical planes, would (in the absence of stresses due to such factors as changes in temperature, unequal settlement, &c.) be less than those provided for. There can be no tension on any plane at points near the outer toe. There will be tension on planes other than the horizontal plane near the inner toe, the maximum intensity of such tension being generally equal to the average intensity of shearing stress on the base, and the inclination of its plane of action being about 45°. In the second paper Mr. J. S. Wilson and Mr. W. Gore 304 NATURE [ JANUARY 30, 1908 gave the results of an experimental investigation by means of india-rubber models. The following are some of the conclusions given :—(1) Tensile stresses may exist at the up-stream toe of a dam, notwithstanding the fact that the line of resistance lies well within the middle third. The tension may be reduced by (a) making the up-stream face vertical, or by otherwise increasing the weight of the dam toward that face; this would have the effect of in- creasing the stresses in the dam when the reservoir is empty; (b) by a general increase in the dimensions of the dam; (c) by placing an earth embankment against che down-stream face. (2) The direct stresses at the down- stream toe are compressive in every direction, but reduce to zero m the direction normal to the face. (3) The maximum compressive stresses in a dam above its founda- tions are in a direction approximately parallel with the down-stream face, and generally some distance therefrom. In magnitude they are slightly greater than Br cos? ¢’ where P, is the maximum normal pressure on a horizontal plane as determined by the trapezium law, and @ is the angle between the resultant and the vertical. (4) The shearing stresses are considerable at or near the up-stream toe. They are a maximum a short distance from the down- stream face, in a plane approximately at 45° to the face. The maximum shearing stresses are in magnitude equal to P;. 2 cos? p (5) The stresses in the foundations are of less consequence than in the dam above the base, because of the lateral support and the more extended distribution. (6) The stresses are considerable at the toes of a dam if they form sharp angles with the foundations. These stresses may be reduced by replacing the angles with curves of large radii. The curve at the up-stream toe may take the form of a rounded quoin, cut in large stones, so as to avoid joints, in the masonry, normal to the direction of the greatest tensile stress. In the third paper Mr. E. P. Hill described a method of determining stresses based on the assumption that the vertical pressure on the base varies uniformly from one side to the other. AUSTRIAN SCIENCE. “THE monthly parts of the Sitzungsberichte of the Vienna Academy of Sciences which appeared last year show that there is no falling off in the research work carried out at the Austrian universities in the fields of mathematics and natural philosophy. Prof. Lecher, of Prague, has verified Ohm’s law by showing that there is no difference in the resistance of a silver or platinum wire when a small or a large electric current passes through it, provided its temperature is the same in both cases. Assuming that the current is carried by one type of free electron, he deduces a velocity of propagation of electricity in ordinary cases of the order of a few centimetres per second. Prof. F. Exner and Dr. E. Haschek have been engaged in a search for the cause of the slight variability of wave- length of many of the spectral lines with the method of excitation. They are disposed to attribute it to the lines for which it has been observed being complex, - with satellites of variable intensity or number which appear to be present more frequently on the red than on the blue side of the line. In an instrument of- only moderate resolving power, the apparent effect of any cause tending to increase the intensify of such: satellites with respect to the original line will be a displacement of the line towards the red end of the spectrum. Dr. N. Stiicker has investigated the sensitiveness of a sreat number of persons to small differences of pitch in different parts of the musical scale. He finds~ that in general the region’ of maximum sénsitiveness is in the octaves c’ and c*, where about 1/20th of atone can be detected. A few musical people were able to detect a difference of 1/200th of a tone in this region. The higher NO. 1996, VOL. 77] limits of audibility varied from about 40,000 in general to more than 60,000 in the case of musicians. The meteorological side of the activity of the academy is well represented by Dr. F. M. Exner’s outlines of a theory of variation of atmospheric pressure. The prin- cipal result of this investigation is that the pressure vari- ations may be represented by the motion of a relatively permanent system of isobars over the surface of the earth from west to east with a velocity varying slightly with the season. An important series of papers by Prof. Rudolph Wegscheider and Dr. Heinrich Walter, published in the Sitsungsberichte (vol. cxvi., pp. 443, 455, and 533), throws a great deal of light on the phenomena occurring when soda is causticised by means of lime. On the one hand, the conditions of equilibrium for the reversible change Ca(OH), + Na,CO,==CaCO,+2NaOH have been ascer tained at different temperatures; that the change is a reversible one is shown by the fact that the same con- dition of equilibrium is established at a definite tempera- ture whether the lime acts on sodium carbonate or caustic soda on calcium carbonate. The change in the direction from left to right seems to be more complete at 80° than at 106°-110°, and to occur more readily in dilute than in concentrated solutions; the way in which it is influenced by concentration is considered at some length from the standpoint of the theory of mass action. The loss of sodium carbonate which may occur in the more concen- trated solutions owing to the formation of the mixed carbonate, CaCO,,Na,CO,, is also fully dealt with, the conditions under which gaylussite, CaNa,(CO,),,5H,O, and pirsonnite, CaNa,(CO,),,2H,O, are capable of exist- ence in contact with solutions of sodium carbonate and caustic soda being defined for different temperatures. It is noteworthy that the decomposition of both of the double salts by water is retarded owing to the formation of a protective sheath of insoluble calcium carbonate on the surface of the particles, so that if the mixed salt is once precipitated owing to the concentration becoming too great, loss of sodium carbonate may occur even though the insoluble material be well washed. The whole investi- gation has a special interest as illustrating the applicability of recently developed views in pure chemistry to the elucidation of technical problems. During several years past the study of the general laws of esterification, especially of the influence exercised by structural peculiarities on the phenomena, has formed a special feature of the research work carried out under the direction of Prof. Wegscheider in the first chemical labor- atory of Vienna University. The results obtained have, in particular, thrown considerable light on the nature of the so-called ‘‘ steric hindrance.’’ In continuation of these researches a series of papers by Anton Kailan appears in the Sitzungsberichte of the academy dealing with the esterification of the dinitrobenzoic acids, of meno- and di-hydroxybenzoic acids, and of pyridinemonocarboxylic acids by alcoholic hydrogen chloride. Prof. Wegscheider and E. Frankel discuss in considerable detail the reasons for abnormalities which sometimes are found to charac- terise the action of alkyl haloids on metallic salts of organic acids. The peculiar influence exercised by the presence of a small proportion of water on the rate of formation of ethyl chloride from alcohol and hydrogen chloride is the subject of a paper by A: Kailan, in which it is shown that the velocity constants of the action are proportional to the concentration of the hydrogen chloride only in absolute alcohol. In alcohol containing water, even in 99-9 per cent. alcohol, an increase in the concentra tion of the hydrogen chloride is found to ‘be accompanied by a considerably greater increase in the velocity constant. To vol. exvi. of the Sitzungsberichte (mathematisch- naturwissenschaftliche Klasse) of the academy Mr. F. Siebenrock contributes a* monographic revision of the American tortoises of the family Cinosternidze, in which several changes in the generally accepted classification are proposed. In the British Museum Catalogue of Chelonians the family is taken to include only the single genus’ Cino- sternum, while’ Claudius and Staurotypus are included with Dermatemys in the family Dermatemydide. This the author regards as. an unnatural-arrangement, and he proposes to transfer Claudius and Staurotypus to the Cino- pf alee JANuARY 30, 1908] NATURE 305 sternida, in which they form the subfamily Staurotypine. Mr. Siebenrock goes, however, even further than this, and suggests that the Cinosternida should be brigaded with the Chelydridz in one sectional group—the Chelydroidea ; while the families Dermatemydidz and Platysternide are regarded as more nearly related to the Testudinidz, with which they should form the group Testudinoidea. For the structural details on which the author justifies this radical change in taxonomy, reference must be made to the paper itself. Morphologists will find much to interest them in an article in the same volume by Mr. Max Holl, of Graz, on the anatomy of the hind portion of the cerebral lobes in man and apes. The author appears to have been led to undertake the investigation by finding one human brain which differed most remarkably in regard to the arrange- ment and complexity of the postero-lateral sulci from all others which had come under his observation. His studies have, however, shown that there is a great amount of variation in this respect in human brains, and he has in consequence been led to recognise two principal types. To the more primitive of these he gives the name pithecoid and to the other that of anthropoid, type. Between the two there exists, however, an almost complete gradation. By far the greatest degree of individual variation in the form of the postero-lateral region of the brains of Primates occurs in the case of the tropical American spider-monkeys of the genus Ateles. Attention may likewise be directed to a paper by Dr. Karl Byloff in the same volume on the structure and life- history of the blood-parasites Trypanosoma lewisit and T. brucei. New methods of staining microscopic prepar- ations have enabled the author to bring to light certain previously unknown features in connection with these organisms. The various developmental stages assumed by trypanosomes in mammalian blood are the result of division of adult forms. High magnifying power has revealed the presence of pseudopodia-like projections at the ‘* hind extremity ’’ of both species of trypanosomes, but whether these are constant morphological features or merely temporary developments has vet to be demonstrated. THE CENTENARY OF DAVY’S DISCOVERY OF THE METALS OF THE ALKALIS. HUNDRED years ago last October, there happened one of those events to which the term epoch-making may, without cavil or question, be fittingly applied. As it was an occurrence with which the name and fame of the Royal Institution are inseparably bound up, the managers have thought it only proper that its centenary should not pass unnoticed here, and it is by their wish, therefore, that I appear on this the first possible oppor- tunity after the actual date of its hundredth anniversary to give you some account of it, and to state, so far as I am able and within the limits of an hour, the fruitful consequences that have flowed from it. Let me, in the first place, attempt to recall the circum- stances which led up to that cardinal discovery of which to-night we celebrate the centenary. These are connected partly with the institution itself and partly with the state of science in the early yers of the nineteenth century. In the year 1807 this institution was entering upon the eighth year of its existe-ce. As you doubtless know, the Royal Institution grew out of a proposal to deal with the question of the unemployed, namely, by forming in London by private subscription an establishment for feeding the poor and giving them useful employment, and also for furnishing food at a cheap rate to others who may stand in need of such assistance, connected with an institution for introducing and bringing forward into general use new inventions and improvements, particularly such as relate to the management of heat and the saving of fuel, and to various other mechanical contrivances by which domestic comfort and economy may be promoted. Such was the original prospectus, but, like many other pro- ee it failed to equal the promise its projectors held out. 1 A lecture delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, on Friday; January 17, by Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S. NO. 1996, VOL. 77] Eventually the promoters decided, on the initiation of Count Rumford, that the Associated Institution would, as they expressed it, be ‘‘ too conspicuous and too interesting and important to be made an appendix to any other exist- ing establishment,’’ and therefore it ought to stand alone on its own proper basis. Accordingly, the problem of the unemployed still remains with us, whilst the new institution took the form of con- verting Mr. Mellish’s house in Albemarle Street into a place where, by regular courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the applications of the new discoveries in science to the improvement of the arts and manufactures might be taught, so as to facilitate the means of procuring the comforts and conveniences of life. The Royal Institution had a troubled infancy. Like the poor it was originally designed to succour, it suffered much in the outset from lack of nourishment. To add to its miseries, the little starveling was caricatured by Gillray, lampooned by Peter Pindar, and ridiculed by Lord Brougham, and it was literally in the throes of dissolution when new life was breathed into it by the opportune arrival, in 1801, of a small spare youth of twenty-two from Bristol, whom the managers had engaged at a salary of 100 guineas a year. The youth was Humphry Davy, who had acted as assistant to Dr. Beddoes, of the Pneu- matic Institution, and who had already made some slight stir in scientific circles by his discovery of a characteristic property of nitrous oxide. In announcing his arrival to the managers, Count Rumford reported that he had pur- chased a cheap second-hand carpet for Mr. Davy’s room, together with such other articles as appeared to him necessary to make the room habitable, and among the rest a new sofa-bed, which, in order that it may serve as a model for imitation, had been made complete in all its parts.. Six weeks after his arrival Davy was called upon to lecture, and a descriptive paragrapher of the period thus chronicles his success in the Philosophical Magazine for 1801 :— ‘“Tt must give pleasure to our readers to learn that this new and useful institution, the object of which is the application of Science to the common purposes of life, may be now considered as settled on a firm basis. . . - “We have also to notice a course of lectures, just com- menced at the institution, on a new branch of philosophy —we mean the Galvanic Phenomena. On this interesting branch, Mr. Davy (late of Bristol) gave the first lecture on the 25th of April. He began with the history of Galvanism, detailed the successive discoveries, and described the different methods of accumulating galvanic influence. . . - He showed the effect of galvanism on the legs of frogs, end exhibited some interesting experiments on the galvanic effects on the solution of metals in acids. Sir Joseph Banks, Count Rumford, and other distinguished philo- sophers were present. The audience were highly gratified, and testified their satisfaction by general applause. Mr. Davy, who appears to be very young, acquitted himself admirably well; from the sparkling intelligence of his eye, his animated manner, and the tout ensemble, we have no doubt of his attaining a distinguished eminence.” And what was of more immediate consequence, this confident assurance was shared also by the managers, for at a subsequent meeting they unanimously resolved ‘‘ that Mr. Humphry Davy, director of the chemical laboratory, having given satisfactory proofs of his talents as a lecturer, should be appointed, and in future denominated, lecturer in chemistry at the Royal Institution, instead of continuing to occupy the place of assistant lecturer, which he has hitherto filled.”’ That such shrewd experienced men of the world as Sir Joseph Banks and Rumford, who were the moving spirits in the management of the institution and genuinely solicitous for its welfare, should thus entrust its fortunes, then at their lowest ebb, to the power and ability of a young and comparatively unknown man, barely out of his teens, seems, even in an age which was familiar with the spectacle of ‘‘a proud boy’’ as a Prime Minister, like the desperate throw of a gambler. : But Banks and Rumford had, doubtless, good reason for the faith that was in them. For a happy combination of circumstances had served to bring the Cornish youth within the range of many who could be of service to him in that search for the fame for which he hungered. His 306 NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908) connection with the Beddoes brought him the friendship of the Edgeworths, and it is amusing to trace how the good-humoured patronage of the gifted Maria quickly passed into amazement and ended in awe as her acquaint- ance with him ripened. Living in Bristol, he was at once brought into that remarkable literary coterie which distinguished that city at the close of the eighteenth century. Southey spoke of him as a miraculous young man, whose talents he could only wonder at. Cottle, the publisher, on one occasion said to Coleridge, ‘‘ You have doubtless seen a great many of what are called the cleverest men—how do you estimate Davy in comparison with these?’ Mr. Coleridge’s reply was strong and expressive. “Why, Davy can eat them all! There is an energy, an elasticity, in his mind which enables him to seize on and analyse all questions, pushing them to their legitimate consequences. Every subject in Davy’s mind has the prin- ciple of vitality. Living thoughts spring up like turf under his feet.’’ Davy’s experimental work on ‘‘ the pleasure-giving air ”’ had made him known to the Watts and the Wedgwoods. Priestley, then in exile, and Hope, of Edinburgh, were greatly impressed with the philosophical acumen of the author of phosoxygen, and he had a powerful friend in his own countyman Davies Gilbert, who succeeded him in the presidential chair of the Royal Society. We need be in no doubt, therefore, as to the influences which con- spired to bring Davy into what he termed ‘‘ the great hot- bed of human power called London.”’ The mention of Davy’s first course of lectures in this institution brings me at once to the proper subject of this discourse. The first year of the last century is memorable for the invention of the voltaic battery and for its immediate application by Nicholson and Carlisle in this country to the electrolytic decomposition of water. Davy himself has said :— ‘‘ The voltaic battery was an alarm bell to experimenters in every part of Europe; and it served no less for demonstrating new properties in electricity, and for establishing the laws of this science, than as an instrument of discovery in other branches of knowledge; exhibiting relations between subjects before apparently without connection, and serving as a bond of unity between chemical and physical philosophy.’’ We owe it to Sir Joseph Banks that Volta’s great discovery was first made known to English men of science, and the study of the phenomena of galvanic electricity was at once entered upon by a score of experimenters in this country. Among them was Davy. Even before he left Bristol he was hard at work on the subject, sending the results of his observations to Nicholson’s Journal in a series of short papers. He resumed his inquiries immediately on his arrival in London, and was doubtless well prepared, therefore, for his opening course of lectures. In 1801 he sent his first communication to the Royal Society on ‘‘An Account of some Galvanic Combinations formed by the Arrangement of Single Metallic Plates and Fluids, Analogous to the New Galvanic Apparatus of Mr. Volta.” Although the work was continually interrupted by requests made to him by the managers to carry out their own ideas of facilitating the means of procuring the comforts and conveniences of life, he never lost sight of the subject of voltaic electricity, and in spite of innumer- able distractions die to the precarious position of the institution, he gradually accumulated the material out of which grew his first Bakerian lecture, ‘On some Chemical Agencies of Electricity,’’ read before the Royal Society on November 20, 1806. I have ventured elsewhere to express my opinion of this paper. In my judgment it constitutes, in reality, Davy’s greatest claim as a philo- sopher to our admiration and gratitude, for in it he, for the first time, succeeded in unravelling the fundamental laws of electrochemistry, and thereby imported a new order of conceptions, altogether unlooked for and un- dreamt of, into science. _ [am only at the moment concerned with this memoir in its relation to the discovery of which to-night we celebrate the centenary. The isolation of the metals of the alkalis was unquestionably an achievement of the highest brilliancy, and as such appeals strongly to the popular imagination. But’ it was only the necessary and NO. 1996, VOL. 77] tonsequential link in a chain of discovery which, had Davy neglected to make it, would have been immediately forged by another. The publication of Davy’s first Bakerian lecture pro- duced a great sensation, both at home and abroad. Berzelius, years afterwards, spoke of it as one of the most remarkable memoirs that had ever enriched the theory of chemistry. Very significant, too, of the impression it made on the world of science was the action of the French Institute. Bonaparte, then First Consul, had announced his intention of founding a medal ‘‘ for the best experi- ment which should be made in the course of each year on the galvanic fluid,’’? and a committee of the institute, consisting of Laplace, Halle, Coulomb, Hauy, and Biot, was appointed to consider the best means of giving effect to the wishes of the First Consul. To the young man, with the little brown head, like a boy (as Lady Brownrigg described him), now twenty-eight years of age, was awarded the medal. All the institute got from the founder of the medal was what Maria Edgeworth termed “a rating all round in imperial Billingsgate.’’ There was no entente cordiale in those days; indeed, the feeling of animosity was intense. Of course, there were persons who said that patriotism should forbid the acceptance of the award. Davy’s own view was more sensible and politic :—‘‘ Some people,’’ he said to his friend Poole, ““say I ought not to accept this prize; and there have been foolish paragraphs in the papers to that effect; but if the two countries or Governments are at war, the men of science are not. That would, indeed, be a civil war of the worst description; we should rather, through the instrumentality of men of science, soften the asperities of national hostility.’ Thanks to the kindness of Dr. Humphry Davy Rolleston, the grandson of Dr. John Davy, the brother of Sir Humphry, who has also been so good as to lend me this admirable bust of the great chemist by Chantrey, and this charming portrait by Jackson, I am able to show you this evening this historically interesting medal. What Davy looked like at this period of his life may be seen from the picture I now project upon the screen. It is a reproduction of the large portrait which hangs in the vestibule, and which the institution owes to the thoughtful kindness of the late Mr. Graham Young. As the applications of voltaic electricity seemed in 1806 to have no immediate bearing on the comforts and con- veniences of life, Davy, during the greater part of the following year, was required to direct his attention to other matters. But in the late summer of 1807 he was able to resume his work with the voltaic battery, and he commenced to study its action on the alkalis. That the allkalis—potash and soda—would turn out to be compound substances was not an unfamiliar idea at the time, and it is significant that almost immediately after Nicholson and Carlisle had resolved water into ‘its elements by the action of voltaic electricity, Henry, of Manchester, the friend and collaborator of Dalton, should have made the attempt to apply the same agency to the separation of the presumed metallic principle of potash. The conception that what the older chemists called ‘earths’? might be made to yield metals was at least as old as the time of Boyle, and probably dates back from the earliest days of alchemy. The relation of the earths to the metals was part of the doctrine of Becher and Stahl; it was no less a part of the antiphlogistic doctrine of Lavoisier, although the points of view were diametric- ally opposed. Neumann attempted to obtain a metal from lime, Bergman considered that baryta was, like lime, a metallic calx, and Baron that alumina contained a metal. From their many analogies to these substances it was not unreasonable, therefore, to surmise that potash and soda might also contain metallic principles. I have elsewhere pointed out that there is some evidence that whilst at Bristol Davy had already attacked the problem of the resolution of the alkalis by means of voltaic electricity. What precise idea he had in again attacking it, or what expectation he had of a definite result, is difficult to determine. In one of his lectures on electro- chemical science, delivered some time subsequently, he said he had a suspicion at the time that potash might turn out to be ‘‘ phosphorus or sulphur united to nitrogen,’ January 30, 1908 | NATURE 307 conceiving that, as the volatile alkali was composed of the light inflammable hydrogen united to nitrogen, so the fixed and denser alkalis might be composed of the denser in- flammable bodies—phosphorus and sulphur—also united to nitrogen. ; Davy once said that ‘‘ analogy was the fruitful parent of error,’? and few more striking instances of perverted analogy are to be met with in science than this. In another of his lectures he said of the alchemists that “even their failures developed some unsought-for object partaking of the marvellous’’; and if such had been his reasoning, the statement is no less true of himself. So far as can be ascertained, it was on October 19, 1807, that he obtained his first decisive result. This is thus described in Davy’s own handwriting in the Labora- tory Journal, which has been preserved for us by the pious care of Faraday, and which is one of the most precious of the historical possessions of the Royal Institution :-— ‘“When potash was introduced into a tube having a platina wire attached to it, so [fig.], and fused into the tube so as to be a conductor—t.e. so as to contain just water enough, though solid—and inserted over mercury, when the platina was made negative, no gas was formed and the mercury became oxydated, and a small quantity of the alkaligen was produced round the platina wire, as was evident from its quick inflammation by the action of water. When the mercury was made the negative, gas was developed in great quantities from the positive wire, and none from the negative mercury, and this gas proved to be pure oxvygen—a capital experiment, proving the de- composition of potash.’? On the 19th of the following month he delivered what is generally regarded as the most memorable of all his Bakerian lectures. It is entitled ““On some New Phenomena of Chemical Changes produced by Electricity, Particularly the Decomposition of the Fixed Alkalies; and the Exhibition of the New Substances which Constitute their Bases; and on the General Nature of Alkaline Bodies.” Few discoveries of like magnitude have been made and perfected in so short a time, and few memoirs have been more momentous in result than that which, put together in a few hours, gave the results of that discovery to the world. 3 The whole work was done under conditions of great mental excitement. His cousin, Edmund Davy, who at the time acted as his assistant, relates that when he saw the minute globules of the quicksilver-like metal burst through the crust of potash and take fire, his joy knew no bounds; he actually danced about the room in ecstasy, and it was some time before he was sufficiently composed to continue his experiments. The rapidity with which he accumulated results after this first feeling of delirious delight had passed was extra- ordinary, and he had obtained most of the leading facts concerning the physics and chemistry of the new sub- stances before the middle of November. He began his lecture with a felicitous reference to the concluding remarks of the one of the previous year, namely, “‘ That the new methods of investigation promised to lead to a more intimate knowledge than had hitherto been obtained concerning the true elements of bodies. This conjecture, then sanctioned only by strong analogies, I am now happy to be able to support by some conclusive facts.’’ In the first attempts he made to decompose the fixed alkalis he acted upon concentrated aqueous solutions of potash and soda with the highest electrical power he could then command at the Royal Institution, viz. from voltaic batteries containing twenty-three plates of copper and zinc of 12 inches square, 100 plates of 6 inches, and 150 of 4 inches, charged with solutions of alum and nitric acid; but although there was high intensity of action, nothing but hydrogen and oxygen was disengaged. He next tried potash in igneous fusion, and here the results were more encouraging; there were obvious and striking signs of decomposition; combustible matter was produced, accom- panied with flame and a most intense light. He had observed that although potash, when dry, is a non-con- ductor, it readily conducts when it becomes damp by exposure to air, and in this state ‘‘ fuses and decomposes by strong electrical powers.”’ NO. 1996, VOL. 77] Let me state in his own words, for the words are classical, what followed :— “4 small piece of pure potash, which had been exposed for a few seconds to the atmosphere, so as to give con- ductive power to the surface, was placed upon an insulated disc of platina, connected with the negative side of the battery of the power of 250 of 6 and 4 [that is 100 plates of 6 inches square and 150 plates of 4 inches square] in a state of intense activity; and a platina wire com- municating with the positive side was brought in contact with the upper surface of the alkali. . . . Under these circumstances a vivid action was soon observed to take place. The potash began to fuse at both its points of electrization. There was a violent effervescence at the upper surface; at the lower, or negative surface, there was no liberation of elastic fluid; but small globules, having a high metallic lustre, and being precisely similar in visible characters to quicksilver, appeared, some of which burnt with explosion and bright flame, as soon as they were formed, and others remained, and were merely turnished, and finally covered by a white film which formed on their surfaces.”’ He goes on to say :— “Soda, when acted upon in the same manner as potash, exhibited an analogous result; but the decomposition demanded greater intensity of action in the batteries, or the alkali was required to be in much thinner and smaller pieces. i ‘“The substance produced from potash remained fluid at the temperature of the atmosphere at the time of its pro- duction; that from soda, which was fluid in the degree of heat of the alkali during its formation, became solid on cooling, and appeared having the lustre of silver.” It would seem from this description of its properties that the potassium Davy first obtained was alloyed with sodium owing to the fact that the potash contained soda. Potassium is solid up to 143° F., whereas, as Davy was the first to show, an alloy of potassium and sodium is fluid at ordinary temperatures. ; On account of their alterability in contact with air, Davy had considerable difficulty in preserving and con- fining the new substances so as to examine their proper- ties. As he says, like the alkahests imagined by the alchemists, they acted more or less upon almost every body to which they were exposed. Eventually, he found they might be preserved in mineral naphtha. The ‘basis’? of potash was described by him as a soft malleable solid with the lustre of polished silver. “At about the freezing point of water it becomes harder and brittle, and when broken in fragments, exhibits a crystallised texture which in the microscope seems com- posed of beautiful facets of a perfect whiteness and high metallic splendour. It may be converted into vapour below a red heat, and may be distilled unchanged, and is a perfect conductor of heat and electricity. Its most marked difference from the common run of. metals is its extraordinary low specific gravity.’ At the time of its discovery it was the lightest solid known. The ‘basis’? of soda was found to have somewhat similar properties. It was slightly heavier than the ‘“ basis’? of potash, and fused at a higher temperature. Davy next examined the behaviour of the new sub- stances towards a large number of reagents, but as his observations are now the common property of the text- books, it is unnecessary here to dwell upon them. He then enters upon some general observations on the relations of the “bases”? of potash and soda to other bodies :— ‘‘ Should the bases of potash and soda be called metals? The greater number of philosophical persons,’’ he. says, “to whom this question has been put, have answered in the affirmative. They agree with metals in opacity, lustre, malleability, conducting powers as to heat and electricity, and in their qualities of chemical combination. ’ “Their low specific gravity does not appear a sufficient reason for making them a new class; for amongst the metals themselves there are remarkable differences in this respect. . . . In the philosophical division of the classes of bodies, the analogy between the greater number of properties must always be the foundation of arrangement. 308 NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 ““On this idea, in naming the bases of potash and soda, it will be proper to adopt the termination which by common consent has been applied to other newly discovered metals, and which, though originally Latin, is now naturalised in our language. ‘* Potasium (sic) and sodium are the names by which I have ventured to call the new substances; and whatever changes of theory, with regard to the composition of bodies, may hereafter take place, these terms can scarcely express an error; for they may be considered as implying simply the metals produced from potash and soda. I have consulted with many of the most eminent scientific persons in this country upon the methods of derivation, and the one I have adopted has been the one most generally approved. It is perhaps more significant than elegant. But it was not possible to found names upon specific properties not common to both; and though a name for the basis of soda might have been borrowed from the Greek, yet an analogous one could not have been applied to that of potash, for the ancients do not seem to have distinguished between the two alkalies.’ Such, then, are the more significant features of one of the greatest discoveries ever made by a British chemist, as these are set forth in one of the most remarkable papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. The publication of Davy’s discovery created an extra- ordinary sensation throughout the civilised world, a sensa- tion not less profound, and certainly more general from its very nature, than that which attended his lecture of the previous year. But at the very moment of his triumph it seemed that the noise of the universal acclaim with which it was received was not to reach him. I have already made reference to the condition of mental excitement under which the discovery was made and prosecuted. Almost immediately after the delivery of his lecture he collapsed, struck down by an illness which nearly proved fatal, and for weeks his life hung on a thread. He had been in a low, feverish condition for some time previously, and a great dread had fallen upon him that he should die before he had completed his discoveries. It was in this condition of body and mind that he had applied himself to the task of putting together an account of his results. Four days after this was given to the world he took to his bed, and he remained there for nine weeks. Such a blow following hard on the heels of such a triumph aroused the liveliest sympathy. The doors of the Royal Institution were beset by anxious inquirers, and written reports of his condition at various periods of the day had to be posted in the hall. The strength of the feeling may be gleaned, too, from the sentences with which the Rev. Dr. Dibdin, who had been hurriedly engaged to take his place in the theatre, began the lecture introductory to the session of 1808 :— F “The managers of this institution have requested me to impart to you that intelligence, which no one who is alive to the best feelings of human nature can hear with- out the mixed emotion of sorrow and delight. “Mr. Davy, whose frequent and powerful addresses from this place, supported by his ingenious experiments, have been so long and so well known to you, has, for the last five weeks, been struggling between life and death. The effects of these experiments recently made in illustra- tion of his late splendid discovery, added to consequent bodily weakness, brought on a fever so violent as to threaten the extinction of life. Over him it might emphatically be said in the language of our immortal Milton, that *. . Death his dart Shook, but delayed to strike.” “Tf it had pleased Providence to deprive the world of all further benefit from his original talents and intense application, there has certainly been sufficient already effected by him to entitle him to be classed among the brightest scientific luminaries of his country.” After having, ‘‘at the particular request of the managers,’’ given an outline of Davy’s investigations, Dr. Dibdin proceeded to say :— “These may justly be placed among the most brilliant and valuable discoveries which have ever been made in chemistry, for a great chasm in the chemical system has NO. 1996, voL. 72] been filled up; a blaze of light has been diffused over that part which before was utterly dark; and new views have been opened, so numerous and interesting, that the more any man who is versed in chemistry reflects on them, the more he finds to admire and heighten his expectation of future important results. ‘“Mr. Davy’s name, in consequence of these discoveries, will be always recorded in the annals of science amongst those of the most illustrious philosophers of his time. His country, with reason, will be proud of him, and it is no small honour to the Royal Institution that these great dis- coveries have been made within its walls—in that labora- tory, and by those instruments which, from the zeal of promoting useful knowledge, have, with so much propriety, been placed at the disposal and for the use of its most excellent professor of chemistry.’’ And now, in the few minutes that remain to me, let me indicate what has been the outcome of this great and fundamental discovery. How far has the expectation of future important results been realised? Have sodium and potassium at all justified the hope that they would facili- tate the means of procuring the comforts and conveniences of life? I have not the time, even if I had the intention, to attempt to follow the many changes in the metallurgy of the metals of the alkalis of the past century. Let me at once proceed to show how the matter stands at the end of a hundred years. The general properties and chemical activities of potassium and sodium are so very similar that, as a matter of commercial production, that metal which can be most economically obtained is necessarily the one most largely manufactured, and of the two that metal is sodium. To-day, sodium is made by thousands of tons, and by a process which in principle is identical with that by which it was first made by Davy, t.e. by the electrolysis of fused caustic soda. It is very significant that after a series of revolutions in its manufacture, sodium, having been pro- duced from time to time on a manufacturing scale by a variety of metallurgical methods involving purely thermal processes of reduction and distillation, entirely dissociated from electricity, we should have now got back to the very principle of the process which first brought the metal to light. And that this has been industrially possible is entirely owing to another of Davy'’s discoveries—possibly indeed the greatest of them all—Michael Faraday. As we all gratefully acknowledge, it is to the genius and labours of Faraday—Davy’s successor in this place—that the astonishing development of the application of electrical energy which characterises this age has taken its rise. The modern method of production of sodium is based, therefore, as regards principles, upon the conjoint labours of Davy and Faraday. These principles took their present form of application at the hands of a remarkably talented American—Mr. Hamilton Y. Castner—whose too early death, in the full vigour of his intellectual powers, was an incalculable loss to metallurgical chemistry. It is by Castner’s process that all the sodium of to-day is manufactured. In the Castner process melted caustic soda, produced by the electrolysis of a solution of common salt by a method also devised by Castner, is brought into an iron vessel shaped like a large cauldron, mounted in brickwork, and provided with an extension adapted to receive the negative electrode. Suspended directly above the kathode is an iron vessel attached to a lid; to its lower edge is secured iron wire gauze, which, when the receptacle is in position, completely surrounds the kathode. The positive electrode is connected with the lid of the vessel, which is provided with openings for the escape of the gases resulting from the electrolysis, and is suitably insulated. As the electrolysis proceeds, the alkali metal, being much lighter than the molten caustic, rises from the negative electrode and: passes into the receiver, the gases escaping around the edges of the cover. The molten metal collects on the surface of the caustic, and is removed by means of a large perforated spoon, the perforations enabling the melted caustic to flow out, while the metal remains in the spoon. As the several vessels are thus skimmed in succession, the fused sodium is collected into an iron vessel, whence it is poured into moulds, in which January 30, 1908] NATURE 309 it congeals, forming blocks of the size and shape of an ordinary building brick. These, after being trimmed to remove adherent oxide, are immersed in paraffin oil, and are then packed into large iron drums holding about 6 ewt. or 7 cwt., capable of being closed air-tight, and protected in transit by an outer casing of wood. The due regulation of the volume and intensity of the current is a matter of the greatest importance in order to obtain the most economical yield of the metal. No very high temperature is needed ; indeed, the temperature of the fused caustic soda should not be much higher than that of its melting point. By suitably regulating the current, the soda, in fact, may be maintained at the proper temperature and in the proper degree of fluidity without extraneous heat. Fresh melted caustic soda is added to the vessel from time to time to replace the metal removed, and in this manner the process is made continuous. The Castner process is now worked in England at Wallsend-on-Tyne, and at Weston Point, in Cheshire; at Rheinfelden, in Germany; at Clavaux, in France; also in Switzerland, and at Niagara, in America. The present yearly output amounts to about 5000 tons, but the plant already laid down is capable of producing at least twice this quantity. The greater quantity of the sodium made in England is sent to Glasgow, where it is converted into sodium cyanide by the Cassel Cyanide Company for use in the extraction of gold. As gold is, I suppose, generally con- sidered the principal material factor in procuring the comforts and conveniences of life, Davy’s great discovery may be thus said to have secured the primary object which the projectors of the Roval Institution had in view. Other important uses of sodium are in the manufacture of peroxide for bleaching purposes, of artificial indigo, and of a number of other synthetic dye-stuffs and of drugs like antipyrin. It need hardly be said that this extraordinary develop- ment of the manufacture has not been without its influence on the price of sodium. A quarter of a century ago it was a comparatively rare metal, and a stick of it was regarded as a chemical curiosity, to be handled with circumspection and care. Even as late as 1890 its selling price was as high as 8s. per lb. To-day it is 8d. Sodium now takes rank, therefore, with zinc, tin, copper, or aluminium as a common, ordinary metal of commerce. I am indebted to the directors of the Castner-Kellner Company, and in particular to my friends Sir Henry Roscoe and Mr. Beilby, for affording me the opportunity, in connection with this lecture, of actually witnessing the modern process of manufacturing sodium as it is carried out at Wallsend, and I am further indebted to Mr. Beilby for the loan of the lantern-slides and specimens with which I have sought to illustrate that process. And in concluding may I be permitted to recall here the feelings to which that visit to Wallsend gave rise? There, grouped together on the very spot where ended the old wall —the visible symbol of the power and might of a civilisa- tion long since passed away—were some of the character- istic signs of another | civilisation ampler and more beneficent. Before me, stretching down to the river, was the factory where a score of workers, clad in helmets and gauntlets, and swathed like so many Knights Templar, their visages lit up by the yellow soda flames, and their ears half-deafened with the sound of exploding hydrogen—a veritable inferno—were repeating on a Gargantuan scale the little experiment first made a century ago in the cellars of this building, turning out, day and night, tons of the plastic metal. in place of the little pin-heads which then burst upon the astonished and delighted gaze of Davy. Behind me was the magnificent power-house—one of the most magnificent of its kind in the world—furnishing not only the electrical energy which transformed the soda into sodium, but diffusing this energy for a multitude of other purposes over an entire district—a noble temple to the genius and prescience of Faraday. Surely one might here say, if. you desire to see the monuments of these men, look around! And to my, right, and. close at. hand, was the huge building slip just vacated by the Mauretania, herself a symbol of the supremacy of an empire, far mightier, more world-wide, and more potent for good than that which massed its legions behind the old wall. NO. 1996, VOL. 77] UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CaMBRIDGE.—The electors to the Allen scholarship give notice that they are prepared to receive applications from candidates. Any graduate of the University is eligible for the scholarship provided that his age on the first day of the Lent term 1908 does not exceed twenty-eight years. This year the scholarship is open to candidates who pro- pose to undertake research in any branch of study which comes within the department of any of the following special boards :—medicine, mathematics, physics. and chemistry, biology and geology. The scholarship is tenable for one year, during which period it will be the duty of the student to devote himself to research in Cambridge or elsewhere. The emolument of the student is 250l., or such smaller sum as the fund, after payment of all expenses, shall be capable of providing. Every candidate must send particulars of his qualifications, &c., to the Vice-Chancellor, Gonville and Caius College Lodge, on or before February 15. MancuesterR.—The following brief summary of some recently published statistics serves to illustrate the develop- ment in the work of the University during the past eight years. The table not only indicates that a considerable increase has taken place in the numbers of students and staff, but also shows that the progress has been particularly marked in the fields of advanced study and research. The growing success of the honours schools in both science and arts is particularly worthy of notice :— End of 1299 End of 1907 Professors ons oo sos $f) onc 43 Total teaching staff... cee oc QSnap 203 Students taking full day courses... goo 1400 Science honours students ... OW 180 Arts honours students wee Gab ey 106 Graduate and research students in residence soe nes ee _— 14 Research fellows and students pursuing original work ... Ah eee 55 By the will of the late Mr. Basil McCrea, the Magee Presbyterian College, Londonderry, receives several sub- stantial benefactions. Among these gifts occur 14,090l. for building and equipping a new lecture hall; a sum to endow two professorships, to be known respectively as the “Henry Wallace’? and the ‘‘ William Archer Butler ”’ professorships, each professor to receive an annual stipend of 3001.; a sum to found and endow two lectureships in the science department of the college, each lecturer to receive an annual stipend of 150/., and to be known as the ‘‘ McCrea lecturers’’; such annual sum as may be necessary to make up the stipends of each of the professor- ships in the literary and science departments to 30o0l. per annum; s5o0ol. each year to found and endow a ‘‘ McCrea science scholarship’’ and a ‘‘ McCrea literary scholar- ship,’’ each of the value of rool., to be competed for every third year, and any surplus to be used for ‘‘ McCrea prizes ’’ in the science and literary departments. Ar a recent meeting of the governors of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College it was intimated that the Glasgow City Educational Endowments Board had made a further grant of 1oool. to the building fund of the college, and that the trustees of the Bellahouston Bequest Fund had promised a donation of 500o0l. on con- dition that the governors raised a further sum of. 45,o00l. Including these grants, the building fund now amounts to 301,000l. The governors of the college have just resolved to raise the standard of the preliminary examination for admission to the course for the college diploma to that of the Leaving Certificate of the Scotch Education Depart- ment. The holders of this certificate are exempted from the preliminary examination of the Scottish universities. This raising of the standard of the entrance examination by the governors of the great technical college at Glasgow represents a new departure of high-significance in technical education. Now that the courses will be based upon a preparatory training equal to that demanded by any British university, it will be possible to make substantial. advance in the quality of the work undertaken. 4 . IO ios) VA LORE [JANUARY 30, 1908 A SCHEME to prepare girls better to undertake the duties of the home was described in a letter to the Times of January 24. The communication was signed by Prof. William Osler, F.R.S., Sir Henry Roscoe, F.R.S., and Prof. A. Smithells, F.R.S., with others. Instruction of the kind required is impossible without teachers capable of giving it, and the first step must be, the letter points out, to provide education of an advanced type for those who will hereafter conduct the work in its more elementary stages. It is therefore proposed to provide in London a course of post-graduate instruction in household economics. The course will be given at the women’s department of King’s College, and will begin next October. A college board, consisting mainly of the professors of the subjects germane to the course, with Prof. Smithells acting as honorary adviser, will control the educational side of the work. It is hoped that it will be found possible to include courses of training for the management of large educa- tional and other institutions, for the duties of factory in- spection, and for social work aimed at raising the standard of home life. Donations are asked for in order to raise 3oool., the sum necessary for the effective organisation of the scheme, and may be sent to Miss Soltau, King’s College (Women’s Department), 13 Kensington Square, W. Tue best results are obtained in those technical schools where the students are encouraged to follow a suitable course of training extending over a number of years, and where the instruction provided is suited exactly to the industrial requirements of the district. The latest report of the Board of Education states in this connection :— “ Well-considered programmes of instruction within schools and careful adjustment of the relation of school to school in populous areas have become more common. In an increased number of schools we find teachers at pains to urge continuity of study and to order their teaching so as to help towards this end. Opportunities for advanced work are provided more widely than before, and accord- ingly we find the period of study extending and the number of students of mature years increasing.’? To mark still more obviously the importance of continuity of study, the Board has given prominence to an arrangement by which the Board and the school authorities join in responsibility for the issue of ‘‘ technical course certificates ”’ affording suitable records of completed curricula. These certificates are to be given only in connection with courses each approved as providing such a technical education as will have a definite value in relation to the occupation to which it has regard. Each certificate as awarded by the local education authority or the managers of a school and endorsed by the Board will record continued attendance and satisfactory attainments in the several sections of the specified course of instruction. The system thus initiated appears to be capable of considerable development. It may become a valuable feature in the organisation of technical courses—standardising their aims and encouraging the students to persistent attendance and continuity of study. The statistics in connection with the examination of students in evening schools, too, the report points out, reflect both the improvement in the provision of more advanced classes and the increased regularity of the attend- ance of the students. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, November 7. 1907.—‘' The Electrical Discharge in Monatomic Gases.’ By F. Seddy and T. D. Mackenzie. Communicated by Prof. J. Larmor, Sec.R:S. Helium and argon purified by volatilising calcium (Soddy, Proc. Roy. Soc., 1907, Ixxviii., A, 429) from traces of common gases show a disinclination to conduct the dis- charge, and the question arises whether the monatomic gases in a perfectly pure state will conduct at all. The well-known phenomenon of ‘‘ running out?’ or exhaustion of spectrum tubes filled with these gases with prolonged use might be due to absorption of the impurities only by the electrodes leaving the pure monatomic gases in a non-conducting state. This question has been exhaustively investigated, and the conclusion is drawn that the mon- NO. 1996, VOL. 77] atomic gases conduct in the same manner as common gases, but are relatively electrically, as well as chemically, inert. That is to say, the various stages of the discharge from the X-ray vacuum to the ribbon discharge when considerable quantities of gas are present are produced in the case of helium, for example, at pressures from five to ten times the pressure required to produce the same stage of the discharge in a gas like hydrogen or nitrogen. The “running out”? of spectrum tubes filled with mon- atomic gases under the discharge is due to absorption of the monatomic gas principally in the film of aluminium volatilised from the electrodes. In one series of experi- ments six tubes were filled with helium purified by calcium at the initial pressures 1-1 mm., 2-3 mm., 49 mm., 8-6 mm., 16-8 mm., and 31-2 mm. The first three became non-conducting—the discharge passing an alternative spark gap of an inch of air, and the tube fluorescing strongly —with less than an hour’s running, and the fourth after sixty hours, the residual pressure of pure helium in each case being about 0-7 mm. This was determined by breaking the tube under mercury, and confirmed by the use of a specially designed form of McLeod gauge. In the first case the mercury rapidly liberated the greater part of the occluded gas by dissolving the film of volatilised aluminium. The occluded gases are alsa slowly evolved spontaneously in the cold, and practicany completely when the tube is heated to its softening point for some time. X-rays are given out in pure helium at pressures below 0-2 mm. in an X-ray tube 8 cm, diameter, while in hydrogen X-rays are not given out until the pressure is reduced below o-r mm. It is probable that the real pressure in an X-ray tube is in no case below 9-01 mm., and the general impression that the pressure is of the order of o-oor mm. is due to a variety of misapprehensions re- garding high vacua. The behaviour of argon, neon, mercury vapour, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide has also been investigated. The behaviour of helium at low pressures, at which it conducts the discharge with abnormal difficulty, is strictly analogous to its behaviour at high pressures, when it con- ducts with abnormal facility (Ramsay and Collie, Proc. Roy. Soc., 1896, lix., p. 257). The curves connecting dis- charge potential and pressure were taken in the same tube for helium and hydrogen. Helium at 60 mm. showed the same discharge potential (7750 volts) as hydrogen at 12 mm. At a pressure of 30 mm. the potential in helium was 3400 volts, and in hydrogen 16,000 volts. Through- out the whole region, both of high and low pressure, one hydrogen molecule is electrically equivalent, so far as its effect on the character of the discharge is concerned, to several helium molecules. The remarkable observation was made that some new spectrum tubes, as obtained from the maker, generated helium during preparation and the removal of the occluded gases. The only escape from the conclusion that helium was formed under the special conditions to which the tubes had been subjected was that the helium was derived from the aluminium electrodes. Experiments were made with old aluminium electrodes which had been exposed for months to the air after removal from old spectrum tubes in which they had been used with the rare gases. By the help of the calcium method it was proved that helium, neon, and argon can be obtained in this way in quantities sufficient to give a clear spectrum from old aluminium electrodes which have been used with these gases. All the spectrum tubes used showed strongly Campbell Swinton’s effect (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1907, A, vol. Ixxix., p. 134) of developing minute bubbles when fused, usually in the areas exposed to the bombardment of particles travelling normally from the surface of the electrodes; but the argon tubes showed the effect to an extraordinary extent, the glass appearing to. boil when fused. Experi- ments are described in which these glasses have been sub- jected to a temperature of 1300° C. in a vacuum furnace, and all but the inert gases absorbed by calcium. Only the minutest. trace of rare gas is ever obtained in this way, and this is quite insufficient to produce the effect. In the case of the glass of a helium tube which showed Campbell Swinton’s effect strongly, it was proved that after a preliminary heating in a vacuum, at a temperature below that necessary to produce bubbles, to drive off surface January 30, 1908] NATURE Zr gas, not the faintest trace of helium was obtained. The view is put forward that the effect is due to a secondary decomposition of the glass under local heating during the bombardment, and that it is not due to the discharge gases being driven into the glass. Royal Microscopical Society, December 18, 1907.— Mr. Conrad Beck, vice-president, in the chair.—Specimens of luminous bacteria: J. E. Barnard. On the room being darkened, the light given off by the bacteria was at once apparent, and the contents of the flask when shaken be- came very luminous. The light produced was nearly monochromatic, lying between the lines F and G of the spectrum. The whole energy of these bacteria seemed to be utilised in producing light, no heat whatever being detected.—Specimens of natural twin-crystals of selenite : E. Large. Specimens were also exhibited under special reflecting polariscopes; under some of these were also shown artistic subjects made from selenite, one representing a vase of flowers, and another flowers and fruits, with animals, such as parrots, chameleons, &c., which changed colour when a film of mica below the design was rotated. Mr. Large also exhibited a small double-image prism made from a fragment of Iceland spar and mounted on the nose of an objective, by means of which two images of a suit- able object placed on the stage with a selenite plate were obtained in complementary colours.—Gregory and Wright’s microscope: E. M. Nelson. This microscope was de- seribed and illustrated in an old and rare book published by Gregory and Wright in 1786, and was called a “‘ new universal microscope, which has all the uses of the single, compound, opaque and aquatic microscopes.’’ The illus- tration shows it to be very similar to one presented to the society in 1899 by Dr. Dallinger, which was then thought to have been made by Benj. Martin, but it now seems likely that it was made by. Gregory and Wright, who were probably Martin’s successors.—A correction for a spectro- scope: E. M. Nelson. The paper described a device by which the object-glass of the telescope may be automatic- ally rotated so as always to receive the rays from any part of the spectrum without obliquity—Some African rotifers: J. Murray. The paper described about twelve species of Bdelloid rotifers from Old Calabar, Uganda, and Madagascar, among which were one new species and two new varieties. January 15.—Mr. E. J. Spitta in the chair.—A new method of showing living bacteria by dark-ground illumination: C. Beck. The apparatus consisted of a modified parabolic illuminator, a Nernst lamp, and mono- chromatic blue light filter—Some microscopes of new design made .by Messrs, Leitz: J. W. Ogilvy. The instru- ments were fitted with Leitz’s fine adjustment, the arrangement. consisting of a worm wheel and heart-shaped cam, which gives an alternate rise and fall of 3 mm. to the body. of the microscope. Mr. Ogilvy said an important feature in the arrangement was that, in the event of the objective being brought into contact with the cover glass when focussing, it simply rested upon the slide, no further downward motion being imparted to the body even if the observer continued to turn the milled head. The coarse adjustment was also provided with a safety arrangement. —The microscope as an aid to the study of biology in entomology, with particular reference to the food of insects: W. Wesche. EDINBURGH. _Royal Society, January 6.—Prof. Crum Brown, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The chairman read a_pre- jiminary obituary notice of the late president, Lord Kelvin (see p. 253).—The fossil Osmundacew, part ii.: D. T. Gwynne-Vaughan and R. Kidston, F.R.S. The present part begins with.a full account of the synonymy of scorral fern stems of osmundaceous affinity from the Permian of Russia. The internal ‘structure of two of these, Zalesskya gracilis and. Z. diploxylon (the latter a new species), is described in detail. They form a primitive genus of the Osmundaceze, and are especially characterised by the possession of a broad and perfectly continuous ring of xylem, from which the leaf-traces depart in protostelic manner. The xylem is non-parenchymatous, and most of the trachez bear multiseriate pits. The protoxylems of the leaf-traces are shortly decurrent. into the stele of the stem NO. 1996, VOL. 77] | thermostat. as mesarch strands dying out rapidly below. Two dis- tinctly different regions are to be observed in the xylem, a peripheral zone of normal trachee and a central mass of short and wide elements with reticulate markings. In the living plant of Z. diploxylon the latter tissue occupied the whole of the centre of the stele, which therefore possessed a solid central mass of xylem. It follows that the central ground-tissue of the recent Osmundaceze must be regarded as a true pith derived from the modified central xylem of such a stele. The phloem consists of metaphleem only, there being no protophloem or porous layers. Paris. Acedemy of Sciences. lanuary 20.—M. Henri Becquerel. in the chair.—The principal earthquake centres in France, and on the system of seismic stations that should be established: G. Bigourdan. Taking into account the stations already existing or now being established, further stations are suggested at Nice, Marseilles, Rennes, and Lille-—Concerning a tooth discovered by MM. Maurice de Rothschild and H. Neuville: Albert Gaudry. It is concluded that this tusk, found near Addis-Abeba, belongs to a large unknown African mammal, now existing or recently extinct.—Morphological variations, obtained artifi- cially, of the tubercle bacillus of man and mammals : So Arloing. An account, accompanied by reproductions of photographs, of the modifications produced in human and bovine tubercle bacilli by prolonged cultivation at either a high temperature (45°) or high pressure (2-5 atmo- spheres).—A differential system of the second degree: L. Schlesinger.—The periodic solutions of certain functional equations: Ernest Esclangon.—Methodical attempts at a cellular aéroplane: H. Farman. A detailed account of the steps by which the author constructed his aéroplane and learnt its use.—The efficiency of screws for propulsion in the air: Louis Breguet.—The study of radio-active lead: B. Szilard. Radium D, E, and F have been separated from radio-lead. The present paper is concerned with the best methods of effecting this separation.—An exceptional case of Zeeman’s phenomenon: A. Dufour. It is shown that there exists at least one source of light, a flame in which calcium fluoride is volatilised, giving a spectrum attributed to a compound and not to an element, which, placed in a magnetic field, gives out circular vibra- tions the sense of which agrees with the hypothesis, of the existence of positive electrons.—The calorimetric method applied to the study of slow reactions: Jacques Duclaux. A closed Dewar tube is used as the calori- metric vessel, the whole being placed in the water of a As showing the accuracy obtainable, an example of the application of the method to the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate by potash is given.—The synthesis of ammonia: M. Woltereck.—The catalytic power of silica and alumina: J. B. Senderens. The catalytic effect pro- duced by silica or alumina depends upon the state of division and also upon the temperature to which these substances have been raised. Thus precipitated silica, dried by a gentle ignition, at 280° acts upon alcohol giving 99:5 per cent..of ethylene. The same silica, calcined for one hour at a red heat, gives ethylene and 5-3 per cent. of hydrogen. After six hours’ ignition, the decomposition takes place only at 390°, and the amount of hydrogen increases to 17 per cent. Alumina behaves in a similar manner.—Some compounds of terbium and dysprosium : G. Urbain and G. Jantsch. Salts of these elements having been recently isolated in a pure state by the authors, they have studied the properties of some of their compounds with the view of devising less tedious methods of separation. The present note contains an account of terbium peroxide, Tb,O,; nitrate, Tb(NO,),,6H,O ; sulphate, Tb,(SO,),,8H,O; and chloride, TbCl,,6H,O. Dysprosium does not form a peroxide, but the properties of the nitrate, Dy(NO,),,5H,O; sulphate, Dy,(SO,),,8H,0 ; and chloride, DyCl,,6H,O, are described.—The heats of solution of the alkali metals and the heats of formation of their protoxides: E. Rengade. On account of the violence of the action of water upon these metals, especially cesium and rubidium, the reaction was allowed to take place in a modified Berthelot bomb. The results are very concordant, and lower than those previously obtained by other methods.—The estimation of sulphide of carbon in 312 NATURE [JANUARY 30, 1908 benzenes: Isidore Bay. The carbon bisulphide is pre- cipitated by phenylhydrazine, the precipitate washed with pure benzene, and dried in vacuo.—The transformation of the a-oxyacids into aldehydes by boiling their mercuric salts in aqueous solution; application to the preparation of l-arabinose by means of mercuric’ gluconate: Marcel Guerbet.—Some cases of the simultaneous production of the 1:6- and 2: 7-dimethylanthracenes: James Lavaux. —Syntheses by means of ethyl and methyl adipates: L. Bouveault and R. Locquin.—The action of nascent hypoiodous acid (iodine and sodium carbonate) on some acids of the general formula R.CH:CH.CH,.CO,H, R being C,H, more or less substituted: J. Bougault.— Some mineral salts which can act as peroxydases: J. Wolff.—A new type of polychetal annelid: Ch. Gravier. —The oculo-reaction in its relation to previous treatment with tuberculin: H. Vatlée.—A bacilliform piroplasmosis observed in cattle in the neighbourhood of Algiers : H. Soulié and G, Roig. GOrTINGEN. Royal Society of Sciences.—The MNachrichten (physico- mathematical section), part iv. for 1907, contains the following memoirs communicated to the society :— January 12.—Seismic waves. (1) Theory of the propagation of seismic waves; (2) seismic time-curves : E. Wiechert and K. Zoeppritz. July 6.—The uniformisation of Koebe. July 20.—Researches from the Gé6ttingen University chemical laboratory, xviii. (1) The synthesis from nopinone of a hydrocarbon related to B-pinene; (2) the synthesis of homologous compounds of the dipentene series; (3) syn- theses in the terpinene series; (4) the synthesis of anethol from anise-aldehyde, and of isosafrol from piperonal ; (5) the occurrence of sabinene in Ceylon oil of cardamoms and majorana oil; (6) isomeric camphenes and a new camphene-camphor acid; (7) condensation products of cyclic ketones with aromatic aldehydes: O. Wallach. August 6.—A contribution to our knowledge of the light- sense in chickens: D. Katz and G. Révész. The official communications (part ii., 1906), just pub- lished, include a report by E. Klein on the progress of the issue of Gauss’s works. algebraic curves: P. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, JANuUARY 30. Roya Society, at 4.30.—On the Observation of Sun and Stars made in some British Stone Circles. Third Note: The Aberdeenshire Circles: Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B.,. F.R.S.—On the Non-periodic or Residual Motion of Water moving in Stationary Waves: Mrs. Ayrton.— The Refractive Index and Dispersion of Light in Argon and Helium: W. Burton.—On the Generation of a Luminous Glow in an Exhausted Receiver moving near an Electrostatic Field, and the Action of a Magnetic f’ Field on the Glow so produced : Rev. F. J. Jervis-Smith, F.R.S. FRIDAY, January 31. Roya. InstiruTion, at 9.—Recent Researches on Radio-activity: Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Victoria INsTITUTF, at 4.30.—The Southern Alps of New Zealand and their Glaciers : C. D. Fox. ARISTOTELIAN Society, at 8.—The Religious Emotion ; Some Results of Inductive Enquiry: Dr. A. Caldecott. Society oF Cuemicat. Inpustry, at 8.—Nitro-glycerine and its Manu- facture : Lieut.-Col. Sir Frederick Nathan and W. Rintoul. TUESDAY, Fesrvary 4. Roya. InstiruTion, at 3.—Roman Britain: (4) Its Interior Civilisation : Prof. F. J. Haverfield. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Further discussion: Experi- } mental Investigations of the Stresses in Masonry Dams subjected to Water Pressure: Sir J. W. Ottley, K.C.I-E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmore. —Srresses in Dams; an Experimental Investigation by Means of India- a ee J. S. Wilson and W..Gore.—Stresses in Masonry Dams: . P. Hill. ZooLocicaL Society, at 8.30.—Cinematograph Demonstration of Results of Natural Colour Photography with Zoological Subjects: F. Martin Duncan.—The Duke of Bedford's Zoological Exploration in Eastern Asia. VII. List of Mammals from the Tsu-shima Islands: O. Thomas. —On the Presence of Gonadial Grooves in Aurelia aurita: T. Gonrdey. —The Duke of Bedford’s Zeological Exploration in Eastern Asia. VIII. A Collection of Freshwater Fishes from Corea: C. Tate Regan. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5. Geotocicat. Society, at. 8.—On Antigorite and the Val Antigorio, with Notes on other Serpentines containing that Mineral: Prof. T. G. Bonney, a S.—The St. David’s Head ‘‘ Rock Series” (Pembrokeshire): J. V. Lisden. En TOMOLOGICAL Society, at 8.—On Diaposematism, with Reference to NO. 1996, VOL. 77] some Limitations of the Miillerian Hypothesis of Mimicry: Guy A. K. Marshall. Society oF Arts, at 8.—War Balloons : A: E. Gaudron. THURSDAY, Fesruary 6. Royat Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papers :—On the Weight of Precipi- tum obtainable in Precipitin Interactions with Small Weights of Homolo- gous Protein: Prof. D. A. Welsh and H. G. Chapman.—Nitrification in Acid Soils: A. D. Hall, N. H. J. Miller, and C. T. Gimingham.—A Criticism of the Opsonic Theory based upon Studies carried out by Means of Melanin: S. G. Shattock and L. S. Dudgeon.—A Contribution to the Study of the Mechanism of Respiration, with Especial Reference ae the Action of the Vertebral Column and Diaphragm: J. F. Halls ally. Roya InstTiTuTION, at 3.—The Story of the Spanish Armada : Martin Hume. : INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Protective Devices for High Tension Transmission Circuits: J. S. Peck. LINNEAN Sociery, at 8.—Fruits and Seeds from the Pre-Glacial Beds of Britain and the Netherlands: Clement Reid, F.R.S.—On a Method of Disintegrating Peat and other Deposits containing Fossil Seeds : Mrs. Reid.—On a Botanical Expedition to Fokien: S. T. Dunn. Civit anp MeEcuHanicat Encineers’ Society, at 8.—Some Devices for the Absorption of Shock on Wheeled Vehicles : F. G. Woollard. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—The Metallic Picrates: O. Silberrad and H_ A. Phillips.—Organic Derivatives of Silicon.. Part V., Benzylethyl- silicone, Dibenzylsilicone and other Benzyl- and Benzylethyl-derivatives of Silicane: R. Robison and F. S. Kipping.—Some Physico-chemical Properties of Mixtures of Pyridine and Water: H. Hartley, N. G. Thomas, and M. P. Applebey.—The Constitution of Umbellulone, Part I1I.: F. Tutin.—The Residual Affinity of the Coumarins and Thio- coumarins as shown by their Additive Compounds: A. Clayton.—The Influence of Foreign Substances on Certain Transition Temperatures, and the Determination of Molecular Weights: H. M. Dawson and C. G. Jackson.—The Bromination of -Hydroxydiphenylamine: Miss A. E. Smith and K. J. P. Orton.—Colour and Constitution of a@z-Methine Compounds, Part I.: F. G. Pope.—The Decomposition of Ammonium Bichromate by Heat. Preliminary Notice: W. M. Hooton. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7. Roya InstiruTion, at 9.—Napoleon and the Louvre : Humphry Ward. Society oF Arts, at 8.—The Hygiene of the Pottery Trade : W. Burton. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electric Hardening and An- nealing Furnaces: P. T. Steinthal. Gro ocists’ Association, at 8.—Presidential Address: The Centenary of the Geological Society: R. S. Herries. Junior INsTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Aérial Navigation: H. Chatley Major CONTENTS. The Function of the Stapes. ByM.G...... . 289 EifesandsDeath, |<)... 79) Sees. 8 Seezeo Philosophical Essays. By W.B.......... 290 Primitivesinterpretations <2 29. -- arenes +). +) eeeOn Our Book Shelf :— Bailey: ‘‘ Cyclopedia of American Agriculture” . . 292 ‘«Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, 1907-8” .... . . 292 Remington : ‘‘ The Education of To-morrow” . . . Baden-Powell: ‘‘Scouting for Boys. A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship” . .. . . . . . 203 ““Photopxramsiof the Year 1907"aeeee- © =) n-eeeos Letters to the Editor :-— Stability in Flight.—A. Mallock, F.R.S. . . . . . 293 The Inheritance of ‘* Acquired” Characters. —Dr. G, Archdalliveid:: .\ . 2 Nee emememen) 0. -memeZOs The Melanic Variety of the ‘‘ Peppered ” Moth.—A. Bacot .. 294 Inductance in Parallel Wires.—Dr. J. W. Nicholson 295 Stock Frost or Ground Ice.—Rev. John J. Hampson 295 The Production and Manipulation of India-Rubber. ({llustrated.) By C. ‘Simmonds. ......... Scenery and Natural History of New Zealand. (7ilustrated.) By Prof. Arthur Dendy ..... . 207 Lieut.-Col. R. L. J. Ellery,C.M.G., F.R.S ... .-. 298 Notes: Se meeeus f. 8. Sey 3 Se ZOS: Our Astronomical Column :— i : Astronomical Occurrences in February: . .... . Photographic Observations of Encke’s Comet (19082) 302 Satunn,a New Ring Suspected) 9-2 - .—.'% = Determination of the Moon’s Light with a Selenium IPhotometensiy.% ..) 2-0 Sesrceeeeememnersre 21. a /aeremannE Ox A Useful Sun and Planet Chart. . . 2... .. . 302 Chicago Meeting of the American Association . , 302 Stressesiin) Masonry Dams) 220.9) 20s) «© © see) 1305 AGB Et SCN Rae Beno bt ols Goto Jobe auc The Centenary of Davy’s Discovery of the Metals of the Alkalis. By Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., FR Seeeeas. ss Ae Ot OMe COmC aC 3 Stel University and Educational Intelligence. . . . . . 309 Societiesiand; Acacemies.-2)5 % Soe a et =) sense Diaryzofysocieties) .! (1... eemecnret es Boe Hed Se et, Or Vere bo >* NATURE 313 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1908. TRANSPIRATION AND ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE IN TROPICAL. PLANTS. Der Einfluss des Klimas auf den Bau der Pflanzen- gewebe, Anatomisch-physiologische Untersuchungen in den Tropen. By Dr. Carl Holtermann. Pp. viii+249; plates. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price 12 marks. R. HOLTERMANN’S investigations, mainly carried out in Ceylon, include a long series of experiments on the transpiration of different tropical plants. -His tables show great variations in the amount of transpiration for the same plant during the same hours of different days, and these are in many cases not explained by the differing temperature and relative humidity, which are the only other data given. Thus, for instance, in the case of Canna indica, be- tween 9.40 a.m. and 5.40 p.m. on January 11 (with a relative humidity of 61 and a temperature of 25°°4 at 10 a.m.), the transpiration was 0°37 gr. per hour per sq. dm. of leaf surface, while on January 17, between 9.45 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. (R.H. 63, temp. 26°°2, at II.15 a.m.), the transpiration was 0'92 gr. “per hour per sq. dm., and on January 18 between 9.15 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. the transpiration was 2°60 gr. per hour per sq. dm. (no humidity or temperature data are given within the period of the experiment, but judging from the late afternoon figures the day did not differ much from the others). This, though an extreme case, is only one out of several similar ones, and the effect of such figures on the reader is de- cidedly bewildering, though the striking variations may be explicable by changes of insolation, or the irregular occurrence of drying winds. As they stand, the author’s figures only demonstrate that the trans- piration of the plants studied exhibited startlingly wide fluctuations which remain quite unexplained. The author’s general conclusion from his experi- ments is that while the highest transpiration figures per hour in the tropics are considerably higher than any north European ones, yet active transpiration begins later and stops earlier in the day in the case of a damp tropical climate, so that the daily average is no higher than in Europe, while in the wet season transpiration may cease for weeks at-a time. He thus does not disagree with the conclusions either of Haberlandt or of Giltay on this question. Dr. Holter- mann holds that water-tissue is essentially an arrange- ment to supply water to the transpiring tissues during these short periods of excessive evaporation, not a means of lessening transpiration, and this view he supports by showing that it is especially developed in actively transpiring plants liable to be subjected to these sudden demands. It is characteristic of the leaves of tropical plants growing in a climate which is neither quite xerophytic nor constantly moist, and this harmonises with the short’ daily period of very active transpiration already mentioned. The man- groves, which ordinarily possess characteristic water NO. 1997, VOL. 77] tissue well developed, form much less or none at all in the leaves of examples cultivated in garden soil, which transpire very much more freely than plants growing in the natural salty soil. If these plants cultivated without salt are now watered with 3 per cent. salt solution and placed in the sun, they show a wilting of the leaves, and the mesophyll becomes shrivelled. Mangroves growing in their natural habitat also show wilting on hot afternoons, but only the water-tissue is partially emptied and the leaves recover during the night. For the rest the author holds that the xerophily of mangroves and of other halophytes has been much overrated by Schimper and others. They are scarcely, if at all, more protected in this respect than many trees growing in similar situa- tions but not in a salty soil. Dr. Holtermann describes three other formations of strand-plants besides the mangroves, viz., first the plants of moist sand, which fall into two categories, (1) those growing on the edge of the sea, absorbing salt water, and possessing water-tissue; (2) those growing further from the sea, with fresh bottom- water, which have no special xerophilous adaptations. Secondly, the dune plants, a highly xerophilous type; and, thirdly, the plants growing on salty mud, which have internal water-tissue, and resemble succulent desert-plants in many anatomical features. These three formations have close parallels among the strand formations of temperate regions. This classification is good so far as it goes, but it ignores the beach- jungle (Barringtonia-formation of Schimper), which the author apparently includes with the damp lowland forest type. Yet this formation, though not well developed in Ceylon, certainly has an independent existence; it is much in need of exact study and delimitation. The author goes on to describe the damp lowland woods, the dry plains of the north and east, and the upland vegetation, as also the epiphytes and parasites of Ceylon. Many interesting observations are con- tained in this part of the work. Dr. Holtermann also discusses at some length the question of leaf-fall in the tropics, and concludes that though it is a here- ditary character, it is, in the endemic species, deter- mined by the dry season, and, in general, leaves fall when their structure does not fit them to withstand the conditions prevailing during the time the trees are bare. A similar explanation is given of the occurrence of annual rings of growth in the wood, the author relating the renewed formation of wide xylem ele- ments to the increased transpiration taking place when a crop of young leaves is produced. The final section of the work is devoted to a dis- cussion of ‘* Direct Adaptation,’’ in the course of which an account is given of many interesting experi- ments which add considerably to our knowledge ot adaptive reactions under new conditions. The author rightly classes all these as phenomena of irritability, but draws the conclusion that such characters, ac- quired during the lifetime of the individual, can in process of time be fixed and inherited. This con- clusion is, of course, wholly unwarranted; in fact, it is totally irrelevant. And meanwhile the mystery of iB 314 NATURE [Fesruary 6, 1908 adaptive reaction, so widespread a phenomenon in the biological world, remains unsolved. Until we know a great deal more than we do at present about the physico-chemical connection of stimulus and response it is likely to remain so. AC Grail. CLIMATE AND MAN. The Pulse of Asia: a Journey in Central Asia illus- trating the Geographic Basis of History. By Ells- worth Huntington. Pp. xxi+416. (London: A. Constable and Co., Ltd.; Boston and New York : Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1907.) Price 14s. net. bes Nature, vol. Ixxii., 1905, p. 366, some account was given of the expedition of the Carnegie Insti- tution of Washington to Eastern Persia and Turke- stan. Mr. Huntington showed his descriptive power in the joint memoir issued in that year; and he dedi- cates his new book to Prof. W. M. Davis, his instructor in the ‘‘ rational science ’’ of geography, and his com- panion in arduous travel. Mr. Huntington states that, thanks to the help of Prof. Davis, he spent three years in Central Asia, in addition to four previously spent in Asia Minor. His study of languages has again and again been of service to him; and it is in- teresting to note at one point (p. 153) the struggle between his natural sympathy and the need for a little self-assertion, which, to the Oriental, is an outward sign of self-respect. His relations with the Khirghiz, and even with the feebler Chantos, were pleasant in the extreme; we fancy that something more funda- mental than a training in geography gave him his thoughtful perception of the conditions and limitations of their lives. The map of Asia, and no small part of it, is re- quired to reveal the significance of the author’s routes. The high passes of the Kwen Lun and Tian Shan ranges are mere incidents in these loops of travel, which lead us from Batum across Bokhara, and as far east as the shrinking salt-lake of Lop Nor. Nine months were spent in the Lop Basin alone, and one of the finest things in the book is the general account of the succession of physical and climatic zones (chapter iv.), as one descends from the moun- tains across a ring of river-gravels to the edge of the region of desiccation. Here the fine sands and muds of old flood-plains are to-day whirled up before the wind, and are deposited as loess on the mountain- pastures to the south. The life of the nomadic inhabi- tants of the basin is practically limited by this pastoral land, which occupies all but the highest parts of the plateau-zone ; and this zone terminates in steep slopes inwards, rising “‘ like a continental ring around a sea forever dry.’? Down below, patches of forest-land are already poisoned by salt, and dying tamarisk bushes mark the spread and triumph of the desert. All through Mr. Huntington’s chapters we trace the same compelling influence. The desert, with its rippled and shifting dunes, its ‘‘ hateful haze ’’ swept onward by the wind, its inexorable hostility, demand- ing an inexorable endurance (p. 260), is driving man steadily before it, and has him, as it were, over leagues of country, the throat. Old irrigation-channels have been abandoned, from failure at their source; NO. 1997, VOL. 77] by 1 old roads around lake-basins have given place to direct tracks across their floors. Even in mountain- gorges, streams have run dry, leaving the lower ground dependent on the sudden and dangerous tor- rents that follow on each melting of the snows. Springs may temporarily arise in desiccated areas, and may furnish real rivers as time goes on (p. 182); but such incidents only temporarily retard the retreat of man, who leaves lost cities behind him, still ‘* beautiful in the clean, graceful shrouds of their interment in the sand.”? Archeological research, local legends, the experience of recent generations, all show that the drying up of Central Asia is a continuous pheno- menon; yet a ‘climatic pulsation ’’ in an opposite direction is traceable, both in the Caspian and Lop Nor Basins, in the *‘ Middle Ages ”’ following on 500 a.b. The conditions of the still older dry or ** interflu- vial ’’ epoch have not even now been reproduced, since (p. 351) there are places in the Tian Shan range, now too cold and wet for agriculture, where canals were once made to provide for irrigation. Mr. Huntington throughout acknowledges the work of Brickner and his other predecessors in these fields of travel, observ- ation, and deduction, and has, in his later pages, urged the climatic aspect of human movements to an almost hazardous extreme. He set out (p. 6) to use Central Asia as a text ‘‘ to show the immense influence which changes of climate have exerted upon _history.’’ In this respect his book does not quite rise to the anticipated level, which is reached more nearly in the memoir issued by the Carnegie Institution. But, with its simple record of perilous adventures, its excellent illustrations, and its clear devotion to science first of all, it forms a note- worthy and inspiring worl: of travel. Throughout it we feel, as the author means us to feel, the insistent pressure of natural law against the will and work of mortals—the helplessness of millions of men against the untimed pulse of Asia. GRENVILLE A. J. COLE. THE MODERN MICROSCOPE, Microscopy: the Construction, Theory, and Use of the Microscope. By E. J. Spitta. Pp. xx+472; 16 plates. (London: J. Murray, 1907.) Price 12s. 6d. net. ICROSCOPISTS are at present divided into two factions. There are those of the old school, who are content with the principles under the guidance of which such great:improvements have been made in microscope construction since the earlier days of Abbe ; and there are those whom we may call the ‘‘ Gordon rioters,’’? who hold that Abbe’s experiments were in- conclusive and even misleading, and have found a new prophet. The new theory—the adjective has at least some iustification—has been duly set forth, with a mint of strange phrases, in Sir A. E. Wright’s ‘« Principles of Microscopy,’’ already reviewed in these pages (vol. Ixxv., p. 386, February 21, 1907). Mr. Spitta is of the older school. He is for ‘‘ legitimate methods of observation.’? He casts an oblique and somewhat mistrustful glance upon the new practices, and hurries by to surer and more familiar ground. a FEBRUARY 6, 1908] Not so Mr. Conrady, who contributes to the present volume a couple of chapters on the undulatory theory of light, and on Abbe’s diffraction theory of the micro- scope image. Mr. Conrady “‘ has no use ’’ for the new theory, propounded long since by Dr. Altmann, and only of value in that it called forth a complete and overwhelming reply from Abbe in his well-known paper ‘“ Uber die Grenzen der geometrischen Optik.” He urges strongly the adequacy of the diffraction theory to explain all the observed phenomena, and is emphatic as to the inapplicability to the microscope of the theory of the Airy diffusion-disc. This, however, is not the place to enter on this much- discussed but fascinating topic, with which, indeed, Mr. Spitta’s book, from its plan and object, is but little concerned. It is the practical rather than the theoretical to which attention is directed, to the intel- ligent handling of one of the most finished and deli- cate of optical instruments. From this point of view, let us hasten to urge every student of the microscope who wishes to gain a thorough understanding of its principles and possi- bilities and its defects, and every user of the instru- ment who desires a work of reference to which he may turn for an explanation of some unexplained optical phenomenon, or for particulars of up-to-date apparatus, to procure a copy of Mr. Spitta’s book without delay. It is a leisurely book—an_ un- friendly critic might even call it diffuse—but there is searcely a chapter which will not repay careful read- ing; and when one comes to the chapter on ‘‘ Test- ing Objectives,’’ one can but feel grateful to Mr. Spitta for his admirable treatment of a difficult subject. Mr. Spitta has called his work ‘‘ Microscopy ’’; but it is only of one branch of microscopy that he treats. His subject is the theory and use of the microscope as an optical instrument; with the preparation of objects for the microscope he does not deal. The book will be of much interest and of great value to many who are in no sense ‘‘ microscopists,’? but who use the microscope as an accessory in other physical investi- gation. The non-mathematician who desires to know the meaning of the terms ‘*‘ numerical aperture,’’ the ** sine-law,’’ ‘‘ resolving power,’’ or to make himself familiar with the essentials of the Abbe theory, will find Mr. Spitta a satisfactory guide; and the micro- scopist proper will find innumerable useful suggestions as to the manipulation of his instrument. It will be well to indicate shortly the ground Mr. Spitta covers. After a preliminary account of the ele- ments of geometrical optics and the theory of the simple microscope, he proceeds to deal with the com- pound microscope in its modern form, fine adjust- ments, mechanical stage, substage, objectives— achromatic, semi-apochromatic, and apochromatic; dry and immersion—with details and illustrations of the work of the best makers. In connection with ob- jectives the chief optical properties, spherical and chro- matic aberration, the sine-law, &c., are discussed. Then follow chapters on numerical aperture, eye- pieces, magnification—in which may be found the main principles of the Abbe theory--the substage condenser, and methods of illumination—critical light, mono- NO. 1997, VOL. 77] NATORE 315 chromatic light, dark ground illumination, Rhein- berg’s multiple colour illumination, oblique light, il- lumination of opaque objects, polarised light. Then we come to “‘ the use of the microscope,’’ with which may be mentioned the valuable hints to workers with which the volume concludes. The binocular micro- scope and measurements with the microscope are treated, and a long chapter is devoted to the discus- sion and illustration of microscopes by different makers for various purposes, which is a feature of the book. Then follows the excellent account of the testing of objectives already referred to. Mr. Spitta confines himself to the use of the Abbe test-plate, and of speci- fied test objects, but within these limits he goes into the matter in detail and with admirable clearness, and this chapter alone is sufficient to justify the work. The section is illustrated in sixteen plates by a beautiful series of photomicrographs. Mr. Conrady’s two chapters follow, with another on accessory apparatus. The usefulness of the book is completed by a satis- factory index. We have said enough to commend Mr. Spitta’s volume. It teems with “ tips,’’.and is likely to com- mand an even wider popularity than his previous books on allied subjects. MATHEMATICAL TEXT-BOOKS. (1) Easy Exercises in Algebra for Beginners. By W. S. Beard. Pp. x+134. (London: Methuen and Co., n.d.) Price 1s. 9d. (2) Plane Geometry for Secondary Schools. By C. Davison and C. H. Richards. Pp. viii+411. (Cambridge : University Press, 1907.) Price 4s. (3) Cartesian Plane Geometry. Part i. By Charlotte A. Scott. Pp. xiv+428. (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1907.) Price 5s. (4) A Sequel to Elementary Geometry. By EL Russell. Pp. viii+204. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) Price 6s. (5) Text-book of Mechanics. Vol. ii. By L. A. Martin, Jun. Pp. xiv+214. (New York: Wiley and Sons; London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. (6) Elementary Statics. By W. P. Borchardt. Pp. vili+398+xx. (London: Rivingtons, 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. (7) Elementary Trigonometry. With Answers. By CG: Hawkins. Pp. xiii+310. (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. (1) HIS book is a collection of 3500 examples in ele- mentary algebra up to quadratic equations. It will prove useful to those teachers who dictate the book- work instead of leaving their pupils to read it for themselves. The exercises are well arranged, and there is a good list of contents, so that the reader can at a moment's notice find a dozen or more ex- amples of exactly the type he requires for class use. Answers and examination papers are given, and even though the book does suggest cramming, it has a practical value which will ensure it a welcome. The idea might with advantage be extended to other mathematical subjects. 3 £6, NONI CDC IE [FEBRUARY 6, 1908 (2) This book is written for schoolboys who have | enough, and the reader is led from one idea to another had a preliminary training in practical geometry, and is devoted almost entirely to theoretical work. The authors are not very fortunate in the first few pages, but when once the reader is fairly started, he will find very little to which he can take exception, pro- vided he is in sympathy with the general arrange- ment of the book. The authors adopt a servative point of view, and give a very Strong Euclidean flavour to their treatise, but they show themselves capable of appreciating the chief lessons to be learnt from recent experiments in geometrical teaching. Hypothetical constructions are allowed if it can be proved that the construction is possible. The theory of parallels based on Playfair’s axiom is deferred until after the principal properties of con- gruent triangles have been proved. The book covers the substance of Euclid-i. to vi.; those of Euclid’s theorems which are not included in the text are set as riders together with a large number of well-chosen examples. The treatise is very complete within the limits chosen, and contains sections on loci, geo- metrical dissections, the nine-point circle, inscribed and escribed circles, Ceva’s theorems, &c. A teacher who has conservative views could, on the whole, hardly wish for a better text-book. (3) The treatise on analytical conics in this series was undertaken by Mr. R. W. H. T. Hudson, and Miss Scott, while pursuing her own plan, has had at her disposal the outline he drew up before his death. The book will prove interesting to the teacher on account of the extreme novelty of the arrangement. The author claims to have shown deference to existing conventions, but it is not so easy to see where self-restraint has been exercised. Apart from the pro- fessed innovation of introducing line-coordinates concurrently with point-coordinates from the very first, we have the novelty that the circle is taken as a special case of the ellipse, change of axes is deferred until necessary for the tracing of conics, and so on. The chief fault of the treatise is probably that the arrangement is far too confused. Properties of the circle are spread over three or four chapters in various parts of the book, interspersed with theorems on conics and straight lines, which theorems are in their turn introduced apparently incidentally, then re- capitulated further on, only to be extended in a still later chapter. It seems very doubtful whether a pupil brought up on this method would be able in any way to systematise his knowledge. Introductory remarks and definitions are apt to be a little obscure, but this is amply compensated by excellent diagrams and very intelligible examples worked at full length. It is a pity that no answers to the exercises are given. (4) This book is somewhat on the lines of Casey’s sequel to Euclid, and covers a good deal of the same ground. con- It is in many ways an improvement on that standard treatise, and will probably replace it with those students who are just beginning an honours course in mathematics. The chief criticism we have to make is that the contents are of too miscellaneous a character; no one subiect is treated quite fully N9. 1997, VOL. 77| with almost bewildering rapidity. Perhaps some im- provement might have been effected by omitting the chapter on ‘‘ recent geometry,’’ which contains very little that is new except the nomenclature, and treat- ing more important subjects at greater length. In a book of this kind the chief danger lies in the insertion of artificial geometrical proofs of theorems best established by analytical or other methods. The author is te be congratulated in having avoided this. danger, on the whole, with marked success, though ; perhaps it would be better to solve Fermat’s problem and other examples in chapter xi. by the more instruc- tive methods of chapter xii. The reasoning adopted is of a simple character, and in many cases alternative proofs of equal elegance and simplicity are given. There is a plentiful supply of well-chosen exercises ; in many cases concise but useful hints are given in the text for their solution, and a key to the remainder of the examples is promised. The book will prove very inspiring to the beginner, and give pleasure to the more advanced reader. (5) Mr. Martin’s book is intended for readers who have a fair knowledge of differential calculus and are beginning integral, and it covers the more elementary portions of uniplanar dynamics of the particle and rigid body. There is room for such a treatise, but the present one is not entirely satisfactory. Much of it is carelessly worded, e.g. a movement is called the motion of a ‘‘ point’’ and of a ‘ particle’ in the same section, the definition of a radian is unin- telligible, &c. Some of the proofs, as in the case of normal acceleration, are far too cumbrous, while others are hardly rigid—an instance of this is the absence of any mention of D’Alembert’s principle or a sub- stitute therefor. The 420 examples will be useful, though no answers are given. (6) In this treatise an attempt is made to cover the ground very thoroughly; for instance, three distinct proofs are given of the resultant of two parallel forces and the three requisites of a good balance are dis- cussed, while chapters on work and energy, frame- works, virtual work, elasticity, &c., are given. The object aimed at is to include all that part of statics which can be profitably discussed without the use of the calculus. The result is a book which every teacher should possess; it contains all the boolkworls he is likely to want and more, while it is a most useful mine of excellent examples. It is more doubtful whether the book is equally suited to class use; it is hardly simple enough for beginners, and the prac- tical experiments are not described in suflicient detail to be of much use for such a purpose. Readers who have Borchardt and Perrott’s ‘* Trigonometry ”’ wilt have a very fair idea of the style and aim of this “TS tates: Mr. Hawkins’s (7) book is rather attractive; for a boy who was learning trigonometry in order ta become a surveyor it would be ideal. It may be doubted, however, whether the ordinary pupil will take much interest in so many technical details of land-measurement, even granting that practical appli- cations have a fascination for beginners. With a Ferruary 6, 1908] NATURE B17 little judicious skipping, however, the book may be suited to ordinary class use. It is well written, very intelligible, pleasant reading, and mathematically sound (except in § 88). An interesting feature is that the use of the sine and cosecant in solving triangles, finding areas, &c., is explained before the definition of the cosine and secant, and similarly the applications of the cosine are given before the tangent and cotangent are introduced. The contents of chapters ix. and x., with the exception of an isolated section on inscribed and escribed circles, might well be left to a more advanced treatise. The diagrams throughout are excellent. Demoivre’s theoren: and similar theoretical developments are not included. OUR BOOK SHELF. (1) Mining Tables. By Dr. F. H. Hatch and E. J. Vallentine. Pp. vili+200. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. net. (2) The Weights and Measures of International Com- merce. Tables and Equivalents. Pp. 59. (London: Maemillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. 6d. net. In the former of these works the authors give a com- parison of the units of weight, measure, currency, and mining area of different countries, together with tables, constants, and other data useful to mining engineers and surveyors. In the second work, they reprint a selection of tables that appeal to others besides mining engineers. On the whole, the authors have carried out their difficult task in an admirable manner. | It is customary for engineers to get together data for use in their professional work, and the reprint of the authors’ collection cannot fail to be of service to other workers in the same field. All such collections have, however, their limitations, as the requirements of no two engineers are precisely the same. We miss, for example, information relat- ing to the strength of materials, tables for converting kilograms per square millimetre into tons per square inch, and the like, and in the table ot rates of exchange for money, any reference to Spain, Portugal, or the South American republics. While it is easy to point to omissions, we have not been able to detect any errors in the figures given, not- withstanding a careful comparison, for example, of the tables for the calculation of heights and distances from tacheometer readings with the similar tables communi- cated by Mr. Neil Kennedy to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1890. In the text, typographical errors are few. There is a little want of uniformity in the spelling of the names of metric weights and measures, grammes and grams, metre and meter, litre and liter being used indiscriminately. Barbados is spelt incor- rectly ; and Mohs, the inventor of the scale of hardness, appears as Moh. On the title-page, too, Dr. Hatch describes himself as member of the Institute, instead of Institution, of Civil Engineers, and Mr. Vallentine as member ot the Federated Institute of Mining Engineers, a society which dropped the term Federated in 1897, and has since been known as the Institution of Mining Engineers. L. Revillon. Les Aciers spéciaux. By Encyclopédie scientifique des Aides Memoires. Pp. 188. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, n.d.) Price 2.50 francs. To understand even the present state of general knowledge with regard to special steels a very large and difficult field must be traversed, and the task of condensation to a reasonable limit will be a heavy one, but, for those who are unable from various causes to enter the field and would like to know the NO. 1997, VOL. 77] kind of work that is being done, this book may be helpful. To compare the results given with one’s own ascertained tests of materials made under known conditions would be a considerable task, but a few general matters taken at random are worth noting as examples. On p. 99 we are told that chrome steels are chiefly made in the crucible, even when large pieces, &c. What can the author think would prevent them being made in the open hearth? They are so made in large quantities. On p. 154, the author permits himself to dream that nickel chrome steels may also be made in the open hearth (they are made extensively) as nickel steels and chrome steels are (which seems to contradict p. 99). P. 118, ‘‘ Vanadium remains a scientific curiosity : excepting for steels of high price such as tool steels.’’ It was a source of great pride to the late Auguste Wiener that he had obtained the recognition of vanadium as an element of prac- tical industrial importance in the manufacture of special structural steels, and Kent-Smith’s success in making vanadium chrome and vanadium nickel steels was the main reason why he was taken to America, undoubtedly to carry on similar work. One regrets to find in a work on this subject, where names are freely used, that the only mention of Prof. Arnold. who has done so much in connection with nickel, vanadium, and chrome steels, is in chapter xv., on nickel vanadium steeis :—‘‘ There exist also several tests by Prof. Arnold.’’ Perhaps there is some kind of poetic justice in the fact that, to take one example only, the author’s readers will not know that a nickel steel given by him at 61 tons per square inch, with an elongation of 35 per cent. on too mm., when properly made, gives the extraordinary test of about 90 tons per square inch and to per cent. elongation on A. McW. Voice Training in Speech and Song. By H. H. Hulbert. Pp. xii+83. (London: W. B. Clive, 1907.) Price 1s. 6d. Tuts book is primarily designed for the use of teachers, who, as the author points out, are probably the greatest voice-users, but it will interest all who speak or sing in public. Voice production is difficult to teach even when the pupil has the advantage of performing exercises under the personal supervision of the instructor, and it may be doubted if much improvement in the use of the organs of speech can be effected by reading text-books alone; but what is possible in the direction of describing suitable exer- cises appears to have been accomplished with success by the author. The book provides an account of the structure and use of the vocal organs, and the means of securing distinct articulation ; it should be useful to all persons who are attending practical classes for the cultivation of the voice. Revisio Conocephalidarum. By (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907.) H. Karny. Pp. 114. Price 4.50 marks. THis compilation dealing” with a subfamily of the Locustidee, was published in the Abhandlungen der k.k. zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft of “Vienna, and provides a serviceable continuation of the mono- graph prepared by Redtenbacher that appeared in the Behandlungen of the same society in 1891. Revised analytical tables are given for several of the genera to include recent dete srminations by the author and other workers. Three genera are here described for the first time—Paroxyprora, Rhytidogyne, and Peecilo- merus. A considerable number of new species are made, principally additions to the tribe of Conocepha- lini; many were collected in South America, and six were obtained in New Guinea. 318 NATURE [IT EBRUARY 6, 1908 | LETTERS TO DAE EDITOR: [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Netther can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NaTuRE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. | The Cotton Plant. ‘ ATTENTION has been directed in Nature of January 16 to a work in which a writer on economic subjects deals with ‘‘ The Wild and Cultivated Cotton Plants of the World.’’? The subject is as difficult as it is important, and your reviewer, whose expert opinion is held in regard, shows that some of the questions involved may have two sides. Your reviewer remarks that this work has been doomed to failure owing to the mode of study adopted by its author. If this means that the work is not without error and does not attain finality, the judgment has _ been anticipated by the author. But if this also means that the work adds nothing to what is known by those who do not happen to be experts in cotton, its readers will find that the verdict cannot be sustained. The work is compared unfavourably with another on this subject by the late Prof. Todaro. Your reviewer attributes success to Todaro’s book because Todaro dealt for the most part with living plants grown by him from seed. It is possibly true that the material studied by Todaro was, for the most part, obtained from the living plants the cultivation of which is related in the introduc- tory fifth part of his monograph. But it is not the case that Todaro’s revision of the cottons of the world was based for the most part on this material. Those who have studied Todaro’s work know that, of the fifty-four species of Gossypium there enumerated, only eleven were certainly described from living plants, although it is possible that others may have been seen by him in the living state. In dealing with the remaining thirty-eight, Todaro has had to rely on the mode of study which your reviewer tells us is doomed to failure; indeed, as regards a considerable number of the species recognised, Todaro has had to depend on the accuracy of descriptions by other writers, because he did not have access to authentic herbarium specimens. We are, however, less concerned with the work of Todaro than with the continuation and extension of that work which your reviewer says was needed, and which Sir G. Watt has tried to supply. A study of Watt’s work shows that its chief merit and value lie in the exhaustive way in which it brings together references to all con- ceivable sources of information. On this account it will be indispensable to anyone who may hereafter be seriously at work on cotton, who will find it a comprehensive guide to the literature of the subject and to the whereabouts of authentic material. Its readers must follow the rule that applies to the study of subjects so critical, and reserve perfect freedom of judgment as regards the acceptance of Watt’s conclusions. They are not bound to agree with Watt as to the provenance or the pedigree of any par- ticular cultivated cotton, nor are they bound to adopt the advice Watt may give as to the kinds most suitable for a particular locality. But when, in deference to other views or on intuitive grounds, we question the validity of Watt’s opinion, we are not entitled to do more than reserve our assent unless and until we have critically examined, and if need be supplemented, the material on which that opinion is based. Believing, as he explains, that the work of Todaro does not require to be corrected, your reviewer is justified in refusing to accept any opinion expressed by Watt which is at variance with that of Todaro, and is free to imagine that, because Watt at times differs from Todaro, Watt’s volume is rather a retrogression than an advance on Todaro’s work. He is also entitled to assert the right to criticise details as to which he considers himself a com- petent judge. But his decision that when Watt differs from Todaro therefore Watt must be wrong does not prove this to be the case; his belief in the infallibility of Todaro does not establish that unusual quality; we know, indeed, that at least one of Todaro’s species of Gossypium does not belong to the genus. NO. 1997, VOL. 77] In exercising his right to criticise, your reviewer occasionally raises a doubt whether sound judgment as to the value of a cotton need include full appreciation of the difficulties connected with its botanical status, while his terminology does not make it clear that his conception of botanical characters, and his interpretation of words like ‘‘ species’? and ‘* variety,’’ accord with established usage. This prevents our commenting on his estimate of Watt’s system of classification, which is based on those characters that Watt believes to be least subject to varia- tion in truly wild cottons. That among cultivated forms even these characters prove unstable is only too true; but they may still be the best available, and the re- viewer does not suggest an alternative method of arrange- ment. In certain specific instances your reviewer directs atten- tion to what he terms errors. Thus the treatment by Watt of G. obtusifolium, Roxb., and G. Wightianum, Tod., is cited as a case of ‘*‘ erroneous synonymy.’’ The situation is this:—Todaro has shown that he only knew of G. obtusifolium from Roxburgh’s description, and that he did not recognise Roxburgh’s species in any of the plants he grew. Todaro has further concluded that a plant which most Indian botanists have treated as a form of G. herbaceum docs not belong to G. herbaceum; this plant he has named G. Wightianum. Dealing anew with the subject, Watt has agreed with Todaro in considering G. Wightianum distinct from G. herbaceum. But Watt also thinks that he can recognise the plant which Rox- burgh named G. obtusifoliwm, and _ believes that G. Wightianum is only a variety of G. obtusifolium. However the case may stand as to these conclusions, the synonymy they involve is accurate. Even if, as is possible, your reviewer by ‘‘ erroneous synonymy ’’ only implies that Watt differs from Todaro, the criticism fails. We are unable to say whether, if Todaro had been able to re- cognise G. obtusifolium, any difference of view would have existed. The subordinate questions as to whether Watt’s limitation of G. obtusifolium, var. Wightiana, accords with natural facts, and whether G. obtusifolium proper and G. Nanking, var. roji, should be kept apart or united, are only differences of opinion between Watt and your reviewer on points as to which they are equally entitled to form a judgment. Your reviewer cites two cases in which he believes that plants have been wrongly identified by Watt. He states that the figure of G. microcarpum given by Watt (plate 36) represents a plant other than the one figured by Todaro as G. microcarpum. He points out that Todaro describes the two lobes on either side of the central lobe as unequal, and states that the figure given by Watt does not display this peculiarity. On examining the figure of G. microcarpum given by Watt, we find that it does show this peculiarity, and on consulting the text we see that it is G. microcarpum of Todaro and no other species that is intended to be represented. There may be some mistake with regard to this species; if it be the case that the G. microcarpum grown by the reviewer is the true G. microcarpum of Todaro, and is at the same time the plant figured by Watt as G. Schottii, then the figure which Todaro has given of G. microcarpum can hardly represent his own species accurately; it is unlikely that a suggestion as to the identity of G. Schottit as figured by Watt (plate 35) and G. microcarpum as shown in Todaro’s plate will be generally admitted. In the other case, your reviewer’s conclusion as to mis- identification rests partly on a statement that the name ““ Piura’? indicates a cotton other than the one it connotes in Watt’s book, partly on an assertion that Lamarck describes his species G. vitifolium as having the under- side of its leaves glabrous. The incidence of vernacular names is not always so exact as to justify implicit con- fidence, but in this instance Spruce, who collected the Piura cotton in Peru and has described it with care, assigns the name to the plant with which Watt associates it. Finally, what Lamarck says with regard to the leaves of his G. vitifolium is :—‘ Elles sont glabres en dessus, un peu velues en dessous.”’ What we now await is a work on the cultivated cottons from the pen of your reviewer. D. PRAIN. Kew, January 20. “ Fesruary 6, 1908] NATURE 319 The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters. I wave looked with much interest for some reply from your reviewer to the queries put to him in the letter of Mr. Spicer (January 16, p. 247). But while he does not attempt to enlighten us, Mr. Archdall Reid, one of the principal exponents of ‘* the infant science of heredity,’’ seeks to show in your columns of January 30 (p. 293) that there is no real basis for this controversy—that Weismann and Herbert Spencer, and all others who have dealt with the question, are alike in error in supposing that there is any real difficulty to be solved. Mr. Reid seeks to establish his position in this way. He objects to the distinction commonly drawn between “‘innate ’’ and ‘‘ acquired ’’ characters; he says these are inaccurate distinctions, and that they have given rise to a long drawn but “futile controversy.’” He holds the peculiar view that ‘‘in man the main difference between the infant and the adult is due to the use acquirements made by the latter during development.’’ Thus, he says :—* Nutriment supplies the material but not the stimulus, for all growth. Up to birth, the human being, for example, develops wholly, or almost wholly, under this stimulus. Subsequently some of his structures continue to develop under it, for instance, his hair, teeth, external ears, and organs of generation, which grow whether or not they be used. But most of his structures now develop mainly, if not solely, under the stimulus of use, for example, his voluntary muscles, limbs, heart, and brain.’’ But surely the fact that use occurs during the development {and therefore, of course, has some share in promoting the growth) of some parts of the human body must not blind us to the probable fact that the post-natal growth is essentially due to the same inherent causes as pre-natal growth. That being so, is it not absurdly inaccurate to say that “‘in man the main difference between the infant and the adult is due to use acquirements *’? Then, again, Mr. Archdall Reid seems to assume (in the face of multitudinous difficulties) that the germs of all human beings are potentially alike. He says “‘ innate characters arise inevitably as the child develops, whereas some acquirements are more or less rare. But this is only because the stimulus of nutriment is inevitably received, whereas the stimulus of a particular wse or injury may not be received. If, however, the latter be received, the acquirement arises just as inevitably as the innate characters.”’* This may, and probably does, hold good for the result of injury and the production of scar tissue, but surely not in regard to the effects of use. No amount of use exercise could make a colour-blind man a good colourist, or enable many persons having, as it is commonly said, ““no ear for music ’’ to be good musicians. Thus in some persons what in the majority should be innate qualities are found to be wanting (owing to defects in organisation), while in other persons, wholly independent of any com- mensurate amount of use exercise, powers like those possessed by a Turner or a Watts, by a Mozart or a Beethoven, or such powers in the direction of mental arithmetic as were found in Bidder, Inaudi, and others. One person has highly developed auditory centres and cerebral regions in association therewith, another has a poor development of the same parts, and the same thing holds good for the visual centres and their associated cerebral mechanisms. Some of those having highly developed auditory centres may prove to have unusual musical abilities, while other persons, like Inaudi, may have marvellous powers in dealing with figures. It is, in fact, notorious that the stimulus of nutriment and the stimulus of use being present, the results in the way of acquirement will vary ad infinitum in accordance with innate differences in individual germs. Yet it is upon the basis of such views as I have quoted that Mr. Reid strives to show that the controversy .as to the alleged ** transmission ’’ of acquired characters is due to a mis- understanding. ‘“‘ Had the true nature of the distinction between innate and acquired characters been realised,’’ he says, “had it been realised that the difference is one of stimuli, not of innateness or inheritability, and that acquirements are just as much products of evolution as 1 No italics her= in origina’, NO. 1997, VOL. 77] .sought information from other authorities, innate characters, it is impossible that the controversy as to the alleged ‘ transmission’ of the former could have endured so long as it did.’’ I venture to think that many will not be satisfied with Mr. Archdall Reid’s doctrines, and will still consider that the controversy is not closed, as he seems to suppose, but that there is a real problem open to discussion; and certainly those who believe that the effects of use and disuse may be inherited will not find anything in Mr. Reid’s letter to show that they are wrong. In your pages in 1905 (June 15, p. 152) there was a brief communication on this subject from Mr. Woods Smythe which I take to be of considerable importance. He says :—** Lately I heard a missionary at a May meet- ing tell of the marvellous facility with which Chinese children memorise whole books of the Bible; the four Gospels, and sometimes the Acts also, being an easy feat for children of ten or twelve years. Having carefully I find these facts confirmed, and that the same applies to Mohammedan children. We are aware that for ages their ancestors have been compelled to memorise long portions of their sacred books, and although occasionally we meet with a child of any nation with a gigantic memory, that differs widely from the case of a people where it has become a general characteristic.” Facts of this kind are very difficult, if not impossible, to understand except upon the supposition that use and prac- tice carried on through many generations have led to the begetting of germs having modified developmental tendencies. How would Mr. Reid explain such facts? In his letter he says:—‘ Memory, the power of learning, develops under the stimulus of nutriment, but intelligence and reason develop under the stimulus of use.’’ Memory is, therefore, for him one of the so-called ‘* innate ’’ -characters which develops independently of the stimulus of use and exercise. For him, therefore, there ought to be no such remarkable memorial powers as those which have been referred to by Mr. Woods Smythe. H. Ciariton Bastian. The Athenzum, London, February 3. The Nature of Réntgen Rays. In Nature of January 23 (p. 270) Prof. Bragg defends his neutral pair theory of X-rays, and his explanation of scattering and polarisation on this theory, against a criticism which I made in a recent letter (NATURE, October 31, 1907). Though he appears to have enlarged his con- ception of the possible function of the ether pulse in X-ray phenomena, he contends that my one assumption is un- justifiable, consequently is of no value as a critical test. Prof. Bragg had assumed that a pair revolves in a plane containing its direction of translatory motion, that when incident on light atoms it is liable to be taken up only by an atom revolving in the same plane, sometimes to be ejected again, and that if ejected again it continues to rotate in the same plane. My assumption in calculating the distribution of intensity of secondary radiation was that after being taken up by an atom its liability to be ejected again is equal in all directions in that plane. This does not appear quite so unjustifiable as, from Prof. Bragg’s letter, one would iudge it to have been. It is evident, however, that this assumption is not a necessary part of the argument against the neutral pair theory, though it appeared, and still appears, to me to be the nearest approximation one can make to the probable behaviour of a pair, if we accept Prof. Bragg’s previous assumptions. But to make calculation possible in place of such a definite distribution we may assume any one of a score of others, as Prof. Bragg does not suggest one. Still, experi- ments supply what appears to me to be absolutely con- clusive evidence in favour of the ether pulse theory. For, after measuring the intensity of secondary radiation pro- ceeding in a direction perpendicular to that of propagation of the primary beam from a substance of low atomic weight during the transmission of “soft ’” X-rays (con- ditions producing the most complete polarisation), I have found that the intensity of radiation in a direction opposite 320 NATURE [February 6, 1908: to that of propagation of the primary rays as experiment- ally determined is within 5 per cent. of that calculated on the ether pulse theory (see Phil. Mag., February, 1908). If Prof. Bragg can suggest a distribution of ejected pairs that will produce such close agreement between the caleu- lated and experimentally determined intensities, it will be time to consider the theory further. My argument has not been concerned with y rays, but with the type of radiation with which I] am experimentally more familiar—X-rays of ordinary penetrating power. University of Liverpool. Cuarces G. BaRrKLa. The Wave-length of Rontgen Rays. In his theory of thermodynamical radiation, Planck has found the simple law e=hn=hy where e is an element of energy, h,=6.55-10-*' a constant, n the frequency, A the wave-length of an electromagnetic resonator, c the velocity of light; according to this ‘‘ elementary law ’’ the energy of an electromagnetic resonator changes during a period by a multiple of e. Applying Planck’s elementary law on the emission of Rontgen rays by stopped kathode ray particles, I have found the following (Physik. Zeitschr., viii., 882, 1907). Let 2 Mov ee : = —“ be the kinetic energy of a kathode ray, «€ its electric charge, V the freely traversed potential difference, the total kinetic energy may be, by stopping, transformed into energy of radiation. The smallest wave- “length of the emitted R6éntgen radiation is then pee See for a k working potential difference of 60,000 volts on a Réntgen bulb A, becomes 6-10-*° cm. Haga and Wind (Ann. d. Phys., X., 305, 1903) have found by their experiments on diffraction for the wave- -length of the used Rontgen rays the value A=5-10-° cm. It is clear. that the. reversed phenomenon—the trans- formation of Réntgen rays into kinetic energy of electrons —gives the emission of secondary kathode rays by Réntgen rays, or more generally by light. .I have deduced from Planck’s elementary law that the maximum of the velocity of secondary kathode rays is independent of the nature and temperature of the radiating body, but inversely pro- portional to the square root of the absorbed. wave-length. This statement is in agreement with the observations of Innes (Proc. Roy. Soc., Ixxix., 442, 1907); the observations cannot be explained by the hypothesis of J.J. Thomson and W. Wien that the emission of secondary kathode rays is produced by some radio-active process. It may be added that Planck’s elementary law is also confirmed by my observations on the Doppler effect on Kanalstrahlen; the simple or two-fold minimum of the intensity in this effect is explained by that law (Phystk. Zeitschr., viii., 913, 1907). Applying the law to a hypo- thesis of the origin of banded spectra, it is possible to calculate an inferior limit for the spectral position of the banded spectra of the saturated and ‘‘ loosed ’’ valencies in chemical compounds (Physik. Zeitschr., ix., 85, 1908). J. Stark. The Orientation of the Avebury Circles. In Sir Norman Lockyer’s notes on the orientation of stone avenues printed in Nature, January 16, pp. 249-257, in dealing with Avebury, he founds his argument as to the existence and direction of the Beckhampton avenue upon Stukeley’s statement as to the remains of it visible when he wrote in 1724. He then passes to the Kennet avenue, and says :-— “As will be seen from the map, this avenue apparently was connected with the southern circle as the Beckhampton one was with the northern one. If this were so, certainly the enormous bank, erected apparently for spectacular pur- which is such a striking feature of Avebury, was not made until after the Kennet avenue had fallen out of any astronomical use.’’ In accordance with this statement, Sir Norman Lockyer marks on the map reproduced to illustrate his notes the course of the south-eastern or Kennet avenue as a straight NO. 1997, VOL. 77] poses, line making directly for the centre of the southern circle across the existing bank and ditch well to the left of the present road leading to Kennet. the fact that Stukeley (in the map given by Long, ** The Temple at Abury surveyed by Dr. Stukeley in 1724”’) marks two prostrate stones of the avenue actually in the existing gap in the earthworks by which the Kennet road enters Avebury, and furthermore notes that they were “broke 1722.’’ Aubrey, too, in his plan taken in 1663 (reproduced in Jackson’s ‘* Aubrey,’’ p. 319), shows seven stones of the avenue as lining the sides of the existing road immediately on its leaving the gap in the mound. Lastly, there is standing at this moment a few yards on the right-hand side of the Kennet road a large stone. which is the only one now remaining of those seen by Aubrey and Stukeley at the point where the avenue struck the earthwork circle. This stone was apparently not noticed by Sir Norman Lockyer. Surely if anything can be said to be certain at all about Avebury, it is that the Kennet avenue joined the outer circle through the existing gap in the rampart by which the Kennet road enters it to-day, and did not make straight for the centre of the southern circle over the bank and ditch as shown in Sir Norman Lockyer’s plan. _Theoretic- ally, perhaps, it ought to have done so, but as a matter of fact, if any weight is to be attached to the statements and plans of Aubrey and of Stukeley, and to the position of the one existing remnant of the avenue on the spot to-day, it did not. In the interests of accuracy it seems desirable to point this out. Ep. H. Gopparp. Stability in Flight. Mr. MAttock (January 30, p. 293) seems to presume, as a great many others do, that an apparatus on the aéroplane principle ‘‘ demands constant attention on the part of the aéronaut’’ to maintain its stability in the air. We are apt to get ideas from watching the behaviour of little bits of paper floating in the gusts of wind, and to forget that the flying machine of the future may run into tons of weight. Though a frail canoe may easily capsize, the big ship seldom turns over even in the roughest of seas. Even so primitive a contrivance as we may pre- sume that of Mr. Farman to be is some 33 feet across and weighs, complete, half a ton. Such a structure is not easily upset by mere puffs of wind. But it is also evident that a machine can be designed possessing nearly perfect automatic stability. Langley’s model, away from all human control, flew steadily on over the billows of the air for a minute and a half. A well-designed and well- balanced machine is automatically stable, without any pendulums or other appliances; in fact, it forms a pen- dulum of itself. B. BApEN-POWELL. 32 Princes Gate, S.W., February 1. REFERRING to the letter which appeared under the above heading in Nature of January 30, I have given some little attention to this subject for the past few years, and thoroughly endorse your correspondent’s views. Any balancing apparatus must be automatic in its action if it is to respond to the changes in the relative motion of the air without delay. It would seem to me that any such apparatus must, as is suggested in the letter referred to, depend on the conservation of angular momentum in a pendulum or fly-wheel. Such a pendulum (or system of pendula) or fly-wheel may operate directly or indirectly, i.e. the torque of resistance opposing change of angular momentum may be employed to right the aéroplane, or may operate mechanism to control the position of guide planes or jockey weights, or rotate the main planes in a suitable manner. The first case is analogous to the Brennan mono-rail system, the second to the Obry torpedo balance. HERBERT CHATLEY. 32 Britannia Road, S., Southsea, February 1. The Stresses in Masonry Dams. I po not think that Prof. Pearson proves his point- Is it not an axiom of practical mathematics that nearly identical functions (within certain limits) may have widely different second differentials? Between o and zm, for In this he entirely ignores. a) on Mat temas FEBRUARY 6, 1908] NATURE example, a parabola can be found differing but little from sinx. To show that the stresses xx and Zz are widely | different in a plate dam and in a complete dam, it would therefore seem essential to integrate the two equations given by Prof. Pearson in his last letter, and to compare these integrals, or else to decide the matter on other considerations. The integration is, I understand, imprac- ticable, and this being so, the argument in my letter of January 2 would seem to apply. It was to the effect that if, in, the case of a plate it is permissible to write xy=ys =yy throughout, then to the same order of a = ; approximation the stresses ss and xx are the same in the plate d dam and in the actual structure. If the stresses xy and ys are zero in the case of the plate, then the stresses vy which are developed when the lamina forms part of the complete structure cannot, themselves, give rise to any xy, ys, or 2, and as the dam is not con- flanks, it is difficult to see how, in the shears, the stresses XX not by the 30 per cent. order of the error. Croydon. H. M. such shears as strained at top or absence of these affected. Certainly Pearson gives as the 83 St. James’s Road, and =z can be which Prof. MartTIN. SOME SCIENTIFIC CENTRES. No. XIi.—Tue Boranicat INSTITUTE OF THE UNIverRsITY OF BONN. HE traveller visiting the well-kept Rhenish city of Bonn, on taking a stroll down the beau- tiful Poppelsdorfer Allee, ‘finds at the end of this de- lightful avenue a large square building within an enclosure, the Poppelsdorfer Schloss. This building, which is two stories high, enclosing a circular court, bears no external evidence of containing within its walls a great centre of biological research, for the edifice was originally a aalaee having been used up to the beginning of the last century as a summer residence of the electors of Cologne. The building is now owned by the university, and is occupied by the biological laboratories and the natural history museum. The rooms of the second floor on the north- east and south-east sides are occupied by the botanical laboratories and by the residence of the professor in charge, one of the greatest botanists of all times, Geheimrath Prof. Edouard Strasburger. The young botanist who is familiar with the writ- ings of Prof. Strasburger, and has formed some idea of this famous botanical institute, on entering the laboratories for the first time is only surprised and perhaps disappointed, for he sees little that suggests a modern and well-equipped laboratory. The fact that the building was erected in the first half of the eighteenth century, and for another purpose, explains why the rooms are not well adapted for their present use. However, the windows are large, and _ since there is ample room for apparatus and materials, thc investigator has little cause for complaint. The Botanical Institute includes an elementary laboratory, one for advanced students, a large lecture room, and rooms for assistants and the professor extraordinary. The lecture room is provided with a profusion of charts and diagrams for illustrative pur- poses. The rooms adjoining the laboratories on the south-east side of the building are occupied by the professor as a residence. Two rooms of his residence Prof. Strasburger devotes to his own work, one serving as a laboratory and the other as a library. In these rooms, which are plainly furnished, every- thing is orderly arranged and kept scrupulously clean. The library contains, in addition to files of periodicals, all the important works on morphology and cytology. Perhaps the most valuable part of the library is the series of reprints on histological sub- NO. 1997, VOL. 77] | greenhouses contain many interesting exotics. B27 jects. A copy of almost every cytological paper pub- ushed, whether treating of animal or plant, is to be {ound here... The principal windows of the laboratories and of -he residence overlook the palace garden, which has been the botanic garden since the founding of the university. The garden, though small in area, is well stocked and rich in flowering plants. The latter occupy the central part of the grounds, which are care- fully laid out and arranged according to the system of Eichler. On either side of the central part is the arboretum, containing many fine specimens of European and some American trees. The arboretum is rich in conifers, one, a cedar of Lebanon, being unusually large and beautiful. A portion of the old palace moat is maintained as a pond for aquatics. The large palm house, the Victoria house, and other The garden has. also its special beds of poisonous, economic and medicinal plants, as well as one con- Prof. E, Strasburger. From a photograph by K, Fujii. taining plants, widely separated in relationship, but which have solved certain problems of adaptation in the same way. But it is neither the laboratories, the library, nor the botanic garden that has made the institute at Bonn famous; rather the enthusiasm, 2arnestness and profound resourcefulness of the master mind that directs it. Prof. Strasburger began his notable series of in- vestigations upon the conifers where Hofmeister left off. In 1872 appeared the large volume with numerous plates upon the morphology and fertilisation of coni- fers and the Gnetacew. This was followed in 1879 by another volume, dealing with the embryology of gymnosperms and angiosperms. His attention having been attracted by the nuclear figures in the endosperm during his earlier studies on gymnosperms, he soon brought to publication a series of observations upon nuclear and cell division. Just thirty-two years ago the nucleus was traced in continuous sequence from 322 NATURE | FEBRUARY’6, 1908 one cell-generation to another, thus establishing for the nucleus beyond all question of doubt the rank of morphological unity. The classic and path-breaking work, ‘t Ueber Zellbildung und Zelltheilung,’’ reached the third edition in 1880, while its author was pro- fessor at Jena. Since going to Bonn, Prof. Strasburger’s more im- portant contributions, dealing chiefly with the division of the nucleus and of the cell, with the growth of the cell-wall, the structure of the vascular bundle, and with the process of fecundation, have appeared in five or six volumes, each bearing the principal title ‘* Histologische Beitrage.’’ The bulkiest of these volumes (No. 3), and probably one of the most note- worthy, is on the structure of the vascular bundle (‘* Ueber Bau und die Verrichtungen der Leitungs- bahnen in der Pflanzen ’’). Apart from several other very important monographs, Prof. Strasburger has prepared the best and one of the most elaborate laboratory manuals and handbooks of microscopic technique known to biological science. ‘* Das botan- ische Practicum’? is now in its fourth edition. “Das kleine botanische Practicum,’’ an abridged edition for the use of more elementary students, was also prepared. A translation of this volume by Hill- house is still one of the very best botanical handbooks in the English language. With the aid of his former collaborators, the late Prof. A. F. W. Schimper, Prof. Fritz Noll, now of the University of Halle, and Prof. Heinrich Schenck, of the Technical University of Darmstadt, the text-book of botany was prepared, which has gone through several editions and has been translated into several languages. In more recent years the results of certain important investigations carried on in the institute have been published conjointly by Prof. Strasburger and his students, The most important of these is the volume known as the ‘‘ Cytologische Studien,’”? which marked the beginning of the more modern phases of cytology. The especial value of this collection of papers consists (1) in the perfection of the best cytological methods known at present for a number of widely differing plants, (2) in the proof that no such structures as centrosomes or centrospheres exist in higher plants, and (3) in the complete establishment of true sexuality in the ascomycetes. Occasionally, Prof. Strasburger carries his private work into fields somewhat removed from the general subject of his life work, though such studies have been comparatively few. In this connec- tion may be mentioned the elaborate study with dicecious plants, having for its object to determine, if possible, the effect of environmental conditions upon the control of sex. During the past few years the chief work of the institute has centred about problems relating to the physical basis of heredity, such as the individuality of the chromosomes, the transmission of characters in hybrids, &c. A glance at the vast amount of literature issued from this most famous centre of cytological research is sufficient to convince one who is not a special student of cytology that the main object and _ life- work of its director is to understand the meaning of the cell by knowing in the most detailed manner its structure at every step of its activity in all kinds of plants, from the lowest to the highest, and that which has been discovered is only a fair index of what is still to be known. Probably a summary of the day’s programme at the institute will not be without interest to the reader. During the winter semester Prof. Strasburger lec- tures upon the morphology of the plant groups below the spermatophyta, four lectures being given per week. Once a week, on Fridays, the public lecture is given, which is open to all who wish to attend. NO. 1997, VOL. 77] The subject of these public lectures varies from year to year, but it usually pertains to some topic of general interest concerning plants, and is treated from a philosophical standpoint. In the summer semester the lectures deal with the anatomy and physiology of the higher plants. Before going to the lecture room, the professor makes his daily rounds in the advanced laboratories, visiting each investigator, making in- quiries concerning the progress made during the past twenty-four or forty-eight hours, and at the same time offering suggestions and criticisms. A visit is fre- quently made to the laboratory after the lecture or in the afternoon, depending upon the interest in the particular line of study. Prof. Strasburger’s wonderful grasp of the whole field of morphology and physiology, as brought out in frequent discussions in the laboratory, increases daily one’s admiration and quickens in one the con- sciousness of being in the presence of a master mind. When the marvellous results of this centre of scientific research are considered, and the relatively meagre equipment and lack of convenience, the success can only be attributed to the genius of the man who is the centre of its activity and the source of its in- spiration. D. M. Mortier. EXAMINATION v. RESEARCH. UNIVERSITY is as much a place for compromise as a party caucus or a church. It has to pro- vide for different needs and to satisfy conflicting in- terests. It has to preserve its corporate balance against the attacks of specialists and extremists who try to drag it on to a side-track. And it has to do all these things with limited means and limited wisdom. From time to time doubts may well arise as to how far it succeeds in steering the best course. Oxford at pre- sent is in the throes of such a discussion. Always critical, she is more critical of herself than of any- thing less near and dear, and is now enjoying a per- fect orgie of self-criticism. But such emotional de- lights should not lead to oblivion of the fundamental facts of academic life. Oxford has to find a working compromise between four distinct functions which lead up to four distinct ideals (or exaggerations) of a university. She has to educate, to teach, to examine, and to research, to say nothing of governing herself, which is not, perhaps, the supreme ideal, as our officials are apt to imagine. (1) Educationally, Oxford is a place where those who can afford it, or are selected by private or public charity as fit recipients of scholarships, may obtain an intellectual training which will fit them (more or less imperfectly) for a number of professional pur- suits, and are subjected to a moral discipline which (again somewhat imperfectly) induces them to do less harm to themselves and to create less disturbance in the community than similarly situated youths are wont to do in any other country. Thus Oxford is not an ideal university. But it is as incapable of being the university of Bohemia as of Utopia. Its educational ideal conducts to the perfect gentleman, or, if it fails, to the perfect snob. (2) As a teaching institution Oxford is expensive, but (on the whole) efficient. It is expensive because it sacrifices the teacher to the taught, and leads the former to bestow upon the latter a great deal of in- dividual attention, more, possibly, than is good for him, more, certainly, than is necessary or than he gets elsewhere. It is efficient because the college spirit is strong, and the competition between the col- leges is keen. Wherever this inducement fails, i.e. wherever the university conducts the instruction or the college takes no pride in it (e.g. in the case of Fesruary 6, 1908] NAT ORE 323 the ‘‘pass’’ man), the tutor has nof rendered the “coach ’’ superfluous. Elsewhere the teaching is good of its kind. But since good teaching aims at enabling every fool to appear a genius, it is not an end in itself. The teacher’s ideal therefore has to be controlled by a higher, the examiner’s. (3) These two functions are quite distinct. The good examiner is not necessarily a good teacher, nor vice versd. The excellence of the teacher lies m his ability to instil knowledge and a desire for know- ledge; that of the examiner is held to be the exposing of ignorance and pretence. Experience has shown, also, that competitive examinations are among those aids to learning which appeal most forcibly to the national character. They appeal strongly also to the critical faculties of the academic man, and to the love of power in a class which has naturally few occasions for gratifying this instinct. It has been discovered that though knowledge is power, yet the power ot testing knowledge confers superior power. It is possible to controt all knowledge by conducting exam- inations in it. This, therefore, is what we have set ourselves to do, and the regular genesis of a new branch of study is, first an examination, then students, and last of all the provision of teachers. This is dis- tinctly suggestive of Looking-Glass Land, but to one who has grasped the rationale of examinations it will not be the paradox it seems. Now it need not be wholly denied that examination has its uses. A certain amount thereof is necessary, and even beneficial to the soul of the examinee, pro- moting in him a willingness and capacity to absorb and reproduce teaching and to arrange his know- ledge which are very conducive to mental efficiency. But the qualities which examination fosters and re- wards are not the only qualities of value. Moreover, the benefits to the soul of the examinee are offset by grave dangers to that of his examiner; for the ideal examiner becomes one who is wholly devoted to the exercise of his function, and wholly critical. He can examine everything but produce nothing. When, therefore, for these and other reasons which it would hardly be decorous to mention, a university sets up an examination system, and gives it power over the whole realm of knowledge, it runs a risk of sacrificing to this idol all its other functions. Teachers and taught alike are sacrificed to it at the annual holocausts, the results of which are contem- plated with such reverence that their fame clings to their victims throughout life, and forms an important factor in their subsequent success or failure. Hence it is an ingenuous refinement of cruelty when pro- fessors of eugenics argue statistically that there is a “high degree of correlation’? between success in examination and in life. Does it not follow rather that when a university conceives too great an ad- miration for its examinatorial function, it will grow a mental atmosphere which affects the national mind, and is deadly to all its other ideals? The ‘ perfect gentleman ’’ and the devotee of culture (mental or physical) will be forced by the menace of examination into undignified and banausic efforts to escape expul- sion. The ideal of the perfect researcher will hardly be allowed to germinate; for such a university will have as little use and real regard for researchers as for ‘‘ pass ’? men, (4) Yet the Laputan ideal of an academic life of pure contemplation (or, in a more modern but lowered version, of scientific productiveness), exempt from the sordid duties of disciplining, teaching and examining, is in some ways the prettiest dream of them all. It is a sad pity that ever since the days of Dean Swift mankind has laughed at it. For there is some good in the researcher’s ideal, even though NO. 1997, VOL. 77] in its extreme form it is absurd. In practice no seat of learning can be made up of professors who do not teach, and exist only as objects of distant contempla- tion by students fearful of perturbing their sacred meditations. Neither the country, nor our purses, nor our sense of humour, would stand it. Besides, it is a psychological fact that a certain amount of teach- ing is good for research, just as a certain amount of research is good for teaching. The one helps to clarify the worker’s exposition, just as the other helps to imbue the teacher’ with a flavour of originality. Whether a similar connection could be traced between researching and examining seems more disputable. But there can be no doubt that at present Oxford sets too low a value on research because it sets far too high a value on examination. This sterilises re- search both by the excessive selection of minds pos- sessing the excellences of the examinee without possessing those of the real student or of the scientific originator, and by the enormous absorption of time and mental energy which our vast masses of examin- ing exact. The wonder is that with such a system we produce anything at all. It is a still greater wonder that, despite contrary assertions based on our habits of self-depreciation, our scientific output, taking it all in all, is not inferior in quality or even in quantity to that of any other academic insti- tution in the world. The explanation lies in the ex- cellence of our recruiting system. We make our- selves so attractive that even the ablest will welcome an opportunity of joining our ranks. And then the perversity of human idiosynerasy will divert some of this surplus ability into researches which we tolerate without encouraging. For genius, like murder, will out. But with the high average of ability. we have in Oxford we could, and should, produce much more, if only more value were put upon productiveness and less store set by criticism. Enough has been said, perhaps, to give an idea of the root of the evil. But it is mot so easy to suggest remedies; for radical measures are Utopian, and ignore the psychological held which the examination- system has over the national character. But the fol- lowing suggestions at least seem wholly practicable. (1) In some subjects, e.g. natural science (but not, perhaps, in classics, mathematics, and philosophy), the lead just given by the modern historians might be followed, and a research thesis be permitted to form part of the undergraduate’s examination. (2) Most of the university prizes, &c., should be awarded to the best researcher rather than to the best examinee. (3) There ought to be a great development of graduate study, and our teachers ought to be enabled, and even required, to acquire a greater initial superiority in knowledge over the taught than is com- patible with a system under which most of them are appointed immediately after examination. It will be a red-letter day when an Oxford college elects a research student pure and simple, a mere B.Sc. or B.Litt., to a fellowship. (4) Fellowship examinations of the sort we now have ought to be abolished; for what is the use of deciding over again whether a man possesses the qualities of a good examinee? A col- lege should ascertain rather whether he possesses also the capacity of working at his subject. And, as we saw, he is not the less likely to make a good teacher on this account. From this point of view it is to be hoped that our new Chancellor will give us at least an object-lesson in self-reform by inducing an alteration in the AIl Souls fellowship examina- tion. (5) The university and the colleges should largely increase the inducements to their members to proceed to ‘‘ superior degrees ’’ and to undertake the researches which a doctorate ought to imply. At 324 NATURE [FEBRUARY 6, 1908 6 5 ” present only the ** new doctorates of Science and Letters connote any considerable intellectual achieve- ment (though they all mean much spare cash), and so they are manufactured chiefly for export, and hardly half-a-dozen of the existing college tutors (of whom the present writer was unwise enough to become one) have found it desirable to take them. There are, I know, difficulties of detail in the way even of these moderate suggestions; but even their partial and gradual adoption would abate the fas- cination of our examination system, and check the tendency to identify the good examinee, functioning as a good examiner, with the ideal of academic man. Be (Ge Ss) SCHIELER: PROR MG. A. YOUNG, EW astronomical books have acquired or have deserved a wider reputation than has _ been accorded to the ‘‘ General Astronomy ”’ of Prof. C. A. Young, and all who have profited by the accuracy and completeness of that work will regret to hear of the death of the distinguished author, who _ identified himself so closely with the progress of the Princeton Observatory (N.J.). Other popular works, such as ‘““The Sun,’? have been well received, for Prof. Young’s qualities as a writer and teacher were well known and acknowledged. But though accident may have given him distinction as a writer of elementary works, of which his long career as a teacher had shown him the necessity, he had far greater claims on our respect and gratitude. Son of a distinguished astronomer, Dr. Ira Young, of Dartmouth, he was early and severely trained in mathematics and astro- nomy, and for fifty years he gave of his best to forward the interests of the science he loved. More- over, his activity synchronised with the recent de- velopment of physical astronomy; he was one of the pioneers of solar spectroscopy, and his continued and successful researches in various directions entitle him to ample recognition. His first appointment was to the chair of mathe- matics in the Western Reserve College, a post from which he retired only to serve his country in a mili- tary capacity during the War of Secession. After the war, he succeeded his father as professor of astro nomy at Dartmouth College, leaving that post in 1877 to accept a similar position at Princeton, where his energies found sufficient exercise during the remainder of his professional career. Like most astronomers who have occupied them- selves with solar phenomena, Prof. Young found it necessary to follow the track of many eclipses. The most famous of these is that of 1870, when he, for the first time, saw and described the now familiar appearance of the reversed Fratinhofer lines at the instant of the inner contact of the limbs of the sun and moon. Owing to the much-debated ‘ reversing layer,’’? which he suggested as the true cause of the flash, this eclipse has become historical. He took part in the observations of the solar eclipse of 1878 which passed over the American continent, and visited Europe in 1887 for the Russian eclipse, but without result, owing to bad weather. Onwards to 1g00 he was a diligent observer of eclipses, and extended our knowledge of the sun’s surroundings as well by his acute observation as by his luminous discussion of results obtained. His early explanation of the spec- trum of the corona is now received practically as he gave it, But Prof. Young’s researches were not limited to exceptional opportunities. He gave constant and assiduous attention to the solar spectrum at all times, and was an indefatigable observer of the spectrum of NO. 1997, VOL, 77] ‘of M- sun-spots, repairing to favourable situations in order to secure good observing conditions. The chromo- sphere, no less than sun-spots, was the subject of his care, and his catalogue of chromospheric lines, begun so far back as 1872, is a memorable piece of work. Further, he was among the first to determine the . velocity of the solar rotation at various heliographic latitudes by measuring the displacement of solar lines due to motion at the source of light.. The spectra of planets and comets, of stars and nebula, were all made the subject of profound study, for his industry | was as untiring as his resource was abundant. His work was recognised by the Royal Astronomical Society, which enrolled him among its associates in 1872, and many other learned societies paid him similar honours. He was the recipient of the Janssen medal of the French Academy of Sciences in 1891, . but his great reward must have been the conscious- ness of the amount and variety of work he had accom- plished for the promotion of astronomical science. NOTES. WE regret to announce that Prof. J. B. Pettigrew, F.R.S., Chandos professor of medicine and anatomy in the University of St. Andrews, died on January 29 in his seventy-third year. We observe with great regret the announcement that Mr. W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S., senior science master in Clifton College since 1880, died on Monday, February 3, at fifty-eight years of age. from Brussels announces the death A. Lancaster, director of the meteorological depart- ment of the Royal Observatory of Belgium at Uccle. A REUTER message Pror. W. RipGeway, professor of archeology in the University of Cambridge, has been elected president of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Tue French Physical Society has undertaken the publica- tion of a collection of physical constants. The general secretary, M. H. Abraham, has issued an appeal to members of the society to assist in the collaboration. Tue King, who is patron of the Society of Arts, has granted permission to the society to prefix to its title the term ‘* Royal,’’ and the society will consequently in future be known as the ‘* Royal Society of Arts.”’ Own Tuesday next, six lectures at their Structure, February 11, Prof. Stirling will begin a course of the Royal Institution on ‘* Membranes : Uses, and Products.’’ The Friday evening discourse on February 14 will be delivered by Dr. C. W. Saleeby on ‘ Biology and History,’’ and on February 21 by Sir Oliver Lodge on ‘‘ The Ether of Space.” Sir Puitie Warts, K.C.B., F.R.S., Director of Navat Construction, has been elected a member of the Athenzeum Club under the rule which empowers the annual election by the committee of distinguished eminence in public three persons “ of science, literature, the arts, or for services.” and Steel May 14 the Iron and Friday, general meeting of held on Thursday Tue annual Institute will be and 15. The annual dinner will be held—under the presi- dency of Sir Hugh Bell, Bart.—in the Grand Hall of the Hotel Cecil on Thursday, May 14. The autumn meeting will be held in Middlesbrough on September 29 and follow- ing days. Feprvuary 6, 1908] NATURE 325 -In Engineering of January 31 there is a sympathetic account of the career of Dr. Coleman Sellers, the eminent American engineer, who died on December 28, 1907, at his residence in Philadelphia in his eighty-first year. He was best known in connection with machine tools, but he will also be remembered for his scheme for utilising the water- power of Niagara Falls, and by his inventions in photo- graphy and microscopy. A. CORRESPONDENT asks if the use of wires stretched horizontally at a height of 15 feet or 20 feet in concert halls, churches, and other buildings where the acoustic properties are of the first importance is not based upon erroneous ideas. He expresses the opinion that though the wires are supposed to remedy some fault in the acoustics, they do not produce any useful effect. We are informed that, theoretically, the wires absorb some of the energy and radiate it again in all directions, thus diminishing the amount of regular reflection, constituting echoes, from the walls. But the fraction of the vibrations thus treated is so small that it is difficult to believe the wires have any real, beneficial effect. Mr. H. F. Wituersy, editor of British Birds, informs | us that an inquiry is being made into the nature and origin of the disease from which many wood-pigeons have died this winter. The subject is of considerable interest ; moreover, possibly the disease, which is very infectious among wood-pigeons themselves, may also be contracted by other birds, and especially game birds. A systematic inquiry into the disease has therefore been undertaken, and | schedules of questions have been posted to readers of British Birds, the editor of which will be glad to send schedules to anyone who may be in a position to give information on the subject. All the observations will be collated and studied by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, of Guy’s Hospital, who will draw up a full report at a later date. Tue fourth International Congress of Mathematics will be held in Rome on April 6-11. The congress will be divided into four sections. The first section will be con- cerned with arithmetic, algebra, and analysis, and dis- cussions will be inaugurated by Profs. Arzela, Capelli, Pascal, and Pincherle. The second section will deal with geometry, and the will be introduced by Profs. Bianchi and Segre. The third section, covering mechanics, mathematical physics, geodesy, and various applications of mathematics, will be addressed by Profs. Levi-Civita, Luiggi, Pizzetti, and Toia. The fourth section will take up philosophical, historical, and didactical questions, and addresses will be given by Profs. Enriques, Loria, and Vailati. Numerous lectures have been arranged, and among these may be mentioned that by Prof. Forsyth, F.R.S., on the present condition of partial differential equations of the second order, as regards formal integra- tion. Other lectures will be delivered by Profs. Darboux, Hilbert, Klein, Lorentz, Mittag-Leffler, Newcomb, Picard, Poincaré, Veronese, and Volterra. Full particulars of the congress can be obtained from the general secretary, Prof. G. Castelnuovo, 5 Piazza S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome. work REFERRING to the letter by the Rev. John J. Hampson in our issue for January 30 (p. 295) dealing with “ stock frost’ or ground ice, Mr. D. O. S. Davies, of the Norwich Technical Institute, reminds of a volume the subject of ‘“‘Ice Formation, with Special Reference to Anchor-ice and Frazil,’’ by Prof. H. T. Barnes, of McGill University, Montreal. Prof. Barnes provides information on the points raised by Mr. Hampson in his letter. The book, a descriptive review of which appeared in the issue NO. 1697, VOL 77] us on of Nature for ‘January 17, 1907 (vol. Ixxv., p. 267), is published in this country by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, Ltd. Tue South-Eastern Gazette of January 28 contains an obituary notice of the late Mr. Edward Bartlett, who from 1875 until 1890 occupied the post of curator and librarian of the Maidstone Museum. The deceased naturalist was a son of the late Mr. A. D. Bartlett, the well-known super- intendent of the Zoological Society’s menagerie in the Regent’s Park. In his earlier years Mr. Bartlett travelled as a natural history collector in Upper Amazonia, where he obtained many valuable specimens. Later on, 1863-4, he accompanied the late Canon Tristram to Syria and Palestine, and in 1891 left Maidstone for Sarawak, to act as curator of Raja Brook’s museum, a post which he occupied until 1897, when he returned home. Mr. Bartlett edited his father’s well-known work ‘‘ Wild Animals in Captivity,’’ and was himself the author of several papers on natural history subiects. No. 13 of the Bulletin of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg for 1907 contains a paper, un- fortunately in Russian, by Mr. D. Dejneka, on the nervous system of the nematode worms. We have received copies of two papers published by the author at Lancaster, Pa., as Nos. 1 and 2 of a new serial, Weber’s Archives, in which the author, Veterinary-Surgeon Weber, claims to have bred from the eggs of the ordinary gnat, Culex pipiens, two other species of gnats or mosqui- toes, in addition to the normal progeny. ‘* Mutation in Mosquitoes ’’ is the title of the second and larger paper. The earlier one, which contains a preliminary account of the same alleged phenomenon, is a reprint of an article published two years ago in Natur und Haus, vol. xv., May, 1907. Two papers on the reproductive organs of sharks have recently appeared within a short time of one another. The first, by Mr. Albert Krall, is published in vol. XXXVii., part iv., of the Morphologisches Jahrbuch, and devoted specially to the ‘‘ claspers”’ on the pelvic fins of the male of Hexanchus griseus, and generally to the corresponding organs in other sharks. In the second, which appears in vol. xxxviii., part iv., of the Zeitschrift fiir wissen- schaftliche Zoologie, Dr. Victor Widakowich describes the uterus of the spiny dog-fish (Squalus acanthias), with re- marks on the developmental history of allied species. The structure of the uterus is described in great detail, and a figure given of a portion of its wall containing an embryo. CONSIDERABLE interest attaches to an account by Mr. C. H. Danforth, published in vol. xxxiv., No. 1, of the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, of a new genus and species (Paedoclione doliiformis) of pteropod mollusc from Casco Bay, Maine. The new form, which was taken in plankton, ‘‘does not properly fall under any established family, although perhaps it approaches most nearly the Clionide, from which it differs in having an odd number of cephalocones and the entire posterior part of the body filled by the viscera.’’ In life the creatures swam for some time by means of their fins, and then sank for a time below the surface, after which the swimming was resumed. With the exception of numerous vacuoles in the integument filled with yellowish or yellowish-brown fluid, the body is transparent. Tne distribution of the pine-marten in England and Wales forms the subject of an article by Mr. H. E. Forrest in the January number of the Zoologist. In the midland 326 and south-eastern counties of England the species, it appears, became rare during the first half of last century, most of these it was exterminated before 1860, although isolated occurrences have been recorded since that date in Hertfordshire, Surrey, and Sussex. In Lincoln, Norfolk, and Suffolk it survived until the ’eighties, and there have been recent occurrences in Leicestershire. The Lake District and the west of north and central Wales are, however, at present the sole strongholds of the species. Many of the isolated occurrences appear to be due to the remarkable degree to which the marten wanders, and in In addition to the well-known fishery of the pearl- oyster, Ceylon, it appears from an article by Dr. A. Willey in Spolia Zeylanica for November, 1907, possesses a source of pearl in beds of the ‘‘ window-pane oyster ’’ (Placuna placenta) in the backwaters of the eastern province. These beds occur in the backwaters of two neighbouring divisions of the Trincomali district, one of which includes Lake Tamblegam, the headquarters of the Placuna fishes. As the lease of this fishery recently expired, Mr. Willey was sent to the district to report on the best means of improving the product of oysters. These molluscs, it seems, are liable to be destroyed in large numbers by unusually heavy falls of rain such as took place a year ago; never- theless, the species is in the main a hardy creature, capable of living for several hours out of water, and of surviving for long periods in earthenware vessels if the water be from time to time changed. No mention is made by the author of the annual value of the pearls yielded by the Placuna fishery. The paper includes an account of cysticercoid larvae found parasitic in these oysters. Mr. W. Tariew contributes to the Bulletin du Jardin Impérial Botanique (vol. vii., part iii.), St. Petersburg, a paper on the distribution of forests in the district of Starobjelsk, which furnishes evidence that the “‘ steppes ”’ were formerly wooded areas. Mr. A. A. Sapehin discusses the method by which water is absorbed by the sacs in such liverworts as Frullania. Lieut.-Cotonet F. Bartey and Mr. R. C. M. Ferguson both contribute articles to the Transactions of the Scottish Arboricultural Society (vol. xx., part i.) on the Interliever State forest. The purchase by Government of this estate in Argyllshire affords great satisfaction to British foresters but it is hoped that it is only the first step in the policy of acquisition by the State of land for afforestation pur- poses. The estate, consisting of 12,000 acres, carries very little timber, so that while it affords an opportunity for showing how timber crops can be scientificially grown and for recording data, it will not for many years provide a demonstration forest. It is urged that two wooded areas should be acquired for this purpose, one in the lowlands where hardwoods are cultivated, and one in the highlands stocked with conifers. It is a debated question whether it is preferable for science students to undertake practical experiments with instruments of their own construction or to make use of apparatus manufactured by instrument makers. Prof. F. W. Ganong, formerly an advocate of the former method in botanical physiology, now declares in favour of instruments of greater precision, and with this purpose has designed several pieces of apparatus that are being manufactured by Messrs. Bausch and Lomb; a descriptive catalogue can be obtained from their agents in London, Messrs. Staley and Co., Thavies Inn. Among the instru- ments are a transpiration balance, clinostat, autographic NO. 1997, VOL. 77 | NATURE [esruary 6, 1908 transpirometer, leaf-avea cutter and leaf clasp, but the photosynthometer and respirometer will probably be found the most useful on account of the functions they record. A patcH of pamphlets issued from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, as Nos. 2 to 5 of vol. iv. of the Circulars and Agricultural Journal, has been received. Mr. E. B. Denham, writing on the use and objects of agricultural societies, attaches much importance to the visits of travelling instructors and to the distribution of leaflets printed in the vernacular; also he suggests that the local societies should make it their business to collect agri- cultural data. In connection with camphor production, Mr. J. K. Nock has prepared a useful circular on pro- pagation. Practical hints are given for preparing the seed beds and raising the seedlings. If good seed is not obtainable, it is recommended to propagate by means of root cuttings. The chief object of a circular by Mr. T. Petch is to direct attention to a stem disease caused by the ascus-bearing fungus Massaria theicola. The hyphe of the fungus fill up the vessels of the wood and cut off the supply of water and salts. The disease can be traced by the discoloration of the wood. A catalogue of plants available for distribution from the gardens has been pre- pared by the curator, Mr. H. F. Macmillan. The economic list comprises certain spice, rubber, fibre, and drug plants. WE have received the first number of the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology, a new _ periodical issued under the editorship of Profs. Schafer, Gotch, Halli- burton, Sherrington, Starling, and Dr. Waller. The four papers contained in it maintain a high standard; they are :—(1) on the time taken in transmission of reflex impulses in the spinal cord of the frog, by Florence Buchanan; (2) some comparisons between reflex inhibition and reflex excitation, by C. S. Sherrington; (3) the freezing of frog’s nerve, with special reference to its fatigability, by John Tait; and (4) on protagon, by R. A. Wilson and W. Cramer. We could have wished that it had been possible to avoid the issue of a new journal, but with so distinguished an editorial committee we presume its appearance is necessary for the advancement of physio- logical science. ‘ In the third report to the Gas Engine Research Com- mittee, presented to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on January 17 by Prof. F. W. Burstall, the results were given of an interesting series of experiments carried out during the past two years on an adapted form of one of the Premier Company’s existing types of gas-engine. The engine employed was capable of giving 150 horse-power at a speed of 170 revolutions per minute, the size of the cylinder being 20 inches in diameter with a 24-inch stroke. The diameter of the cylinder was reduced to 16 inches, and an entirely new breech end was constructed with the admission and exhaust valves horizontal. The tests were undertaken to determine the thermal efficiencies based on the indicated horse-power at various compressions, having regard to the richness of the mixture, and to formulate, if possible, the law connecting efficiency and compression. The results of the experiments appear to show that the most economical mean pressure is very considerably below the maximum that can be obtained, and that the highest economies are obtained with a comparatively low maximum temperature. Both these conclusions imply that the engine should not only be subjected to lower pressure, but to lower temperatures as well, and thus many of the difficul- ties that arise in large engines from rich charges might be avoided, and the maximum pressures kept down to quite Fesruary 6, 1908] NATURE = 0 reasonable limits. This applies only to the indicated power ; the conclusions as to the brake horse-power would be widely different. If, however, the engine is constructed to work only with these moderate pressures and tempera- tures, the whole of the working parts might be very much lightened, and a good mechanical efficiency obtained with the very moderate mean pressures. At the meeting of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland on January 21, two papers of considerable interest were presented. In the first Mr. J. J. O'Neill discussed the inter-relation of the theory and practice of shipbuilding, with special reference to the speed- power aspect of the question. He considered that the lengths of the present Atlantic liners warrant the belief that greater power can be obtained, providing that the power their dimensions invite is present. The curves of power also show that the present speeds can be attained on shorter lengths, and that the variations of form involve relatively small gains. The possibilities of the future of the steam turbine, the chief function of which is its capability to obtain greater powers on a given weight than its competitors, widen considerably the vista of engineering practice. With regard to the screw-propeller, the author is inclined to think that, had the same attention been devoted to the screw-propeller problem as has been bestowed on the form of the vessels, greater advantages than the slight variation of form effected would have been secured. In the second paper Mr. I. V. Robinson gave some comparative figures of the cost of power generated by gas and by water. The results show that power generated from blast-furnace gas costs about the same as water-power when the capital cost of the generating station, with or without transmission lines as may be re- quired, is about 18/. per horse-power delivered at the consumers’ boundary. Tue new French ethnographical review, Revue des Etudes ethnographiques et sociologiques, under the editor- ship of M. A. van Gennep, starts its career in the number for last month with an excellent programme. Dr. J. G. Frazer contributes a chapter from the new forth- coming edition of the ‘‘ Golden Bough” on “‘ St. George and the Palilia.’”” The Palilia is a Roman spring agri- cultural feast, at which the herdsman used to make a sacrifice to Pales and invoked his protection for the flocks, praying him to grant rain for the pastures and to protect the cattle from wolves. In Esthonia, about the same time of the year, a feast is held in honour of St. George, who grants fertility to women and flocks. In eastern Europe the saint seems to represent the old spring god of the Lithuanians, Pergrubius, and, further east, Tammuz or Adonis. With his wide knowledge of peasant rites and ceremonies, Dr. Frazer has no difficulty in establishing the connection between these varied cults of agricultural and pastoral life. This paper is followed by an elaborate sketch by M. M. Delafosse of the Siena or Senoufo tribe, who inhabit the French territory in West Africa in the region adjoining the British Ashanti frontier. M. C. Boreux discusses the decorated pottery of pre-dynastic Egypt. Some reviews and a bibliography complete a publication which promises to be of considerable value to ethnologists. Tue current issue of the Journal of the Scottish Meteor- ological Society (No. xxiv., third series) contains memorial notices of Dr. Buchan from several men of science, in- cluding Prof. Hann (Vienna), Dr. Shaw and Dr. Mill (London), testifying to the enduring value of his numerous and ‘‘ epoch-making ”’ investigations. Mr. H. Bell con- NO. 1997, VOL. 77] tributes an article on thunderstorms at the Ben Nevis observatories and on the Scottish coasts, on which sub- ject Dr. Buchan was recently engaged. Tabular state- ments show the cases of occurrence of thunder and lightning from 1884 to 1904, together with their seasonal and diurnal range. The atmospheric conditions which determined the displays were of a very complex character, and are not yet fully understood. The same journal con- tains (1) an interesting article, by Mr. R. G. K. Lempfert, on the present condition of telegraphic weather services in various countries; especial reference is made to the great importance of recent extensions of area due to the exer- tions of the Danish and Egyptian Governments. (2) Rain- producing east winds and their influence on the summer of 1907, by Mr. R. Richardson; the author considers that one of the principal causes of the phenomenally bad character of that summer was the frequent sudden shifting of the wind ‘to the east. MM. P. Weiss and V. Planer give the results of their comparison of the energy losses due to hysteresis in iron, steel, and nickel, in alternating and rotating magnetic fields respectively, in the Journal de Physique for January. As previous observers have found, the loss in a rotating exceeds that in an alternating field for comparatively weak fields, but the authors find that for electrolytic iron the loss in the rotating field reaches its maximum when the intensity of magnetisation is about 1200, and decreases to zero at intensity 1700. For steel, the maximum occurs at rooo and the zero at 1600. For nickel the corresponding numbers are 300 and 500 respectively. The energy losses at the maxima are 17,000, 120,000, and 17,000 ergs per c.c. per cycle respectively. Tue small intensity of the electric waves emitted by a sender consisting of a comparatively short vertical wire, to the top of which a long horizontal wire is attached, in the direction in which the latter points, and the great intensity of the waves sent in the opposite direction, was pointed out by Mr. Marconi in 1906, and in the Physikalische Zeitschrift for January 15 Dr. J. Zenneck works out the theory of a receiver of the same form, Such a receiver is most sensitive to waves coming from the direction opposite to that in which the horizontal wire points, for then both the vertical and horizontal components of the electrical field are utilised. The best ratio of vertical and horizontal lengths depends on the ratio of the correspond- ing components of the wave, and on the conductivity of the soil, but in any case the efficiency of the receiver may be increased by attaching a wire to the base of the vertical wire and extending it on or under the surface of the soil towards the arriving waves. IN a communication to the Royal Academy of Belgium (Bulletin, 1907, No. 6, p. 684) Prof. Walthére Spring gives an account of his further researches on the nature of the allotropic forms of sulphur. Whilst in a previous paper (see Nature, vol. Ixxv., p. 182) he was able to show that the sulphur obtained on decomposing a solution of hydrogen sulphide with sulphur dioxide is a hydrate, S,,H,O, it is now demonstrated that the material pre- cipitated by the action of ferric chloride on a solution of hydrogen sulphide is not hydrated, but is a new allotropic form of the element. The new variety has a density which is sensibly the same as that of orthorhombic sulphur, and like the latter dissolves in carbon bisulphide, but it differs from it and from all other known forms of the element in its specific heat. Precisely the same form, giving identical values for the density and specific heat, is also obtained on decomposing an alkaline polysulphide in solution by means of an acid. 8 NATURE [l‘EBRUARY 6, Tyos IN a note published in the Atti dei Lincet (vol. xxvi., | : 717) the title ‘‘ The Origin of Stereo- chemistry,’’ Prof. E. Paterno points out that in 1869, five years prior to the publication by Le Bel and van ’t Hoff of the doctrine of the asymmetric carbon atom, he sug- that if three isomeric of the compound C,H,Br, actually existed, the fact could be explained by assuming the four affinities of the carbon atom to be directed towards the- corners of a tetrahedron. This was the first occasion on which the hypothesis of the tetra- hedral‘ configuration. of the carbon atom was definitely formulated. Although the validity of Prot. Paternd’s claim 25) 0p, under forms: gested has already been’ admitted in some quarters, it is not generally’ known to chemists that the conception of a tetrahedral carbon atom, the basis of -modern_ stereo- chemistry, had been proposed earlier than the year 1874, when it: was brought- forward simultaneously by Le Bel and van ‘t Hoff. Tur whole of the mathematical and physical library of the late. Prof. A. S. Herschel, F.R.S., and. also. works from the. library of the late Mr. F.-Moore, author of books on the Lepidoptera of India and Ceylon, are in- cluded. in a catalogue just issued by Mr. T. Thorp, Guild- ford, Surrey, who offers the books for sale. An enlargement by four diameters of a photograph of the moon taken by Mr. W. Rice with a Goerz telephoto lens, the exposure being three-fifths of a second, has been sent to us by Messrs. G.. Philip and Son, Ltd. The photo- grazh was taken.twelve hours before the moon was full, and though the enlargement, which is 6 inches in diameter, not remarkable for any details it of lunar features, .it gives a real impression of our satellite as a ball in space, this appearance of relief being accentuated by the .bright streaks radiating from the crater Tycho near the south lunar pole. is shows Ar the anniversary dinner of the Royal Society on November 30 last, Lord Dunedin bewailed the fact that few men of science make any attempt to describe their investigations in language which can be understood by men of culture without special scientific knowledge. This Speech, as was pointed out in Nature (vol. Ixxvii., p. 111), gave rise to a correspondence in the Times, in which the advantage of increasing interest in scientific work by making the results as widely known as possible was insisted upon in many quarters. A similar necessity has been recognised in America, and an attempt is being made at Columbia University to provide literature of the kind required. The Columbia University Press has arranged to publish in the form of pamphlets a series of twenty- two descriptive lectures in non-technical language of the achievements of science and modern scholarship. We have received copies of the first two pamphlets; the first, on mathematics, is by Prof. C. J. Keyser, and the second, on physics, by Prof. E. F. Nichols. A doubt may be expressed ‘as to whether the language of these lectures will be simple enough for the public for whom they are intended. “The pamphlets partake largely of the character of the Royal Institution lectures, reprints of which are often available in this country, and contain terms and ideas which, though simple enough to the reader with some training in science, present difficulty to the student whose education has been chiefly on literary lines. It will be interesting to learn later the extent of the encouragement ceived by the Columbia University Press. The price of the pamphlets is in every case to be 25 cents. NO. 1997, VOL. 77] OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN, Tne Distortion OF PHOTOGRAPHIC FILMS IN STELLAR Work.—In No. 1, vol. i., of the Publications’ of the Allegheny Observatory (Pennsylvania), Dr. Frank Schlesinger discusses the possibilities of error introduced into photographic star-measures by reason of the distortion undergone by the film during the process of development. He further describes some experiments and measures he has made in order to determine the magnitude of this error. By developing, drying, and measuring a negative in the ordinary way, and afterwards putting it through the developing, fixing, washing, drying, and measuring processes again, he has obtained the data from which he draws his conclusions. Briefly, he finds that this error is much smaller than the error of bisection for good star images, being of the order of one one-thousandth of a millimetre for the kind of plate employed. Two Hunprep New Dovusie Stars.—Lick Observatory* — Bulletin No, 125 contains a list, and measures, of 200 double stars discovered by Prof. Aitken. This is the eleventh list of its kind, and the stars now announced bring the total of Prof. Aitken’s published discoveries up to 1700. Nine fainter companions to previously known pairs are included in the present list, which also contains measures of the unusually bright and close pairs « Urse Majoris and y* Boodtis (Aitken, 1585 and 1634) as follows :— Annual proper Date Angle Distance Mag. motion « Ursa Majoris... 1907°83 ... 283°°2 ... O”j2r ... 4°c-4°2 ... 0/079 IN 231°°5 v2 Bodtis + 190755 ++» 237°°O ws. O/ "09 we 575-55 -++ O04 gy 246" A New AstronomicaL JOURNAL.—The members of the progressive astronomical society of Antwerp having ex- pressed a cesire for a publication which would give the various ephemerides, and a simple account of the astro- nomical phenomena to be observed from time to time, the council of the society has commenced the publication of the Gazette astronomique, which is to appear monthly, and is designed to fill the gap indicated; popular articles on astronomical subjects are also to appear. No. tf (January 4) contains various ephemerides, notes on pheno- mena occurring during January, accounts of the recent transit of Mercury, and a series of notes dealing, re- spectively, with the planets, asteroids, meteors, comets, &c. The annual subscription for this useful publication is three francs, post free in all countries, and all com- munications should be addressed to ‘* Gazette astro- nomique,’’ Chaussée de Turnhout, 342, Borgerhout, Ant- ea Belgium. Tue Stupy or Meteor Tratns.—The Monthly Weather Review (U.S.A.), vol. xxxv., No. 9, contains a suggestive article by Prof. Trowbridge on the utility of the precise observations of meteor-train drifts for the determination of atmospheric currents at altitudes otherwise inaccessible. This altitude, of meteor trains seen at night, ranges from forty-five to sixty-five miles, and Prof. Trowbridge believes that the conditions of pressure and temperature at about fifty-five miles above the earth’s suiface are possibly peculiarly suitable for the production of trains; careful study may enlighten us as to these conditions. | Several recorded trains are illustrated in the article and fully dis- cussed, and the author suggests that valuable results may follow from an organised series of careful observations. Tue Accuracy or DousLe-staR Mrasures.—A paper by Prof. Doberck, appearing in No. 4229 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 65, January 21), should appeal to double- star observers. In it the author gives the probable con-- stant errors, and the residuals after applying these constant, or the mean, errors to the observations, in position-angle and distance for some fifty past and present observers. The probable errors are based on the compari- son of the results of the various observations with the positions calculated from the orbits of thirty double stars recently determined by Prof. Doberck. The effects of difference of colour, which, as Prof: Doberck remarks, must be considerable, are not discussed in the present paper, but the same worker expects to deal with them later. The variations of the probable errors caused by increase of the distance between the components, and by ‘ | | | February 6, 1908] NATURE greater differences of magnitude, are well shown in some of the results, although in other cases magnitude appears to have made no difference. Thus Admiral Smyth’s results show a probable error in angle of +0"-031 below Gil! and +o"-049 above 3", but it is not certain whether the magni- tudes have any influence ; there is no evidence of systematic error in the distances, but an average constant error of +0"-073 is indicated. Prof. Doberck. states that these observations are of very great value. In the case of H. Struve the magnitude coefficient is probably consider- able. Forty-oNE New Variasce Stars.—Circulars No. 134 and No. 135 of the Harvard College Observatory announce the discovery of forty-one variable stars. Of the sixteen announced in the former, two show remarkably large variations. One of these, D.M.—30°.2883, situated in Columba, decreases from magnitude 10-4 to below magni- tude 15-0, whilst the other, D.M.—46°.14688, situated in Phoenix, ranges from 8-5 to less than the twelfth magni- tude. The variations of a number of stars announced in Circular No. 129 have been confirmed visually, and of these TT Aquilz is especially interesting on account of its brightness and probable colour changes. The second circular gives particulars of twenty-five newly discovered variables found in regions Nos. 24, 36, and 42 of the Harvard map. In this research the number of variables found to be of the Algol type has been a remarkable feature, and of the twenty-five now published, eight are probably of this, or of the B Lyrz, class. The large number of variables found in map 42 appears to be significant, and should be taken into account in any dis- cussion of the region, which includes a large portion of the constellation Scorpio and the nebulous region in Ophiuchus. AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. THE American Bureau of Ethnology, with its usual energy, has lost no time in extending its operations over the new colonial the Philippines, and some West Indian islands. The most important contribu- tion to the twenty-fifth volume of its reports, for 1906-7, is an account of a preliminary survey of Porto Rico and the neighbouring islands, conducted by Dr. J. W. Fewkcs Porto Rico, the smallest of the Greater Antilles, naturally linked with Venezuela by the chain of the Lesser Antilles, which stretch southwards to the mouth of the Orinoco. It lies within a region of volcanic disturbance, and it is possible that when it was first occupied by man it may have formed part of an isthmus connected with the South American coast. A temperate climate and a_pro- ductive soil naturally invited colonisation. The fauna and flora are of the South American type, and many considera- possessions, is tions support the conclusion that Porto Rico and the adjoining islands were peopled from the valley of the Orinoco. Thus the houses of the people of both these regions are similar in type, and we find no traces of stone buildings which would naturally have been erected by emigrants from the Maya or other Yucatan tribes. The use of cassava, a South American product, and the care which the primitive inhabitants of Porto Rico, like those of the Orinoco, devoted to the preservation of the skeletons of their dead, are facts pointing in the same direction. Except in the interior of the island, few traces of the aborigines survive. The inhabitants were massacred by the Spaniards, who re-peopled the island with slaves from the Bahamas and negroes from Africa. From the inter- course of these people with their rulers a_half-caste population sprang up. Thus the island at present is occupied by a mixed race, and the absence of a collection of the skulls of the aborigines renders it difficult to decide what their race character may have been. The accounts of their physique and character given by the early Spanish writers do not, however, conflict with the theory of their South American origin. ; The relics of this forgotten race are to be found in the dancing plazas, shell-mounds, and caves scattered over the island. ‘The character of their stone carvings and pottery indicates that they had reached a high grade of culture. The plazas were stone enclosures in which ceremonial NO: TOG72 VOL..7 71] 2? 329 dances were performed’ with the object of securing abundant rain and plenteous harvests, success in war, thx cure. of the sick, for commemoration rites of the deal, initiation. and other ceremonies. They often contain Fic. 1.—Lateral and top views of a three-poin.ed stune or the second type (Latimer collection); length 3 inches. water-worn which Dr. Fewkes supposes to have been emblematic of flowing water, and to have been used in some form of mimetic magic to control the rain. Their religion was of the animistic and shamanistic type, and its ritual largely consisted in the worship of lis, -a term which included their gods, symbols of deities, idols, bones, skulls of the dead—in short, anything sup- posed to possess magical power. The most remarkable idols were those of the “* three- pointed ’’ anthropomorphic type (Fig. x): The interpretation of stones, these objects is obscure, and many theories of their origin have been suggested. Dr. Fewkes regards them as clan idols or tutelary totems, the difference in their form denoting different conceptions of the Zemi in the various clans. Equally curious are the zoomorphic or «% anthropomorphic pestles (Fig. 2), which were employed with mortars in the preparation of ; food, and the stone collars, Fic. 2.—Bira-shapea pestle from . : : Sa.to Domingo. which, according to one theory, were used in association with the ‘‘ three-pointed ’’ images, and with them formed «a snake idol. This explanation Dr. Fewkes rejects ; but, except that they must have been used for some r ligious or ceremonial purpose, their meaning is still uncertain. 330 found in the island best specimens are The rude pictographs or petroglyphs are equally remarkable. Some of the engraved on boulders in rivers or in their vicinity, thus possibly indicating their use in some mimetic rain cere- mony. Others, drawn with less care, differing from the river sculptures in size, shape, and apparently in signifi- cance, are inscribed in the caves so common in the caleareous rocks of the island. They represent in some cases a head furnished with horns, human faces, and rude representations analogous in type to the ‘‘ three-pointed ”’ images, with circles, spirals, and other symbols. Our knowledge of the aboriginal cults is at present too scanty for any attempt to explain their significance. That they represent objects of religious worship seems fairly certain. Porto Rico is thus a most promising field for archzeo- logical investigation. The report of Dr. Fewkes suggests many interesting problems. It is well written, and, like other publications in the same series, is admirably illus- trated. Another article by the same writer describes a tour of exploration in eastern Mexico, undertaken with the object of ascertaining the relationship between the mound builders of the lower Mississippi and the people of the Mexican coast known as Totonac and Huaxtec. The Totonac metropolis, Cempoalan, was for the first time examined. From this investigation it seems probable that the mound builders of the southern States were more closely con- nected with the races of eastern Mexico than with those of the arid region of the south-west or even with the plateau tribes of eastern Mexico. The third part of the thirteenth volume of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, is de- voted to a fresh exploration of Moundville, Alabama, and sites on the Crystal, Chattahoochee, and Lower Flint Rivers, and the Ten Thousand Islands of Florida, by Mr. C. B. Moore. The appearance of the Swastika symbol and other objects discovered at Moundville seems to indi- cate that this was an important religious centre, specially devoted to the worship of the sun, conducted in temples by an order of priests, who kept the sacred fire continually burning as an emblem of the luminary. The discovery at the Crystal River of an ear-ornament overlaid or covered with meteoric iron is an interesting proof of the skill of this race in metallurgy, and it seems to connect the races of Florida, who buried their dead in mounds, with the people of the Ohio valley region. This report also is provided with excellent illustrations of the remarkable series of finds which were secured by Mr. Moore’s expedition. THE NITROGEN PROBLEM IN AGRICUL- TURE. OR many years what is known in agriculture as the nitrogen problem has received considerable attention both from men of science and from practical men. It has two aspects. Few soils contain nitrogen compounds in sufficient quantity for the needs of non-leguminous crops, and the application of nitrogenous manures is one of the commonest, as well as one of the more costly, operations of modern agriculture. On the other hand, leguminous crops not only need no nitrogenous manure for themselves, but actually increase the store of nitrogen compounds in the soil, and dispense with the necessity of adding more for the succeeding crop. The problem would obviously vanish if leguminous crops could be grown every other year, but unfortunately. they are liable to ‘‘ sick- ness,’’ and can only be grown once in four or even six years. Even as it is, however, any method that increases the nitrogen-fixing power of a leguminous crop is a welcome addition to the resources of a farmer. In 1886 Hellriegel and Wilfarth showed that nitrogen- fixation is the work of certain micro-organisms associated with the leguminose. It has since been shown that they can grow apart from the plant, and can be inoculated into soils, and also that an increased crop may follow such inoculation. On three occasions cultures of these organisms have 1 “Seed and Soil Inoculation for Teguminous Crops.” By Prof. W. B. Bottomley. (London: Country Life Office.) NO. 1997, VOL. 77] NATURE [Fesruary 6, 1908 been widely distributed among farmers. In 1896 Nobbe sent out ‘‘nitragin’’; in 1903 Moore’s cultures were issued in America; and now we have Prof. Bottomley’s cultures. Each time very great and widespread interest has been aroused, the matter has been discussed at length in the daily Press, and has even on occasion formed the subject of questions in the House of Commons. The subject appeals to almost everyone. Few scientific problems are more interesting than the wholly unparalleled synthesis of complex organic compounds from free nitrogen and other simple bodies effected by these micro-organisms at the low temperatures of the soil. The practical man sees in inoculation the possibility of increased leguminous crops and of less expenditure on nitrogenous manure for his other crops. The man in the street, who has always been ready to take an interest in nitrogen since Sir William Crookes’s British Association address at Bristol in 1898, sees the threatened nitrogen famine averted and his food supply rendered secure for a long time to come. Inoculation has proved very successful on virgin soils, or in dealing with new leguminous crops, but there is little or no evidence that it is effective when the soil 1s already in cultivation and the crop no longer new. Nobbe’s cultures failed, and Moore’s cultures were not particularly successful when applied in ordinary farm practice. Certain other less boomed cultures, e.g. Hiltner’s, have done better, and have sometimes given 20 per cent. or 30 per cent. increases in crop. Prof. Bottomley tested his culture by distributing more than a thousand specimens; 80 per cent. of the reports received (unfortunately we are not told the actual number) showed an increase in crop. The pamphlet before us consists largely of extracts from these reports. Experiments of this nature are very difficult to carry out. Great care is necessary in selecting the ground, proper control plots are needed, and the experiment must be continued for several years without essential modifica- tion. Under favourable conditions, the error of a field experiment lasting many years may be as low as 5 per cent., but for shorter periods it is much higher. We cannot find any evidence that these facts have been taken into account; on the contrary, most of the trials have obviously been made by novices. Only in a few cases have any weights been taken, and the results have usually been guessed. Here is an ‘‘ experiment ’’ with peas :— ““T planted the inoculated peas on land that had not been manured for many years, and had a crop of peas quite equal to those grown by a friend on manured soil ”’ (Ga): Another :—‘‘‘ Gradus’ without inoculation, a fair crop, but they were soon over.”’ ““*Sutton’s Ait’ inoculated, heavy crop, with abundance of well-filled pods ’’ (p. 21). Again :—‘‘ First sown peas, inoculated, a fine crop. . . Second sowing, uninoculated, results very poor. .. ~ The ground on which first crop was sown had had no peas on it for several years, whereas the ground on which second crop was sown had had peas grown on it in the previous year ’’ (p. 17) It is scarcely necesary to say that statements of this kind are of no scientific value. Fifty-two reports are quoted; fifteen must certainly be rejected, eighteen give no figures, thirteen give estimated figures, and six give weights. Confining our attention to the nineteen cases where figures are given, we find that in four the increased yield is 20 per cent. or less; this cannot be much greater than the magnitude of the experimental error. In nine cases the estimated increase is 30 per cent. to 50 per cent., and in five cases more than 50 per cent. A detailed discussion is obviously impossible ; we can only point out that a few experiments properly made on sound lines would have been very much better than all these testimonials. So far as they prove anything at all, however, they go to show that the author has, like Hiltner in Germany, Moore in the United States, and Golding here, obtained cultures which may in suitable cases increase the yield of leguminous crops, and the increase seems to be estimated in the majority of cases at about 30 per cent. to 50 per cent. Now if it this turns out to be correct it will be a very useful result, but in ordinary farming it can only be Pe eer Ferruary 6, 1908] NATURE 331 looked for once every fourth or sixth year, tor it is not claimed that inoculation cures sickness’? and increases the frequency with which leguminous crops can be grown. Even a 50 per cent. increase in crop, useful though it would be, would in these circum- stances hardly effect any particular revolution in agri- cultural practice. We are therefore unable to follow the author when he remarks :—* For a few thousand pounds the 21 million acres of poor barren land in this country could be made productive and rendered capable of finding work for and supporting such a population that both the food problem and the unemployed problem would be easy of solution. . . . Waste land reclaimed and made fertile for 6d. an acre! ...’’ It would have been better if the author had induced an agricultural friend to revise this estimate. We are told on pp. 8 and 10 that inoculation will be a failure when the soil is too acid and in need of lime, when it is deficient in phosphates and potash, when the physical conditions of the soil are unfavourable, or when drainage is needed. Barren land in England commonly suffers from several or all of these defects. How far would sixpence an acre go in putting them right ? At a time when the farmer needs, and is willing to accept, all the assistance the scientific investigator can sive him, the fact that an enthusiastic worker like Prof. Bottomley has directed his attention to agricultural botany is a matter for congratulation, and we can only regret that in this, his first appeal to the practical man, his enthusiasm should have outrun his judgment. However, although we must regard the present production as un- satisfactory, we still look forward to sound work from the author on this subject, and we wish him success in “ee “his work on the numerous and difficult problems connected with soil inoculation. 1 A eS MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION RESEARCH. HE annual meeting of the Mathematical Association was held at King’s College, London, on Saturday, January 25. The proceedings bear abundant testimony to the great changes which are taking place in the methods of teaching mathematics, and show that these changes are not confined to the subject of elementary geometry. Mr. W. J. Dobbs showed what useful work could be done by means of simple home-made apparatus in the teaching of mechanics, his apparatus consisting merely of spiral springs with cardboard scales attached for illustrating applications of the parallelogram law, and suspended sticks for illustrating the principle of the lever and the balance. He further showed how the solution of problems on accelerated motion could be greatly simplified by the application of direct methods not involving such restric- tions as to units as are necessary in working with ““poundals ’’ or ‘‘ slugs.’ Mr. C. O. Tuckey made a distinct step in advance in his suggestions as to the methods of introducing the properties of convergent series to students who require these series principally in the study of the calculus, and it is interesting to compare his views with those which prevailed twenty or thirty years ago, when the calculus was regarded as something sacred which should not be handled by students until they had passed AND through a lengthy period of probation in working with algebraic series. Mr. F. J. W. Whipple’s lantern-slides, showing how the convergency of certain trigonometric series could be illustrated by diagrams drawn by mere beginners, were a revelation to those who had approached the subiect by the study of pages of long formula. Mr. W. E. Bryan suggested a very original way of introducing similar figures in geometry, a method which, however, may well form a basis of further discussion and criticism. An apparatus for drawing rectangular hyperbolas was shown by Mr. H. L. Trachtenberg. In his presidential address Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S., dealt with the uses of mathematics and the training of mathematical teachers. It was necessary that the public should be made aware of the important part which higher mathematical research had played, and was destined to play, in practical applications on which the prosperity of NO. 1997. VOL. 77] a nation depended. As an instance, Prof. Bryan referred to the seemingly unpractical and uninteresting study of the properties of imaginary quantities, without which modern applications of electricity to purposes of commerce, including wireless telegraphy, could never have reached their present developments. In order to overcome the existing lack of public interest in mathematical matters it was important that the university training of every mathematical teacher should afford him some insight into. the research aspect of some one branch of the subject, and the experiments that had already been made in this. direction in the university colleges of Wales showed that this ideal was quite capable of attainment. Turning to the teaching of mathematics in elementary schools, Prof. Bryan expressed the opinion that the children of the work- ing man should’ learn to measure and calculate correctly in order that they might become more efficient and improve their positions in the labour market. If their teaching was conducted in such a way as merely to stimulate in them a spirit of luxury and discontent as distinct from a desire for self-improvement, the working classes had quite as much cause for complaint as the tax-payers. But in the training of elementary teachers, antiquated and unpractical methods are still prevalent, and are often greatly encouraged by examinational requirements. RADIOGRAPHY IN PEARL FISHING. “THE products of the sea are commonly wasted to a very deplorable degree by those who gather and use them. In no instance is this waste more marked than in the search for pearls. By the old method, which is still in vogue as a general rule, an enormous number of the so-called oysters are taken from their habitat and’ destroyed without any thought of economy. It is said that only one pearl is found in 100 oysters, and only I per cent. of the pearls found are of any commercial value. Thus some 10,000 of the precious molluscs are sacrificed for every useful pearl obtained. Among these victims there must be a vast amount of immature pearls or seed, pearls in posse, which might grow and become valuable gems, which are deprived of that possibility by premature destruction. In the year 1901 Prof. Raphaél Dubois took radiographs of pearls in situ within the shell of Unio prolifera, and obtained a clear view of their size and situation in spite of the thickness of the shell in which they were encased. He showed these radiographs at the Linnean Society of Lyons, and remarked that the X-rays might receive a novel application if used in the fisheries of Ceylon, and the destruction of a vast number of the prized molluscs might thus be avoided. The difficulty of applying the X-rays to many thousands of shells per diem seemed sufficient to deter the ordinary person from such a laborious attempt. However, a_ few years later an electrical engineer of New York, Mr. John J. Solomon, who took an interest in the question of pearls, was struck by the same idea of using the X-rays to detect the existence of pearls within the shell of the living animal. He was then unaware of the earlier ex- periments of Prof. Dubois, but promptly set himself about the work from a commercial point of view. He found that an exposure necessary to obtain a good picture did not in any way injure the animal, and even an exposure of ten times as long could be applied with- out causing its death from the effect of the rays. The dangers lay rather in the removal of the bivalve from its normal attachment and in-the time required for its transit from its bed to the laboratory of the photographer: for the pearl oyster is really a kind of mussel, which holds on to some fixed object by a brush of fibrils (byssus) growing from its body Thus the fundamental principle of Prof. Dubois, to save the life of unremunerative bivalves, bids fair to be carried out by American ingenuity and capital. For practical purposes, where many thousands of shells have to be radiographed daily, a completely novel kind of plant had to be devised. This was done, and final success was considered to be well in view, when roo clear radio- graphs could be taken on an average every fifteen seconds. soe NATURE [ FEBRUARY 6, 1908 Mr. Solomon often succeeded in taking as many as 500 per minute. In this process some hundred shells. are exposed at a.time to the rays. The oysters, spread on trays, are carried under the _ specially constructed cylinders by means of an electric motor. These great cylinders are cooled by means of suitable water jackets, and can thus be kept working continuously. The oysters in which there is no sign of pearl forma- tion are put back to their beds. Those in which good- sized pearls are detected are removed and opened, and the pearls promptly utilised. Those showing no pearls of adequate commercial value, but containing promising seed or immature pearls, are carefully placed in hospital. This hospital has rather a novel object; not the cure of the pearl disease (for the much prized gem is but a patho- logical growth), but, on the contrary, everything is done to keep the mollusc in stutw quo ante so that the disease may progress as rapidly as possible to the production of valuable pearls and to the death of the incurable patient. The question seems to arise, can the normal, or perhaps we should say the abnormal, conditions of the pearl- producing bivalve be well enough imitated in captivity to ensure the continued growth of the pearls? May not the “change of water’’ (as they must be kept nearer the surface) secure. for the sufferers immunity from their diseased process? One might have imagined that a greater amount of sunlight, more oxygen, altered tempera- ture, different nutrition, lessened pressure, and _ other changed conditions we think not of, would so influence the life of the mollusc that it might depart from its pathological but useful habit of producing these valued round bits of shell material, and the hospital might thus prove a_ true Kur-Anstalt instead of a pearl-breeding depét. But Mr. Solomon tested these points, and he has satisfied himself that, if he can be certain to transmit in all circumstances the oysters to and from his laboratory without injury to their well-being, all other difficulties have already been overcome. As to the lucrative com- mercial value of the undertaking, time alone can tell; sufficient has not yet elapsed to make it demonstrable by actual proof that pearls can thus be hatched en gros. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, CampripGe.—Two Graces will be offered to the Senate at the Congregation on Thursday, February 13; the first gratefully accepts the generous offer of the Drapers’ Com- pany to contribute a sum of 200!. a year until 1919 towards the stipend of a second professorship in the department of agriculture, and the second establishes in the University a professorship of agricultural botany. ; The council of the Senate has reported that it is of Opinion that the University should hold a Darwin celebra- tion in the course of the year 1909. The council points out that Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, and that the “ Origin of Species’? was published on November 24, 1859. The hundredth anniversary of the former event, and the fiftieth anniversary of the latter, will therefore fall in the course of the year 1909. It is sug- gested that representatives of universities and other learned bodies, together with distinguished individuals, should receive invitations to visit the University on the occasion. Should this report be confirmed by the Senate, the council will appoint a committee to consider the details of the proposed celebration. The week beginning June 20, 1909, appears to the council to be the most suitable time for the celebration. Lonpon.—The degree of D.Sc. has been conferred on Mr. H. B. Fantham for a thesis entitled ““ Spirochaeta (Trypanosoma) balbianii (Certes) and Spirochaeta dontae (Keysselitz); their Movements, Structure, Affinities,’’ and other researches in zoology. Dr. Otto Stapf has commenced a university course of ten lectures on ‘‘ Grasses: their Structure, Biology, Dis- tribution, and Classification,’? and Dr. Beddard, F.R.S., 4 course of four lectures on ‘‘ The Circulatory System of Reptiles.’? Both courses are being delivered at University on Mondays, the botany lectures at 4 p:m. and e zoology lectures at 5 p.m., admission to these lectures being free. NO. 1997, VOL. 77] ano- and A university course of four advanced lectures in zoology on ‘* Tooth Development and Morphology ’’ will be given by Prof. H. W. Marett Tims, at Bedford College for Women, at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, commencing March 3. Admission will be free. Arrangements have been made for university courses in geology by Prof. Garwood, on ‘‘ The Geology and Physiography of Arctic Europe’’ (in March); by Prof. Seeley, F.R.S., on ‘‘ The Thames and its Tributaries ”’ (in May); by Dr. Evans, on “‘ Recent Advances in the Determination of Minerals by Optical Methods ”’ (in June) ; and by Miss Raisin, on ‘‘ The Geological Structure of the Area of the Vosges ’’ (in October). In future, a candidate for the D.Sc. degree may be required by the examiners, as an additional test, to submit within a given period a reasoned report on a_ subject prescribed by them. Candidates for the B.Sc. honours degree in mathematics as internal students are to be allowed, under certain conditions, to submit research work, and such work will be taken into account in estimating their qualifications. Tue Lord Alverstone, G.C.M.G., Lord Chief Justice of England, will present prizes and certificates to students of evening classes and the day college of the South-Western Polytechnic, Chelsea, on March 13. Tue Board of Education has issued a return (325) show- ing the application by local authorities of funds for higher education in England and Wales during the official year 1905-6. It appears that the total expenditure on account of education other than elementary during the year was 35355,434l. Of this amount, 706,149]. was spent on secondary schools and 234,182/. on pupil-teacher centres. On behalf of evening schools and institutions for higher and technical education, 1,200,789l. was expended, .and in day schools of similar scope 258,517/. Exhibitions and bursaries at secondary schools, pupil-teacher centres, even- ing and day technical institutions, accounted for 376,7621. The training of teachers cost 71,91ol., the salaries of officers other than teachers 120,5311., and 150,660]. was paid on account of loans. The part of the total amount which was expended in Wales reached 214,185/., more than half of which was devoted to secondary schools. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, November 21, 1907. —‘‘ Note on the Sensi- bility of the Ear to the Direction of Explosive Sounds.” By A. Matlock, F.R.S. “Soon after the introduction of modern rifles, which give their projectiles a velocity much higher than that of sound, the author noticed that when standing in a position in front of the gun, and not far from the line of. fire, the sound seemed to come, not from the firing point, but from some point considerably in advance of the gun. The natural explanation seemed to be that the sound thus heard was not that of the explosion itself, but was caused by the wave-surface, which is generated in the air by the projectile moving at a velocity higher than that of sound. In 1898 the author made observations at the ranges at Broundown to see if the apparent directions agreed with this supposition; and in the present year he has again made similar experiments in much more favourable circum- stances. It is clear (if the source of the sound is due to the wave caused by the projectile) that the apparent direc- tion of the sound will be the normal to the wave-surface, and that if the direction of this normal is known, the velocity of the projectile, at the time that that particular portion of the wave-surface was generated which ultimately reaches the observer, can be calculated. These observations are now recorded, not as giving a practical method of ascertaining the velocity of projectiles, but as showing that the ear can distinguish with con- siderable accuracy the direction of a sound which consists, not of a train of waves, but, at most, of two waves only. The figure gives the plan of the range and the stations at which the observations were made. The arrows through these points show the direction of the sound as judged by ear. Each arrow is the mean Fesruary 6, 1908 | of eight observations, which rarely differed among them- selves by more than two or three degrees. That portion of . the. wave-surface which passes the observer at any station was generated at the point where the apparent direction of the sound cuts the line of fire, and since the trace of the wave on the trajectory neces- sarily has the velocity of the projectile at the place where it was formed, and moves along the normal with the ordinary velocity of sound, it is plain that at those points the velocity of the bullet is the velocity of sound + the sine of the angle which the tangent to the wave-surface makes with the trajectory. The spots, +, show the velocities thus computed, and the full curve gives the actual velocity, as determined by firing, at various ranges up to 1000 yards, into a ballistic pendulum. The agreement of the values of the velocities thus obtained with the true velocities shows the degree of -accuracy with which the direction of the sound was estimated. In this case the difference between the true and observed directions was seldom more than a few degrees, and was generally in one direction. A sound which is caused by the detached waves, such as those which accompany a bullet, can scarcely be said a pitch, but the wave-length is certainly small to have Scale for velocity 3,000-f-s. 2,00) NATURE 333 alloy. In the third case, mere traces of the copper and tin were dissolved by the mercury, although each of the constituent metals of the alloy would by itself be readily taken up. A solid amalgam was, however, formed. These experiments, which were interrupted by illness of the author, go to show that the relations of mercury to alloys are not the same—at any rate for those tried—as to the component metals taken separately. 1907.—* The Reciprocal Innervation of Note XI. Further Observations on Prof. C. S. Sherrington, December 5, Antagonistic Muscles. Successive Induction.’’ By EURES= This communication announces that an essential part of the flexion-reflex of the limb is a contraction of the extensor muscles which sets in immediately the external stimulus which excites the reflex is discontinued. The external stimulus, it may be recalled, while exciting the flexor muscles to contraction, produces relaxation of their antagonists, the extensors. This latter it effects by quell- ing (inhibiting) all nervous discharge for the time being in the extensor moto-neurones of the spinal cord. The in- hibition of the moto-neurones is on cessation of the stimulus followed by a superactivity in them accompanied by the discharge of impulses from them into the muscles they innervate, namely, the extensors. This tendency to motor discharge which fol- lows on the inhibition had been noted in previous com- munications by Prof. Sher- rington, but the evidence of it had hitherto been only indirect. It had been found that on withdrawing the in- hibitory stimulus the in- The arrows show the apparent direction of the sound at the stations ABC... to the wave-surface, calculated from the known velocity of the projectile. The spots, +, are the velccities of the projectile, obtained from experiments with the ballistic pendulum. projectile, as deduced from the observed direction of the sound. compared with the distance between the ears, and is, indeed, comparable with the dimensions of the bullet itself. It would seem, therefore, that the ears can determine the direction of a sound, not only by difference of phase, but by the actual difference in the times at which a single pulse reaches them. “ Results of the Interaction of Mercury with Alloys of other Metals.”” By Dr. J. W. Mattet, F-R.S. It being well known that alloying metals with each other often modifies notably their relations to acids and other non-metallic reagents, it seemed desirable to ascertain what the behaviour would be of solid alloys to liquid metallic mercury. In the experiments reported in this paper three alloys were used, namely, tin-platinum, silver-platinum, and copper-tin, approximately PtSn,, PtAg,, and SnCu,. These were shaken up in a finely divided state with pure mercury in large excess. In the first case the tin was completely protected by the platinum from amalgamation, and neither of the solid metals was dissolved by the mercury. In the second case the presence of the silver brought about amalgamation of the platinum, which would not have been so affected if alone, and both metals were dissolved by the mercury, the platinum, however, in less proportion than that in which it was present in the solid NO. 1997, VOL. 77] hibited part of the reflex arc showed itself more easily excitable by stimuli than it had been before the inhibition occurred. In the present communi- cation it is shown that the inhibited centre actually dis- charges spontaneously on withdrawal of the external inhibitory stimulus that de- presses it. It is further shown that the inhibited centre will spontaneously discharge even in face of a weak inhibitory stimulus if that stimulus follows on a The dotted lines are the normals The full curve is the velocity of the strong inhibitory one. The process in virtue of which inhibition of the arc leads to or induces a subsequent superactivity of the arc is called successive induction, because of its analogy ta certain processes in the physiology of vision which are also called inductive. The intensity of the successive in- duction increases with increase of the intensity of the inhibitory stimulus and with increase—up to certain limits —of the duration of the inhibitory stimulus. In other words, the stronger and longer the inhibitory stimulus, the greater the contraction which ensues on the withdrawal of the stimulus. The contraction of the extensors of the limb which thus follows on their relaxation by reflex inhibition is probably an important, perhaps the most important, factor in the extension phase of the reflex stepping of the limb. Its occurrence supplies an explanation for the relatively poor representation of extension as a primary movement in the motor area of the cortex cerebri. It may be fundamentally analogous to the excitation which occurs in a peripheral nerve at the site of the anode of a voltaic current when the passage of the current is broken. It is, at any rate, perhaps the most striking instance known of a depression which in Arnim v. Tschermak’s terms is allonomic, being followed by a reverse condition the process of which is autonomic. In other words, an allonomic depression 334 NATURE [Fepruary 6, 1908 (? assimilatory) of the nerve-centre induces an autonomic (? dissimilatory) excitation. Geological Society, January» 8.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—Chronology of the Glacial epoch in North America: Prof. G. F. Wright. In the case of Plum Creek, Lorain County (Ohio), the study of the activity of the stream and of the amount of work done since the Glacial epoch has yielded important results. This stream began erosion when the temporary lake, held up by the ice, was maintained at the level of its Fort Wayne outlet; it has never had anything more resistant than Till to act upon. From a section 5000 feet long it has excavated 34 million cubic feet of Boulder- clay, removing it from exposed banks 1600 feet long. Twelve years’ erosion of a 500-feet length of a part of the trough of the stream gives a rate of 8450 cubic feet per annum. Therefore, the removal of 34 million cubic feet from the 5000-feet section would give a period of 2505 years. The erosion of the Niagara Gorge began later than that of Plum Creek, and dates from midway between the disappearance of the ice from northern Ohio and from Quebec. If conditions have been uniform, the age of the gorge would be 7zooo years. The author concludes, with some confidence, that the gorge is less than 10,000 -years old, and that the ice of the Glacial epoch continued down to that time to such an extent over the lower St. Lawrence Valley and Central New York that it obstructed the eastern drainage of the Great Lakes.—The application of quantitative methods to the study of the structure and history of rocks: Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S. The angle of rest in the case of sand-grains of varying size and quality enables the velocity of current necessary to keep such sand drifting, and that needed to move it when at rest, to be ascertained approximately. The comparison of this angle with that in sedimentary rocks made of similar materials may be used to determine the vertical contrac- tion of rocks since deposition, the average in cases studied in Tertiary and secondary rocks being from 100 to 57. The connection between the structure of ‘‘ ripple-drift ”” and time is discussed. The connection between the struc- ture of a deposit and depth of water is found to be difficult to study quantitatively. From the occurrence of “ drift-bedding ”’ the depth of water may be determined to within a few feet. The deposition of fine deposits, like clay, varies according to the amount of mud present and whether the grains subside separately or cohere together. When no pressure js applied, the amount of water included in the deposited clay may be 80 per cent., and when dry the empty spaces may still amount to 32 per cent. Many of the older rocks must now be only 20 per cent. of their original thickness. In the green slates of Langdale the volcanic eruptions sometimes occurred probably within a few weeks of one another, and at other times at more distant intervals. When deposited, part of the rock was probably analogous to fine, loose sand, and part to semi- liquid mud. In the Coal-measure sandstones deposition at the rate of 1 inch per minute was common, with intervals of little or no deposit. The volume of invisible cavities in rocks varies from 49 per cent. in some recent rocks to nearly o in the ancient slates. The packing of grains was discussed mathematically and experimentally. The methods of determining the volume of minute cavities in rocks were given. In some limestones the cavities have been reduced by pressure to close on the mathematical minimum, whereas in others the cavities are filled with carbonate of lime. Some oolites have had their cavities filled in a similar manner; in others most of the material of the original grain has been removed, and the present solidity is- due to the filling-up of the cavities mainly by internal segregation. Among fine-grained rocks, the Chalk probably was originally a sort of semi-liquid with 7° per cent. of water, and in its present state is about 45 per cent. of its original thickness: the thickness of some clays must have diminished still more. By the measurement of green spots in slates it can be deduced that the rock before cleavage was more consolidated than rocks of the Coal-measures now are, and was then greatly compressed. The development of ‘ slip-surfaces ’’? in cleaved rocks is great, and furnishes additional proof that the cleavage is of mechanical origin. NO. 1997, VOL. 77] minute cavities in clay-rocks and their analogues of various ages were discussed. There is a distinct relation between it and the probable pressure to which the rocks have been exposed. Zoological Society, January 14.—Prof. J. Rose Bradford, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Mammals obtained in the Shantung Peninsula, N. China, by Mr. M. P. Anderson, for the Duke of Bedford’s exploration of eastern Asia: O. Thomas. No mammals had come from this region since the time of Consul Swinhoe, who visited it in 1866-8. The present series contained 106 specimens belonging to six species, of which one was new.—The musculature and other points in the anatomy of the engystomatid frog Breviceps verrucosus: F. E. Beddard. —The hermaphroditism of the amphipod Orchestia deshayesti, Audouin: C. L. Boulenger. Linnean Society, January 16.—Prof. W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Stages of soil denuda- tion and forest destruction in the Tyrol: A. P. Young. Slides were shown from photographs taken in two valleys, one north of the Brenner Pass, the Navistal, near Inns- bruck, and one south of the pass, the Schalderertal, near Brixen, illustrating various limits, commencing near the upper limit of the vine cultivation at about 700 metres to the snow limit at about 2800 metres. Great waste of soil is caused in forest land by the simultaneous felling of trees over single plots of ground, and in the higher levels by the encroachments of grazing animals. One effect of this waste is the recession, not only of the tree line, but also of the limit of continuous forests, which is generally con- sidered as distinct from the tree line.—Notes on Brassica crosses: A. W. Sutton. The origin of some of the culti- vated forms of Brassicas has been very obscure, and this has led to much confusion in their classification. It has naturally been supposed that by careful study of those types which intercross with one another, and of those which refuse to intercross, some light might be thrown upon the origin of many Brassicas which to-day form so important a portion of the plants used in agriculture and horticulture. Consequently, experiments were undertaken to investigate the tendency or otherwise to intercross. Various accepted forms of Brassica oleracea (such as kale, cabbage, savoy, and Brussels sprouts) were planted side by side and allowed to flower and seed. Result :—A large collection of nondescript plants, some of which, after selec- tion, have been practically fixed as new and useful types. Some of the generally accepted types of Brassica oleracea were arranged in *‘ sets ‘* together with types of Brassica campestris, B. rapa, and B. napus, that is to say, swedes with rapes, cabbages with turnips, &c., and these were allowed to bloom in juxtaposition. Result :—Many hybrid plants resulted from certain ‘sets’? where natural cross- fertilisation took place, and in other cases the pure parental types were reproduced when no cross-fertilisation occurred. The results were quite in accordance with what experience led the author to expect. As in the preceding experiments several types had been seeded together, the ex- periments were repeated under carefully controlled con- ditions in order to find by artificial cross-fertilisation to which of the types the resulting hybrid forms were due. Artificial crosses (about eighty-six) were attempted between many of the different types of Brassicas. As was expected, many attempted crosses failed to produce hybrid forms, no seed being developed, probably showing that in these cases crossing was impossible. Other crosses gave seeds, in some cases these being well developed, but in others small and immature. These seeds when sown produced inter- mediate or hybrid plants quite unlike the parental forms, thus showing that cross-fertilisation was possible and had occurred, confirming experience gained in the practical work of seed-growing.—Revision of the genus Illigera, Blume: S. T. Dunn. Chemical Society. January 16.—Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Colour and con- stitution of azo-compounds, part ii., the salts of p-hydroxy- azo-compounds with mineral acids: J. J. Fox and J. T. Hewitt. The authors accept Tuck’s statement that benzeneazonaphthol and its ethyl ether are similar in struc- The’ volume of | ture, but not his hypothesis that this structure is of the a Frsruary 6, 1908] NADLORE 335 azo type. They also regard Baker’s attempt to tormulate these compounds as carbonium salts as unsatisfactory, since it would involve an assumption that p-bromobenzene- azophenol hydrochloride is identical with p-chlorobenzene- azophenol hydrobromide, and they suggest, instead of the formulze hitherto proposed, the constitution of oxonium salts for these substances thus, NHPh.N:C,H,: O(H or Et)Cl.—A new method of determining vapour densities, part i.: P. Blackman.—Studies in the camphane series, part xxv., action of diazomethane on the two modifica- tions of isonitrosocamphor: M. O. Forster and H. Holmes. Diazomethane produces with the stable iso- nitrosocamphor the N-methyl ether, whilst with the un- stable modification isomerisation to the stable variety only takes place.—The oxidation of aromatic hydrazines by metallic oxides, permanganates, and chromates: F. D. Chattaway. Experiments on the oxidation of a number of hydrazines have afforded evidence of the correctness ol the view already put forward by the author that an un- stable hydroxyhydrazine is first produced, which, in presence of alkalis, breaks down into the hydrocarbon, nitrogen, and water.—Studies in fermentation, part ii., the mechanism of alcoholic fermentation: A. Slator. Dr. S. Ps Harmer, F.R.S.; E, Major E. H. Hills, C.M.G.; F, Lord Brassey, K.C.B.; G, Mr. Dugald Clerk; H, Prof. W. Ridgeway ; IS Dr. J. Ss. Haldane; Ky Drs: B. /Blackman, F-R.S.; L, Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. There will also be a sub- section of Section F, to be concerned with agriculture, and the chairman will be Sir Horace Plunkett, K.C.V.O., F.R.S. The first evening discourse will be delivered by Prof. H. H. Turner, F.R.S., on ‘‘ Halley’s Comet,’’ and the second by Prof. W. M. Davis, of Harvard University, on “‘ The Lessons of the Colorado Cafon.’’ Tue death is announced, at the age of cighty-seven, of the Rev. F. Howlett,, whose drawings and observations of sun-spots have appeared in various publications, and will be remembered by many students of solar physics. Tue thirty-fifth annual dinner of old students of the Royal School of Mines will be held on Wednesday, March 18, at the Hotel Cecil. The chair will be taken by Dr. R. Pearce. NO 1998, VOL. 77 | Tne Mary Kingsley medal, which was struck by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for presentation to distinguished investigators and others who have aided the cause of combating disease in the tropics, has been pre- sented to Lord Lister, who formally opened the school on April 21, 1899. The medal was forwarded to Lord Lister with a letter signed by Princess Christian (hon. president), Sir Alfred Jones (chairman), Sir Rubert Boyce (dean), and Mr. Alan. Milne (secretary), in which it was stated :— ““No words of ours are required to amplify the esteem in which your magnificent achievements are held through- out the world. The Mary Kingsley memorial. medal has been founded for the purpose of recognising the work of thosé who have accomplished much in the cause of tropical medicine. _No one has accomplished more for this cause, or, indeed, for the whole cause of medicine, than yourself. The school feel honoured that your lordship has consented to receive the medal.”’ WE regret to learn from the City Press that Mr. R. J. Friswell, whose name is well known among analytical chemists, died on February 6 after a brief illness. Mr. Friswell studied at the Royal College of Chemistry under Sir Edward Frankland, and later acted as assistant at St. Mary’s Hospital to Dr. W. J. Russell. Subsequently he engaged in research work at the Royal College, being appointed in that connection on the staff of the Indian Eclipse Expedition, and later, on his return to London, continuing to assist Sir Norman Lockyer in his spectro- scopic researches. Afterwards, for many years, he was the chief chemist to the firm of Brooke, Simpson, and Spiller, leaving them to become the scientific adviser of the British Uralite Company, Ltd. For the last few years he had been in practice for himself as an analytical chemist in Great Tower Street. Mr. Friswell was elected a Fellow of the Chemical Society in 1871, and served on the council for several years; he was one of the founders of the Institute of Chemistry, and last year was chairman of the London section of the Society of Chemical Industry. WE notice with regret the announcement that Sir J. D. Macdonald, K.C.B., F.R.S., retired Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets, died at Southall on February 7 in his eighty-first year. Sir J. D. Macdonald entered the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon in 1849, and was placed in charge of the Plymouth Hospital Museum. In 1852 he joined H.M.S. Herald, and from that date until July, 1859, when promoted to surgeon, he was employed on surveying and exploring service in the south-west Pacific. After many years of almost unremitting microscopic work on the products of the sounding-lead, dredge, and towing- net, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His next promotion came in 1866, and for nine years he held the post of professor of naval hygiene at the Netley Medical School. In the meantime he was awarded the Macdougal-Brisbane medal of the Royal Society of Edin- burgh in 1862, and the Gilbert Blane medal in 1871. He was the author of numerous papers read before the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh and other societies. His published works also included ‘‘ A Guide to the Micro- scopical Examination of Drinking Water,’’ ‘‘ Analogy of Sound and Colour,’’ and ‘‘ Outlines of Naval Hygiene.”’ He was made a Deputy-Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets in February, 1875, and five years later was again promoted, holding from 1883 to 1886, when he retired from) active service, the charge of the Naval Hospital at Stone~ house. In 1902 he was made a K.C.B. Tue February number of the Strand Magazine contains two articles of interest to readers of Nature. In the one, 359 entitled ‘‘ The Physiognomist at the Zoo,’’ Mr. A. E. Johnson discourses pleasantly on the expression of animals as an indication of character, his points being brought out by four striking—if somewhat accentuated—portraits of the lynx, the chimpanzi, the mantled guereza monkey, and the loris. The second article, by Mr. D. M. Beddoe, is devoted to the recently discovered mummy believed to be that of Menephtah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and the son of the great Rameses. Photographs of the mummy illustrate the article, so that the reader may look on features familiar to Moses some three thousand or more years ago. In the January number of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science Mr. C. C. Dobell describes the life- history and development of a newly discovered genus and species of flagellate monad (Copromonas subtilis) inhabit- ing the faces of frogs and toads. Starting with the adult monad, it appears that the organism undergoes two dis- tinct phases or cycles of development, one asexual and the other sexual. In the former multiplication takes place by means of longitudinal division, with the eventual develop- ment of two flagellas and two nucleuses. In the sexual ‘stage the monads conjugate in pairs, and thus eventually ive rise to a dormant cyst, from which, when a suitable nidus is reached, a small hyaline monad is liberated, this in due course developing into an adult monad, when the whole cycle recommences. The cysts are swallowed by frogs or toads, and reach the rectum by the usual course. THE anatomy and histology of the alimentary tract of the dugong are described in detail by Mr. J. F. Guder- natsch in the fourth part of vol. xxxvii. of Gegenbaur’s Morphologisches Jahrbuch. At the conclusion of the paper the author refers to some curious resemblances between the sirenian and the cetacean tongue. In that organ in the dolphin there have, for instance, been found certain peculiar pits occupying the position of the circumvallate papillz in other mammals, while the author has discovered very similar pits in the dugong which occupy the position of the foliate papilla. Whether these pits are connected with the sense of taste is, however, uncertain, although the occurrence in both cases of ganglionic cells in the pits is in favour of such a function. An important difference between the sirenian and cetacean mouth is the presence in the former of large salivary glands, which are totally wanting in the latter. ’ A srRIES of “studies in adaptation’? commences in the fifth volume of the Baltimore Journal of Experimental Zoology with an article by Dr. Alexander Petrunkevitch on the sense of sight in spiders, a subject discussed with great elaboration and in minute detail. This sense is of the greatest importance to certain species, those which obtain their prey by hunting depending entirely on sight during the chase. Nevertheless, the acuteness of vision even in the sharpest-eyed spiders is far inferior to that of man. An insect of about a square centimetre in size would, for example, be perfectly visible—even perhaps to the extent of specific recognition—to the human eye at the distance of a yard, whereas to a spider of the genus Phidippus it would appear as a tiny, ill-defined moving object, while to members of the genus Lycosa it would be invisible. The poor visual power of spiders is largely due to the peculiar form of the retina, while the inferiority respect of Lycosa to Phidippus depends on the fact that, while in the latter the retinal image covers the terminations of nearly seven nerve-rods, in the former it scarcely exceeds the diameter of a single rod. NO. 1998, VOL. 77] in this NATURE [ FEBRUARY 13, 1908 Tne best mode of determining the age and rate of growth of eels forms the subject of a long article by Mr. K. J. Gems6e in the report of the Danish Biological Station for 1906 (Copenhagen, 1908). By means of measurements, it has been ascertained that when eels attain a length of about 18 cm. and begin to develop scales, they have lived for two years in fresh water, that is to say, from the time of their arrival as larvee or glass- eels, After this the age may be determined by the number of concentric zones or rings in the scales, which indicate annual periods of growth. The age of any individual eel is therefore the age of the scale +2. Judged by this test, it appears that in the case of males some assume the silvery breeding-dress (preparatory to descending to the ocean) in about 44 years after their arrival in fresh water, although the majority do not do so until from 5% years to 73 years. The females, on the other hand, assume the silver livery somewhat later, scarcely ever before 6% years, and in most cases not until 73 years, while many do not | do so until they are 8} years old or even more, whereas only one male of that age was detected in the course of the experiments. It is during their fourth and fifth years. that eels increase most rapidly in girth. In an article on the evolution of life, published in the Century Illustrated Magazine for February, Dr. Percival Lowell asserts that life is an inevitable phase of planetary evolution, and consequently that every planet must be inhabited by living creatures of some kind during a certain stage of its existence. Mars is at present passing through this stage. The author also considers it demonstrated that in the case of our own planet life originated in the ocean. Very picturesquely does he describe the life of the deep sea. That a blind fauna, he writes, should inhabit the abyssal depths is of itself a sufficiently wonderful pheno- menon; but that nature should undertake to light the region, and that by means of its inhabitants, is still more wonderful. And yet ‘‘ this is precisely what she does, and with something akin to electricity, each animal carry- ing with it its own machine. Whole tracts are brilliapyty lighted up, till they must resemble London or Paris by night, only that in these thoroughfares of the abysses of the sea the passers-by provide the illumination.”’ Pror. Dunpar, as the result of a series of experiments conducted over a long period and with every care, has come to the conclusion that the bacteria are not an in- dependent group of organisms, but, together with some of the yeasts and moulds, are stages in the life-history of green alge (‘“ Die Entstehung von Bakterien, Hefen und Schimmelpilzen aus Algenzellen,’’ published by R. Olden- bourg, Munich and Berlin). A pure culture of a single- celled alga belonging to the Palmellacia was obtained, but by modifying the culture medium by the addition of acid, alkali, or traces of copper salts, other organisms, generally bacteria, occasionally moulds and yeasts, and even spiro- chetes, made their appearance in the pure cultures. Granting there was no flaw in the experimental methods, and every care seems to have been taken to exclude con- tamination, the results are susceptible of another. explana- tion, viz. that the secondary growths were derived by transformation of the algal cells, in fact, by the pheno- menon of ‘‘ heterogenesis,’? which has been claimed by Bastian to occur with certain organisms. AN editorial in the Indian Forester (November, 1907) on ‘‘ Forestry and Agriculture,’’ advocating the afforesta- tion of some of the large areas of uncultivated or un- culturable land in India, touches on a matter of great importance, seeing that so much timber is required as fuel. FEBRUARY 13, 1908] NATURE 351 It is suggested that the planting of such areas might be undertaken by district boards working in consultation with forest officers. A PAMPHLET on the fibrous plants of the west coast of Africa, forming the subject of a paper read before the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce by Dr. E. Drabble, has been received from the Liverpool Institute of Commercia! Research in the Tropics. The author treats his subject under the groups of leaf fibres, bast fibres, piassavas, and caffias. The first named include species of Agave, Sansevieria, and the oil palm Elzwis; most of the bast fibres are derived from malvaceous plants; the greater quantity of both piassavas and raffias is obtained from the palm Raphia vinifera, An account of culture experiments undertaken with the object of studying the effect of organic matter on nitrifi- cation in impure cultures is contributed to the Bulletin International de 1l’Académie des Sciences de Cracovie (June, 1907) by Messrs. A. Karpinski and B. Niklewski. The authors come to the conclusion that weak solutions of various organic substances, especially humates, and to a less degree acetates, peptone, and sugar, do distinctly promote nitrification processes. Messrs. T. Kozniewski and L. Marchlewski communicate a paper on chlorophyll derivates, in which they indicate the spectra obtained with solutions of phyllotaonin and allophyllotaonin. Tue first number of the Kew Bulletin for the current year contains diagnoses of new flowering plants, ‘‘ Decades Kewenses: XLV., XLVI.,’’ by workers in the herbarium, and identifications by Mr. G. Massee of a set of fungi collected in Singapore by Mr. H. N. Ridley. The majority of the fungi are agarics, of which several are new species ; a Calodon (Hydnacee) and a Geoglossum also furnish new species. An article on the fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, refers to a pest that has caused serious damage to orange bushes and fruit trees in South Australia and other colonies. It has also been reported from the neighbour- hood of Paris on apricots and peaches. Kerosene placed in shallow vessels is said to provide an attractive lure that has proved efficacious. Mr. T. A. Sprague contributes a synopsis of the prickly fruited species of Euonymus, of which three are new Chinese plants, and an article by Mr. F. Turner on Australian grasses is reprinted. Tue first of a series of contributions by Mr. T. F. Cheeseman to a fuller knowledge of the flora of New ‘Zealand, constituting an addendum to the author’s “Manual,” is published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute (vol. xxxix.). As a guide for future work, the author indicates the regions that have been insufficiently explored. The notes refer chiefly to new varieties and specimens. The indigenous localities of the handsome shrub Clianthus puniceus and the myrtaceous tree Metrosideros tomentosa are collated. Illustrations are given of two unique specimens of branched ‘“ nikau ”’ palms, Rhopalostylis sapida, one showing seventeen irregular branches. Separate papers are devoted to the description of a plant previously named Trithuria inconspicua, now transferred to Hydatella, another genus of the same order, Centrolepidacez, and to the discussion of the discontinuous distribution of Pittosporum obcor- datum. Lanp erosion by storm water appears to be going on at a remarkably rapid rate in parts of Cape Colony, and to cause considerable loss to farmers and others. For the past three years the Irrigation Department has been collecting information on its bad effects and on possible remedies, and this is now summarised in the November (1907) number NO. 1998, VOL. 77] of the Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope. It is considered that two main causes operate—the burning of forest, of bush, and of grass has destroyed vegetation that used to hold back storm water, and the moyement of cattle and waggons, &c., along definite paths tends to wear down tracks in which the water can start its course. Once erosion begins its progress is very rapid- Among the instances quoted we may mention the Ongers. or Brak River. Sixty years ago there was no river, but for some cause erosion began, and it has since gone on so rapidly that the river channel is now generally 300 feet wide and 15 feet deep. In order to check the process it is suggested that small channels or “‘ sluits’’ should be so obstructed by stones, bushes, &c., that the water must distribute itself over a wider area, and do correspondingly less damage. The subject is a very important one, and! we trust that the Irrigation Department will not stop at collecting information, but will proceed to a sound and’ complete investigation of the whole matter. Tue Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, vol- xxxix., No. 11, contains an account of physiographical experiments on the aggrading and degrading stream, carried out at the Ohio State University during the past year. An initial valley of cement was constructed in a water-tight tank, the slope of which could be varied. Fire- clay of unequal fineness was placed above the upper end of the valley, and a fine spray of water turned on. During the aggradation process, the construction of systematic asymmetrical fans over previous flood plain deposits, and the formation and preservation of pits or depressions on the flood plain, were noticed. The latter is the probable origin of the so-called ‘‘ kettles’? of the Susquehanna. Conclusions were also arrived at concerning the relative importance of slope, water supply, and load as causes of the aggradation or degradation of streams, the influence of load being specially emphasised. Finally, Prof. Davis’s explanation of alluvial terraces standing above existing flood plains was strikingly confirmed by the action of the experimental river as it carved out its series of terraces. An account of the astronomical and geodetical observa- tions made in 1902-5 by the German Commission for fix- ing the boundaries of German East Africa appears in Die Mitteilungen aus den deutschen Schutzgebieten, vol. xx., part iv. The report is published in three divisions, the first containing particulars of the Lake Kivu Expedi- tion under Captain Herrmann, with Prof. Lamp as astro- nomer, and the second and third giving the results of the Deutsche Uganda Grenz Expedition under Captain Schlobach. On the Kivu Expedition, Prof. Lamp estab- lished an astronomical station at Usambara, and deter- mined a value for its latitude. Valuable geodetical results, of which full tables are given, were also obtained in this neighbourhood, and with the figures of Captain Schlobach furnish the data for triangulation of a map of the district west and north of Lake Victoria. East of the lake, triangulation was continued from a base at Port Florence, the work being carried as far as Kilimanjaro, and from thence connected with Zanzibar. A map is published showing the boundary line between British Uganda and German East Africa from Lake Victoria to Kilimanjaro. Captain Herrmann also gives an account of altitude measurements made by the Kivu Expedition, and Captain Schlobach a table of those made during the Uganda Grenz Expedition. TuERE are few regions in the world so rich in minerals as the State of Nevada. In addition to gold, silver, copper and lead, deposits of sulphur, zinc, bismuth, antimony, tungsten, nickel, iron, mercury, arsenic, salt, 352 NATURE | FEBRUARY 13, 1908 and gem-stones are being developed at the present time. The discovery of the great’ Tonopah gold mine in one of the barren mountains in the desert area of the State caused Nevada to awake from the economic lethargy into which she was plunged after the flooding of the Comstock mines in the early ’eighties, and the closing down of nearly every mine of importance on the other mining fields through the fall in the price of silver. In an interesting review of the recent mining developments in Nevada, Mr. A. Selwyn-Brown, in the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxiv., No. 4), shows that since the Comstock rush in-1850 to the end of 1907 the gold and silver mines of the State yielded the enormous value of 206,670,0001. In the Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. clxv., No. 1) Prof. O. C. S. Carter also deals with the mineral resources of Nevada, and describes -the irrigation started by the - Government Reclamation Service. The irrigation canal, thirty-one miles in length, to divert water from the Truckee River to the Carson River, together with 270 miles of lateral ditches, is completed, and is the first irrigation project carried out under the authority of the United States law of June 17, 1902. In the December (1907) number of the National Geo- graphic Magasine, the organ of the National Geographic Society of Washington, U.S.A.. Mr. R. M. Brown describes an experiment intended to give practical proof of the curvature of the earth, carried out by him on Lake Quinsigamond, on the model of the well-known investiga- tions of Mr. H. Yule Oldham on the Bedford Level in this country. The most interesting contribution is that of Hon. J. Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, entitled ‘‘ The Modern Alchemist,’’ in which he surveys the multiform activity of his department in the introduction of new varieties of cereals and other useful plants, arboriculture, forestry, fisheries, and many other subiects. Mr. F. Soppy is giving a course of six free public lectures» at Glasgow University on ‘‘ The Nature of Matter.’’ He regards them as some slight return to the people of Glasgow for the help given to the University by prominent citizens, especially in the equipment of the department of physical chemistry with apparatus for .re- search, and he believes it to be the duty of men of science who receive such help to place before the public from time to time, and in a manner to be readily comprehended, the principal results achieved. The first lecture, delivered on January 30, dealt with radium and atomic disintegration. SiR Cartes Topp has issued the meteorological observations made at the Adelaide Observatory and other places in South Australia and the Northern Territory during the year 1905. The section relating to rainfall gives the monthly and yearly totals at 517 stations, and compares the figures with the average for previous years wherever there are at least seven years’ records. The year was a moderately wet one over the older established agri- cultural districts, but dry over the pastoral country, the interior, and the Northern Territory. From August to the middie of December the weather was very cold in the southern areas; the special meteorological feature of the year was the exceptionally cold spring; February was also the coldest month on record. The useful experiments on the exposure of thermometers have been continued; Sir Charles Todd observes that, as might be expected, the hermometers in the ‘‘ Stevenson’? screens as a rule read ”’ stand during the night and lower: during the day; the difference depends very much on the wind-force’ and the,state of the sky. An interesting. table shows the approximate mean rainfall NO. 1998, VOL. 77] higher than those on the ‘Greenwich for each month and year from 1861 to 1905, and the average yield of wheat per acre; wheat-growing can be successfully prosecuted only where the percentage of winter rains is largely in excess of that for the summer months. M. L. Naranson has an article on the electromagnetic theory of dispersion in gases in the April (1907) number of the Bulletin de l’Académie des Sciences of Cracow. After working out the general theory of propagation of electrical disturbances in a medium composed of molecules which contain electrons or ‘‘ corpuscles’? having their own periods of oscillation, he limits his consideration to gases, and assumes, the molecules to contain electrons of one kind only. He finds that in the cases of hydrogen, oxygen, air, and carbon monoxide, the values of the re- fractive indices calculated on this assumption agree fairly with the values found by experiment. In the case of carbon dioxide the agreement is poor, owing probably to the influence of the absorption bands in the infra-red. In the case of sodium vapour the assumption of two kinds of clectrons fails to produce a_ satisfactory agreement between theory and experiment. : Pror. Conren has made valuable additions to our know- ledge of the allotropic states of the elements, notably in the cases of tin and antimony, and the current number of the Zeitschrift fiir physikalische Chemie (January 31) contains two papers by him (in collaboration with Mr. J. Olie) on the so-called amorphous antimony and bismuth. These were described by Mr. F. Hérard in 1888 as result- ing from the action of nitrogen upon these metals at a dull red heat. The experiments now described prove con- clusively. that neither pure antimony nor bismuth under- goes any change when heated in nitrogen which has been carefully purified from oxygen and oxides of nitrogen. If the nitrogen is not specially purified, however, Hérard’s results are reproduced, the ‘‘ amorphous’”’ antimony (or bismuth) thus obtained consisting of a mixture of the metal and its oxide. These allotropic modifications of the two elements are therefore non-existent. Unper the title ‘A propos de l’Etat civil de Jean Baptiste van Helmont’’ the question of the correct dates of the birth and death of van Helmont is discussed by the Chevalier Edmond Marchal in a recent number of the Bulletin of the Royal Academy of Belgium (1907, No. 7, p. 732). The researches of M. G. Des Marez among the registers of the cathedral church of Ste. Gudule, Brussels, show that van Helmont was born, not in 1577, as has been generally supposed hitherto, but on January 21, 1579 (N.S.). The date of his death is somewhat less certain, being either November 16, 1635, or December 30, 1644; it appears to be clear, however, that he died in Brussels and not at Vilvorde, where he spent seven years of his life. It is an interesting fact that the bust of van Helmont at the Royal Belgian Academy of Medicine does not re- present Jean Baptiste van Helmont at all, but his son Francois, whose likeness, appearing side by side with that of his father in the first edition of the ‘“‘ Ortus Medicine,” was confused with it when the bust was carved in 1863. Messrs. LONGMANS, GREEN AND Co. have published a fifth edition of ‘‘ The Old Riddle and the Newest Answer,” by Father John Gerard, S.J. The price of the book is 6d. Tue publishing firm of B. G. Teubner, Leipzig and Berlin, has just issued an authorised translation into German, by Dr. J. Friedel, of Prof. Horace Lamb’s standard work on ‘‘ Hydrodynamics.’’ The second English edition was reviewed in Narure of November 21, 1895 (vol. liii., p. 49), and the third edition, carefully revised and largely Fesruary 13, 1908] NATURE 3 on 3 supplemented, was published early in 1906. This is the edition of which a translation has now appeared in Teubner’s collection of text-books of mathematical science. Tue fifth volume of the second series of the Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society has now been pub- ‘ished by Mr. Francis Hodgson. The volume includes an account of the meetings held during the session November, 1906, to June, 1907, and many of the papers read before the society during the session. Obituary notices are in- cluded of the late Colonel Mannheim and Dr. E. J. Routh. As the meetings of the society are recorded from time tu time among our reports of societies and academies, it is unnecessary to do more now than mention the publication of the volume containing records of papers presented. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. OccuLtaTions oF URaNus 1N 1908.—From Dr. Downing we have received, as an excerpt from No. 2, vol. Ixviii., of the Monthly Notices, a table showing the times and angles of immersion and emersion for the occultations of Uranus by the moon observable at British observatories during the present year. The places specifically named are Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Natal, Perth (W.A.), and the Cape, and the dates of the occultations are April 22, May 19, July 13, August 9, and October 3. Dr. Downing hopes that the publication of these data will enable astronomers favourably situated to observe some peculiarities in the appearance of the planet at the tiie of occultation. OBSERVATIONS OF COMETS 1907d AND 1907¢.—The results of the observations of comets 1907d and 1907e, made at the Vienna Observatory with the 6-inch refractor, are re- corded by Dr. J. Holetschek in No. 4231 (p. 99, February 3) of the Astronomische Nachrichten. Some of them for 1907d are particularly interesting, as, in addition to the brightness of the nucleus and of the comet as a whole, the observer gives the length of tail and the times before sunrise up to which the comet was observable. Thus on July 18, when the brightness of the whole comet was of the fourth magnitude, the brightness of the nucleus being 7-5 mag., the object was followed until 15h. 33m. (Vienna M.T.), that is, until 46m. before sunrise. “On August 26, mag. 2-0, it was seen until 20m. before sun- rise. The greatest length of tail measured was about 8°, on August 18. Signor Abetti also records, in the same journal, a number of observations, made at the Arcetri Observatory, of these two objects during November and December, 1907. PLANETS NOW VisiBLE.—With Mercury at its greatest eastern elongation on February 13, it may be _ possible, during the next night or two, to observe, with the naked eye, five of the major planets at the same time. On February 13 Mercury will set about 13 hours after the sun, t.e. at about 6.30 p.m., some 10° south of west. Venus ‘is still quite a bright object in the western sky, whilst Saturn sets, nearly due west, some three hours after sunset. Mars does not set until about 10.30 p.m., and is to be found in the constellation Pisces to the south- east of the Great Square of Pegasus. At 6 p.m. Jupiter is now a striking object in the eastern sky, having risen some three hours earlier. Mercury will, of course, be the most difficult object to locate, but, following the directions given in these columns on December 5, 1907 (p. 115, vol. Ixxvii.), Mr. W. E. Rolston found the planet at 6.35 a.m. on December 6, and was able to follow it easily until 7.10 a.m. The observa- tion was made at Wimbledon Park, the sky being clear and the sun rising at 7.51 a.m. : At present Uranus is in conjunction, and therefore in- visible, but Neptune may be found, with a telescope, situ- ated between the stars « and ¢ and near to » Geminorum. Encke’s Comet, 1908a.—The following is a further extract from the ephemeris for Encke’s comet given in NO. 1998, VOL. 77] No. 4222 (p. 363, December 18, 1907) of the Astronomische Nachrichten by M. Kamensky and Mdlle. Korolikoyv :— Ephemeris oh. (M.T. Berlin). 1503 a (app.) 6 (app.) 1908 a (app.) § (app.) h. m. ; Wis Sr, f Reb. 12)... 23 50°3«.. +6 210! Mar. 3 ...0 2710... FIO 455 peazONe ONESEOh-cs 17 4357: “53, fees ©) 35 sOp sect OMS Ou Pe 28 ONUSIO = +O) 1553) 55) Il... On44e7 eet eu 4 Qn) From this we see that the comet is apparently travelling in a north-easterly direction , through the constellation Pisces, and should be sought, in the earlier part of the evening, some. few degrees to the south of the Great Square of Pegasus. Its photographic magnitude on January 19 was 12:5, and its distance from both the sun and the earth is decreasing rapidly. According to Prof. Wolf’s observations, the above ephemeris required correc- tions of +2-4m. and —24’ on December 2 Some interesting notes on the suce lve reappearances of Encke’s comet appear in No. 2 (February 1, p. 13) of the Gazette astronomique. A CataLocur oF ZoptacaL Srars.—A catalogue of zodiacal stars, principally prepared for use in occultations of stars by the moon, appears as part iii., vol. viil., of the Astronomical Papers prepared for the use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. This cata- logue was prepared by Mr. H. B. Hedrick, and all the catalogues employed in the investigation were reduced to the same absolute system as Prof. Newcomb’s Catalogue of Fundamental Stars, which appeared as part ii. of the same volume. The catalogue includes 1607 stars, and gives the definitive positions for the epochs 1900-0 and 1920-0. Centennial and secular variations and proper motions are also given. METEORS OBSERVED ON JANUARY 2.—Observing ,at Hjorring, North Jutland, Herren P. Muusmann and H. Wanning saw a number of meteors in the region between Cygnus and Pegasus on January 2. The observations were made between 8.10 and 8.20 p.m., and during the last five minutes moré than thirty meteors were counted. ‘The position of the radiant is given as 300° + 61° (Astrono- mische Nachrichten, No. 4230, p. 95, February 1). THE WINDS OF NORTHERN INDIA.* THE phenomena of atmospheric motion may be con- sidered and discussed from three main points of view. They may be (1) regarded in their relation to the general system of winds prevailing over a rotating earth unequally heated, and having an annual period of temperature variation; (2) considered in their dynamic relation to the synchronous distribution of the various other meteorological elements, more particularly the pressure and temperature, in their vicinity ; (3) arranged in order to facilitate comparison with one another at different times and seasons, and to exhibit the connection between wind and climatic conditions in such a way as to enable account to be taken of this connection in a general survey of meteorological conditions and in relation to forecasts. In the memoir before us, the main feature is the development and discussion, from the third stand- point, of the results of anemographic records at Allahabad and Lucknow during the years 1890-1904 and 1878-1892 respectively. Sir John Eliot prefixes the discussion by a short account of the synchronous distribution of pressure and temperature at Lahore and Allahabad, which is very suggestive of the method to be adopted and the results to be used in a discussion from the second standpoint. The modifying influences of the orographic distribution are too considerable to admit of close connection between the results recorded and the general atmospheric circulation, and no attempt has been made to develop such connection. 1 ‘* Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Department, being Occasional Discussions and Compilations of Meteorological Data relating to India and the Neighbouring Countries.” Published under the direction of Dr. G. T. Walker, F.R.S. Vol. xviii, part iii, V. A Discussion cf the Anemc - graphic Observations recorded at Allahabad from September, 1890, to August, 1904. VI. A Discussion of the Anemographic Observations recorded at Lucknow from June, 1878, to October, 1892. By Sir John Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S. (London: Harrison and Sons, 1907.) Price 2 rupees. 354 NATURE [FEBRUARY 13, 1908 Allahabad is situated about 300 feet above sea-level at the junction of the Ganges and Jumna, where their general direction is changing from E.S.E. to E. The plain of these rivers forms part of a great plain 1300 miles long and about 200 miles broad, in no part of which does the height above sea-level exceed 1000 feet. On the north it is bounded by the Himalayas, which change their direc- tion from N.W. to W. in passing from the Punjab to Assam. Near Allahabad the direction is approximately W.N.W. To the south the ground rises gradually to the plateau of Central India, across which runs a low range of hills from Bombay in an E.N.E,. direction, passing about 150 miles south of Allahabad. Allahabad is therefore near to the south edge of the flat bottom of a trough with sides converging towards the east, the south side being very slightly inclined and of small elevation compared with the north. Lucknow is 110 miles N.W. of Allahabad, and lies at the centre of the flat bottom. The motion of the air in such a trough is complicated, but the general result is that air flowing in or Out transversely is deflected towards the right in its course, the effect being in both cases to produce motion parallel to the trough. On these motions will be super- posed the effect of the general circulation of the atmo- sphere, which is both actually and theoretically westerly in the upper regions so long as the trough is definitely north of the thermal equator, becoming easterly when the thermal equatorial region includes the trough. The exposure of the anemometer at Allahabad was excellent, but at Lucknow was not so good, and at the latter place the instrument, during the later years, was not kept in proper working order. It is probably partly ‘due to these causes that the records from Lucknow show winds considerably weaker than those from Allahabad. The results of the records have been arranged in tables giving for each month for each hourly interval of the day (1) the mean movement of the air, irrespective of direction; (2) the number of winds recorded under each ‘octant of the compass; (3) the number of miles recorded under each octant of the compass; (4) the mean coordinates of the resultant wind movement. For exhibiting the leading features of the air movement these results have been charted, and a series of carefully ‘drawn plates is given at the end of the discussion. In addition to wind roses, showing the amount of wind in each direction and the proportion of calms, there is an excellent set of diagrams showing for each month of the year the diurnal variation of the air movement and the mean monthly resultant velocity. The diurnal variation bears no direct relation to the ordinary diurnal pressure variation. For the purposes of discussion, Sir John Eliot divides ‘the year into two periods, the dry season extending from the middle of October to the middle of June, and the wet season during the remaining four months. The dry season is further subdivided into the dry cool season, November to February, and the dry hot season, March, April, May. During the cool season, pressure gradients are small, and the main feature of the distribution is the persistent continental high pressure. Locally, the isobar through Allahabad at 8 a.m. in January runs nearly through Lucknow in a N.W. direction, becoming more northerly as the day advances, while the wind changes its direc- tion from W.N.W. to N.N.W. Thus there appears to be a correspondence between the wind direction and the local pressure gradients similar to that noted every day on the synchronous weather charts for temperate latitudes. The variations are, however, too rapid for the development of the full effect of the earth’s rotation in producing an approach to parallelism between the isobars and the wind direction. It is important in considering this rotation effect to remember that it acts as a miodifying influence in con- junction with the pressure distribution, and although the latter is in the end the outcome of the air motion and temperature variation, there is nothing to warrant the assumption that the combined effect on air motion is to produce always a veering in the wind. Air starting from rest and moving across a permanent system of isobars will veer as it progresses, but a change in the direction NO. 1908, VOL. 77] of the gradient may more than counteract this action of the earth’s rotation. Briefly, if the pressure fall in unit distance along two perpendicular straight lines, Ox, Oy, by amounts a, B, and if the resultant velocity due to the effects of the pressure gradient, friction, and the earth’s rotation be proportional to the gradient and make a constant angle @ with the isobars, the components of velocity in the two directions Ox, Oy, will be k(a cos @—fsin 0), —k(asin 0+ 8 cos 6). If, now, a, 6 are the mean values of a, B deduced from mean pressure distribution, and if u, v are the mean values of the components of wind velocity, we find u=k(a cos @—B sin @), v= —k(a sin 8+8 cos @) and the same relation, therefore, holds for mean values as for synchronous distributions. The angle @ depends on friction and on the time the motion has been in progress ; u and v will therefore vary between limits depending on these factors. The general relation is, however, simple, and it appears desirable to test its applicability to motion in the large unbroken plain, ample and suitable data for which are furnished by the present series of memoirs. An examination of the diagrams shows that at both Allahabad and Lucknow the cold season has the greatest percentage of calms and the smallest air movements. The latter are, however, steadier than at any other season. Calms are 23 times more frequent at Lucknow than at Allahabad, the average number at the former place being 30 per cent. of the total number of observations. The mean direction of the air movement is slightly W. of N.W. at both places. The diurnal variations of magnitude are similar at both places, the maximum being reached about 3 p.m., when the average velocity is more than double that of the evening. The changes in direction at the two places are very different. The wind usually veers throughout the day at Allahabad, and backs during the night; at Lucknow the main feature is considerable, back- ing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and slow veering for the remainder of the day, with slight and very irregular movements at night, the changes being much less than those at Allahabad. In the dry season the winds are of maximum intensity at Lucknow and of mean intensity at Allahabad. At both places the actual resultant air movement is a maximum for the year. The winds are relatively very steady in March and April, and very unsteady in May. The mean direction changes from N.W. to N. at Allahabad, and from W.N.W. to N.W. at Lucknow during the course of the season. The diurnal changes are similar to those of the cold season, but are more marked, and in May the changes in direction are greater at Lucknow than at Allahabad, but still take place in the reverse direction. The winds during the wet season are remarkable for their increased variability in direction. The actual ampli- tude of the diurnal variation of magnitude is considerably less than for the dry season, the winds being less feeble during the night and of average intensity in the day. At Allahabad the mean direction of air movement in July is from W.S.W., but during the early morning hours it is nearly S., and at 4 p.m. it is N.W. by N. At Lucknow the mean direction is N.E., and the variations are less marked, but there is a very remarkable change from E. by N. to N.E. by N. between 10 a.m. and 11 am. The motion is the same as if the places were in a trough of ascending motion the axis of which moved towards Allahabad in the course of the day. Diagrams are also drawn to show the variations of air movement along, and perpendicular to, the axis of the trough, appropriately called the axial and _ transverse variations. The axial variation shows similar features throughout the dry season. There is a fairly rapid in- crease in the daytime until 4 p.m., after which there is a rapid decrease. During the night there is practically no change. In the wet season the increase is much smaller at both places. At Allahabad the maximum is reached at 11 a.m., and the decrease takes place slowly during the remainder of the day. There is a feeble secondary maxi- mum at 2 a.m. At Lucknow the increase takes place slowly and irregularly from midnight to midday, while there is a similar decrease until 10 p.m. The transverse variation is throughout markedly different at the two Fesruary 13, 1908] NATURE 355 stations. At Allahabad the northerly component diminishes during the dry season until midday, after which it in- | creases until about 5 p.m., the epochs advancing two hours from November to April. component increases rapidly to a maximum at 11 a.m., and diminishes again to a minimum at p-m., after which the changes are slow and irregular. In the wet season there is an average increase in the northerly component at Allahabad from midnight until pe] At Lucknow the northerly | 4 p-m., and a corresponding decrease for the rest of the | day. At Lucknow the main feature is a sudden increase in the northerly component between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., after which there is a decrease with oscillations to the minimum at 10 a.m. on the following day, the rapid afternoon fall being absent. These features of the transverse oscillation, together with the greater steadiness of the winds ‘at Lucknow, appear to be partly due to its more central situation; but the backing of the wind during the day indicates that a longer period is necessary to produce the larger motion in the direction of the trough than is requisite for the smaller transverse variation. It is probable that for Allahabad the earlier transverse motion is modified by the effect of the Central Plateau; this effect diminishes in the afternoon, and is replaced by the influence of the Hima- layas, which is, of course, weaker than at Lucknow. The nature of the transverse variation appears also to imply that the effect of the Himalaya range in constraining the air motion in the plain is actually produced dynamically through the medium of rotary motion transverse to itself rather than through a forcing of the stream lines to con- form to parallelism with a rigid boundary. The solution of the problems presented, and their con- nection with convective motion not shown directly by the winds, would be considerably advanced by a knowledge’ of the vertical temperature gradient in the free atmosphere over the plain. A noteworthy feature is brought out in the auxiliary tables, representing the steadiness of the wind by the ratio of the resultant air movement to the total movement. The winds of the wet season are most steady near mid- night, while in the dry season the epoch of maximum steadiness is about 4 p.m. The accompanying tables exhibit the main features of the annual variation and the distribution of the wind. so that either the suggestion of periodicity or the table needs readjustment. The arrangement of the memoir is excellent, and it is full of suggestiveness to the student of meteorology. It forms a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Indian meteorology. E.G. MEDICAL INSPECTION IN LONDON. D®. JAMES KERR, medical officer (education) to the London County Council, here adds another to the series of his admirable reports. These always contain much that cannot be neglected by the students of educa- tional conditions, and this report is no exception. It consists of sixty-six pages crowded with new materials of the highest scientific and practical value. Administratively, probably the most important statement in the report is that “‘a point has now been reached, as to whether the greater part of the medical inspection shall remain fruit— less, or whether the Council shall take steps which will justify its later interference to see that its younger de- pendents have a fair chance of benefiting properly by the education offered. Treatment as a public concern will have to be considered in respect to certain educational matters, such as visual troubles, discharging ears, ring- worm, and the care of the teeth, in which neither the private practitioner nor the hospitals can give hope of either providing sufficient or satisfactory relief for most of the cases requiring it’’ (p. 3). A composite committee has been appointed to inquire into this serious problem, on which the circular recently issued by the Board of Education has a definite bearing. The report of this com- mittee will be looked for with interest alike by the hospitals and the practitioners. The general results of the medical inspection confirm the work of previous years. The medical officers are now coming tg closer quarters with the children, and this re- port contains many careful pieces of special research. These it is here possible only to indicate. Emphasis is laid on the urgency of the inspection of infants, especially of infants of three to five years of age. Tubercular bone and joint disease can then be most readily prevented. In inspection of the secondary schools and training colleges there was noticed a ‘‘ general ignorance of how to expand’ \| Lucknow | ALLAHABAD Percentage amount of wind to total amount in each > oro | Percentage amount of wind tototal amountineach > ig month from a 8.8 month from 25.5 Season | Month 252 5% ae Sees 7 Ze | N. | .NUEL| E. | S.E. Sa) Se W. | N.W. o N. |N.E.| E. S.E. | So iSae |i) Wels IN WW. a | } | October | 26:0} 9°2| 6:5] 1:9] 1°2| 6°2| 18'1] 30°9] 5°3|| 13°9|-14°7| 1370] 6°5| 3°5 7°78] 216) 19°70) 57 Nov. 30°3\| S2ieo 1-7)! Of9))) 555 | 21-3) //g072) | egr0il|| 1512 || mt ao) TOG) Gray 247) 5512557) 23°4 43 Dec. ....225| 7°7) 3°93) 2:1| 18/132! 27°6| 21-8] 4°8|| 104] 89] 7°5| 4:2] 3°4| 7°41) 340) 242) 5 6 Bry Ianuary |19°0 773, 69 3°6| 2:8) 10°6| 25°5/ 24-3] 6°3)| 8'S]117°8/ 150) 3°9) 22 8:2) 32°2 | 17°99 | 09 j|February| 22-4. 73 4:t 26) 19 84 25-7 | 27°| 8:4 7:2] 104/118] 64) 28 8:0} 330 204 72 March... 16°3| 5:9) 3°35] 4:1 | 3°5 | 11°6| 30°8| 24°5 | 11°6 || 104/136) 67) 3°3| 23 6°4 | 34°6 | 22°38) 94 April ...) 16:8) 9°.) 4:2) 2:0] 3:9 | 10°8 | 26:0 | 27°2'| r2°1 || 12°7'114"4) 69) 4:6) 5:3) 7°9 280 | 20'2| yt May ...|12°6|10:2/15°7| 6:0] 4°1| 9:0| 22:2] 20°2] 11°71 || 150] 16-2] 165] 82) 5:0 4°6 | 164 | 18°2 108 ( June | 139 | taco Zoro!) 5°5 | O74 4:6 | nger|| M12) |) Oar |rSs2), 20-5) On|) 771 | 973 14°6 | PUK OMe 8 Wet. HJuly |16°5 144|22'0| 9°7| 7:3) 11'2| 9'7| 9:2] 99 || 7°6| 1278] 165] 7°5 | 11°7| 14:2) 1875 | 1-2 10°8 he 18-35) TRlOMOeouee So) | 752) LT | kOs6 12-2 7°5 || 84 | 16°3 | 18:3] 7°8| 5°8 | 12°0) 2077 | 1077 | rox Sept. ...|17°4 | 15811166) 6:3] 3:0) 7:3) 15°6| 18:0] 7:9] 10°9| 1775) 17°5| 8°9| 4:6) 11-4) 18°7 | 1075 83 Vear 18:0| 1074 11:2. 4°9| 4:0. 9'8 20°7| 21:0] 100 | 106 | 14°3| 142] 6°6| 52, 88|23°8) 16-5) 100 We note that the winds were taken from the records the thorax by deep inspiration” (p. 8). Among girls, of Beckley’s anemograph, but there appears to be no statement regarding the factor used in the reduction to miles per hour. In any case, the winds are comparatively feeble, the maximum recorded in any single hour being thirty-five miles at Lucknow and_ forty-five miles at Allahabad. There appears to be an inconsistency between the statement on p. 320 of the years of maximum and minimum movement and the table on the preceding page, NO. 1998, VOL. 77] ; “headaches were complained of by 20-5 per cent. - Exaggerated movements, corrugated foreheads, insomnia, and somnambulism were met with. Several cases of over- strain were specially reported’’ (p. 9). ‘‘ The average standard of physique is low.’’ There is a careful mathe- 1 London County Council. Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council submitting the Report of the Medical Officer (Education) for the year ended March 31, 1907. ' ~ F > 356 NATURE [FEBRUARY 13, 19¢8 matical study (pp. 10-16) by Dr. Shrubsall of the statistics | diffusion outwards from a plane boundary maintained in- of growth. The general results might with advantage | definitely at the same conditions. The former condition eS 5 . : . . 2 : nee been further elaborated on the practical side. As to | S!Ves three images, two direct and one inverted ; the latter teeth, there is a strong plea for school dental clinics on the | 8!V&S only the reflected image. Prof. Garbasso calculates model of Strassburg. — tne law of density from the equations of diffusion, and thus \ special investigation as to tuberculosis of ‘the lungs in determines the equations of the trajectories of the rays of chool children was undertaken by Dr. Squire and Dr. light and the form of the wave-front. Gowdey. Of actual phthisis, only 335 cases (i.c. ‘ per cent.) were found among 58,934 children. The sections on hearing and acuity of vision contain much fresh material. One of the most important sections deals with the ** development of articulatory. capacity for consonantal sounds ’’ (p. 27). Considerable detail is given of the methods of testing, and 105,000 tests were made on some 3000 children. The results are given in an exact quantita- tive way, capable of analytical study. This department is of immense importance to the teacher, as the work already done in phonetics has abundantly shown. As to fatigue, some new curves from rifle-shooting are given. It is found that the curve improves with a little practice, co- ordination improving ve rapidly. Cigarette-smoking was found to impair the capacity to shoot straight. There are the usual sections dealing with the inspection of defective children and cripples, country homes, infectious diseases, adenoids, &c.; but two sections must be specially named, one on the artificial lighting of school-rooms and the other on the mental and physical effects of bad ventila- tion. In both researches the practical results are very definite, and ought to be driven home among teachers and architects alike. Of the ventilation research, some pro- visional conclusions are :—‘‘ Temperatures above 65° F. give rise to definite subjective symptoms, slackness and in- attention in some, headaches in others. Although it is not easy to assert definite mental alteration till about zo° F.”” ““Symptoms do not appear at 65° if the air is kept in gentle movement by a fan in the room. With temperatures 70° F. and above, other factors being normal, there are marked symptoms and very evident deterioration in mental alertness and accuracy.’’ At low temperatures. relative humidity does not affect the mental capacity of children, but increase of humidity increases the effects of high temperatures. Carbonic acid gas in considerable excess increases markedly the fatigue of the children. Exact details are given of the methods used. The London County Council is to be congratulated on the issue of this mass of original and important observa- tions in so many departments of medical inspection. Dr. Kerr’s reports show the great educational possibilities of the system, which, under his guidance, has revealed many new regions for clinical and scientific research. THEORY THE theory of the OF THE MIRAGE. mirage forms the subject of several recent papers by Prof. Antonio Garbasso. In notes contributed to the Atti dei Lincei, xvi. (2), 1, 8, the author discusses the propagation of light in a_hetero- geneous medium, making use of the principle of least time, and considering the case of space of any number of dimensions defined by curvilinear coordinates. The space in question is supposed to be subject to the usual assump- tion that the square of the line-element is a homogeneous quadratic function of the differentials of the coordinates. \s might be expected from the principle of least action (an analogy the applications of which to the problem are prob- ibly already known), the equations of the path can be re- duced to the form of the ordinary equations of dynamics by a suitable choice of the characteristic function. The ipplications to the mirage itself are discussed in a paper in he Memorie of the Turin Academy, 1907. Prof. Garbasso ims that while the phenomenon has been studied both rimentally and theoretically, his present work fills a in the literature by establishing agreement of a i character between the results of t of experiment. [wo kind 1 ive calculation s of mirage. are distinguished, one due to the va. i of density caused by diffusion between two Nuids of different refrangibility initially having a plane of separation; this is called the mirage of Vince. The second kind, called the mirage of Monge, depends on NO. 1998, VOL. 77] The final comparison with experiment is discussed in a paper by Luigi Rolla, also in the Memorie of the Turin Academy. In it the last-named author describes experi- ments showing how, not only has Wollaston’s original artificial mirage of the Vince type been reproduced with its three images, but also the Monge mirage has been imitated, and in both cases the trajectories of the rays have been determined by observation and compared with results of theory. Moreover, a mirage with five images, observed by Parnell at Folkestone in 1869, was realised by placing over a layer of carbon bisulphide a mixture of equal parts by volume of alcohol and chloroform. Owing to the unequal rates of diffusion, the conditions give rise to five images, and this and other experiments are shown to be suitable for lecture-room demonstration. By taking a block of gelatin containing a cavity filled with liquid which gradually diffuses into the gelatin, the corresponding images for a cylindrical or spherical dis- tribution of density have been also produced and compared with the results of mathematical calculation. The first and second figures show the mirages of a diaphragm somewhat in the shape of a ship produced by the medium formed by diffusion between alcohol and Fic. 2 Fic, 1. Fic. 3. bisulphide of carbon. Fig. 1 represents the appearance after a few hours, Fig. 2 after several days. Fig. 3 shows the five images obtained by diffusion between bisulphide of carbon and a mixture of alcohol and chloroform. GHees: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY (OF IRONCLADS. ORD ROSSE has made an interesting contribution to the history of ironclads by placing at the service of the Institution of Naval Architects copies of letters written by his father to various distinguished men in the years 1854-5. From these letters it appears that the late Lord Rosse not merely appreciated the importance of armour protection against horizontal shell fire, but satisfied him- self that it was possible by means of suitable proportions to secure ample stability in ironclad ships. Naval officers were then disposed to think that the ‘‘ top-weight’’ in- evitable with heavy loads of armour would make vessels unstable. Lord Rosse proposed the construction of iron- clad floating batteries of moderate size; they were intended to fight in smooth water, and consequently were to carry their guns at a small height above water. The exposed sides were to be armoured with 5 inches of iron, and the upper decks to be covered with 2-inch plating. In a letter to Sir John Burgoyne dated June 26, 1854, Lord Rosse proposed an armament of sixteen heavy guns ; the draught of water was not to exceed 12 feet to 13 feet, and the vessel was estimated to be about 1500 tons. He FEBRuaARY 13, 1908] NATURE 357 added :—‘! All this is the roughest possible, but I think if worked out in detail the result would not be widely different. The greatest care would, of course, be neces- sary to guard against submarine explosives.’’ To this letter Sir John Burgoyne replied that he doubted whether 5 inches of iron would answer its intended purpose and make a vessel practically impregnable. In this connec- - tion he remarked :—‘‘ Iron js very treacherous, and breaks, rends, and tears under very irregular effort. The Navy have a thorough dislike to it for the sides of ships, but then they have never contemplated, I believe, such thick- ness.” These remarks from so high an authority on ordnance as Sir John Burgoyne throw an interesting light upon opinions prevailing. little more than fifty years ago in regard to naval construction. Lord Rosse was not dis- couraged, but proceeded to press his scheme upon the attention of the Duke of Newcastle and on Sir Baldwin Walker, who was then Controller of the Navy. In his letter to the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Rosse stated that he “had been considering, no doubt in common with many others, in what way the great mechanical resources of England could be brought to bear against the mechanical resources of St. Petersburg.’’ In thus writing, Lord Rosse no doubt had in view the fact that iron- clad floating batteries had been decided upon. Five such vessels were commenced in France in September, 1854, and later on similar vessels were built here, but not from Lord Rosse’s outline design. In the publication of these letters a filial duty has been fulfilled. The late Lord Rosse is shown to have been one of the first to make a definite proposal for the con- struction of ironclad floating batteries, and his treatment of the subject is worthy of his scientific reputation. On the other hand, it cannot be doubted that the action taken in France was independent of the suggestions of the late Lord Rosse. The correspondence with Sir John Burgoyne, the Duke of Newcastle and others could not have been known to the Emperor Napoleon when he took action; the construction of the French floating batteries was Commenced about the same time as these letters were written, but was preceded by experimental trials made to determine the thickness of the armour to be adopted. It may be added that General Paixhans, to whom the in- troduction of horizontal shell-fire was due, had proposed the use of armour protection for ships about 1820, and Mr. Stevens began the construction of a floating battery near New York many years before the Crimean War took place. Lord Rosse obviously had no knowledge of these facts when he made the proposals above described, and acted quite independently. THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. “THE report of the secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- tion for the year ending June 30, 1907, has been received. It serves admirably to show the great part taken by the institution in American scientific life. Full particulars are provided, not only of the explorations and researches inaugurated by the institution, but also of the work of the U.S. National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the International Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical Observatory, the Regional Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, and the excavations on the Casa Grande Reservation—all placed by Congress under the direction of the institution. Reference has already been made from time to time in these pages to the researches prosecuted in connection with the institution, but it will be of interest to refer to a few which are summarised in the report. In connection with the study of the older sedimentary rocks of North America, on- which Dr. Charles D. Walcott, the secretary of the institution, has been engaged during the past twenty years, upwards of 20,000 feet of strata have been carefully examined and measured. The Cambrian section has been found to include more than 12,000 feet of sandstones, shales, and limestones, and the Lower, Middle, and Upper Cambrian have been found represented in the section of Bow River series and the Castle Mountain group. Characteristic fossils have been found in each division. NO. 1998, VOL. 77 |] An expedition in April, 1907, to Alaska to collect the remains of large extinct vertebrates, particularly mammals, has already done good work. Dr. G. P. Merrill has examined the crater-form depression near Canyon Diablo, Arizona, to determine whether it was caused by explosive volcanic action or is due to the impact of a mass of meteoric iron; his observations are being collated and arranged. In connection with the seismological investigations undertaken to compare the disturbance in Chile with that in California, it seems to have been determined that there has been some elevation of the coast of Chile, but no traces of a rift such as caused the earthquake at San Francisco. Numerous other researches were assisted during the year ; these included the absolute measure of sound, the proper- ties of matter at very low temperatures, the study of the upper air, the organs of flight, and others. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGeE.—The council of the Senate recommends that the necessary steps be taken for altering Statute B, chapter vi., by the insertion of a paragraph giving the University power, upon the retirement of a professor, either at the date of his retirement or subsequently, to appoint him as a professor emeritus in the subject of the professor- ship previously held by him. A professor emeritus shall not as such receive any stipend, and shall be subject to no conditions as to duties or residence. Dr. W. N. Shaw, of Emmanuel College, has been appointed to represent the University at the meeting of Imperial and colonial meteorologists, convened by the Royal Society of Canada, to be held at Ottawa in May. Mr. J. S. Gardiner has been re-appointed demonstrator in animal morphology for five years as from October 1, 1907, and the appointment has been approved by the special board for biology and geology. The special board for biology and geology reports that the Gordon Wigan income for biology and geology has been applied during 1907 as follows :—(a) a grant of 5ol. a year to Dr. D. Sharp for a period of three years (1907-9), or such part of it during which he holds the curatorship in zoology; (b) a grant of 5ol. a year for one year (1907) to Prof. Seward to enable the Botanic Gardens Syndicate to offer greater facilities for plant-breeding experiments ; (c) a grant of sol. out of the income for 1907 to Prof. Hughes, to enable Mr. E. A. N. Arber, of Trinity College, to continue his researches into the stratigraphical and geographical distribution of fossil plants. Lorp StaNLey oF ALDERLEY will distribute the prizes and certificates to evening students of the Battersea Polytechnic on Wednesday evening, February 19, and will deliver an address. WE learn from the Pioneer Mail that the Maharaja of Darbhanga has made a gift of nearly 17,o00l. to the Lieutenant-Governor for the purpose of constructing a library building in connection with the Calcutta University. Tue annual general meeting of the Association of Technical Institutions will be held on February 21 and 22 at the Drapers’ Hall, Throgmorton Street, London. On the first day the association will be entertained at luncheon by the Drapers’ Company, after which the new president, Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F-R.S., will deliver his presidential address. On the second day papers will be read on the best early training for a boy about to enter a technical institution or to take up a trade. In a recent report, the Director of Education for the United Provinces has, in accordance with the orders of the Government of India, described the progress of education in his district during the last five years. An abridgment of the report in the Pioneer Mail states that the attendance at the Thomason Civil Engineering College at Roorkee has increased from 336 to 495, and various improvements in and extensions of the curriculum have been effected. An agricultural college has been opened at Cawnpore. It is hoped that the medical college at Lucknow will be in working order soon. The Thomason College will, it is 358 NATURE | FEBRUARY 13, 1908 expected, shortly develop into a technological institute for engineering purposes, and a technological institute for chemical matters will be established at Cawnpore. Another matter of high importance referred to in the report is the change recently made with the object of introducing more practical worl into the course for the degree of Bachelor of Science—a necessary step to meet the growing demand for good teaching in science, which is evidenced by the doubling, in five years, of the number of affiliated colleges preparing for science degrees, and a large increase in the number of undergraduates studying science. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, December 12, r907.—‘‘ On the Scattering of the B Rays from Uranium by Matter.” By Ji: At Crowther. Communicated by Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. The results of the experiments described are summarised as follows :— (1) A parallel pencil of B rays is scattered in its passage through matter, the scattering being practically complete after the rays have traversed a thickness of material which varies from 0-015 cm. for, aluminium to 0-o002 cm. for gold. ; (2) The scattering, after correction for the loss of energy, due to the absorption of the rays may be repre- sented by an equation of the form I/I,=e-*¢, where d is the thickness of the material traversed by the rays, and o is the coefficient of scattering for the rays, I, being the initial intensity of a narrow parallel pencil of B radia- tion, crossing a small fixed cross-section of the pencil, and I the intensity crossing the same cross-section when a thickness d of material is placed in the path of the beam at a considerable distance from the fixed cross-section. (3) The ratio of the coefficient of scattering o to the coefficient of absorption A is approximately constant for all the substances measured, its average value being about 13- The values of the ratio «/p, where p is the density, show similar variations to those for A/p. December 12, 1907.—‘ Preliminary Note on the Opera- tional Invariants of a Binary Quantic.’? By Major P. A. MacMahon, F.R.S. i Mineralogical Society, January 21.—Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Zeolites from the neigh- bourhood of Belfast: F. N. A. Fleischmann. The author gave an account of a number of hitherto unrecorded zeolite localities near Belfast which he visited in November last. The localities described are quarries in the lower basalt of the neighbouring hills, the most important being two, the first situated on the north side of the hill, which is locally known as Cat Carne, the second on the north- east slopes of Collinward. The first quarry is the most prolific in zeolites in the neighbourhood, yielding fine specimens of apophyllite, analcite, chabazite, levynite, faroelite, &c.~ In the second quarry cavities are rare, but when they occur are, as a rule, large, and are usually lined with colourless tabular apophyllite crystals which reach sometimes an inch and a half across, and are associated with large hemispherical aggregates of natrolite. —Striiverite and its relation to ilmenorutile: Dr. G. T. Prior and Dr. F. Zambonini. The mineral was found in the pegmatite of Craveggia, N. Piedmont. In_ its crystallographic characters it is almost precisely similar to rutile, tapiolite, and ilmenorutile (F. Z.). Chemically (G. T. P.) it is closely related to ilmenorutile, and contains titanic, niobic, and tantalie acids with oxide of iron, in proportions corresponding approximately with the formula Fe(TaNb),O,.4TiO,. At first it was thought to contain zirconia as an essential constituent; the supposed zirconia, however, was shown on further examination to consist of niobic and tantalic acids, which, after the fusion of the mineral with KHSO, and treatment with water, had passed into solution with the titanic acid. In the presence of as much titanic acid as occurs in striiverite (40 per cent.) it was found that the greater part of the niobic and tantalic acids could thus pass into solution, and when a dilute solution of sulphuric acid (5 per cent. H,SO,) was used instead of water in treating the melt obtained NO. 1998, VOL. 77 | with KHSO,, the whole passed into solution. New analyses of ilmenorutile from the IImen Mountains and from Norway showed that the titanic cid has been previously much over-estimated, and is present, in the first case, only up to 53 per cent., and in the other to about 54% per cent. The mineral from the Ilmen Mountains was also found to contain tantalic acid up to about 15 per cent. The most reasonable view of the composition of these minerals appears to be that they are solid solutions of tetragonal rutile (TiO,) with the crystallographically similar tetragonal mossite or tapiolite, Fe(TaNb),O,.— Twin structure: Dr. John W. Evans. The author adopts as a definition of a twin crystal that it is a crystal con- sisting of two component parts such that (a) parallel lines in general have not the same physical characters in the same direction in the two components; (b) one or more “ twin-planes ’’ exist such that all lines parallel to (1) any line in a twin-plane, or (2) the ‘‘ twin-axis’’ normal to a twin-plane, have the same physical characters in the same or opposite directions in the two components. He shows that this definition includes all twins by reflection, rota- tion, or inversion (=reflection+rotation), and divides twin- axes into eleven classes according to the odd or even cyclic characters of the twin-axis, the relations between the terminations of the twin-axis, and the relations between the disposition in space of the structure of the two com- ponents. He describes twins as amphithetic, homothetic, or antithetic according as lines parallel to the twin-plane have in both components the same physical characters (1) in both directions ; (2) in the same directions; or (3) in the opposite directions.—A simple method of drawing crystals of calcite and other rhombohedral crystals, and of deducing the relations of their symbols: Prof. W. J. Lewis. The author described a simple method of drawing crystals of calcite and other rhombohedral crystals, in which the prin- cipal axis and the twin-axis lie in the plane of the paper. The method is not well adapted for showing simple forms, but with combinations and twinned crystals the drawings closely resemble ordinary clinographic drawings, and are much more easily and rapidly constructed. The geo- metrical relations between the faces and the relations between the Millerian and Naumannian symbols are readily followed from these drawings. Some unusual twinned crystals of calcite were shown and described; one shows the form {917} twinned on (ort), and another {13.0.17} twinned on the same law.—The structure of perowskite from the Burgumer Alp, Pfitschthal, Tyrol: H. L. Bowman. The examination of the optical properties and etching figures of transparent cubic crystals from this locality confirms the interpretation of the structure of perowskite proposed by Baumhauer from the study of crystals from the Ural Mountains and from Zermatt. The crystals are mimetic, and belong to the orthorhombic system, the ‘“‘cubes’’ being formed by a combination of basal pinacoid {oor} and a prism {110} with an angle of go°, and having a lamellated structure due to twinning about faces of {r1c! and {111}. Geological Society, January 22.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—The origin of the pillow-lava near Port Jsaac in Cornwall: Clement Reid and Henry Dewey. The Upper Devonian strata around Port Isaac consist of marine slates, in which occurs a sheet of pillow-lava. The pillows measure usually from 2 feet to 5 feet in diameter, but range up to 8 feet. The individual pillows are disconnected. Their mutual rela- tions seem to prove that they were soft when deposited. Each pillow shows internally a central vacant space or open sponge, succeeded by a thick shell of vesicular lava, followed by a shell of banded rock. The whole mass is so vesicular that it must have been very light. The association with fine-grained marine strata shows that this lava was probably submarine. The specific gravity of the whole mass must have been low, not greatly exceeding that of sea-water. The lava seems to have been blown out into thick-walled bubbles. The mass was for a time in the spheroidal state, and the sheet could flow like a liquid. This eruption seems to have been analogous to that of Mont Pelée, described by Dr. Tempest Anderson and Dr. Flett, except that it was submarine instead of subaérial.—The subdivision of the Chalk at Trimming- nam (Norfolk): R. M. Brydone. FEBRUARY 13, 1908] NATURE 359 Royal Anthropological Institute, January 28 —Annual meeting.—Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S., in the chair. —Anniversary address, anthropology in the eighteenth century: Prof. Cunningham. The work of the period centres round five men, Camper, White, Blumenbach, Prichard, and Lawrence, of each of whom an interesting account was given. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, November 26, 1907. —Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.— Demonstration illustrating the formation of acetylene from elementary substances: Prof. E. Knecht. On heating a small piece of calcium on charcoal before the blow- pipe, the metal readily took fire, and, after burning with a brilliant orange flame for about two seconds, sank into the mass of the charcoal. After the latter~ had been allowed to cool, it was broken up, when a hard lump was found which yielded acetylene on treatment with water.—New reactions for the characterisation of mercerised cotton: J. Hiibmer. The author has found that, on immersing mercerised and ordinary cotton in a solution of iodine in saturated potassium iodide solution for a few seconds, and afterwards washing with water, the colour of the mercerised cotton quickly changes to a bluish-black, whilst the ordinary cotton becomes lighter in colour and changes to a brownish-chocolate shade. After further washing the ordinary cotton becomes white, whilst the mercerised material remains a_ bluish-black colour, which fades very slowly on prolonged washing.— The direct combination of carbon and hydrogen: H. F. Coward. In experiments made with small quantities of highly purified carbon, the author has obtained from o-1 gram of carbon, containing a maximum of 0-9 c.c. of hydrogen, 100 c.c. to 120 c.c. of methane by direct union with hydrogen. December 10, 1907.—Prof. H. B. Dixon, F-.R.S., presi- dent, in the chair.—Some notes on the mammals of Lundy Island: T. A. Coward. The notes were the outcome of a few days spent in trapping on the island; some of the specimens obtained were exhibited.—Notes on some de- structive mites: C. G. Hewitt. The author described a new mite, Lohmannia insignis, Berl., var. dissimilis, n. var., which was found feeding on the scale-leaves of tulip bulbs. Two other mites which have occurred in the Manchester district were described, viz. Rhizoglyphus echinopus and Glycyphagus spinipes. January 14.—Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The atomic weight of chlorine: Dr. E. C. Edgar. The method used to re-determine this constant was to burn pure dry chlorine, at the tip of a quartz jet, in an atmosphere of pure dry hydrogen in a quartz ‘‘ com- bustion vessel’’; the hydrogen chloride formed was con- densed in a limb of it by liquid air. As the mean of eight experiments, the atomic weight of chlorine calculated from the ratio weight of chlorine burnt/weight of hydrogen burnt is 35-194; from the ratio weight of hydrogen chloride caught—weight of hydrogen burnt/weight of hydrogen burnt it iS 35-193 (atomic weight of hydrogen=1). atomic weight of oxygen is taken as 16, that of chlorine becomes 35-462 and 35-461 respectively.—The production of photographs in the colours of nature: A. Brothers. January 28.—Prof. H. Lamb, F.R.S., in the chair.— A new type of dynamical stability: A. Stephenson. A system in a position of equilibrium and capable of oscilla- tion about that position may be acted on by periodic force in such a way that no oscillation is generated; thus the equilibrium of a pendulum is not disturbed by the action of vertical force. The obiect of the communication was to establish the remarkable property of this non-generating type of disturbance in maintaining an equilibrium which would otherwise be unstable. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 3.—M. A. Chauveau in the chair.—The existence of crystallised sodium fluoride as an element of the nepheline syenites of the Los Islands : A. Lacroix. These rock specimens were collected by M. Villiaume from Ruma. In order that unweathered material only should be obtained, the specimens were re- moved by blasting with dynamite, and about half a ton If the | to contain a new mineral, the mineralogical and physical characters of which are described in the present paper. It has a smaller refractive index (np =1-328) than any other known mineral, and appears to consist of sodium fluoride, with traces of manganese, calcium, potassium, and possibly zirconia. The mineral is named villiaumite, and its mode of origin is discussed.—The heat of formation of the anhydrous oxides of strontium and barium: M. de For- crand. Strontia and baryta cannot be purchased pure, but if the hydroxides are placed in a platinum boat and heated to 850° in a current of dry hydrogen, absolutely pure, white SrO and BaO can be obtained, the platinum boat not being attacked. The heats of solution found are higher than those of Thomsen, possibly on account of the greater purity of the material.—Observations of the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons during the third quarter of 1907: J. Guillaume. The results are summarised in three tables, giving the number of spots, their distribution in latitude, and the distribution of the faculz in latitude respectively.—The development of an arbitrary function according to the functions of Laplace: Léopold Fejér.—A new electric are furnace applicable to laboratory re- searches: Louis Clere and Adolphe Minmet. For an E.M.F. of 50 or 60 volts, by suitably proportioning the area of cross-section of the furnace to the current, an are of any length can be obtained. In the furnace figured, using from 1 to 2 kilowatts, any desired temperature from a dull red heat upwards can be obtained, and capable of dealing with from 2 to 4o grams of material.—The use of flames as valves for high-tension alternating currents : André Cathiard.—Some anomalous modifications of the band spectra of various compounds in the magnetic field : A. Dufour. M. Henri Becquerel has attributed the peculiar behaviour of the bands of calcium fluoride, previously described by the author, to the presence of impurities. This view would appear to be improbable, since similar phenomena are now shown to be exhibited by the chlorides and fluorides of ali the alkaline earths.— The reduction of indigo by the electrolytic method: H. Chaumat. The method recently described by the author was anticipated by Goppelsréder in 1882.—Some complex salts of iron in which the iron is masked: P. Pascal. Recently precipitated ferric pyrophosphate is soluble in sodium pyrophosphate, the solubility being independent of the temperature and concentration of the sodium salt. When the solution is saturated, the constituents are in the proportion Fe,(P,0,),:3Na,-P,0,, which may be written Na,Fe,(P,O,),, or sodium ferropyrophosphate com- parable with the ferricyanide, and the behaviour of the salts, together with the isolation of the acid itself, confirm the view that such a complex acid exists.—Some new derivatives of camphenylone: its constitution: L. Bou- veault and G. Blane.—The order of addition of ammonia to organic a-oxides of asymmetrical structure: K. Krassousky. The reactions between ammonia and trimethylethylene oxide and isobutylene oxide have been studied, and the conclusion is drawn that in the com- bination of ammonia with asymmetrical a-oxides, the hydroxyl group is found attached to the carbon atom con- taining the least hydrogen.—The genesis of certain minerals of alumina and iron. Lateritic decomposition : Jean Chautard and Paul Lemoine.—The presence of scapolite gneiss and cipolin in Dahomey: Henry Hubert. | —The origin of the fertile soils of western Morocco : Louis Gentil.—The solution of saccharose isotonic with the eggs of Strongylocentrotus: Jacques Loeb. The author con- tests that his experimental results are in strict agreement with those of M. Delage.—The morphology and evolution of the Sabellarians of Saint Joseph: Ch. Gravier.—Con- tribution to the study of the calorific solar radiation: C. Féry and G. Millochau. An account of work done in the observatory at the summit of Mont Blanc in 1907. The apparatus was standardised by pointing at an electric furnace, and gave an effective absolute temperature for the centre of the solar disc of 5555° C. The value found for this temperature in 1906 was 5620° C. CALCUTTA. Asiatic Society of Bengal, January 8.—Notes on Indian mathematics, ii., Aryabhata: G. R. Kaye. The of rock was brought to Paris. One syenite was found | most important part of this paper consists of a translation 5 Pp P pap NO. 1998, VOL. 77] 360 NATURE [ FEBRUARY 13, 1908 of Aryabhata’s ‘‘ Ganita,’’ and a comment tlterecon. ‘These are prefaced by brief notes which explain the position occupied by Aryabhata in the history of mathematics. The point of view of the writer differs from that of those vho have previously treated the subject in that he holds that it is beyond all doubt that Aryabhata’s work owes its origin to the Alexandrian school of mathematicians. Aryabhata does not claim to be the discoverer of the rules he gives, and it is thought that the ‘‘ Ganita’’ was in- tended by him to be supplementary to the mathematical knowledge of the Hindus of his time. The ‘* Ganita’’ is examined in close detail, and abundantly confirms this hypo- thesis. , The claims that have been made for Aryabhata— that he was the inventor of our modern system of arith- metical notation; that he discovered a more accurate value for m than any of his predecessors; that he was the first to give a systematic solution for indeterminate equations of the first degree—are shown to be unsound (see also p- 347)-—Studies in experimental breeding of the Indian cottons : an introductory note: H. Martin Leake. Breed- ing experiments have been undertaken at Cawnpur, and the third generation has now been reached. As a result of numerous measurements of the leaf it has been found that if narrow-lobed and broad-lobed leaved plants be crossed, the proportions of the leaves in the first generation (F1) approximate remarkably to the arithmetic mean of those of the two parents, and this appears to be true for all crosses, whether they be made between the extreme forms of Gossypium neglectum or between such divergent types as G. arboreum and G. herbaceum. In the F2 generation of crosses, plants with typical broad and with typical narrow-lobed leaves appear, just as ascertained laws of heredity teach us to expect. From the way in which intermediates such as have been artificially raised occur naturally in the fields of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, it is apparent that cross-fertilisation is common. Further, in illustration it is cited that a packet of seed of G. arboreum taken without precautions yielded two out of fourteen plants the parentage of which was obviously impure, and which therefore stand as evidences of natural cross-fertilisation of G. arborewm by some other species of Gossypium. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13. Roya Society, at 4.30.—The Constitution of the Electric Spark : ‘Tl. Royds. —On the Determination of V iscosity at High Temperatures : Dr. C. BE. Fawsitt.—The Effect of Hydrogen on the Discharge of Nega- tive Electricity from Hot Platinum: Prof. H. A. Wilson. F.R.S.—The Decomposition of Ozone by Heat: Dr. FE. P. Perman and R. H. Greaves. Boe a Society oF Arts, at 4.50.—The New Imperial Gazetteer of India: urn, MatuHEeMATICAL Society, at 5.30.—Proof that every Algebraic Equation has a Root: Dr. H. A. de S. Pittard.—On the Uniform Approach of a Continuous Function to its Limit: Dr. W. H. Young.—Note on -differences : Rey. F. H. Jackson.—An Extension of Eisenstein's Law of Reciprocity (Second Paper): A. E. Western.—Conformal Representa- tion and the Transformation of Laplace’s Equation: E. Cunningham. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14. Roya InstiTuTIoN, at 9.—Biology and History: Dr. C. W. Saleeby. RoyaL ASTRONOMICAL Society, at 5.—Anniversary Meeting. Puysicat Socr at 8 MaLaco.ocicat Society, at 8.—Annual Meeting.—President’s Address : Malacology verszs Palzoconchology : B. B. Wocdward. MONDAY, February 17. Rovyat Socmry or Arts, at 8.—The Theory and Practice of Clock Making : H. H. Cunynghame, C.B. Vicroria InstTITUTE, at 4.30.—Philosophy and Evolution: Orchard. TUESDAY, Feprvuary 18. Royat Instirurion, at 3.—Membranes: Thcir Structure, Uses and Products: Prof. William Stirling. ZOOLOGICAL Sociery, at 8.30. RoyaL STaTISTICAL SocIETY, at-5. InsTrruTION OF CiviL. ENG INEE RS, at 8.—Shaft-sinking at the Horden Colliery, South-east Durham: J. J. Prest.—The New York Rapid-transit Subway : W. B. Parsons. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19. GEOLOGICAL Society, at 8.—Notes on the Riyer Wey: H. Bury. Roya MicroscopicaL Society at 8.—Eye-pieces for the Microscope : Nelson.—The Life- -history of a New Protophyte: Rey. Eustace —On Dimorphism in the Recent Foraminifer Alveolina boscir: pman.—£ xhibits : Slides illustrating the Life-history of some - L. Curties.—An. Impvoved Mercury-Vapour Lamp: J. E. Prof. Hi Li; RovaL METForoto ICAL SOciETY, at 7.30.—Formation of Snow Rollers : 2tt.— Comparison of See Barometer Readings with Those C. Brov Deduced from Land Observations : E. Gold. NO. 1998, voL. 77] THURSDAY, Fesrvary 20. Roya Society, at 4.30.—Proballe Papers :—Notes on the Application of Low Temperatures to some Chemical Problems. (1) Use of Charcoal in Vapour Density Determination. ae ) Role Power of Organic Sub-~ stances: Sir James Dewar, F.R.S.,-and Dr.-H. O. Jones.—On the Osmotic Pressure of Compressible Solutions of Be Degree of Concentra- tion. Part II. Cases in which both Solvent and Solute are Volatile : A. W. Porter.—Effects of Self-induction in an Iron Cylinder when traversed by Alternating Currents: Prof. Ernest Wilson. Roya Instirution, at 3.—Wood: its Botanical and Technical Aspects : Prof. W. Somerville. INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY, at 8. LINNEAN SOCIETY, at 8.—Experiments with Wild Species of Tuber-bearing Solanums: A. W. Sutton.—The Life-history and Larval Habits ot ‘Viger Beetles (Cicindele): Dr. V. E. Shelford.—On a Possible Case of Mimicry in the Common Sole: Dr. A. T. Masterman. -2xhzbit : Stereo- scopic Photographs of Alpine Plants in Natural Colours: T. Ernest Waltham. InsviruTION OF ELEcTRICAL ENGINEE way Goods Warehouses: H. Hend C. E. Taylor. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—The Action of Thionyl Chloride and of Phosphorus Pentachloride on the Methylene Ethers of Pyrocatechol Derivatives: G. Barger.—The Preparation of Conductivity Water: H- Hartley, N. P. Campbell and R. H. Poole.—Derivatives of Java-Diazo- iminobenzene: G. T. Morgan and Miss F. M. G. Micklethwait.—A Study of the Diaz-reaction in the Diphenyl Series: G. T. Morgan and Miss. M. G. Micklethwait.—Organic Derivatives of Silicon. Part VI. The oneal Active Sulphobenzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxides: F. S. Kipping. —A Simple Manometer for Vacuum Distillation: N. L. Gebhard. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21. Royat InstiruTion, at 9.—The Ether of Space: Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Annual Meeting.—~ Tests of a Live Steam Feed-water Heater; Prof. J. Goodman and D. B. MacLachlan. s, at 8.—Electrical Power in Rail-_ son.—Electric Power in Docks: CONTENTS. PAGK. Is Mars Habitable? By Dr. William J: S. Lockyer 337 Agriculture in France. 339 Chemistry in the Seventeenth Century. By W. A.D 339 TownGas . TR RO ° 0 Do Sei Our Book Shelf: — Dudeney: ‘‘ The Canterbury Puzzles and other Curious Problems” . Bim. lesa 2 esate Allan: ‘Matter and Intellect: A Reconciliation of Sciencéand the Bible” .. . 341. Brillouin ‘‘ Lecons sur la Viscosité des Liquides et des Gazer ive -c\* oy epee Huxley: ‘* Aphorisms and Reflections” or pied So Gill Letters tu the Editor — The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters. —Dr. G, Archdall Reid; Rev. E. C. Spicer; A. D. D . 342 Atmospheric Electricity and Fog.—Dr. Charles ’ Chree, F.R.S . : Reo 133 The Penetrating Radiation. -W. W. Strong. : eee Classification of Secondary X-Radiators. = pr, CG Barkla and C. A. Sadler. . .. saa 343 Auroral Characteristics of Clouds. George c : Simpson . . 344 Reissner’s Fibre in nthe Frog. “George E. “Nicholls 344 Rhynchobdella aculeata in Ceylon.—Dr. Arthur Willey, F.R.s ; 345 Poseidonius on the Originator of the Theory of Atoms. : ——D imine. 2. 345 Agricultural and Horticultural Research, " (Ullus- trated.) ByR.N. .. slerah as 45s The Geology of the Transvaal. ” (Mustrated.) By Dr. Evbleiatchy |... 346 The History of Arithmetical Notation. By iG: B. M. 347 Prof. J. B. Pettigrew, F.R.S. By W.C.M .. 345 W. A. Shenstone, F.R.S. Bye "brah William. A Tilden Pia kSmeeek «i. +) sais oe arty NS Notes... eo... aoe Our Astronomical Column ;— Occultations of Uranusin 1908... =... . « » 353> Observations of Comets 1907 and 1G07e SLs. ae OS Planets now Visible . . . Sic noe eo Bis Encke’s Comet,1goSa . . Ay oc O toinenereo oo kes: A Catalogue of Zodiacal Stars. PS. RS ate. (358i Meteors observed on January2 ........-+ . 353 The Winds of Northern India) ByE.G .... . 353 Medical Inspection in London . . a eho RPE SSS) Theory of the Mirage. (///ustrated.) By G: HB 49356 A Contribution to the History of Ironclads . . . . 356 The Smithsonian Institution - erred = 31Sy/ University and Educational Intelligence . ren S. c° Sy i SocietiesiandvAcademies: 22759. 12 3.) - senso Diary of Societies: <).02 ...lces Nee pee OOP — NACE TE 3645 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1908. CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. Continuation Schools in England Edited by Prof. M. E. Sadler. (Manchester : University Press, 1907.) net. ROF. SADLER and his fellow-worlkers are to be congratulated on the production of a volume which is full of useful information and contains many valuable suggestions and expressions .of opinion; amoreover, it appears-at a time when precise’ infor mation of the kind given is urgently needed by educational - authorities, - merchants, manufacturers, workpeople, and teachers. For at the present moment two problems stand in urgent need of solution, and with both of them. this volume is largely concerned. The first is how to meet the grave difficulty occasioned by the enormous development of- machinery, which, though a good -in itself,-has brought in its train a grave loss, viz. the almost entire disappearance of the old apprenticeship system, which involved the careful training of the craftsman by his employer; and the second is how to deal with the large number of children who are employed as unskilled labourers at comparatively high rates of pay during their early years, who ere subsequently replaced by similar children, and are then thrown on the labour market unskilled labourers for whom there is not an adequate demand, and who go to swell the ranks of the unemploved. Prof. Sadler and his colleagues give an account of the agencies which seek to solve these problems in this country and abroad, and of the legislative and administrative measures which we and other nations have adopted in order to cope with these difficulties. They show that, in so far as Great Britain is con- cerned, our success has only been partial, and, while giving full credit to all the improvements we have effected, they point out in what respects other nations are in advance of us; they instance, for example, the people’s high schools in Denmark, and the enormous service they have done to the Danish nation, more particularly in so far as they have educated the agri- and Elsewhere. Pp. xxvi+779. Price 8s. 6d. a5 cultural population, and, inter alia, made possible cooperation among farmers, thus bringing about numerous improvements in Danish agriculture and conditions of rural prosperity which one would like to see in this country. It is impossible to touch on all the various questions which the authors discuss; but there are four points which seem of more importance than the rest. In the first place there is the question of the ‘‘ half-timer,’’ which is dealt with by Mr. Sandiford in chapter ix., and by Prof. Sadler in- the following chapter, which gives details as to the laws in regard to the employment of children in this country, Germany, and Switzer- land. The-evidence on both sides of the question is given in an impartial manner, and few unprejudiced persons will read it without being convinced that the continuation of the half-time system involves grave injustice to a not inconsiderable proportion of the NO. 1999 VOL 77] child population of Lancashire and Yorkshire; for it is clearly shown that the mental, moral, and physical condition of the average half-timer is seriously injured by the large amount of overwork to which he is sub- jected. It is painful to read that these wretched children are awakened by the “ knocker-up ’’ between 4.45 and 5.30 a.m., that with short intervals for food they work until 12.30 p.m., and are then expected to learn something in the two and a-half hours which they spend in school in the afternoon. The result of this cruel treatment can readily be imagined; careful measurements have shown that the average half-time scholar between the ages of thirteen and fourteen is an inch less in height, and weighs more than 2 Ib. less than the average full-time scholar of the same age. Moreover, the damage is not merely physical ; we are told that the half-timers are undoubtedly duller than the full-time children, and that they rise less frequently to good positions in their industry. Clear evidence is adduced to prove that the employ- ment of half-timers is by no means necessary, as there are many successful mills in which no such persons are employed; it is to be hoped, therefore, that Parliament will soon awaken to this crying evil, and will absolutely forbid employment of this kind, which is sanctioned in scarcely any other civilised country in Europe. The second question, concerning which this books provides valuable information, is the need for the im- provement and development of our public elementary schools in directions likely to give a better prepara- tion for industrial life in the case of boys, and domestic life in the case of girls. In the past, and to a large extent at the present time, the schemes of education set forth by the Board of. Education have been devised, and their working inspected, mainly by persons trained on classical lines in the great public schools and at the older universities; the result has been that our elementary education has taken direc- tions which are too bookish and not of a sufficiently practical character; if anyone doubts this, he need only examine, as a sample, the absurd questions in arithmetic set by the Board of Education for the so- called ‘‘ Labour Certificate.’ As a consequence, our elementary schools have tended to encourage unduly the production of clerks, and to spread amongst the poorer classes the idea that manual labour is less honourable than clerical work. Experiments are being made to counteract this, experiments, unfortunately, in some cases, not too cordially assisted by the Board of Education. In chapters xiii. and xiv. an account is given of certain trade schools and pre-apprenticeship schools, which shows the attempts that are being made to com- bine ordinary elementary instruction with the attain- ment of a reasonable amount of manual skill. The very few hours a week at present given to such work in our elementary schools are grossly inadequate, and a much better result would be obtained if boys be- tween the ages of twelve and fourteen were allowed to devote a considerably larger fraction of their school time to practical training of a suitable character; and if, during the same period, girls were given a know- R 362 NATURE | FEBRUARY 20, 1908 ledge of domestic subjects much more substantial than the smattering which they now get in the very short periods devoted to this essential part of their education. ‘The experiments in this direction which have been tried in Gloucestershire have shown that, while the amount of book knowledge which the children possess may be somewhat smaller, the larger amount of contact they have had with things, as dis- tinguished from mere words, makes them, on the average, not less, but more intelligent. In the third place, one of the collaborators, Mr. G. L. Bruce, deals in the third chapter with evening schools in London, and merticns incidentally the great drawbacks to evening work of a university character, which are unfortunately imposed by the new teaching university itself (see pp. 132 and 138). There is no doubt much truth in this complaint, and, it a consideration of the question leads us to be care- ful that, in the foundation and working of our newer universities, we do not hand over technical training too largely to the control of those whose experience in this kind of work is either wanting or small, we shall have learnt a good lesson. The most successful technical colleges in the world are probably the Tech- nical High School at Charlottenburg (Berlin) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston; neither of them is subordinate to an ordinary univer- sity, though in each case a flourishing university exists side by side in the same town. Both of them have the right to give degrees, but the basis on which these degrees shall be offered is determined by those primarily interested in technical education; this is by no means always the case in our English universities. Lastly, the most important matter dealt with in the book is probably the problem as to whether or not the State ought to make compulsory further attend- ance in continuation schools after a child has left a public elementary school; and if so, whether it should require employers to ‘offer facilities for such attend- ance so that the child can continue its education with- out undue pressure. The attitude taken by Proi. Sadler in regard to this matter is one which will com- mend itself to most thinking persons; he asks for no rapid or revolutionary change, but he indicates clearly that the time has come when a step should be made in the direction taken by our most successful Con- tinental competitors; for he states :— “ I am convinced that in the end some form of com- pulsion to attend day or evening continuation classes between fourteen and seventeen years of age will be found desirable, not so much in the interest of the picked individuals as in that of the rank and file. Many of the present evils of unemployment may be traced to the lack of educational care and of suitable technical training during the critical years of adoles- | cence. Compulsion, however, should be accompanied by reduction in the hours of juvenile and adolescent labour where those are now excessive.” careful perusal of the facts and statistics given in this book ought to convince our legislators that a move forward should now be made. It is a well-known fact that many of the students attending our evening con- tinuation classes are so tired when they arrive there that only very poor work can be obtained, or indeed NO. 1999, VOL. 77] | | | | expected, from them. No such classes are held in Prussia after 8 p.m.; many of them in this country only commence at this hour. Some wise employers (unfortunately comparatively few in number) allow their young people time in which to improve them- selves, and so to become more useful citizens and better servants, but this practice is hardly likely to become general unless the State intervenes; that the employer and the nation would benefit in the end few can doubt. No Government in this country is likely to attempt to deal with a matter of this kind until compelled to: do so by public opinion. The volume under review should prove a powerful agency in stimulating the rapid growth of a healthy view of the matter; we therefore cordially congratulate Prof. Sadler on having once more talken a leading part in hastening an impor- tant educational and social reform. J. WERTHEIMER. ICELAND PAST AND PRESENT. Island in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Herrman. Erster Teil, Land und Leute. +376. Zweiter Teil, Reisebericht. Pp. (Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price, 2 marks. HIS is an account of travel in Iceland in the summer of 1904 by a German schoolmaster. He made the journey in exceptionally favourable cir- cumstances, for, in addition to four months’ leave for the special purpose, and a Reise stipendium, the muni- cipal authorities of Torgau provided a locum tenens at the gymnasium during his absence; while in Ice- land he had the services of the guide who accompanied Thoroddsen on seventeen of his eighteen journeys. A lover of Iceland and an ardent student of the mythology and follx-lore of northern lands, Herr Herr- mann is rather inclined to dwell on the different parts of the country in their aspect as the scenes of this or that Saga. But beyond this, his observation is keen and thorough. Though the book claims to be ‘* not a geological or geographical, but a popular work,’’ we learn incidentally of the geology, geography, natural history, and botany of those parts of the island visited. The work is divided into two volumes, the first deal- ling with ‘“ Land and People,’’ the second being a full account of three months on the route along the south and east coasts, from Reykjavik to Akureyri. If the book is to be regarded as a ‘** popular ” work, it would be advisable to read vol. ii. first. Then, having gained from the detailed description of the journey through the most populous and typical parts of the country a clear idea of the land and its inhabitants, the reader can better follow vol. i., which deals with the land and people generally, and assumes some knowledge of them. The voyage from Copenhagen to Reykjavik is de- scribed, mentioning, en passant, Edinburgh, the Orkneys and Shetlands, and the islands south of Ice- land, with their myriad sea-bird life. From Reylsjavik a trial expedition to Hvalfjordur, Reykholt, and Thingvellir was undertaken to prove the travellers’ fitness for the longer distance along the south and By Paul vi+316. vols., 15 Pp. xii ae — oe FEBRUARY 20, 1908] NATURE 363 east coasts, a route, travelled now for the first time by a German, that includes the passage of many dangerous glacial rivers. In vol. ii. is the account of the principal journey. The party, consisting of the author, his guide, and a stu- dent from Torgau, left Reykjavik, passed again Thingvellir, and the Geysir district, and made the ascent of Hekla. Then across the Ranga to Oddi Storolfshvoll and the many scenes of the Gunnarr Saga, Bergthorshvoll—of the Njall Saga—to Vestur and Austur Skaptafells Sysla—the most difficult part of the journey; it is here that the coast is so dangerous, and so many fishing smacks are wrecked. The inhabitants of this district have but little communication with centres of civilisation, and have preserved the ancient characteristics almost unchanged. The travellers then continued through the Mula Sysla (Sudur and Nordur), and Thingeyjar Sysla (Nordur and Sudur), to Akxureyri, Every part traversed is minutely described; there is a good deal of scientific matter for the lay reader; and here it may be remarked that the author has an irri- tating habit of interspersing his reading matter with references—in addition to the many footnotes—and of placing the Icelandic of so many words in italics and parenthesis. This is a great hindrance to easy read- ing, especially as the same translation given many times as the word recurs, and items of inform- ation are often repeated. Vol. i. deals with Iceland’s geological origin and formation, its volcanoes and glaciers, its geographical exploration, and traces its history from the earliest colonisation in the ninth century, as a free State, under Norwegian and Danish government, to the present day’s self-government under the Danish flag. The study and practice of medicine, the system of education, which is praised as perhaps the best in the world’s history, the language and literature, are all considered, as are the ancient and modern industries and arts—wood-carving, embroidery, sculpture, paint- ing, music, and the drama. Much space is devoted to agriculture, and eighteen pages treat exclusively of sheep. The varied efforts of the State to encourage the farmers to obtain prac- tical knowledge and to provide schools for their train- ing and assistance are noted. The fishing industry also receives State help, and many statistics of this important branch are given. Much is made of the piracy of foreign fishing boats in Icelandic waters, English trawlers being specially attacked. But the author seems to have a prejudice against everything English; the British tourist is unmercifully criticised, and his manners, clothes, and food unfavourably com- pared with those of the German traveller. The one of our countrymen who joined the party for a short time must have been a very bad example of his kind, or there is another side to the story, which is given -~as all else in the book—in detail. The descriptions of Reykjavik and Akureyri are very full and explicit, and during his visit Herr Herr- mann made the acquaintance of many Icelanders, and so gained, at first hand, information regarding the hospitals, schools, and many public and private social institutions and customs. NO. 1999, VOL. 77] is He sees everything generally couleur de rose, and prophesies a bright future for the island, expressing, nevertheless, the fear that the people, who, more than any other nation, have through centuries of civilisation preserved their ancient manners and customs, their pure language and literature, will, with their advance, lose in primitive charm. He urges philologists, while there is yet time, to make a thorough study of Ice- landic. We can hope, with Herr Herrmann, that he may add later a third volume to his book, dealing with the other parts of the island. If, at times, the personal element is too obtrusive, still the boolx leaves a very clear idea of Iceland, land and people, past and present, a result due partly to the many and excellent photographs, and numerous references, with which the author fortifies or supplements his own observations. M. G. B. ADVANCED ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Organic Chemistry for Advanced Students. By Prof. J. B. Cohen. Arnold, 1907.) HERE are several very excellent text-books upon the subject of organic chemistry in the English language, but although these meet the wants of the average student, the want of a more comprehensive book has been long felt. The book before us is in- tended to supply this want, and to a certain extent it undoubtedly will do so. The bool, according to the author, is a series of essays prepared from notes of lectures delivered to senior students. The worl: is perhaps best described as being a series of mono- graphs upon different branches of chemistry; as a consequence certain subjects have been exhaustively dealt with, and other subjects have been entirely ignored. Some students will therefore find all they require within the covers of the book, and others will search in vain for the branch of chemistry with which. they are familiar or desire to become familiar. Of course, a book written in this manner is bound to a certain extent to lack sequence, and one has practic- ally to commence de novo with each section of the book, that is to say, every section has its own historical introduction. For example, the first chapter is a more or less general introduction, but when we come to chapter ii., dealing with isomerism and_ stereo- isomerism, there is again a long historical introduc- tion. We are not objecting to the author treating the subjects historically; in fact, it is probably best to deal with each branch in this manner in order that the student may get a thorough and comprehensive grasp of the subject. This method of introducing and showing the gradual development of the subject is more likely to stimulate originality than the simple setting forth of a number of cut-and-dried facts. There is, of course, a danger in treating organic chemistry in the form of a series of monographs deal- ing with different branches, because of a tendency to detachment and to an unnecessary division of the subject. But in giving a series of lectures to advanced classes in organic chemistry, there is practically no other way open than thoroughly to exhaust certain Pp. viili+632. (London: Edward Price 21s. net. 364 branches, although at the same time it is well to connect and coordinate the groups as far as possible, just as examples in inorganic chemistry can often be made use of to elucidate certain facts in organic chemistry and vice versa. Chapter 11., upon isomerism and stereoisomerism, is written in a very interesting manner, and the subject can be made anything but interesting. The diagrams are good, and the explanations clear and not too over- loaded with details. This chapter deals with isom- erism! of the lactic acids, van ’t Hoff’s and Le Bel’s theories, mutarotation, &c., and the different action of dissolved substances, depending upon whether they are electrolytes or non-electrolytes. Certain of the sec- tions, indeed, were it not for the full references, might be considered rather short. The next chapter treats of the stereochemistry of unsaturated and cyclic com- pounds (geometrical isomerism), and chapter iv. with the stereochemistry of nitrogen. The work of Pope and collaborators upon the optical activity of sulphur, selenium, and tin compounds is also included in this chapter, and also that of Kipping upon silicon com- pounds. It would certainly have been advantageous if this part of the section had been a little more fully gone into, One of the best chapters in the book is that upon condensation. Here the various methods employed for condensations are elaborated and brought together in a manner which will be found extremely useful te students of chemistry and even to those who may consider themselves beyond the student stage. Not only are the methods themselves given, but the subject i is also treated theoretically, as, for example, in the acetoacetic ester condensation and in Perkin’s reaction. Another chapter is devoted to fermentation and enzyme action, which includes, beside an_his- torical introduction, references to hydrolysis, oxidases, reductases, and the mechanism of enzyme The alkaloids, terpenes, camphors, proteins, and carbohydrates are dealt with in detail, but not colour- ing matters, either natural or artificial. Of course, the author does not pretend to cover all the branches of chemistry, and presumably his reason for omitting the colouring matters is that there is a special chair ot chemistry dealing with this subject at the Univer- sity of Leeds, and there are also other books on this theme. As we have already stated, the book supplies a want, and we have pleasure in recommending it to all advanced students of chemistry; certainly all chemicel libraries will require it. ie tOMSP, action. OUR BOOK SHELF. The Geology of the Leicestershire and South Derby- shire Coalfield. By C. Fox- Strangw ays. Pp. vi+ 373. (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1907.) Price 6s. luis latest memoir contains a description of the joint coalfields of Leicestershire and South Derbyshire, commonly known as the Leicestershire coalfield. It 1s one of the smallest coalfields of the Midland coun- ties, and is cut off from the Warwickshire and Derby- shire coalfields by an uplift of older strata. It includes an area of about sixty square miles in Leicester- 1999, VOL. 77] y NATURE | FEBRUARY 20, 1908 about sixteen square miles in South Its exact limit nas, however, not yet been proved. FEBRUARY 20, 1908] NATURE 365 those, the vast proportion, who will have no subse- quent regular instruction in the subject, the method and mode of treatment of the author may be heartily commended. It is, we learn, the outcome of actual class work, modified by experience and the mutual play of the minds of teacher and taught. The author has a belief in the especial value of ‘* outdoor chem- istry’ as appe saling to the interests of the learner, and there is an excellent chapter towards the end on plant respiration and nutrition. One notices a few important omissions and errors. The use of the spectroscope in chemistry is nowhere alluded to. The mention of argon and its companions in the air should be amplified or omitted. As it is, it contains one of the few mistakes, in the statement that the density of argon is forty times that of hydrogen. Helium is not even referred to by name, surely a remarkable omission for an author addicted to ‘‘ outdoor chemistry.’ We read, ‘The exact specific gravity of oxygen ... is 15°88 (H=1).. This makes the atomic weight of oxygen 15°88. pee IB Aue these few blemishes in no way detract from the general accuracy of the treatment. It is a pleasure to notice a book of this description, for it indicates the serious and important place chemistry is taking in the school curricullim. It deserves a high place, not only in the school, but generally as an excellent introductory first course, understanding by this term not a mere smattering of the kind deemed sufficient only a few years ago, but a course in keeping with the true position of the science as a serious and profitable part of a good modern education. Altitude Tables. Computed for Intervals of Four Minutes between the Parallels of Latitude 31° and 60° and Parallels of Declination of 0° and 24°, de- signed for the Determination of the Position Line at all Hour Angles without Logarithmic Computation. Byes balle Pp. En. An Alleged Originator of the Theory of Atoms. Mocuus oF Sipon, the alleged precursor of Demokritus, is not so unknown to historians of science as Prof. See seems to think (February 13, p- 345), nor is Strabo the only ancient writer who alludes to him; see, for instance, Josephus, ‘t Antiquities,’ i., 3, 9. But nobody takes him seriously. The book of Mochus is one of the numerous literary forgeries which appeared in Alexandrian times. So far as I can find, it is not mentioned by any of the doxographic writers, so it is probably not much older than the time of Posidonius. J. L. E. Dreyer. Armagh Observatory. ON ANCIENT. BRITISH MONUMENTS.’ V.—Avenues (continued). O far I have not referred to the avenues at Shap. Mr. Lewis, in a memoir ‘‘ on the past and pre- sent condition of certain rude stone monuments in Westmorland,’’* gives extracts from several authori- ties showing that in the long past these avenues were not inferior to any in Britain. Thus Camden (middle of the sixteenth century) writes :—“ Several huge stones of a pyramidal form, some of them g feet high and 4 feet thick, standing in a row for near a mile, at an equal distance, which seem to have been erected in memory of some trans- action there which by length of time is lost.’? Dr. Stukeley, writing about the middle of the last century, says :—‘* At the south side of the town of Shap we saw the beginning of a great Celtic avenue on a green common; this avenue is 70 feet broad, composed of very large stones set at equal intervals; it seems to be closed at this end, which is on an eminence and near a long flattish barrow with stone works upon it, hence it proceeds northward to the town, which intercepts the continuation of it and was the occasion of its ruin, for many of the stones are put under the foundations of walls and houses, being pushed by machines they call a ‘ betty,’ or blown up with gun- powder; . . . houses and fields lie across the track of this avenue, and some of the houses lie in the enclo- sure; it ascends a hill, crosses the common road to Penrith, and so goes into the cornfields on the other side of the way westward, where some stones are left standing, one particularly remarkable, called the ‘ Guggleby ’ stone*. I guess by the celebrity and number of the stones remaining there must have been 200 on a side’’ (he says the interval between the stones was 35 feet, which would give about 7ooo feet, or nearly a mile and a third, or, allowing for the thickness of the stones themselves, a mile and a half, as the length of the avenue); ‘‘ near them in several places are remains of circles to be seen of stones set on end, but there are no quantity of barrows about the place, which I wonder at.’’ Gough, in his edition of Camden (1806), says :—‘* At the south end of the NOTES ntinued from p. 251. | Anthropological Institute, November, 1885. y-six chains $.W. of St. Michael's church. It is about 8 feet ige-like or conical shape, placed upright with the heavy end 1 € suryeyor’s note.) higt V uppermost. (( NO. 1999, VOL. 77]| village, on the common near the road-side [on the cast side thereof] is an area upwards of half-a-mile long and between 20 and 30 yards broad, of small stones ; and parallel to the road begins a double row of immense granites, 3 or 4 yards diameter, and 8, 10, or 12 yards asunder, crossed at the end by another row, all placed at some distance from each other. This alley extended within memory over a mile quite through. the village, since removed to clear the ground; the space between the lines at the south-east end is So. feet, but near Shap only 59, so that they probably met at last in a point. At the upper end is a circle of the like stones 18 feet diameter.’’ This de- scription is evidently taken by Gough from the ‘“ History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmor- land and Cumberland,’? by Joseph Nicolson, Esq., and Richard Burn, LL.D. (London, 1777), an extract from which has been obligingly communicated to me by Col. Hellard, R.E., the director of the Ordnance Survey, and from which the remark enclosed in square brackets has been taken. Mr. Lewis informs us that ‘‘ Camden also men- tioned an ebbing and flowing well, which Gough said was lost, and that its peculiarity was purely fortuitous; still it might have been used for the advan- tage of the priesthood who probably set up the stones- . . . From the descriptions already quoted it would seem that the avenue ran northerly or slightly north- westerly.” With such assiduity were these memorials of the past removed that when the Ordnance survey was made the final examiner recorded in the parish name- book for Shap (1858) :—‘* No one person in the parish of Shap can point out the site of the old avenue of granite stones, or can tell. whether the small spot well known as ‘Karl Lofts’? is the S. or N. end of the Monument. It is most lilkely the N. end, as about 3 a mile S. is a portion of a circle still to be seen, composed of huge granite boulders, and which prob- ably is the southern turning of the Avenue. appear to have been preserved in Doctor Burn’s time, but except 2 or 3 boulders, itself and all recollection ef it, have faded from Shap.”’ In spite of this, I think it has been possible to make out the position and direction of the avenues from the few stones shown on the Ordnance 25-inch maps which Col. Hellard has been good enough to send me. Taking the stones of which at least three are in the same straight line, we get two avenues crossing to the E. of the turnpike and to the south of the village, as stated in the preceding descriptions. As measured on the 25-inch Ordnance ‘sheet, the azimuths are S. 19° E. and S. 40° E. From measurements of the contours on the t-inch map, the elevation of the horizon is about 1° to! in each case. These data give us declinations 32° 32! S. 25° 54’ S. respectively. and available struck by together the information I have been greatly the existence of several with an _ orientation of S. 20830" E. ‘The “first tof this) {series which I came across, on the ground, were those at Challacombe, an imposing monument once consisting of eight rows of stones with an orienta- tion of N. 23° 27/ W., or S. 23° 27! E. (“ Stonehenge,” p. 158). The rows might have been used in the south- east direction to observe the rising of a southern star; In bringing about avenues, on the other hand, in the north-west direction, they might have been aligned on the setting of Arcturus, warning the summer solstice sunrise in 1860 B.C. As this date was near to those suggested by the 2 About 47 chains S. by E. of St. Michael's chureh. It would, ie *. « a ee FEBRUARY 20, 1908 | NATURE 309 other Cornish and Devon monuments, I thought the north-west use was more probable for these avenues and other less imposing ones on Shovel Down with nearly the same direction. The more recent inquiries, however, suggest that in this I was wrong. In the first place, the evidence now afforded by Mr. Falcon regarding the Assacombe avenue shows that, like those at Merrivale, the look- out to the rising-place was up hill. Again, as at Merrivale, oriented to the rising of the Pleiades, the western end has two large monoliths, ending the two lines of stones, and a single sighting stone at the eastern end is placed between the lines. Now these are the conditions at Challacombe if we assume a south-east use; the view is up hill, and the directing stone is at the eastern end. I next proceed to give a list of the avenues at pre- sent known to me which are roughly parallel with those at Challacombe, and where, possibly, southern stars were in question; curiously enough, this condi- Fic. 16.—The Avenue and Circl2 at Callernish. tion applies to the Kennet avenue at Avebury, and to those at Borobridge and Shap. Challacombe, Dartmoor, lat. 50° 36' N. S. 23° 37’ E., horizon 4° 48’, dec. 31° 7’ S. Avebury, Wiltshire, lat. 51° 30' WV. S. 32° E., horizon 49’, dec. 31° 34’ N. Borobridge, Vorkshire, lat. 54° 6' N. S. 25° E., horizon 1°, dec. 32° 15’ S. Shovel Down, Dartmoor, lat. 50° 39’ N. S. 25° E., horizon 0° 46’, dec. 34° 46’ S. (Other alignments at S. 22° E, and S. 28° E.) Shap, Westmorland, lat. 54° 33) NV. Direction of avenue S. 19° E., horizon 1° 10’, dec. 32° 32’ S. Crug yr Avan Avenue, S. Wales, lat. 51° 40’ VV. S. 23° E. and S. 24° E., sea horizon. With regard to this last avenue, the Rev. J. Grifhth informs me that the ‘‘ stone of honour ’’ (‘‘ directing stone ’’), now recumbent, is at the southern end, and that the land rises in that direction; it would have been on the sky-line as seen from the north end of the avenue. It is as well to point out at once that some of the monuments included in the above list are the most remarkable in Britain. Challacombe is the only mul- tiple avenue that I have seen in these islands which approaches those in Brittany. The south-east avenue at Avebury was, | take it, the most important feature at one time of that elaborate temple; while, again, the stupendous stones which I think are the remains of an avenue at Borobridge are among the largest mono- NO. 1999, VOL. 77] liths in Britain. The remains at Shap I have not seen, but an avenue nearly a mile long and 7o feet broad, according to Camden and Stukeley, is certainly out of the common. What, then, might have been the use of these avenues? If they were erected to indicate the rising place of a southern star, the only important one they could have dealt with was « Centauri, and that be- tween B.c. 3000 and B.c. 4ooo. | give approximate dates where the measures are sufficient to enable me to do so. Challacombe ... Dye. ae Heisb 3600 B.C Avebury ... I° 34’ 3500 Borobridge 32° 15! 3400 Shap a 32320 3400 Shovel Down... 34 46’ 2900 Crug yr Avan 36° 00” 2700 Now if we take 3500 B.c., that is some thousand years before the time I have suggested to be indicated by the stellar alignments Genncered with the Cornish circles. This raises several interesting questions. Why have we circles in Cornwall and Date amest. tera leliny, no avenues? \Vhy have we avenues practically — with- out circles in Brit- tany ? Was there a swarm of avenue builders who pre- ceded the swarm that built circles ? In this connec- tion it is worthy of notice that in my “ Dawn of Astronomy ”’ I made out that there is a series of Egyptian tem- ples oriented to a Centauri, one of them being the Memnonia at Thebes; and long avenues, generally of sphinxes, were asso- ciated with all these temples, while circles were un- known. Another point is connected with the rise of the star and its use as a warner. The rise of « Centauri would be preceded shortly by that of 8, almost in the same azimuth. At the time in question, 3500 b.c., they would serve Photo. by Pref. Thorpe. | as warners for the Noveniber sunrise, which was > long afterwards accepted as the beginning of the year by the Celts. Further, at the dates in question there were no first-magnitude stars rising near the north point of the horizon, as Arcturus and Capella did afterwards, by which the lapse of time during the night might be measured. The two stars in the Centaur might have been used in this way, but their usefulness would be n:uch re- stricted owing to the short time they would remain above the horizon. It is well to note that while the nearly southerly avenue is accompanied at Avebury by a May-year the second avenue at Shap seems to have been a solstitial one, ihe sunrise at the Winter solstice being in question. This, however, cannot be con- sidered certain until local observations of the height of the horizon have been made. Mr. Goddard (Nature, February 6) has raised objec- tions to my statements concerning the Avebury alignment, _ coyes avenues on the ground that in some of the old descrip- tions, given while many more stones were standing, some are indicated placed in relation to the road passing through the southern part of the bank, as it exists at present, and quite out of the line of the Kennet avenue indicated by the stones shown on the Ordnance map.. If the stones once near the road were associated with those shown on the Ordnance map, there would be no avenue at all in the sense I have always used that word in these notes, road having no possible astronomical significance, and, I may add, no resemblance to the Beckhampton avenue, of which all the recorded stones are in the same straight line as near as we can now say; or to any of the others in the table I have given above. It may be, indeed, that Stukeley was led into his snake theory by attempting - to marry these two sets of stones, for hes sees a snake even at Cal- lernish, the per- fectly — straight avenue of which fortunately \ remains. ““T saw another \ at Shap, in West- ‘ morland= |. te) as ‘ There is another, Fy as I take it, at A Classeness, a vil- \ lage in the island San of Lewis between Scotland and Ire- land. = Ly tooka ia drawing of it from Mr. Lwydd’s D travels; but he was a very bad desionen .aiaeua part of the snake remains going a ft from it, which he oe W calls an avenue. nN 3030 He did not discern AN \ the curve of it any . more than that of \ Kennet avenue which he also has \ drawn in the same collection as a < straight line.’’? TQ If the conclu- sions I have ex- pressed above be . confirmed, name- ly, that Avebury was a going concern a thousand years before anything that now remains of Stonehenge was set up in its present position, or the avenues laid out, the use of the Kennet avenue to watch the rise of a Centauri as a warner of the November festival (while the sunrise in May was provided for in the Beckhampton avenue) ceased at least ace years ago. There has been ample time, therefore, to build the bank, to leave openings for wheele -d traffic and to set up stones in many places. In ideed, the stones may have been removed from the when the bank was built. That the bank came long after Avebury was first in use was, I take it well known to Stulseley, as the following extract shows :— avenue 1 Stukeley, “ Avebury,” p. 62. NO. 1999, VOL. 77 | as NATURE but a twisty | | next the church, L.-HB°IG'N.- G-6°505 WH. Gchelle 2 [FEBRUARY 20, 1908 ‘““When Lord Stowell, Abury, who owned the manor of levell’d the vallum on that side of the town where the barn now stands, the workmen came to the original surface of the ground, which was easily discernible by a black stratum ot mold upon the chalk. Here they found large quan- tities of bucks’ horns... there were very many burnt bones among them. They were the remains of sacrifices.’’ Mr. Goddard does not seem to have read my previous notes carefully. I never imagined the Kennet avenue going ‘‘ over the bank and ditch,” but going to the southern circle before the mound was built, as the Beckhampton went to the other, as a via sacra, throughout the whole length of which the rising star could be seen. Of course, the existence of the bank ole, Lewrk Fic. 17.—The alignments at Leuré from Captain Devo'r s observations. would have prevented any star rise being seen from the circle along the southern horizon, and what often happened in Egypt suggests that the banlx was built because the avenue had become useless That the Kennet avenue was once used as a via sacra to observe the rise of a Centauri as the morning star warner of the November sunrise is all the more probable since the avenue from the southern end of the Kennet avenue to the ‘‘ sanctuary ’’ was an align- ment to the November sunrise itself so far as can now be made out. Since writing the above I ‘have received from Captain Devoir, of the French Navy, some admirable surveys of several of the Brittany monuments. In one 1 Stukeley, ‘‘ Avebury,” p. 27. ys y; P+ 27 —_ FEBRUARY 20, 1908] NATURE 371 at Leuré we have two avenues, one S. 23° E. another N. 66° E. (Fig. 17), avenues therefore prac- tically parallel te ‘the two at Avebury, and doubtless used for the same purposes. NorMan LOockKyErR. A STUDY OF THE RIVER TRENT. TRE little book is a clearly written popular account, in part amplified, and in part—rather unfortunately, we think—abbreviated, of the author’s ‘presidential address to the Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union. It deals with the geological structure and history of the Lindsey division of Lincolnshire, especially in relation to the vicissitudes, actual or supposed, of the river Trent. The author is not the first, nor is he likely to be the last, to try conclusions with the intricate story of the Lincoln Gap, through the escarpment of the Lower Oolites that sharp and sudden breach by Photo. The gir, Gainsborough, October 12, 1904. | and | | by Showing the after-waves, Iccally called ‘‘ The Whelps.” are devoted to an exposition of Prof. Davis’s work, and his very convenient terminology is explained with all necessary clearness, though the general reader for whom the book is written will no doubt be puzzled the reference without the necessary definition to ** peneplain.”’ The author attributes over-much of the levelling of the great plains of the Jurassic clays to the Trent, and seems to imply that while these valleys were in process of formation the escarpments by which they are bounded stood where we now see them, a con- fusion which he shares with many recent writers, who fail to recognise that escarpments are incessantly re- ceding. On the other hand, it is satisfactory to find that he takes due account of the possibility that the Trent may have been captured by the Humber drain- age in pre-Glacial times, have been restored to its primeval course through the Lincoln Gap in conse- quence of an ice-barrier across the Humber, and again in post-Glacial times re-captured by the Humber a E. W. Carter, Gainsborough. From ‘“ The Shaping of the Lindsey and Trent.” which doubles Ampthill, Wash. Since the publication in 1862 of Jukes’s epoch- marking paper on the river valleys of the south of Ireland, in which the cardinal principle of river- capture was enunciated, the Trent and its anomalous course has furnished a theme and an illustration to writers on our British rivers. Ramsey used it, Mr. Jukes Browne added much additional evidence and gave greater definiteness to our conceptions of the potentialities of river-adjustment, and Prof. Davis, in his splendid contribution to evolutionary potamology, adopted and amplified Mr. Jukes Browne’s views. Still later Mr. Burton further extended the study of the Trent, and furnished data inaccessible except to a Trent-side resident. The earlier chapters of his book Pp. the little strilke-river, the Witham, abruptly across into the fenlands of the Oxford, and Kimeridge clays, 1 “The Shaping of Lindsey by the Trent.” cs By F. M. Burton. xu+59. (London: A. Brown and Sons, Ltd., 1907.) Price 2s. net. NO. 1999, VOL. 77] and so reaches the | | Wash. system, though not so decisively but that in seasons of flood it swept again across from the old elbow of capture at Newark and discharged its waters into the The Romans controlled this propensity by the erection of extensive floodbanks, but the de- generate moderns neglected to keep them in repair, so that in 1795, and twice in more recent times, the river has temporarily re-occupied its old course. The later history and activities of the Trent are | well described, and a special word of commendation | river must be bestowed upon the splendid half-tone illus- trations, and in particular the two pictures of the bore or A®gir (‘‘ Sea-tempest is the Jotun AVgir, a very dangerous Jétun; and now to this day, on our Trent as I learn, the Nottingham bargemen, when the river is in a certain flooded state . call it Eager; they cry out * Have a care, there is Eager coming.’ ’’—Carly le). These are, we think, the finest pictures of this phenomenon that we remember to have seen. The excellence of the half-tone -illustra- oye NATURE [FepRuARY 20; 1908 tions stands in strong contrast to the very inadequate and unsatisfactory diagrams; that representing a section from the Trent valley to the coastal plain is about as misleading to the general reader as such a thing could be made; the vertical scale is nearly one hundred times the horizontal, and the dips are proportionately exaggerated, irom the actual 2° or 3° to something like 65° or 70°. It is an aggravation of the offence to waste fine plate-paper on such a monstrosity. Despite this and some minor blemishes the book is an interesting one, and should do something to stimulate an interest in the scientific study of the scenery of a region that is replete with beauty and charm. q THE SUN AND THE CLOCK. AST week a Bill was introduced into Parliament by Mr. R. Pearce, M.P., having for its object the better accommodation of the hours of business to the ‘hours of daylight, to be accomplished by a device which, though simple in appearance, would in practice prove very troublesome. Custom and habit have so arranged the hours of the working day that the general tendency is to use more hours in the afternoon than in the morning. This unequal division is attended with many inconveniences, one of which is that we use artificial light for more hours than would be necessary if we would consent to divide our time more symmetrically with reference to the sun’s meridian passage. It is not impossible but that greater economy and more healthy conditions for labour might follow, and so far as this is the purpose of the Bill, which owes its initiative to Mr. Willett, we can all sympathise. It would be an evident advantage to employ sunlight, which costs nothing, in the place of gas and electricity, which are expensive luxuries, and it is probable that it is this obvious benefit which has enlisted the good will of many well-known authorities to, what on close examination seems to be rather a childish measure. Mr. Pearce, who holds a brief for Mr. Willett, is anxious to begin the day earlier; he does not propose to curtail the hours of labour in any way, but simply to shift the hands of the clock so that for part of the year noon on the clock dial would not coincide with the transit of the mean sun. Since it is the clock and not the sun that regulates all affairs of business or pleasure, suitable arrangements could be made, but whether those proposed by the Bill are the most satis- factory is an open question. The Bill provides that on each of the first four Sundays in April standard time shall be advanced twenty minutes, making the clock gain on the sun eighty minutes in the course of the ‘month. Ordinary office hours would therefore begin at 8.40 a.m. instead of ten o’clock, and, of course, end at 3.40 p.m. instead of five o’clock, as reckoned by the mean sun. In this way there would be approximately symmetrical distribution of the day on both sides of the meridian. In winter, when we use all the daylight available, nothing is gained by advancing the clock on solar time, and it is proposed to bring the clock and sun again into coincidence by putting standard time back twenty minutes on each of the first four Sundays in September. This pushing the hands to and fro on the dial is, we are told, the whole cost of the scheme. Unfor- tunately; that statement is misleading. The hour shosen for this abr upt dislocation of continuity is two in the morning, an hour when very few people would care to make the necessary adjustment, and man on arriving at the station on Monday would find that his train had been gone NO. 1999, VOL. 77] ) 1 ( lock many a morning twenty minutes, or that he had to wait twenty minutes before it was due, according as the time of the year Was spring or autumn. This continual interruption of uniformity would be intolerable. One can more easily accommodate himself to a burden, however grievous, if the pressure be constant, than to the petty irritation arising from frequent change. But we would seriously ask the supporters of Mr. Willett’s scheme where is the necessity for this aggra- yating policy of perpetual alteration? We suspect, if we could get at the truth, that this constant inter- ference is a concession to inherited instinct, and a desire not to depose the sun too hurriedly from that position of preeminence which he has hitherto enjoyed. The author of the scheme manifests a cautious hesi- taney lest some mischief should arise from .separating the clock and the sun by too great an interval, and thinks to appease the possible objections of more con- servative minds by pointing out that it is only for half.a year that the clock is wrong. It looks as though he were afraid of his own measure, for what possible advantage can accrue from putting the cloclk back in September? If the measure be wise and acceptable, why not boldly alter the time one hour by one and a final interruption? In summer we should get nearly the same advantage as that claimed for this policy of pin-pricks, and in winter we should be no worse off. It is quite a different question to ask, is such a measure desirable? or, further, whether the proposed remedy is the most judicious? Jt might be more satisfactory to effect some change in our habits and customs more in line with those that obtain on the Continent or in India. The hours of business or of social functions may in those countries be dictated by a desire to avoid heat and glare, but the point is that we should do well to follow the example of those who have considered the sun as a factor in regulating their affairs. Such ends cannot, however, be accomplished by legislative action, but by the decision of Society with a big S. To ask a man to dine at six instead of at eight would be a drastic revolution that few would feel themselves competent to inaugurate. The Astronomer Royal has raised a point of great importance, at the same time hinting that the authors of the scheme have thought too much of the con- venience of their own order and too little of that of the great majority of the public, whose daily life begins far earlier than Mr. Willett seems to imagine. Where life is strenuous, in factory or workshop, in dock or on railway, toilers quit their homes soon after five o’clock by the sun. It is easy to conceive that earlier rising would entail a hardship. Those who minister to the comfort of Mr. Willett and his -class accomplish much before the more leisured day begins. The handling of perishable articles and the distribu- tion of food in great centres of population goes on all night. To shor ten that night by an hour or more to get the same amount of work done in a shorter time would tax resources to bre aking point. There is, too, another consideration which is not without its weight. England has succeeded in secur- ing the recognition of the Greenwich meridian as the origin of time throughout the world, and with some- thing like uniformity time is reckoned from that meridian. Is it desirable to commence an agitation which involves a breach, though only nominal, of that uniformity? We have admitted that there are some advantages to be derived from the adoption of the scheme, but when weighed against the disadvantages arising from a fretful disorganisation, it may be ‘better to suffer the ills we have than fly to others we know not of.” ‘FeRRuaRY. 20, 1908] NATURE Sis) IRISH FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS.* HESE two volumes form the third and fourth reports upon the scientific investigations into fishery questions, which have been conducted for the Irish department responsible for the fisheries by Mr. E. W. L. Woit, the scientific adviser. They fully maintain the high standard set by their two prede- cessors both in the nature of their contents and in | the manner in which they are printed and illustrated. It is a matter for congratulation that the Irish Government has adopted so comprehensive and in- telligent a view of the manner in which such investi- gations should be planned and carried out, and it is to be hoped that any narrow and uninstructed criticism, such as Mr. Holt appears to suggest has been made upon the work, may not be allowed to interfere in any way with its progress. ‘‘ In my last report,’? says Mr. Holt in the volume for 1904, “ I endeavoured to make it clear that the papers in the appendix, even if couched in unavoidably technical language, did actually contain information essential to the possibility of success in attack on practical fishery questions. The endeavour seems to have failed to some extent, but perhaps in the course of time it may be more generally surmised that if a due understanding of the minutia of habit and environ- ment is of some use in agriculture, so may it also be in the direction of piscatorial enterprise, and that because an animal has an unfamiliar name it does not necessarily follow that it is of no importance.” The kind of criticism of which Mr. Holt here appears to complain would seem to be similar to that to which the work carried out by Prof. Herdman in the Irish Sea has recently been subjected. At a meeting last year of the Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Committee, a member of the committee, the Rev. J. E. Green, is reported by the Liverpool Daily Post and Mercury to have said ‘“‘he thought they ought to manage to cut down the expense of the annual report. The printing came to about 7ol. a year, and there was a quantity of verbiage in it which was not easily understood. For instance, they had a long list of Latin names which he had taken the trouble to try and translate, with the assistance of the latest worl of Lewis and Short, but he had failed to do so. If the names were to be inserted, the translations should also be put by the side, for they were absolutely useless unless the Lancashire fisher- men happened to be graduates of the Liverpool University.” The picture of the diligent committeeman seeking a translation of the specific names used by naturalists “in the latest work of Lewis and Short’ has its humorous side. We fear his method might even be somewhat misleading in the case of such a simple specific name as Homo sapiens. Both Mr. Holt and Prof. Herdman must, however, take comfort from the fact that the difficulty of making the general public, or those who happen to occupy positions of authority, realise the importance of technical biological studies | fs one which most scientific investigators have to face, and for some unexplained reason is met with in a particularly aggravated form in the case of fishery work. ; Mr. Holt’s report for 1904 is followed by six, and that for rq05 by seven, appendices dealing with marine work, whilst in cach case one appendix is devoted to inland fisheries. Of the former, one only deals directly with fishes, that by Holt and Byrne on the fishes of the Irish Atlantic Slope. This paper contains sixteen 1 ** Report on the Sea and Inland Fisheries of Ireland for too4."’ Part il. Scientific Investigations. Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- tion for Ireland. Ditto for 1905. (Dublin: Published for H.M. Stationery Office by A. Thom and Co., Ltd., 1906 and 1907.) Price 4s. 4@ and 2s. 1d. NO. 1999, VOL. 77] additions to the list of the fish fauna of the British- and-Irish area, which have resulted from the opera- tions of the fishery steamer [Helga. The Crustacea, a group W hich is of such great im- portance from the point of view of.the food of fishes, receive considerable attention. Dr. W. T. Calman records forty-eight species of Cumacea from the west coast of Ireland, of which nine are new to science. The latter are carefully described, and the details of their external characters are illustrated in eighty-six well-executed figures. Mr. Tattersall treats in a similar way the Isopoda and pelagic Amphipoda from the same region, ten new species of Isopoda and four new species of Amphipoda being described and figured. Mr. Tatter- sall and Mr. Holt add a supplement to their former report on the Schizopoda, and Mr. Stanley Kemp contributes a useful review of the Decapod genus Acanthephyra. Miss Delap’s notes on the rearing in an aquarium of Aurelia aurita and Pelagia perla are also of great interest. The most important sections in the appendices on inland fisheries are Mr. Holt’s reports on the artificial propagation of the Salmonidee and Mr. Hillas’s record of salmon-marking experiments. The two volumes make it clear that a very large amount of most useful. work is being carried out, the value of which will increase at a very rapid rate as the data accumulate from year to year. NOTES. , In the House of Commons on Monday, Mr. Mallet asked the Secretary of State*for War whether he was aware of the public service rendered by a commission of the Royal Society, at the request of the War Office and the Admiralty, in discovering the cause of Malta fever, from which many annually of our soldiers that island until recently suffered; and of the importance of this discovery in the annals of preventive inasmuch as at the present moment the disease entirely stamped out, he would consider the of giving the thanks of the Government to the Royal Society for this instance of the successful applica- tion of British scientific research? In his reply to this question Mr..Haldane said :—‘*I am of the great service rendered by the commission in question. The com- investigations and the adoption of preventive measures the outcome of its recommendations have been followed by the practical disappearance of Malta fever the garrison of the island. I think that the Royal Society how is the appreciation of the the Royal commission of this results hundreds and sailors on whether, in view medicine, had desirability been aware mission's as from genuine much issue is well aware We the Government. owe to Society’s remarkable which have successful the excellent illustrate the business of government.” for investigation, and for followed. These results enormous import- ance of bringing science into our We announce with great regret that Licutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey, G.C:S.J., F.R.S., died — on February 12 at ninety-one years of age. Tue following have been elected honorary and foreign members of the Chemical Society :—A. E. J. Gautier, Paris; A. Haller, Paris; J. W. Hittorf, Minster; J. A- Le Bel, Paris; H. L. Le Chatelier, Paris; T. W. Richards, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.; and O. Wallach, Gottingen. Tuer Paris Academy of Sciences has, says the Revue Scientifique, in cooperation with the Minister of Public Instruction, undertaken, at the invitation of Sir Norman 374 Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., to form a committee of French men of science to assist in securing an important place Yor science in the forthcoming Franco-British Exhibition. Ir is stated in the Pioneer Mail that special subcom- mittees have been appointed by the Board of Scientific Advice for India to consider and report on proposals which ‘have been submitted for the re-organisation of the Botanical Survey Department and the future organisation of the Economic Products Department. We learn from Science that Prof. W. Stratford, for forty-one years a member of the teaching staff of the New York City College, died on January 24. Prof. Stratford was a well-known member of the scientific organisations of New York, and was a recognised expert in biological microscopy. ‘duced laboratory methods and developed its museum, enriching it with the fruits of several palzontological excursions to the Rockies. A Royat Commission has been appointed to consider, among other matters, the materials or the processes used ‘in the manufacture or preparation of whisky and other kinds of potable spirits manufactured in or imported into the United Kingdom. The chairman of the commission is Lord James of Hereford, and the members are :—Mr. i. M. Guillemard, €.B., Dr. W. E. Adeney, Dr. J. R. Bradford, F-R:S:, Dr: HB. TL Brown, P.R-S:; Dr. GS: Buchanan, Mr. J. Y. Buchanan, F.R.S., and Dr. A. R. ‘Cushny, F.R.S. The secretary to the commission is Mr. A. V. Symonds, of the Local Government Board. The appointment of this commission arises out of the difficulties ‘described in an article on ‘‘ What is Whisky?’ which ‘appeared in Nature of March 8, 1906 (vol. Ixwiii-, p. 441). At a meeting of copper and brass manufacturers, engineers and others, held in Manchester on February 13 (Mr. W. H. Johnson in the chair), it was unanimously resolved to form a Copper and Brass Institute having similar objects to those of the Iron and Stee! Institute. It is not the intention of the founders to limit the institute to the copper and brass trades, but to include all those connected with the commercially important non-ferrous metals and their alloys, as lead, zinc, tin, aluminium, nickel, silver, gold, platinum, &c., and their alloys. A further meeting will be held in the Midland Hotel, Man- chester, on Tuesday, March 10, at 4 p.m., to which all those interested are most cordially invited. Prof. H. C. H. ‘Carpenter, professor of metallurgy, The University, Man- chester, will receive the names of any persons who propose to attend or are interested in the formation of the institute. Tue meteorological observatory on Ben Nevis was again the subject of a question in the House of Commons on Monday, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked whether he could hold out any prospect of a grant towards its upkeep. In the course of his reply, Mr. Asquith said that the only scheme which has up to the present been placed before him is one under which the whole cost of the re-equipment and maintenance of the observatories would be thrown upon public funds, and to this he does not feel justified in assenting. He is, however, quite pre- pared to consider the question of renewing the Govern- ment grant, which was for many years given to the Ben Nevis observatories through the Meteorological Council, ovided that an adequate contribution towards their re- blishment and maintenance is forthcoming from other \T a meeting held in the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, on January 13, it was resolved to form an association, to NO. 1999, vor. 77] In his work in the City College he intro- | : ; % 2 | natural, owing to the large amount of water diverted for NATURE a [FeBruary 20, 1908 be called ‘‘ The Transvaal Biological Society,’’ with the object of promoting the discussion of scientific problems by biological investigation, to arrange for regular meetings for this purpose, and to publish the proceedings of the meetings. actually engaged in biological investigations and have pub- lished at least one scientific paper, or are working on such. Every member is expected to furnish at least one paper each year. The committee for the current year consists of Dr. Theiler, C.M.G., president; Mr. Burtt-Davy, vice- president; and Dr. L. H. Gough, secretary and treasurer. The new society will fill a long-felt want in Pretoria. Pror. G. K. Girpert, in his recent report to the United States Geological Survey, stated that the conditions of flow and erosion at Niagara Falls would soon cease to be industrial purposes. The correspondent of the Times at _ Washington, as we note in that journal for February 14, gives an abstract of the views of Dr. Spencer, of the Canadian Survey, which are far more specific and alarm- ing. Dr. Spencer, it appears, looks forward to the prac- tical disappearance of the American falls, through the utilisation of water-rights already conceded ; and the corre- spondent suggests that Congress would be favourable to the incorporation of an agreement for the regulation of the waters of the Niagara River in the general treaty respecting questions pending between the United States and Great Britain. It was suggested by Mr. R. Pohl in a paper read before the German Physical Society in June last that the forma- tion of gas bubbles in the glass of vacuum tubes, de- scribed by Mr. A. A. Campbell Swinton in a paper before the Royal Society (see Nature, April 4, 1907, p. 550), is due to a metallic film caused by disintegration of the internal aluminium electrodes, and that if the aluminium be first completely etched away, then no bubbles are formed in the glass when it is subsequently heated. Mr. Swinton writes, however, to say that these conclusions are disproved by some further experiments recently carried out by him, in which a plentiful supply of bubbles was easily obtained in the glass of tubes which had been excited over prolonged periods by electrostatic induction from out- side, and in which there were no aluminium or other | internal electrodes to disintegrate and cause the metallic film to which Mr. Pohl attributes the effect. SEVERAL interesting speeches were made at a dinner of the Physical Society held on February 11 at the Hotel Cecil, when the chair was taken by the president, Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., and a number of distinguished guests and fellows of the society were present. In the course of some remarks, Sir William Ramsay dwelt on the relations of physics and chemistry. He pointed out that one of the chief difficulties of the chemist at the present time is the solution of the mathematical problems involved in chemistry, and there is a great opening for “‘ tame mathe- maticians ’? who will hold themselves at the disposal of the chemist. In response to the president, Prof. E. B. Rosa, of the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, stated that he had been greatly interested in visiting the National Physical Laboratory, and observing the progress that had been made since his last visit five years ago. At the National Bureau of Standards satisfactory headway is being made, and it is hoped that the laboratory will shortly be equal to any national laboratory in the world. In the United States much money is being spent on the science of agriculture, because agriculture is a nationa’ asset. Prof. Rosa suggested that England similarly would 55 All persons are eligible for membership who are — | % ue FEBRUARY 20, 1908] NATURE ee O72 find it a profitable investment to devote the money spent in constructing one battleship per annum to the National Physical Laboratory instead of preparing for war. In responding to the toast of ‘‘ The Physical Society,’’ the president dwelt on the importance of research. At the present day there are many science teachers and many compilers of books who do no research. They are well up in the letter of science, but not in the spirit thereof, with the result that their writings lack a most essential quality which can be gained only by actual research. He appealed to the leaders of physical science to attend the meetings of the society, not for théir own benefit, but from a sense of duty, for there is nothing so inspiriting to the younger members as contact with men who have carried out important work. From Mr. F. L. Dames, of Berlin, we have received a catalogue of books and papers on entomological subjects (No. 96, Bibliotheca Entomologica). No. 7 of Irish Fisheries Scientific Investigations for 1906 (1907) contains a report on artificial salmon and trout breeding for the season 1906-7, from which it appears that the total for salmon comes within about 500,000 of that of the previous season, and therefore is by about that number in excess of any previous year. Two papers on regeneration are included in vol. Ixxxix., part i., of ihe Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie. In the first of these Mr. J. Nusbaum describes the pro- cesses occurring in one of the polychaete worms of the genus Nereis, while in the second Mr. J. Grochmalicki discusses the regeneration of the lens of the eye in bony fishes. In the case of one particular fish from which this organ had been extirpated, a new lens, differing slightly in form from the original, was developed in 187 days. article on hermaphroditism in echinoderms, published in Nos. 6 and 7 of the Travaux de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de St, Péters- bourg for 1907, the author, Mr. G. Gadd, argues that since this phenomenon is not uncommon in sea-cucumbers, more rare in star-fishes, and almost unknown in sea- urchins, we have a confirmation of the view that it is an attribute of the less highly organised members of the groups in which it occurs. In the course of an To the Museums Journal for January Dr. H. C. Sorby contributes a paper on the best means of preserving marine invertebrates for museum purposes in such a manner that their natural colouring will be retained. As regards his own private collection, the author finds anhydrous glycerin —covered, when necessary, with a layer of almond oil— the most satisfactory medium, some specimens which have been preserved in this manner for fully five years display- ing their tints with even more than normal _brilliancy. The chief difficulty in the case of museum specimens would be in the use of large rectangular vessels, owing to danger of leakage. Tue Lyttelton Times (New Zealand) of December 3, 1907, contains a long summary of the results of the recent scientific expedition to Auckland, Campbell, and other islands lying to the southward of New Zealand. Mr. Speight, geologist to the expedition, claims to have dis- covered in Auckland, Campbell, Snares, and Disappoint- ment (not apparently the island of the same name in the Low Archipelago, but one somewhere near the others) rocks indicating that these islands once formed a part of the Antarctic continent. The islands have also been ex- NO. 1999, VOL. 77] tensively glaciated. Of insects, flies and tipula are the most numerous, but beetles and dragon-flies were also observed. A linnet-lilke bird from Campbell Island has not yet been identified; and successful photographs have been obtained of the skua, shag, mollymawk, gull, albatross, and penguin rookeries. On Snares Island the stench from the birds and seals is stated to have been almost intoler- able, and the members of the expedition who visited the Campbell group suffered severely from the colds and wind. A sprciAL paragraph in the issue quoted above is de- roted to Disappointment Island, which was visited by Dr. L. Cockayne, who devoted special attention to the vegeta- tion. Although the number of species is small, the vege- tation as a whole is comparatively luxuriant. Very striking is the large Aciphylla latifolia, a member of the rarrot tribe, while the male flowers of the orange lily, Bulbinella rossi, are conspicuous ‘‘ The most interesting feature of all is the natural rejuvenation of the vegetation that is going on. Cast your eye over the landscape, and you will see brown meadow dotted with white birds, which slowly but surely kill out all the plant-covering, and patches of vivid green. This latter arises from the presence of the Antarctic burr, or piri-piri, in enormous quantities ; and it, a quite rare plant in a virgin meadow, has spread from thence and occupied the new ground, thanks to its colonising power, its spiky fruits adhering to the feathers of the young birds and so being spread broadcast. Here there is a splendid exampie of a plant of little importance becoming virtually a weed in a virgin vegetation. But finally tussock will resume the sway, and a gradual destruction and rejuvenation of the vegetation must go en, thanks to the mollymawks.’’ In the February number of British Birds the editc.< discuss certain allegations against the black-headed gull which formed the subject of notice in the previous issue. Without entering into the controversy, we may notice that the allegations have induced two county councils in Scotland to strike gulls of all kinds out of the protected list. In another paragraph the editors refer to the subject of “luminous owls.’’ In their opinion, the luminosity is most probably to be attributed to phosphorescent bacteria derived from decaying wood. It may, however, be due either to a phosphorescent feather-fungus (akin to one known to occur in geese) or to a diseased condition of the oil-gland, whereby the oil is more abundant than usual, and so abnormal in its nature as to become luminous orm exposure to the air. Whatever be ‘the true explanation, it is evident that the phenomenon is abnormal, and almost certainly due to the presence of’ foreign matter on the feathers. : ‘ ; Tue reports on the botanic and- experiment stations and agricultural education in St. Kitts-Nevis for | 1906-7, besides reviewing the work for the year, summarise the progress made since the institution of the Imperial, Depart- ment of Agriculture for the West Indies. The sugar industry has benefited by the introduction of the seedling canes B.147 and B.208; cotton cultivation has been developed since 1901, when trial plots weze.-started, until an area of 5000 acres is now planted in the three islands St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla. The cultivation of cacao proceeds more slowly, but gives promise of success. Rubber planting, chiefly with Castilloa elastica, is also receiving attention. The records of the experiment plots provide useful data with regard to growing tobacco, varie- ties of potatoes, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, and other minor products, 376 AcTING upon the advice of Prof. H. J. Hamburger, it was decided to publish in the Recucil de 1’Institut botanigue de Bruxelles (vol. vii.) the course of lectures on molecular physiology delivered by the late Prof. Errera to students taking the botanical degree in the University. It is primarily a physicochemical course dealing with the properties of fluids and soiids, and the special application of the laws regulating their action to various botanical problems. Surface tension of liquids, viscosity, properties of emulsions, circulation of gases and liquids in narrow tubes, and similar phenomena are treated with regard to their bearing in plants, and especially with reference to the two important subjects of osmosis and the ascent of sap in trees. nection Practical examples of calculations in con- with osmotic problems are given, and the dis- cussion of the various theories put forward to explain the ascent of sap is illustrative of Prof. Errera’s lucid exposition. Tue West Indian Bulletin (No. 3, vol. summaries of several of the papers presented to the famous agricultural conference of 1907. Mr. Gossett points out how valuable Indian cattle have proved in Jamaica; they are said to surpass all others as workers, and to be so remark- ably hardy in constitution that they withstand the effects of the climate, of insects, and other pests, besides being able to subsist on coarse grasses and shrubs that other cattle would refuse. viii.) contains Another paper deals with the suita- bility of Jamaica for breeding horses, mules, and polo Mr. Cox discusses the prospects of tea production, and concludes that tea is a safe crop for a settler who lives within reach of a factory. Mr. Cousins contributes two papers, one on cassava starch and the other on agri- cultural education in Jamaica. He finds that cassava starch of high quality and commanding a good price can ponies. be produced in Jamaica at a cost which allows a very handsome profit. Other papers deal with Jamaica ginger and with the native timbers. The standard of the papers is very good, and all the authors are very hopeful about the future. They have good reason, for few of our possessions have better agricultural departments than the West Indies. Tue second number of the Bulletin of the Imperial Cen- tral Agricultural Experiment Station of Japan is to hand, and is in every way an excellent production. One paper deals with the behaviour of nitrate of soda in paddy soils. Nagaoka found some years ago that this fertiliser actually depressed the yields of rice, Sagittaria, and Juncus effusus when cultivated, as is usual in Japan, on swampy soils. Ile considered that the effect was due to denitrification, a process which would give rise, among other things, to poisonous nitrites. It is now shown that this view is Another paper, by Uchiyama, deals with the influence of stimulating compounds such as manganese and iron salts, sodium fluoride and potassium iodide on crops, a subject to which considerable attention has been devoted in Japan. The general conclusion is that manganese sulphate at the rate of 20 kilos. to 50 kilos. per hectare inereases the crop, but the actual amount of the increase depends on a variety of factors. The favourable ratio of lime to magnesia in soils forms the subiect of several papers. There is also an important synoptical list f Coccide of Japan, with descriptions of thirteen new species by Kuwana. The bulletin is profusely illustrated, id the illustrations are unusually good. correct. most Weather Bureau year ended June 30, 1906, has just reached us. In the department dealing with weather prediction, NO. 1999, VOL. 77] Tne report of the chief of the U.S. f he NA ORE [FEBRUARY 20, 1908 the distinctive work of the year was the study of atmo- spheric movements in the United States with the additional light afforded by reports from the Azores, western Europe, Honolulu, and other places, the result of which has been sufficiently encouraging to warrant a still further extension of area. The amazing figures connected with the receipt of telegraphic reports and the distribution of meteorological information were referred to in Nature, vol. Ixxvi., p. 300. There has been considerable increase of observing stations of various classes; the number now amounts to more than 4500. The report contains, inter alia, observations or summaries for a large number of selected places, and monthly and annual rainfall values for all stations, for the year 1905, the whole occupying 405 quarto pages. At Mount Weather Research Observatory systematic worl: is carried on in connection with the international kite experi- ments; the institution possesses a very complete instru- mental outfit for the purpose. Among various other useful operations of the bureau, we may mention that efforts are being made to correlate and reduce to a uniform system the teaching of meteorology in the numerous colleges and schools; circular letters on the subject have apparently been addressed to a large number of educational establish- ments. AN important paper on the smoke from metallurgical works, by Mr. W. D. Harkins and Mr. R. E. Swain, is contained in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (vol. xxix., No. 4). The work which led to the publica- tion of the paper was the estimation of the amount of arsenic expelled from the greatest of the world’s smelting works, a plant which has a capacity of 10,000 tons of ore per day, and a production estimated at 113 per cent. of the world’s output of copper. It has been found that not only are the trees and grass in the vicinity of works injured by the sulphur dioxide and sulphuric acid of the smoke, but the grass is also rendered poisonous by arsenic. By the erection of new works with huge settling chambers in place of the long flues of the old works, the loss of animals in the valley became very much greater than before. The velocity determinations and analyses of smoke set forth in the paper were undertaken with a view to determine the real efficiency of the great flues and stack, 300 feet high, built in order to prevent damage to the forests and crops. The velocity determinations were made with a Pitot tube, modified by Captain D. W. Taylor, which was found to give much more trustworthy results than the wheel anemometer. The results of the investi- gation show that while the great flue may be fairly efficient in causing the copper from the smoke to settle, a considerable amount escapes, while the amount of arsenic given off is very great. The arsenic is chiefly in the form of trioxide, but a small amount exists in the form of trisulphide and in the form of complex minerals containing iron. The dust from the flue near the stack or in the stack itself contains a con- siderable amount of concentrated sulphuric acid, that from near the furnaces contains much less. To this sulphuric acid, together with the arsenic with which it, is associated, is probably due much of the spotting of leaves which is so common in the vicinity of the works. The action of the flue dust is of far less importance than that of the sulphur dioxide in affecting the growth of plants, but the arsenic of the dust may affect to a greater degree the value of the grasses, since it renders them poisonous. Messrs. C. Woottiscrort anp Son, Lrp., Hanley, Staffs, ask for information as to an electrostatic separator for the purpose of extracting iron pyrites. An expert to whom we referred the inquiry has been good enough to while | i ' FEBRUARY 20, 1908] reply that the latest type of electrostatic separator is the Blake-Morscher, which was described in a paper read before the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy by E. A. Weinberg (Transactions, 1905, vol. Xiv., p. 169). It is of American manufacture, and can probably be obtained from Fraser and Chalmers, of Erith. Earlier forms are exhaustively described in a paper read by H. C. MeNeill before the Iron and Steel Institute (Journal, 1899, vol. Machinery for the extraction of iron pyrites of Kalk, Ivi., p. 18). is made by the German ‘‘ Humboldt Company,”’ near Cologne. Tue Verhandlungen der deutschen physikalischen Gesellschaft for December, 1907, contains a communica- tion from Prof. E. Wiedemann, in which he directs atten- tion to two Arabic books of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, in the former of which the method of magnet- ising a steel needle by rubbing it on a natural lodestone is described, while in the latter instructions are given for mounting a needle so magnetised within a wooden fish, which when placed on water heads always to the north. This appears to be the first known mention of the compass, although the matter is treated as if it were common knowledge at the time. 5 Vot. iv. of ‘‘ Contributions from the Jefferson Physical Laboratory of Harvard University ’’ contains thirteen memoirs, five of which are from the pen of Prof. B. O. Peirce. Most of these memoirs are reprinted from vol. xlii. of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1906. There is one, on architectural acoustics, by Prof. W. C. Sabine, reprinted from the American Architect for 1900, which well deserves close attention trom architects in this country. It is a thoroughly scien- tific attack on the problem of determining the acoustical properties of a room before it is built. The author describes his measurements of the absorbing powers of walls, screens, and audience, and shows how the constants thus determined can be used in calculating the amount of reverberation to be expected in a large number of cases. In each case direct measurement con- firmed the result of the calculation. furniture, Tue report for 1908 of the International Committee on Atomic Weights is printed in No. 335 of the Proceedings of the Chemical Society. From the data here given, and from those cited in previous reports, it is concluded that the entire table of atomic weights is in need of revision. The values assigned to potassium and sodium are too high ; those given to chlorine and sulphur are too low, and these constants affect the determination of many others. They depend, however, on the atomic weight of silver, which is probably, but not certainly, as low as 107-88. It is well known that work upon these fundamental constants is now nearing completion in several laboratories, and within a few months it should be possible to enter upon a satisfactory revision of the table, a task which would be unsatisfactory if undertaken now. It is true that the present table contains inconsistencies, but they are small in amount, and are due to inconsistencies in the original data from which the values are derived. Since issuing the last report Prof. Moissan has died, and has been succeeded on the committee by M. G. Urbain. The report being drawn up in November last does not deal with the striking result obtained by W. Marckwald in the case of tellurium, which has been published since; this element has long held an abnormal position in the periodic arrangement owing to its appearing to have an atomic weight greater than that of iodine. According to Marck- NO. 1999, VOL. 77] NATURE 377 wald, its correct atomic weight is 126-85, that is, 0-12 unit less than the atomic weight of iodine, so that it now falls into line with the rest of the elements. A sEconD edition of Mr. Arthur Whiting’s ‘* Retouch- ing ’’ has been published by Messrs. Dawbarn and Ward, Lid. A secoxp edition of the useful ‘* Handbook to the Vivaria and Fresh-water Aquaria’’ at the Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, S.E., has been issued by the London County Council. Copies may be obtained through a book- seller, or directly from Messrs. P. S. King and Son, of Westminster; the price of the catalogue is one penny. Messrs. Crosspy Lockwoop anp Son have published a fifth edition of Dr. Bernard Dyer’s *‘ Fertilisers and Feed- ing Stuffs: their Properties and Uses,’’ which also the full text of the Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act, 1906, the regulations and forms of the Board of Agri- culture, and notes on the Act by Mr. A. J. David. ‘Lhe new edition has been revised, and its price is 1s. net. contains OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Tne Recent SpecTRUM AND MAGNITUDE oF Nova PERSE No. 2.—the results of Prof. Hartmann’s more recent in- vestigations of the spectrum of Nova Persei No. 2 (1901) appear in No. 4232 of the -reaction in the Diphenyl Se T. Morgan and Miss M. G. Micklethwait.—Organie Derivativ oe Giiicont Part VI. The Spnealiy Active Sulphobenzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxides: F. S. Kipping. —A Simple Manometer for. Vacuuin Distillation: N. L. Gebhard. FRIDAY, YEBRUARY 21. Royat InstrruTion, at 9.—The Ether of Space : INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL its Botanical and Technical Aspects : s, at 8.—Electrical Power in Rail- H. Henderson.—Electric Power in Docks: Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S:- ENGINEERS, at 8.—Annual Meeting.— Vests of a Live Steam Feed-water Heater; Prof. J. Goodman and DD. B. MacLachlan. I ITUTION OF Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—Currents as a Cause of Coast- ero G. O. Case. ; MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24. Roya Society or ARTS, at 8 The Theory and Practice of Clock Making: H. H. Cunynghame, C.B. Roy/ 1. « PHICAL Society, at 8.39.—Travels in the Old Kingdom of Congo: Rey. Thomas Lewis. NO. 1999, VOL. 77] INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5.—A Review of the Investments of Offices in Recent Years, with Notes on Stock Exchange Fluctuations and the Future Rate of Interest : P. L. Newman. . TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25. Roya. Instirurron, at 3.—Membranes: Their Products: Prof. W. ‘Stirling. Royat Society or Arvrs, at 4.30.—Irrigation in Egypt under British D. rection : Sir Hanbury Brown, K.C.M.G, Roya ANTHROPOLOGICAT. INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—Montenegrin Manners and Customs: Miss M. Edith Durham. InstrruTION oF Civil ENGINEERS, at 8.—The New York Rapid-transit Subway : W. B, Parsons. Farapay Socirty, at 8.—Hydrolysis as Illustrated by Heats of Neutral- isation : Dr. V. H. Veley, F.R.S.—A Study of the Sulphur Anion and of Complex Sulphur Anions: Dr. J. Knox, WEDNESDAY, FERRUARY 26. Roya Society oF Arts. at 8.—The Problem of Road Construction with a View to Presentand Future Requirements: H. S. Hele-Shaw, F.R.S and Douglas Mackenzie. British AsTrkONOMICAL Turner, F.R.S. Structure, Uses and ASSOCIATION, at 5.—Address by Prof. H. H. THURSDAY, Fes 7 Royav: Society, at 4.30.—Prolable Pape The Influence of Tempera- ture on Phagocytosis; J. CG. hed nea ee the Maturation of the Ovum in the Guinea-pig: Prof. J. E. Moore and Miss F. Twort. Roya Instirurion, at 3:—Wood = its Botanical and ‘Technical Aspects: Prof. W. Somerville. Society of Dyers aNp Cotovunrists, at 8. ~The Deterioration of Modern Dyed Leathers: M. i Lamb.—A Note on, the Germicidal Value of Petruleum Benzine; F. J. Farrell and F. Howles. Ts 4, Fepruary 28. Roya TE RCON: at 9. —Explosive Combustion, with Special Reference to that of Hydrocarbons : Prof. W. A. Bone, F. R.S Roya Society.“or Arts,’ at 8.—The Removal of Dust and Fumes in Factories: Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.RS. PuysicaL Society, at 5.—Contact Potential Differences Determined by Means of Null Solutions: S..W. J. Smith and H. Moss. —An Experi- mental Examination of Gibbs’ Theory of Surface Tension as the Basis of Adsorption with an Application to the Theory of Dyeing: Mr. Lewis. RY 27. CONTENTS. Continuation Schools. By Prof. J. Wertheimer . . 361 Iceland Past and Present. ByM.G.B. ..... Advanced Organic Chemistry. By F,M.P.... . 363 Our Book Shelf :— Fox-Strangways : ‘‘ The Geology of the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire Coalfield” Ri sierc>. 105 Ee OOP Lewis : “‘Inorganic Chemistry” . . . 364 Balleaeaealtitide Lables. a ..ucmemmemen 365 Shephard: ‘ Problems in Strength of Materials” 5 ““Whittaker’s Arithmetic of Electrical Engineering for Technical Students and Engineers” 365 Richmond : ‘‘ An Essay upon Disease : its Cause and Prevention’: *. .) <9. aeEesy et). = Seats Letters to the Editor :— Radium and the Earth’s Heat.—Prof. Harold A, Wilson, F.R.S.; Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S. . 365 Ground Ice.—James Thomson. ...... . . 366 The Stresses in Masonry Dams. (With Diagram.)— Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S. a's 366 The Inheritance of *‘ Acquired ” Characters. a oh Cunningham .. 367 Technical Research and the College System. —W. P. Dreaper. . a Og = = 367 A Variation in Amceba. MoD yea. 367 An Alleged Originator of the Thee of Atoms. ey or wwe Dreyer’. an, 368 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. V.— Avenues (continued). (Zllustrated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 368 A Study of the River Trent. (Ulustrate ted. Ves eee 371 The Sun and the Clock . Fe ROS Geno ay > Irish Fishery aiaend 2 Ro SR eh Notes ... act SS SGrCeRERee Sikaicn Si,” Our Astronomical Column :— The Recent Speen and Masur of Nova Persei INOM2e 377 The Helium Line, Dae as a Dark Line in the Solar Spectrum. : ‘i 5 377 A Detailed Study of the Photosphere 28 378 Sectional Addresses at the Chicago Meeting of the American Association. Be sit Copper Mirrors. By Dr. F. D. Chattaway, F.R.S. . 380 Geological Survey of Canada , Apoyo. aie) University and Educational Intelligence . 22) Societiesjand/Academies:".9.) . ccas (ecient DiaryrofiSocieties “i... SS a NATURE 385 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1908. MAN AND NATURE IN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. Aus Namaland und Kalahari. By Prof. Leonhard Schultze. Pp. xiv+752. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907.) Price 60 marks. HE scope of this admirable work on Namakwa- land and the Kalahari has not any knowledge of political boundaries. Neither is it confined to ethnology or biology. Its range extends over a portion of British Bechuanaland and northern Cape Colony, and it deals slightly with the northern parts of Ger- man South-West Africa—Damaraland and the Ovambo countries. It is such a book as can as yet only be published in Germany. The reproduction of Dr. Schultze’s photographs of human types, landscapes, birds, and beasts is simply perfection, the photographs themselves being without blemish. Where it has been necessary fo make and reproduce drawings in lieu of photographs, these are of great beauty and accuracy, and their reproduction is of a quality apparently un- attainable in England. To summarise the principal subjects of the book. The geological features of the south-west coast of Africa are illustrated with many photographs, diagrams, and a careful verbal description. This, though thoroughly scientific, may appeal likewise to the eyes and intelli- gence of the unlearned. The set of the currents, the growth or diminution of the sand-bars along the coast, the caves (once, perhaps, inhabited by the primitive tribes of Strandloopers), the barren, rocky coast, with its beaches strewn with whalebones, the rocky capes with great maned sea-lions in situ, the islets, thick with cormorants, gannets (literally in millions), and pen- guins, are graphically depicted. An interesting record of the species of whales recorded on this coast, as well as of the principal sea fish, molluscs, and other water animals, is given on pp. 30 to 41. The author sup- plies the Hottentot names for all creatures or features recognised by the natives. Though vegetation is not the strong point of this desolate region, such as is found there is of great interest to the botanist owing to its special adaptation to arid conditions of life. The Zygophyllums (char- acteristic of the northern desert from Senegal to Scinde), the soap bushes (Salsola), the Mesembrian- themums, with their cactus-like flowers and thick seg- mented stalls, the stumpy euphorbias, gouty, branched aloes, and that extraordinary plant the Welwitschia mirabilis—almost every example of this strange desert vegetation is represented by photographs of remark- able clearness and beauty. The camera also shows us the large-eared, chamois-like Raphicerus antelopes, perched on the jagged summits of honeycombed gneiss; vast river plains surrounded by monotonous ranges of table-top mountains, but exhibiting some relief from the universal desert in the acacias, Boscias, Bauhinias, Baphias, Combretums, gourds, lilies, rushes, and euphorbias they nourish. (One exquisite picture opposite p. 604 shows an erstwhile desolate stretch of the Kalahari Desert temporarily lovely with thick masses of the Brunsvigia lilies.) The black- NO. 2000, VOL. 77] backed jackal, the Chakma baboon, the ostrich, Cape hartebeest, porcupine (the South African species), the steenbock (Raphicerus), the white-tailed gnu, zebra, springbock, giraffe, lion, and all important members of the mammalian fauna, past and present, are illus- trated by photographs from the living animal. From p. 268 to p. 288 a great deal of information is given about the existing mammalian fauna of the interior. The elephant is included, though it is practically extinct in this region, and only remains in the tradi- tions of the Hottentots. The white rhinoceros is known by name, but is now extinct. The same fate has also probably reached the common black rhino- ceros, and the quagga likewise only lingers in tradi- tions. (The last quagga of South-West Africa appears to have been killed in 1880.) The strangely archaic dog form—Otocyon—with its four molar teeth on either side of the lower and sometimes of the upper jaw, is fairly common in Namakwaland and the Kalahari Desert. Dr. Schultze observes that it never goes in packs, but leads a solitary existence. The brown hyena (H. brunnea) is apparently found in South-West Africa, as well as the spotted hyzna, but the Hottentots do not seem clearly to distinguish in nomenclature between the two forms. The supreme interest of this work lies in the descriptions and illustrations of the Hottentot, Bush- men, and Berg-damara peoples. Portraits of the Herero and of the Barolong-Bechuana are also given to contrast the Bantu type with the very distinct Hottentot and Bushman. There are also pictures and descriptions of the Masarwa Bushmen, which would suggest that these last are due to some slight inter- mixture with the intruding Bantu. Opposite p. 420 there are two photographs of the Berg-damara. This is a mountain people found in the northern part of Namakwaland. They speak a language which is obviously Hottentot, but in physical type they are entirely unlike the Hottentot, except that both are widely divergent forms of the negro species. The Berg-damaras are a tall people com- pared to the Hottentots, and hairy about the body, with abundant head hair, and, in the males, full beard and moustache. In shape of head and degree of prog- nathism they exhibit a good deal of variety. There are old photographs in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society (dating from the Palgrave ex- pedition of 1873) which exhibit types of Berg-damara of quite a simian aspect, strongly reminiscent of the most primitive tribes of forest negroes in the Congo basin. On the other hand, the Berg-damara people seen by the writer of this review in South-West Africa in 1882, and illustrated in this book, represent a fairly good-looking type of Bantu negro, and might be matched easily among the Bantu tribes of the southern and eastern Congo basin. Any doubt as to the ape-like faces of the pure-blood Bushmen is dispelled by a glance at the pictures oppo- site p. 322. On the other hand, some of the Hottentot types herein illustrated suggest what is no doubt the obvious solution of their origin—an ancient hybrid between the pure Bushman stock and some Nilotic negro race in the east of Africa, with a dash Ss 3 286 NAT ORE [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 here and there of the forest negro. There has also been an obvious intermixture of blood between the eastern Hottentots and the incoming Bantu, and some of the pictures of Hottentot boys are singularly remin- iscent of the Nyanja populations of western and southern Nyasaland, regions that certainly once possessed a Hottentot or Bushman population. The extraordinary steatopygy developed by the Hottentot women, and occasionally the men, to a degree not met with in any other part of Africa (though by no means unknown among Nilotic or Sudanese negroes, and apparently characteristic of a primitive negroid popu- lation of Egypt and the Mediterranean basin) is also illustrated by photographs and verbal description. What strikes one markedly in the Bushman types and some of the MHottentots is the superficial resemblance they bear in features to the peasant popu- lation of parts of central Europe, — eastern France, and—if one may dare to say so— some parts of Ireland.‘ It is quite possible that the Bushman type of negro once ranged from central and western Europe, across the Mediterranean, and down the east side of Africa to his present habitat. -It is curious that these types do not recall any reminiscences of the Congo pygmy or the West African negro. One is only able to match them in the eastern Sudan and in Europe. The author directs attention to the fact that the Bushmen and Hottentots, where they are un- influenced by the Bantu, do not practise circumcision. They are scarcely in an age of stone; indeed, Dr. Schultze does not seem to record the use of any stone implements. But they are living in an age of bone, wood, and skins. The arrow-heads of the Bushmen are usually made of bone. So are many other imple- ments of Bushman and Hottentot. Wood and leather, gourds, thorns, and sticks are the materials out of which utensils, ornaments, and receptacles are made. Among the many aspects of the life of these primi- tive peoples so completely illustrated in this work are the domestic animals—sheep, goats, and cattle. The dog no doubt migrated south with the Bushman and Hottentot, after a previous sojourn in the Mediter- ranean basin. But obviously, the goat first, then the ox and the sheep, were brought to them from the north by Bantu or Nilotic negroes. The Hottentot root word to express cattle (goma-) is probably derived from the southern Bantu -komo, and biri-, for goat, may be the early Bantu buri, budi. Even the vocable for sheep, gu-, can be traced to a Bantu source. The cattle of these regions, whether belonging to Hottentot or Bantu peoples, are apparently a mixture between breeds introduced two and three hundred years ago by the Portuguese and the Dutch and the two more or less indigenous breeds of Central Africa, that is to say, the humped ox (Bos indicus) and the Gala or Egyptian ox (Bos aegyptiacus), with its enormous horns. Nowhere amongst the herds of any of the southern Bantu or of the Hottentot does one meet with the typical African ox that formerly ranged rom Egypt across the Sudan to Senegambia, and which has penetrated to the mountain regions of the sts hardly need to be reminded that Ireland contains at stinct anthropological types, ranging from the hand- est of European peoples. NO. 2000, VOL. 77 Nile and Congo basins. In this ox of pure breed the horn cores are never set horizontally and curved for- ward over the face; they grow out at right angles from the frontal line, and then upwards and back- wards. It is evident that the cattle introduced from western and northern Europe considerably modified the stock of the South and South-West African breeds. The Hottentot language is profoundly studied in the volume under review. There is a vast deal of information about folklore, rainfall, and temperatures, lists of plants, the musical notation of Hottentot songs, chemical analyses of Hottentot medicines, and a bibliography. If this is the way in which Germany is going to illustrate her colonies, the world of science would gladly install her in possession of all the backward and little-known regions of the world. H. H. Jounston. ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECTS, Alcohol and the Human Body. By Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S., and Dr. Mary D. Sturge, with a Chapter by Dr. Arthur Newsholme. Pp. xvi+370. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 5s. net. HE importance of the alcohol question to the well-being of the rgce can _ scarcely be exaggerated, and in many respects this book will be very useful, but it is questionable whether the authors do not go too far in aseribing to alcohol ill effects only and no useful properties. The book, in fact, is a partisan one, and any evidence favourable to alcohol has been completely suppressed. In the first chapter the action of alcohol as a drug is considered, and it is shown how the use of alcohol has declined in hospitals. The chemistry of alcoholic beverages is then briefly discussed. The effects of alcohol on protoplasm, on the various tissues of the body, and on mental and physical work, are subse- quently described in language which can be under- stood by all, technical terms being avoided, and in the final chapter Dr. Newsholme discusses statistically the influence of the drinking of alcoholic beverages on the national health and wealth. In venturing to make some criticisms on the book as a whole, we would remark that we are in com- plete sympathy with the object of the authors, which is, we take it, to emphasise the disastrous conse- quences which may result from indulgence in alcohol. The first criticism we would offer is that no dis- tinction is made between alcohol and alcoholic beverages. It may be true that alcohol, as alcohol, does not possess all the virtues and properties which are so often attributed to it; but surely there is a consensus of opinion that the moderate use of good, well-matured spirit or wine is frequently beneficial in some disease conditions, and many of the ills attributed to alcohol may well be due to the by- products present in cheap beverages. Alcohol has been shown to occur in small quantities in the tissues; it is a result of normal metabolism; and we therefore question whether the moderate use of alcoholic beverages does any harm. The difficulty is, of course, i ——— FEBRUARY 27, 1908] NATURE 387 to define what is meant by “‘ moderate use ’’; probably a quantity of a beverage equivalent to 1 to 1} fluid ounces of absolute alcohol is as much as can safely be consumed per diem. If this be admitted it must be confessed that a large proportion of so-called moderate drinkers exceed the mark; the man who takes four or five whiskies a day is probably con- suming 2 to 3 ounces of absolute alcohol per diem, and is therefore exceeding what may be considered to be a safe limit. The experiments quoted, in which even weal solutions of alcohol are shown to be proto- plasmic poisons, are hardly convincing as to the deleterious action of alcohol on the organism as < whole, for are not distilled water, 3 per cent. salt solution, and _ beef-tea similarly protoplasmic poisors? A good deal is made of the supposed disastrous effects of alcohol on the nervous system, and it is stated that alcohol is accountable for 20 per cent. of the cases under care in our asylums. Dr. Mott,’ however, says—and he has made the subject one of special study—that ‘‘ alcohol does not per se produce a permanent mental derangement, such as constitutes our definition of insanity,’’ and he points out that in an American inquiry into the subject, total abstinence was found to be more frequently an ante- cedent of insanity than was intemperance. These quotations show how difficult it is to associate cause and effect. Dr. Newsholme deduces from the statistics of the consumption of alcoholic drinks in 1904 that each adult of the working class spends 2s. 23d. a week on alcoholic beverages; and, assuming that each family spends 5s. a week, this, if placed as an insurance premium, commencing at the age of 25, would mean that the husband would have saved the sum of 4221. at the age of 55, which, invested as an annuity, would yield 12s. 6d. a week. These are certainly figures of grave import, and we would commend them to the politicians, for here surely is the basis for a scheme of old age pensions! We doubt, however, if there would actually be any- thing like this saving, for a majority would certainly spend the money on substitutes for alcoholic beverages —tea, coffee, cocoa, milk, and temperance drinks—on better food and clothing, and on amusements, and the actual gain would principally be in the well-being of the people. Finally, incidence of sickness and the percentage death rate among abstainers and non- abstainers is contrasted; among the former the death rate is 3557, among the latter 6532. Dr. Newsholme remarks :—‘* We are compelled to conclude that what is commonly described as moderate drinking has a most injurious effect on health and life.’”’ We feel convinced that the whole story is not told by these figures. No doubt many drunkards were included among the moderate drinkers (as Dr. Newsholme suggests), and probably a large proportion were not moderate drinkers according to our definition; and may it not be that a considerable proportion of naturally delicate persons, persons whose stamina is poor and who suffer from various ailments and tend to die young, are moderate drinkers, while the 1 British Medical Journal, 1907, ii-, p. 797- NO. 2000, VOL. 77] abstainers include a large proportion of robust individuals who do not feel the need for any alcohol ? On the other hand, a number of so-called abstainers are certainly really moderate drinkers, for many tem- perance drinks contain some alcohol. Thus, in the year ending March 31, 1907, of 1133 samples of beverages sold as temperance drinks examined in the Government Laboratory, 71 contained 3 per cent. of proof spirit, 37 contained 4 per cent., and 8 contained 6 per cent. or more. Herb beer and dandelion stout contained respectively 10'5 per cent. and 12°3 per cent. of proof spirit. That is to say, ro per cent. of temperance drinks contain nearly as much alcohol as a mild ale! The book is well got up, and contains a number of coloured and black-and-white illustrations and diagrams. VAN DER WAALS AND HIS SUCCESSORS. Die Zustandsgleichung der Gase und Fliissigkeiten und die Continuitétstheoric. By Prof. J. P. Kuenen. Pp. x+241. (Brunswick: F. Vieweg und Sohn, 1907.) Price 6.50 marks. ROF. KUENEN’S monograph will be welcomed by a large circle of readers who have felt the fascination of van der Waals’s equation in its simple but marvellous exposition of the critical phenomena, and who desire to become acquainted with the results of recent investigations in this important field of work. As the author is able to show in his first four chap- ters, the equation of state affords a complete qualita- tive explanation of the behaviour of gases under vary- ing conditions of temperature and pressure, including those which cause liquefaction. The whole description is admirably clear, but it may be permitted to direct special attention to three points which are not usually discussed; these are (1) the demonstration of the way in which the labile equilibrium (in which pressure and volume increase together) must collapse in such a way as to give rise to two layers of different density (p. 24); (2) the fact that in the metastable region the pv curves for low temperatures intersect and cross the axis of volume, corresponding with the experi- mental observations of Helmholtz and others that liquids may exist under considerable negative pres- sures without vaporisation (p. 28); and (3) the fact that the liquid in a capillary tube out of contact from air is under a pressure less than the normal vapour pressure, and is therefore metastable, and might even become labile if the capillary height were sufficiently great. In spite of its wonderful qualitative accuracy, van der Waals’s equation almost invariably breaks down when accurate quantitative tests are applied (chapters vi. to ix.). Thus, if the values of the critical constants are filled in, the expression RT/PV should have the value $/3=2°67 for all gas; actually argon appears to give a normal value, and hydrogen the value 2°94, but a group of eighteen hydrocarbons and simple deriv- atives gave values ranging from 374 to 379 (p. 60), whilst polymerised liquids gave values between 4 and 5. Similar results are observed in reference to the x 388 IMAL GTREES [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 ratio of the temperature of inversion to the critical temperature; in a number of cases the ratio has the value 2'98, but this figure, though substantially con- stant, differs considerably from the theoretical value 27/8=3°37 (p. 68). In a third table (p. 83) are given the minimum volumes for a series of gases under ex- treme pressure and at low temperatures, as compared with the volumes at the critical point of each gas; the actual values: Oo Cle CO. SO, Coy CCly CyHiO Coby 0'278 0°282 0269 0°243 0°243 0'260 0'255 07253 a~e nearly constant at 0°26, but differ widely from the theoretical value 1/3=0°33. A fourth table (p. 71), in reference to the minima in the pu/v curves, shows a precisely similar result—the four constants which are given for each of three gases agree closely to- gether, but differ widely from those calculated from the equation of state. In view of the failure of van der Waals to give an exact quantitative explanation of the behaviour of liquids and gases, it is natural that many attempts should have been made to correct and improve the original equation. These attempts are described in chapters xii. and xiii., but the fact that the author has found it necessary to discuss something like a dozen different equations is in itself sufficient evidence that the goal has not yet been reached. A part of the difficulty which arises in applying equations such as that of van der Waals is due to the fact that in compounds such as water and the alcohols liquefaction is accompanied by the formation of molecular aggregates (chapter xi.); attention has therefore been directed in recent years mainly to the study of hydrocarbons and similar substances in which this tendency is at a minimum. In most cases the polymerisation is instantaneous, but the author is in- correct in supposing (p. 52) that this is always the case; thus the recent observations of Bamberger and Seligman have shown that in the case of nitroso- butane the association and dissociation (unlike those of nitrogen peroxide) proceed quite gradually. There can be little doubt, however, that he is right in attri- buting the anomalous densities observed by de Heen and others to the presence of impurities rather than to slow changes of molecular aggregation as postu- lated by Traube; on this point the evidence afforded by the author’s own experiments, supplemented by the recent discussion of Verschaffelt, appears to be con- clusive. a. MeL: AMERICAN FORAGE CROPS. Forage Crops for Soiling, Silage, Hay and Pasture. By Dr. Edward B. Voorhees. Pp. xiii+384. (New York: The Macmillan Company; London: Mac- millan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. "THIS book is one of the Rural Science Series, edited by L. H. Bailey, and designed to give the American farmer simple but accurate instruction in scientific agriculture. Some of the series, e.g. King’s ““Soil,”’ are of general interest, and are well known here; the others refer mainly to American conditions, and appeal less to English readers. NO. 2000, VOL. 77 Forage crops are those which are fed in the green state to animals instead of being left to ripen and produce seed: turnips, mangolds, and ‘‘ temporary ”’ grass are all examples. They play a highly impor- tant part in every scheme of general farming; indeed, their introduction into England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries not only revolutionised our agri- cultural practice, but had a considerable indirect effect on the social life of our ancestors. The author deals with practically all the fodder crops grown in the United States, giving details of cultivation and manuring, and, in some cases, sum- maries of the results obtained with the crop at the various experiment stations. These summaries are perhaps the best part of the book, and will be appre- ciated both by the student and the farmer; we should like the author to have extended them by including short descriptions of the soil and climatic conditions. The cultivation and manurial details are treated mainly from the empirical standpoint, and here we cannot help feeling that the author has missed an opportunity. Details are of very great importance in agriculture, but they should hardly be given the chief place in a text-book like the present one. Neither the student nor the practical man can make much of them; there is an endless variety about them, and a scheme that works well on one farm may not prove suitable on another close by. What is wanted is a clear statement of the general requirements of the crop, followed by a few well-chosen detailed illustra- tions. In this way the student gets a real picture that will be of service to him, and the practical man is put in a position to see whether or not he can profit- ably grow the crop. Unfortunately, the author does not quite give us this, and if the schemes he suggests fail, the farmer is not in possession of the principles which would aid him to frame a modification suited to his land. A perusal of the book brings out very clearly the differences between English and American practice in regard to fodder crops. The difference depends not only on climate, but also on labour supply, for in the latter respect the American farmer is worse otf even than his English cousin. We learn, for instance, that one of our best root crops, the mangold, is not widely grown because of the labour required. Its place is taken by green maize, which is partly fed green and partly made into silage. The author also deals with the different ways of using fodder crops—soiling, ensilage, and conversion into hay. Soiling was introduced into the States from Europe in the middle of the last century by Josiah Quincey, whose writings on the subject are so good that it is a pity the author makes no mention of him. The practice con- sists in cutting and carrying green crops to the animals, which are kept in stalls all the year round instead of going out to grass in summer. It has proved to be economical in places where land is dear and labour cheap, but is not likely to displace ensilage in America, notwithstanding the prominent place assigned to it in the book. Indeed, one hardly sees how silage could be improved upon for the American farmer; he has learnt how to make it, and as a FEBRUARY 27, 1908] NALORE 389 labour-saving device for the dairyman it has been ranked with the separator. Certain statements will want correction in a future edition. Weare told, for instance, that ‘‘ the covering of land in summer prevents the temperature from rising so high as to destroy the organisms of the soil.”” De do 1 OUR BOOK SHELF. Astronomischer Jahresbericht, Vol. viii. Die Liter- atur des Jahres 1906. By A. Berberich. Pp. xXxxvi+671. (Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1907.) Price 21 marks. ASTRONOMERS are fortunate in the matter of having their literature catalogued, for, in addition to the volume published by the Royal Society for the Inter- national Council, we have this very excellent annual, instituted by the late Dr. Walter F. Wislicenus, which has now reached its eighth volume. The contents of the present issue deal with the literature of the year 1906, and it only requires a cursory glance to indicate how important it is that such a catalogue is in existence, considering the great mass of work that is being turned out every year and published, not only in all sorts of journals, but in various languages. The very arduous task of collating and cataloguing is now annually being successfully accomplished by Dr. Berberich and his co-workers, and an important feature about the publication is its early issue. In the present volume, which contains no less than 1g6t separate brief abstracts of published papers, accompanied by a complete name-index, some minor changes have been made. Thus all references to publications with regard to minor planets are brought together under one section number, and the tabular statement of their observation is here omitted, as it appears in full in the Berlin Astronomical Year-book. The literature relating to comets is now divided between two sections, while one section includes the whole of meteor-astronomy. In spite of the above and other alterations, the volume is not reduced in size, for longer abstracts are given of works of greater importance. The value of this publication to astronomers cannot be overestimated, and it behoves everyone interested in this science to support it, so that the continuation of future issues may be assured. Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektrochemie auf thermo- dynamischer Grundlage. By J. J. van Laar. Pp. xii+307. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann; Amster- dam: S. L. van Looy, 1907.) Price 6 marks. THE present volume differs greatly in character from these to which we are accustomed from the pen of Dr. van Laar. His ‘‘ Thermodynamik in der Chemie ”’ and his ‘t Lehrbuch der mathematischen Chemie ’’ are so formal in their nature, so mathematical in their dress, and so slightly connected with the facts of observation, that the majority of chemists can have derived little benefit from them, excellent though they may be of their kind. Here the author adopts a different method; the mathematical deductions have the clearness and conciseness which might be ex- pected, but everywhere the experimental data are brought into the foreground, so that the electrochemist with a modest mathematical equipment may hope to gain a clear view of the thermodynamical theory of his science. The book is divided into twelve chapters, of which the first deals with electrical units, chapters ii.-iv. NO. 2000, VOL. 77 | with conductivity, chapter v. with diffusion, chapters vi.-x. with electromotive force, chapter xi. with polarisation, and chapter xii. with capillary electric phenomena, A good account of the work of Kohlrausch is given in chapter iii., and the recent researches of Walden and others on the conductivity of non-aqueous solu- tions, and of Lorenz on fused electrolytes, are well summarised in chapter iv. Chapter vii., on the par- tition equilibrium of electrolytes, contains much that is novel. Altogether it may be said that the book is readable, original, and suggestive. Coal. By James Tonge. Pp. vii+275. Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 6s. net. Tue author recently published an excellent little work on coal-mining for the use of students. It is dis- appointing, therefore, to find that in writing a book on coal for the general reader he has been less suc- cessful. The work appears to have been hastily com- piled, and the proofs carelessly revised. For example, the Ruhr appears as ‘‘ Rurh,’’ Courriéres as ‘‘ Cour- rieries,’? Anzin as ‘‘ Auzin,’’ Resicza as ‘ Kesicza,’’ and Karwin as “* Kirwin.”’ There is a useful chapter on the preparation of coal for the market; and the chapter on the botany of the Coal-measure plants is excellent, though somewhat technical for the general reader. Both these chapters are admirably illustrated. The chapters on the British and foreign coalfields, on the valuation and uses of coal, on the production of heat from coal, and on the waste of coal, contain, however, little that is not better set forth in the report of the Royal Commission on Coal Supplies, in the valuable digest of that report published by the Colliery Guardian, in Prof. Flux’s revised edition of Jevons’s work, or in other works dealing with coal. Of such works many _ have recently been published, for we cannot agree with the author that ‘it is now many years since a work on coal was presented to the public.”’ (London : 1907.) Price EEDRERS, LO THE EDITOR: |The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] The Speed of Racing Animals. In Nature, March 14, 1907, p. 463, there is an article giving the results obtained by Prof. Kennelly, of Harvard, from an examination of racing records. There is no harm in again directing the attention of your readers to these results. Prof. Kennelly’s paper was sent July 6, 1906, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and published in the Proceedings in December, 1906. It is entitled ‘‘ An Approximate Law of Fatigue in the Speeds of Racing Animals.’’ His general result is given in a question set by me in an examination in practical mathematics, January, 1907. Here is the question :— If t seconds is the record time of a race of y yards; the law t=cy” seems to be wonderfully true for all record races of men and animals excepting men on bicycles; m is the same number in all cases. c has a special value in each case, men walking, running, skating, swimming, or rowing; horses trotting or galloping or pacing. (1) For any particular kind of race it is found that when y is increased by 100 per cent., t is increased by 118 per cent. ; find n. (2) For men running, when y=600, t is 71; find ¢ in the above formula. Express s, the average speed of each race, in terms of y. (3) Assume that an animal has a certain amount of endurance E which is exhausted at a uniform rate during NALORE \ [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 399 the race, and that E=E,+kt, where E, and k are con- stants. Calling E/t the rate of fatigue f, express this in terms of s. Assuming that an animal going at s, miles per hour feels no fatigue, or when s=s,, f=0; find f in terms of s. (1) Contains the general result; the law is that ft is proportional to y% or yl, Jt may be stated in various other ways; for example, that the average speed in each race is inversely proportional to the eighth root of y, or a race 256 times as far is done at half the average speed. In short races there is increase of speed at the beginning and almost always increase near the end; and it may be that there is continuous change of speed during all record races. We have only average speeds recorded, unfortunately, but still I must consider this wonderful general law to be worthy of the attention of biologists. (3) Contains a poor speculation of my own, good enough for such an examination; the answer to it is that f is equal to E,c*(s°—s,°). There is nothing extraordinary in the fact that record bicycle races do not follow the law; they have been run on machines of varying quality. The values of c found by Prof. Kennelly are, his distances y being in metres:—trotting horse, 0-0295 ; pacing horse, 0-0291; running horse, 0.0236; man running, 0-0588; man walking, 0-o861; man skating, 0-0385; man swimming, 0-381. Men rowing, four oars, 0-0628; two Oars, 0-0768; singles, 0-0824. Joun Perry. Royal College of Science, S.W. The Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere. Tue investigation of the upper air which has been in progress during recent years has revealed conditions for which it is very hard to find an explanation. When Mr. Rorech first inaugurated observations on temperature and humidity by means of kites, it was hoped that the results obtained would solve many problems connected with meteorology, and this hope was strengthened when M. Teisserenc de Bort greatly extended the height to which observations could be made by his system of ballons sondes. It has not, however, been realised, and we seem to be as far as ever from knowing mechanism of the cyclonic storms that are so common in the oceanic parts of the temperate latitudes. Since last June some forty balloons have been sent up Cave’s balloon from Ditcham Park reached the isothermal layer at 36,000 feet, and its temperature was —42° F. Over Oxfordshire the height was 38,500 feet, and the temperature —58° F., while at the same time, which was a little after sunset, Mr. Petavel, at Manchester, found it at 37,000 feet, with a temperature of —74° F. This is not an isolated instance, and although the heights given may be uncertain to an extent of perhaps 5 per cent. or even more, it is very unlikely that the error in the temperature can exceed three or four degrees F. It may be accidental, but the temperature over Ditcham Park, which is near the sea, shows a tendency to exceed that over the Midlands. The balloons mostly drift to the eastward, the centre of their falling points being thirty-four miles E., 23° N., of the starting point. Doubtless several of the unfound balloons fell in the North Sea, as some have been returned from France and Holland. Various suggestions have been made to account for these results. There is, of course, no difficulty about the general decrease of temperature with height, but why should the fall suddenly cease when from one-third to one-fourth of the mass of the atmosphere remains above? In general, the transition point is perfectly sharp and distinct. It is said that the vertical circulation ceases at this point, and no doubt the statement is true, but why should it cease? There is a further difficulty. The absence of vertical motion implies a condition of equilibrium, but how can there be equilibrium with such large horizontal differences of temperature? At the height of 40,000 feet the pressure is small, and therefore trifling changes of pressure produce large changes of volume and tempera- ture; hence large changes of temperature might be ex- pected if we could assume some horizontal force, com- parable with gravity, and capable of producing changes of pressure without producing vertical motion. The hori- zontal acceleration due to centrifugal force in a curvilinear | path and that produced on a moving body by the earth’s | rotation are too small; also it seems to me that these the cause and | in Great Britain, carrying with them a small instrument | which draws automatically a pressure diagram, and of these more than thirty have been re- covered. The results confirm those previously obtained on the Continent, and no doubt can now remain about the existence of the curious isothermal layer in the atmosphere. Briefly, the more important phenomena are these. As we ascend the temperature of the air decreases, at first often irregularly, with breaks and inversions, but after the first 10,000 feet (3 kilometres) have been passed with fair regularity, the usual decrease being about 3°-3 F. per 1000 feet (6° C. per kilometre). This continues to a height that varies, as a rule, from 30,000 feet to 40,000 feet. Nearly always at somewhere about this height the decrease suddenly ceases. Above this point the air in most cases gets a little warmer; occasionally, however, it con- tinues to get cooler, but at a totally different rate, and we may take the remaining air to be at one practically uniform temperature in so far as change of height ‘is concerned. This isothermal layer, as it has been called, has been reached in England more than thirty times. On the average its height is about 35,000 feet (10-7 kilometres), but the extreme values found were 25,500 feet and 49,000 feet. As a rule, it is higher than the mean when the baro- meter is high, and conversely. Its mean temperature was found to be —53°-6 F. (—47° C.), and the extremes were 22° F., at Ditcham Park, Hants, on July 24; —24° F., at Crinan, on July 26; —78° F., at Pyrton Hill, Oxford- shire, on September 12, 1907, and also on February 5, 1908 ; and —74° F., at Manchester, on November 7, 1907. This mean value is considerably higher than the Con- tinental one for previous years, but as thirty observations do not suffice to give a true mean, this may be accidental. Balloons have been sent up from five stations on the same day, and the temperatures over the stations have been found to differ widely. Thus on November 11 Mr. NO, 2000, VOL. 77 | temperature | forces, being due to motion of the air, must produce some vertical circulation, which apparently does not exist. The problem is one of the most interesting presented at the present time to physical science, and it is not unlikely that its solution might clear up many other puzzling questions. W. H. Dives. The Inheritance of ‘‘ Acquired” Characters. Mr. ArcHDALL Reip in his previous letter said (p. 293) “innate characters arise inevitably as the child develops, | whereas some acquirements are more or less rare, but this is only because the stimulus of nutriment is inevitably received, whereas the stimulus of a particular use or injury may not be received. If, however, the latter bv received, the acquirement arises just as inevitably as the innate characters.’’ This latter statement ‘seemed to me particularly incorrect for the reasons which I stated; and now Mr. Reid practically admits (p. 342) that it cannot be accepted as it stands, in face of the fact that the inherent tendencies of the germs of different human beings vary so much, and must therefore react variously to the stimulus of use. My chief objection, however, to Mr. Reid’s view was that contained in his statement that ‘‘in man the main difference between the infant and the adult is due to use acquirements made by the latter during development.’’ His whole case in the discussion hinges upon this state ment, by which he seeks to establish a purely arbitrary distinction between the causes leading to the development | of the human being anterior to birth and subsequent to birth—the stimulus in the one case, he says, being nutri- ment, and in the other use. As an illustration of his posi- tion, Mr. Reid said (p. 293) :—‘' Thus, if the limb of an infant be paralysed it grows comparatively little, and the muscles atrophy.’’ But this is by no means to be taken as a simple illustration of the fact that the muscles will not develop except under the stimulus of use, because the illustration ignores the fact that what happens in the way of retarded growth of the paralysed limb, together with | actual atrophy of muscles, is, quite apart from the lack of | use, largely due to a severance of the normal relations between the limb and the great nerve centres, and the ¥ Fepruary 27, 1908] NATURE 391 ” consequent cutting off of the “ trophic influence cised by the latter. Again, it is a part of Mr. Reid’s doctrine, as he tells us, to regard the power of walking and the power of speaking as use acquirements, while I, on the contrary, hold that the effects of use-exercise seem to be predominant in these cases simply because the efforts made to walk or to talk take place pari passu with the development of the nerve centres concerned with such accomplishments. As I have said elsewhere (‘‘ The Brain as an Organ of Mind,’’ p. 562), ‘‘ the helpless condition of the infant monkey and of the human infant at birth are similarly to be ascribed, in great part, to the immature condition of their great nerve centres. Many of the movements which they slowly learn to perform are doubtless rendered possible by, and acquired coincidently with, the actual development of those nerve cells and fibres in the spinal cord and medulla which are instrumental in the execution of such movements. Thus, when we say that the young child “learns ’ to perform these movements, it should be under- stood that this word is here applicable only in a very qualified sense. . . . But for the existence of this organic nisus (in the form of an inherited tendency to develop in certain modes and directions) the human infant could never so readily as it does acquire the power of executing the excessively complex movements which are concerned in standing, in walking, or in articulate speech.” In illustration of these views I have cited cases in which walking was an untaught act in a child at the end of her second year, as there had been no previous trials and failures; and also a case (loc. cit., p. 607) in which a child who had been absolutely dumb up to the end of his fifth year suddenly began to speak under an emotional stimulus. Another very similar modern case, as well as two cases recorded by ancient writers, of untaught acts of speech are also cited in my work on ‘‘ Aphasia and other Speech Defects ’’ (1898, pp. 6-8). No explanation of such facts seems possible except on the supposition that speech has now become a truly auto- matic act for human beings. Such untaught acts of speech would not, however, be possible unless cerebral develop- ment had been taking place in a normal manner, and unless the auditory sense and intelligence were unaffected. These are some of the reasons why I dissent from Mr. Reid’s view that ‘‘ in man the main difference between the infant and the adult is due to use acquirements made by the latter during development,’? and why I say that post- natal growth and development are essentially due to the same inherent causes as pre-natal growth, notwithstanding the fact that use-exercise comes in as a powerful aid during the former period. As to the extraordinary power of memorising shown by Chinese and Mohammedan children to which I referred Mr. Reid, in accordance with his views he would deny that any influence is to be ascribed to the practice in memorising carried on by ancestors of the children through very many previous generations; and in that case he must suppose that English children, as a class, should be capable of showing similar feats of memory, even though their ancestors had not been accustomed to any extra- ordinary exercise of their memorial faculty. For the rest, that Mr. Reid’s views do not suffice to close the controversy as to the inheritance of ‘‘ acquired ”’ characters may be easily seen by any of your readers who will refer to Herbert Spencer’s ‘‘ Principles of Biology,” revised edition, 1898, App. C, pp. 692-695, and to his “Facts and Comments,’’ 1902, pp. 92-96. I might even venture to refer your reviewer, ‘‘A. D. D.,’’ to a con- sideration of the facts and arguments set forth in these works. H. Cwariton BastIan. The Athenzeum, London, February 15. exer= “ “ I sap that acquirements are just as ‘‘ innate ’”’ as “‘ in- born’ chatacters. Dr. Bastian read this—I am sure I cannot imagine why—as implying a denial of the occur- rence of variations. I repudiated his interpretation, and this he now terms an admission! The muscles of a limb atrophy equally when they are rendered useless by joint disease as when there is ‘‘ severance between the limb and the great nerve centres.” NO. 2000, VOL. 77] The Lamarckian doctrine is founded on two unproved assumptions :—(1) that use causes development in all characters, and (2) that parental acquirements tend to affect the germ-cells in such a way that the traits which arise in the parent under the stimulus of use are repro- duced by offspring under the stimulus of nutriment—that is, when the parent acquires one thing the child is sup- posed to ‘‘inherit’’ something inherently different and much less useful. The second assumption was formerly universal, but has now been abandoned by the vast majority of biologists. Most of us know, or think we know, how great an obstacle it was to the attainment of truth and how much deeper and clearer has become our knowledge of nature since its abandonment. We suppose it was held merely because men tend to accept current beliefs without bestowing on them that critical and_ sceptical thought which is one of the essentials of real scientific work. The first assumption is still very generally made, and I think for the same reason. Unsupported by an iota of evidence and obscuring the fact that a principal feature of the evolution of the higher animals has been the evolution of a power of developing under the stimulus of use, it is as great an obstacle to the recognition of truth as the other. Many human structures are plainly incapable of developing under the stimulus of use, for example, hair, teeth, external ears, and memory. These are wholly ‘‘ in- born’ (i.e. developed under the stimulus of nutriment). The evidence seems massive that many lower animals, for example, the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, owe little or no part of their physical and mental development to use. Hence their lack of individual adaptability. But higher in the animal scale, memory (the power of profiting by mental experience, of growing mentally under the stimulus of use) becomes apparent, and increases until it bestows on man all that makes him preeminently the educable, rational, and adaptable being. Pari passu with this increase of the power of growing mentally under the stimulus of use has occurred an equally great evolution of the power of grow- ing physically under the same stimulus. In my view, then, (1) while memory and the homologous power of growing physically are “‘inborn,’’ all that arises from the exercise of them is ‘‘acquired’’; (2) not all human characters are capable of developing under the stimulus of use, but only a majority of them; and (3) in the case of the latter all, or nearly all, that separates the infant from the adult is due to the stimulus of use. Either Dr. Bastian is putting the cart before the horse or T am. I believe, for example, that use develops body and mind until we are able to walk, talk, and so forth. He believes, apparently, that we would develop physically and mentally into mature men, and would walk and talk and get a knowledge of Latin and so on even if we never used body and mind. The blessed words ‘‘ trophic influences ’’ and ‘‘ organic nisus ’’ afford him complete satisfaction. Surely his assumption is made ‘‘in the face of multitudinous difficulties.’’ To him man’s adaptability, the vastness of his memory, the great development in him of the instincts of sport, curiosity, and imitativeness, which impel him to make precisely the physical and mental acquirements which bring him into harmony with his own individual environ- ment, tell no tale. He is in a position as unhappy as those investigators who, before defining what they mean by “‘inheritable,’? spend years of labour in ascertaining exactly what is ‘‘ inherited.”’ Mr. Cunningham says, ‘‘ innate characters are those which develop without any stimulus except what Dr. Reid calls the stimulus of nutrition,’’? or nutriment as I prefer to term it. But is not nutriment ‘‘ external ’’? A scar cannot develop under this stimulus, and I imagine it would puzzle Mr. Cunningham to explain in what sense nutriment is more innate than injury or use. Obviously all characters develop under the influence of some external stimulus, and the distinctions between characters are due, not to greater or lesser innateness, but to the kinds of stimuli that cause them to appear. Acquirements arise for precisely the same reason that all inborn characters arise—because evolution has created the power of responding in quite definite ways to quite definite external stimuli; clearly, then, they are innate in precisely the same sense as inborn characters. February 21. G. ArcupaLt REID. so NATURE [Fepruary 27, 1908 Mr. CunninGHAM says (p. 367) that my article was as dogmatic as it could possibly be. It was meant to be. It was meant to stir up those who continue to use the old terms ‘‘acquired’’ and ‘“‘innate’’ without really bothering much about their signification. It has achieved its object admirably. He also says that I assert that there ‘‘is no sense in the distinction between acquired characters and innate ones with regard to inheritance ’’’ [which I did not say], ‘“that all characters are both acquired and innate” [which I did]; he continues:—‘‘ This in the accepted meaning of the words is simply untrue.’’ Well, of course it is. My point was that the accepted meaning of the terms was vague, that it had led to confusion, and that it ought to be dropped. Mr. Cunningham does not follow me. I am willing to admit that that may be my fault. I fully recognise, as he does, that the characters of organisms may be divided into two big categories, which have for a long time been called ‘‘ acquired’’ and “‘ innate.’? But I hold that the difference between these two classes of characters is very inadequately expressed by the terms ‘‘ acquired ”’ and “‘ innate,’’ and that a much better, though, of course, provisional, classification of characters is into (a) those which owe their existence to the interaction between some innate factor and the stimulus (for want of a better term) of nutrition, and (b) those which owe their existence to the interaction between some innate factor and the stimulus of use or injury. The view that all characters are acquired during ontogeny as the result of a definite stimulus acting on an innate factor was expressed by Weldon (Biometrika, vol. i., p. 367), who has also described (loc. cit.) how he succeeded in preventing the appearance of the amnion in the hen’s egg by withholding the necessary stimulus. A full answer to Mr. Cunningham’s letter is quite out of the question, because it would involve a discussion on all the meanings of the terms ‘‘ innate ’’ and ‘‘ acquired ”’ and a history of their use, which could not be compressed within the limits of a single number of Nature. But reference must be made to one of the things “‘ innate,”’ as opposed to acquired, certainly does not mean. What- ever it means, it does not mean what it literally means. It does not mean the kind of character one is born with. Before it was known that all organisms develop from a single cel! it may have meant that, but now that we know that they do, we regard classifications of characters into those which appear before the act which separates intra-uterine from extra-uterine, and those which appear after it, as interesting from a historical point of view only. Yet in this year 1908 we actually read in a letter to Nature (I am not quoting from memory) that a Negro “is brown (not black) when he is born; that is an innate character.”’ The facts are true, of course, but not relevant. The fact that a negro is brown when he happens to be born does not matter. The fact we have to face is that the ovum which gave rise to Booker T. Washington was probably not browner than that which gave rise to George. The statement that the colour of the former is innate does not in the least help us to understand the causes to which the difference between the colours of the two men is due. JeX5 1D)5 ID), [FURTHER space cannot be devoted to this correspondence. —Ep.] “ce The Possibility of Life in Mars. THE perseverance with which Prof. Lowell has prosecuted | his investigation of the surface markings of Mars compels ! admiration; the evidence he has brought forward for the objective reality of much of the detail he has shown in his sketches serves to convince many reluctant minds; but the interpretation he has put upon these markings, in of phenomena associated with life as we know it on our own planet, requires stronger evidence than he has Be brought forward in view of the considerations that follow. The blue-sreen its change the chang terms coloration he attributes to vegetation ; ) chocolate-brown to the fading of verdure with in the season. If we grant that the conditions on Mars have been possibly such as to allow of the develop- NO. 2000, VOL. 77 | / / ment of living organisms from inorganic matter, is it likely that the course of evolution has been so exactly similar to that on the earth that a chlorophyll-bearing organism has resulted? Like conditions produce like results—granted; but when one considers the quasi- fortuitous nature of the conditions determining the characters of those organisms that survive in the process of evolution, the remoteness of the probability that the development of the power of forming chlorophyll should happen twice, in two independent evolutionary systems, seems overwhelming. Again, Prof. Lowell attributes the markings which he considers irrigation systems to intelligent beings. It is possible that that high degree of adaptability to environ- ment, which we call intelligence, might have evolved independently on two planets, but it seems in a very high degree improbable. Similarly, other points in his scheme of interpretation may be conceivable, but highly improbable. But the probability of the whole is the continued product of all the independent probabilities! The evidence, then, in favour of Prof. Lowell’s views will require to be of a much more overwhelming character to claim the assent of those who appreciate their extreme improbability. Opposition to the views of Prof. Lowell has generally been based on difficulties regarding the physical condition of Mars. It is the object of this letter to emphasise the far greater improbabilities involved in the biological aspect. Prof. Lowell attributes the reluctance of many to accept his position to the emotions of men. I venture to think that emotions are in his favour; it is the human desire for an anthropomorphic interpretation of nature—in this case perhaps one should rather say a geomorphic interpre- tation—that has prompted his views, and but for which they would receive small consideration. C. O. Bartrum. 12 Heath Mansions, N.W., February 17. In Dr. William Lockyer’s review of Dr. Russel Wallace’s book on the habitability of Mars he refers to Dr. Johnstone Stoney’s contention that aqueous vapour cannot exist on a planet of that size because the velocity of the molecules would be too great for its attraction to retain them. I do not know what temperature was assumed in the calculation, but a dozen miles above the surface of the planet the temperature of its atmosphere must approach absolute zero—a condition of things in which even hydrogen would not have the necessary velocity to escape. The question is an important one for those who are interested in the history of the earth, for, whether we choose the nebular or planetesimal view of its origin, there must have been a time when the attraction it exercised on the outer portion of its atmosphere was far less than at present, and if Dr. Johnstone Stoney were right there would be some difficulty in understanding how any wate=> vapour remained. J. W. Evans. Imperial Institute, S.W., February 15. The Stresses in Masonry Dams. Pror. Prarson’s letter in Nature of February 20 requires little in the way of reply from me, since my essential point is now admitted, viz. that the stresses xx and gz are practically the same in a slab, whether it be free or form part of a complete dam. I should, however, like to point out to Prof. Pearson, re his comparison between a parabola and an equivalent sine curve, that at 5° the ordinate is only one-twelfth the maximum ordinate, so that an error of 30 per cent. in this ordinate is one of but 22 per cent. on the maximum, which would be, accord- ingly, absolutely negligible in practical engineering. As regards the remainder of his letter, engineers have the support of many eminent elasticians in their refusal to accept his and St. Venant’s dictum that the maximum stretch is the proper criterion of the safety of a structure. In any,case, the true criterion is a question for the engineer and the physicist, and not for the mathematician. The most recent experiments, I may add, negative Prof. Pearson’s views on this head. H. M. Martin. 83 St. James’s Road, Croydon. _ 2 FERRUARY ep ee WATE Tee 93 ey o THREE ANIMAL BIOGRAPHIES. ME: LONG is always interesting and original, and he is especially so in the daintily illustrated little volume standing first on our list, of which indi- viduality in animals seems to be the keynote. Pre- mising that no species breeds true in all its indi- viduals, the author urges that analogous differences in temper, disposition, and mind reveal themselves to those who take the trouble to observe closely. All who make pets of cats, dogs, horses, and other domes- ticated animals are fully convinced of the existence in them of individual traits and idiosyncrasies; and the apparent absence of these in wild species seems due merely to the want of careful and minute observation of their habits. That such individualities do exist the author demonstrates, for example, in the case of the American lynx, which, although normally a cowardly and slinking creature, will on occasion follow the trail of a hunter with as mischievous intent as a panther. As usual, Mr. Long discusses members of widely different groups, and in the present volume we have delightful peeps into the life-histories of the black bear, the wolf, the wild goose, the trout, and other denizens of the forest and the stream. Where all is good, it is diffi- cult to make a selection; but we have per- sonally found special interest in the chapter on the bear. Describing the actions of a bear when ant-hunting, the author tells us that ‘‘he just knocks the top off the hill, stirs up the nest, and lies down quietly, placing his fore-paws where the ants are thickest. At first he makes no effort to pick up the hurrying insects, workers and fighters, which swarm out of their tunnels. . . . ‘ Moorween ’ waits till they crawl over the big black object that rests over the nest, and then he begins to lick his paws more and more greedily as he tastes the acid things. . . . So he gets all he wants, cleanly from his own paws, instead of filling his mouth with dust and chaff, as he must do if he attempted to catch them in any other way.’’ Many other passages in this attractive volume bear equally eloquent tes- timony to the closeness with which its author has observed the habits of the creatures he loves so well and describes so graphically. In the volume standing second on our list, Mr. Graham Renshaw brings to a close his long series of articles on mammals, interesting either from their rarity or from peculiarities in their structure or habits. The four-and-twenty species here discussed include a very varied selection, ranging from the musk-ox and the European bison to the Pacific walrus, the Tasmanian devil, and the platypus. As in the case of the earlier essays, the author deals specially with the his- | torical aspect of his subject, and furnishes his readers with a large amount of detail connected with speci- mens exhibited in menageries and museums. Several 1(z) “Whose Home is the Wilderness ; Life.” By W. J. Long. Pp. xxi+230; illustrated. (Boston, U.S.A., and London: Ginn and Co., 1907.) Price 5s. net. (2) ‘* Final Natural History Essays.” By Graham Renshaw. 225; illustrated. (London and Manchester: Price 6s. net. (3) “* Home-Life P. H. Bahr. Price 2s. 6d. NO. 2000, VOL. 77] some Studies of Wild Animal Sherratt and Hughes, 1907.) of some Marsh-Birds.” 0 By Emma L. Turner and Pp. 62; 32 plates. (London: Witherby and Co., 1907.) Pp. xii- | Bearded Titmouse and Young. of the illustrations are taken from specimens in the British Museum, and among these special attention may be directed to the one of the Congo buffalo, as an example of what may be accomplished in the way of photographing animals as they stand in the cases of the exhibition galleries. We may, however, ven- ture to take exception to the photograph of a very tame-looking park bull being made to do duty for the extinct aurochs ; and we should also like to know why the author, in defiance of Herberstain’s evidence, states that the latter animal was mainly white. The From ‘‘ Home-Life of some Marsh Birds.” assertion that all typical sheep have a_lacrymal gland (p. 114) seems also to be contrary to fact, while the statement (p. 105) that two Greenland musk- oxen exhibited in 1900 were the first examples of their race known to science is contradicted on the follow- ing page by a reference to calves received in England in 1899. The author has evidently devoted a large amount of time to working out the history of the various species, and he has certainly succeeded in producing a very attractive volume. oot NATURE | FEBRUARY 27, 1908 One of the objections to the employment of photo- graphy as a means of illustrating natural history books is that very frequently the animals are taken in postures which do not display their leading char- acteristics, and thus render the pictures more or less completely useless for the purpose of specific identifi- cation. The same thing applies in the matter of characteristic attitudes and the nature of the habitat; and, in the case of birds, to the form of the nest ana the appearance and growth stages of its occupants. To remedy these shortcomings in the case of the feathered denizens of British marshes has been the main object of the authors of the charming little volume standing third in our list. They have set themselves the task of portraying marsh-birds in positions and attitudes which will render the pictures of real service to the scientific ornithologist; and we venture to think that the verdict of their readers will be a pronouncement of unqualified success in this re- spect. As a specially good example of their work we may cite Miss Turner’s photograph of a bearded titmouse, showing the black face-marks of the cock from which the species takes its name. This would not print satisfactorily in the pages of Nature, but we are able to give another illustration showing the bird feeding its young. The book does not, however, depend entirely on its illustrations, and even in such a hackneyed subject as the life-history of British birds, the reader will find much of interest in the brightly written biographies which accompany the plates. R. STUDIES IN NATIONAL DEGENERATION.! gps several aspects of study which the statistics deal with in this memoir are chiefly parental and fraternal heredity, the fertility of tuberculous stocks, and the distribution of pulmonary tuberculosis in tubercular families. Prof. Pearson’s observations are admittedly, from a numerical standpoint, wholly insufficient, but if his deductions are thereby rendered inconclusive, he has pointed the way and laid the foundation for further study of an _ all-important subject. Prof. Pearson discusses only pulmonary tuber- culosis, that is, phthisis, or, as it is popularly termed, consumption; yet even with this limitation it is un- comfortable reading that about 1o per cent. of the inhabitants of the British Isles are affected by pul- monary tuberculosis. Unfortunately, other organs besides the lungs become the seat of tuberculosis, and their disorganisation is attended by as serious results as when the lungs alone are considered. It may be that tuberculosis of the lung is, from the point of possible national deterioration, not the most deadly form of the ailment. Tubercular diseases of the bones of the joints, of the lymphatic system, and of several of the organs other than the lungs, prevail to an extent little appreciated as being of an equally deadly nature, with the more evident lesions in the lungs. They all indicate a diathesis, and give rise to types of infirmities well known to medical men. These evils of tuberculosis, therefore, are much more widely spread than pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption would give us to understand, and being less manifest to the public scrutiny are more insidious and more apt to be neglected in the reckoning of tuberculous disease generally. That heredity plays an important part in tuber- culous disease is, in Prof. Pearson’s opinion, un- 1 Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, II. A First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. By Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S. Pp. 26. (London: Dulau and Co., 1907.) Price 3s. NO 2000, VOL. 77 | doubted. Recent beliefs point rather to infection as being the major element in rendering the disease so prevalent, and it is noteworthy that Prof. Pearson in- clines to the older belief of heredity. He finds that tubercular lung trouble is chiefly prevalent amongst those who inherit a predisposition, that is, a phthis- ical or consumptive diathesis. It is impossible, how- ever, Owing to insufficient data, to assume that the tendency to any disease is inherited in the same sense as are physical and mental characteristics, but did inheritance not explain the matter it is difficult to understand how anyone escapes the disease, seeing that, in urban districts especially, the tubercle germ is so prevalent that ‘‘ few individuals who lead a moderately active life can escape an almost daily msk of infection.”’ Such being the case, the tubercle germ can thrive best in the suitable soil to be met with in lung tissues which are prepared by hereditary predisposition, or, in some cases, by what may be termed accidentally acquired predisposition in the lung tissues themselves, by previous local lesions. That the predisposition to the lung becoming the seat of tuberculous disease is to be statistically ranged alongside well-established inherited characteristics, such as physical and mental traits are known to be, can only be proved by obtain- ing complete histories of multitudes of families and family stocks. This, however, is at present a long way off being established, and until this gap is filled any deductions we make at present can only be speculative for the most part. The period of life during which tuberculosis is most likely to show itself in the lungs is between the ages of twenty and thirty. The mean age of onset in men is set down at the twenty-ninth year, and in women at the twenty-fifth year. The actual danger zone cannot, however, he said to be passed until the fortieth year, or perhaps the forty-third year, is passed. The observation that there is but an insignificant difference between the time of onset of the disease when some member of the household is the subject of tuberculosis and when no member is thus afflicted is rather against the infection theory pure and simple; for with the constant possibility of infection in the immediate environment, phthisis should, according to infection beliefs, appear at an earlier age than statistics seem to show. After discussing the part played by parental and fraternal heredity, Prof. Pearson concludes that the tuberculous diathesis is inherited in the same way and with the same intensity as the physical characters are inherited in man. Concerning the fertility of tuberculous stocks, Prof. Pearson shows that the pathological conditions do not tend to reduce fertility, but, on the other hand, that such stocks appear to be quite as fertile, and in all probability are more fertile, than normal stocks of the same class in the community at large. The fact, however, that tuberculosis is a disease of youth and early middle life distinctly lowers the marriage rate and limits the child-bearing period of such stocks, and thus reduces the total number of offspring born to tuberculous people; there can be no doubt that by the inbreeding of purely tuberculous persons the stock would become in time extinct. The question of order of birth, that is, whether the child belongs to the early or late portion of a given tuberculous family, is of considerable interest. Are the elder or the younger members of the family the more liable to develop tuberculosis and to possess a tuber- culous diathesis? The children of old people, of, say, a man over sixty and a woman of forty-seven, are popu- larly believed to be handicapped in the struggle for life owing to inherited physical defects. There is no FEBRUARY 27, 1908 | real evidence that this is the case, as many instances for and against the contention can be given. Whether the child of elderly parents is healthy or not depends not so much upon the age as upon the health of the parents; for a man with, say, Bright’s disease—the prevalent ailment of men over sixty—will certainly not beget a healthy offspring. It would seem, however, from a general study of constitutional defects which are inherited, that the elder members of the family are more liable to suffer than the younger. In the case of tuberculous families, as well as with stocks giving no parental tuberculous history, the elder offspring, especially the first and second, appear subject to tuber- culosis at a very much higher rate than the younger members. This observation is of especial interest when the modern notion of the limitation of families is con- sidered. There are few ‘‘ younger members ”’ to the small and limited families of to-day. The two or three children born to a couple of parents would repre- sent the elder branches only of the ‘‘ old-fashioned family ’’ of a dozen of some fifty years ago. We have just seen that Prof. Pearson declares that the first and second child are endowed with all forms of path- ological heritage, and if there are only two children in the family, the limited family of the present day is producing a community of persons highly endowed with a pathological heritage, uncorrected in its national deteriorating effect had there been later children of the marriage—that is, children less likely to have inherited in a marked manner the pathological tissues or diathesis of their parents. If we are to believe the above statement, and there is no evidence against its being logically acceptable, we are brought face to face with the question of the benefit or otherwise of the law of primogeniture which so largely obtains all the world over. From a racial standpoint the first and second children, as we have seen above, are the worst members of the family to beget a stock free from pathological taints; yet it is to the eldest son that the preservation of the family, and its possessions, its titles, or its wealth, is entrusted. To push this point to its seemingly logical conclusion, it would come about that the eldest son of one family marrying the eldest daughter of another family would in time lead to an effete progeny and the extinction of the power of rearing children. a prophylactic agency in this scheme of pathologic inheritance, it would appear essential, to correct the deteriorating effects of intermarriage between elder members of different families, that the eldest child of one family should marry with a younger child of another family. The limitation of families to one or two children is therefore a highly detrimental factor in national eugenics, for not only is there no allowance for what appears to be the inevitable waste attaching to child life, but the progeny, if thus produced only during the early years of married life, is calculated to add in time more affected individuals to the com- munity, seeing it is the first-born children especially that inherit family traits of physique and diathesis. The predominance of race depends on the preserv- ation of the mentally and physically fitter stocks. In the struggle for existence amongst primitive peoples this is ‘* naturally ’’ provided for by the exigencies of life, but! amongst a highly civilised race, such as our own, the fitter stocks appear likely to be weakened ““by the) lessened intensity of the intraracial struggle and the differential limitation of the family.”’ It is scarcely necessary to state that Prof. Pearson has han/dled this subject, as he handles all the problems he deals with, in a manner at once logical, unbiased and rigidly scientific. We are willing to n'9. 2000, VOL. 77] As | NATURE 395 J accept Prof. Pearson’s conclusions from the basis he starts from; but until the basis is widened a hundred fold it would be rash to formulate definite and incon- trovertible deductions in regard to the effects of the inheritance of any pathologic diathesis for any given atlment. SER RICHARD STRACHEY, G.C.S.1., F.R.S. N Wednesday, February 12, there passed away, at the advanced age of upwards of ninety years, a distinguished son of a distinguished Anglo-Indian family, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey, R.E., G.C.S.I., LL.D., F.R.S. To give any adequate impression of a career which extended trom 1836, when Richard Strachey left Addiscombe to join the corps of engineers of the East India Company, to 1907, when he retired from the chairmanship of the East Indian Railway Company, would be in any case a difficult task, and when, as in this case, a life of nearly ninety-one years is more remarkable for the versatile activity of the spirit that animated it than for its length the task becomes insuperable. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1854 for scientific work in botany, geology and physical geography. carried out while he was stationed at Nani Tal, in the Kumaon Himalayas, whither he was transferred from engineering work in connection with the Ganges canal on account of re- peated attacks of fever. In 1897, the year in which he was appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India, a Royal medal was conferred upon him for his investigations in physical and botanical geo- graphy and meteorology. ‘‘ Two of the most recent of these,’’? quoting from the award, ‘‘ are recorded in his report, published in 1888, on the barometrical dis- turbances and sounds produced by the eruption of Krakatoa and in his paper in the Phil. Trans. of 1893, entitled ‘ Harmonic Analysis of Hourly Observations of the Temperature and Pressure at British Observa- tories.’ These, while important in themselves, are but . the last of a long series of valuable memoirs. He was the first to treat scientifically of the physical and botanical geography, geology, and meteorology of the Western Himalaya and Tibet. He also first observed the occurrence of a regular series of fossil- iferous rocks, from the Silurian upwards to the north of the great snowy axis of the Himalaya. His numerous papers on these subjects, dating from the year 1847, are published in the Journals of the Royal Asiatic, Geological, and Royal Geographical Societies’ Proceedings, and in the reports of the British Association.”” In 1873 he had returned home and was appointed a member of the meteorological committee of the Royal Society which controlled the Meteorological Office, established in 1867; he was a member of Sir William Stirling Maxwell’s committee which revised the constitution of the governing body of the office, and was a member of the council which replaced the committee in 1876. After a further period of absence in India on special duty, he resumed his place on the council; in 1883, upon the death of Prof. H. J. S. Smith, he was appointed chairman and filled the office for twenty-two years. He was president of the Royal Geogravhical Society from 1887 to 1889. He received the Symons medal of the Royal Meteor- ological Society in 1906. His scientific activity, although closely interwoven with the rest of his work, was only a part of his life. He won distinction as an engineer in the conduct of irrigation works and as a soldier in the Sutlej cam- paign. His greatest claim to remembrance is based upon his achievements as head of the Indian Public NARORL [ FEBRUARY 27, 1908 396 Werks Department, and the various successful organisations which he initiated in that capacity. It is not too much to say, that he and his younger brother John, who died about two months ago, were for many years the principal figures in the adminis- tration of the Indian Empire. ‘‘ The Finances and the Public Works of India,’’ the title of a book which they published, is not inapt as a description of the position of the two brothers under Lord Mayo. Between 1871, when Richard Strachey returned to England, and 1879, when he finally retired from India to resume his place on the Indian Council, he held various appointments in connection with the India Office or in India, including the chairmanship of the Madras Famine Commission of 1878. In 1889 he became chairman of the East Indian Railway Com- pany, and added to his reputation for business capacity by the successful administration of that undertaking. As a financier he represented India at the Monetary Conference at Brussels in 1892, and as a geographer he was one of the delegates of Great Britain at the Prime Meridian Conference at Washing- ton in 1884. My personal recollection of Sir Richard Strachey goes back to 1880, when I was engaged upon some work for the Meteorological Council. He was keenly interested in questions about the distribution of water vapour in the atmosphere. The vertical distribution was the subject of a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 1862. My recollection is that he had a good deal to do with disposing of an idea that I have seen attributed to Herschel, that in reckoning the pressure of the atmosphere, water vapour did not | count. I write vaguely on this point, because to re- constitute the physical conceptions upon which meteor- ology was based before the ’sixties is to place oneself in the age when heat was still regarded as material, and the conservation of energy was an imperfectly formulated idea. As president of the Royal Geographical Society he endeavoured to promote the teaching of geographical science, and he came to Cambridge to give lectures on geography, a missionary effort undertaken to show that geography was not really beneath the attention of a university. The distribution of vapour pressure in the atmosphere as determined by his own ob- servations up to 18,000 feet in the Himalaya was again discussed. At that time the university recognised his contributions to the advancement of science by con- ferring the LL.D. degree. He returned to the subject of agueous vapour in the atmosphere again in the determination of the heights of clouds by photographic observations at Kew, a preliminary report on_ the measurements was contributed to the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 1891, and there still exists a great store of unworked material. From 1897 onwards I was closely associated with Strachey in the management of the Meteorological Office, and I speak without hesitation for his col- leagues, Galton, Wharton, Buchan, Darwin, Field, and Scott, in saying that association with him was not the least among the privileges which attached to membership of the council. His clear insight into the questions at issue, his perfect lucidity in thought and expression, the logical marshalling of facts in the official documents which he wrote as chairman, will always be memorable. He had not much patience ith people who were imperfectly acquainted with the facts of a case under discussion, and he never cared to argue with them, but difference of opinion on lines y, even when ill expressed, never ruffled his screnity in the conduct of business. From time to time while he was chairman, the office was subject to criticism, which was not always fair, but he never NO: 2000; VOLT 7;7 or complained. He was always content to attribute the criticism to want of knowledge of the facts. He would not even let us indulge in the semi-official pastime of abusing the Treasury. Their responsi- bility had to take account of an aspect of the matter with which we were not cognisant, namely, where the money was to come from, and we must be content to accept a judgment that had to reckon with public opinion in its executive form as well as with scientific aspirations. Speaking for myself, as one accustomed for many years to the details of business of college meetings and university syndicates, Strachey’s methods of transacting corporate business were a revelation. As regards his later contributions to the science of meteorology, some words of explanation are neces- sary. He had watched, and indeed had been largely instrumental in providing the facilities for, its study both in India and in this country, on the new lines of the comparison of results for different parts of the country or of the world. He was conscious that the new science required a new method, that the method of the physical laboratory, which aims at elucidating a physical process by experiments specially directed thereto, was inapplicable to the case of the free atmo- sphere. Those who are critical of the vast accumu- lation of meteorological data which is going on are apt to be unaware of the fact that data have to be collected in advance, and that, to this day, nearly every attempt to deal with a meteorological problem of any importance is baffled by the want of data; they are equally unmindful of another noteworthy fact, namely, that in meteorology comparison is of the essence of the science. The meteorologist is abso- lutely dependent upon other people’s observations; his own are only useful in so far as they are comparable with those of others. Thus the time, trouble, and money spent upon organisation are not the ex- pressions of limited scientific ambition, but a primary condition for securing indispensable facilities. Strachey’s scientific judgment was extraordinarily acute. He was quite prepared to carry on investiga- tion to a speedy issue when circumstances permitted, as in the investigation of the Krakatoa eruption already alluded to, which led to the recognition of a drift from east to west in the upper air of the equa- torial regions as a primary meteorological datum. In dynamical meteorology he was convinced that the most promising mode of attack was not to look for a direct dynamical-explanation of the striking features, the eccentricities of the day’s weather, which are the almost fortuitous result of many causes combined in various phases, but to seek for the relations between regular sequences and their causes underlying the apparently arbitrary variations. For this reason the methods of harmonic analysis specially attracted him, and he was disposed to regard anything less general than five-day means as unmanageable. He never com- pleted the work on harmonic analysis that he had in hand. He attached particular importance to the third Fourier component of diurnal variation, because the length of the day in these latitudes oscillates between one-third and two-thirds of the twenty-four hours. A few years ago he took up again the investigation of the question, and he has left a considerable amount of unfinished material. He was not to be driven from a position of modest optimism about such matters, and always explained that for a new science the progress made in the last fifty years is quite as great as could fairly be expected. But he was no friend of the unnecessary compilation of data or of the unlimited extension of mean values. Almost the last contribution that he gave me was 2 FEBRUARY 27, 1908 | VERO: 397 computation of the number of years necessary to reach a mean value for temperature within the limits of the probable error of the mean value for a single year, based upon some tables published in 1ig02 for the extrapolation of mean values. He was always more concerned to present meteorological data in a form amenable to computation than to increase their volume or detail. When the weekly weather report was initiated in 1884, he provided formule for com- puting the true daily mean from the maximum and minimum temperatures for the day, and for com- puting the amount of effective and ineffective warmth as referred to a base temperature of 42° F., which are still in use. He once astonished me by pleading for graphical representation as being easier to read than columns of figures, for he could extract the meaning of a page of figures with a facility that made the discussion of results with him an indispensable part of any piece of work that was in hand. Yet he was more than eighty years of age when we had to transact this kind of business together. He never lost his appreciation of new methods which were scund, or of new projects which were promising. Throughout his administration of the office he held to a high scientific ideal while maintaining the efficiency of such daily work as was required for public tse and for international cooperation. His scientific horizon was a wide one. With Stokes and Balfour Stewart, he was largely instrumental in pro- viding means for the organised study of the sun, which had been commenced in this country and in India by Sir Norman Lockyer, in order to trace the primary causes of those great meteorological fluctua- tions which exhibit themselves in alternations of drought and plenty in India, a study which, pursued for many years at the Sclar Physics Observatory at South Kensington and at Kodailanal, in India, has recently taken its place among the greater inter- national organisations. As head of the Public Works Department in India, he transferred meteorological work in that dependency from a provincial to an Imperial basis under Blanford and Eliot, and laid the foundation for the admirable organisation of which the Government of India and its scientific staff now enjoy the advantage. At the same time, he initiated the forestry department and the application of botanical science to the service of the public in that department. Probably no single person had clearer views of the future that lies before meteorological work as a matter of practical influence upon everyday life, or was more fully conscious of the long years of observ- ation, organisation and study that are necessary to secure the advantages which will ultimately more than reward the long years of patient inquiry. Above the mantelshelf of the unpretentious room over a piano shop in Victoria Street, which for more than forty years has been the chief centre of meteor- ological work in this country, there is a clear-cut profile of an old but by no means aged man, giving au unmistakable presentment of intellectual strength altogether undisturbed by side-issues and petty diffi- culties. Such indeed was Strachey. Beneath the portrait over his characteristic signature are the last words of a letter written about an office balance sheet that 1 thought more than usually depressing. ‘‘ On the whole there is nothing to complain of.’’ For meteorologists this is, at times, a hard saying; but to me at least it is entirely characteristic of the spirit with which he insisted upon meeting the difficulties that confronted us. ‘‘ A heart that is established and will not shrink,’’ a keen appreciation of the prac- tical services which science can render in the present and in the future, a simple determination to regard NO. 2000, VOL. 77] the whole, to make the most of the means at his dis- posal without grumbling—these are the abiding re- collections of the ten years of our association at the close of a long life devoted, with untiring energy, to the service of his country. W. N. SHaw. NOTES. Dr. C. Curee, F.R.S., has been elected president of the Physical Society of London for the ensuing year. Tue annual congress organised by the Prehistoric Society of France will be held this year at Chambéry from August 24 to August 30. M. Bouquet DE LA GryeE has been elected president of the Bureau des Longitudes for 1908, M. Poincaré vice- president, and M. Bigourdan secretary. Pror. W. J. Sottas, F.R.S., was elected president of the Geological Society of London at the anniversary meet- ing on February 21. Tue director of the Royal Meteorological Observatory at Agram, Hungary, informs us that the founder and former director, Prof. Ivan Stozir, died on February 12 after a short illness. ; Dr. H. F. Oszorn, one of the vice-presidents of the American Museum of Natural History and curator of vertebrate paleontology, has been elected president of the museum in succession to the late Mr. Morris K. Jesup. Ir is reported from Berlin that Mr. Andrew Carnegie has given half a million marks (25,000l.) to the Robert Koch fund for the campaign against tuberculosis. The amount collected so far for carrying out research work in connection with the disease amounts to 800,000 marks (40,000l.). An exhibition and sale of farm and garden produce, organised by the Women’s Agricultural and Horticultural International Union, will be held in the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society, Regent’s Park, N.W., on Wednes- day, July 15. All communications should be addressed to the secretary, Miss Eileen Johnson, c/o Mrs. T. Chamber- lain, 5 Priory Mansions, Drayton Gardens, S.W. Tue American Society of Naturalists has made arrange- ments to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Charles Darwin, in cooperation with the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, on the occasion of their meetings in Baltimore in 1908. The Society of Naturalists, we learn from Science, will be represented on the committee of arrangements by the president, the secretary, and several members. On Thursday next, March 5, Sir John Rhys will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on “‘ Early British History and Epigraphy,’’ and on March 7 Prof. J. J. Thomson will commence a course of six lectures on “Electric Discharges through Gases.’’ The Friday even- ing discourse on March 6 will be delivered by Prof. John Milne on ‘‘ Recent Earthquakes,’’ and on March 13 by Chevalier G. Marconi on ‘‘ Transatlantic Wireless Tele- graphy.” REPLYING to a question in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr. Churchill said :—‘‘ It is impossible to obtain accurate statistics regarding the mortality from sleeping sickness in Uganda, but, in a recent despatch, the Governor has estimated the number of deaths at 200,000 during the past Every effort is being made hy the seven years. 398 NATURE [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 Government to combat the disease by scientific investigation under the direction of the Royal Society, by local adminis- trative measures, and by international cooperation with the other Powers whose possessions in Africa are similarly afflicted.”’ Tue council of the Royal Society of Arts has awarded the gold medal offered by the society, under the Shaw trust for industrial hygiene, to Prof. W. Galloway, ‘“‘ in recognition of his valuable researches into the action of coal dust in colliery explosions, the outcome of which researches has been the provision of means by which the risk of such accidents is materially diminished, and a consequent great saving of human life effected.” Ix connection with the International Congress on Tuberculosis, which will be held in Washington on September 21 to October 12, a prize of 3ool. is offered for the best treatise that may be submitted to the congress on the relation of atmospheric air to tuberculosis. The prize is offered by the Smithsonian Institution out of the Hodgkins fund. The treatises may be written in English, French, German, Spanish, or Italian. They will be examined, and the prize awarded, by a committee appointed by the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in conjunction with the officers of the Congress on Tuberculosis. International We learn from the Berlin correspondent of the Times that on February 20 the Reichstag passed the second read- ing of the Bill for the regulation of wireless telegraphy, in accordance with the decisions of the International Congress in Berlin in 1906, and conferring a monopoly of wireless telegraphy upon the Government. The German Govern- ment desires to maintain an attitude of neutrality towards all systems of wireless telegraphy, and in particular to secure intercommunication on the part of ships and land stations without regard to the system employed. Germany has accordingly declined to bind herself to any one system, upon the ground that the efficiency of the system adopted is of far greater importance than its technical character. The special committee of the Reichstag to which the Bill was referred was informed that messages by the Marconi system would be accepted by German ships and stations if the company conformed to the obligation to exchange communications with other systems. Last year some opposition was shown in the American Congress to the usual vote of funds to the Biological Survey, certain members of the committee on agriculture suggesting that this branch of the agricultural depart- ment was more ornamental than useful. Accordingly, a paragraph was inserted in the Appropriation Bill directing the Secretary of Agriculture to investigate the work of the survey, and particularly to inquire into the value of the work done by the Government ornithologists. A report of this investigation has now been issued, and a whole column of the New York Evening Post is occupied by a summary of the services which Secretary Wilson finds that the Biological Survey has rendered to American farmers and horticulturists. Not only has this bureau issued valuable bulletins and other publications, but it has prepared the way for important legislation for protecting useful birds and for preventing the importation of such as would be injurious. A typical example is the success of the bureau in preventing the importation of the kohImeise, the introduction of which was advocated through misapprehension in the apple-growing districts of the Pacific Coast and the North-West, where it might have done enormous damage. NO. 2000, VOL. 77] Two striking examples of the best style of modern taxidermic art are displayed in the central hall of the natural history branch of the British Museum in the shape of a male and female Californian sea-elephant from Guadalupe Island. The specimens are the gift of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, and probably represent some of the last survivors of their species. They have been mounted by Rowland Ward, of Piccadilly, in whose establishment may now be seen a walrus set up for the Edinburgh Museum, which is likewise practically a revelation in the matter of mounting as compared with the bloated mummies by which the species has hitherto been represented in our exhibition galleries. A pIscOvERY of exceptional interest is announced in vol. vi., part iii., of Annotationes Zoologicae Japonenses (December, 1907), namely, the occurrence of a fresh-water medusa, referred to the genus Limnocodium, in the Yang- tsi-kiang about 1000 nautical miles from its mouth. Limnocodium, it will be remembered, has hitherto been known solely by L. sowerbyt, discovered in 1880 in the Victoria water-lily tanks at the London Botanical Gardens, and subsequently observed in similar tanks at Lyons, but never yet found in its native home. According to its describer, Dr. Asajiro Oka, the new Chinese species, for which the name L. kawaii is proposed, differs from L. sowerbyi in certain points, which are, however, in- sufficient to admit of its generic separation, although rendering necessary some slight modifications in the defini- tion of the genus. The home of the typical species is generally supposed to be Amazonia (not the West Indies, as Dr. Oka states), and it is hence possible that the genus may have a distribution analogous to that of tapirs, alligators, or spoonbill-sturgeons. It may, however, be found that Limnocodium is widely spread in the rivers and lakes of Asia. The Yang-tsi species was discovered in April last by Captain Kawai, of the steamboat service, near Ichang, in the province of Hupi, ten specimens having been obtained. The muddy condition of the waters of the river accounts for the medusa having previously escaped observation. Mr. Joun Brocpen, of 28 Colville Square, London, has sent us a copy of a catalogue of natural history specimens, in which is included biological material of almost all kinds other than skins of vertebrates. Among the specimens catalogued we notice a series of models of whales and dolphins, on a scale of 1 inch to the foot. Lancetets and lampreys form the subject of a paper by Mr. H. W. Fowler in the issue of the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for December, 1907. Of lampreys, the author describes, under the name of Oceanomyzon wilsoni, a new genus and species on the evidence of a specimen a foot in length from the Atlantic. It is regarded as connecting the true lampreys, Petro- myzon, with the deep-water Bathymyzon; it may occur at some depth. Tue first part of Silsungsberichte Natur. Verein der preuss. Rheinlande und Westfalens for 1907 contains an account of the scientific results of a journey recently under- taken by Dr. Borgett to East Africa and the Nyanza. Although the expedition was mainly undertaken for the purpose of studying the plankton (of which certain new forms are described), the author furnishes some interesting information with regard to the big-game fauna of the Athi Plains and Nairobi, where he is of opinion that the protective laws enforced by the British Government are working satisfactorily. Giraffe, kudu, and eland were seen ah FEBRUARY 27, 1908] EN AW NOT Soe 399 in numbers in several places, while hartebeest, gnu, water- buck, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, and, above all, bonte-quagga, occurred. in enormous herds, and rhino- ceroses and hippopotamuses were by no means uncommon. The extinction, or decimation, of the fauna is, accordiag to the author, not likely to occur for many a long day. Such testimony from an impartial and unprejudiced observer is as satisfactory as it is valuable. For some years a difference of opinion has prevailed among palzontologists with regard to the systematic posi- tion of the group of Upper Tertiary mammals typified by the European genus Chalicotherium. In mammals, it may be mentioned, the cheek-teeth are of the general type of the Perissodactyla, whereas the feet are of an unguiculate character, the latter feature having long led to the belief that these mammals were members of the Edentate order. Since the date of the association of the teeth with the foot-bones (when the ungulate affinities of the group could no longer be doubted), Mr. Lydekker has persistently maintained that there is no justification for separating the chalicotherioids from the Perissodactyla, whereas American paleontologists have with equal confidence asserted that they should form a subordinal (or ordinal) group by themselves. In an article contributed to the American Naturalist for December, 1907, Mr. O. A. Peterson, from the evidence of specimens referable to the genus Moropus, con- cludes ‘‘ that Moropus is, excepting its unguiculate feet, essentially a perissodactyle in structure. That the laterally compressed and cleft condition of the terminal phalanges is quite distinct in some of the early Perissodactyla, and that by adaptation... the unguals of Moropus were specially modified, and should not... be regarded as of erdinal importance.” M. Gaston Bonnier records in the Comptes rendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences (vol. cxlv., No. 27) some interesting observations on what he terms the raisonne- ment collectif of bees. In one of his experiments he placed in his garden several lumps of sugar; these were visited by bees, which, however, were unable to bite off its particles on account of the weakness of their mandibles. Thé bees were marked by the experimenter, and were seen to fly off to their hive; in one to two hours they returned with other workers, but this time they flew, not from the hive, but from a fountain of water. On settling on the sugar they were seen to pump water from their crops on to the sugar, and then suck up the syrup so formed, finally flying back to the hive. Other observa- tions convinced M. Bonnier that individual bees were able to communicate news of their discoveries of fresh sources of honey to the colony, and he has reason to believe that the number of workers summoned is always propor- tional to the supply of honey that has been found. Tue Bio-Chemical Journal for January (iii., Nos. 1 and 2) contains several interesting papers, notably one by Prof. Moore and Dr. Roaf on the equilibrium between the cell and its environment in regard to soluble constituents, with special reference to the osmotic equilibrium of the red-blood corpuscles, in which the conclusion is formulated that the difference in composition of the electrolytes within and without the cell, and the physiological effects of perfusion or irrigation of cells by media defective or excessive in certain electrolytes normally present in the cell receive a simple explanation, on the basis of the formation of adsorpates or chemical combinations between cell protein (or protoplasm) and other constituents. NO. 2000, VOL. 77] these : THERE are two essential factors with others required for the success of a nature-study course, the one that the course should be seasonal, the other that the instructor should manifest a continuous and keen interest in his subject. The first point has been effectively brought out in a pamphlet by Prof. J. A. Thomson, issued from Aberdeen University, wherein he indicates suitable lines of study for various courses. The notes refer to physical, botanical, and zoological studies. A careful perusal of the pamphlet cannot fail to supply teachers with suggestions and stimulate interest. Tue January number of Tropical Life contains informa- tion with reference to a rubber exhibition that is already arranged to be held at the Royal Horticultural Hall in September this year, and an International Rubber Exhibi- tion that it is proposed to hold in London a year or two hence. In the same journal useful information with regard to methods of cultivating and curing tobacco in Porto Rico is contributed by Mr. D. W. May, and the value of manures for cacao plantations forms the subject of one of a series of articles dealing with the cultivation of cacao. A contTRipuTION by Mr. F. Ramaley on the silva of Colorado, dealing with the woody plants of Boulder County, is published in vol. v., No. 1, of the University of Colorado Studies. The flora provides an interesting study in altitudinal distribution, since the elevation of the county varies from about 5000 feet to 10,000 feet at the foot of the main range, while the highest peak exceeds 14,000 feet. Grass lands rise up to 6000 feet, when open forest of rock pine, Pinus scopulorum, and Douglas spruce, Pseudotsuga mucronata, is found. A zone of lodge-pole pine, Pinus murrayana, mixed with rock pine and limber pine, Pinus flexilis, reaches to 10,000 feet, above which the Engelman spruce is dominant. Higher again in the Alpine zone, the only woody plants are dwarf willows. A ‘xuMBER of the Philippine Journal of Science (vol. ii., No. 5), devoted to the descriptions of commercial Philip- pine woods, has been prepared by Mr. F. W. Foxworthy. It contains a general discussion of their structure and properties, a key for their identification, and notes on the species. The key is elucidated by means of a series of fifty-five photographs representing transverse sections. Of timbers well known on the European market, only teal: and ebony are found; the former is very scarce, and the ebony is chiefly derived from Maba buxifolia, with less valuable timber from Diospyros pilosanthera and other species. ‘‘ Narra’? is a first-class timber yielded by Ptero- carpus indicus and allied species, therefore related to Indian ‘“padouk’’; also the tree known in India as “ poon,” Calophyllum inophyllum, provides a timber that is employed for construction and furniture. Other valuable species are Homalium luzoniense, Illipe betis, Pitheco- lobium acle, species of Lagerstroemia, Intsia and Vitex, and Pahudia rhomboidea. A PAMPHLET on the geology of the Roberts-Victor diamond mine has been published by Mr. J. P. Johnson (Johannesburg). This mine, which situated in the Boshof district, Orange River Colony, presents many points of geological interest, and the author’s observations lead him to believe that kimberlite, the rock in which the is not an igneous rock, but a purely is diamonds occur, ' fragmental one, simulating in parts an igneous structure owing to changes induced by hot water or steam, and that it is to these factors that the extreme alteration of the mineral constituents of both the peridotite and pyroxenite boulders and of the matrix im which they lie is due. 400 NAL OTE, | FEBRUARY 27, 1908 A pETAILED description of the geology and mineral re- sources of Lawlers, Sir Samuel, and Darlot (East Murchi- son goldfield), Mount Ida (North Coolgardie goldfield), and a portion of the Mount Margaret goldfield is given by Mr. C. G. Gibson in Bulletin No. 28 of the Geological Survey of Western Australia. The report, which covers seventy-three pages, and is accompanied by three large folding maps and five mining plans, shows that rocks of the district comprise granites and greenstones, the payable gold quartz veins occurring in the latter. The granites are seen almost everywhere to be intrusive into the green- The quartz veins appear to be of later origin than the granite, and in cases they occur at no great distance from its junction with the basic rocks. The district under review had returned, up to the end of 1906, 581,104-61 ounces of gold. Tue Records of the Geological Survey of India (vol. xxxvi., part ii.) contain the report on the mineral produc- tion of India during 1906 compiled by Mr. T. H. Holland, F.R.S. Compared with the previous year, there was an increase of 10-9 per cent. in the value of the total produc- tion. The production included 581,545 ounces of gold, 9,783,250 tons of coal, 140,553,122 gallons of petroleum, 495,730 tons of manganese ore, and smaller quantities of salt, saltpetre, mica, ruby, sapphire, jadestone, graphite, iron ore, tin ore, chromite, diamonds, magnesite, and amber. In the same issue Mr. E. W. Vredenburg describes the ammonites of the Bagh beds, and there are several interesting brief miscellaneous notes. Amongst these there is a description of the occurrence of wavellite, which has apparently not been previously recorded from India, in the Singhbhum district, Bengal. Dr. Gustav Braun, of the Geographische Institut, University of Greifswald, announces that he is anxious to collect information as to ‘‘ Bodenbewegungen,’’ which he defines as movements taking place on restricted areas of the earth’s surface as the result of gravitation (Jahres- bericht der geographischen Gesell. su Greifswald, 1908). He does not propose to include mountain-folding, though this might attract Herr E. Reyer and Dr. Ampferer, to name no others; but he seeks cooperation from those who have the opportunity of observing slow or sudden move- ments of the soil, landslides and rock-falls, flows of peat, and all kindred superficial phenomena. The results of human operations are to be included. Dr. Braun issues forms to those who can assist him, on which exact details of each case studied can be entered, and he is even willing to collect extracts from newspapers. Surely he cannot be acquainted with the reckless treatment of natural pheno- mena by the popular American and English Press. Yet his circulars will probably bring to his notice certain care- fully studied examples of rock-creep, bog-sliding, and so forth, which will afford material for comparison with those examined by himself. stones. most In part i. of Aus dem Archiv der deutschen Seewarte for 1907, Mr. A. Paulus discusses the duration of the passages of German sailing vessels in 1893-1904. This laborious investigation, which should be of practical utility is well as interesting from a general point of view, deals with the three large oceans (the outward and homeward voyages being separately discussed), and shows the average duration and the times of the longest and shortest passages in the period mentioned. The tables also give the duration of the shortest passages from about 1870, including the obtained from a somewhat similar discussion y Schott prior to 1893, and observations from other From the latter it that a fair number NO. 2000, VOL. 77] results Dr. sources. is seen of the shortest voyages has occurred in the more recent period, and this result, we think, may be reasonably ascribed to the dissemination of. useful information in American, English, and German charts. We note tha: Mr. Paulus is able to say that there are only a few German sailing vessels which do not keep a meteorological log for the Seewarte. Tue hydrographical researches carried on in connection with the international fishery investigations continue to lead to the issue of a number of useful monographs and reports. Amongst those now before us are the current issues of the Bulletin des Résultats acquis pendant les Croisiéres periodique, which has recently been enlarged in scope, with great advantage, to include observations taken during three-monthly periods, as well as those taken on the regular quarterly cruises. The number of charts and sections illustrating the results arrived at has also been increased. In Publications de Circonstance, No. 40, issued by the International Council, Mr. Johan Gehrke discusses the mean velocity of the Atlantic currents running north of Scotland and through the English Channel. These two currents constitute the sources of supply of Atlantic water to the North Sea. Mr. Gehrke calculates that the whole water volume that yearly passes round the north of Scotland (within certain defined limits) is about 61,000 cubic kilometres, and has a mean salinity of 35°15 °/o9, Whilst the annual water supply to the North Sea through Dover Straits is 2036 cubic kilometres, and its mean salinity 35:07 °/,,. In Publications de Circon- stance, No. 38, Mr. Martin Knudsen points out that in certain areas the determination of the salinity of the surface water may be of very great service to the navigator in helping him to fix the position of his vessel at sea. A NOTE on certain Maori carved burial-chests, by Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, is published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, vol. xxxix. Although it had been recorded that manoa trees, Dacrydium colensoi, were reserved by the Maoris for making coffins, there is little or no information regarding such coffins in which the bones were placed. The burial-chests recently discovered, and now stored in the Auckland Museum, are carved into the rough similitude of a human figure, except two of a different shape. So far as evidence is forthcoming, they may be two hundred years old. To the January number of the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society Mr. A. B. Sinclair contributes an article on the Oriental Gypsies. His view that there are no Indian Gypsies, that the recent find of Oriental books at Turfan, with other evidence, shows that the civilisation and phonetics we have been wont to consider special to India flourished at one time north of the Himalaya, and that therefore there is no need to seek the origin of the Romani speech in India, is startling, and not likely to be accepted without further proof than that furnished in the present article. The revived society, which has its headquarters at 6 Hope Place, Liverpool, deserves the support of all who are interested in this remarkable race. Two papers, one by Mr. Edgar Buckingham in the Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards (U.S.A.), iii., 2, and another by Mr. J. D. Hamilton Dickson in the Philosophical Magazine for January, show that there is still material for discussion in the already much dis- cussed ‘‘ Joule-Kelvin’’ experiments on the determina- tion of absolute temperature by the flow of gases through a porous plug. Mr. Buckingham introduces the subject with a_ short of the fundamental equation, ’ discussion FErRuary 27, 1908] NATURE 4ot which, as he points out, affords a direct comparison between the constant pressure scale of any gas and the absolute scale, but which cannot be applied directly to the constant volume temperatures without knowing the isothermal equation of the gas. He discusses the various empirical assumed formule for the “ cooling effect,” and the conclusions deducible from them. The relations of actual gas scales to the thermodynamical scale are set forth, but the author considers that the time is approach- ing when a mere reference of temperatures to “ the gas scale’ will be insufficient. Mr. Dickson’s paper deals with the inversion temperature of the Joule-Kelvin effect both for small and for finite differences of pressure, with special reference to Olszewski’s experiments. Tue Physikalische Zeitschrift for February 1 contains a description, by Dr. C. W. Lutz, of the filament electro- meter invented by himself and Dr. M. Edelmann, jun. The filament consists of a Wollaston platinum wire of about o-oor mm. diameter suspended vertically between two narrow vertical plates, one of which can be put into elec- trical connection with the wire, while the other may be connected either to earth or to some source at constant potential. The repulsion of the filament from the former plate when both are charged is observed through a small microscope magnifying eighty times, and by suitably adjusting the tension of the filament the range of the instrument may be made to extend from 2 volts to 1000 volts. It is very compact, and its electrical capacity is less than 10 cm. Mr. C. W. Burrows, of the United States Bureau of Standards, after extensive experiments on the various methods in use for demagnetising iron in magnetic test- ing, comes to the conclusion that the following is the best method of procedure:—the current should be re- versed about twice a second, and diminished at such a rate that the decrease of induction is as nearly as possible the same each second, the process to last about ninety seconds. In obtaining the magnetisation curve of the specimen, the magnetisation current should be reversed about the same number of times, and near the end of the series two throws of the ballistic galvanometer about twenty-five reversals apart should be observed. If they agree, they may be taken as representing the normal in- duction. The next observation may be made by this method without its being necessary to again demagnetise the specimen (Bulletin for January). A NEw and cheap edition (price 5s. net) of Mr. Benjamin Kidd’s ‘‘ Principles of Western Civilisation ’’ has just been published by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. The original work was reviewed at length in Nature of April 24, 1902 (vol. Ixv., Supp., p. vi). In a long introduction, which appears for the first time in the new edition, Mr. Kidd replies to points raised by his critics, and refers to some differences between the evolution of the individual and of a social organism. Mr. Kidd has been appointed to deliver the Herbert Spencer lecture for 1908 before the University of Oxford in May or June next. Three lectures have already been given, namely, in 1905 by Mr. Frederic Harrison, in 1906 by Mr. Auberon Herbert, and in 1907 by Mr. Francis Galton, F.R.S. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Saturn’s Rincs.—The January number of the Astro- physical Journal (vol. xxvii., No. 1, p. 35) contains an article by Prof. Barnard in which he describes and dis- cusses his recent observations of Saturn’s rings with the 4o-inch refractor of the Lick Observatory. On July 2, NO. 2000, VOL. 77] 1907, Prof. Barnard found that, although no direct sun- light was falling on its earthward side, the entire surface of the ring was distinctly visible. On each ansa were two prominent condensations symmetrically placed with respect to the ball. On October 4—when the earth again passed back to the shadow side of the ring—and for some days after, the ring was perfectly linear, and the con- densations, which, if they were real masses on the ring system, should then have been best seen, had disappeared. From his observations Prof. Barnard concludes that it is not merely the illuminated edge of the system which we see when the earth is on the shadow side, but the feebly luminous surface of the ring itself viewed very obliquely. The luminosity is caused by the transmittance, by repeated reflections from the particles comprising the ring, of sun- light. Adopting this interpretation, the condensations are produced by the outer brighter part of the inner ring, the higher illumination of which, as seen ordinarily by directly reflected light, or, as during these observations, by light which had by successive reflections passed through the ring, is probably due to the denser agglomeration of its particles. Tue OpjectivE PrisM IN SoLar SpPECTROScopy.—A device by which double equatorial refractors, as employed for stellar photography, may be adapted to serve as objective- prism spectroscopes in solar observations, is described by M. E. Schaer in No. 4233 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 137, February 15). The solar rays, pass- ing through the first objective, are, by two reflections by plane mirrors, projected along the axis of the second telescope. Before reaching the second tube the reflected image is, however, intercepted by a slit plate, so that only the narrow beam which passes through the slit traverses the tube to the object glass. On passing through the latter the light falls upon the objective prism, which is silvered on the posterior face, so that after two dispersions and one reflection it passes again through the object-glass and down the tube. The solar spectrum thus produced may be viewed with an ocular, or an_arrangement for photographing it may be substituted. By the interposi- tion of a second slit in front of the photographic plate and mechanical movements this instrument may be used as a photospectroheliograph. Untrormty Distrisutep Dark Spots oN JuPITER.—In an article which appears in the January number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, Mr. Scriven Bolton describes a number of Jovian phenomena observed by him in recent years, and pays particular attention fo a series of dark markings which are symmetrically distributed along the northern edge of the south equatorial and the southern edge of the north equatorial bands. As these spots occur in the same longi- tudes on each band and partake of a common motion, Mr. Bolton concludes that they have an objective existence. Generally, the alternate spots on the opposite bands are joined by festoons of dark material which cross the equatorial regions obliquely at angles of 45°. The spots on the southern band present the more marked uniformity, there being twenty-four of them at regular intervals throughout the whole length of this band. Drawings made on June 15, 1899, November 4, 1903, and February 23, 1907, respectively, are reproduced to illustrate Mr. Bolton’s description. Douse-sTaR OBSERVATIONS.—Finding that the published magnitudes of the components of double stars are generally only given approximately, Dr. Joel Stebbins, director of the Urbana Observatory, Illinois, U.S.A., decided to make a number of systematic photometric observations of them, and he now publishes the results in the Bulletin of the University of Illinois (vol. iv., No. 25, 1907). After describing the instruments employed and the system of observation, Dr. Stebbins gives a catalogue of the 107 double stars which he observed, and discusses the probable errors and the differences from the Harvard observations of the same objects. On comparing the results with other available observations, no evidence of variability could, with certainty, be detected, and in the case of 6’ Orionis —the Trapezium stars—it appears certain that no change greater than 0-08 magnitude has taken place since the Harvard observations were made in 1878. NATURE | FEBRUARY 27, 1908 PLANETARY PHOTOGRAPHY. ecording on photographic plates of the canals of ignificant from a technical point of view is proved of widespread interest in its result; for nethod which alone rendered success possible had o be developed, previous celestial photographic pro- cesses being inadequate to the task. At the request of the editor of Nature, I propose to give some account of the method pursued, and the more gladly in that it is evident from attempts to follow it that its principles are as yet as much a terra incognita as have for so long re- mained the canals themselves. The process is the outcome four years’ study by Mr. Lampland, who, to a know- se of the end desired, acquired from visual work on the planet, added experimental research on the means to attain it. Of the difficulty of the subject the best testi- mony are the words Schiaparelli wrote the writer on receiving in 1905 the first prints from the plates :—‘‘ I would never have believed the thing could be done.’’ The fundamental distinction between planetary photo- graphy and photography of the stars is that with the former definition, not illumination, is the primary point. To imprint upon the plate such delicate tracery as the canals of Mars requires a definition so far beyond celestial photography in general as to constitute a class of work by itself. For one is here concerned with quantities of the second order of minute- ness Definition, therefore, had to be studied. The chief disturber of the image is the atmosphere. A knowledge of how this conditions the seeing is, then, the first requisite to success. Living as we do under a gaseous ocean in constant turmoil, im no ige from beyond it stays perfect for long, soon being either distorted or dis- placed by the shifting refraction of differ- ently dense layers of air. The effect we notice every day in the twinkling of the stars. To educate the eye to sift the fleet- ing impressions it receives is thus the first step to becoming an of Mars. Distrust of its own revelations because of their short-livedness one chief cause of failure to see the canals More, not observer is less, is a like iandicap true of the camera; for the eye is some thousands? of times as sensitive as the films we can employ. So that at first it would seem hopeless to attempt to part the good moments of definition from the bad, and thus to pre- vent the superposition of a poor or shifted image upon a clear-cut one, to the result- ing disheartenment of a general blur. To catch the planet’s fugitive expre of itself, speed of exposure becomes imperative; and that many such as le might be seized, a special camera had to be devised, something which should realise the demon-machine sions as possi of Clerk-Maxwell for images in place of molecules, to let the good ones through and stop the bad. The mechanical part of this Mr. Lampland contrived by a plate-holder fitted with a lateral ratchet motion worked by a bulb, and capable of being pushed up and down after each line of images had been secured. At the opposition of rg05 this camera was worked without guiding, as the exposure time seemed not to necessitate it, but for that of 1907 Mr. Lampland suggested the use of, and fitted on, the 6-inch s a finder. In spite of the very short exposure 7c } possible, ling thus introduced turned out an improv ement. I next difficulty in definition lies with the glass. yf its name, no achromatic lens is achromatic. departure from perfection is _ practically I diaphragmed down to 12 inches, and with r ned by a screen that takes off at least three- ees on Mars’ canals in less than the t takes the plate two nds to register with the full apert f 4-inch glass Photographs of Mars ; Ganges region. Taken by Pr imperceptible to the eye, such is not the case with the sensitised film; for the of different colours form their images in different focal planes. Of these, the eye selects what it will attend to, while the camera cannot, and so, on the plate, if an image made by one colour be in focus, it must perforce be surrounded by others that are not. A reflector, of course, avoids this blur of super- position, since all the rays are brought to one focus, but, on the other hand, it introduces more serious errors of spherical aberration; for not only does want of a any figuring or sag in the mirror, but any disturbance in rays of the air produces three times the distortion it does in the glass. It is thus problematic whether a reflector can ever be used for such fine work, though we intend to give it a trial with a 3-feet mirror. To secure approximate monochromatism, and thus a more clear-cut image, a screen or filter of coloured glass, or of a coloured solution between glass, had to be used to cut off certain of the rays. This device is the same that was used visually by Schiaparelli, and that has been used at Flagstaff in like research, though it has not been Percival Lowell at Flagstaff, July 28, 1907- there so effective neutral-tinted glass, because, found as a as mentioned above, the eye does its own sifting for the rays it elects to observe. Photographically it was first employed by Ritchey in his photographs of the moon, and here its value inestimable. The method of making the screens is to determine first the colour-curve of the objective, that is, the curve in which the abscisse represent the wave-lengths of the rays of differing refrangi- is general bility and the ordinates their focal lengths. From this curve it becomes possible to select what rays shall be allowed to pass to secure a sufficient approximation to monochromatisation, and the screen is then coloured to attain the result. In the construction of such screens Mr. R. J. Wallace is preeminent, and by him in this manner were made those for the Flagstaff glass. The next crux entered with the plates. In consequence of the greater relative deviation in focaf length suffered by the blue rays, which are the ones most actinic, and those to which the ordinary plates are sensitised, such plates cannot be used for interplanetary photograph To it with them to approach instantaneity the FEBRUARY 27, 1908] NATOKE 403 blue rays would have to be made use of, and they would irretrievably blur the image. Plates sensitised to other parts of the spectrum must be employed, and as it has not been possible to make such adapted only to the yellow and orange rays, a coloured screen must be used in con- nection with them. Only when more restricted emulsions shall have been produced will it become feasible to dis- pense with the sifter. The plates most nearly giving us what we wanted proved to be Cramer’s isochromatic instantaneous plates. They are neither instantaneous nor isochromatic, but their two negatives nevertheless combine to the best affirmative it is now possible to obtain; for beyond their mountain mass of reaction in the violet and blue, to speak figura- tively of their curve of sensitiveness, they have a_hillock in the yellow with sides of great abruptness. By Mr. Lampland, who carefully experimented with every kind of plate, these were found, and for the above reason, to yield the best results in the way of speed with definition. Their chief drawback consists in their not being so finely grained as one could wish. ; This brings us to another difficulty that had to be encountered. In the sensitising of plates speed is inevit- ably associated with coarseness of grain, and vice versa. Finely grained emulsions are necessarily slow. To avoid the Scylla of over-exposure is to fall into the Charybdis of under-definition. As speed must be got at all hazards, the images of Mars are not so fine in texture as those securable of earthly scenes, as, for example, by lantern- slide plates. This is to be remembered in scanning the images. Anything beyond a slight magnification of the original negatives. results in perceptible, though not always perceived, blurring of the details due to the show- ing of the grain. Photographic experts will thoroughly appreciate this, and trace the linearity of the canals clearly through its partial disguise. After all other points have been attended to, there still remains the question of aperture; for the smaller the aperture the sharper the definition for the same _ sized magnification, the gain from the point of view of the air- waves yastly exceeding the loss due to a larger spurious disc. Thus with an image magnified to four hundred diameters, a 12-inch gives ninety-nine times out of a hundred more clear-cut detail than a 24-inch. This, which is so decided a gain in visual work, is partially offset in photographic work by the necessary increase in exposure time, and the consequent greater chance of mixing poor moments with the good. As the exposure time decreases inversely as the square of the radius of the glass, while the improved definition increases inversely as that radius, Mr. Lampland, in 1907, used only the full aperture of the 24-inch. In this decision I quite concur from the results at the last opposition, merely adding the gloss that with the larger aperture one is more’ certain of a good image ; with the smaller, one will score an even greater success on exceptional occasions. This, of course, is to be taken within limits. By the general method I have outlined Mr. Lampland secured the first photographs of the canals at the opposi- tion of Mars in 1905. Some fifty of the canals show upon his plates. This success was entirely due to his exhaustive study and attention to all the factors I have formulated. During the time between 1905 and 1907 Mr. Lampland continued his research, and in June, 1907, took his first plates at the opposition just passed. The images showed a marked advance. In 1905 he had registered the Nilokeras double (12° apart). In June, 1907, the Gihon (5°-0 apart) stood duplicate in his photographs, while the Euphrates (4° apart) pretty certainly showed in the same manner, though from principles of conservatism I was not willing to commit myself to its announcement. At the same time plates were taken by me showing in like manner a great number of single canals, and the double Gihon and almost unquestionably the double Euphrates appear. For the same opposition an expedition was under- taken by the Lowell Observatory to the Andes under the charge of Prof. Todd, Mr. E. C. Slipher, of the Lowell Observatory, being detailed upon it armed with a duplicate of our apparatus, and thoroughly coached beforehand by Mr. Lampland in its employ. Mr. Slipher, by whom all the work of the expedition on Mars, both photographic and NO. 2000) VOL. 71 delineatory, was done, secured plates in July at Alianza, Chile. The place had been chosen primarily because of its lying in the solar eclipse belt, Prof. Todd being desirous of observing the annular eclipse there, but it proved, although but 4ooo feet above sea-level, probably the best locality that could have been selected. By a skill and assiduity deserving of the highest praise, Mr. Slipher obtained some 10,000 images of the planet in the course of a couple of weeks. Owing to the remarkable steadi- ness of the air and the high altitude of the planet, his plates show a wonderful amount of detail. The doubling of the Gihon and of the Euphrates previously registered at Flagstaff were also exhibited on them, besides canals and oases in profusion. As an instance of the latter I may mention the distinct showing of the two little oases in the Trivium. His drawings were no less remarkable. As an example, the double Ganges, which for two opposi- tions now the writer has observed stronger on its right or western side than on its eastern, appears with this same differentiation in Mr. Slipher’s picturing, although he had no previous acquaintance of the fact. Having discovered that he has an eye for planetary detail, he is to continue such study in the future. The future promises even more than the past has fulfilled. Several improvements have been effected, or are in contemplation, which were not put into operation at the opposition of 1907. One of them is a new screen devised by the writer. Though both conceived and con- structed before the opposition, it was only tested this last summer, but enough to show an improvement in definition from its use. Its basic principle was the integration of the greatest amount of illumination with the least focal difference of wave-length. To explain the idea, suppose that the light reaching the plate for each ray be weighted according to its proximity for focal length to a given focal distance by an inverse function of such departure, the function becoming negative after a certain discrepancy because the inclusion of the ray then does more harm than good. Suppose this light summed for all the rays between certain limits. The most effective screen will be that for which the integral is a maximum. The point up to which the rays should be cut off, as indicated by an examination of the colour curve of the 24-inch glass, seemed to lie at A=5o00, and for this, accordingly, I asked Mr. Wallace to construct a special screen. The result, though for some reason not so effective practically with bathed plates as was theoretically to be expected, proved successful with Cramer’s isochromatic instantaneous plates, owing to the insensitiveness of the plate for the red and ultra-red rays, and to the fact that A=5000 marked a minimum in its action followed by a rise.* Other devices which should improve the process are also to be practised, and these, with the increased presentation of the planet’s disc, should result in another decided advance in photographic presentment; for the planet will in 1909 be more advantageously placed for Flagstaff on three counts :— (1) A larger disc. (2) A greater altitude. (3) A more developed condition of the canals due to the advance in the Martian season. In spite of the interest which the taking of such photo- graphs has caused, it must be remembered that after all the eye remains our most potent instrument of research. So thoroughly was this realised at Flagstaff that the photographs were originally undertaken simply with a view to their educational value. Inasmuch as these photo- graphs in good air are superior to untrained eye observa- tions in a poor one, they serve to dispel directly a modicum of doubt, though they cannot at present equal what the trained eye can see under similar conditions. But in- directly they do more; for they corroborate completely, so far as they go, visual observations which have been so extensively denied, and establish, therefore, a very strong presumption that those visual detections are true also beyond what the photographic plate has power to portray. In this connection it is interesting to note that more than one astronomer who has seen the canals from a middle ground of definition neither good nor bad has 1 Fora more detailed account of the device, see the Lowell Observatory Bulletin, No. 37. 404 NATURE [Fesruary 27; 1908 adduced the photographs as he interprets their features as corroborating his own observations, forgetting that this implies that he sees the originals only a fraction as well as he should. Yet even so the photographs have surpassed our hopes, for they disclose more than one could have ventured to imagine. An eye versed in photographic perception and interpretation will easily see in them the canals as lines and the little spots, the oases, at their junctions. Indeed, the camera has shown itself capable of rising beyond the confirmatory into the discovery stage; for one of the plates of the writer was instrumental in the detection of a new canal. A stranger appeared on the plate which when searched for visually in consequence proved to be there. At the next opposition, with our newly devised improvements and with the planet so much nearer the zenith for northern observers, it is confidently to be expected that we shall do still more. PercivaL LoweLL. HYDROLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES. ce some of the more recent reports on the hydrology of the United States, the book is prefaced by a general statement as to the intention and scope of the surveys that are being carried out by the geological department of the Government relating to the water resources of the country. Water supply is regarded as one of the principal national assets, and of more importance to the life and pursuits of the people than any other natural resource. In the arid States the limit of agricultural development is deter- mined by the amount of water available for irrigation. In other States, where the rainfall is greater and more evenly distributed throughout the year, the lack of rain at the proper season often reduces a crop to one-half what it would have been with one additional wetting at the time most needed. Storage, providing water for use when most wanted, will in such a case be as beneficial as where irrigation has to be depended on exclusively. This is especially the case in those districts where market gardening is one of the most profitable agricultural pur- suits. Here irrigation is a necessity for making -the business profitable. The increase in the population of cities and towns makes necessary additional water supplies for domestic and industrial uses, in procuring which both the quantity and quality of the water that can be obtained must be considered. The location of manufacturing plants may depend largely on the water-power facilities and the character of the water. Electric transmission of power has led to the utilisation of water-power for the operation of manu- facturing establishments and lighting plants. Water- power is also largely used in some States for log driving, lumbering, and saw-mills, and also for the manufacture of paper from wood pulp and straw. For all or any of these purposes a knowledge of the flow of the streams and of the conditions affecting that flow, based on trustworthy data, and of the underground re- sources is essential. For the want of this many schemes for water supply have ended in failure, the plans being made without sufficiently trustworthy information. The United States Geological Survey has therefore, by means of appropriations by Congress, for several years systematically been engaged in obtaining records of stream flow, the number of stations at which streams were under observation in 1906 being 700. Records are also obtained in regard to floods, precipitation, the relation of the rainfall to run-off of water, evaporation, water pollu- tion, the flow of underground streams, the use of artesian and surface wells, and generally all matters relating to water supply. The reports relating to the above matters, and also as to the water resources of different States and districts, are issued from time to time, upwards of 200 reports having already been issued. Notices of these reports, directing attention especially to those paners which are of general interest, have tppeared in Nature at various times. NO. 2000, Vor. 77] The most recent reports of which we have received copies, eleven in number, relate to the water resources of Georgia, New England, and other districts, the informa- tion contained in them being principally of local interest, except Paper No. 201, which has an introduction dealing with the system followed in obtaining the discharge of streams. THE TESTING OF \MATERIALS:, THE official report of the proceedings of the fourth Congress of the International Association for the Testing of Materials was recently issued. The congress was held at Brussels in September, 1906, and the report contains a condensed account of the reports presented and a summary of the discussions upon the reports and papers. The congress met in three sections, one dealing with papers on metals, another with papers on cement and artificial stones, and the third dealing with miscellaneous investigations, such as protection of metals against rust, testing of timbers, rubber, &c. Before the sections began their proceedings, Prof. Schiile delivered an address deal- ing with the life and work of the late president and founder of the association, Ludwig von Tetmajer. One of the most important matters discussed in the metal section was the method of testing notched bars; after a lengthy discussion the congress eventually adopted the following resolution :—‘‘ The congress recognises that the method of testing notched bars appears capable of giving extremely interesting results.”” The congress did not, however, adopt a resolution which was moved to the effect that the method should be experimentally introduced into certain specifications. In regard to the subject of ball-pressure tests, the congress eventually adopted the following resolution :— ‘“The present congress desires that in the acceptance of metallic materials tests of tenacity should be supplemented as often as possible by a determination of the Brinell hardness numbey, the latter test being performed for the object of collecting information.’’ During the meeting of the association a metal-testing laboratory was installed at Brussels in order to show in action the various modern processes employed in the test- ing of materials. The tests made were micrographic, determination of the critical points, impact tests on notched bars, Brinell ball tests, and shearing tests. The congress has published a small illustrated pamphlet descriptive of the various testing appliances which were at work in this metal laboratory, with a brief note on the results obeaaee: THe UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampBriDGE.—The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that the election of a professor of agricultural botany will take place on Monday, March 16. Candidates for this pro- fessorship are requested to communicate with the Vice- Chancellor on or before Wednesday, March 11. Sir Ernest M. Satow, G.C.M.G., has been appointed to the office of reader on Sir Robert Rede’s foundation for the present year. The lecture will be given in the Senate house on Saturday, June 13. Lonpon.—In connection with the supplementary vote of 60001. for the Imperial College of Science and Technology at South Kensington, being part of the annual Govern- ment subvention of 20,0001. to the college, Sir Philip Magnus inquired last Friday in the House of Commons whether the 20,000]. was in excess of the cost of main- tenance of the Royal College of Science and the Royal School of Mines, which had been incorporated in the Imperial College. In reply, Mr. Lough explained that the grant of 20,0001. was arranged by the Board of Education under the late Government; in addition, the Imperial College would have the fees paid by students, including fees paid by the Board of Education for scholars nominated by the Board. In reply to a further inquiry by Sir Philip 1 Water Supply and Irrigation (Washington: Government Printing Office.) Papers. FEBRUARY 27, 1904] NATURE Magnus whether the Government intended to appoint a Royal Commission in reference to the relation of the Imperial College to the University of London, no informa- tion appears to have been forthcoming. Oxrorp.—The annual report of the delegates for instruc- tion in forestry shows that the average number of forestry students in 1907 was fifty-seven. The forest garden and experimental plantations in Bagley Wood have been much increased during the year, and the lack of accommodation is about to be met by the generosity of St. John’s College. A block of buildings for the accommodation of the professor of rural economy was erected in Parks Road during the years 1906-7. It is now proposed to add further accommo- dation for the forest branch, consisting of a lecture theatre, a class-room, a museum, a library, and a_ professor’s room. The new buildings will be ready by the end of 1908. The degree of Doctor of Science has been conferred on Mr. E. H. J. Schuster, New College, for his contributions to biometrical science. We learn from the Revue sctentifique that by a decree of February 10, inspectors of technical instruction are to be appointed in France. Ordinary inspectors will be chosen from among the directors and teachers of technical scfools, and district inspectors will be selected from com- petent leaders of industrial or commercial enterprises. Tue Secretary of State for India has appointed a com- mittee to inquire into and report upon the present system of selecting, and of training after selection, candidates for the Indian Forest Service, and to make recommendations. The committee is constituted as follows:—Mr. R. C. Munro Ferguson, M.P., chairman; Sir John Edge, K.C., member of the Council of India; Sir W. T. Thiselton- Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.; Mr. E. Stafford Howard, C.B.; and Mr. St. Hill Eardley-Wilmot, Inspector-General of Forests in India. Tue London Inter-Collegiate Scholarships Board will hold in May a combined examination for twenty scholar- ships and exhibitions tenable at University College, King’s College, and the East London College. Candidates must have matriculated at the University of London or have passed an equivalent examination, and be under the age of nineteen years on October 1 next. The total value of the scholarships offered exceeds 17001. Full particulars may be obtained from the secretary to the Board, Mr. aS a G. Attoe, University College, Gower Street, London. We learn from the Times that at the meeting of the council of the University of Paris on February 24, the Vice-Rector presented to that body a loving cup, a gift made by the University of London to the University of Paris as a souvenir of the hospitatity it received last summer. The cup is silver-gilt, repoussé and chiselled, and is nearly 3 feet high. The lid is surmounted by an allegorical figure, while the body of the cup bears on its outside the arms of the Universities of Paris and London, two escutcheons emblematic of the French Republic and Baer Britain, and three figures symbolic of science, letters, and art. Tue Calcutta University will celebrate its jubilee this year by conferring the following honorary degrees at the Convocation to be held on March 14:—D.Litt., the Hon. Si A] Haye Ee Fraser, K:C:Salee Lieut.-Governor of Bengal and Rector of the University. D.L., the Hon. Sir Subramaniya Aiyar, K.C.I.E., Vice-Chancellor of the Madras University; the Hon. Mr. Justice Chatterjee, C.1.E., Vice-Chancellor of the Punjab University. D.Sc., the Hon. Dr. Justice Mukerjee, Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University; Prof. A. Schiister, F.R.S.; the Rev. Father E. Lafont, S.J., C.I.E., late Rector of St. Navier’s College, Calcutta; Mr. T. H. Holland, F.R.S., director of the Geological Survey of India; Dr. G. Fhibaut, C.I.E. Ph.D., Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar, C.I.E., late Vice-Chancellor of the Bombay University; Sir Gooroo Das Banerjee, D.L., late judge in the Calcutta High Court; Sir H. H. Risley, K.C.I.E., C.1.E., secretary to the Government of India; Prof. P. C. Ray. M.D., Surgeon-General NO 2000, VOL. 77] G. Bomford, C.I.E., Director-General of the Indian Medical Service. Amonc the gifts to colleges and other institutions of higher education announced in Science during the past few months, the following, of 10,oool. or more, may be mentioned. By the will of the late Mr. D. Willis James 20,000]. was bequeathed to five separate institutions, in- cluding Columbia and Yale Universities. Prof. J. H. Hammond, by an additional 1oool., has brought his gift to the Hammond Metallurgical Laboratory of Yale Uni- versity to 25,400l. By the will of Mrs. Sarah E. Potter, of Boston, Harvard University received a bequest of 10,0001., to be used in connection with the Gray herbarium. Columbia University has received an anonymous gift of 20,0001. Yale University has benefited to the extent of 10,0001. by the will of the late Mr. Silliman Bladgen. Mr. John D. Rockefeller has added 438,200l. to his previous gifts to the University of Chicago, making the total amount of these nearly 5,000,0001. Colorado College has completed an addition of 100,000]. to its productive funds, towards which Mr. Andrew Carnegie contributed 10,000. According to the daily papers, Bradley Polytechnic, of Peoria, Ill., benefits to the extent of nearly 600,0001. by the will of the late Mrs. Lydia Bradley. Mr. Andrew Carnegie has also given 40,oo0l. to Berea College and 15,0001. to Illinois College, at Jacksonville. ANOTHER attempt at a settlement of the controversy relating to religious instruction in public elementary schools was introduced in the House of Commons on Monday in the form of a Bill brought in by Mr. McKenna, President of the Board of Education, “‘ to regulate the conditions on which public money may be applied in aid of elementary education in England and Wales, and for other purposes incidental thereto.’’ The Bill proposes that in future there should be but one type of public elementary school, provided, controlled, and managed by public authority, and the teachers to be appointed without religious tests. Every public elementary school receiving rate aid would thus be of the type of Board or County Council schools, and no child would be compelled to attend any other kind of school. The religious instruction given in these schools would be the same as that given in Board and county schools for the past thirty-eight years. Voluntary or Church schools would not have the support of public money in single-school parishes, for there the State would not recognise any other school than a public elementary school. In other cases, voluntary schools, when recognised as providing efficient instruction in secular subjects, would receive State aid in the form of grants, but no rate aid, the amount of the Government grant in both county and recognised voluntary schools being 47s. per annum for each child in attendance. The Bill was read a first time, after it had been vigorously condemned by Mr. Balfour and other members of the Opposition. Ar the prize distribution to students at the Battersea Polytechnic on Wednesday, February 19, Lord Stanley of Alderley remarked that when the polytechnic movement was first started it was a general idea that the work in the institutions was to be largely recreative. But though the importance of the social side and of its influence for the good of the students was recognised, in course of time the educational work asserted itself and became pre- dominant. In the more modern institutions, the value of the day work with its regular courses is being more fully recognised. While the evening work is kept up to as high a standard as possible, the work done in the day classes is more thorough; the students obtain a greater mastery of their subjects, and therefore it is of greater importance than that of the evening side. Remarkable advances have been made in this direction in the great technical institutions, such as those at Sheffield, Bristol, and Manchester. In the management of institutions like the Battersea Polytechnic, there should be a strong local element which knows what are the requirements of the particular districts. It is necessary to separate what may be called the common work of education from that of the particular work of technical instruction as applied to arts and crafts. A comparison between the requirements for domestic economy training a few years ago and those 406 INA fers [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 which are now considered necessary to have any influence on the home life and habits of people shows that a much higher standard has been reached. The work carried on at the polytechnics will bear good fruit, and it is to be hoped that the London County Council will see its way clear to provide the means so that the polytechnics of London may furnish an example to every town in the United Kingdom and in all parts of the world. Tue fifteenth annual general meeting of the Association of Technical Institutions was held on Friday and Saturday last at the hall of the Drapers’ Company. Sir Horace Plunkett, the retiring president, occupied the chair during the early part of the proceedings, and was succeeded by Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., who was unanimously elected president for the ensuing year. Sir Norman Lockyer in his address referred to the progress that has taken place in educational methods in recent years, but pointed out that there is a lack of coordination between primary and secondary schools or technical schools. We have now a good system of elementary education, but there is a terrible wastage after the primary school. He pleaded for a fuller recognition of continuity in education and of the high standing of technical institutions in an organic system. At the second day’s meeting there was a discussion on trade or craft schools, and eventually the following resolution was adopted :—‘‘ That this associa- tion, fully recognising the necessity for a comprehensive and graded scheme of technical education, embracing all sections of the community, request the council to make an inquiry with a view to ascertaining the best conditions for the development of technical education in relation to the training of workmen.’’ In opening the discussion, Prof. W. M. Gardner, of Bradford, said that of 1000 boys passing through elementary schools, and ultimately taking positions as industrial workmen, foremen, or managers, probably not more than forty pass through a secondary school and not more than three or four attend a day technical school. The great problem is, therefore, that of the boys who leave the primary schools at thirteen and fourteen, or even earlier, and who constitute 950 out of every 1000 boys of that age. Three courses seem to be open, namely :—(1) to provide specialised technical instruc- tion during the latter portion of the primary-school course, combining it with the general subjects in the time-table ; (2) to pass the lads forward from the primary school to specially arranged trade schools for one or two years; and (3) to rely, as hitherto, on evening schools for technical instruction. How far the first plan is practicable, or even desirable, appears doubtful. It is educationally unsound to give technical instruction in a trade without first deal- ing with the underlying sciences in an elementary manner. The provision of special trade schools seems, the speaker said, to offer a more likely solution of the problem. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. LONDON Geological Society, February 5.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—Antigorite and the Val Antigorio, with notes on other serpentines con- taining that mineral: Prof. T. G. Bonney. It is not certain that the first described specimen of antigorite was really found in the Val Antigorio. The rock probably does not occur there in situ, though it is found in pebbles, &c., from tributaries. Other specimens of antigorite- serpentine were described. The origin of the mineral is discussed. Pressure is essential; it can be formed from augite, and there is evidence of its coming from this mineral.—The St. David’s Head ‘‘ rock series’? (Pem- brokeshire): J. V. Elsden. These intrusions are of complex composition. There is a high magnesia _per- centage. There is no evidence of differentiation in situ, but the facts suggest a common origin from a differentiated magma basin. The rocks afford facilities for the study of both rhombic and monoclinic pyroxenes. Rhombic pyroxene generally crystallised earlier than the monoclinic pyroxene. There are two varieties of augite. The relation of these types lends support to the perthitic theory. The probable age of the intrusions is not greater than that of the earth movements which folded the Arenig shales in district. NO. 2000, VOL. 77] this Linnean Society, Fcbruary 6.—Dr. A. B. Rendle, vice- president, in the chair.—Specimens and lantern-slides of leaf impressions from the Reading beds: H. W. Monckton and O. A. Shrubsole.—Fruits and seeds from the pre-Glacial beds of Britain and the Netherlands, especially the Pakefield specimens from the neighbour- hood of Lowestoft (Cromer forest bed), and from Tegelen, near Venloo, in the province of Limburg, Netherlands: Clement Reid.—The use of large quantities of commercial concentrated soda carbonate when boiling refractory deposits: Mrs. E. M. Reid.—A botanical expedition to Central Fokien: S. Tt. Dunn. In April, May, and June, 1905, a botanical expedition was undertaken, with three native collectors and one Chinese herbarium assistant, to the centre of the province of Fokien. The difficult journey from Foochow to Yenping was successfully accomplished, and enough stores deposited at that town to enable a large collection of plants to be made. The central portion of this province, which is as large as England and Wales com- bined, had never previously been visited by a botanist, and, as might be expected, many novelties were discovered, and are here described, amounting to at least forty new species. —Some new Alcyonaria from the Indian and Pacific Oceans: preliminary notice: Ruth M. Harrison. Royal Anthropological Institute February 11.—Prof. W. Ridgeway, president, in the chair.—An additional note on New Guinea games: Dr. A. C. Haddon. The games were of various descriptions, and included a series of string figures.—A new instrument for determining the colour of the hair, eyes, and skin: J. Gray. The instrument was a simplified form of Lovibond’s tintometer, by means of which hair-, eye-, and skin-colours could be classified by comparison with a series of standard coloured glasses. These standard glasses can be repreduced an_ indefinite number of times with the greatest precision by Lovibond’s method, so that any number of observers can be provided with identical colour-scales. A series of locks of hair, arranged by the naked eye, from blonde to jet black, was exhibited, and curves showing the colour-elements of this series, as obtained by Lovibond’s tintometer, were shown on the screen. The curves showed that the locks contained two coloured pigments, namely, orange and a yellow, and a black pigment. The black pigment increased uniformly in amount from blonde to black, and evidently formed the basis of the arrangement of the series by the naked eye, because the amount of orange and yellow pigment was practically constant throughout the whole series. A second series,of locks of red hair was exhibited, arranged by the naked eye from light to dark red or auburn. Analysis showed that the orange pigment was predominant, and formed the basis of the classification. A diagram, ex- hibited to show the correlation between orange and black in the two series of locks, pointed to the conclusion that red hair was derived from dark hair by the conversion of more or less of the black pigment into an equal amount of orange pigment, while fair hair was derived from dark hair by a reduction of both the black and the orange pigments. Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, February 20.— Prof. W. Gowland, president, in the chair.—The alloys of gold and tellurium: Dr. T. K. Rose. An examination of the mixtures of gold and tellurium by means of the Roberts-Austen recording pyrometer, and observing polished sections under the microscope. The main con- clusions arrived at were:—(1) A compound, AuTe, of Au,Te,, containing 43-59 per cent. of gold, and correspond- ing in composition to sylvanite or calaverite, is formed when gold and tellurium are melted together in certain proportion ; this compound fuses at 452°. (2) Two eutectic mixtures are formed, containing 60 per cent. and 20 per cent. of gold respectively. These alloys correspond in composition to the formula AuTe and AuTe,. Under the microscope they do not show the characteristic banded eutectic structure, but there are certain indications that they are true compounds. (3) All the alloys of gold and tellurium are brittle. (4) All those containing less than 60 per cent. of gold fuse at temperatures between 397° and 452°.—A method of settling slimes, as applied to their separation from solution in cyanide treatment: H. G. Nichols. The principle involved is that of removing the FEuRUARY 27, 1908] NAROTRE 407 solid matter as it reaches the bottom of the tank in which it is settled by means of a conveyor belt. This process was found by repeated tests to give remarkable results both in the completeness of the separation effected and in the small proportion of liquid carried off by the solid matter.—Two deterrents to the dissolution of free gold in the cyanide process: Duncan Simpson. These deterrents are oil and lime, and the author gave examples showing their influence and the method adopted for counteracting it.—\ rapid method for the estimation of arsenic in ores : H. E. Hooper.—The Indian mint assay of silver bullion : F. T. C. Hughes. A description of the methods employed in the Indian mints for the assay of the varying qualities of bullion received for coinage purposes. This process has been in vogue for upwards of fifty years, and has given satisfactory results, being specially suited to the condition of labour, &c., existing in India, and to the varied nature of the bullion operated upon. DvBLin. Royal Dublin Society, January 21.—Prof. A. W. Conway in the chair.—The lines of flow of water in saturated soils, especially peat-mosses: L. F. Richardson. The author shows by means of experiments on “‘ Bog of Allen ” peat that the general velocity with which the water passes through the peat is proportional to the pressure gradient, and by utilising this fact he deduces the differential equa- tions for the flow of water through peat saturated with water, neglecting capillarity, and assuming the peat to be isotropic in order to facilitate the mathematical treatment of the problem. The differential equations are solved by a freehand graphic method, and the form of the saturated water surface determined, when the tubes of flow are somewhat horizontal. From the diagrams thus obtained it is possible to calculate in a simple manner—the rainfall being given—how far apart drains must be cut in a bog so as to remove just the right amount of water, and con- versely what will be the effect of a given cutting. The paper concludes with the description of another method for determining the conductivity of peat for water.—A simple form of apparatus for observing the rate of absorp- tion of oxygen by polluted waters and by other fermenting liquids: Dr. W. E. Adeney. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, February 3.—Prof. Andrew Gray, F.R.S.. vice-president, in the chair.—Sensitive state induced in magnetic materials by thermal treatment: J. G. Gray and A. D. Ross. When steel is cooled from a high temperature, the first measured susceptibility in a given field is much higher than later measured values after the specimen has been subjected to cyclic magnetisations. This phenomenon, first noticed by Ewing, was studied in detail for steel, cast iron, cobalt, and soft iron. In soft iron the phenomenon is absent or present only to a small degree. In certain specimens of steel the effect was induced to a slight degree when the substance was raised to as low a temperature as 100° C. and then cooled ; it increased with increased temperatures to about 700° C., but further in- crease of temperature had little influence. Mechanical vibrations considerably reduced the effect. The pheno- menon was most marked in fields which gave large values of the susceptibility, tending to zero as the saturation point was approached.—The growth and development of the limbs of the penguin: Dr. D. Waterston and A. C. Geddes. The material had been brought home by Dr. W. S. Bruce, leader of the Scottish Antarctic Expedition. A comparison of the stages of development with the corre- sponding stages of development of the chick of a duck showed that the limbs of the penguin began at a fairly early stage to diverge in mode of growth from those of the duck, indicating that the adaptation of the fore-limbs for swimming purposes did not imply a degeneration from a form suitable for flight. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February 17.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—The properties of pure starch: L. Maquenne. Referring to a note by M. Fouard at the last meeting of the academy on the isolation of a new NO. 2000, VOL. 77] | soluble form of starch, the author points out that this soluble starch is in all respects identical with that described by him, in conjunction with M. Roux, in the Comptes rendus two years ago. The name amylose was given to this soluble form of starch, and ordinary starch solution consists of a clear solution of amylose thickened with amylopectose.—Isotonic solutions and isoosmotic solutions : Yves Delage. A continuation of the controversy with J. Loeb. The author concludes that it is impossible to doubt that the parthenogenesis of the eggs of the sea- urchin can be brought about in solution isotonic with sea- water.—The visibility of Saturn’s ring on the side not lighted by the sun, and its reappearance in January, 1908 : M. Amann. A detailed account of the appearances pre- sented by the ring between October 4, 1907, and January 14, 1908.—The relation between flying shadows and scintillation: Cl. Rozet. A definite relation has been established between the shadow bands and the pheno- menon of scintillation. The effects have been observed, not only with the sun, but also with Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and some stars of the first magnitude.—A theorem in the theory of integral equations: E. Goursat.—The electro- lysis of solutions of hydrochloric acid: E. Doumer. In the electrolysis of hydrochloric acid, oxygen always accompanies the chlorine, the proportion of oxygen to the hydrogen set free at the other electrode depending on the concentration, and increasing with the dilution of the acid. With an anode of silver or mercury, capable of combining with the chlorine, the proportion of oxygen for the same intensity of current “is increased. The author concludes that the electrolysis of both the acid and the water takes place simultaneously. The amount of oxygen produced is not negligible, and must be taken into account in the determination of the transport factor of the ions and in the measurement of the conductivity of these solutions.— Lithium in radio-active minerals: Mlle. Gleditsch. Determinations of the copper, lithium, and the radio- activity compared with uranium have been made for the minerals thorite, Joachimsthal pitchblende, Colorado pitch- blende, carnotite, chalcolite from Cornwall, and autunite. Lithium was found in all these minerals in amounts vary- ing from o-o00r7 per cent. to 0-03 per cent., and copper in all but autunite. These results prove that there is no simple relation between the amounts of copper and lithium in radio-active minerals—A new method of estimating sulphur in organic substances: Isodore Bay. The sub- stance is mixed with sodium carbonate and magnesia, and ignited in a current of oxygen. Test analyses are given showing the accuracy obtainable——The separation of chloride and iodide of silver: H. Baubigny. A solution of ammonium carbonate can be used to effect the quanti- tative separation of silver iodide and chloride in the absence of bromide.—A method for the complete analysis of vegetable materials: J. M. Albahary.—The hydrolysis of perchloride of iron. The effect of the valency of the Michel.—The negative ions: G. Malfitano and L. reciprocal displacement of hydrocarbon groups in the Friedel and Crafts reaction: H. Duval.—The reducing properties of organo-metallic compounds: M. Leteltlier. By the action of ethyl-magnesium bromide upon ethyl oxypivalate, besides the glycol CH,(OH).C(CH,),.C(OH)(C.H,). expected, the compound CH,(OH).C(CH,),.CH(OH).C,H, was obtained as a by-product. This is formed by the reduction of the ketone CH,(OH).C(CH,),.CO.C,H,, ethylene being evolved. Other instances of the reducing action of alkyl-magnesium compounds are cited.—The simultaneous production of the 1:6- and 2: 7-dimethyl- anthracenes in the action of CH,Cl,, of CHCI,, or of C,H,Br, upon toluene in the presence of aluminium chloride: James Lavoux.—The essence of Tetranthera polyantha, var. citrata: Eug. Charabot and G. Laloue. The essences from the bark, leaves, and fruits were examined. That from the bark contained citral, citron- ellal, and an alcohol, possibly geraniol; the essence from the leaves contained citral, cineol, and the same alcohol as the bark; the essence from the fruits consisted of citral, an ester, and possibly geraniol.—The possible presence of microscopic diamonds on the sea floor and in a specimen of vegetable earth: J. Thoulet. The mechanical analysis 408 NATURE [FEBRUARY 27, 1908 of a deposit obtained from the sea floor in the Bay of Biscay furnished some minute crystals many of the characters of which corresponded to those of the diamond, and similar crystals were obtained from a specimen of vegetable earth from the forest of Haye, near Liverdun. The quantities obtained were too small to admit of com- plete identification.—Contribution to the study of the alkaline rocks of Central Africa: L. Gentil and M. Freydenberg.—New obseivations on the anatomy and affinities of the Malpighiacea’ of Madagascar: Marcel Dubard and Paul Dop.—The formation of the notochord in some larve of the Tunicates: Louis Roule.—The mechanism of variations in height of the human body and some pathological variations: R. Robinson.—The statistical proof of Mendel’s law: Angel Gallardo. An answer to some criticisms of Prof. K. Pearson.—The repro- duction and the variations of development in Glossina palpalis: E. Roubaud.—The fixation of zine by Sterigmatocystic nigra: M. Janvillier. A small propor- tion of zinc is favourable to the growth of this mould, and in solutions containing four parts per million of zine or less the whole of the zinc present is fixed by the mould. With increasing proportions of zinc in the culture solution increasing amounts of zinc are found in the mycelium, but the whole of the zinc present is not taken up. The Sterigmatocyslis is capable of fixing without injury 1/i1ooth of its weight of zinc.—The purgative action of phenolphthalein and its disodium derivative: C. Fleig.— The frequency of intestinal ulcerations in the course of an attack of influenza: Gabriel Arthaud.—Contribution to the study of the calorific radiation of the sun: G. Millo- chau and C. Féry.—The predominance of the erosion of the river Sarine on its right bank: Jean Brunhes and Cesare Calciati. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Fresrvary 27. Royat Sociery, at 4.30.—The Influence of Temperature on Phagocytosis : J. C. G. Ledingham.—The Glycogenic Changes in the Placenta and the Foetus of the Pregnant Rabbit. A Contribution to the Chemistry of Growth: J. Lochhead and W. Cramer.—On the Maturation of the Ovum in the Guinea-pig: Prof. J. E. S. Moore and Miss F, Tozer. Royat InstiruTion, at 3.—Wood: its Botanical and Technical Aspects: Prof. W. Somerville. Society oF Dyers anp Cotourists, at 8. ~The Deterioration of Modern Dyed Leathers: M. C. Lamb.—A Note on the Germicidal Value of Petroleum Benzine: F. J. Farrell and F. Howles. FRIDAY, Fepruary 28. Roya Instirurion, at 9.—Explosive Combustion, with Special Reference to that of Hydrocarbons : Prof. W. A. Bone, F.R.S. Roya Soctery or Arts, at 8.—The Removal of Dust and Fumes in Factories: Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S. PuysicaL Sociery, at 5.—Contact Potential Differences Determined by Means ef Null Solutions: S. W. J. Smith and H. Moss.—An Experi- mental Examination of Gibbs’ Theory of Surface Tension as the Basis of Adsorption with an Application to the Theory of Dyeing: W. Lewis. SATURDAY, Fesrvuary 209. Essex Fietp Cur (at the Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.—Artesian Wells on Fowlness Island, Essex, Ancient and Modern: W. H. Dalton.—On some Unexplored Fields of Essex Archeology : John French.—Note on a Post-Glacial Deposit on Mersea Island, Essex : W. H. Dalton. MONDAY, Marcu 2. VicToria INSTITUTE, at 4.30.—The Atlantic Islands, and Origin of Their Fauna: Prof. E. Hull, F.R.S. ARISTOTELIAN Society, at 8.—The Idea of Totality: Dr. S. H. Hodgson. TUESDAY, Marcu 3. Royat InstTiruTIoN, at 3.—Membranes: Their Structure, Uses and Products: Prof. W. Stirling. ZooLocicaL Society, at 8.30.—A Comparison of the Neotropical Species of Corallus, C, cookii, with C. madagascariensis ; and on some Points in the Anatomy of Covad/us caninus : F. E. Beddard, F.R.S.—On a Young Female Kordofan Giraffe: Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S.—Descrip- fon oi a New Species of Monkey of the Genus Cercopithecus: R. I. OCOCK. Civit AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’ Society, at 8.— Notes on Engineering Works in Austria and Bosnia: A. S. E. Ackermann. InsTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Further discussion: The New York Rapid-transit Subway : W. B. Parsons. WEDNESDAY, Marcu 4. Soctety oF Arts, at 8.—Modern Dairy Practice: Loudon M: S Royat Do GEOLor \1. SOCIETY, at 8.—On Metriorhynchus brachyrhynchus (Deslong.) from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough : E. Thurlow Leeds.—The High- Level Platforms of Bodmin Moor, and their Relation to the Deposits of Stream-tin and Wolfram: G. Barrow. NO. 2000, VOL. 77 EnromoLoGicaL Society, at 8.—Descriptions of New Species of Ze/i- doptera heterocera from South-east Brazil: E. Dukinfield-Jones. Sociery of Pusric Anatysis, at 8.—The Volumetric Determination of Reducing Sugars: Part 11. The Limits of Accuracy of the Method under Standard Conditions: A. R. Ling and G. Cecil Jones. Part II]. The Influence of Cane Sugar: A. R. Ling and T. Rendle. —(1) The Composi- tion of Milk; (2) The Nitrogen Factor for Casein: H. D. Richmond. THURSDAY, Maxcu 5. Roya. Society, at 4.30.—Probable Papfers:—On the Atomic Weight of Radium: Dr. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S.—On the Electrical Resistance of Moving Matter: Prof. F. T. Trouton, F.R.S., and A. O. Rankine.— On the Nature of the Streamers in the Electric Spark: Dr. S. R. Milner, —The Relation between Wind Velocity at 1000 Metres Altitude and the Surface Pressure Distribution : E. Gold. Roya Institution, at 3.—Early British History and Epigraphy: Sir John Rhys. CuHemicat Society, at 8.30.—The Solubility of Iodine in Water: H. Hartley and N. P. Campbell.—Traces of a New Tin-group Element in Thorianite : Miss C. de B. Evans. INsvITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Fuse Phenomena: Prof, A. Schwartz and W. H. N. James. LinneAN Sociery, at 8.—On the Morphology of Stigmaria in Comparison with Recent Lycopodiacee: Prof. Ff. E. Weiss.—On_ Tvrichoniscoides albidus and T. savsi: Alexander Patience.—Exhibits : Fruit Destroying Flies: W. W. Froggatt.—Mimicry in the Common Sole: Dr. A. T. Masterman. FRIDAY, Marcu 6. oO at g.—Recent Earthquakes : NSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Surveying on Thunder Bay Branch of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Canada: R. V. Morris. — British Practice in Railway Surveying : W. Graham.—Railway Surveying in Great Britain: W. C. Crawford. SATURDAY, Marcu 7. Roya Institution, at 3.—Electric Discharges through Gases: Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. Prof. John Milne, CONTENTS. Man and Nature in South-West Africa. PAGE By Sir Hesyjohnston, G\CoMiGrememen]) - 9: sane 385 Alcobolvandiits Effects jy --aemeei . |: ao Van der Waals and his Successors. By T. M. L. 387 American Forage Crops. By E.J.R....... 388 Our Book Shelf :— Berberich : ‘‘ Astronomischer Jahresbericht”. . . . 389 van Laar: ‘‘ Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektro- chemie auf thermodyn amischer Grundlage” . . . 389 MG LOS ACME Alo 6 oo oO mS Sono Heh) Letters to the Editor :— : The Speed of Racing Animals.—Prof. John Perry, RSS (cos, | 5) se ke). OT The Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere.—W. H. Pines, RF R.S.. seas .<. ©: alee eee OO The Inheritance of ‘* Acquired” Characters. —Dr. H. Charlton Bastian, F.R.S.; Dr. G. Archdall Reid's A. DD. Acie.» cies The Possibility of Life in Mars.—C. O. Bartrum ; Draw’. Evans) ieee MPM, Chic foro 5 3h The Stresses in Masonry Dams.—H. M. Martin. . 392 Three Animal Biographies. (JZ//ustrated.) ByR. L. 393 Studies in National Degeneration ........ 304 Sir Richard Strachey, G.C.S.I., F.R.S. By Dr. Wieelishaw, yh: RUS hs ie eee. |. (0 ean Notes Ly A Oa oc CaM oe 4 oo 6 SOF Our Astronomical Column :— SatumiseRings: ,.) . 1c tener meee co @) vente iene The Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy. . . . . 401 (Comepgo7a...<.2:) EE Ses ee So - 401 Uniformly Distributed Dark Spots on Jupiter . 401 Double-Star Observations ...-......- 401 Planetary Photography. (///lustrated.) By Prof. Percival Lowell . 3 cL ieee sue) =) << a O2 Hydrology in the United States. ......... 404 The Testing of Materials. By T. H.B....... 404 University and EducationalIntelligence. .... 404 Societies and Academies... .........:.+=. = 406 Diarysorasocieties: 750. a's yey sae 408 NERO Tee 409 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1908. THE EVOLUTION OF ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS. Zur Geschichte der astronomischen Messwerkzeuge von Purbach bis Reichenbach 1450 bis 1830. By Joh. A. Repsold. Pp. viii+132. (Leipzig: Wil- heim Engelmann, 1go8.) Price 16 marks. (i all that relates to the mounting of telescopes or the construction of instruments intended for accurate measurements, in all that increases their convenience or adds io their efficiency, the firm of Repsold has won a world-wide reputation, and the booix before us indicates in some measure the reason for this marked success. The head of the firm has been a Ikeen and interested student of the history of past construction. For more than forty years, the author reminds us, he has been engaged in furthering the progress of instrumental construction, and in this time he has given close study to all that has effected the gradual development of this branch of engineering technique. He has assimilated all that experience can teach, has learnt the strength and the weakness of the work of past masters, and has profited by their example and their attainments. We now in our turn have the opportunity of benefiting by the results of this close study, perfected by much examination and sifting, and in addition to tracing the evolution of modern instruments we get glimpses of the history of astronomy, viewed from a new and _ interesting standpoint. Obviously, the connection between the progress of astronomical science and the improvement in instrumental equipment must be continuous and intimate, but how close the tie is can hardly be appre- hended until we make a historical survey of the prin- ciples of instrumental construction, on a plan which reveals the part played by successive makers, and makes us understand to what extent astronomy has been forwarded by their endeavours. \lthough the author limits his review from 1450, when Purbach to give expression to his mechanical ideas, to 1830, when Traughton in Eng- land and Gambey in France were representatives of the art of instrument making, the survey cannot be restricted to precise dates. At one end we listen again to the description of the contrivances of Ptolemy, which served for models through so many centuries, and at the other we are permitted to see the begin- nings of the famous house of Repsold, destined to influence the methods of future artists. The author passes in review the mechanical efforts of the Arabians, whose claims to consideration have been extravagantly championed by Sédillot and as stoutly disputed by Delambre. He acknowledges the skill of the devices which enabled them to solve approximately a particular class of problems by mechanical means, but cannot find much to praise in their measuring instruments. The astrolabe and the so-called “sextant ’’ meet with adequate recognition, but a careful consideration of the facts, which are set out with the clearness bespealing the practical expert, leaves the impression that the Arabians did very little NO 2001, VOL. 77] strove to advance the means for making accurate observa- tion. They imitated, they did not invent, and none of the generic improvements which have facilitated the subdivision of small intervals of time and space— the main problem which has engaged the attention of successive generations of instrument malkers—on which accurate astronomy depends, can be placed to their credit. Frequent reproduction has made us familiar with the forms of the instruments used by Copernicus and Tycho, who with Hevel may be regarded as the last representatives of a pre-telescopic age. But here, in addition to very complete illustration, we have from the pen of a competent authority a full technical de- scription of those contrivances, accompanied by acute and illuminating remarks on the adequacy of the design to secure the end contemplated, the faults of construction, and oftentimes the reason for the adop- tion of particular metheds. Down the stream of time this discriminating but generous criticism is pursued, necessarily affording a clearer insight into the diffi- culties and successes of individual artists. The introduction of the telescope offered a new set of problems for solution. The continual increase in focal length compelled makers to abandon the sector form of instrument, such as the quadrant, and forced upon them the necessity of devising more appropriate means for measurement, though Halley and Bradley both used $S-feet quadrants. The employment of complete circles and the designing of instruments of greater symmetry in their several parts were the consequence, and no one displayed more ingenuity or foresight than did Romer. With justice, the author carefully discusses the worl: of this astronomer, whose claims to recognition have been very tardily admitted, mainly owing to Delambre’s jealous partisanship of Picard. But Dr. Repscid has known how to do justice to the one without injury to the other. Romer in various ways anticipated modern design. His machina domestica was the prototype of the present transit instrument, his rota meridiana of the meridian circle, while his azimuthal instrument foreshadowed the introduction of the convenient uni- versal instrument. The use of two bearings to carry a long axis of rotation, increased symmetry of struc- ture, the adaptation of the reading microscope, the practice of determining instrumental errors by suitable mechanical means, were all as fully appreciated by Ramer as they are to-day. Considering how indispensable a micrometer is to a telescope, and how materially it increases the scope and usefulness, its evolution proceeded slowly, but the study of its many transformations is of singular interest. The urgency of the demand for the means of measuring the diameter of a planet seems out of proportion to its importance, but the solution of the general problem, containing as it does that of the accurate and convenient subdivision of small spaces, taxed the ingenuity of instrument makers severely. Huyghens proposed a thin wedge, which could be moved in the focal plane until the planet was exactly occulted, when the measurement of the breadth of the wedge at that point gave the diameter. A net- T AIO NATURE [Marcu 5, 1908 work of small squares in the focus of the eyepiece another favourite device which might have very well if the object to be measured exactly fitted the side of the square. Picard seems to have first imagined the use of the screw to move two plates of metal, similar to the slit of a spectroscope, but to measure the distance, if we correctly under- stand the description, he had to detach the micrometer from the telescope and place it under an ordinary microscope. Hooke supplied the movable wires as an improvement to Gascoigne’s micrometer, and Auzout introduced the divided head. Rémer gave us the spring to take out the ‘“loss’’ of the screw, Traughton added the position circle, and so the tale goes on, showing the variety of processes and the slowness of growth necessary to ensure the perfected form that receives general acceptance. The processes followed in dividing the limbs of graduated instruments is another subject which the author’s practical knowledge and great experience can render peculiarly interesting, but we can say no more than that in this treatise, with its admirable illustrations, will be found a valuable collection of facts from which one can trace that growth of mechanical skill and improved technique, which have ministered so materially to the progress of astro- nomical science. was answered NATURE AND NURTURE OF THE CHILD. An Introduction to Child-study. By W. B. Drum- mond, M.B., C.M. Pp. iii+348. (London: Edward Arnold, 1907.) Price 6s. net. The Child’s Mind: its Growth and Training. By W. E. Urwick, M.A. Pp. xi+269. (London: Edward Arnold, 1907.) Price 4s. 6d. net. R. DRUMMOND, who is already well known as the author of a useful primer on the nature and nurture of the young child, has written a more ambitious book, which ‘‘ aims at supplying a fairly comprehensive introduction to child-study.’? His work, therefore, necessarily covers a wide field, rang- ing from facts of growth, defects of the special senses, and school hygiene, by way of the instincts, habits and interests of children, to their forms of expression and their moral and religious characteristics. On all these he writes interesting chapters prefaced by sec- tions dealing with methods of investigation and other introductory topics. On p. 87 the student is wisely warned against the over-enthusiasm exhibited by ‘‘a number of workers especially in America,’”? some of whom “ start with no definite object in view and not unnaturally arrive nowhere.”’ It would doubtless be unfair to suggest that this severe criticism applies not inaptly to the child-study movement as a whole. Nevertheless, on turning the last page of this book one is tempted to ask whether it is possible to secure “ the chief end of child-study,’? which is, we are told, ‘ not only to collect facts about children,’’ but also ‘to formulate them in such a way as to make them available for science and for the use of those who need them for application to practical problems,” so long as even NO. 2001, VOL. 77] such able exponents as Mr. Drummond give us little more than a mass of materials of widely different values, not always submitted to adequate criticism, and illuminated from no general point of view. This complaint should, however, be qualified by recognition that the author can scarcely fail to encourage sympa- thetic observation of children—a result with which he would, apparently, be satisfied. By contrast with Mr. Drummond’s book, the sys- tematic unity of treatment that follows from adherence to a clearly conceived point of view is the most pro- minent characteristic of Mr. Urwick’s. The author of ‘‘ The Child’s Mind ”’ sees clearly that :— “Tt is not sufficient for the purpose of education merely to collect and state facts drawn from these sciences [Biology, Physiology and Psychology] which seem to be relevant... . The rays of light coming from the different sciences must be focussed, passed, as it were, through a common lens, in order that the light thrown may be cumulative and concentrated rather than sporadic.” It may be said at once that he has performed the task thus indicated in such a way as to make his modestly announced ‘‘ study ’’ one of the most useful pedagogical treatises of recent years. He has given what is much more helpful than the best ‘* psychology for teachers ’’—a consistent interpretation of the educa- tive process as a whole as it presents itself under the more or less conventional conditions which actually determine it. Mr. Urwick’s treatment is based upon the modern concept of connation. Human behaviour can be analysed largely into connative processes which set towards or away from objects of positive or negative ‘immediate value.’? In relation to these immediate values other objects of perception or thought may have ‘‘ final value.’’ Education consists in the (in- direct) teaching of a certain range of immediate values and the (direct) teaching of final values with refer- ence to these. Thus immediate and final value replace in Mr. Urwick’s scheme the Herbartian notion of interest. His treatment is in a sense complementary to the older doctrine, of which he gives fragmentary but interesting criticisms. The student will find it a valuable exercise to study ‘“‘ The Child’s Mind ”’ together with a representative exposition of the Her- bartian psychology such as that of Prof. Adams. TP INes OUR BOOK SHELF. The Essentials of Cytology. An Introduction to the Study of Living Matter. With a Chapter on Cytological Methods. By Charles Edward Walker. Pp. vilit139. (London: Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 7s. 6d. net. Tue need for an elementary text-book on cytology has been felt for some years, and Mr. Walker has sought to meet it in the volume before us. There is much in the book that is good. The details of nuclear division in the higher forms are clearly pre- sented, and the student is enabled to gain a clear idea of the process by means of the admirable and in- genious stereoscopic photographs which accompany the volume. Marcu 5, 1908] NATURE 411 A considerable space is devoted to a consideration of the reduction phenomena which form such a strik- ing feature in the cellular life-cycle of the great majority of animals and plants. But we cannot forbear from protesting against the introduction of what seems to us to be a totally unjustifiable con- fusion jnto current terminology. The term ‘‘ meiotic phase,’’ used to cover the processes connected with **reduction,’? was introduced to embrace the two mitoses which are intimately connected. In the course of the first of these the reduction in the number of the chromosomes is accomplished. Mr. Walker, however, speaks of the second meiotic division as post-meiotic, thus obscuring the close relationship that exists be- tween the heterotype and homotype division, a rela- tionship that is, partly at least, due to the fact that in the prophase of the first meiotic (heterotype) division, a fission in the chromosome rudiments takes place which will be consummated during the second (homotype) mitosis; this explains the common, though not invariable, absence of the spireme from the second division, and probably is connected with the rapidity with which the two mitoses usually follow on each other. The term post-meiotic should be (as it hitherto has been) reserved for those mitoses, if any, which occur after the completion of the meiotic phase. The description given of polar bodies is made, doubt- less by inadvertence, to read as though these struc- tures only represented nuclei and not cells, whereas, of course, they are each severally homologous with the egg. The book would be improved by the substitution of a more comprehensive account of the nuclei of the lower organisms for the matter contained in chapters x. and xi., which seems to us to be somewhat out of place in a work of this kind, as well as open to criticism on other grounds. The addition of an introductory chapter dealing with the development of our knowledge of the cell, and the recognition of its paramount importance, would be useful when there is a demand for a_ second edition, and at the same time the references which appear at the foot of some of the pages might also be completed. We have criticised the work somewhat frankly, perhaps, but this has been done not with the intention of condemning it. On the contrary, it possesses many very good qualities, and with some little modification and correction, it will easily rank as an extremely useful text-book of elementary cytology. Vg 183s FP Immune Sera. By Dr. C. F. Bolduan. Second edition, re-written. Pp. viiit154. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. Tuts book has its origin in a monograph by Wasser- man, a translation of which was published by the author in 1904. This second edition has been re- written by the translator. The original chapters are dealt with more fully, and the scope of the book has been widened by the addition of chapters on venins and antivenins, agglutinins, opsonins, and serum- sickness. The antitoxins are first dealt with, and brief out- lines are given of the history of the subject and of the methods of preparing and testing antitoxins. Ehrlich’s views on the origin of antitoxin, on the con- stitution of diphtheria antitoxin, and on the nature of the combination between toxin and antitoxin, are treated in a lucid manner. The views of Arrhenius and of Bordet receive less adequate treatment. In handling the subject of the agglutinins, the bacteriolysins, the hamolysins, and the precipitins, NO. 2001, VOL. 77] much discrimination has been shown in avoiding a discussion of the more difficult theoretical considera- tions, and in selecting the fundamental facts and experiments for exposition. A good account is given of the application of hemolytic and precipitin methods to practical pur- peses. Among these may be mentioned methods of great importance in medico-legal work, viz., the biological tests for bloodstains by means of which it is possible to differentiate human blood from the blood of other animals. The least satisfactory chapters in the bool are those on serum sickness, snake venoms, and opsonins. In regard to the last, the author states that the results obtained by most workers in America fail to bear out Wright’s claims for his method. On the whole, this is an excellent little book, and ought to be of service both to those who wish to keep abreast of the main advances in the subject and to those who are attacking these questions for the first time. A Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies. By W. J. Rainbow. Pp. 272; illustrated. (Melbourne : T. C. Lothian, 1907.) Price 3s. 6d. Tis is a useful little book intended for beginners taking up the study of Australian butterflies, with special reference to their life-history. Indeed, the author not only tells us in his preface that ‘‘ much of the material in the way of life-histories is now pub- lished for the first time,’? but also, ‘‘ Only those species of which something is known of their life- history are included in the present volume.”’ Surely this last resolution is a double mistake. On the one hand it will be a great disappointment to any collector who meets with one of the purposely omitted species not to be able to discover from this book (perhaps the only one on the subject to be found within hundreds o: miles) whether his find is known, or probably new ; and, on the other, if attention had been directed to imperfectly known species, it would have largely conduced to efforts being made to supply the de- ficiencies in our knowledge. The book otherwise, however, seems to be very well executed, and is re- markable for being written almost entirely from Australian sources. The classification followed is taken from Mr. G. A. Waterhouse’s ‘‘Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia.’? The frontispiece represents two hand- some species of Delias and two of Papilio, while most of the species mentioned in the book are excellently ficured, figures of the earlier stages being frequently added. The introductory chapters deal with trans- formations, parasites, collecting and preserving, &c., and are also freely illustrated, the figures of wing- neuration on p. 23 being particularly good. Ninety species are included in this little volume, distributed among six families as follows :—Nymphalidz (sens. lat.), 35; Libytheide, 1; Lycinidz (sic), 16; Pieride, 12; Papilionidze, 9; Hesperidz, 17. : We notice a few peculiarities in the spelling of some of the names, which appear to be not misprints, but intentional, such as Nenica kluggi, and Lycinide. W. F. K. The Theory and Practice of Perspective Drawing. By S. Polak. Pp. viiit184. (London: University Tutorial Press, Ltd., 1907.) Price 5s. Tus volume of the’ ‘‘ Organised Science Series ’’ has been specially compiled to meet the requirements of the Board of Education’s syllabus in perspective, and covers the ground of both sections A and B of that syllabus with their direct and inverse problems. 412 NATURE [Marci 5, tgo8 The method of treatment adopted by the author is one likely to be very effective in teaching; new principles and processes, as they arise natural development of the subject, are illus- trated and driven home by the use of models, diagrams, and repeated applications to suitable problems, so that the conscientious student is always fully conversant with the reasons for his geometrical constructions. The very excellent and suggestive questions from the examination papers of the Board of Education for the last five or six years are freely employed, both in the text and as sample test papers, affording a good criterion of progress. In addition to the ordinary geometrical solids, many familiar objects the forms of which can be dissected into simple geometrical figures are used as examples. After the student has thoroughly mastered the fundamental principles as set forth in part i., he should experience comparatively little difficulty with the three succeeding parts, which extend the subject to lines and planes obliquely situated, to shadows by parallel and divergent rays, and to reflections in hori- zontal and vertical mirrors. The book will be very acceptable both to teachers and students of this interesting branch of applied geometry. Strength of Materials. By W. C. Popplewell. Pp. x+180. (Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1907.) Tuts text-book, which is based on the notes of lectures given by the author to day and even- ing students at the Manchester Municipal School of Technology, deals with the fundamental principles which must be mastered by every student who wishes to have a sound knowledge of machine and structural design. Special attention has been devoted to the effects of unequal distribution of stress, and in chapter vii. the author gives details of his own experimental work in connection with this branch of the subject. The last three chapters give an account of the methods adopted and appliances required in making tests of the various materials used in constructional work, and the important subjects of limit of elasticity and of the influence of previous loading, &c., upon the limit are discussed. In an appendix is given a table of strengths and weights of a large number of different materials, and there is a collection of useful examination questions for each chapter. in the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. |The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] Lithium in Radio-active Minerals. Tur aeCeRE results of Mlle. Gleditsch (Comptes rendus, exlvi., p. 31) corroborating those of Prof.. McCoy, viz. that tibiae is generally, but not always, a constituent of radio-active minerals containing copper, and that there is no fixed proportionality between the copper and the lithium in these minerals, must not be taken to have the exclusive significance which their authors attribute to them. As explained in our original communication to the Chemical Society, we are inclined to believe that sodium, and perhaps also potassium, are products of the degradation of copper salts when in contact with radium emanation. As both these metals are constituents of ordinary glass, and as the eriments were carried out in glass Fossalle, the only argument which was used was that the weight of the residue from the treated was greater than that from the untreated copper salt. Lithium was mentioned because it Is an unlikely constituent of dust, glass, copper, &c., which were tested specially to prove its absence; it was certainly contained in the treated residue. Inasmuch as NO. 2001, VOL. 77] the emanation in contact with water yields neon, on the probable Supposition that monatomic gases are produced from the emanation, it would follow that the production of any particular one is dependent on surrounding condi- tions. It will be remembered that the gases from the action of the emanation on a solution of copper sulphate contained no helium, but probably argon. As sodium and potassium are much more widely distributed than lithium, it is more likely that they are the chief products from copper, and that some modifying circumstance has deter- mined the formation of a trace of lithium. Experiments now in progress in silica vessels will settle this point. Numerous chemical analogies might be adduced in favour of this view. For example, the action of bleaching powder on ammonia solution is to give nitrogen for the most part; if much ammonia be present, and if glue or some other colloid be present, hydrazine is the chief product. One can only be guided by such analogies in determining the lines of future experiments. W. Ramsay. Formation of Ground-ice. In Canada we have made an extended study of the formation of ground-ice, or anchor-ice as it is called here, and consequently I was interested to see a letter in NATURE of January 30 from Mr. Hampson asking for information as to its origin. May I at the outset refer Mr. Hampson to four papers published many years ago which are wonderfully interest- ing to anyone studying the formation of ground-ice? Two of the papers appeared in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, one by M. Arago, vol. xv., p. 123, 1833, and the other by the Rev. Mr. Ejisdale, vol. xvii., p. 167, 1834. The two other papers were published in the Phil. Trans., vol. CXxv., p. 329, 1835, and vol. cxxxi., p. 37, 1841, by the Rev. James Farquharson, of Alford. ; In reply to the questions raised by Mr. Hampson, I may say that (1) the essential conditions for the formation of ground-ice on the bed of a river are clear weather conditions at night with the water at or near the freezing point, excessively low air temperatures by day, with no sunshine and no surface ice or other cover such as over- hanging weeds or a bridge to check the nocturnal radia- tions. The answer to (2) is covered by the above. (3) A flowing river becomes stirred by eddy currents, and hence the cold surface layers find their way to the bottom. We notice many of our large rivers flow with a rolling motion. (4) The water is such a bad conductor of heat that it is only by the mechanical action that the bed of a river becomes cold enough to form ice on it when aided by radiation, or, as I have shown, by a slight supercooling in the water. (5) Ground-ice will form in water of any degree of agitation provided either or both of the causes mentioned in (4) are operating. In the case Mr. Hampson cites of the mill, I should say the heat generated by the water flowing through the mill would tend to prevent the formation of ice on the lower side. In Canada we have anchorice formed in very large quantities in all the waterways flowing too swiftly for surface-ice to form. In some parts of the St. Lawrence it grows 5 feet or 6 feet in depth, forming very rapidly during the periods of intense cold and clear nights. On bright days the sun’s radiant heat brings large quantities of it to the surface with much noise and disturbance. The buoyancy of large masses of the ice is often great enough to raise huge stones and boulders and carry them along in the current, depositing by this means portions of the river bed further down stream in the quieter waters. Boatmen are very careful not to cross the river when anchor-ice is rising, for fear of having a large mass come up under them and carry the boat helpless into the rapids. Under surface-ice, with its covering of opaque snow crystals, anchor-ice does not form, and hence it causes no trouble under these conditions. Anchor-ice is known and studied in every country in the world where ice is formed, and there is much that might be written about it. In Nature of January wa 1907, a careful review of my book on ‘‘ Ice Formation,’ with special reference to anchor-ice and frazil, was given, and may help to answer some of the questions in the “long list’? mentioned by Mr. Hampson, My paper read ae — Marcu 5, 1908] NATURE 413 before Section G at the Leicester meeting of the British Association, and published with illustrations in Engineer- ing for August, 1907, will convey some idea of the ice problem as presented to the users of ‘‘ white coal’’ in Canada. In Russia, M. Wladimirop has published several important papers on his studies of the ice conditions on the Neva, in connection with the Waterworks Commission of St. Petersburg. One thing is well established, and that is that the formation of natural ice such as ground-ice, whether in Great Britain, Canada, Russia, France, Germany or elsewhere, conforms to the known laws of nature. Not a single known case of natural ice formation has ever come under my notice which has not its possible duplication in a laboratory experiment. The two differ only in the magnitude of their effects. isla McGill University, Montreal, February 10. BarNeEs. The Possibility of Life on Mars Mr. Dines’s important letter on the ‘‘ Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere ’’ has obviously an important bearing on the question of the gases that have been retained or lost by the atmosphere of Mars. If the temperature of our atmosphere ceases to decrease when a height averaging 35,000 feet is reached, and then remains practically constant at an average temperature of —47° C. whatever height be attained, we may expect somewhat similar con- ditions to prevail in the atmosphere of Mars, and naturally ask what are the temperatures which will allow of the escape of the different gases. This question can be easily answered by a brief calcula- tion from the data furnished on pp. 113 and 325 of Jeans’s ““ Dynamical Theory of Gases’ (1904). We find that at a temperature of —175° C. hydrogen will be ‘* certainly retained,’? while at —65° C. it will be ‘‘ certainly lost.’’ The corresponding temperatures for helium will be —81° C. and 136° C., and for water vapour 599° C. and 1583° C. From these figures it results that if the temperature of the isothermal layer of Mars be the same as the tempera- ture of that of our atmosphere, hydrogen will be lost, helium probably retained, and water vapour clearly re- tained. I should imagine that in the case of Mars the isothermal layer wil! be much colder, especially as the carbonic acid that is present in the atmosphere of that planet will be concentrated in the lower levels. Neither Prof. Lowell nor Dr. Russel Wallace appear quite to have realised the importance of the influence of carbonic acid on the atmospheric temperature at the surface of the planet. It is now a commonplace of geology that a variation in the small percentage of carbonic acid in the earth's atmosphere will have an important effect on the tempera- ture of the latter, though authorities differ as to the numerical amount of the variation required to produce a given change of temperature under given conditions. If the atmosphere contains a relatively large amount of carbonic acid, a correspondingly greater proportion of the heat received will be retained, and the temperature will be higher. Such conditions will be marked by luxuriant vegetation, and at the same time rapid formation of carbonates by the action of water containing carbonic acid on silicates and other minerals. This will eventuate in a period when there is less carbonic acid in the air, and colder conditions will prevail. The growth of vegetation and the decomposition of minerals will be checked and confined to the warmer portions of the earth’s surface. The supplies of carbonic acid from intratelluric sources will then gradually add to the amount of carbonic acid in the atmosphere, bringing an increase in temperature with it.’ There are features in the geological record which lend support to the view that such a cvcle of changes has occurred more than once in the earth’s history. If, now, we make the very reasonable assumption that the crust of Mars is composed of the same minerals as those with which we are familiar, and its atmosphere of the same gases as ours, and that accessions of carbonic 1 | have stated the theory in its simplest terms. There are other circum- stances that affect the amount of carbonic acidin the air. Prof. Chamberlin believes that the sea plays an important part in absorbing or giving out the zas according to the conditions that prevail. NO. 2001, VOL. 77] acid are received from the interior of the planet, we may expect a similar automatic adjustment of the temperature so that it is never too cold for the chemical reactions of carbonic acid in solution to take place, and for vegeta- tion, such as that believed to exist by Prof. Lowell, to maintain itself somewhere on the surface of the planet. The amount of carbonic acid required for the purpose will, of course, be greater than that in our atmosphere, but there is no reason to believe that it would reach an amount which would b> injurious to the life of plants or animals, even if such were similar in nature to those on the earth. Whether Prof. Lowell can be considered to have estab- lished his views is a question on which I do not feel called upon to express an opinion, but I confess that the arguments advanced against them do not strike me as convincing. They remind me of those of the engineers who satisfied themselves that a locomotive could not draw a train of trucks on smooth rails, and were not persuaded to the contrary until they saw that it did so. Imperial Institute, February 28. J. W. Evans. A Fundamental Contradiction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum-series. Tue electrical theory of dispersion is based on the hypo- theses (1) that electric waves are due to motions of electric charges, and waves of light in particular to vibrations of charges inside the atom; and (2) that these vibrations are governed by linear equations. On this basis we obtain the usual dispersion formule, e.g. that of Drude :— ie Nine en ~ minty, IY —A7y/A* where is the refractive index for wave-length A, A; one of the free periods of a set of electrons in the atom, ey the charge, m, the mass, and N, the number per c.c. of the electrons of the set, while the summation is for all possible free periods of the atom. In particular, if A be greater than every one of the free wave-lengths of the atom, we get abba! w—1> Ney, my, Consider the contribution of all the lines of the well- known Balmer series to the dispersion of hydrogen; for this series 2 mi? RS Keo aa? M=3,4,+- n> — . 00, where A,» =3646'13 A.U. Its contribution exceeds M=D ‘ s Ny27,A2., ms om (1? = 4)? TI), m=3 If the theory is to account for the lines of the series at all, the factor Ny,e%,A2,,/m, cannot vanish for any line; let A be its least value. Then the contribution exceeds M=D mi m=3 (nt 7 4)" The sum is obviously infinite; but all experience shows that for long waves the refractive index of hydrogen is nearly unity, and finite even for Juminous hydrogen. The same result follows for any series formula which implies that a series has (1) a tail; (2) an infinite number of lines the wave-length of which exceeds that of the tail, that is, for all known formule which agree with measure- ments either of line or of band series. Thus we must either reject the usual notion of a series, and with it all the formule which represent our experience best, or we must reject the hypothesis that series lines are due to small vibrations of electric charges governed by linear equations, and with it the usual theories of dispersion and absorption, of the Zeeman effect and of magnetic rotation for series lines. G. A: Scnorr. Physical Institute, Bonn, February 17. AI4 NALORE [Marcu 5, 1908 | NOTES ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS.} | Theoretical value of May-year azimuths. VI.—DOLMENS. | May November IN some previous notes I have given an account of Tine Maenene Trae Magnes some measurements of the so-called ‘‘ cromlechs g 14° hill: retraction Siar ea aaa ae of Cornwall. In referring to this subject in a more ' and semi-diameter N. 64 26 ... 81 6 ... S. 61 Geiss Usin Ye: * My wife and I visited the Devil's Den, in company with Mr. R. H. Caird, in July, 1906, and again in August, 1907. The compass bear- ing was N. 134° E. looking east- ward through the aperture formed by the three stones, and the height of the horizon in this direction was 1° 25/, thus agreeing with the value of the November sunrise given in the table. Here then, as in Cornwall, the November and February sunrises, when the sun has a S. declination of 16° 20’, are in question. It is well known that two of the most famous long barrows in England with their included dol- mens are close to Avebury; one of them, the ‘‘ West Kennet Long Barrow,’’ is described in Smith’s ‘* British and Roman Antiquities of N. Wiltshire,’ p. 154. J con- dense his reference :— “The ‘ West Kennet Long Bar- row,’ indeed, is one of the most notorious, as well as one of the largest of the Long barrows in the kingdom; and although it is much cut about, with a waggon-track general manner, it will be well, I think, pour préciser | passing over the centre of it, a confusion of les idées, to refer to the word itself. In English | large sarsens tumbled together at the east works on archeology it is used as a variant for | end, and several big trees occupying its sides, dolmens, chambered barrows, chambered cairns, and kistvaens, while in France it is applied to the more or less irregular circles and groups of stones associated with avenues; and there the equivalents of the Cornish ‘‘ crom- lechs,’’ which exist in great num- bers, are invariably called dolmens. It is convenient, therefore, to use the word dolmen when such structures are considered separ- ately from the circles. With regard to the examples available for measurement in Cornwall, the important, and in- deed striking, conclusion was arrived at that almost all those given by Lukis were erected so that the sunrises at the May-year or solstitial festivals could be plies to other localities, and referred to other similar structures in S. Wales which gave the same results. I now propose to go further afield, with the view of in- quiring whether this law ap- plies to other localities, and I Fic. 19.—Devil’s Den, looking towards May sunset. will begin with one I have myself measured, the Devil’s Den at Ave-| it is still of imposing appearance. Let us first - see what our old Wiltshire antiquaries thought _The conditions at, Avebury are as follows:—Lat. | of it, and then what it proved to be, when opened by Fic. 18.—Devil’s Den, Avebury, looking towards November sunrise. N. 51° 25’. Magnetic variation, 16° 40’ W., 1906. Dr. Thurnam. Aubrey gives but a brief and very 1 Continued from p. 371 inaccurate description : ‘On the brow of the hill, south NO. 2001, VOL. Ta a i ei ne el Marcu 5, 1908 | INA TROT LS from West Kynnet, is this monument, but without any name: It is about four perches long, but at the end only rude grey-wether stones tumbled together. The barrow is about half a yard high.’’’ ! Stukeley says of it*: ‘* The other Long barrows are much exceeded by South Long Barrow, near Silbury Hill, south of it, and upon the bank of the Kennet. It stands east and west, pointing to the dragon’s head on Overton Hill. A very operose congeries of huge stones upon the east end and upon part of its back or ridge, pil’d one upon another, with no little labour. . . . The whole tumulus is an excessively large mound of earth 180 cubits long, ridg’d up like a house.’”’ Sir R. Hoare’s account of it* is as follows :— ““There are several stupendous Long barrows in the neighbourhood of Abury : one of the most remarkable has been recorded by Stukeley as situated south of Silbury Hill. It extended in length 344 feet: it rises, as usual, towards the east end, where several stones appear above ground: and here, if uncovered, we sheuld probably find the interment, and perhaps a subterraneous kistvaen.”’ Dean Merewether states * :—‘‘ At the east end were lying, in a dislodged condition, at least thirty sarsen stones, in which might clearly be traced the chamber formed by the side uprights and large transom stones, and the similar but lower and smaller passage leading to it: and below, round the base of the east end, were to be seen the portion of the circle or semi-circle of stones bounding it.’’ I have given this somewhat long account because it shows that all information relating to orientation is omitted irom it; it is generally, indeed, neglected by modern archzologists. Even Stukeley himself, though he was thoroughly acquainted with magnetic varia- tion and at times used a theodolite, is caught napping in the case of this barrow. Fortunately, however, the apparently useless statement that the barrow points to the dragon’s head on Overton Hill helps us, as this was a circle the site of which is known, though the stones have disappeared. This bearing (true) is N. 64° E. as determined from the 6-inch Ordnance map. Here again, then, we deal with the May year and the May and August sunrises, still another argument in favour of Avebury and its region being connected with the May year. I may next refer to some cromlechs near Dublin (lat. 53° 20’ N.), which were described by Prof. J. P. O’Reilly.° I give the results of his stated amplitudes in tabular form :— Cromlech Value given Azimuth Hill Declination Glen Druid... E.24 30 N. ... N.65 30E. ... 4 ... 14 20N. (assumed) Howth... ss. be27 oN. ... Nj 6380 Hs... A) .-s 1544) No (assumed) Mount Venus E. 23 28N. ... N.66 32E. ... CMa ies DSi Sp Ns Shankill... t ee an me 55 oe nH Larch Hill... . eee 2 ar Aa va “A It will be seen that here again we are in all prob- ability dealing with the May and August sunrises, when the sun has a declination of 16° 20! N. It is to be regretted that in Borlase’s fine book on the dolmens of Ireland, the lack of all accurate state- ment touching the lie of the monuments renders its thousand pages and hundreds of illustrations quite useless for my purposes. 1 From MS, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, quoted in “ Archzologia,” vol xxxvill., p 407. 2 2 * Abury Described,” p. 46. 3 * Ancient Wilts, North,” p. 96. 4 Proceedings of Archzological Institute, Salisbury volume, pp. 97, 98- 5 Proc. R.1.A., iv., pp. 589-605 (1896-8). NO. 2001, VOL. 77 | After what I have suggested as to the probable use of dolmens, namely, that they were useful among other things as look-out places, it is not to be ex- pected that only the rise of the sun would be found provided for. They should follow the precedent of the avenues, and be presented to star as well as to sun rise. In two instances known to me the information is complete enough to enable a stellar use to be traced. The first is at the Hurlers. Full details have been already given in my ‘ Stonehenge.”’ The second is at Callernish (Turnsachan, lat. 58° 12! N.). A good description of the stone monu- ments there, which include a circle, avenue and crom- lech, is given in Anderson’s ‘‘ Scotland in Pagan Times ”’ (‘‘ The Bronze and Stone Ages,’’ p. 119). They were, fortunately, also carefully surveyed by Sir Henry James. We learn from Anderson that :— “In 1858, Sir James Matheson caused the peat which had grown on the site of this monument to pe removed. The average depth of the peat from the surface fo a rough causewayed basement in which the stones were imbedded was 5 feet. In the process of the removal of this accumulation, the workmen uncovered the remains of a circular cairn, occupying the space between the centre stone and the east side o! the circle. In the centre of the cairn was a chamber with regularly built internal walls, and a passage leading from it to the outside of the cairn, the open- ing being placed between two of the stones of the circle. The chamber was divided into two compart- ments by slabs placed across the floor, leaving an opening between their edges a little less than 2 feet wide. Beyond these slabs the inner compartment was formed of dry-walling in the sides, and a long slab set on edge at the back. The passage was about 6 feet in length, and 2 feet wide, entering the chamber between two slabs set on end facing the two on each side of the entrance to the inner compartment. The first compartment was 6 feet g inches from side to side, and 4 feet 3 inches from front to back, the second, 4 feet 4 inches from side to side, and 2 feet r inch from front to back on the floor, widening upwards in consequence of a slight inclination of the slab at the back. With the exception of a single stone, which was supposed to have been a lintel, there was no appearance of a roof, and there is nothing on the record of the excavation to show whether the roof of the chamber had fallen in, or whether it had been removed. It is not even stated what was the height to which the side-walls were found standing. But it is obvious at a glance that here we have a very peculiar construction,—a cairn containing a chamber divided into compartments, and furnished with a passage opening to the outside of the cairn.”’ From Sir H. James’s plan we get the data necessary for orientation purposes. They are as follows for the sight-line from the chamber :— Horizon Az (x map) Decl. Star Date N. 74 BOP auras TLS een 54 IN. 2 Pleiades... 1230i85G In 1330 B.c. and lat. 58° 15’ N. the Pleiades warned the May sun by about 1} hours; in igor B.c. the warning was of about 1 hour duration. Thus, taking into account the high latitude, with the consequently extended dawn, the Pleiades warning was more effective in 1300 B.c. than it would have been at the earlier epoch, at which, as I have previously shown, the stones of the long avenue were probably erected. Prof. Morrow has recently sent me measures of the side walls of the curious structure on the N.E. 416 NATURE {Marcu 's, 1908 side of the circle of Keswick. These are doubtless to be considered in relation to the direction of the chambered cairn at Callernish. The rising of the Pleiades seems to have been in question. Still another stellar dolmen I measured Wales has already been referred to. NorMAN LOCKYER. in S. EXPERIMENTS ON SCREW PROPELLERS.? HE screw-propeller was practically applied to steamships by John Ericsson and Francis Petit Smit about seventy years ago. It speedily became 1 formidable rival to the paddle- wheel. Long ago it ehtirely superseded the latter for ocean navigation, and in more recent years it has to a large extent taken the place of the paddle, even in river steamers of the shallowest draught. Accumulated experience over this long period has proved of great advantage, and has enabled naval architects and marine engineers to meet new conditions in ships of much larger dimensions and higher speed; but notwithstanding this wealth of experience—largely based upon ‘‘ pro- gressive trials ’’ of steamships and the analysis of the results—it is still true that we are on the threshold of exact knowledge in regard to the principles underlying the efficiency of screw-propellers. Even in recent years, when the limits of experience have had to be surpassed, there have been many proofs of imperfect knowledge. On the whole, it is true that success has been achieved, but not infrequently as the result of numerous and sometimes costly ex- periments on propellers of different forms. Perhaps the most striking example of this general truth is to be found in the case of torpedo vessels and motor boats, driven at extraordinarily high speeds in propor- tion to their dimensions; it is also true that, in vessels of large size and of less speed in proportion to their dimensions, remarkable results have been obtained by a simpie change of propellers. For instance, the Drake class of cruiser in the Royal Navy, which are the fastest cruisers afloat, had a guaranteed speed of twenty-three Knots on an eight hours’ trial. The guarantee was slightly exceeded in the first trials, but there was evidence that the propellers became relatively inefficient as the highest speeds were ap- proached, and that the blade-area was insufficient. New propeller blades were made with greater blade area, and with these the ship was driven at a speed exceeding twenty-four knots, representing a gain of about 25 per cent. in efficiency. Obviously, incidents of this nature point to the possibility of very large economies if our knowledge of screw-propeller action and efficiency could be made more definite as well as more extensive. Trials in actual ships, especially those of large size, are necessarily costly, and are cften impossible to make because the vessels are required on service. Hence, at a very early date, attempts were made to introduce a system of experi- ments with model screw-propellers, and from these useful information was obtained. It was left for the laie Mr. William Froude to perfect the method of experiment in connection with his well-known system of “tank ’’ experiments on models of varying ship forms; and his son, Mr. R. E. Froude, superin- ‘endent of the Admiralty experimental tank at Haslar, las carried on and developed the investigation so far as the pressure of other and more urgent experi- ments connected with the construction of ships for the Royal Navy has permitted. _ The model propellers used by Prof. Durand were forty-nine in number, of 12 inches diameter, with a “ Resear hes _on the Performance of the Screw Propeller.” By Prof. W.F. Durand. Pp. 61. (Washington: C arnegie Institution, 1907.) NO. 2001, VOL. 77 | bosses of uniform diameter (2°4 inches); all the models had four blades, and all the blades were elliptical in shape. Blade-areas and pitch-ratios were varied over wide limits, going beyond the range of variation oc- curring in actual practice. For example, the pitch- ratios tried extended up to 2°1 from o’9 by differences of o2, and the blade-areas were carried down to unusually small proportions of the disc area. Great care was talken to shape the model screws truly and to measure the pitch accurately. For each propeller there was a determination of the power absorbed and the thrust developed for a given number of revolutions per minute, and a corresponding record of the speed of advance in undisturbed water. Practically uniform motion was ensured, and accurate measurements were made of time, distance and force. From these experi- mental data the actual and comparative efficiencies of the model-screws were ascertained, and the percentages of ‘‘ slip *’ could be estimated. The facts are tabulated and graphically illustrated in the memoir. They require and deserve detailed study. In this brief notice it is not possible even to mention the most striking features. Prof. Durand briefly summarises his conclusions in regard to the character of the efficiency-curves of the different model screws, and supplements this section by a description of the method he recommends for applying experimental results to propeller design for actual ships. One cannot peruse this memoir without regretting that, as yet, no British university, or public institution primarily devoted to scientific work, possesses an experimental tank such as is attached to Cornell University, the University of Michigan, and to the Technical High School at Charlottenburg. Its value for purposes of instruction is great; but its import- ance as a means of research can hardly be over-. estimated. When tanks are closely associated with the detail-work incidental to the design of actual ships, the opportunities for research are less, and the interruptions of research-work more numerous and serious when undertaken in the intervals of ordinary employment. In other words, research has to give: way to urgent demands connected with ship-designs,. and the special apparatus required for research has to be removed or dismantled at short intervals. This. has been the experience at the Admiralty tank, and at the two tanks attached to the shipbuilding yards at Dumbarton and Clydebank. A-great need exists, therefore, in this the greatest shipbuilding and ship- owning country in the world, for an experimental tank in which research work on ship-forms and pro= pellers can be undertaken systematically and uninter- ruptedly. This need has been recognised for a long time. The Institution of Naval Architects has made efforts to interest ship-owners and ship-builders in the: establishment of such a tank at the National Physical Laberatory. Considerable support has been obtained from ship-builders and from a few ship-owners, but hitherto it has not been possible to secure the whole: amount needed for the construction and equipment of the tank, estimated at 15,000l., or for its mainten- ance, estimated at 15001. a year. This failure is greatly to be regretted, and is not creditable to the community interested in shipping. It is certain that the investigations made at such an_ establishment would secure large economies and enable great ad- vances to be made in the construction and propulsion of ships. In connection with screw-propellers alone there is a great opportunity for economies in coal- consumption, the benefits of which would be secured by ship- owners, and the amount of which in a single year’s operations of our immense mercantile marine would far exceed the cost of the research-tank. Seeing that the United States and Germany already have a Marcu 5, 1908] NATURE 417 distinct lead in this matter, it may be hoped that the scheme, which has been long delayed, will be realised before long, and the reproach wiped away that the country which equals all the rest of the world in its shipping and shipbuilding lags behind other countries in utilising the experimental methods due to that great English man of science William Froude. ~ Until recent years work done by the Froudes and published by permission of the Admiralty furnished the best information available for guidance in pro- peller design, especially when associated with pro- gressive trials of steamships. The experimental methods introduced at Torquay and Haslar have been adopted and extended of late by other workers having command of specially equipped hydraulic laboratories or tanks. Amongst these the Washington tank, be- longing to the United States Navy Department, has taken a leading position under the able superntend- ence of Naval Constructor Taylor, who received his training as a naval architect at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. In addition to this establish- ment, the United States has the great advantage of possessing experimental tanks attached to univer- sities; these tanks are necessarily more available for research-work than any establishment can be which is created primarily and regularly employed for experi- mental work bearing directly on actual ship-construc- tion. Prof. Durand—whose investigations on secrew- propellers. specially claim attention in this notice—for ten years past has closely studied the screw-propeller problem. His later experiments have been made at the hydraulic laboratory of Cornell University; they are systematic and thorough within the limits of the scheme laid down. ‘The method and results have been. admirably described and summarised in a memoir of about sixty pages. The Carnegie Institu- tion of Washington made a grant in aid of the experi- ments, and has published the memoir, thereby conferring great benefit on all who are concerned in the propulsion of steamships, and furnishing a fresh illustration of the encouragement given to scientific research in the United States. NOTES. Tne following fifteen candidates have been selected by the council of the Royal Society to be recommended for election as fellows of the society :—Mr. W. Barlow, the Earl of Berkeley, Mr. Dugald Clerk, Prof. A. Dendy, Prof. H. H. Dixon, Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, Prof. W. Gowland, Mr. J. H. Grace, Prof. D. J. Hamilton, Mr. C. I. Forsyth Major, Mr. E. N. Nevill, Mr. W. H. Rivers, the Hon. Bertrand Russell, Dr. Otto-Stapf, and Dr. J. F. Thorpe. A SPECIAL general meeting of the Geological Society will be held on April 1 to consider a resolution relating to the admission of women to full fellowship of the society. Ir is reported by The Hague correspondent of the Globe (March 3) that Prof. Kamerlingh Onnes, professor of physics in the University of Leyden, succeeded: in liquefying helium. has Sir OLiver Lopce will deliver his presidential address to the Faraday Society on Tuesday, March 24. The subject of the address will be ‘‘ Some Nepents of the Work of Lord Kelvin.” Tue Paris correspondent of the Times reports that Prince Roland Bonaparte has placed at the disposal of the Academy of Sciences a sum of 100,000 francs (4000l.) to be employed in promoting discoveries by facilitating the task of investigators who have already given proof of NO. 2001, VOL. 77] the their work, but who undertaking or their ability by resources may lack pursuing original necessary for investigations. Pror. J. K.C.M.G., have been FOR S>, sin Do He itoldreh; and the Duke of Northumberland, F.R.S., elected members of the Athenzum Club under the provisions of the rule which empowers the annual e'ec- tion by the committee of nine persons ‘‘ of distinguished’ eminence in science, the for public R. BRaApForp, literature, arts, or serviies.”’ Dr. ArtHUR Kerr, lecturer on anatomy at the London Hospital Medical College, has been appointed conservator of the of the Royal College of Surgeons, in late Prof. C. Stewart. museum succession to the Pror. Mrtne’s discourse at the Royal Institution on: “Recent Earthquakes,’’ announced for Friday next, March 6, has been postponed until March 20. The dis- course on Friday next will be delivered by Prof. Love on ““The Figure and Constitution of the Earth.’’ Ix a footnote to Cowper’s poem (Magnet edition, 1834), a remarkable meteor, August 18, 1783, and a fog which covered Europe and Asia during the summer of mentioned, as well as an earthquake in Sicily of unusual severity. A correspondent for details of these or a reference to records of them. 1783 are asks occurrences, Tue following officers of the Asiatic Society of Bengal have been elected for the ensuing year :—President, the Hon. Justice Asutosh Mukhopadhyaya; vice-presidents, Dr. T. H. Holland, F.R.S., Dr. G. Thibaut, Mahama- hopadhyaya Haraprasad Shastri ; Colonel D. C. Phillott ; treasurer, general secretary, Lieut.- Mr. J. A. Chapman. We learn from the Times that the Russian Government is dispatching a research commission to investigate some recent discoveries of mammoth remains in the Yakutsk province of north-east Siberia. The commission consists of a doctor of zoology, of the Academy of Sciences, the senior curator of the zoological department of the academy, and six junior laboratory students. The expedition, which is expected to be absent for a year or more, is supplied’ with a grant of 16,000 roubles (1600l.). Tue report of the committee appointed by the Treasury to inquire generally into the work now performed at the National Physical Laboratory has been published as a Parliamentary paper (Cd. 3926), which also includes a Treasury minute recording the approval by the Treasury of the recommendations contained in the report of the majority of the committee. The opinion of the 1898 com- mittee, that the work proper for a National Physical Laboratory to undertake should include not only physical research directly or indirectly bearing on _ industrial problems, and the standardisation and verification of instru- ments, but also—under proper restrictions—the testing of materials, is in the first place endorsed. The committee then distinguishes ‘‘ commercial testing ’’ into .‘‘ con— tractual’’ and ‘investigatory ’’ testing—‘‘ contractual ”’ testing being the ordinary testing of materials to ascertain whether their quality and behaviour are in accordance with the requirements of contracts; ‘‘ investigatory ’’ testing the investigation for commercial purposes of various substances in which no question of contract arises. To place restric- tions upon ‘‘ investigatory ’’ testing would, it is pointed out, hinder the advance of knowledge. The committee thinks that the laboratory should remain entirely free with regard to ‘“‘ investigatory testing,’’ and, as a rule, be debarred from undertaking ‘*‘ contractual testing ’’-—though electrical, thermal, optical, and other physical tests are to: “ec [Marcu 5, 1908 418 NA POLE ; | ‘ be regarded as exceptional, and such as the laboratory may sand-flies, undertake. In the second. place, no restriction should apply, the committee reports, to “reference” testing wherever, in cases of dispute, the parties concerned agree to refer their differences to the authoritative decision of the laboratory, or where the laboratory is called in by a Court of law or of arbitration. Lastly, in view of the character of the laboratory as a public institution, the laboratory is to be free to accept any work which any Government department may desire to commit to it. Subject to these observations, the committee does not consider that any alteration is required in the scope of the work of the National Physical Laboratory as defined by the committee of 1898. In a note added to the report Sir Andrew Noble and Sir J. Wolfe-Barry express the opinion that the restriction recommended in respect of ‘* contractual testing ’’ should come to an end after a definite time—say ten years. In the report of the Maidstone Museum, Library, and Art Gallery for 1907, attention is directed to the unpre- cedentedly large number of visitors during the year. It is satisfactory to notice that special attention is being con- centrated on the local collection in the Kent county room, for which a special subscription list has been opened. We have received from Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd., the first part of a revised and enlarged edition of Mr. R. Kearton’s ‘‘ British Birds’ Nests.’’ It is to be completed in sixteen fortnightly parts at the price of one shilling each. When the beauty and number of the illustrations— inclusive of coloured plates of eggs—are taken into con- sideration, the new issue is a marvel of cheapness, and should command a large sale. Ir is announced in the January issue of the Emu that active steps are being taken by the Australian Ornith- ologists’ Union to make more effective the laws for the protection of egrets and birds-of-paradise, groups which are specially persecuted for the sake of their plumage. The union is likewise encouraging lighthouse keepers to record observations with regard to the birds that strike against the lighthouses on the Australasian coasts on migration. AccorpinG to Mr. T. Southwell’s notes in the February Zoologist, the Arctic whaling voyage of last year, so far as the object of pursuit is concerned, was a disastrous failure. The seven yessels which left Dundee captured, in fact, only three right-whales among them, one being little more than a ‘‘ sucker,’’ which yielded only half a hundredweight of whalebone. This juvenile was taken in Davis Strait, while the two larger whales were captured in Greenland waters. The two latter yielded 2 cwt. of ‘‘bone,’’ the price of which is now about 4ool. per ton. It is noteworthy that during the last two seasons most of the few whales taken were from Green- land waters, where the species was supposed to be prac- tically exterminated. prime 3 2 Tue biting flies of India form the subject of Bulletin No. 7 of the Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa. The account, which is drawn up by Mr. H. M. Lefroy, the Government entomologist, is intended to pave the way for a full investigation into the natural history of these insects, and has been published to a great extent with the view of stimulating the collection of specimens all over the country. If such collection be carried out systemdtic- ally, there is little doubt that a number of new species will be brought to light, especially among groups like the NO 2001, VOL, 77] represented by species of minute size. The Bulletin contains two coloured plates of horse-flies and cattle-flies, with, in some instances, their larva and eggs as an aid to the identification of species. WE have received copies of four papers recently issued by the Entomological Bureau of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first of these, by Dr. W. E. Hinds, is devoted to further investigations with regard to the capa- bility of natural agencies for holding in check the ravages of the pernicious cotton-boll weevil. On the whole, a hopeful view of the matter is entertained. The factors in question are conditions of temperature and moisture, pre- daceous and parasitic foes, and food-supply. While it may be impossible to increase the effectiveness of these agencies, there is reason to believe that others may be caused to lessen materially the weevil’s power of mischief. A second paper treats of the ravages of the caterpillars of the catalpa hawk-moth (Ceratomia catalpae) on catalpa trees, which are sometimes completely stripped of their foliage. The two remaining papers deal respectively with the lesser apple-worm and wax-moths in connection with bee-keeping. In the case of the latter it is shown that the idea that the larva of wax-moths are beneficial to bee-keepers is erroneous. A REPORT on marking and transplantation experiments with plaice in Danish waters, by Mr. A. C. Johansen, has recently been issued by the Danish Commission for the Study of the Sea (Medd. Kommiss. for Havundersgelser. Ser. Fiskeri, Bd. ii., No. 5). The report contains an account of experiments made by the Danish Government in connection with the international fishery investigations. It is shown that the rate of growth of plaice varies in different districts, a result which confirms the conclusions which have been arrived at by English fishery investi- gators. Considerable light is also thrown by the experi- ments on the migration of plaice in Danish waters. Much importance is attached by Johansen to the facts that in the experiments in the Horns Reef area the value of the re- covered specimens surpasses the value of all the liberated ones, and that in the Kattegat experiments the size at which the value of all the recovered specimens is equal to the value of all the liberated ones is higher than the present Danish size limit for Kattegat plaice (ca, 25-6 cm.) From the latter result it is suggested that a size limit for plaice in the Kattegat somewhat higher than that now enforced by Denmark might be considered by the inter- national authorities with advantage. Mr. S. YAMANOUCHI contributes to the Botanical Gazette (January) an account of sporogenesis in the fern genus Nephrodium, dealing with nuclear changes in Nephrodium molle. The author comes to the conclusion that in the normal life-history of the genus there is a reduction of chromosomes in sporogenesis, and that the first nucleus which contains the reduced number of sixty-four or sixty- six chromosomes is the spore; further, that the first division of the spore is heterotypic, but the reduction is only completed in the second homotypie division. Tue economic value of the sunflower plant as a source of oil yielded by the seeds not infrequently forms the subject of inquiry. From the account of the plant that is provided by Mr. D. Hooper in the Agricultural Ledger (No. 1, 1907), issued by the Government of India, it is evident that as a crop it offers little inducement to planters except in southern Russia—possibly also in China—where there is a local consumption of the kernels roasted or salted, and the oil is in request for culinary or edible Makcu 5, 1908] purposes. The pamphlet contains information with regard to experimental cultivation in India and the United States of America. i AN article communicated by the chief conservator of forests in Burma, Mr. F. B. Bryant, is published in the Indian Forester (December, 1907), in which a strong case is made out against continued fire conservancy in certain of the moist teak forests. The policy of fire conservancy continued over a period of years has resulted in excessive development of the bamboos Bambusa polymorpha and Cephalostachyum pergracile, which smother the young teak and other light-demanding trees. It is also pointed out that, owing to the presence of the latter bamboo, extensive regeneration of teak when the Bambusa flowers gregariously is likely to be frustrated. The sanction of the Government of Burma to the abandonment of fire conservancy in selected areas has already been granted. AN important article on the Douglas fir as a commercial timber tree is contributed to the Transactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society (vol. xx., part i.) by Mr. J. D. Crozier. Owing to the difference in the rate of growth, it is essential to distinguish between the ‘‘ green ”’ Oregon variety and the slower growing “ glaucous ”’ Colorado variety. The author alludes to the excellent results shown by pure plantations on the Grampians, but expresses the opinion that the Douglas fir is not adapted to mixed plantations unless with the Norway spruce. As a suitable crop for poor and exposed ground, Sir John Stirling-Maxwell recommends the mountain pine, Pinus montana. Three varieties are specified, the upright, the intermediate, and the dwarf forms. The first is the more valuable, and grows at high elevations, notably in the Pyrenees. The intermediate is principally useful for afforestation of heaths; the dwarf form has no sylvicultural interest. Tue Director-General of Indian Observatories has issued a memorandum (dated December 6, 1907) on the meteor- ology of October and November, 1907, with a discussion of the conditions affecting the precipitation during the cold weather of 1907-8. These seasonal forecasts, although at present only general opinions based on past experience, are of very great importance both to the Government and to agriculturists. On the mean of the whole country, the rainfall in October was 52 per cent. and in November 31 per cent. in defect. The records of the last thirty years, including some selected from places outside India, show that conditions like those of the past season have been followed by a deficiency of precipitation in January more often than by an excess. The data then available for February throw very little light upon the probable rainfall of that month. A toucn of wintry weather has spread over the whole country during the past week, and somewhat heavy falls of snow have occurred over a large part of Great Britain, whilst the temperature has been lower than for some time past. Strong winds and gales have been experienced in many places, and since March set in our weather has been under the influence of cyclonic disturbances passing down the North Sea. The Summary of the Weather issued by the Meteorological Office shows that for the winter season—December to February—the mean _ temperature over the United Kingdom was nowhere very different from the average. The heaviest rainfall for the three months occurred in the north of Scotland, where the aggregate measurement was 17-19 inches, whilst the least aggregate fall was 5-21 inches, in the north-east of England. The NO. 2001, VOL. 77 | NATURE winter rainfall was generally in excess of the average over the northern portion of the kingdom, but in defect else- where. The greatest excess was 1-61 inches, in the north- west of England, whilst the greatest deficiency was 2-65 inches, at the English Channel stations. The number of days with rain ranged from seventy-one in the north of Scotland to forty-seven in the south of England and the Midland counties. The greatest duration of sunshine for the winter was 203 hours, in the Midland counties, which is twenty-nine hours more than the average. The least duration was ninety-five hours, in the north of Scotland. Ar the instance of Prof. Ricchieri, .of the Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria, Milan, the reader of a paper on the spelling of place names at the sixth International Geo- graphical Congress, held at London in 1895, the organising committee of the ninth International Geographical Congress, which is to meet at Geneva on July 27 to August 6, has placed on the list of agenda of the congress the following question :—What are the principal difficulties in the way of arriving at an international agreement on the transcription and orthography of geographical names, and in what manner can they be surmounted? Prof. Ricchieri, believing that if this problem is to be solved at all it can only be by slow stages and methodical pro- cedure, proposes that all that should be aimed at in the first instance should be a preliminary understanding among a few men of different nationalities interested in this question as to the fundamental points on which it is necessary that a final agreement should, if possible, be reached, and that a statement of those points should be laid before the congress at Geneva, which should then be asked to appoint a small committee to study and procure the discussion of those points, and ultimately to draw up proposals and resolutions thereon. He further suggests that this committee should be expected to publish its pro- posals at least one year before the meeting of the next International Congress, which, it is hoped, might then be in a position to draw up final resolutions on the subject. This scheme of operations has received the support of Prof. Henri Cordier, of the Ecole spéciale des langues orientales, Paris; Prof. Robert Sieger, of the University of Graz; and of Mr. G. G. Chisholm, Birkbeck College, University of London, who have agreed to cooperate with Prof. Ricchieri in drawing up the preliminary statement of fundamental points requiring solution to be laid before the Geneva congress. Mr. Chisholm will be glad to forward to Prof. Ricchieri any suggestions on this question sent to him at his private address (59 Drakefield Road, Upper Tooting, London, S.W.). Tue curious phenomenon of a soft steel disc revolving at a high speed cutting hard steel has attracted the atten- tion of numerous observers, and Mr. F. W. Harbord has endeavoured to throw light on the subject by publishing in the Engineer of February 21 the results of a microscopic examination of the revolving disc and of the material subjected to its action. He finds that the material acted upon is heated at the point of contact to a temperature approaching, if not equal to, the melting point of steel, and that this high temperature is confined practically te the surface in contact with the disc. In the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxiv., No. 5) atten- tion is directed by Mr. Clarence Hall and Mr. W. O. Snelling to the waste of life in American coal-mining. Four recent mine disasters in the United States, with the loss of nearly one thousand lives, emphasise the urgent importance of the theme. Statistics show in regard to 420 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1908 deaths per million tons of coal that the United States not only occupies a than that of European countries, but also exhibits a general increase in the rate, whereas every other country has shown a decrease. The situation is still worse when it is considered that the natural conditions in America for raising coal with the minimum danger to the workmen employed are as favourable as in any other country in the world. The natural result of the working of the thinner and less favourably mined seams will be greatly to increase the death-rate unless regulations based on careful investigations are rigidly enforced. position -worse amount of Ecypr furnishes a region of great scientific interest which is as yet almost unexplored in many branches of knowledge, and it often happens that observations which seem commonplace to those resident in the country are of great value to workers elsewhere. The success which attended the periodical Survey Notes during the fifteen months it has been in existence has suggested that its scope might be extended with advantage, and with that object it has been decided to include communications on all branches of The magazine, which will in future be entitled the Cairo Scientific Journal, makes, in its January issue, a good start. The principal contents are papers on an expedition to Addis Abbaba, by Mr. J. I. Craig; on the underground waters of Egypt, by Mr. H. W. Beckett; on the use of the slide-rule in surveying, by Dr. J. Ball; on azimuth checks on traverse work, by Mr. M. Villiers Stuart; on upper air research at Helwan, by Mr. structional stability, by Mr. J. I. Craig. science. On February 18 Mr. J. J. Prest read before the Institu- tion of Civil Engineers a paper describing a remarkable achievement in mining engineering, the shaft sinking at the Horden colliery, south-east Durham. The work was of exceptional difficulty owing to the large volumes of water encountered in sinking through the magnesian lime- stone and sands of Permian age. In view of possible legislative interference with the hours of underground labour, it was decided to sink three shafts, two 20 feet and one 17 feet in finished diameter. The north shaft was begun on November 6, 1900, and was finished at a depth of 419 yards on July 23, 1904. The south shaft was begun on February 28, 1901, and was finished at a depth of 302 yards on September 1, 1905. The east shaft, 17 feet in diameter, was begun on September 3, 1900, and was finished at a depth of 406 yards on November 6, 1905- The maximum feeders of water pumped simultaneously at any one period amounted to 9230 gallons per minute, from the east and south shafts, from September 23 to November 26, 1903. The production of coal from this colliery is now averaging a million tons per annum. THE annual report of the council of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, presented at the annual meeting of members on February 21, summarises the progress and work of the institution during the past year. The council has accepted from Mr. Charles Hawksley an offer of toool. for the foundation of a scholarship or premium in connection with the institution, to commemorate the centenary of the birth of his father, Mr. Thomas Hawksley, past-president. In connection with the alloys research that sea-water corrosion tests on copper-aluminium alloys are being carried out at Ports- committee it is noted mouth Dockyard by the National Physical Laboratory. A systematic investigation of the ternary alloys of copper and aluminium with other metals, in the first place with NO. 200%, VOL: 77] B. F. E. Keeling; and on temperature and con- | manganese, zinc, and nickel, has been begun, and the pre- liminary investigation of the copper-aluminium manganese alloys is approaching completion. The council has made a small grant to Dr. H. C. H. Carpenter to investigate at the Manchester University the conditions which have to be observed if metal castings are to be capable of being gas-tight and steam-tight. Some further experiments on the large gas engine at the University of Birmingham are to be carried out by Prof. F. W. Burstall with a water-brake and with both optical and string indicators. The research committee on the value of the steam-jacket has met twice during the year, and designs are being prepared by Prof. T. Hudson Beare for carrying out jacket experiments with a larger apparatus than that formerly used by the committee. Information on the present state of knowledge on the following subjects is also being collected, previous to the appointment of re- search committees for prosecuting further inquiries :— (1) the features of refrigerating machinery in which further investigation is needed; (2) the transfer of heat across metallic surfaces in contact with water and with gases; (3) the action of steam passing through nozzles and steam turbines. Tuer Physikalische Zeitschrift for February 15 contains an account of Dr. H. W. Schmidt’s experiments on the effect of high temperatures on the disintegration of radium C. The work was undertaken to decide between the conclusion of Messrs. Makower and Russ, that high temperature diminished temporarily the activity of radium, and that of Mr. Bronson, who denied the existence of such an effect. Dr. Schmidt’s experiments were made on radium C prepared by von Lerch’s method. ‘The pre- paration was enclosed in a quartz tube which could be heated to 1300° C. in an electric furnace. The activity was measured by the fall of the leaves of a gold-leaf electroscope placed close to the furnace. The author con- cludes that at 1300° C. the preparation behaves exactly as at ordinary temperatures. Tue theory of the radiation of the Auer incandescent gas mantle is discussed by M. M. Foix in the February number of the Journal de Physique. It is generally admitted that the mantle owes its brilliance to its selective radiation, which appears, according to the researches of Prof. Rubens, to be brought about by the addition of a little oxide of cerium to oxide of thorium. M. Foix now comes to the conclusion that the luminous efficiency of the mantle can be increased by carrying the dilution of the oxide of cerium in the oxide of thorium a further stage, the result being brought about by the diminution of the infra-red radiation of the mantle and a consequent increase of its temperature. The best proportion of the oxides appears to be 1 of cerium to 100 of thorium. THe attention of those of our readers who practise photography is directed to the catalogue of photographie dry plates, filters, and safelight screens recently issued by Messrs. Wratten and Wainwright, Ltd., of Croydon. The particulars provided are practical in character, and the tables of sizes and prices conveniently arranged. Tue March issue of the National Review opens a new series, printed in larger type and provided with a different cover. Among its varied contents we notice an apprecia- tion of the late Lord Kelvin by Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., in which a delightful picture of Kelvin as a teacher is drawn, and a popular account given of some of his contributions to natural knowledge. Marcu 5, 1908 | NATURE 421 Messrs. Joun J. GrirFin AND Sons, Ltp., have issued an illustrated and descriptive catalogue of apparatus suit- able for demonstration purposes in the teaching of physio- graphy, physiology, and hygiene. The information in- cluded respecting globes and lantern-slides should be par- ticularly useful to teachers of geography who follow modern methods of presenting their subject. A sECOND edition of Prof. G. S. Boulger’s ‘‘ Wood: a Manual of the Natural History and Industrial Applica- tions of the Timbers of Commerce,’ has been published by Mr. Edward Arnold. The first edition reviewed in Nature of January 15, 1903 (vol. Ixvii., p. 245), it will be sufficient here to say the work has been revised and enlarged, and that its price is now 12s. 6d. net. Was and Tur National Home-Reading Union, with the coopera- tion of the Library Association, has arranged to publish a penny monthly magazine for the guidance of readers in public libraries in the choice of books and other reading. The first issue, that for February, is now available, and among its principal contents may be noticed articles by Prof. H. H. Turner, F.R.S., on books about astronomy ; books about Australia, by Sir John Cockburn, K.C.M.G. ; and the literature of the sea, by Mr. Frank T. Bullen. The Reader’s Review, as the guide is called, is intended primarily for localisation in the various libraries by means of the insertion of additional pages containing local literary notes, lists of recent additions, and so on. The idea of assisting readers in their choice of books is excellent, and it is to be hoped that the efforts of the editorial board will prove successful. The paper is published by Messrs. Sherratt and Hughes. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES IN MARCH :— March 5. th. Venus in conjunction with Moon. Venus 5 49’ N. », 8h. 59m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 6. 3h. Mars in conjunction with Moon. Mars 5° 26’ N. 8. Ioh. rom. to 10h. 32m. Moon occults 8° Tauri (Mag. 4°2). g. 1th, 42m. to 16h. 31m. Transit of Jupiter’s Satel- lite IV. (Callisto). 10. Pallas (Mag. $'04) in opposition to the Sun. 12. 6h. t2m. to gh. 54m. Transit of Jupiter’s Satellite III. (Ganymede). pie ey pepe in conjunction with Moon. ey S. 19. 9h. 47m. to 13h. 25m. Transit of Jupiter’s Satellite III. (Ganymede). Jupiter 20. 12h. Sun enters Aries, Spring commences. 21. Venus. Illuminated portion of disc=0°677. 26. 22h. Mercury at maximum elongation West (27° 49’). 28. 7h. 30m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 31. Ceres (Mag. 7°°36) in opposition to the Sun. MICROMETER OBSERVATIONS OF PuHa@pe.—During the period July 24 to October 16, 1906, Prof. Barnard made a number of observations of Phoebe, Saturn’s tenth satellite, of which he now publishes the results in No. 4234 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 145, February 22). A variation of brightness, amounting to half a magnitude or more, is indicated by the fact that while the object was usually a difficult one, of magnitude 16-0 or 16-5, it was found to be comparatively easy during October, and was perhaps brighter than the sixteenth magnitude. On several occasions the satellite presented a hazy. appearance, and Prof. Barnard suggests that, should future observations NO. 2001, VOL. 77] confirm this nebulous or cometary character, the solution of the question of Phcebe’s origin in the Saturnian system will be simplified. EPHEMERIS FOR Daniet’s Comet, 1907d.—The following is an extract from Herr Kritzinger’s ephemeris for comet 1907d, published in No. 4234 (p. 159, February 22) of the Astronomische Nachrichten :— Ephemeris 12h, (Berlin M.T.). 1908 a (1908"0) § (19080) 1908 a (1908 0) § (1908'o) h. m. . y. h. m. = : Mar. 5...15 4°4... —6 44'0 Mar. 21 ... 14 53°06... —5 6°9 5) 13 214 597. =5 57°] 5, 29... 1446'S... —4 15°5 The computed magnitude of this object is 10-6, and the comet is now apparently travelling eastwards through the constellation Libra towards Virgo, rising a little south of east at about 10.30 p.m. On March 17 it will be about 24° north of 6 Libre. Tue SpectRUM oF THE AuRORA BoreALis.—An exhaustive summary and discussion of the results hitherto obtained from spectroscopic observations of the aurora appears in No. 9, vol. xxxv. (September, 1907), of the Monthly Weather Review (U.S. Weather Bureau), from the pen of Dr. W. Marshall Watts. All the recorded visual and photo- graphic observations made since the time of ngstrém’s observations in 1867 are analysed and compared, and the most probable values for the wave-lengths of the principai lines are tabulated; for the chief green line this value is 5571-6, and for the red line 6303-4. Various observations suggest that the spectrum varies at different times, and Dr. Watts urges that far more numerous and continuous observations should be made. With the apparatus which he describes, such observations could be made at a very small cost by any qualified observer. Sun-spot Spectra.—No. 1, vol. xxvii., of the Astro- physical Journal (January) contains two papers which should prove of interest to all workers in solar physics. The first of these is by Prof. W. S. Adams, and really consists of a preliminary catalogue of lines affected in sun- spots.’ The photographs on which these lines were detected were taken with a Littrow spectrograph, used in conjunc- tion with the Snow telescope of the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory, and give a linear dispersion of 1 mm.=1-5 A The present catalogue includes a2 list of the lines affected in sun-spots in the region A 4000 to A 4500, and is to be followed by other lists giving the results obtained in other parts of the spectrum. The lines, their behaviour, and their origins are not discussed now, the discussion being reserved until the catalogue is complete; the present list includes nearly 900 lines, for each of which the probable origin, the intensities in Rowland’s table and in the spot, together with remarks on its behaviour in the spot, are given. In the second paper Mr. Charles M. Olmsted, of the Mount Wilson Observatory, announces that he has succeeded in identifying certain bands in the sun-spot spec- trum with similar bands in the spectrum of the calcium are burning in an atmosphere of hydrogen. There are two main groups of these bands, the stronger one at A 6385, the weaker running through the B group, and the com- parison with the spot spectrum leaves no doubt as to their identity. AsTRONOMY IN WaLes.—The Cambrian Natural Observer (January) contains several papers on astronomical subjects read before the Astronomical Society of Wales last year. Among others may be mentioned a paper by Miri) seg ire Heath on star clouds and nebula, another dealing with transits past and present, and an abstract of a paper by the Rev. John Griffith on the astronomy of the stones, delivered in November last before a crowded meeting of the Cardiff Archeological Society and the Astronomical Society in Wales. Sir Norman Lockyer’s method of investigation of stone monuments was explained, and the audience was urged to aid in the accumulation of the orientation data which is apparently so abundant in Wales. The periodical is again to be issued as a quarterly. 422 NATURE [Marcu 5, 1908 RECENT ADVANCES IN RADIO-ACTIVITY.* [XN 1904 I had the honour of giving an address at the Royal Institution on*the subject of radio-activity. In the interval steady and rapid progress has been made in unravelling the tangled skein of radio-active phenomena. In the present lecture I shall endeavour to review very shortly some of the more important advances made in the last few years, but as I cannot hope to mention, even briefly, the whole additions to our knowledge in the various branches of the subject, I shall confine my attention to a few of the more salient facts in the development of which I have taken some small share. In my previous lecture I based the explanation of radio- active phenomena on the disintegration theory put forward in 1903 by Rutherford and Soddy, which supposes that the atoms of the radio-active bodies are unstable systems which break up with explosive violence. This theory has stood the test of time, and has been invaluable in guiding the experimenter through the maze of radio-active com- plications. In its simplest form, the theory supposes that every second a certain fraction (usually very small) of the atoms present become unstable and explode with great violence, expelling in many cases a small portion of the disrupted atom at a high speed. The residue of the atom forms a new atomic system of less atomic weight, and possessing physical and chemical properties which markedly distinguish it from the parent atom. The atoms com- posing the new substance formed by the disintegration of the parent matter are also unstable, and break up in turn. The process of degradation of the atom, once started, pro- ceeds through a number of distinct stages. These new products formed by the successive disintegrations of the parent matter are in most cases present in such extremely minute quantity that they cannot be investigated by ordinary chemical methods. The -radiations from these substances, however, afford a very delicate method of qualitative and quantitative analysis, so that we can obtain some idea of the physical and chemical properties of sub- stances existing in an amount which is far below the limit of detection of the balance or spectroscope. The law that governs the breaking up of atoms is very simple and universal in its application. For any simple substance, the average number of atoms breaking up per second is proportional at any time to the number present. In consequence, the amount of radio-active matter decreases in a geometrical progression with the time. The “‘ period ”’ of any radio-active product, i.e. the time for half the matter to be transformed, is a definite and characteristic property of the product which is uninfluenced by any of the laboratory agents at our command. Jn fact, the period of any radio-active product, for example, the radium emanation, if determined with sufficient accuracy, might well be taken as a definite standard of time, independent of all terrestrial influences. The law of radio-active transformation can be very simply and aptly illustrated by an hydraulic analogy. Sup- pose we take a vertical cylinder filled with water, with an opening near the base through which the water escapes through a high resistance.*» When the discharge is started the amount of water escaping per second is proportional to the height of water above the zero level of the cylinder. The height of water decreases in a geometrical progression with the time in exactly the same way as the amount of radio-active matter decreases. We can consequently take the height of the column of water as representing the amount of radio-active matter A present at any time. The quantity of water escaping per second is a measure of the rate of disintegration of A and also of the amount of the new substance B formed per second by the disintegration of A. The “ period’? of the substance is controlled by e amount of resistance in the discharge circuit. A high resistance gives a small flow of water and a long period of transformation, and vice versa. By a suitable arrange- ment we can readily trace out the decay curve for such a A cork carrying a light vertical glass rod is floated on the water in the cylinder. A light camel’s hair brush case. 1 A discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Frida: anuary 31 by Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S. oy y, J y 31, * A short glass tube in which is placed a plug of glass wool is very Suitable. NO. 2001, VOL. 77] is attached at right angles, and moves over the surface of a smoked-glass plate. A vertical line drawn on the glass through the point of contact of the brush gives the axis of ordinates, while a horizontal line drawn through the brush when the water has reached its lowest level gives the axis of abscisse. If the glass plate is moved with uniform velocity from the moment of starting the discharge a curve is traced on the glass which is identical in shape with the curve of decay of a radio-active product, where the ordinates at any time represent the relative amount of active matter present, and the abscisse time. With such an apparatus we can illustrate in a simple way the increase with time of radio-active matter B, which is supplied by the transfornmiation of a substance A. This will correspond, for example, to the growth of the radium emanation with time in a quantity of radium initially freed from emanation. Let us for convenience suppose that A has a much longer period than B. In the hydraulic analogy A is represented by a high head of water dis- charging at its base through a circuit of high resistance into the top of another cylinder representing the matter B. The water from the cylinder B escapes at its base through a lower resistance. Suppose that initially only A is pre- sent. In this case the water in the cylinder B stands at zero level. On opening the stop-cock connecting with A, water flows into B. The rise of water with time in the cylinder B is traced out in the same way as before by moving the glass plate at a constant rate across the tracing brush. If the period of A is very long compared with that of B the water is supplied to B at a constant rate, and the | water in B reaches a constant maximum height when the rate of supply to B equals the rate of escape from the latter. The curve traced out in that case is identical in shape with the ‘‘ recovery curve ’’ of a radio-active product supplied at a nearly constant rate. The quantity of matter reaches a maximum when the rate of supply equals its own rate of transformation. The relative height of the columns of water in A and B represents at any time the relative amounts of these substances present. If the period is comparable with that of B, the height of water in B after reaching a maximum falls again, since as the height of A diminishes the supply to B decreases. Ultimately, the height of B will decrease in a geometrical progression with the time at a rate corresponding to the longer period of the two. This is an exact illustration of the way the amount of a radio-active substance B varies when initially only the parent substance A is present. By using a number of cylinders in series, each with a suitable resistance, we can in a similar way illustrate in a quanti- tative manner the variation in amount with time of a number of products arising from successive disintegra- tions of a primary substance. By suitably adjusting the amount of resistance in the discharge circuits of the various cylinders, the curves could be drawn to scale to imitate approximately the variation in amount of the various pro- ducts with time when the initial conditions are given. During the last few years a very large amount of work has been done in tracing the remarkable succession of transformations that occur in the various radio-active sub- stances. The known products of radium, thorium, actinium, and uranium are shown graphically below, together with the periods of the products and the character of the radiations they emit. It will be seen that a large list of these unstable bodies are now known. It is prob- able, however, that not many more remain to be discovered. The main uncertainty lies in the possibility of overlooking a product of rapid transformation following or succeeding one with a very slow period. In tracing out the succession of changes, the emanations or radio-active gases con- tinuously evolved by radium, thorium, and actinium have marked a very definite and important stage, for these emanations can be easily removed from the radio-active body and their further transformations studied quite apart from the parent element. The analysis of the transforma- tion of the radium emanation has yielded results of great importance and interest. After passing through three stages, radium A, B, and C, of short period, a substance, radium D, of long period, makes its appearance. This. is transformed through two stages E and F of short period into radium G, of period 140 days. Meyer and Schweidler | have conclusively shown that radium D is the primary ‘ 4 a a aK ee Marcu 5, 1908] constituent of the radio-active substance separated by Hofmann and called by him radio-lead. Radium G is identical with the first radio-active substance separated from pitchblende by Madame Curie, viz. polonium. We are thus sure that these bodies are transformation products of radium. It will be seen that I have added another product of period 4-5 days between radium D and polonium. The presence of such a product has been shown by Meyer and Schweidler. In the case of thorium, a very long list of products is now known. For several years thorium X was thought to be the first product of thorium, but Hahn has recently shown that at least two other products of slow transforma- tion intervene, which he has called mesothorium and radio- thorium. The radiothorium emits a rays, and has a period of more than 800 days. Mesothorium apparently emits B rays, and has a still longer period of transforma- tion, the exact value of which has not yet been accurately determined. Since thorium is used commercially on a large scale, there is every prospect that we shall soon be able to obtain considerable quantities of very active preparations of mesothorium and radiothorium. The separation of these bodies from thorium does not in any way alter its commercial value. It is to be hoped that if these active preparations are separated in quantity, the physi- cist and chemist may be able to obtain a supply of very active material at a reasonable cost, Raoivm — EMANATION RADA and that there will not be an 2000vks S7SDAYS SMINS attempt to compete with the - ridiculously high prices charged for radium. From the radio-active point of view, the radio-elements are only distinguished from their families of products by their comparatively tHorium MESOTH long period of transformation. !0°YRS y Now we have reason to believe that radium itself is transformed according to the laws of other radio-active products with a period of about 2000 years. If this be the case, in order to keep up its supply in a _ mineral, radium must be produced from another substance of relatively long period of transformation. The search for this elusive parent of radium has been one of almost dramatic interest, and illustrates RADIOTH 800 DAYS RADIO ACT. 195 DAYS ACT Xx ACTINIUM ? 10 DAYS the great importance of the theory as a guide to the experi- uranium. UR X 1ONIUM menter. The view that radium $x!0*vRS 22 DAYS 2 was a substance in continuous transformation was put forward by Rutherford and Soddy in 1903. The most probable parent of radium appeared to be uranium, which has a period of transformation of the order of r1ooo million years. If this were the case, uranium, initially freed from radium, should in the course of time grow radium, i.e. radium should again appear in the uranium. This has been tested in- dependently by Soddy and Boltwood, and both have shown that in carefully prepared uranium solutions there 1s no appreciable growth of radium in the course of several years. The rate of production of radium, if it occurs at all, is certainly less than 1/1000 of the amount to be ex- pected from theory. This would appear at first sight to put out of count the view that uranium is the parent of radium. This, however, is by no means the case, for such a result could be very easily explained if one or more sub- stances of very slow period of transformation appeared between uranium and radium. It is obvious that the necessity of forming such an intermediate product would greatly lengthen the time required before an appreciable amount of radium appeared. There is, however, another indirect but very simple method of attack to settle the parentage of radium. If radium is derived from the transformation of uranium, NO. 2001, VOL. 77] NATURE 423 however many unknown products intervene, the ratio between the amount of radium and uranium in old minerals should be a definite constant. This is obviously the case, provided sufficient time has elapsed for the amount of radium to have reached its equilibrium value. The con- stancy of this relation has been completely substantiated by the independent work of Boltwood, Strutt, and McCoy. It has been shown that the quantity of radium correspond- ing to 1 gram of radium is 3-8x10-* gram, and is the same for minerals obtained from all parts of the world. Since the radium is always distributed throughout the mass of uranium, we cannot expect to find nuggets of radium like nuggets of gold, unless by some chance the radium has been dissolved out of radio-active minerals and re- deposited within the last few thousands of years. To those who had faith in the disintegration theory, this unique constant relation between the amounts of two elements was a satisfactory proof that radium stood in a genetic relation with uranium. A search was then made for the unknown intervening product which, if isolated, must grow radium at a rapid rate. A year or so ago oe bd Boltwood observed that a preparation of actinium separated ddddédoodgd RAO B RADC RADD RADE RaoF RaoG 26MINS (9MINS SOYRS 6DAYS 4SDAYS (a0 DAYS a a —CRADIOLEAD a a POLONIUM ° 8 r C i TH X EMANATION THA THB THC 37 DAYS S4 SECS HTHRS HRS 2 a a e eo A * La C} f EMANATION ACTA ACT B 37 SECS 34MINS 3MINS dod. RADIUM 2000YRS Succession of Substances produced by the transformation of radium, thorium, actinium, and uranium. The period of transformation of each substance is added below. from a uranium mineral did grow radium at a constant but rapid rate. It thus appeared as if actinium were the long-looked-for parent of radium, and that actinium and its long family of products intervened between uranium X and radium. I was, however, able to show that actinium itself was not responsible for the growth of radium, but another unknown substance separated with it. These results were confirmed by Boltwood, who finally succeeded in isolating a new substance from uranium minerals, which was slowly transformed into radium. This substance, which he termed ‘“ionium,’? has apparently chemical properties similar to those of thorium, and emits @ rays of penetrating power less than those of uranium. The main previsions of the theory have thus been ex- perimentally verified. Radium is a changing substance the amount of which is kept up by the disintegration of another element, ionium. In order to complete the chain of evidence, we require to show that uranium grows | ionium, and it is probable that evidence in this direction | will soon be forthcoming. We thus see that we are able to linlk uranium, ionium, radium, and its long line of | descendants, into one family, with uranium as its first | parent. As uranium has a period of transformation of 424 NATURE more than one thousand million years, it will not be profit- able at the moment to try and trace back the tamily further. It appears almost certain that, from the radio-active point of view, uranium and thorium must be considered as two independent elements. The case of actinium is different, for Boltwood has shown that the amount of actinium in minerals, like the amount of radium, is pro- portional to the amount of uranium. This indicates that actinium stands in a genetic relation with uranium. Unless our experimental evidence is at fault, it does not appear probable that actinium belongs to the main line of descent of uranium, for the activity of actinium separated irom a mineral compared with radium is only about one- quarter of what we should expect under such conditions. I think that a suggestion which I put forward some time ago may account for the obvious connection of actinium with uranium, and at the same time for the anomaly observed. This supposes that actinium is a branch descent from some member of the uranium family. It does not appear improbable that at one stage of the disintegration two distinct substances may be produced, one in greater quantity than the other. After the expulsion of an a particle, it may happen that there are two possible arrangements of temporary stability of the residual atom. The great majority of the atoms may fall into one arrange- ment, and the remainder into the other. Actinium in this case would correspond to the substance in lesser quantity. It would act as a distinct element, and would break up in a different way from the main amount. It is probable that a large amount of accurate work will be required before the position of actinium in the scheme of changes can be fixed with certainty. It is a matter of remark how closely actinium resembles thorium in its series of trans- formations. It would appear that the atom of actinium has many points in common with thorium, or rather with its product, mesothorium. The recent observations on the growth of radium offer a very simple and straightforward method of determining experimentally the period of radium. Suppose that we take a uranium mineral and determine by the emanation method the quantity of radium contained in it. If the immediate parent of radium (i.e. ionium) is next completely separated from the uranium and radium, it will begin to grow radium at a constant rate. Now the rate of growth of radium observed is a measure of the rate of breaking up of the radium parent in the mineral, since before separation the rate of production was equal to the rate of breaking up. Now the growth of radium observed for a short interval, for example, a year, divided by the quantity present in the mineral, gives the fraction of the radium breaking up per year. Proceeding in this way, Boltwood found that the fraction breaking up per year is about 1/3000, and that the period of radium is about 2000 years ——a value which lies between the most probable values deduced from quite distinct data. From an inspection of the radio-active families, it will be seen that out of twenty-six radio-active substances that have been identified, seventeen give out a rays or a and B rays, four give out only B rays, and five emit no rays at all. The rayless and B-ray products are transformed according to the same law as the a-ray products, and there is the same sudden change of physical and chemical properties as the result of the transformation. In the case of the substances which throw off atoms of matter in the form of @ particles, there are obvious reasons for antici- pating a change in properties of the substance, but this is not the case for the rayless or B-ray products. We must cither suppose that the mass of the atom is not appreciably changed by the transformation, which consists in an internal rearrangement of the parts of the atom, or that the atom expels a particle at too low a velocity to be appreciated bv the electrical methods. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to study the rayless products with care, as in practically every case they are succeeded by a ray pro- luct of comparatively rapid transformation. The rayless products are of great interest as indicating the possibility of transformations which can occur without any detectable radiation. In the course of the analysis of radio-active changes. Special methods have been developed for the separation of NO. 2001, VOL. 77] [Marcu 5, 1908 the various products from each other. It is only in a few cases, however, that we can hope to obtain a sufficient quantity of the substance to examine by means of the balance. It should be possible to obtain workable quanti- ties of actinium, radium D (radio-lead), and radium G (polonium), but the isolation of these substances in any quantity has not yet been effected. Sir William Ramsay and Mr. Cameron have made a number of important in- vestigations of the properties and volume of the radium emanation, freed so far as possible from any traces of known gases. The remarkable initial contraction of the volume due to the emanation shows that there is still much to be done to obtain a clear understanding of the behaviour of this intensely radio-active gas when obtained in a pure state. Simultaneously with the work on the analysis of radio- active changes, a large number of investigations have been made on the laws of absorption by matter of the three primary types of radiation from active matter, viz. the a, B, and y rays, and the secondary radiations to which they give rise. It has generally been accepted for some years that the y rays are a type of penetrating X-rays. The latter are supposed to consist of electro- magnetic pulses in the ether, set up by the impact or escape of electrons from matter, and akin in many respects to very short waves of ultra-violet light. Recently, how- ever, Bragg has challenged this view, and has suggested that the y rays (and probably also the X-rays) are mainly corpuscular in character, and consist of uncharged particles or ‘‘ neutral pairs,’’ as he terms them, projected at a high velocity. Such a view serves to explain most of the experimental observations equally well as the pulse theory; Bragg has recently brought forward additional evidence, based on the direction of the secondary radiation from the y rays, which he considers to be inexplicable by the pulse theory. We must await further data before this important question can be settled definitely, but the theory of Bragg, which carries many important consequences in its train, certainly deserves very careful examination. From the radio-active point of view, the a rays are by far the most important type of radiation emitted by active matter, although their power of penetration is insignificant compared with the 6 or y rays. They consist of veritable atoms of matter projected at a speed, on an average, of 6000 miles per second. It is the great energy of motion of these swiftly expelled masses that gives rise to the heating effect of radium. In addition, they are responsible for the greater part of the ionisation observed near am uncovered radio-active substance. On account of their importance in radio-active phenomena, I shall devote some little attention to the behaviour of these rays. The worl of Bragg and Kleeman, of Adelaide, first gave us a clear idea of the nature of the absorption of these rays by matter. The a particles from a very thin film of any simple kind of radio-active matter are all projected at am identical speed, and lose their power of ionising” the gas or of producing phosphorescence or photographic action after they have traversed exactly the same distance, which may conveniently be called the ‘‘range’’ of the @ particle- Now every product emits a particles at an identical speed among themselves, but different from every other product. For example, the swiftest a particles from the radium family, viz. that from radium C, travels 7 cm. in air under ordinary conditions before it is stopped, while that from radium itself is projected at a slower speed, travelling only 3-5 cm. We may regard the a particle as a pro- jectile travelling so swiftly that it plunges through every molecule in its path, producing positively and negatively charged ions in the process. On an average, an a particle before its career of violence is stopped breaks up about 100,000 molecules. So great is the kinetic energy of the a projectile that its collisions with matter do not sensibly deflect it, and in this respect it differs markedly from the B particle, which is apparently easily deflected by its passage through matter. At the same time, there is un- doubted evidence that the direction of motion of some of the a particles is slightly changed by their passage through matter. The sudden cessation of the ionising power produced by the a particle after traversing a definite distance of air has been shown by Bragg to be a powerful method of Makcu 5, 1903] NATORE 425 analysis of the number of a-ray products present in a substance. For example, suppose the amount of ionisa- tion in the gas produced by a narrow pencil of a rays is examined at varying distances from the radium, At a distance of 7 cm. there is a sudden increase in the amount of ionisation, for at this distance the a particles from radium C enter the testing vessel. There are again sudden changes in the ionisation at distances of 4-8 cm., 4-3 cm., and 3-5 cm. These are due to the rays from the radium A, the emanation and radium itself respectively entering the testing vessel. The a-ray analysis thus discloses four types of @ rays present in radium in equilibrium—a result in conformity with the more direct analysis. This method allows us to settle at once whether more than one a-ray product is present in a given radio-active material. For example, an analysis by Hahn by this method of the radia- tion from the active deposit of thorium has disclosed the existence of two a-ray products instead of one as previously supposed. We can consequently gain. informa- tion on the complexity of radio-active material, even though no chemical methods have been found to separate the products concerned. The range of the a particle from each product is a definite constant which is characteristic of each product. The a particle decreases in velocity as it passes through matter. This result is clearly brought. out by photographs showing the deflection of a homogeneous pencil of a rays in a magnetic field before and after passing through an absorbing screen. The greater divergence of the trace of the a rays on the plate, after passing through the screen, shows that their velocity is reduced, while the sharpness of the band shows that the a particles still move at an identical speed. In order to make an accurate determination of the con- stants of the a particles, it is necessary to work with homogeneous rays, and we consequently require to use a thin layer of matter of one kind. For experiments of this character, a wire coated with a thin film of radium C by exposure to the radium emanation is very suitable. The velocity of the a particle and the value e/m, the ratio of the charge carried by the a particle to its mass, can be deduced by observing the deflections of a pencil of @ rays exposed in a magnetic and in an electric field of known strengths. The deflection of a pencil of a rays in an electric field is small under normal conditions, and special care is needed to determine it with accuracy. In this way I have calculated the velocity and value of e/m for a number of a-ray products. The velocity of expulsion varies for different products, but is connected by a simple relation with the range of the a particle in air. The value of e/m has been determined for selected pro- ducts of radium, thorium, and actinium, and in each case the same value has been found. This shows that the a particles expelled from radio-active substances in general are identical in constitution. They have all the same mass, but differ from one another in the initial velocity of their projection. Although we are sure that the @ particles, from whatever source, are identical atoms of matter, we are still unable to settle definitely the true nature of the a particle. The value of e/m found by experiment is nearly 5x10°. Now the value of e/m for the hydrogen atom in the electrolysis of water is 10°. If the charge carried by the a@ particle and the hydrogen atom is the same, the mass of the @ particle is twice that of the hydrogen atom, i.e. a mass equal to the hydrogen molecule. But we are not certain that they do carry the same charge. Here we are, unfortunately, confronted by a number of possibilities, for the magnitude of m for the a particle is conditioned by the value assumed for e. If the charge of the @ particle is assumed to be twice the value of the hydrogen atom, the mass comes out four times the hydrogen atom—the value found for the helium atom. The weight of evidence still supports the view that the a particle is in some way connected with the helium atom. If the @ particle is a helium atom with twice the ionic charge, we must regard the helium produced by radio-active bodies as actually the collected a particles the charges of which have been neutralised. This at once offers a reasonable explanation of the production of helium by actinium as well as by radium. In addition, Strutt has recently contributed strong evidence that helium is a NO. 2001, VOL. 77] product of thorium. Such results are only to be expected on the above view, since the a particle is the only common product of these elements. The determination of the true character of the a particle is one of the most pressing unsolved problems in radio- activity, for a number of important consequences follow from its solution. Unfortunately, a direct experimental proof of its true character appears to be very difficult unless a new method of attack is found. We have seen that if the charge carried by the a particle could be ex- perimentally determined, the actual value of m could be determined in terms of the hydrogen atom, since the value of the charge carried by the latter is known. This could be done if we could devise a method of detecting the emission of a single a particle, and thus counting the number of particles expelled from a known quantity of a radio-active substance, for example, from radium. In considering a possible method of attack of this question, the remarkable property of the @ particles of producing scintillations in zinc sulphide at once suggests itself. Apart from the difficulty of counting the scintillations, it is very doubtful whether more than a small fraction of the a particles which strilke the screen produce the scintilla- tions. Viewed from the electrical side, a simple calcula- tion from the data at our disposal shows that the ionisation produced in a gas by a single a particle should be detectable. The electrometer or electroscope used for measurement would, however, require to be extremely sensitive, and under such conditions it is known that small electrical disturbances are very difficult to avoid. In order to obtain a reasonably large effect, we require some method of magnifying the ionisation produced by the a particle. In conjunction with Dr. Hans Geiger, I have recently developed a method whereby the electrical effect produced by the a particle can be magnified several thousand times. From the work of Townsend it is known that if a strong electric field acts on gas at low pressure, any ions generated in the gas by an external agency are set in motion by the electric field, and under the proper conditions produce fresh ions by collision with the gas molecules. The negative ion is the most effective ioniser in weak fields, but when the voltage is increased near the point at which a discharge passes, the positive ion also produces fresh ions by collision. In the experimental arrangement the a particle from the active matter is fired through a small opening about 2 mm. in diameter, covered with a thin laver of mica, into a cylinder 60 cm. long and 2-5 cm. in diameter, in which the gas pressure is about 3 cm. of mercury. A thin insulated wire connected to the electrometer is fixed centrally in the cylinder. If the outside cylinder is charged negatively, for a difference of potential of about 1000 volts any ionisation produced in the cylinder is increased about 2000 times by collision. This can be simply illustrated by using the y rays of radium as a source of ionisation. When a difference of potential is applied to the cylinder, the ionisation produced by the y rays only causes a slight movement of the electro- meter needle. By applying, however, a voltage nearly equal to that required for a discharge through the gas there is a very rapid movement of the needle. On re- moving the radium there is no appreciable current through the gas. On placing a source of @ rays near the small opening in the cylinder so that some of the a particles can be fired along the axis of the cylinder, the electro- meter needle does not move. uniformly, but with a succession of rapid throws with a considerable interval in between. Each of these throws is due to the discharge produced by a single a particle entering the cylinder, in- creased several thousand times by the intermediary of the strong electric field. If a sheet of paper which stops the a rays is placed before the opening, the . electrometer needle at once comes to rest. The interval of time between the throws is not uniform. This is exactly what we should expect if the number of a particles entering such a small opening is governed by the law of probability. On the average, a certain number of a particles are fired through the opening per minute, but in some cases the interval is less than the average, in others much greater. In fact, by observing the intervals between the entrance of a large number of a particles, we should be able to determine accurately the ‘‘ probability ’’ curve of distribu- 426 NATORE [ Marcu 5, 1908 tion of the @ particles with time. For purposes of measurements, the active. material, in the form of a thin film covering a small area, is placed in an exhausted tube connected in series with the ionisation cylinder, and at a considerable distance from the hole. The number of a particles entering the opening per minute is counted, and from this the total number expelled can be calculated. Preliminary measurements show that the number of a particles expelled from a known weight of radium is of the same order as the calculated value. When the measurements are completed it should be possible to deter- mine the charge carried by each a particle, since the total charge carried by the @ particles from 1 gram of radium is known. In this way it may be possible to settle whether the a particle is a helium atom or not. In any case, it is a matter of some interest to be able to detect by its electrical effect a single atom of matter, and so to deter- mine directly with a minimum of assumption the magni- tude of some of the most important quantities in radio-active phenomena. MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN. HE memorandum issued by the English Board of Education on the medical inspection of children in public elementary schools is a statesmanlike document. It propounds a policy; it indicates a method, and the method, no less than the policy, takes full account of conditions, difficulties, and obstacles. The memorandum gives body to the provisions of section 3 of the Educa- tion (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1907. This section confers three broad powers on education authorities, first, to provide special environments for special children, e.g. vacation schools, vacation classes, play centres, &c.; second, to establish a medical inspection of the individual children ; thirdly, ‘‘ to make such arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Board of Education for attending to the health and physical condition of the children educated in public elementary schools.’? These three powers may be exercised in cooperation with voluntary agencies, of which, it is needless to say, there are many. But the point of importance is that the powers may now be exercised by the education authorities, and practically, since grants may be made to depend on their exercise, the education authorities are now placed under obligation to carry them into full effect. The memorandum proceeds on this assumption; but it aims rather at sketching a process of natural administrative growth than at imposing an imperative system to be immediately realised. Accord- ingly, it starts from what is already being done in several localities to supervise the hygiene of schools and scholars. The sanitary authorities are in possession. This Act does not supersede, it expands and supplements, their work. Here emerges the cardinal principle of the memorandum, namely, the extension of the conception of public health to include, not merely the environmental sanitation con- sidered apart, but the individual child’s health as it is affected by his environment in the widest sense—physical, educational, &c. The purpose of individual inspection, no less than of the general inspection of the hygienic conditions, is ‘ to secure ultimately for every child, normal or defective, conditions of life compatible with that full and effective development of its organic functions, its special senses and its mental powers which constitute a true education.’? Unfortu- nately, owing to accidents of administrative convenience or development, there has arisen within the medical pro- fession an acute. difference of opinion as to the relative advantages of a special school medical service and an ex- panded public health service. Dr. Newman’s appointment implied that the Board of Education favoured the idea of an expanded public health service, and this memorandum sketches in firm outline what this view implies. Incident- 1 (1) Memorandum on Medical Inspection of Children in Public Ele- mentary Schools, under Section 13_ of the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act. 1907 (Roard of Education ; Circular, 576). (2) Memorandum by British Medical Association on the Circular of the poard of Education (British Medical Journal, Supplement, December 21, 1907 (3) Schedule of Medical Inspection (accompanying Circular 582). NO. 2001, VOL. 77] | offered by ally, it shows that there is no opposition between the two views. On the one hand, it puts upon the medical officer of health the organising of the system of medical inspec- tion, but on the other, it provides that ‘‘ its actual execu- tion’’ shall be ‘‘deputed wholly or partly to suitable colleagues or assistants (men or women).’? The two factions are thus reconciled in the one administrative organisation. The memorandum in more than one place emphasises in a way that it is impossible to controvert the primary importance of the home and its hygiene in the school-life of the child, and the absolute necessity for maintaining continuity of inspectorial interest between the home and the school. Medical inspection will thus work backwards to the home and forwards to the after-school life of the child, so covering the entire period between birth and the entry on industrial life. When this conception of con- tinuity is fully grasped, there will be no further theoretical dispute between the medical factions concerned. The British Medical Association has issued a memor- andum dgaling in a thoroughly practical spirit with the proposals and suggestions of the Board of Education. It is of immense importance that the medical profession should thus declare itself at the beginning. The differ- ences between the association and the Board are essentially differences of detail. The association is quite frank in its acceptance of the general positions. The association’s memorandum states that ‘‘ these duties could not, having regard to the nature and extent of the duties already required of Medical Officers of Health, be efficiently dis- charged by them personally.’ This is not inconsistent with the Board’s suggestions on the same point. The association also states that ‘‘ part-time ’’ medical officers, paid as for work done, could appropriately undertake medical inspection. This comes naturally from the pro- fession, and there is much to say for it; but again there is nothing here inconsistent with the Board’s views. But just as in the earlier, so in these later expansions of pre- ventive medicine, the tendency will be towards ‘‘ whole- time ’’ specialists. In England many of the counties have not yet appointed whole-time or even part-time medical officers—so differing from Scotland, where every county is obliged to appoint a medical officer, and all except five have appointed whole-time men. The association’s memorandum is emphatic on another point, namely, that treatment of disease and visitation of the homes of the children shall be excluded from the scope of the medical inspector’s duties. The full bearing of this suggestion will require very careful consideration. The Education Board’s memorandum contains a very judicious discussion of the implications of the Act as to treatment, and it is difficult to reconcile the Act with the letter of the association’s decision. The schedule proposed by the association is very well drawn, but it makes no provision for any record as to home conditions or occupation of parents, &c., which are insisted on in the Board’s memorandum. The Board of Education has followed up its memorandum by a detailed schedule, with full directions for the medical inspection. In most respects, this schedule meets all the proposals of the British Medical Association. From the tenor of the memorandum on the clear necessity for re- cording the home conditions and the occupational condi- tion of the parents, we naturally expected that these points would be explicitly provided for in the schedule. In this we are somewhat disappointed; for all that we find is a heading for ‘‘ Directions to Parent or Teacher.’’? It would have been much simpler to have specified what details are wanted for every child—number of rooms in house, number of persons, occupation of father or mother, pre- and post-school labour of the child. These are all primary factors in the mental state of the child at any one time, and practically all these data are already in possession of the school authority. In other respects, the schedule is very comprehensive. Indeed, this is the one real criticism medical critics. But when it is closely scrutinised, it will. be found to contain only the bare essentials of a real inspection. The order of the schedule is simple, and the directive notes are models of lucidity. The anthropologist may regret that his special point of view is not as such provided for, but there is nothing Marcu 5, 1908] NATURE 427 antagonistic to this either in the memorandum or in the schedule. Though not aiming directly at scientific facts, the medical inspection will certainly accumulate a vast number of facts that will form material of the first value for the anthropologist’s methods. We congratulate both the Board of Education and the British Medical Association on the practical sense dis- played in these documents, and the general regard paid in each to the claims of science as well as to the claims of medicine. The great movement is now effectively inaugu- rated. Many points will emerge for adjustment, but these only experience can reveal. The main thing is that the work should now proceed on approximately uniform lines, and the Board of Education has given an effective lead. FORTHCOMING BOOKS OF SCIENCE. OLLOWING our usual custom, we give the titles and names of authors of works relating to science which are to be found in the spring announcement lists of various publishers :-— Mr. S. Appleton :—‘‘ Minerals,”? by L. J. Spencer, illus- trated; and ‘‘ The Life and Habits of the Ants,’’ by Dr. L. I. Dublin, illustrated. Mr. Edward Arnold :—‘‘ Power Gas Producers, Design and Application,’’ by P. W. Robson. Messrs. A. and C. Black :—‘‘A Treatise on Zoology,” edited by Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S., part i., first fascicle, ‘‘ Introduction and Protozoa,’’ by Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S., Dr. F. W. Gamble, F.R.S., J. J. Lister, F.R.S., Dr. H. M. Woodcock, and the late Prof. Weldon, F.R.S., illustrated; part vii., ‘“‘ Crustacea,’’ by W. YT. Calman, illustrated; part ix., “‘ Vertebrata Craniata,’’ by E. S. Goodrich, F.R.S., illustrated; ‘* The Science and Philosophy of the Organism,’’ the Gifford Lectures delivered before the University of Aberdeen in the Year 1907, by Dr. H. Driesch; ‘‘ Cancer: Relief of Pain and Possible Cure,’”’ by S. and G. E. Keith; ““ Analytical Geometry of the Conic Sections,’’ by ‘the Rey. Dr. E. H. Askwith; ‘‘ A Plant Book for Schools, being an Easy Introduction to the Study of Plant Life,”’ by O. VY. Darbishire, illustrated; ‘‘ Descriptive Geography of the British Isles,’’ by F. D. Herbertson, illustrated ; “* Man: his Manners and Customs,” by Prof. L. W. Lyde, illustrated ; ‘‘ School Text-book of Geography,’’ by Prof. L. W. Lyde; and new editions of ‘Studies in Fossil Botany,”’ by Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., illustrated; ‘‘ An Introduction to Structural Botany,” by Dr. D. H. Scott, their F.R.S., part ii., ‘‘ Flowerless Plants,’’ illustrated; and “ Totemism,’’ by Prof. J. G. Frazer. Messrs. W. Blackwood and Sons :—‘‘ Stephen’s Book of the Farm,’’ by J. Macdonald; “* Forest Entomology,’’ by A. T. Gillanders; ‘‘ Significant Etymology,’’ by J. Mitchell; and *‘ Through the Depths of Space: a Primer of Astronomy,’’ by H. Macpherson. Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd. :—** The Complete Farmer —Soils : their Nature and Management,’’ by P. McConnell ; “Cassell’s ABC of Gardening: an Illustrated Encyclo- pedia of Practical Horticulture,” by W. P. Wright, illus- trated ; ‘‘ The Townsman’s Farm,” by ‘‘ Home Counties ”’ ; “Familiar Swiss Flowers,’’ by F. E. Hulme, illustrated ; ““Gardening for Women,’’ by the Hon. F. Wolseley ; “Structural Engineering,’’ by Prof. A. W. Brightmore, illustrated; and ‘‘ Tinplate Work,’? edited by P. N. Hasluck, illustrated. Messrs. Chatto and Windus :—‘ A History of Babylonia and Assyria from the Earliest Times until the Persian Conguest,’’ by L. W. King, illustrated; vol. i., “A History of Sumer and Akkad, being an Account of the Primitive Inhabitants of Babylonia from the Earliest Times to about B.c. 2000’; vol. ii., ‘‘A History of Babylon from the Period of the First Dynasty, about B.C. 2000, until the Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, B.C. 539 ’’; vol. iii., ‘‘ A History of Assyria from the Earliest Period until the Fall of Nineveh before the Medes, B.c. 606’; *‘ The Open Air,’’ by R. Jefferies, illustrated ; and ‘‘ Nature near London,”’ by R. Jefferies, illustrated. Messrs. Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd. :—‘‘ The North-West Passage: being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship Gjéa, 1903-1907,’’ by R. NO. 2001, VOL. 77] Amundsen, with a supplement by First Lieut. G. Hansen, 2 vols., illustrated ; ‘‘ Ice-bound Heights of the Mustagh : being an Account of Two Seasons of Pioneer Exploration and High Climbing in the Baltistan Himalaya,’’ by F. B. and W. H. Workman, illustrated; ‘‘ Electrical Measuring Instruments, Recorders and Meters,’’ by K. Edgcumbe ; ‘* Heavy Electrical Engineering,’? by H. M. Hobart, illus- trated ; ‘‘ Steam Electric Power Plants and their Construc- tion,’’ by F. Korster, illustrated; ‘‘ Text-book of the Steam Engine,’’ by J. Richardson, illustrated; ‘‘ Boiler Construction,’’ by F. B. Kleinhans, illustrated; “‘ Hydrau- lics and its Application,’’ by A. H. Gibson, illustrated ; ““Cranes,’’ by A. Bottcher, translated from the German, enlarged, and edited with a complete description of English and American practice by A. Tolhausen, illustrated; *“ Sewage Disposal Works,’’ by H. P. Raikes, illustrated ; “Economics of American Railway Operation,’’ by M. L. Byers, illustrated; ‘‘ Railway Shop Up-to-date: a Refer- ence Book of American Railway Shop Practice,’’ compiled by the editorial staff of the Rathway Master Mechanic; ‘“Patents, Trade Marks and Designs,’’ by K. R. Swan, illustrated; ‘‘ The Manufacture of Paper,’ by R. W. Sindall, illustrated; ‘‘ Wood Pulp ard its Applications,” ‘by C. F. Cross, E. J. Bevan, and R. W. Sindall, illus- trated; ‘‘ Steam Engines,’’ by J. T. Rossiter, illustrated ; “Electric Lamps,’? by M. Solomon, illustrated; ‘‘ Steam Locomotives,’’ by WV. Pendred, illustrated; ‘* Gold and Precious Metals,” by Dr. T. K. Rose; ‘* Photo- graphy,’’ by A. Watkins, illustrated; ‘‘ Commercial Paints and Painting,’’? by A. S. Jennings, illustrated; ‘* Brewing and Distilling,’’? by J. Grant, illustrated; ‘‘ Specifications and Contracts,’? by Dr. J. A. L. Waddell and J. C. Wait; and a new edition of ‘‘ Railway Tracks and Track Work,”’ by E. E. R. Tratman, illustrated. Mr. H. Frowde and Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton :-— “A System of Medicine,’’? edited by Prof. W. Osler, F.R.S., and Dr. T. McCrae, 7 vols., illustrated, vols. iv. and v.; ‘‘ The Collected Papers of Lord Lister,’’ with an introduction by W. W. Cheyne, F.R.S., 2 vols. ; A System of Diet and Dietetics,’’? under the editorship of Dr. G. A. Sutherland, introduction by Sir Lauder Brunton, F.R.S.; and ‘‘ Diseases of the Eye,’’ by S. Mayou, illus- trated. Messrs. Gauthier-Villars (Paris):—‘‘ Lecons sur les Fonctions définies par les Equations différentielles du premier Ordre,’ by P. Boutroux; ‘‘ Zuvres complétes,”’ by A. Cauchy, Iére. Série, Tome II., Mémoires extraits des Mémoires de 1l’Académie des Sciences; ‘‘ Lecons élémentaires sur le Calcul des Probabilités,’’? by de Montessus, illustrated; ‘‘La Terre et la Lune: Forme extérieure et Structure interne,’’ by P. Puiseux, illus- trated; ‘‘ Précis d’Arithmétique des Calculs d’emprunis a Longterme et de Valeur mobiliére,’? by H. Sarrette; and a new edition of Villard’s ‘‘ Rayons cathodiques,’’ illus- trated. Messrs. Harper and Brothers :—‘* Hypnotic Thera- peutics,’? by Dr. J. D. Quackenbos; ‘‘ Worlds in the Making: the Evolution of the Universe,’’ by Prof. S. Arrhenius, translated by Dr. H. Borns, illustrated ; and a new edition of ‘‘ The History of Science,’’ by Dr. H. S. Williams, 5 vols., illustrated. Messrs. G. G. Harrap and Co. :—‘‘ Manual of Clinical Chemistry,’ by Prof. A. E. Austin, illustrated; “‘ A Text- book of Topographical Drawing,’’ by F. T. Daniels, illustrated; ‘‘ Feathered Game of New England,” by W. H. Rich, illustrated; and ‘‘ The Teaching of Practical Arithmetic to Junior Classes,’ by J. L. Martin, illus- trated. ‘ j Mr. W. Heinemann:—‘‘ The Natural History of Cancer,”? by W. R. Williams. Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. :—‘‘ The Naturalist in West Cornwall,” by W. H. Hudson, illustrated; ‘‘ The World’s Peoples,’ by Dr. A. H. Keane, illustrated ; and ‘* The World’s Birds, a Simple and Popular Classification of the Birds of the World,” by F. Finn, illustrated. : Messrs. Longmans and _ Co. :—‘‘ Refrigeration: an Elementary Text-book,’? by J. W. Anderson, illustrated ; “The Life and Work of George W. Stow, South African Geologist and Ethnologist.”” by Prof. R. B. Young; and “ \ Practical Guide to School, Cottage, and Allotment Gardening,” by J. Weathers, illustrated. NATURE [MaRrcH 5, 1908 428 Messrs. Sampson Low and Co., Ltd. :—‘‘ Mosses and Liverworts,’’ by T. H. Russell, illustrated. Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. :—‘‘ African Nature Notes and Reminiscences,’’ by F. C. Selous, with a fore- word by President Roosevelt, illustrated; ‘‘ A Text-book of Botany,’’ by Drs. E. Strasburger, F. Noll, H. Schenck, and A. F. W. Schimper, revised with the eighth German edition by Dr. W. H. Lang, illustrated; “‘ Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas,’’ by Dr. E. Wester- marck, vol. ii.; ‘Cotton Fibre,” by F. H. Bowman, illustrated; “‘ General History’ of Western Nations from 5000 B.C. to 1900 4.D.,’’ by Dr. E. Reich, vols. i. and ii.; and ** Atlas Antiquus: Forty-eight Maps in Colours, on a New Graphic Plan, with Explanatory Text in English; the Names of Places, Countries, &c., on the Maps them- selves being in Latin; with a full Alphabetical Index,’’ by Dr. E. Reich. Messrs. Methuen and Co. :—‘‘ Diseases of Occupation,”’ by Dr. T. Oliver, illustrated; ‘‘ The Causation and Pre- vention of Tuberculosis (Consumption),’’? by Dr. A. News- holme ; “‘ Folk-lore as an Historical Science,’? by G. L. Gomme, illustrated; ‘‘ The Alps,” by W. A. B. Coolidge, illustrated; ‘The Lore of the Ifoney Bee,’? by b Edwardes, illustrated; ‘‘ Examples in Elementary Mechanics, Practical, Graphical, and Theoretical,’? by W. J. Dobbs; ‘‘ Outlines of Physical Chemistry,’? by Dr. G. Senter, illustrated; ‘‘A Health and Temperance Reader,” by H. Major; ‘‘An Organic Chemistry for Schools and Technical Institutes,” by A. E. Dunstan, illustrated ; and ‘‘ First Year Physics,’” by C. E. Jackson, illustrated. : Mr. Murray :—‘‘ Handbook of Commercial Products of India,” by Sir G. Watt, C.1.E.; ‘‘From Peking to Mandalay: being the Account of a Journey from North China to Burma through Tibetan Ssuch’uan and Yunnan,’ by R. F. Johnston, illustrated; ‘‘ Pearls and Parasites: a Series of Essays on Scientific Subjects,’ by Dr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S.; “The South African Natives: their Present Condition and Progress,” edited by the South African Native Races Committee; ‘ Heredity,’ by Prof. J. A. Thomson, illustrated; “‘ Therapeutics of the Circu- lation,’’? by Sir T. Lauder Brunton, F.R.S.; and ‘‘ Educa- tional Woodwork on Scientific Lines,” by J. T. Baily and S. Pollitt, illustrated. d Messrs. Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd. :—‘ Introduction to the Science of Electricity,’’ lectures by B. Kolbe, authorised translation by J. Skellon, illustrated; ‘‘ The Steam Engine and other Steam Motors,’’ by R. C. H. Heck, illustrated ; ““The Evolution of Modern Physics,’? by Prof. L. Poincaré ; ‘‘ The Evolution of Forces,” by Dr. G. Le Bon; ““The Radio-active Substances, their Properties and Behaviour,’? by W. Makower; ‘‘ Music: its Laws and Evolution,’’ by J. Combarieu; ‘‘ The Transformations of the Animal World,”’ by M. C. Depéret ; ‘‘ Practical Dairy Bacteriology : for Students, Dairymen, and all interested in the Problems of the Relation of Milk to Public Health,” by H. W. Conn; ‘‘ Insects Injurious to Vegetables,’? by F. H. Chittenden, illustrated; ‘“‘ First Principles of Soil Fertility,” by A. Vivian, illustrated; ‘“‘ Farm Machinery and Motors,’’ by B. Davidson and L. W. Chase, illus- trated; and a new edition of ‘‘ Alternating Current Engineering, Practically Treated,’? by C. B. Raymond, illustrated. : ; Messrs. George Philip and Son, Ltd. :—‘‘ A Rational Geography,’’ by E. Young; part ii., ‘‘ Tides, Winds, Currents, Latitude and Longitude, and Geography of America and Africa,”’ part iii, ‘“‘Map Drawing, Map Projection, Surveying, and Geography of Asia and Australasia ’’; and ‘* A Guide to the Choice of Geographical Text-books.”’ Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd. :—‘‘ Notes of Lessons on Science’’; ‘‘‘The Teacher’ Certificate Science’: ‘““ Notes of Lessons on Hygiene and Temperance,’ 2 vols. ; *“ Notes of Lessons on Arithmetic,’? 2 vols.; and ‘‘ Notes of Lessons on Geography,’’ 2 vols. Messrs. G. P. Putnam’s Sons :—‘‘ Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry,” by Prof. J. H. Gore; ‘Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains,’ by S. Brown, illustrated; ‘‘ Mosquitoes: the Habits and Life Cycles of the known Mosquitoes of the United States; Methods for their Control; and Keys for easy Identifica- NO. 2001, VOL. 77] tion of the Species in their Various Stages,*’ an account based on the investigations of the late James William Dupree, Surgeon-General of Louisiana, and upon original observations by the writer, by E. G. Mitchell, illustrated ; ““The Muscles of the Eye,’’ by Dr. L. Howe, 2 vols., illustrated; and a new edition of “ Thinking, Feeling Doing: an Introduction to Mental Science,’? by Dr. E. W Scripture, illustrated. Messrs. Alston Rivers, Ltd. :—‘‘ Water: its Origin and Use,” by C. C. Finch. Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co. :—‘‘ Animal Life,’’ by Dr. F. W. Gamble, F.R.S., illustrated; and a new edition of “Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs,’’ by A, D. Webster. : Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein and Co., Ltd. :—*‘ The History and Ethnography of Africa South of the Zambesi from the Settlement of the Portuguese at Sofala in September, 1505, to the Conquest of the Cape Colony by Great Britain in September, 1795,’’ by Dr. G. M. Theal, vols. ii. and iii.; ‘‘ The History of Philosophy, based on the Work of Dr. J. E. Erdmann,” by W. S. Hough; ““Introduction to the Study of Philosophy,’’ by Prof. O. Kulpe, translated by Prof. E. B. Titchener; ‘‘ Outlines of Psychology,’’ by Prof. O. Kulpe, translated under the supervision of Prof. E. B. Titchener; ‘‘ Physiological Psychology,’’ by Prof. W. Wundt, a translation of the fifth and wholly re-written German edition by Prof. E. B. Titchener, vol. ii., illustrated; ‘‘ The Student’s Text-book of Zoology,’’ by Prof. A. Sedgwick, F.R.S., vol. iii., com- pleting the work, illustrated; ‘‘ Electricity: What is It?”’ by W. D. Verschoyle, illustrated; ‘* Plant Life: a Manual of Botany for Schools,’’ by Prof. E. Warming, translated by M. Rehling and E. M. Thomas, illustrated; and new editions of A Text-book of Petrology,’’? by Dr. F. H. Hatch, illustrated; ‘‘ Elementary Text-book of Practical Botany for the Botanical Laboratory and Private Student,” by Prof. E. Strasburger, translated by Prof. W. Hillhouse ; and ‘‘An Elementary Text-book of Botany,’’ by Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S., illustrated. Messrs. E. and F. N. Spon, Ltd. :—‘‘ Facts, Figures, and Formule for Irrigation Engineers: being a Series of Notes on Miscellaneous Subjects connected with Irriga- tion,’? compiled by R. B. Buckley; and a new edition of “Leather Industries Laboratory Book of Analytical and Experimental Methods,’’ by Prof. H. R. Procter. The University Tutorial Press, Ltd. :—‘‘ Geometry, Theoretical and Practical,’’ part ii., by W. P. Workman and A. G. Cracknell; Elementary Science for the Certificate Examinations (Certificate and Preliminary Certificate) :—‘‘ Section A: Chemistry,”’ by H. W. Bausor ; “Section B: Physics,’? by J. Satterley; ‘‘ Section C: Botany,’’ by Prof. F. Cavers; and ‘‘ Junior Chemistry,” by R. H. Adie. Mr. T. Fisher Unwin :—‘‘ Nature Studies by Night and Day,’’ by F. C. Snell; and ‘‘ Health at its Best v. Cancer and other Diseases,’’ by R. Bell. Messrs. Watts and Co. :—A sixpenny edition of Prof. Huxley’s ‘‘ Man’s Place in Nature.” Messrs. Williams and Norgate:—‘‘ The Surgical Anatomy of the Horse,’’ by J. T. S. Jones, part iii., illus- trated; and a new edition of ‘‘ Principles and Practice of Agricultural Analysis: a Manual for the Study of Soils, Fertilisers, and Agricultural Products,’? by H. W. Wiley, vol. ii. Messrs. Witherby and Co.:—‘‘ Three Voyages of a Naturalist : being an Account of many Little-known Islands in Three Oceans visited by the Valhalla, R.Y.S.,” by M. J. Nicoll, with an introduction by the Right Hon. the Earl of Crawford, K.T., F.R.S., illustrated. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CAMBRIDGE.—There is a desire on the part of the biologists of Cambridge to celebrate in 1909 the centenary of Darwin’s birth and the jubilee of the publication of the “Origin of Species’’ by endeavouring to found a chair of biology, the occupant of which shall devote himself to those subjects which were the chief concern of Darwin’s life-work. It is probable that this will be accomplished ; for the council of the Senate has had under consideration Marcu 5, 1908} NATURE 429 a generous offer of support made by a member of the University who wishes to remain anonymous. Convinced of the great importance of the subjects with which such a professorship would be concerned, the benefactor offers to pay to the University 3001. a year for five years, provided that the University establishes for that period, and before June 30, 1908, a professorship of biology of the minimum annual value of 5ool. The donor also offers to increase the 3001. to 4ool. for any portion of the five years during which the professor may be holding a professorial fellowship. The further cordition is made that it shall be the duty of the professor or professors elected during the period of five years above mentioned to teach and make researches in that branch of biology now entitled genetics (heredity and variation). The author of this offer further suggests, though he does not make it a condition, that the proposed temporary professorship, if established, should be entitled the “Darwin Professorship of Biology.” The council of the Senate, while giving full weight to this suggestion, in- clines to the view that it would be more expedient to reserve such a title until it shall have become clear that the professorship can, from whatever source, be placed on a permanent footing. The council is of opinion that the generous offer anonymously made should be accepted, and that a_pro- fessorship of biology of the value of 7ool. per annum should be established, which will terminate at the end of the Easter term, 1913, unless the University shall previously have otherwise determined. The electors to the professorship shall, so long as the professorship is only temporary, be the council of the Senate, but if the pro- fessorship shall be made permanent a board of electors shall be constituted. It is proposed to make a grant of 301. from the Worts fund to Mr. A. R. Hinks, of Trinity College, towards defraying his expenses in travelling on the continent of Europe with the view of investigating the methods used in the study of astronomy and geodesy in certain observa- tories and institutions. It is proposed to continue for a further period of five years, from Michaelmas, 1908, the Caley and Stokes lectureships in mathematics, the annual stipend of 200l. being attached to each lectureship. The general board is of opinion that, should the endowments for these two lectureships prove to be insufficient to provide these stipends, the University should undertake to make up for the five years any deficiency which may result from this insufficiency. This may involve a contribution from the University of 80l. a year. Mr. C. A. Barber and Mr. A. W. Rogers have been approved by the general board of studies for the degree of Doctor in Science. The syndicate appointed to obtain plans and estimates for the extension of the chemical laboratory has issued a second report, in which it is stated that last August a contract was signed by the builder for erecting the build- ing, which is now rising in Pembroke Street, at a cost of 13,7501. The syndicate now asks leave of the Senate to expend a sum of 485]. for extras in the building, 24551. for benches, lecture tables, and other fittings, and zool. for instruments and apparatus. Lonpon.—The degree of D.Sc. in chemistry has been granted to Mr. R. J. Caldwell, an internal student of the Central Technical College. Mr. Caldwell presented a thesis entitled ‘‘ A.—Studies of the Processes Operative in Solutions, part i., the Sucroclastic Action of Acids as in- fluenced by Salts and Non-electrolytes ; B.—The Hydrolysis of Sugars,’’ and other papers. The degree of D.Sc. in zoology has been granted to Mr. D. H. de Souza, an internal student of University College. Mr. de Souza presented a thesis entitled ‘‘ The Activation of Pancreatic Juice.”’ Tue death is announced of Prof. Laurent, professor of Mathematical analysis in the Paris Ecole polytechnique and Institut national agronomique. Miss E. N. Tuomas, assistant in the department of botany, University College, has been appointed lecturer NO. 2001, VOL. 77] and head of the department of botany, Bedford College for Women. M. Camitte MaticNon has been appointed professor of mineral chemistry at the Collége de France in succession to M. H. Le Chatelier, who recently accepted the chair of general chemistry at the Sorbonne. THE governing body of the Imperial College of Science and Technology has appointed as secretary Mr. Alexander Gow, formerly scholar of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, who for the last four years has occupied the position of director of education and principal of the Technical School, Blackburn. In the House of Commons on Monday Mr. Ramsay Macdonald asked the President of the Board of Education whether he proposed to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the constitution of the University of London, with a view to the University taking over the Imperial School of Science and Technology, or whether, in the event of no such commission being appointed and the school being in consequence maintained as a separate foundation, he would reconsider the constitution of the governing body of the school so as to strengthen it on its industrial side with the view of establishing a connection between it and technological institutions of lower grades. In reply, Mr. McKenna said that no representations had reached him from the bodies principally concerned leading him to sup- pose that the consideration of this question is urgently desired, and that no commission would be appointed unless these representations were made. Tue thirtieth annual meeting of the Institute of Chemistry was held on Monday, March 2, Prof. P. F. Frankland? F.R.S., president of the institute, being in the chair. In the course of his address the president dealt with the difficulties of students in deciding the most advisable method of preparing for admission to the pro- fession of chemistry. He is convinced that the usual three years’ curriculum is wholly inadequate, for whilst’ the ground to be covered in the study of chemistry has attained ‘colossal dimensions compared with what it was twenty-five years ago, and is continually being extended, the student’s time is no more protracted than before. The limited time at the disposal of the student gives him little opportunity to take proper advantage of the excellent equipment now to be found in the universities and colleges, and teachers are aware of the urgent necessity of increasing the minimuin length of the curriculum prior to gradua- tion, but no university appears to have the courage to initiate this reform. In the matter of students, it is quality, not quantity, that universities require, for every science student is a net loss financially, and the work of the classes is too often hampered by a large proportion of undesirables. Tue Board of Education has published (Cd. 3885) the reports from those universities and university colleges in Great Britain which participated during the year ended March 31, 1907, in the annual Parliamentary grant, now amounting to 100,000l1. The reports deal with the work of the colleges during the year 1905-6, and appear to be reprinted just as they were received by the Board of Education. The information is arranged, it is true, under headings prescribed by the Board, such as land and build- ings, staff and educational work, students, fees, finance, and so on, and it is possible with much labour to institute comparisons between the various institutions. The useful- ness of the Blue-book would be increased greatly if, following the practice adopted in many other of the Board’s publications and the custom which is fairly general in American volumes of a similar kind, the statistics relating to the various colleges were summarised and the totals obtained for the different institutions classified and com- pared. It would then be possible to coordinate the facts, and to say, for instance, how the interest in higher educa- tion in the north of England compares with that in the Midlands or in Wales. If some such plan were adopted much greater use would be made of what would then be an interesting and serviceable volume. THE interim report for the period January 1 to September 30, 1907, submitted on February 25 last to the trustees by the executive committee of the Carnegie trust for the NAL SLE [Marcu 5, 19c8 universities of Scotland, gives information concerning the allocation of grants during that period. The publica:ion of this interim report, dealing only with nine months, was necessitated by an alteration of the financial year of the trust to bring it into line with the academic year of the universities. Sums amounting to 22,000]. have been handed over to the four Scottish universities during the nine months, bringing the total expenditure in this direc- tion, since the inauguration of the first quinquennial scheme of grants in January, 1903, to 156,4891. The con- ditions which will regulate the second quinquennial dis- tribution are under the consideration of a special sub- committee, and will, it is hoped, be published shortly. The total expenditure for 1906-7 under the scheme of endowment of post-graduate study and research was 7oo4l., and the estimated expenditure for the current academic year is 76151. The expenditure upon fees for the summer session, 1907, amounted to 11,6851. The proposed scheme of inclusive fees, that is, that in each faculty a beneficiary of the trust should be granted all such instruction as it is desirable for him to receive in his course for a degree on the payment of one fee for each academic year, is still under discussion. Numerous appendices to the report provide detailed information as to the different items of expenditure. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Saciety, December 12, 1907.—‘* Further Considera- tion of the Stability of the Pear-shaped Figure of a Rotating Mass of Liquid.” By Sir G. H. Darwin, TOS PW ISIS In vol. xvii., No. 3 (1905), of the Memoirs of the Imperial Academy. of St. Petersburg, M. Liapounoff has published an abstract of his work on figures of equilibrium of rotating liquid. In this paper he explains how he has obtained a rigorous solution for the figure and stability of the pear-shaped figure, and he pronounces it to be unstable. In a paper in the Philosophical Transactions (vol. cc., A, pp. 251-314) the present author arrived at an opposite conclusion. The stability or instability depends on whether the sign of a certain function is negative or positive. M. Liapounoff attributes the disagreement to the fact that the author only computed a portion of an infinite series, and only used approximate forms for the elliptic integrals involved in the several terms. He believes that the inclusion of the neglected residue of the infinite series would lead to an opposite conclusion. In the author’s computation the critical function is decisively negative, whilst M. Liapounoff is equally clear that it is positive. The inclusion of the neglected residue of the series, which forms part of the function, undoubtedly tends to make the whole function positive, but after making the revision it remained incredible, at least to the author, that the neglected residue should amount to the total needed to invert the sign. The analysis of his former investigation was re- examined throughout, and the computations were repeated by improved methods. The same method was also applied to the investigation of Maclaurin’s spheroid, where the solution could be verified by the known exact result. Dissent from so distinguished a mathematician as M. Liapounoff is not to be undertaken lightly, and therefore especial pains were taken to ensure correctness. The author states his conviction that the source of the dis- agreement is to be found in some matter of principle, and not in the neglected residue of this series. Entomological Society, February 5 —Mr. C. O. Water- house, president, in the chair.—Exhibits—Dr. T. A. Chapman: A collection of butterflies made last summer at Gavarnie, in the Pyrenees, including a number of specimens of Erebia lefeburei, with E. melas from south- east Hungary, for comparison—H. St. John Donis- thorpe : Eleven species of ants taken in the hot-houses in New Gardens in December, 1907, and January, 1908, eight wie Math. Soc. Trans., 1903, vol. iv., p. 113, on “The Approximate f the Porm of Maclaurin’s Spheroid,” and a further note on cently sent to the same society NO. 2001, VOL. 77 being new to the published Kew list, and six species not before recorded as introduced in Britain.—J. E. Collin: Microscopically mounted specimens of the gnat Epidapus scabiet, Hopk., a potato pest in the United States recently discovered in England attacking narcissus bulbs.—A. H. Hamm: Very young larvze of Bitaris muralis, hatched in captivity, the natural place of deposit of these eggs being at the entrance to the burrow of the bee, Anthophora pilipes, in stone walls near Oxford.—Commander Walker : Two specimens of the rare Pyralis lienigialis, Zell, Q, taken at light in his house at Summertown, August, 1906, and 1907.—R. E. Turner: A box of Thynnide from South America, mostly from Chile, with several new species from Mendoza and the Peruvian Andes.—Prof. T. Hudson Beare: A specimen of Trachyphlaeus scabriculus taken at St. Margaret’s Bay in August, 1907, with the two deciduous mandibles still in place.—Lieut.-Colonel Manders: The © of Papilio phorbanta from Bourbon, an aberrant member of the Nireus group of Papilios, com- pared with the other members of the same group from the African mainland, Madagascar, and Mauritius. It was pointed out that whereas in all the other species the 2 2 s were some shade of green similar to the Gd s, the Bourbon insect was more or less uniformly brown. It Was suggested that this was due to mimicry, Euplaea goudoti, a species strictly confined to Bourbon, being the model.—Hon. Walter Rothschild: Interesting papilionids; (1) Tvoides alexandrae, Rothsch., remarkable for the beauty of the Gd and the gigantic size of the Q, a new discovery by A. S. Meek, who found this fine insect in the north-eastern portion of British New Guinea at some distance inland from the coast; (2) a gynandro- morphic specimen of Troides, the only one known of this genus, obtained by Dr. L. Martin in South Celebes. It belongs to T. haliphron, the left side being Q and the right side ¢.—R. Adkin: Bred specimens of Tortrix pro- nubana, Hb., to demonstrate that the species is con- tinuously brooded.—L. W. Newman: Long series of Melitaea aurinia and Notodonta chaonia from various localities in the United Kingdom to illustrate the wide superficial variation of the respective species.—Dr. F. A. Dixey: Specimens of Nychitona medusa, Cram., and Pseudopontia paradoxa, Feld.—Papers.—(1) Two diplo- pterous Hymenoptera from Queensland; (2) notes on Thynnidz, with remarks on some aberrant genera of the Scotiida : R. E. Turner.—Diaposematism, with reference to some limitations of the Miillerian hypothesis of mimicry: G. A. K. Marshall. Zoological Society, February 18.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—A series of specimens of internal parasites obtained from animals recently living in the society’s gardens: Dr. L. W. Sambon. Stress was laid on the important additions to knowledge to be derived from an adequate investigation of such material, and on the practical results to the health of the animals in the gardens that might be expected.—The inheritance of colour in domestic pigeons, with special reference to reversion : R. Staples-Browne. A series of skins was exhibited illustrating some experiments upon which the communica- tion was based. Crosses had been made between black barbs and white fantails. The Fi generation was blaclr with some white feathers. In the Fz generation, among other forms, blacks and whites were obtained, and also some blues. Blues were found to be dominant to whites, but blacks were dominant, or rather ‘‘ epistatic,’’ to the blues, which accounts for the fact that the reversionary form does not appear until the F2 generation. When two blues of the F2 or later generations were mated together blacks were never obtained again. A white in F2 mated to a fantail gave whites only. A second series of skins illustrated a cross between a white tumbler and a white fantail. Some white birds splashed with red had figured in the ancestry of the tumbler, although the bird itself showed no trace of colour. In the Fi generation such splashed kinds occurred, which, when mated together, gave in F2 birds which were red and white with some distinct blue feathers. Possibly the white tumbler was a dominant white-—Mammals collected by Mr. M. P. Ander- son during a trip to the Mongolian Plateau, N.W. of Kalgan: O. Thomas. Nine species were mentioned, of which two were described as new. The paper formed the Makcit 5, 1908] INCRE eighth of the series on the results obtained by the Duke of Bedford’s zoological exploration in eastern Asia. No properly collected material from the Mongolian plateau had been previously available to students, and these specimens, representatives of its comparatively poor fauna, were there- fore of much interest.—Butterflies of the division Rhopalo- cera from Africa and from New Guinea: G. T. Bethune- Baker. Chemical Society, February 20.—Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Organic deriva- tives of silicon, part vi., the optically active sulphobenzyl- ethylpropylsilicyl oxides: F. S. Kipping. The sulphonic acids obtained by resolving dl-sulphobenzylethylpropyl- silicyl oxide have been further studied, and the two acids are shown to be optically active, enantiomorphously related compounds having the constitution (SO,H.CH,.C,H,-SiEtPr),O. —The preparation of conductivity water: H. Hartley, N. P. Campbell, and R. H. Poole. A still has been constructed which in one operation gives a fair yield of water with a conductivity 0-75 gemmho at 18°, starting from ordinary distilled water with a conductivity of 5 gemmhos.—Derivatives of para-diazoiminobenzene : - G. T. Morgan and Miss F. M. G. Micklethwait.—The affinity constants of bases as determined by the aid of methyl-orange: V. H. Veley. Results were given for the hydrochlorides of (1) bases not containing an alkyl group- ing; (2) aliphatic amines; (3) amino-acetic acids; and (4) uric acid derivatives.—The action of thionyl chloride and of phosphorus pentachloride on the methylene ethers of catechol derivatives: G. Barger.—A study of the diazo- reaction in the diphenyl series: G. T. Morgan and Miss F. M. G. Micklethwait. The arylsulphonylbenzidines, ‘RSO,.NH.C,H,.C,H,.NH,, furnish yellow crystalline diazonium salts giving rise on treatment with aqueous sodium acetate to dark brown crystalline compounds, which are either monohydrated nitrosoamines, R.SO,.NH.C,H,.C,H,.NH.NO,H,O, C,H. No diazoimides, | | 4 C,H,.N.SO,R,2H,O0 diazonium salts of the arylsulphonylalkylbenzidines, RSO,.N(C,H,).C,H,.C,H,-NH,, although distinctly less coloured than those of the un- alkylated bases, have nevertheless not been obtained in a colourless condition. There is accordingly no reason for supposing that the diazonium salts of the alkylated bases are differently constituted from those which still contain the labile acidic hydrogen atom (*).—A simple manometer for vacuum distillation: N. L. Gebhard.—Researches on the anthraquinones: W. H. Bentley and C. Weizmann. The condensation products of phthalic and hemipinic anhydrides with veratrole and pyrogallol trimethyl ether are described. —The formation of 4-pyrone compounds from acetylenic acids, part i.: S. Ruhemann.—The action of mustard oils on the ethyl esters of malonic and cyanoacetic acids: S. Ruhemann.—The triazo-group, part ii., azoimides of propionic ester and of methyl ethyl ketone: M. O. Forster and H. E. Fierz. On comparing the behaviour of the a- and £-triazo-derivatives of ethyl propionate towards alkali, it was found that, whilst the first-named resembles triazoacetic ester, ethyl f-triazopropionate rapidly parts with hydrazoic acid.—Brazilin and hematoxylin, part viii., synthesis of brazilinic acid, the lactones of dihydro- brazilinic and dihydrohematoxylinic acids, anhydrobrazilic acid, &c. The constitution of brazilin, hematoxylin, and their derivatives: W. H. Perkin, jun., and R. Robinson. Further confirmation of the constitution (Proc., 1907, xxiii., 291) of the members of this group is afforded by the synthesis of anhydrobrazilic acid, which has been proved to possess the formula O New or dihydrated The MeO \. JC.CH,.CO,H co NO. 2001, VOL. 77] t | stars: Prof. Dyson. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, February 17.—Dr. John Horne, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The systematic motion of the A careful study of 1500 stars having large proper motions corroborated Kapteyn’s hypothesis that the stars moved in two well-defined streams crossing each other in space.—Preliminary note on Lepidophloios Scotti, a new species from the Calciferous Sandstone series at Pettycur, Burntisland: W. T. Gordon. Some of the diagnostic features of this new species named after Dr. D. H. Scott are :—(1) the short straight ligular canal the opening of which is protected by the overlying leaf base, and which opens far back from the leaf scar ; (2) a marked concavity of the leaf base from half-way between the opening of the ligular canal and the leaf scar to the leaf scar itself; (3) the comparatively long course of the parichnos before it forks—The middle cells of the grey matter of the spinal cord: Dr. J. H. Harvey Pirie. The description of the anatomical arrangement of these small cells showed that Argutinski was wrong in ascribing a segmented character to the group, and that the cells ex- tended throughout the whole length of the cord, being specially numerous in the two enlargements.—q-Functions and a certain difference operator: Rev. F. H. Jackson. Paris. Academy of Sciences, February in the chair.—M. B. Baillaud was elected a member of the section of astronomy in the place of the late M. Lewy. —Results of the measurements of the diameters of Mercury during its transit of November 14, 1907: Robert Jonckheere. The mean diameter is 9-10, higher than the figure usually accepted, 8-68. A table of results is given.—Observations of the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons during the fourth quarter of 1907: J. Guillaume. The results are summarised in three tables showing the number of spots, the distribution of the spots in latitude, and the distribution of the faculz in latitude. —Researches on the dispersion of light in celestial space : Charles Nordmann. From measurements on two fixed stars by the photometric method previously described by the author, the conclusion is drawn that light undergoes a dispersion in space. These fesults can be applied to give new indications of the parallax of variable stars.— The congruences of plane curves: C. Popevici.—Remarks on a communication of M. E. E. Levi: E. Holmgren. A question of priority.—The singularities of differential equations of the first order: Georges Rémoundos.— Images the appearance of which changes with a projection screen ruled as a grating: E. Estanave.—The influence of sunlight on the disengagement and on the orientation of the gaseous molecules in solution in sea-water : Raphael Dubois. If test-tubes containing various coloured solu- tions are plunged into sea-water and the whole exposed to the sun, it is noticed that bubbles of gas are deposited on the outside wall of the tube. If the solution in the tube is green, the evolution of gas, which is rich in oxygen, is much greater than with the other colours. That this is not due to the selective absorption of calorific radiations was shown by substituting water charged with carbon dioxide for the aérated sea-water; the increased effect with the green tube was not observed.—The curves of induced radio-activity obtained by MM. Sarasin and Tommasina: J. Danne. An explanation of the results of these authors, by considering the distribution of the field in the different parts of the measuring apparatus.—The method of working of the electrolytic detector: the in- fluence of temperature: Henri Abraham. The change in capacity and resistance of the electrolytic detector caused by raising the temperature to 120° C. gives several advantages in practical working.—The atomic weights of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon: A. Leduc. The Inter- national Committee on Atomic Weights has now lowered the atomic weight of nitrogen from 14-044 to 14-01. Using this figure and the ratio of the densities of carbon mon- oxide and nitrogen, as determined experimentally by Lord Rayleigh and by the author, it is shown that the atomic weight of carbon must lie between 12-011 and 12-016.— Phosphorus oxybromide: E. Berger. Phosphorus penta- bromide heated with phosphorus pentoxide gives a good yield (85 per cent.) of phosphoryl bromide.—This forms 24.—M. H. Becquerel NATURE [ MarcH 5. 1908 AA w= ervstals, melting at 56° C. and boiling at 189°-5 C. under 774 mm. Its vapour density is normal. The heat of formation has also been determined.—The essentially chemical causes of the allotropic transformation of white phosphorus dissolved in essence of turpentine: Albert Colson.—An isomeric modification of hydrated hypovanadic icid: Gustave Gain. The acid V,O,,2H,O exists in two forms, one green and the other rose colour. The change from one of these isomers to the other is accompanied by a thermal change, and this has been measured in the calorimeter.—Lutecium and neoytterbium: G. Urbain. The fact that Marignac’s ytterbium can be separated into two elements differing in atomic weight by more than three units was briefly “described by the author three months ago. The present communication contains fuller details of the methods and results. These results have been con- firmed by elements thus separated under the names of aldebaranium and cassiopeium. The former of these is identical with lutecium, and the latter with neoytterbium.—The action of sulphosalicylic acid upon borax: L. Barthe.—The action of nascent hypoiodous acid (iodine and sodium carbonate) upon some acids of the general formula R—CH—CII—CH,—CO.H, R being the phenyl group more or less substituted: J. Bougault. The product of this action is an acid of the general formula R—CO—CH=CH—CO,H.—Antiamylasic serum: C. Gessard and J. Wolff. Quantitative studies on an enzyme preventing the action of malt extract upon starch.—The action of amylase of the pancreatic juice and its stimulation by the gastric juice: H. Bierry.—Note on the existence of products of cellular degenerescence re- calling Negri’s bodies: Y. Manouélian.—The measure- ment of the ventricular wave in man: Gabriel Arthaud. —The fixation, multiplication, and mode of attack of pathegenic trypanosomes in the proboscis of the tsetse- fly: E. Roubaud.—The genus Doliocystis: L. Brasil.— Stratigraphical researches in eastern Morocco: Louis Gentil.—Primary strata of Morvan and the Loire: Albert Michel-Lévy.—The extension of the Oligocene depressions Auer von Welsbach, who has described the two | in a part of the central massif, and their réle from the | hydrological point of view: Ph. Glangeaud.—New re- searches on the rare gases of thermal springs. Yields of certain cases: Charles Moureu and Robert The gases from nine springs have been ex- The proportions of the rare gases, taken together, vary from 1-24 per cent. to 6-39 per cent., the helium from 0-097 per cent. to 5:34 per cent. The total quantity of helium thus obtainable is very large, a spring at Bourbon-Nancy giving 10,000 litres per annum. The helium was separated by means of charcoal at the tempera- ture of liquid air boiling under reduced pressure, and con- tained only a trace of neon as impurity. gas in Biquard. amined. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Marcu 5. Roya. Society, at 4.30.—On the Atomic Weight of Radium: Dr. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S.—On the Electrical Resistance of Moving Matter : Prof. F. T. Trouton, F-R.S., and A. O. Rankine.—On the Nature of the | Streamers in the Electric Spark : Dr S. R. Milner.—The Relation between Wind Velocity at 1000 Metres Altitude and the Surface Pressure Distribution : E. Gold. Roya InstituTIoN, at 3.—Early British History and Epigraphy: Sir John Rhys. CuHemicat Society, at 8.30.—The Solubility of Iodine in Water: H. Hartley and N. P. Campbell.—Traces of a New Tin-group Element in Thorianite : Miss C. de B. Evans. Institution OF ELEcTRICAL ENGINEBRS, at 8.—Fuse Phenomena : Prof. A. Schwartz and W. H. N. James. LinNEAN Society, at 8.—On the Morphology of Stigmaria in Comparison ith Recent Lycopodiz acee: Prof. F. E. Weiss:—On T>tchoniscoides albidus and T. savsi: Alexander Patience.—£.xhibrts : Fruit Destroying Flies: W. W. Froggatt.—Mimicry in the Common Sole: Dr. A. T. Masterman. FRIDAY’, Marcu 6. , at 9.—The Figure and Constitution of the Earth: Surveying on Thunder Bay , Canada: R. V. Morris. — srabam. —Railway Surveying N OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8. of the Grand Trunk Pacific Rail Practice in Railway Surveying W. ritain: W. C. Crawford. ASSOCIATION, at 8.—The After-history of the West Indian s of 1902: Dr. ( Erupt ‘Tempest Anderson. an As SATURDAY Marcu 7. t 3.—Electric Discharges through Gases: Prof. J. J. VOL 7, MONDAY, Marcu 9 Royat Society orf Arts, at 8.—Fuel and its Future: Prof. Vivian B. Lewes. Royat GeEoGRAPHIcAL SocteTy, at 8.30.—Exploration in Southern Nigeria: Lieut. E. A. Steel. = ; ge ee MARCH to. OYAL INSTITUTION, at 3.—Membranes: Their Structur Jses Products: Prof. W. Stirlin pais Roya ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—The Origin of the Crescent asa Muhammadan Badge: Prof. W. Ridgeway.—Some Prehistoric Anti- quities in Central France: A. L. Lewis. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—urther discussion: The New York Rapid-transit Subway : W. B. Parsons. WEDNESDAY, Marcu 11. Roya Sociery or Arts, at 8.—The Use of Reinforced Concrete in Engineering and Architectural Construction in America: Ernest R. Matthews. Rovat METEOROLOGICAL Society, at 7.30.—Lecture on the Dawn of Meteorology: Dr. G. Hellmann. THURSDAY, Makcu 12. Royat. Society, at 4.30.—?? robable Papers :—Description of the Brain of Mr. Charles Babbage, F.R S.: Sir Victor Horsley, F.R.S.—The Origin and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. Part II., The Excretion of Cholesterol by the Dog: C. Dorée and J. A. Gardner.— On Reciprocal Innervation in Vasomotor Reflexes and the Action of Strychnine and of Chloroform thereon: Dr. W. M. Bayliss, F.R.S.— ae as Agents in the Oxidation of Amorphous Carbon: Prof. M. C. otter. Roya Institution, at 3.—Early British History and Epig Zn John Rhys. er Buea ee Roya Socirty or ARTS, at 4. 30.—Progress in the Native States of India during the past Forty Years: Sir David W. K, Barr, K.C.S.I. MaTHEMaTICAL Society, at 5.30.—On the Projective Geometry of some Covariants of a Binary Quintic: Prof. E. B. Elliott.—On the Inequalities connecting the Double and Repeated Upper and- Lower Integrals of a Function of Two Variables: Dr. W. H. Young.—On the Operational Expression of Taylor’s Theorem: W. F. Sheppard.—A Proof ofa Theorem of Fermat's: Dr. H. A. P. de S. Pittard. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—America Re-visited, 1907 : Sie eeccrey CBs) F.R.S. - PAGE CONTENTS. The Evolution of Astronomical Instruments . . 409 Nature and Nurture of the Child. By T. P.N. . . 410 Our Book Shelf :— : Walker: ‘‘The Essentials of Cytology.”—J. B. F. . 410 Bolduan : ‘‘ Immune Sera” 411 Rainbow: “A Guide to the Study of Australian Butterflies.” —W. F. K. 411 Polak : “The Theory and Practice of “Perspective Drawing” . ay os 5) RO Popplewell : ‘‘ Strength of Materials” 412 Letters to the Editor :— Lithium in Radio-active Minerals.—Sir W. Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S. Potion 80 “ito aeRO 412 i .—Prof. H. T. Barnes . 412 The Possibility of Life on Mars.—Dr. J. W. Evans 413 A Fundamental Contradiction between the Electrical Theory of Dispersion and the Phenomena of Spectrum-series.—Dr, G. A. Schott oe ns) e4iles Notes on Ancient British Monuments. VI,— Dolmens. (///ustrated.) By Sir Norman ea Ki CIB ra Res. <)> . 414 Experiments on Screw Propellers ; 416 Notes 3 f 417 Our Astronomical ‘Column :— Astronomical Occurrences in March . ...... . 421 Micrometer Observations of Phoebe . 421 Ephemeris for Danicl’s Comet, 1907¢ 421 The Spectrum of the Aurora Borealis 421 Sun-spot Spectra 421 Astronomy in Wales. . . 421 Recent Advances in Radio- Activity. (i “ith Diagram. ) By Prof, E. Rutherford, F.R.S. .... home 422 Medical Inspection of School Children 426 Forthcoming Books of Science tS Pol 427 University and Educational Intelligence . 5) Codes SocietiestandvAcademies. 200 eee «2 ele ase: DiarysofmSocieties /5) cane eee 432 SUPPLEMENT. Physiological Stimulus and Response. By L. H. iil The Stereoscope and Stereoscopic Instruments . iv American Physical Geography. By J W. Giese v Polyperiodic Functions. By G. B. os Lee Vv Reinforced Concrete. By T. H. B. boo vi The Evolution of Dress. . . : vii Modern Views of Electricity. “By N.C viii England an Example for Germany . viii Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. ‘By M. Ss. ix | The Tabernacle andthe Temple .... . x NATURE 433 THURSDAY, MARCH. 12, 1908. DHE FIRST NIEB CATARACT. A Description of the First oy Aswan Cataract of the Nile. By Dr. John Ball) Pp. 121; with 13 maps and plates, and 20 illustrations in the text. (Cairo: National Printing Department, 1907.) Price 200 milliemes. A MONG the numerous valuable memoirs that have + issued from the Egyptian’ Survey Department under the energetic administration of Captain Lyons, none is likely to prove of greater general interest to the public than this work ‘of Dr. Ball. The easy accessibility of Aswan to visitors sojourning at Cairo, the wealth of objects of antiquarian interest in :ts neighbourhood, and the existence of that great en- gineering feat—the Nile dam—ensure the result ot a constantly increasing stream of tourists the district; and although the English, German and French guide-books to Egypt, published by Murray, Baedeker and Hachette respectively, have such a well- deserved reputation, yet the complete topographical and geological survey of the district, made by so to competent an official as the author, has enabled him | to supply many precise data and new observations not hitherto accessible to the writers of these guide-books. Dr. Ball, indeed, comes with excellent qualifications to the task before him; a good geologist, with special knowledge of petrography, he is at the same time skilled in surveying and engineering matters, while the account which he gives of the literature bearing on the district (pp. 15-20) shows that he has not been unmindful of the importance of this branch of know- ledge in connection with a country having such a past as Egypt. At the outset, the author has to correct the popular misconceptions concerning the nature of the Nile “‘ cataracts.’? He writes :— ‘There is nothing about a Nile cataract in any way resembling Niagara, nor even the Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen. The total fall of the water-surface at the First Cataract (between Philze and Elephantine) is only about 5 metres in a length of about 9 kilo- metres; and although the greater part of the fall is concentrated within a fraction of this total length, it is only sufficient to give rise to rapids, and not to a waterfall in the ordinary sense ot the term. The obstruction to navigation offered by a Nile cataract is in fact due, not so much to the velocity of the water, as to the irregularity and conflicting nature of the currents caused by the narrowness, winding nature and rocky state of the channels.”’ Aswan was always a place of great importance. Under its ancient name of “ Syene,’’ it is constantly mentioned by the writers of antiquity, including the prophet Ezekiel, and many of the Greek and Roman authors. It formed the limit between Egypt and Ethiopia (Nubia), and observations made on _ the shadows cast by gnomons erected at Syene and Alexandria respectively were employed by the eariy geovraphers in determining the size of the earth and the obliquity of the ecliptic. Although Syene was regarded as situated on the tropic of the Cancer, yet. NO. 2002, VOL. 77] | collotype in plate iii. as Dr. Ball-points out, Aswan is neallvagarh ester kilometres) north cf the tropic; and the period at which, by the secular variation of the obliquity, the site of Aswan coincided with the tropic was about 3500 B.c. Besides the gnomon, there were deep vertical wells sunk at Syrene, the bottoms of which were illuminated by the sun at midday at the summer solstice, These wells are mentioned by many anciett writers, including the geographers Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy. The geological survey of this very interesting dis- trict was, of course, facilitated by the numerous excavations made during the construction of the great dam. But, on the other hand, the non-existence of any accurate topographical map of the district pre- sented a ditficulty which could only be got over by a complete survey of the whole area round the cataract. The line laid out for the dam by the engineers afforded Dr. Ball an excellent base-line, and from this a net- work of triangles was measured with a good theodo- lite, the details being filled in with sufficient accuracy by means of the plane-table. Heights were measured from the mean Nile level by the theodolite. This map, which is in six sheets, is a great improvement cn any previous one, and has been issued by the Survey Department, its scale being jod59, but reduced copy forms plate i. of the work before us. The geological formations present in the district as shown by the geological map (plate ti.) are :— (3) Recent deposits, including those formed by the wind (desert sands) and those deposited by the river (Nile muds and sands). (2) Nubian sandstones and clays, which cap many of the hills. (1) Metamorphic and igneous rocks, constituting the foundation of the whole country. The observations of the author on the chemical composition of the Nile muds and sands, and on the nature and form of the mineral particles present in them, are of great value and interest, and are illus- trated by some excellent drawings, reproduced in lt appears both from recent analyses made in Cairo, as well as from the earlier work of Hofmann, that the Nile. sands contain oniy small amounts of the hydrated aluminium silicates (kaolin, &c.), but consist mainly of finely comminuted felspars and other minerals, but little altered. The work of the geological survey seems to have demonstrated that the Nubian sandstones in this dis- trict are wholly of Cretaceous age, although in the Sinaitic Peninsula there are Carboniferous sandstones of very similar appearance. In oppositicn also .to earlier statements made to the contrary, it is shown that the igneous intrusions are confined to the metamorphic rocks and that they are all older than the Nubian sandstone. Aswan, or Syene, is of interest, to petrologists from the circumstance that a large and important class of rocks derives its name from this locality. The name ‘“ Syenite’? was first applied to the granitic roclss which were so familiar to the ancients from the cir- cumstance that they were the materials of the great [Exyptian monoliths (obelisks, statues, &c.). In 1788, U a 434 NATORE [Marcu 12, 1908 Werner restricted the use of the term by making the hornblende-orthoclase rock of the Planenschen-grund, near Dresden, the type of the class; and now geolo- gists are agreed in retaining the term for rocks with granitic structure but of intermediate composition, con- taining little or no free quartz, and having orthoclase as their predominant felspar. Rocks of this class do occur at Aswan, as shown by Dr. Ball, but they appear to be in all cases subordinate to the true granites with which they are associated. The chief rocks quarried at Aswan, both in ancient times and also recently, for the construction of the dam, are these granites, sometimes coarse-grained and porphyritic, at other times fine-grained. Both hornblendic varieties and types of these rocks rich in mica occur, and by the diminution of proportion of the quartz and the increase in abundance of the subordinate plagioclase, the rocks pass locally by in- sensible gradations into syenites and diorites. Full descriptions with excellent figures (plates iv. to xi.) are given by Dr. Ball, not only of these plutonic types, but also of the various metamorphic rocks, and of the rocks that form dykes cutting through both metamorphic and plutonic masses. The survey has, of course, given the author abundant opportunities for collecting specimens, of which he has made ample use. Like Prof. Bonney, who examined a series of the Aswan rocks collected by the late Principal Dawson in 1886, Dr. Ball is struclx with the general resemblance of the metamorphic and igneous rocks, both of Upper Egypt and the Sinaitic area, to the Archzean rocks of North America, and he suggests that they may not improbably be of the same great antiquity. The crushing and faulting of these rocks with the intrusion of various dykes took place, the author of this memoir argues, at a date long subsequent to their formation, and this action continued quite down to Cretaceous times, when the Nubian sandstone was deposited quite unconformably on their greatly denuded surfaces. Near the cataract of Aswan no remains of the Eocene clays and lime- stones, found in other parts of Upper Egypt, occur —ihey have probably been removed by denudation. Subsequently to the Eocene period, there has been elevation and great denudation. At this period of elevation most of the faults which play such an im- portant part, as shown in this memoir, in producing the general features of the cataract area were formed. By the denudation the older metamorphic and igneous rocks were exposed, and the escarpments and outliers of Nubian sandstone formed. In the concluding pages of this interesting memoir the author adduces evidence to show that the ancient course of the Nile lay in a broad valley east of the present river, and he discusses the problem of the causes which-have led to important changes in the course of the river and the effects of these changes on the character of the country. We must wait for the extension of the geological survey of Egypt, to districts which at present untouched, for a full solution of these problems. It is interesting to learn that, although the site of the great Nile dam was determined prior to the execution of the geological] NO. 2002, VOL. 77] remain survey, Dr. Ball is of opinion that the line actually chosen for it was a satisfactory one, and that the results of the survey do not indicate that any better site could have been selected for it; and, further, that the straight form, finally adopted for the dam, has been at least equally successful in avoiding the diffi- culties presented by crushed and decayed rocks as would the curved form originally suggested. NEA Is THE “HISTOIRE INTIME” OXIDE, Das Lachgas: eine chemisch-kultur-historische Studie. By Prof. Ernst Cohen. Pp. iv+99. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price 3.60 marks. ABITUES of the Royal Institution, and especially those who have interested themselves in its early history, are aware of the existence of a characteristically coarse caricature of Gillray’s entitled ““ Scientific Researches! New Discoveries in Pneu- maticks! Or an Experimental Lecture on the Powers of Air,’’ which first appeared in 1802, and is stated by Wright and Evans, who published in 1851 a de- scriptive account of Gillray’s cartoons, to represent Dr. Garnett, the first professor of chemistry in the Royal Institution, administering, with the aid of his assistant, Humphry Davy, what is presumably laugh- ing-gas to Sir John C. Hippesley, a noted patron of the Institution and prominent as a manager, with results disquieting to his ‘‘ internal economy,’’ and disastrous to ‘‘ That garment ’twere rude to do more than allude to,’? as Thomas Ingoldsby says. This print is hardly so rare as Prof. Cohen would seem to imply, and it has already done duty in con- nection with the early history of the Royal Institution, It—or rather what Prof. Cohen styles the right half of it—is reproduced in Thorpe’s biographical account of Davy, published some years ago by Messrs. Cassell. Prof. Cohen, apparently on the sole authority of Pictet, who visited London in 1801, and contrary to all con- temporary evidence and the testimony of the editors of Gillray’s works, inclines to the opinion that the person administering the nitrous oxide is Thomas Young, who is styled professor of chemistry in the Royal Institution, a position he never held. Of course, a caricaturist like Gillray, who allowed himself un- limited licence, and was bound by no rules either of decorum or probability, might, in portraying a wholly imaginary incident, commit any anachronism he pleased. But there was no reason at the moment why Gillray should be guilty of the anachronism of putting Young into a position he never occupied, since Garnett was the actual professor of chemistry when Davy was assistant, and the humour of the incident —such as it is—is in no wise dependent upon what lecturer is behind the table. Pictet was certainly present at a symposium on a certain Saturday even- ing at the Royal Institution in the early summer of 1801, when, to quote from a letter from Davy to his friend King at Bristol, ‘‘ there was respiration, nitrous oxide, and unbounded applause. To-morrow, a party of philosophers meet at the Institution to inhale the It has produced a great sensation OF NITROUS “ joy-inspiring gas. MakcHu 12, 1908] NATURE “435 , ” —C(Ca ira.”’ It was no doubt this ‘* great sensation that provoked Gillray’s cartoon. But who the lecturer may be would be a matter of small importance except for the circumstance that Prof. Cohen devotes much of his space to a somewhat laboured commentary on the print. The caricature constitutes, in fact, as he explains in his preface, the motif of his little book—a fascimile reproduction of it is given as the frontispiece—and it was the chief inducement which led him to put to- gether at such length the histoire intime of laughing- gas. Such a book is probably not intended to be a serious contribution to historical chemistry. From the fact that it is dated from Zandvoort-Bad in the August of last year—that ‘“‘summer of drear and dour, im- placable rain ’’—we incline to the opinion that it was a holiday occupation imposed by the tedium of a particularly dolorous time. With the aid of much ‘‘ process work ’’ and a wealth of classical allusion, Dr. Cohen has managed to pack within the compass of 100 pages the results of a considerable amount of bibliographical research on matters of no great importance. Like the famous Cid Hamet, he is the most diligent searcher after the minutest circumstances, ‘‘ even to the very atoms of his true history,’’ and everything relating to laughing-gas—at least as regards its histoire intime—is set down with the most painstaking par- ticularity. The history opens with Mitchill in America and -his ‘‘ oxide of Septon,’’ passes on to Beddoes of Bristol and his Pneumatic Institution; the engagement there of Davy, and his discovery of the physiological effect of the respiration of nitrous oxide, which he prepared by the decomposition of ammonium nitrate in the manner first described by Berthollet and La Place, and, apparently indepen- dently, by Deiman and Paets van Troostwijk. There is, of course, no reason why chemistry should not have its Captain Gronow or its Greville memoirs, and, incidentally, Prof. Cohen has much to say of the personal history of certain of those whose names are connected, however slightly, with the histoire intime of nitrous oxide. The manner, for example, in which he runs his countryman Adriaan Paets van Troostwijk to earth is characteristic of your born commentator. Davy's rhapsodical description of his sensations on breathing nitrous oxide is naturally given at length. Next we have a series of portraits, with here and there slight personal touches, of distinguished in- dividuals who have breathed nitrous oxide, or who have seen others breathe it. They range from Southey very and Coleridge in England to Fourcroy, Vauquelin, | Thénard, Orfila, and Proust in France, and Pfaff and Wurzer in Germany. Indeed, the wealth of pictorial illustration of the histoire intime of nitrous oxide which Dr. Cohen’s industry and perseverance have enabled him to accumulate is quite remarkable. The only omission we have been able to discover is a repre- sentation of a dentist’s chair. Davy’s connection with the place, together with Gillray’s caricature, is, of course, the main reason NO. 2002, VOL. 77] why Prof. Cohen devotes so much of his space to the early history of the Royal Institution, which pace Gillray and the symposium already referred to had very little to do with laughing-gas. To what extent the gas entered into its history may be seen from Pictet’s lively account, published in 1802. Dr. Cohen, as becomes the true commentator, dis- plays much erudition and no small amount of acumen in expounding the true inwardness of Gillray’s draw- ing. The meaning is not very cryptic, after all. According to our author, the caricature must be regarded as directed against Rumford; it is, in fact, a satire on the Count, and incidentally on the Institution which he founded. Possibly this surmise is true, but the manner in which it is reached is even more humorous than the cartoon itself. So far as we are aware, no one has been at the pains to put forward any other interpretation—certainly none which would conflict with the view which Prof. Cohen has taken, and we are therefore content to be of his opinion, since “ ’tisn’t worth while, it would seem, to dispute, when we know the result immaterial.” We congratulate Prof. Cohen on his interesting brochure. It is an elaborate trifle which may serve to beguile and amuse the tired researcher in his hours of ease. But if the histoire intime of chemical compounds, in general, say even of such things as arsenic, prussic acid, calomel or Epsom salts, were to become fashionable, what a literature we should have ! TRITUBERCULISM. Evolution of Mammalian Molar Teeth, to and from the Triangular Type. (Biological Studies and Ad- dresses, vol. i.) By H. F. Osborn; edited by W. K. Gregory. Pp. ix+250; illustrated. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) QUARTER of a century ago next April, the late Prof. E. D. Cope, struck by the remarkable fact that the molar teeth, both upper and lower, of all the mammals from the Puerco or lowest Eocene horizon of North America carry three cusps arranged in triangular form, proposed what was practically the germ of the now well-known tritubercular theory. Briefly stated, this theory is to the effect that in the ancestors of all existing mammals each upper molar carried a triangle of cusps with the apex pointing inwards, while the corresponding lower teeth had a similar triangle with the apex directed outwards; and that from this primitive type have been evolved all the various modifications of molar structure, in most cases by the addition, but in certain instances by the subtraction, of cusps. The exponent, and to a great degree author, of the theory in its present form is Prof. Osborn, who has done well in laying before the scientific world the evidence for and against this fascinating doctrine. For it has to be acknowledged that while the tri- tubercular theory was received with acclamation when first promulgated in its full development by the author of the volume now before us, there has of late years been a certain reaction in this respect as the result 436 NATURE [Marci 12, 1908 of hostile criticism and alternative hypotneses tur- nished by anatomists and microscopists of great scien- tific repute. Prof, Osborn is, however, fully con- yinced of the ultimate triumph of the theory; and, indeed, goes so far as to state that, in his opinion, ‘the evidence in favour of it is so overwhelming that primitive trituberculy is no longer an hypothesis or a theory, but an established fact.” That a theory, although established on what appears to be a firm basis of fact, may require revision in certain details is a matter of everyday experience, and our author is fully prepared to admit such emenda- tions in this particular case so soon as the necessity can be proved to be imperative. One of the points against which criticism has been concentrated is the author’s view that the apex of the triangle in both the upper and the lower molars represents the single cone of the ancestral reptilian tooth. In the case of the lower teeth, embryological evidence coincides with Prof. Osborn’s theoretical view; but as regards the upper molars the testimony of embryology points to the conclusion that, at least in many groups, the antero-external, in place of the internal, is the primitive element. The author meets this and other objections by the candid statement that the five great principles on which the theory was originally based ‘do not stand or fall together ’’; one or more may go, or have to be modified, without imperilling the hypothesis as a whole; and even if the cusps ultimately prove not to be strictly homologous with one another in different groups, ‘‘the homological nomenclature should be retained for convenience because it has found its wav so largely into literature.”’ ; The homology and origin of the cusps are, however, by no means the sole object of attack on the part of critics. Among other objections, reference may be made to the multitubercular theory, according to which molars have tended to simplify rather than to grow more complex. This hypothesis is met by the author, and we think rightly, with a direct negative, and certain other objections receive equally summary treatment. As regards the plan of the work, it is important to notice that the contents are in the main formed by separate papers on trituberculism, which have been arranged in chronological order, and, where neces- sary, brought up to date by intercalary notes. This plan has its advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages are that the history of the controversy is easy to follow, while the disadvantages are manifest in the shape of a considerable amount of repetition. We are also left in doubt at the end of the volume as to what the author’s present views really are with regard to several points on which his theory challenged. To do anything like justice to the work demands much more space than can be given to it in this notice. All that can be done is therefore to direct atten- lion to its importance and interest, and at the same time to express the opinion that the author has suc- ceeded in placing trituberculism on a has been much more secure and unassailable basis than it ever previousl\ occupied. Re AU, NO. 2002, VOL. 77] OUR BOOK SHELF. Nature und Development of Plants. By C. C. Curtis. Pp. v+471. (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1907.) Tne author of this book has set himself a definite task, namely, to give an account of plant life, with special reference to that aspect which presents it as a working organism. Dr. Curtis is to be congratu- lated on the successsavith which he has achieved his object, for he has produced an excellent and readable book which may be confidently recommended for the use of junior classes in this country. Naturally, some ot the actual examples may prove unfamiliar to the student, but the majority of the plants chosen for illustration are readily accessible to all. The ‘‘nature of the plants ’? occupies the first part of the book, and it is this portion which strikes us as especially good. The second part is devoted to the development, meaning thereby the phylogenetic classi- fication of the vegetable kingdom; and here again Dr. Curtis has, we think, contrived to sustain the interest in a branch of botany which, as treated in elementary works, is often intolerably dull. He has introduced a certain amount of advanced work in this part of the book, though with a judicious absence of unnecessary detail. Perhaps a degree of emphasis, rather greater than is warranted by our knowledge, is laid on the relation between alternation of generations and chromosome reduction. The discussion also as to the meaning of unit characters and the method of their inheritance strikes us as too formal and dogmatic to be very useful. But these are small blemishes in a work where there is so much that merits praise. The numerous and excellent illustrations form a distinct feature of the bool<, but we note two amongst them which might well be replaced. Fig. 43, and the text which accompanies it, represent a very dia- grammatic and not very normal mode of secondary thickening, whilst Fig. 85 certainly ought to be re- drawn. A seedling castor-oil plant is not the furry object there represented, If 185 1 The Diseases of Animals. By Nelson S. Mayo. Third edition. (New York: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. 6d. net. Tuts work, which purports to be one of popular advice on the care and common ailments of farm animals, is written entirely from the American point of view, and deals with American methods principally, in most distinctly American orthography. It cannot be doubted that its usefulness to the British rural public, not less than the pleasure of reading it, are considerably lessened thereby. It is decidedly irritating to readers on this side of the Atlantic to see such abominations as ‘“‘sulfur,”? ‘‘ esophagus,’’ “ sulfate,’’ ‘‘ mold,’’ and others of a similar kind. There is, nevertheless, a good deal of useful and practical information sn the care of animals and farm stock which the farmer would do well to know, no matter in what part of the world he carries on his occupation. In fact, that por- tion of the book which deals with feeding, watering, exercise, and the hygienic care of domestic animals, both stock and pets, is in our opinion by far the most useful to the general reader. In this section dogs, cats, rabbits, hares, guinea-pigs, and poultry are dealt with, in addition to the farm animals proper. The photographic illustrations of the animals them- selves are good, but some of those representing morbid conditions are of little value, for example, that of tuberculosis of the lung (p. 380), which could give no assistance to the non-expert. In a work of this kind it is doubtless difficult to Marcu 12, 1908] deal satisfactorily with the pathelcgical side, and it is a question whether such morbid processes as those of tumours would not be better omiitted. In any case, we cannot agree with such statements as :—‘‘ True cancers are not common to animals,’’ and, further, that cancers ‘fare most frequent on the head and lower part of the legs.’’ In the section on tuberculosis, the author is satisfied to leave the question of the identity or otherwise of human and bovine tubercle with KXoch’s original statement of non-communicability, ignoring all that has been done on the subject since that statement was made. S@™®e other conditions, for example, rickets, are very inadequately described. So far as this country is concerned, there is still room for a good up-to-date popular scientific work which will give the farmer such simple knowledge of the breeding, accidents, and diseases of his animals as will show him the occasion and the wisdom of consulting the skilled veterinarian. Gig db; Traité de Chimie analytique qualitative, suivi de Tables systématiques pour Analyse minérale. By Louis Dupare and Alfred Monnier. Second edition. Pp. viti+374. (Paris: Félix Alcan; Geneva: Librairie Kundig, 1908.) Tue first edition of this book on analytical chemistry appeared in 1900. In the present, second, edition there has been added a preliminary theoretical portion with the object of giving an insight into the reactions which take place during the analytical operations; this new portion gives an account of the atomic theory, the theory of solutions, and the theory of chemical equilibrium. Then follows the usual de- scription of apparatus, reagents, and methods of manipulation. The main portion of the book is occu- pied by an enumeration of the reactions of the bases and acids, including the more common organic acids, and more briefly of the rare metals and alkaloids. In each case the reactions which take place are ex- pressed by chemical equations. The book is intended to be a laboratory companion and work of reference not only for the student but also for the analytical chemist. Its value, however, for reference purposes is much lessened by the want of an index, though a full table of contents is given at the end of the volume. Actualités scientifiques. By Max de Nansouty. Pp. 316. (Paris: Schleicher Fréres, 1907.) Price 3.50 francs. Tus volume is the fourth issue of an interesting and useful annual publication which on previous occasions we have ccmmended to the notice of science students. Now that ability to read French is expected of science graduates in the University of London, books which provide means for a student to enlarge his vocabulary and at the same time to improve his knowledge of science should be very popular. The selection of subjects is very wide; e.g. articles are included on colour photography, the extraction of gold from the sea, spontaneous combustion, laughing, and artificial flowers. (1) California and the Californians. Pp. 48. (2) The Alps of King-Kern Divide. Pp. 22. By, President D. S. Jordan, Stanford University.. (San Fransiene A. M. Robertson, 1907.) THESE are two readable essays, the first of which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly ten years ago, while the other is reprinted from ‘‘ Out West.’’ The booklets should be read by visitors to California, and they may be commended also to the general reader, to whem the excellent illustrations will be an interesting feature. NO. 2002, VOI. 77] NATURE 437 IEPEAILIBIOS) IMO) AIBUB. 15 DUI ONG. |The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The Isotaermal Layer of the Atmosphere. Tuose who, like myself, have followed with interest, but at a distance, the attempts made during recent years to obtain direct information as to the meteorological condi- tions of the upper atmosphere, cannot but have felt a curiosity on some points which Mr. Dines’s letter in Nature of February 27 serves to deepen. To one who has had experience of the vagaries of self-recording- instru- ments, the first question that suggests itself is what degree of reliance can be placed on the results obtained during individual ascents, whether of kites or of balloons. Supposing a temperature of —7o° F. recorded, the total range of temperature between the ground and the ‘“ iso- thermal layer ’’ will usually have exceeded 100° F.; thus a 3 per cent. or 4 per cent. error in the scale—an amount not infrequently exceeded in ordinary thermographs limited to ordinary surface temperatures—would suffice to give an uncertainty of 3° F. or 4° F., which seems all that Mr. Dines is prepared to allow. But, apart from mere scale errors, is it certain that there are no other sources of uncertainty in meteorograph records from kites or balloons even when these are sent up after nightfall? Before attempting to explain such large differences as Mr. Dines mentions between the temperatures in the “isothermal layer,’’ shown by meteorographs sent up on the same day from stations only a few hundred miles apart, one would like to know exactly what the evidence is that the temperatures recorded differ at most only 3° F. or 4° F. from the true ones. The following questions naturally suggest themselves :— (1) Are the instruments tested over the whole range encountered in the atmosphere, both before and after an ascent ? (2) Has it been a frequent practice to send up two or more thermographs with the same balloon, or with separate balloons, but at the same station and at the same time, and if so, have they always given closely accordant results ? (3) Has it been established by actual trial that the different types of meteorographs, English and foreign, when sent up at the same time from the same station, give a satisfactory agreement ? Mr. Dines mentions a case when the temperatures found for the “‘ isothermal layer ’’ at three English stations on the same day varied from —42° F. to —74° F. An un- certainty of +4° F. could account for only a quarter of this, but an uncertainty of +8° F. might account for a half, and an uncertainty of +16° F. for the whole. Now is there conclusive evidence that uncertainties of the order +1o° F. are quite out of the question ? March 3. CuarLes CHREE. The Solidification of Helium. In the telegram from Prof. Kamerlingh Onnes announcing the solidification of helium, the statement is made that “the last evaporating parts show considerable vapour pressures as if liquid state is jumped over ’’—in other words, it apparently sublimes. I have for a long time expected that this would be the case. When the boiling points and melting points of the non-valent elements are plotted against their atomic weights the curves nearly meet, the two points for argon being very near to one another. By a slight extrapolation they may be made to meet, and they then do so for an atomic weight much higher than that of helium. Now if an element corresponded to the meeting point its triple point would be given by the temperature at the join. Elements of lower atomic weight would sublime instead of melting. This is apparently the case for helium, and it is a moot point whether or not it will be found to be also so for neon. The uncertainty arises from the rani drop in the curves in passing to the row of elements N, Fl, to which neon belongs. Each curve can be Be ee very nearly by a parabola. ALFRED W. Porter. University College, London, March 6. NA LORE, [Marcu 12, 1908 Disease-resisting Sugar-canes, Ir is observed in your issue for November 7 last in the article entitled *‘ Immunity to Disease among Plants,” being an abstract of a letter delivered before the British Pharmaceutical Conference at Manchester by Prof. F. E. Weiss, that the following statement occurs :— ““In the West Indies, the Bourbon cane has been given up on account of disease, but very useful and disease- resisting hybrids have been produced by crossing the valuable but easily attacked Tjeribon cane with the resistant Indian Tschan cane.” The latter canes are not known in the West Indies, and it is desirable, therefore, that the actual facts be placed on record. When the Bourbon sugar-cane had to be abandoned in the West Indies on account of its susceptibility to fungus disease, its place was generally taken by the White Trans- parent—an introduced variety. Since then the latter is being largely replaced by seedling canes. These seedlings have been produced in some instances from the Bourbon cane, and, recently, almost entirely from the better of the newer seedling varieties under experiment. It may be of interest to mention that in British Guiana the area under cultivation with varieties of sugar-cane other than Bourbon is about 30,000 acres, and the greater portion of this area is occupied by seedling canes. In the island of St. Kitts about 71 per cent. of the sugar- cane acreage is occupied by seedlings. Seedling canes are also being largely planted at Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Jamaica. Many of the newer seedlings appear to be immune to some of the fungus diseases that affect the sugar-cane in these colonies, and the efforts in the direction of pro- ducing seedling canes by artificial cross-pollination give promise of success. In Java the circumstances are also somewhat similar. The Cheribon cane had to be abandoned on account of its being liable to the ‘‘sereh’’ disease, and amongst the foreign varieties intro- duced to take its place was the East Indian cane Chunnee. In 1894 it was found that the Cheribon cane bore a large proportion of infertile pollen with a normal ovary, while the Chunnee produced a very large quantity of fertile pollen. Advantage was taken of this to plant the two varieties side by side in the hope of producing hybrids by natural means. Considerable success has been attained, for a very large number of seedlings was obtained by sowing seeds from the ‘“‘self-sterile ’’ arrows of the Cheribon, many of which combine the high sugar content of the Cheribon with the disease-resisting power of the Chunnee. Other introduced canes have also been used in these experiments, and somewhat similar experiments are in progress in the West Indies. A résumé of the ‘‘ Improvement of the Sugar-cane by Selection and Hybridisation ’’’ (with coloured plates) was presented by Mr. F. A. Stockdale and myself at the con- ference on genetics held in London in August, 1906, under the auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society. The society issued a full report of the conference in February, 1907. The paper referred to has since been reproduced in the West Indian Bulletin (vol. vii., No. 4). Barbados, February 14. summers, D. Morris. Modern Views of Electricity. To avoid misunderstanding, I write to say briefly, in connection with a review by *‘N. R. C.’’ on p. viii of the supplement to Nature of March 5, that I have never supposed space to be a conductor, but have always taught the opposite view; and that I have never imagined unmodified ether to be subject to gravitation, or to be other than the vehicle of that property of matter. If any phrases in my book suggest the contrary they are examples of faulty expression. But I would add, parenthetically, that I should not scruple to speak, untechnically, of the centre of gravity of a surface. OttverR LopGE. NO. 2002, VOL. 77] Rothesay Summers and Greenwich Winters. Last summer at Rothesay (N.B.) was very wet, with 148 inches (average, 11-3 inches). The current winter season at Greenwich may now be pronounced a mild one. It is a curious fact (whatever the explanation) that a very wet summer at Rothesay tends to be followed by a mild winter at Greenwich, and a very dry summer by a severe winter. This is connected, I believe, with the fact that the rainfall of Scotland and the winter cold of Green- wich both exhibit pretty clearly the influence of the sun- spot cycle. Suppose we pick out the twenty-two wettest and the twenty-two driest summers at Rothesay in the sixty-six years 1841-1906 (i.e. a third in either case). The former group range from 19-1 inches down to 12-6 inches; the latter from 5-9 inches up to 10-7 inches. Next, consider what sort of winter at Greenwich followed each of these (say, how many frost days in the period September to May). These winters may be represented as in diagrams A and (23%5678 The scale of frost days at Greenwich is shown on the left, and that of the sun-spot cycle at top of each diagram. a, Winters after very wet summers. pb, Winters after very dry B, where a dot indicates by its position both the number of frost days of one winter and its position in the sun- spot cycle, It will be seen that the twenty-two ‘‘ very wet” Rothesay summers were followed by fifteen mild and seven severe winters at Greenwich (A), and the twenty-two “very dry ’’ Rothesay summers by fifteen severe and seven mild winters at Greenwich (B). The contrast is still more pronounced if we confine attention to the period of decline of the sun-spots. These diagrams seem to warrant two practical rules, which may be thus stated :-— During decline of the sun-spots, if summer rainfall at Rothesay exceeds 12-6 inches, a mild winter at Greenwich is highly probable (say, 6 to 1), and if during the same period the Rothesay summer rainfall is under 10-7 inches a severe winter is highly probable (say, 3 to 1). In the former case a very severe winter, and in the latter a very mild winter, would seem to be excluded. We are at present close to a maximum (1905 or 1907 ?), and have to do with diagram A, which shows no severe winters for the corresponding position in the cycle. Avex. B. MacDowatt. “ec The Possibility of Life in Mars. Ar the risk of being thought by your correspondent, Mr. C. O. Bartrum, an “ anthropomorphist,’’ I consider that Prof. Lowell in his admirable investigations of the mark- ings of Mars is quite reasonable in ascribing the change of colour to the presence of a vegetation containing a sub- stance allied to, if not identical with, chlorophyll. I do so because the spectroscope has shown that, not only the solar system, but the whole universe, is built up of inorganic elements similar to those found on the earth. If we find unity of plan pervading the structure of the most Marcu 12, 1908] NATURE 439 distant stars, surely it is not beyond credibility to assume | not it is difficult to say. that the organic worlds may have a like relationship to each other when other circumstances are favourable. Hove, March 3. W. ArnsLiE Hottis. The a Particles from Radio-active Substances. Tue experiments of Rutherford and Hahn have shown that the ratio e/m has the same value, 5x10°, for a rays, no matter from what source the rays are derived. They are, however, the particles taken alone, incapable of deciding whether are hydrogen molecules carrying the usual ionic charge, or helium atoms with twice that charge. In a recent paper in Roy. Soc. Proc., Prof. Townsend has shown that the positive ion produced by Ré6ntgen rays has twice the ionic charge at the moment of formation. If his further experiments prove this true generally, then the question whether the a rays are hydrogen or helium must be definitely decided in favour of the latter, and the association of this gas with radio-active substances is accounted for. R. S. WiLLows. Cass Institute, E.C. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BURIAL CUSTOMS. E have had to wait some little while for Prof. Garstang’s publication of his discoveries in the necropolis of Beni Hasan during the years 1902-3-4. However, ‘‘ better late than never.”’ The publication is issued under the auspices of the University of Liverpool, in which Mr. Gar- stang now professes the methods and practice of archeology. We must congratulate Prof. Garstang on his appointment. As a professional excavator of untiring industry and ‘ go,’’ he has been known to the archeological world for some years; and he has been a lucky excavator also. Nobody knows better than the digger that luck, no less than a keen eye and “ sense of the probable,’’? knowledge of the appearance of disturbed and undisturbed land, &c., is an important ally to him; and the discoverer of the other half of the Menes tablet at Nagada should gratefully admit his obligations to Dame Fortuna. No such stroke of luck marked the ex- cavations at Beni Hasan. The results were all what might have been expected and predicted of a necropolis of the eleventh and twelfth dynasties. Except for a few more than usually As a matter of personal opinion, the other alternative of a modified publication on the lines of one of the annual volumes of the Egypt Exploration Fund would seem preferable. The result of Prof. Garstang’s decision is that we have here a | book which is at once a more or less popular worl | for on the burial customs of ancient Egypt, but only deals with this subject in part, and a scientific report of the results of the excavations at Beni Hasan which is of unhandy form, and is written and illustrated in an inconvenient way. The book is too heavy as well as too expensive for a popular treatise, while for a scientific work the larger format of the Fund's publications is infinitely preferable. The treatment of the subject-matter is too general and scrappy for a scientific report, and the illustrations, being scattered throughout the text instead of con- centrated in plates, may be appropriately arranged a popular book, but are most ill designed for reference by the scientific student. On the whole, we think Prof. Garstang’s decision unfor- tunate, and we hope that in future he will publish his discoveries in the admirable manner of his former publications, with their large, thin format and groups of plates at intervals throughout the volume. Let him keep his strictly scientific publica- elaborate models and some very fine cartonnage mummy-coverings of a type not previously noted, they are not new. As always in tombs of this, date, we have little but the rectangular coffins and models of workmen, slaves, boats with their crews, granaries, and so forth, which are well known in our museums. A large number of tombs was dis- covered, and the number of objects found in them was enormous. How to publish this huge mass of material, mostly of types already well known, was a difficult question. To publish everything scientifically, in the manner of the Egypt Exploration Fund, would have been a most expensive task, as well as (since the anti- guities found are mostly of a kind well known already) an unnecessary one. A scientific publication of similar type, but containing only the most impor- tant finds, would have been the expedient which most archeologists would have adopted. Prof. Garstang has, however, chosen rather to adopt a novel plan; he has written simply a description of the burial customs of the Egyptians under the Middle Kingdom, iliustrated by typical examples of the objects found at Beni Hasan. Whether this decision was wise or 1 ‘Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt.” By Prof. J. Garstang. Pp. xv+ 250. (London: A. Constable and Co., Ltd,, 1907.) Price 1/, 11s. 6d. net. NO. 2002, VOL. 77] Fic. 1.—Position of the Pit Tombs below the Gallery. tions and his wuvres de vulgarisation entirely apart. A popular book from his pen on the burial customs of ancient Egypt which should really cover the whole subject would be most welcome. In spite of its defects, however, the present volume is a most interesting contribution to archaeological literature. As specimens of the admirable photo- graphs with which it is illustrated, we here reproduce in Fig. 1 a view showing the position of the pit- tombs. excavated by Prof. Garstang in relation to the gallery-tombs of the princes of Beni Hasan, which are so well known to every visitor to Egypt; in Fig. 2 a view of the interior of a tomb as discovered and after removing the débris, which shows how the coffins and models of boats, &c., are found, and incidentally shows how thorough Prof. Garstang’s archeological methods are in respect of complete photographic recording; and Fig. 3, a model of a group of two officers playing “draughts on board ship, showing the cabin against which are propped their great shields and arrow-cases. This is a very interesting specimen of the numberless models found. which give us so complete an idea of what fhe 440 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1908 Egyptians looked like in the third millennium pn.c. Of | no other people at so remote an age do we know so | to pursue an independent path as a painter. This is to be regretted from the point of view of archeology, - A much, and we may weil bless that pious care for the | as Mr. Jones would, as. his work with Prof. Garstang Fic. 2.—(a) Interior of To nb a; discovered. (0) The same after removing the Débris. ancient dead which provided them with these little | representations of their life on earth. Very few slips of any kind have crept into the text, but we notice one on p. 169, in which it is said that the names of the vases and other offerings painted on the coffins illustrated in Fig. 171 ‘f are given in difficult hieratic writing.’? The names shown are in linear hieroglyphics, and are quite easy te read. The | —Officers playing Draughts on koard ship. Model from a Tomb. , 'y unworthy photograph in the book js Pig. 4,710 hich the cliffs illustrated are by no means clear. od of his preface, Prof. Garstang says that it, Mr. Harold Jones, is now leaving him. NO. 2002, VOL. 77] has shown, have been a valuable recruit to the ranks of the excavators. lal, Ie laliyere,. SLEEPING SICKNESS.! \7 HEN the campaign against malaria was commenced, our knowledge of the para- sitic agent of that disease was practically complete, and in no essential particular has our knowledge of the mode of transmission changed since the discovery of the anopheline- malarial cycle. But when we consider sleep- ing sickness the matter is very different. Our knowledge of trypanosomes is even yet in its infancy. It has, for instance, been asserted over and over again that sexual differences exist in trypanosomes, and on this basis have been constructed developmental cycles which indeed may exist, but in proof of which the evidence hitherto adduced has been practically nil; and indeed two of the latest observers, Moore and Breinl, not only find no evidence of this sexual difference, at least in the blood, but describe two new phases of trypanosomes, viz. a so-called minute latent form, which comes into existence mainly when the ordinary forms from one cause or another have dis- appeared from the peripheral circulation, and resistant cystic forms, which appear when an animal is treated with atoxyl. We have, according to these authors, a cycle of the trypanosome going on in the body hitherto unsuspected, and we also have encystment of trypanosomes under injurious influences. If this be true, it shows that, unlike malaria, we know but little of the com- plete life-cycle of trypanosomes, for of these forms we know so far only of their bare existence. This discovery, then, opens the whole question of the life-cycle of trypanosomes, including the question also. whether there are sexual forms or no. There are further questions which are equally obscure. While, | in the case of malaria, shortly after the discovery of the all-essential importance of some of the anophelines in its transmission close attention was paid to the habits of these mosquitoes, in the case of tsetse-flies we know about their habits comparatively little. It is perhaps an exaggeration to say that we know now no more about tsetse-flies than we did when Bruce discovered that Gl. morsitans transmitted the trypano- some (T. brucei) of ngana, but at any rate we can sum up in a few words what we know of the habits of the fly :—(1) The only place so far discovered where the tsetses deposit their larvae has been among the roots of banana-trees; (2) they haunt the serub or bush along the margins of lakes and rivers, and are seldom found far trom water. The reason for this dis- tribution is unknown, though one might conjecture that it has something to do with their food supply. (3) The sources of their food supply are also very imperfectly known. Is blood a necessity for their existence in nature? That they pursue man vora- ciouslv is known, but what other animals do they feed on? Koch recently has confirmed the observation that they suck crocodiles’ blood, and holds that this is their main if not sole food; and has even gone so far as to suggest that the destruction of crocodiles would cause the disappearance of the fly. The ze Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Sleeping Sickness held at London in June, 1907; and further -aper respecting | the Proceedings of the Conference. Marci 12, 1908 | NATURE 441 crocodiles is a comparatively easy matter, as the eggs, sixty or seventy, can be collected from the nests, the sites of which are well known to the native. Possibly, however, aquatic birds would still furnish them with blood. The dur- ation of their life, their breeding habits, the habits of different species, the conditions which give rise to ‘‘ fly belts,’’ are almost unknown. It is some- what remarkable that so little is known, although many expeditions have now studied sleeping sickness ; the fly, however, has surely been somewhat neglected. One fact of great practical importance has, however, become clear, viz. that clearing the jungle drives away the fly, and to this we shall return. When we consider next the mode by which the fly transmits the disease, we find ourselves in the midst of controversy. One view is that the transmission is a mechanical one, i.e. the fly carries infection as an inoculating needle from one animal to another, and the Soh n experimental facts entirely support this view; and, further, we have the fact that in Dourine this is the sole (? also by fleas) known method, the mechanical transmission being in this case by sexual intercourse, a method which, according to Koch, also tales place to some extent in sleeping sickness. Another view, that a developmental cycle goes on in | the fly, is based mainly on analogy and on the alleged existence of sexual forms of trypanosomes in the “blood, and more especially in the gut, of flies. We will not enter here into the wilderness of arguments, but point out the following facts. The tsetses used for experimental purposes have hitherto, almost without exception, been caught in nature, consequently, ex hypothesi, some of them must contain the trypanosome in the required hypothetical developmental stage. These flies have then been fed on infected animals, and it was found that when now fed on fresh animals the latter only became eventually infected if the period that elapsed since the last feeding on infected animals was not longer than forty -cight hours, a fact explained on the mechanical view by ‘the statement that after this time no longer can trypanosomes be found in the proboscis. Now, if these flies, on the contrary, contained a developmental stage of trypanosome, this result is in- explicable except on one hypothesis, viz. that during the feeding on infected animals (an unnecessary pro- cedure on this view) the flies completely get rid of all trypanosomes in the necessary developmental stages in their salivary glands (?) by the preliminary feeding on the infected animals. This objection could be met by keeping flies caught in nature for fortv-eight hours more or less. If now they are capable of infecting fresh animals it would be in favour of the develop- mental view and against the mechanical one; if not capable of infecting it would negative the develop- mental view, provided, of course, sufficient experiments were made to allow for experimental error, Xc. We might point out in this connection a possible explanation of the difficulties encountered by some observers in obtaining positive results in transmission experiments. In the case of anophelines caught actually in native huts where the inmates were highly infected with malaria, we have ourselves in certain instances found only 3 per cent. of the anophelines infected with parasites, a re markably low figure. Had these anophelines been caught in cow-houses, where they often abound, we consider that it would have been possible to dissect thousands and find none infected. Now, in the case of tsetse-flies, they are not found in houses, but live in the open, so that unless the flies have bitten man they will not become infected with the trypanosome (unless, indeed, they have bitten some other unknown host), ,and_ if the flies used in these experiments are collected from parts of the bush where they have not bitten man NO. 2002, VOL. 77 | destruction of (or other host of the trypanosome), it would be quite conceivable that thousands of flies might be used in transmission experiments with negative result, and even if they had an opportunity of biting man it is still conceivable that the number of infected ones might be very small if we consider the fact of the low figure of 3 per cent. for infected anophelines found by us in certain highly malarious districts. If we consider the matter from another standpoint we see that again our knowledge is wanting. What is the source of the T. gambiense? \s_it “purely a man-to-man infection, as we believe to be the case in malaria, or can the fly convey the trypanosome to man from various animals? This would seem to be likely, for experimentally the fly has been proved to transmit to monkeys, so that there seems to be no a priori reason against thinking that the flies can transmit not only from man to man, but from man to animals and from animals to man. If this is so (but arguments can be brought against this view), then it has an important bearing on the results of isolation of the sick, for the remaining healthy population may be still living amidst infected animals, domestic and wild. In cattle in the Congo, in sleeping-sickness areas, it is believed that the trypanosome is a different one, viz. T. dimorphon. Even if other reservoirs of T. gambiense exist, it must be admitted that the removal of the sick would remove one important source. of infection, whatever proportion these bear to. other reservoirs (if existent) of T..gambiense. We should consider, then, ‘that this is perhaps the most important point which requires immediate solu- tion, and it can be determined only by a long series of laboratory inoculations. A further point for decision, as we have seen, is the mode of transmission, mechanical or developmental, or both. This, perhaps, is of scientific rather than of immediate practical importance. Thirdly, we require a careful extended study of the habits of the fly. But although much _ investigation remains to be done, we may now briefly recount what is being carried out in the light of our present know ledge. Sleeping sickness can be detected in its early stages, first, by the enlargement of glands, c.g. those in the neck, an almost constant phenomenon (and the glands on puncture show trypanosomes) ; and, secondly, by the method recently used by Kech of examining fairly thick stained blood films on several occasions. We have thus means at our dis- posal of detecting early cases even when the person is to all outwasd appearances healthy. (1) Isolation—The removal of infected persons so far as possible to localities free from the fly, where wer may be suitably treated, is certainly imperative. (2) Inspection posts—The spread of the disease to non-infected areas where the fly exists by means of infected persons should be controlled so far as possible by medical examination at inspection posts along the main routes of traffic. Although no doubt some will escape detection, yet the method is one which enables us largely to control the spread of the disease. (3) Treatment of the sick.—We have in atoxyl an arsenic compound first introduced by Thomas and Breinl, undoubtedly the best drug hitherto used in combating the disease. U ndoubtedly cases of sleep- ing sickness in Europeans have been cured by it, and eels Koch, in an extended ‘trial of the drug, has spoken in laudatory terms of its use. He recom- mends the giving of half-gram doses on two consecu- tive days at intervals of ten days, and continuing the treatment for long periods. The method is slightly different from that advocated by the Liver- pool Schoel of Trepical Medicine when it first dis- tributed atoxyl throughout the Congo, but Koch has 442 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1908 only modified the dosage, and he adds his testimony to the great value of the drug. This method, should nothing supersede it, will thus become almost as valuable as that of quinine in the treatment of malaria. In Koch’s words, ‘* Daraus geht doch aber mit aller Bestimmtheit hervor, dass durch eine pec Atoxyl behandlung sehr vielen Schlafkranker. das leben gerettet w erden kann.’ (4) Destruction of tsetse-flies.—This, so far as we bance at present, is not directly practicable, but the flies can be driven away by cutting the jungle. The making of clearings where the natives most frequent, such as at watering places, river fords, and around villages, will certainly be beneficial. For the present, then, we have at our disposal methods the results of which we shall soon learn. In conclusion, it is, I think, certain that when some of the disputed points indicated above are settled the campaign against the disease will be carried out with greater efficiency because based on more certain knowledge. Tone: MWS TSE WATER VAPOUR IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE. @ of the most telling arguments which has been used against the possibility of the planet Mars being habitable has been that spectroscopists have failed to detect with certainty the presence of water vapour in the planet’s atmosphere. It now seems probable that this objection will have to be aban- doned, for, in a telegram recently received by Sir Norman Lockyer, Prof. Slipher has got on repeated plates—specially pre- pared for this research—the water vapour bands a and near D stronger in the spectrum of Mars than in that of the moon at the same altitude. Should Prof. Lowell’s further researches confirm it, this result is one of the most important links in the remarkable chain of evidence for a habitable Mars. The photography of the canals was a great step forward, but the presence of these features was unconvincing unless it could be proved that the water to fill them in their proper seasons was avail- able. Similarly, the seasonal increase and decrease in the dimensions of the snow-caps were thought to be conclusive evidence for the presence of water until the frozen carbon dioxide theory was advanced, although this theory left unexplained the ill-defined edges of the disappearing snowfields. But, so far as our present knowledge goes, it is difficult to see how carbon dioxide is able to produce the intensification of the water-vapour bands in the spectrum of the planet’s atmosphere. For many years, in fact since the actual existence of permanent features on the planet’s surface was established, this question of water vapour—of the existence of a substance capable of producing clouds and mists—has been one of the chief points of con- tention among areographers. So far back as 1863 Sir Norman Lockyer, in a communication to the Royal Astronomical Society (Memoirs, vol. Xxxxii., p- 179, 1863), describing his observations of Mars during the opposition of 1862, stated that ‘‘ although the complete fixity of the main features of the planet has been thus placed beyond all doubt, daily—nay, hourly—changes in the detail and in the tones of the different parts of the planet, both light and dark, vccur. These changes are, I doubt not, caused by the transit of clouds over the different features.’’ The drawings accompanying the memoir illustrated the changes mentioned, and confirmed the suspicions of cloud effects noticed by Secchi in 1858. But the NO. 2002, VOL. 77] Lowell announces that Mr.” assumption that these effects were caused by clouds and mists entailed the assumption of the presence of water vapour in the planet’s atmosphere, and the spectroscopic evidence for this has hitherto been too indefinite. Suspected by Huggins and Vogel in 1867 and 1873 respectively, its presence was nega- tived by the subsequent spectroscopic researches of Campbell and Keeler, but now it appears certain, from this latest result from the Lowell Observatory, that water vapour is one of the concomitants of the Martian atmosphere. In his recent book, viewed by Dr. (p. 337), Dr. “Ts Mars Habitable?’ re- Lockyer in Nature for February 13 Russel Wallace insisted on the absence of spectroscopic evidence as a strong argument against the presence of water vapour. This objec- tion is now removed, and once more it becomes reasonable to suppose that the Martian surface is, at least to some extent, supplied with that compound which, to terrestrial minds, is one of the essentials of habitability. At the same time, the theories advanced by Prof. Lowell to explain the remarkable variety of appearances and changes from season to season, dis- closed by his wonderful observations, have received support worthy of their brilliant conceptions. Wiiiam E. Ro.ston. NOTES. IN an announcement in last week’s Nature it was stated that Prof. Kamerlingh Onnes had succeeded in liquefying helium. It should have been stated that the gas was solidified, no intermediate liquid stage being observed. The demonstration was made in the presence of Prof. H. A. Lorentz and Prof. J. P. Kuenen, both of the Uni- versity of Leyden. The method adopted is described by the Leyden correspondent of the Daily Telegraph (March ro) as follows, and is the same as that used with success by both Sir James Dewar and Prof. Olszewski. The only noteworthy point is the large amount of helium used for the instantaneous expansion. experiment,’’ Prof. thick sides, “To make this Onnes says, “I placed a tube with containing a thinner one for extra protection against external warming influences, in a vessel filled with liquid hydrogen, at —434° F., and in this tube about one and a half gallon of helium was compressed under 100 atmospheres. On allowing expansion to a lower tempera- ture a cloud appeared, which increased as the expansion in vacuo continued. Out of the nebulous mass a white flocculent substance gathered in the inner tube, although the tube where— was well closed—it evaporated within twenty seconds. Some solid substance, however, was left, the pressure in the tube meanwhile rising to one atmo- sphere, and when the valve was opened and the pressure was reduced this substance exhaled almost immediately, no sign of liquefaction being observable. The substance which remained at a temperature of —434° F. was solid helium.’’ We are glad to be able to print the telegraphic message sent to Sir James Dewar by Prof. Onnes on March 5, and Sir James Dewar’s reply to it :—Prof. Onnes to Sir James Dewar, Royal Institution, London: ‘‘ Converted helium into solid. Last evaporating parts show considerable vapour pressures, as if liquid state is jumped oyer.’’ Sir James Dewar to Prof. Onnes, University, Leyden: ‘‘ Con- gratulations. Glad my anticipation of the possibility of the achievement by known methods confirmed. My helium work arrested by ill-health, but hope to continue later on.” Tue council of the British Association has nominated Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S., as president of the associa- tion for the meeting to be held next year in Winnipeg EE Marcu 12, 1908] NATURE 443 and Prof. Thomson has accepted the invitation to occupy that office. Tue third congress of experimental psychology will be held at Frankfort on April 22-25. We deeply regret to announce that Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., died at Sheffield on Monday, March 9, at eighty- one years of age. Pror. E. Rutuerrorp, F.R.S., has been awarded the Bressa prize of g600 lire (384l.) by the Turin Academy of Sciences. Pror. H. Porncaré, professor of mathematical astro- nomy in the University of Paris, been elected a member of the French Academy. has Pror. W. S. Hanotey will deliver the Hunterian lecture on ‘‘ The Natural Cure of Cancer’ at the Royal College of Surgeons to-morrow, Friday, March 13, at 5 p.m. A Reuter message from Melbourne reports the death on March 8, at seventy-seven years of age, of Dr. A. W. Howitt, C.M.G., author of ‘‘ The Native Tribes of South- East Australia’? and other important works. anthropological A CELEBRATION of the jubilee of the presentation of the Darwin-Wallace joint essay to the Linnean July 1, 1858, will take place on July 1 next; the details are not complete, but it is intended that an afternoon meet- ing and an evening reception shall take place on the day named, with the award of copies of a special medal, and subsequent publication of the proceedings of the celebra- tion. Society on Tue steamer Nimrod, of Lieut. Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition, has returned to Christchurch, New Zealand, from the Antarctic. The Nimrod is expected to return to the Antarctic next January to fetch the expedition, and she should be back in England some time in the later part of 1909. The Daily Mail of March 7 contains a narrative of the expedition, so far as it has gone, by the leader, Lieut. Shackleton. Tue President of the Local Government Board has authorised for the current year the following researches, in addition to those already announced, under the grant voted by Parliament in aid of scientific investigations con- cerning the causes and processes of disease :—(1) further studies by Drs. Andrewes and Horder as to methods of inhibiting in the animal body the activities of infection by certain cocci; (2) a study of the various forms of pneu- monia, especially in children, by Mr. Foulerton; (3) a study of acid-fast bacilli in butter, by Dr. Nabarro; (4) an investigation of the injurious gases evolved during artificial illumination, by Dr. J. Wade. Reuter’s Agency states that the second International Conference on Sleeping Sickness met on Monday at the Foreign Office. It is understood that the chief business of the conference will be the discussion of a draft general Act dealing with for combating the disease which has already been drawn up by the British Govern- ment and submitted to the various countries represented at the conference. There is further to be discussed a counter- draft Act prepared by the German Government which contains some slight modification of the British proposals. The complete list of delegates of the seven countries re- presented at the conference is as follows :—Germany: Dr. Robert Koch, Herr H. de Jacobs, Dr. Steudel; Spain: the Marquis de Villalobar, Dr. F. Murillo Palacios; Congo NO. 2002, VOL. 77] measures Free State: France: M. morgant, Dr. Colonel Lantonnois, Dr. van Campenhout ; Le Myre de Vilers, M. Ronssin, Dr. Ker- Cureau, Dr. Giard; Great Britain: Lord Fitzmaurice, Sir W. Foster, M.P., Mr. A. W. Clarke. Mr. H. J. Read, C.M.G., Sir Patrick Manson, Dr. Rose Bradford, F.R.S., Sir R. Boyce, F.R.S., Colonel D. Bruce, C.B., F.R.S.; Italy: Prof. Rocco Santoliquido, Prof. Adolfo Cotta; Portugal: Dr. Ayres Kopke. The Lord Mayor will entertain the president and delegates of the conference at luncheon at the Mansion House on Monday next, March 16. WE regret to read in Tuesday’s Times that Dr. W. E. Wilson, F.R.S., died on Friday last, March 6, at fifty- six years of age. For many years Dr. Wilson gave dis- interested and devoted attachment to research in astronomy and physics, and his work secured for him a high place among scientific investigators. In December, 1870, he was engaged on the total solar eclipse expedition to Oran, and in 1872 he built an astronomical observatory at Daramona, Ireland, and equipped it with a 12-inch reflector by Grubb. Nine years later this was superseded by a more completely equipped observatory containing a fine reflecting telescope of 2 feet aperture, with mounting of the most modern design. In 1891 this was re-mounted and provided with electric control for astronomical photography. With this instrument Dr. Wilson obtained some remarkable photo- graphs of celestial objects, including the moon and many nebulaze and stellar clusters. In later years a physical laboratory and mechanical workshop were added to the astronomical observatory, and in the laboratory many important researches on radiant heat and light were carried on by him. Among the subjects of his papers read before various scientific societies are ‘‘ Experimental Investiga- tions on the Effective Radiation from the Sun.’’? Other important publications of his are entitled “‘ The Absorp- tion of Heat in the Solar Atmosphere,’’ ‘‘ The Temperature of the Carbons in the Electric Arc,’’ ‘‘ The Effect of Pressure of the Surrounding Gas on the Temperature of the Crater of the Electric Arc,’’ “‘ The Thermal Radia- tion from Sun-spots,’’ and ‘‘ Radiation from a Perfect Radiator.’’ His papers published before the year 1900 were issued separately in a volume entitled ‘* Astronomical and Physical Researches made at Mr. Wilson’s Observa- tory, Daramona, Westmeath,’’ in which appear reproduc- tions of some of his celestial photographs. Dr. Wilson’s scientific work was recognised by his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1896, and by the degree of Doctor of Science conferred on him, causa, by Dublin University a few years later. honoris By the untimely death, at the age of sixty-one, of Sir Denzil Ibbetson, anthropologists. India has lost one of her most eminent He joined the Punjab Civil Service in 1870, and his remarkable report on the revision of settle- ment in the district of Karnal, situated in the south-east of the province, led to his appointment as superintendent of the census of the province in 1881. The report on Karnal was a remarkable achievement. It was based upon a profound knowledge of the peasant classes, their mode of life, social institutions, and religious beliefs. Students of the rural classes in northern India had long been aware that their religion was to be found, not, as the Max Miiller school contended, in the sacred books re- corded in Sanskrit, a language familiar only to a few Pundits, but in the cults and beliefs connected with the worship of the rural ‘* godlings,’’ as Ibbetson designated them. But the case for this novel view of Indian popular religion was now for the first time clearly advocated in 444 LAL Tae [Marcu 12, 1908 attractive literary form, and from intimate, personal knowledge. These conclusions were repeated and extended in his census report of 1881, which, in addition to admir- able chapters on peasant religion, contained a singularly elaborate account of Hindu and Mussulman castes, tribes, and The weak point of the investigation was that it was purely ethnographical, and ignored the physical sects. characteristics of the people, a subject of which the writer knowledge. This report, of which the chapters on religion and caste were reprinted in 1883 under the title of ** Outlines of Panjab Ethnography,’’ forms an excellent the subject. Additions to the formation contained in it have, it is true, been made in the later census reports of Messrs. E. D. Maclagan and H. A. Rose, but the substantial of Ibbetson’s work remains unaffected. His reports suggested and in- spired the investigations on similar lines conducted by Sir H. Risley in Bengal, by Mr. W. Crooke in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and by Mr. E. Thurston in Madras. The Punjab Government would be well advised to re-publish, as the best memorial of the late Lieutenant- Governor, the reports on which his reputation as an anthropologist will mainly depend. possessed no manual of in- accuracy A FURTHER contribution to the mass of literature relating to the Mexican cotton-boll weevil is made in Bulletin No. 73 of the Entomological Bureau of the U.S. Depart- Mr. W. D. Price discusses the numerous parasites preying upon that beetle. . We have received a copy of Peabody Museum of American ment of Agriculture, in which the forty-first report of the Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard, in which special attention is directed to an expedition recently sent to South America to procure collections. The expedition, which has been well received by the officials of the various districts visited, has already secured valuable specimens and data. Ix the eighth quarterly report on the scientific work of the Lancashire and Western Sea-Fisheries District, Prof. Herdman announces that, owing to his absence on a visit to the Ceylon pearl-oyster fisheries, the publication of the annual sea-fishes laboratory report will be delayed for a short period beyond the usual date. Plankton will form a considerable item in that report; while of more general interest will be an account, by Mr. J. Pearson, of all that can be ascertained with regard to the life-history economic value of the edible crab. and BuLtetin No. 50 of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Storrs, Connecticut, is devoted to the rearing of young pigeons—‘‘ they locally called—for the market. It is generally supposed that this industry is one which can be profitably undertaken by any person with no previous experience, but this the author—Mr. C. K. Graham—shows to be an altogether mistaken idea. In a properly managed establishment each pair of pigeons ought to produce on an average five pairs of squabs annually ; only a few produce more than seven pairs, and in one case where eleven brought forth squabs ’’ as are were none of these were reared to maturity. Tue February issue (vol. ii., No. 4) of the Journal of Economic Biology is devoted to the parasitic insects of the Chermes and Coccus groups, Mr. E. R- Burdon dis- cussing the European members of the former genus, while Mr. R. Newstead describes three species belonging to the same family as the latter found on cocoa, rubber, and other plants in western Africa. In the case of Chermes, it is stated that much investigation is still required with NO. 2002, VOL. 74] regard to the life-history of the European species, some of which present puzzling problems in connection with their migrations and the intermediate hosts ’’ they affect during their developmental cycles. The second paper deals mainly with structural details. ‘ec To the fiftieth volume, part iii., of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Contributions, Mr. Bruno Miller contributes a long and elaborate paper on the air-sacs of pigeons, based on an investigation undertaken for the purpose of finally setting at rest the disputed question as to the func- tion of these structures in birds generally. The author refuses to accept any one of the theories hitherto proposed, and comes to the conclusion that the air-sacs, together with the air-cavities in bones, are not to be regarded as organs with any special function, but rather as a system of empty interspaces. ‘* Their value lies in their emptiness, that is, in their containing nothing that offers resistance or has an appreciable weight. Flying is the highest form of loco- motion, and as such only possible to a body of high mechanical efficiency. Our most effective machines are by no means compact and solid, but composed of parts as strong as possible in themselves and arranged in the most appropriate manner. The interspaces between the parts are left empty and taken up by air. The Sauropsida, at the time they obtained the power of flight, became adapted to its mechanical requirements, and thereby similar to the efficient machines mentioned above; they divested them- selves of all superfluous material, filling the body-space thus obtained with air sacs.”’ In No. 29 of the Scientific Memoirs of the Government of India, Captain Christophers, I.M.S., discusses the disease of dogs due to the protozoan parasite Piroplasma canis. The symptomatology of the disease, the morpho- logy of the parasite, and its transmission by the tick R. sanguineus, are fully described, and the developmental cycle of P. canis in the tick detailed. In the tick the parasite becomes a club-shaped body, then a zygote which breaks up into sporoblasts, and these again into sporo- zoites. A full bibliography of piroplasmosis in general is appended, and the memoir is illustrated with diagrams and two plates. In Memoir No. 30 of the same series, Captain Harvey, I.M.S., and Captain McKendrick, I.M.S., discuss the theory and practice of antirabic immunisation, and conclude that the methods of Héyges and of Ferrans, in which fresh material is used, present certain advantages over those in which dried or heated material is employed for purposes of antirabic immunisation. ; Tne geographical variation in birds, with especial refer- ence to the effects of climatic humidity, forms the subject of a paper by Mr. C. W. Beebe in the first number of a new serial issued by the New York Zoological Society. Unfortunately, the cover and _ title-page lettered Zoologia, whereas, as we learn from an erratum-slip, the designation should be Zoologica. The serial is published by the society at New York, the first number being dated September 25, 1907. Mr. Beebe attaches great import- ance to the effects of humidity in producing local phases in particular species, and refers to the well-known fact that while hot, damp situations tend to melanism, dry, sandy localities are equally favourable to the production of light tints. One of the most marked instances of this occurs in the pigeons of the genus Scardafella when kept in captivity in a warm, humid atmosphere. In the typical S. inca the whole breast is uniformly pale-coloured, but specimens kept in captivity under the above conditions assume. after the first moult the characters of S. 1. are Marcu 12, 1908] NATURE 443, dialeucos, and after the second those of the Brazilian | pressure. A simple locomotive using saturated steam wilt S. ridgwayi, which exhibit a progressive degree of dark marking on the breast. Later on the captive birds develop dark markings unparalleled in any wild species. The author then discusses the bearing of these facts on the recognition of geographical races and species of birds, con- cluding, if we rightly understand his argument, that such recognition need not on this account be abandoned. Ir is a matter of considerable interest to botanists that a new edition of the ‘‘ Botanist’s Directory ”’ is being pre- pared by Mr. I. Déorfler, of Vienna. The edition was published in 1902, and owing to the changes that take place in six years is much in need of revision. The care bestowed on the work by the publishers, and the general support accorded by botanists in all parts of the world, reader the book authentic and remarkably complcte. Dr. S. ScHGxLtaxp contributes to the Records of Albany Museum, vol. ii., part ii., the diagnoses of new last (second) the species of Aloe, Crassula, Cotyledon, and Kalanchoe collected in various South African States. The most singular is Crassula Engleri, of which all the flowers examined showed and no female organs, furnishing evidence of dicecism. The same author is re- sponsible for the first part of a list of flowering plants found in the districts of Albany and Bathurst, Cape Colony, that is supplementary to an earlier enumeration in the Records. A new species of Gasteria is recorded. stamens only Tue physiology and morphology of some Californian hepatics form the subiect of a paper contributed by Mr. H. B. Humphreys to the Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences, vol. x. (January). The author describes an endophytic fungus developing sclerotia that was commonly found in the vegetative parts of plants of Fossombronia longiseta. Fungi were also found associated with Aneura multifida, Anthoceros Pearsoni, and Porella bolanderi. In all these cases there was every indication that the fungus acted as a parasite. Another feature of interest examined was the development of tubers by the Fossombronia and two species of Anthoceros; these serve to tide the plants over the dry season. The author also investigated the power of plants and spores to resist desiccation. The use of Knop’s solution for germinating spores is noteworthy. A MONOGRAPH on the stem of the flax plant, prepared by Miss T. Tammes, has been published in the Natuwr- kundige Verhandelingen van de hollandsche Maatschapptj der Wetenschappen, vol. vi., part iy. Certain problems connected with flax culture, such as the usual practice ot importing seed from Russia, the influence of soil, dimen- sions of the fibres, X&c., discussed. With regard to the origin of the cultivated plant, the author sees no reason to connect it with Linum angustifolium, Linum luumile, or any other wild species. It was found that the length of the fibres, varying on the between 25 mm. and 4o mm., is greatest in long and thick stems; a maximum length of 120 mm. is recorded. The fibres increase in length from the base of the stem upwards to within a short distance below the fruit. are average Tue Carnegie Institution of Washington has issued an elaborate research memoir, covering 144 pages, on high steam-pressures in locomotive service, by Mr. W. F. M. The results apply to practice involving single- expansion locomotives using saturated steam. The results of the tests show that the higher the pressure the smaller the possible gain resulting from a given increment of NO. 2002, VOL. 77] Goss. ‘radiomicrometer, and the bolometer, for the measurement of radiation, has render efficient service when the running pressure is as low as 160 Ib. No argument is to be found in the economic performance of the engine which can justify the use of pressures greater than 200 lb. FIve contributions to the geology of Western Australia are contained in Bulletin No. 27 of the Geological Survey of that colony. They comprise notes on plant from the Collie coalfield by Mr. R. Etheridge, and on fossils from the same coalfield by Mr. palzeontological remains F. Chapman, two reports on fossils from the Irwin River coalfield by Mr. R. Etheridge, and a report on the foraminifera from a calcareous marlstone at Gingin by Mr. W. Howchin. They add considerably to the Iknow- ledge of the organic remains of the rocks of Western Australia, and two of the contributions throw light upon the vexed question of the geological age of the Collie River Coal-measures, and are of scientific interest in their relation to the important question of the distribution of Glossopteris flora. A re-examination of two leaf fragments, previously thought possibly to belong to the Mesozoic genus Sageno- pteris, proves them to belong to the Paleozoic genus Glossopteris. Tue occurrence of ‘*‘ black rain ’’ in Ireland on October 8-9, 1907, is reported by Dr. O. Boeddicker in Symons’s Meteorological Magazine for February. On the afternoon of October 8 a dark cloud approached Birr from the S.E., and “black rain ’’ was reported from several places. A letter addressed by Lord Rosse to the Irish Times brought a large number of replies, showing that the fall of soot was greater to the S.E. and E. of Birr than to the N.W.; the deposit was considerable in Westmeath, Meath, and Monaghan, and was also traced to the west of Mayo. The evidence seems to show that the cloud originated in South Wales, crossed the Irish Channel and the whole of Ireland, finally disgorging its soot into the Atlantic Ocean. In Ciel et Terre of January 1, M. J. Vincent gives an account of the unmanned balloon ascent of July 25, 1907, in which the extraordinary altitude of 26,557 metres was reached. The tandem balloons left Uccle (near Brussels) a few minutes before 7h. a.m. (G.M.T.), wind E.N.E., temperature 12°-1 C. The usual inversion was well shown; at 12,112 metres the fall in the thermometer, which read —57°:0 C. (—70?-6 F.), was arrested, and was succeeded by a sudden rise of 6°-7 C. between that height and 13,591 metres. An isothermal zone was then met with, followed by another rise which slowly brought the read- ing to —42°-2 at about 8h. 6m. a.m., the time when the upper balloon burst. The ventilation of the thermometer was sufficient during the whole of the ascent. The humidity began to decrease rapidly at 1016 metres, where it was 72, at 1690 metres it was 22, and at 6109 metres it had fallen to 9; it decreased but little after that, the lowest reading being 6. At the time of the inversion the wind changed from S.S.W. to W.; then during the slight inversion which followed up to 263 kilometres two currents were met with, the lower from S.S.E. and the upper from E.; on descending, the S.S.E. current was replaced by a southerly wind. A THOROUGH examination of the relative merits of the the linear thermopile, the radiometer, been made by Mr. W. W. Coblentz, of the United States ‘Bureau of Standards, and is published in the January number of the Bulletin. The conclusion arrived at is that ‘the bolometer is the quickest acting of the four, and should a NAT ORE. [Marcu 12, 1908 be used in all cases in which there is much variation of the radiation with time. On the other hand, if the source of radiation is constant, the radiometer is the most sensitive, particularly in the infra-red. The radiomicro- meter, although capable of improvement, is not likely to reach one-fifth the sensitiveness of the bolometer. The Rubens thermopile, when its heat capacity is diminished by the use of thinner wire, is as sensitive as the bolometer, and is to be recommended for the measurement of very weak radiation on account of its greater steadiness. AccorpInG to the résumé of communications made to the Societé frangaise de Physique on February 7, Drs. Hemsalech and de Watteville find the flame spectra of metals extend far into the ultra-violet, and are much richer in lines than they have been thought to be. The method used by the authors is a modification of that originally used by M. Gouy. They obtain the finely divided material to be studied, and mix it with the gases proceeding to the burner, by forming an electric arc between two electrodes of the material placed in a bulb through which one of the gases passes. If two such arcs between different metals are used, the spectra of the two metals are superposed. If the gas is filtered between the are and the flame the lines are scarcely affected, while the continuous spectrum is very much diminished in intensity. We have received from Messrs. John Wheldon and Co. a catalogue of books and papers offered for sale on micro- scopical science in all its branches, including an important collection of works on Diatomacee. A circuLar has reached us referring to the issue of publications in connection with the Indian Forest Depart- ment. It has been decided that in future the forest litera- ture shall appear in two chief forms, described, respectively, as Indian Forest Records and as Memoirs. In addition to these publications, it is proposed to issue pamphlets and leaflets on professional subjects. Tue Royal Statistical Society has issued a new cata- logue, which comprises, with certain exceptions, all works included in the society’s library on December 31, 1906. The number of books and separate publications is approximately fifty thousand. The general rules adopted in the compilation of the catalogue are stated with clear- and statisticians should find the convenience. ness, new list a great Tne Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge pro- poses to issue the following books on scientific subjects in May next :—‘‘ Turbines,’’ by Engineer-Commander A. E. Tompkins, R.N., second edition, enlarged and revised ; ““Spinning Tops,’’ by Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., revised edition, with an appendix on the gyrostat and the mono- rail; ‘‘ The Fundamental Conceptions of Chemistry,’’ by Prof. S. M. Jorgensen, translated from the latest German edition, with additions by Mr. M. P. Applebey. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. THe PARALLAX OF THE ANDROMEDA NeEBuLta.—No. 4, vol. viii., of the Astronomiska Iakttagelser och Under- sokningar a Stockholms Observatorium is devoted to the results of an investigation of the parallax of the Andromeda nebula. The observations on which the results are based were made in two groups, the first set of fifteen photo- graphs being taken during the period 1902-4, the second, NO. 2002, VOL. 77 | including forty-seven photographs, covering the season 1904-5. Dr. Karl Bohlin, by whom the investigation has been carried out, describes fully the methods employed, and finds for the parallax of the nebula the definitive value +o"-171, Tue Orpit oF y VirGiINis.—A re-investigation of the orbit of y Virginis has convinced Dr. Doberck that the differences between the calculated and observed positions of that star, when near the periastron passage, are at least partly due to the perturbations to which he recently directed attention. It also seems probable that changes in the shapes of the components, and even explosive action, may exert some influence on the orbit. Dr. Doberck suggests that spectroscopic observations of double stars should prove especially useful in cases where the orbit is very eccentric if made while the companion is close to the principal star. The elements now given show the period of y Virginis to be 182-30 years, and the eccentricity of the orbit to be o-88736. The hypothetical parallax is o’-116 (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 4235, p. 161, February 29). Tue Larce SoLtar PROMINENCE OF May 21, 1907.—In No. 1, vol. xxvii., of the Astrophysical Journal (p. 78, January), Father Fényi compares his visual observations of a large eruptive prominence which he observed at Kalocsa on May 21, 1907, with the photographic observations of the same prominence made by Mr. Fox at the Yerkes Observatory (NatuRE, p. 90, No. 1987, November 28, 1907). The visual observations give lower altitudes than the photographic, and, on comparing the sketch made at the same time as Mr. Fox’s second photograph, it is seen that the forms are so different that no part of them can be identified; on the whole, the sketch more strongly resembles the first photograph made some fifty minutes earlier. The visual observations also show a much quicker ascension of the prominence material than do the simul- taneous photographs, the rate being 54 km. per second instead of 30 km.; no change of form was observed visually during the time occupied in observing eleven transits. Father Fényi records that he has never observed the subsidence of a prominence of great height. With prominences of low altitudes the descent of the material is the usual occurrence, but dissipation at great altitudes appears to be the rule for those which attain great heights. SpaNISH OBSERVATIONS OF THE ToTaL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF AuGust, 1905.—The results of the eclipse observations made at Soria, Spain, in August, 1905, by the members of the eclipse expedition from the Marine Observatory of San Fernando, are embodied in a handsome volume recently published under the direction of Captain Don Tomas de Azcarate, director of the observatory. Numerous photo- graphs of the chromospheric spectrum and of the corona were obtained, and some of them are reproduced in the volume. Nearly five hundred lines were measured in the spectra of the chromosphere, and their wave-lengths are given, together with the probable origins and their wave-lengths as determined by Lockyer, Dyson, Evershed, and other eclipse observers. The volume also contains the results of the meteorological observations made at Soria, and the results of the observations of the contacts, &c., made at San Fernando and many other stations in Spain. A New VARIABLE OF THE U GeEMINORUM TypEe.—A telegram from the Kiel Centralstelle announces that the variable star 31.1907 Aurigae was observed by Prof. Hartwig on March 6 and found to be of the irregular class, similar to U Geminorum; the magnitude was 9-0. Tue CanapiAN AstronNomiIcaL HANDBOOK FOR 1908.—The second annual handbook published by the Royal Astro- nomical Society of Canada contains a great deal of in- formation useful to amateur astronomers. Ephemerides and charts for the positions of the major planets, lists of interesting coloured, variable, and double stars, and a calendar of astronomical occurrences for the current year are among the many useful data given, whilst there is also a mass of information more especially useful to Canadian observers. ee eee oe waretten

Te orate = (6 0 0 NAC if) +e (6) The natural vibration has a damping term =~ Fé2l witha periodic time nearly 27 ve a I take F such that the amplitude diminishes by about 25 per cent. in one period (about fourteen seconds). It will be noticed that the F term of the formula (6) is important only near the critical q or g=o0-4472. It will be found that the F term in (4) is of insignificant effect. Again, the values of Ro get large for large values of ay ; g, because there is a quick natural vibration as well as a slow one. I have not thought it worth while to tabulate these higher values. | Values of Ro/ap | | Sees tise Gyrostat acting | - | if q =5 X 101 630 oO'oI 10 ie) I'o 63 | on 1‘05 I'l reir agin | ore: 1°25 161 132 org ot) aeBe 557 2°77 c4 4°64 1°96 175 074472 II*I9 ( o'5 371 0'76 0°73 42 OPS 5 eal 1°92 10°5 0°6 1:2 SOF) Oaoe | | NATURE [Marcu 12, 1908 NO. 2002, VOL. 77] It is interesting to calculate P,+a, for q, and especially for the larger values of q. Free Vibration,—Using the above numbers and a=o, so that the ship is gradually coming to rest, we are led to (7 not acting. This is a periodic time of and the damping is such as to reduce roll by 25 per cent. in each compiete all values of IY NEE VOM 5 Sn GG if the gyrostat is fourteen seconds, the amplitude of period. When the gyrostat is acting and f=50,000, we are led to : R=Ac° % sin 0°324¢+ Be—*>" sin (2°519¢-+e) . (8) We may neglect the quick vibrations of 23 seconds’ period, which are damped out very rapidly. The slower have a period of nineteen seconds, the amplitude of roll being diminished by 30 per cent. in every complete period. Note that P,=50 R, if q=2-519, and P,=11-3R, if q=0.324. When the gyrostat is acting and f=3 x 10°, or six times as great, we are !ed to R= Ac~9:02t 4. Be 42-2¢ 4 Ce 02048 cry E7O3A wae : (9) so that the slower periodic motion has disappeared, and the quick one, the period of which is nearly 3-7 seconds, is rapidly destroyed. For both (8) and (9) it is interesting and easy to calculate P. ; In solving the biquadratics which lead to such answers, let it be noticed that we are led usually to roots —a+Bi and —m+ni, where i=/—1, n and m being much smaller than a and B. If we leave out the last two terms of 64+ 203+ 562+c8+d=0 . . . . (10) we get the larger roots, approximately; if we leave out the first two terms we may not get m, but we get a good approximation to n, and it is n which it is most important to know. The following is a quick method of finding the roots with any amount of accuracy that is required. We know that r a=2(a+m), b=a?+ 82+ 727 +4+27+ 4am, c= 2(a" + B®) + 2a( 277 + 22°), d =(a? +B?) (mi? + n°). The numerical example given above, where f=5 x 10*, requires us to solve 64+ 7°166% + 194267 + 1°836+2=0. We see then 19-42, and their First assume that m=o, so that a=3-58. that the sum of a*+ f* and m?+n? is product is 2, so that we can find them. x? +19°42%+2=0 gives a> + B°=19'42, 7? +22=0'103. Then 0915 or $¢=19'4277 + 3°58 x 07103 or 72=0'0282. Secondly assume that 7: =0'0282, so that a=3°5519; taking x?4+19°'02x+2=0 we itget a°+f?=19'02; m?+n2=0'10515, $c=0°915 =19 02 + 3°553 X O°105 gives 72 =0'0285. Assuming m to have this value, we may proceed to a third calculation. In this way we get closer and closer to the true value of m, and therefore to the true values of a, B, and n. In practice I find that the two calcula- tions such as I give here are sufficient. It may be taken as roughly true from (4) that the effective moment of inertia of the ship is increased from 2 me ‘ : piety “ I to I+ 74 so that the time of a slow vibration is multi- plied by (1+ m?/1b)'= Tf all ships and their gear are similar, it will be found that m*/Ib is inversely proportional to the dimensions. Thus if a 1oo-ton boat has its period increased by 50 per cent., then a perfectly similar ship of 2700 tons will have its period lengthened by only 19 per cent. It may be, however, that the proportions should be different in vessels of different size, and _ it not fair without further experience to make a comparison which seems so unfavourable to the method. Besides, experi- ence alone can show how the dash-pot friction may depend is pee Marcu 12, 1908] NALTORE 449 upon the size of the ship. Probably, too, be regarded as being steady enough already. If we apply the Schlick method to Mr. Brennan's large ships may car, as a of (4) (putting a=o) is negative, there is instability may, of motion whether there is or is not friction. We The car is supported by a mono-rail bogie at each end; each bogie has two wheels pivoted vertically and hori- zontally, so that curves may be very sharp and the ground may be uneven. Fic, 2. however, do as the exhibitor of the model (at the Physical Society ‘meeting) has done—make b also negative. make the gyrostat frame unstable by having the centre of gravity of the frame EAB above the axis DG. In this case, if there absolutely no friction either of the f or F kind, there will be steady vibrations about a mean position, but any friction will cause the swings to get larger and larger. It is to be noticed that even without friction there will be instability if m, the moment of momentum of the fly-wheel, Mr. Brennan’s method of is, is , working is quite different. Fig. 2 shows his model car (about 6 feet long). It is driven by electric accumulators carried by the car. His gyrostat wheels are driven by electromotors, not shown in Fig. 3; as they are revolving in nearly vacuous spaces they consume but little power, and even if the current were stopped they would continue running at a sufficiently high speed to be effective for a length of time. It will be found that energy is wasted by friction, and also work has to be done in bringing the car to a new position of equilibrium, and all this is supplied by the electromotors. Should the gyrostat really stop or reach a certain low speed,- two supports are automatically dropped, one on either side of the car; each of them drops until it reaches the ground, one of them dropping perhaps much farther than the other. The real full-size car which Mr. Brennan now con- structing may be pulled with other cars by any kind of locomotive, using electricity or steam or petrol, or each of its wheels may be a driving wheel. He would prefer to generate electric power on his train, and to drive every wheel with an electromotor. His wheels are so indepen- dent of one another that they can take very sharp curves and vertical inequalities of the rail. The rail is fastened to sleepers lying on ground that may have sidelong slope. 1s The model car runs on an iron gas-pipe; the ground is nowhere levelled or cut, and at one place the rail is a steel wire rope spanning a gorge (Fig. 2). It is interest- ing to stop the car in the middle of this rope and to swing the rope sidewise, watching the perfect automatic balancing. The car may with confidence be left — for hours, balancing itself with nobody in charge. the load on the car—great lead weights—be dumped eee into new positions, the effort. But if, the car not running but merely itself, a person standing on the ground pushes it, the car will push in opposition, and by judiciously a person can really disturb the car’s vertical position considerably ; it is as if an indignant animal were resisting the push. Left to itself now, the car quickly rights itself. NO 2002 balancing against VOL. 7/71] is less than a certain amount. | | | car effects balance with no apparent | pushing | Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of Mr. Brennan’s pair of gyrostats in sec- tional elevation and plan. The cases G and G’, inside which the wheels F and F’ are rotating in vacuo at the same speed and in opposite direc- tions (driven by electromotors not shown in the figure), are pivoted about vertical axes EJ and E’J’. They are connected by spur-toothed segments JJ and J’J’, so that their precessional motions are equal and opposite. The whole’ system is pivoted about C, a longitudinal axis. Thus when precessing so that H comes out of the paper, so will H’, and when H goes into the paper, so does H’. When the car is in equilibrium the axes KH and K’H’ are in line NN’ across the car in the plane of the paper. They are also in a_ nearly horizontal line which is at right ang to the total resultant force on the car. I will call this the mid-position. Let be the moment of momentum of either wheel. = im That | Let us suppose the car to tilt so that the shelf D comes against H, the spinning axis (or a roller driven by up ae po Fic. 3. the spinning axis) of the gyrostat. H begins to roll away from me, and if no slipping occurred (but there is always slipping, and, indeed, slipping is a necessary condition) it would roll, that is, the gyrostats would precess with a 450 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1908 constant angular velocity a, exerting the moment ma upon the shelf D, and therefore on the car.’ This precession continues until the roller and the shelf cease to touch. At first H lifts with the shelf, and after- wards the shelf moves downwards, followed for some distance by the roller. If the tilt had been in the opposite direction, the shelf D would have acted upon the roller H’, and caused just the opposite kind of precession, and a moment of the opposite kind. We now have the spindles out of their mid-positions as OO, O'O'’. How are they brought back to NOO’N’ with H permanently lowered ? It is the essence of Mr. Brennan’s invention that, after a restoring moment has been applied to the car, the spindles shall go back to the position NOO/’N’ with H permanently lowered, so as to be ready to act again. He effects this object in various ways. Some ways described in his patents are quite different from what is used on the model, and the method to be used on the full- size waggon will again be quite different. I will describe one of these methods. Mr. Brennan tells me that he considers this old method to be crude, but he is naturally unwilling to allow me to publish his latest method. D’ is a circular shelf extending from the mid-position in my direction; D is a similar shelf extending from the mid-position into the paper or away from me. It is on these shelves that H’ and H roll, causing precession, as 1 have just described. When H’ is inside the paper or when H is outside the paper they find no shelf to roll upon. There are, however, two other shelves, L and L’, for two other rollers, M and M’, which are attached to the frames concentric with the spindles. They are free to rotate, but are not rotated by the spindles. When they are pressed by their shelves L or L’ this causes negative precession, and they roll towards the NOO’N’ position. There is, of course, friction at their supports retarding their rotation, and therefore the precession. The important thing to remember is that H and H’ when they touch their shelves (when one is touching, the other is not touch- ing) cause a precession away from the mid-position at a rate a which produces a restoring moment ma of constant amount (except for slipping), whereas when M or M’ touches its shelf L or L’ (when one is touching the other is not touching), the pressure on the shelf and friction determine the rate of precession towards the mid-position as well as the small vertical motion. Suppose the tilt to be corrected is R, when D presses H upward. The moment ma and its time of action (the total momental impulse) are too great, and R is over- corrected; this causes the rollers M’ to act on L’, and the spindles return to the mid-position; they go beyond the mid-position, and now the roller H’ acts on D’, and there is a return to the mid-position and beyond it, and so it goes on—the swings of the gyrostats out of and into the mid-position, and the vibrations of the car about its position of equilibrium getting rapidly less and less, until again neither H or H’ nor M or M’ is touching a shelf. It is indeed marvellous to see how rapidly the swings decay.* It wili be seen that by using the two gyrostats instead of one, when there is a curve on the line, although the plane NOO'N’ rotates, and we may say that the gyrostats precess, the tilting couples which they exercise are equal and opposite. It is evident that this method of Mr. Brennan is altogether different in character from that of Mr. Schlick. 1 T am supposing the precessional angles to be small ; when the angles are like NOQ,N'O’Q’, Fig. 3, the sum of the moments of the two gyrostats would be za cos NOQ, a being constant. if there were no slipping ; but there is always slipping, and the gond working of the anparatus requires that there shall be such slipping. a is not constant, and it is always less than what it would be if there was true rolling. 1 If in Fig. 3 R is the angle which the waggon makes with its position of equilibrium; if M is the moment with which the shelf D acts clockwise upon H, and P isthe angle of precession QoN ; and if mu is the coefficient of friction hetween D and H, then in the first part of the action above described 162R + .7@P - M=o. OR -762P+uM=o, (1)62- /iw)R +M=o, if I}, I and 47 are moments of inertia of the waggon about the rail, of the frames about C, and of the frame G about EJ; 4 is the moment of momentum of either wheel. These equations are easily solved on the con- ditions that at =o, R=Rp, OR=o, P=o, #P=o. Assuming no play, that s, that as soon as H leaves D, M’ touches L’, we can now find the return to the mid-position from a new set of equations. Friction retards the return, it must be remembered. The motions are exceedingly interesting when numerical values of Ty, I, 7, &c,, are taken, but the practical man will find it more interesting to make an experimental study of what happens. NO. 2002, VOL. 77] Work is here actually done which must be supplied by the electromotors. The restoring moment applied to the car may be made as great as we please by increasing the diameter of H. It is true that we cannot in this way ae the total momental impulse, and this is the important thing. One of the most important things to know is this: the Brennan model is wonderfully successful; the weight of the apparatus is not a large fraction of the weight of the waggon; will this also be the case with a real car which weighs 1ooo times as much? If at any instant a condition of things is suddenly produced so that the waggon makes an angle R, with its position of equil- ibrium, if its weight is W, its centre of gravity at the height h above the rail, if I, is its moment of inertia about the rail as axis, if 3m is the moment of momentum of each gyrostat wheel, the momental impulse mP, ought, roughly, to be equal to CR,/1,Wh, where C is a constant. I use P, for the total angular precession at first. Now the tilt to be corrected, R,, may be due to wind pressure, to a sudden shifting of the centre of gravity, or to centri- fugal force, and it is not easy to compare these things in waggons of different sizes. If, however, we take it that the size of each dimension of the waggon is multiplied by n and the size of each dimension of the gyrostatic apparatus is multiplied by p, and the wheels have the same peripheral speeds, we find the following results :— For wind, R, is proportional to n-’. For centrifugal force it seems reasonable to take the speed of a waggon as proportional to n, and mean radius of rail curves pro- portional to n°. In this case the result is again that R, is proportional to n-*. As for a possible accidental shifting of the centre of gravity because of the displace- ment of part of the cargo w through the distance d, if we take wocn* and dcon, we find with greater and greater accuracy as w is a smaller fraction of the whole weight, Roce Taking P,, the maximum angle of precession, to be the same in all cases, the above relation leads to the result that p=n', or that the fractional weight of the apparatus as compared with that of the waggon is proportional to W-°!*°, where W is the weight of the waggon. Thus, if we take n=10, that is, every dimension of the model multiplied by 1o or its weight by rooo, then p=7-5, so that the weight of the gyrostat apparatus is only multi- plied by 420. If in the model the apparatus was 10 per cent. of the whole weight, in the large waggon the apparatus is only 4 per cent. of the whole weight. In fact, the larger the waggon the less proportion of its weight and volume is occupied by the anparatus, a result which must be very satisfactory to Mr. Brennan. In the cases both of Mr. Schlick and Mr. Brennan, it has to be remembered that if the diameter of the wheel be increased in greater proportion than the dimensions of the ship or waggon, or other dimensions of the wheel, the proportional weight of the apparatus may be diminished. A wheel of twice the diameter, but of the same weight, may have twice the moment of momentum and may be twice as effective. I assume the stresses in the material to be the same. ON THE PHYSICAL ASPECT OF THE ATOMIC THEORY. HE lecture began by setting out a physical reason a priovi why matter should be constituted of discrete particles instead of being continuous. The requirements of physics demand an zther to serve as the means of com- munication between portions of matter out of contact with each other, and space can hardly be conceived as fully occupied simultaneously by two media, matter and zether ; hence the matter must be constituted of discrete centres, or nuclei, determining permanent collocations of energy in the zther, which are, in fact, primordial atoms and their fields of force. The feasible problem of atomic physics is to build up an adequate idea of the dynamic constitution of these zethereal fields of force; there is the problem 1 Abstract of the Wilde Lecture of the Manchester Literary and Philo- sophical Society, delivered on March 3 by Prof. J. Larmor, Sec.R.S. Marcu 12, 1908] NATURE 451 beyond, to determine the intrinsic constitution of the central nuclei to which they are attached, which may remain permanently beyond our ken. The expansion of our ideas about the atoms, and their structural connection with the zther, was traced from their origin in Descartes, through Huygens and Newton, down to the more definite modern types of representation, as regards various essential features, that are afforded by the vortex atom and the electron. In the hands of the physicists, especially Newton and Young, the atom had already become a complex structure, capable of definite, inherent, periods of free vibration, but, so far as physics was concerned, the same substance might include various kinds of atoms. The fundamental advance of Dalton, which assured an adequate domain to chemistry as an exact science, was the proof that each compound substance is definite as regards its molecule, and that all atoms of the same elementary body are identical. Whether this absolute identity points to the atom of each chemical element being a dynamically balanced structure of primordial atoms, one of a limited number of possible definite types of structure—which would be a_ perfectly reasonable way of accounting for this remarkable identity —remains an open question. The periodic relations of the elements, connected most closely with the name of Mendeléeff, certainly indicate that, whatever may be the case as regards the kernel, the outer structure of the atom, so to speak, which is the link through the ether between the nucleus and the outside world, is constituted on the basis of a common ultimate element which may be the electron. The remark of Maxwell seems still to retain its force, that the mechanism of biological evolution could hardly reside in atoms, primordial or other, which had not much vaster underlying complication than is needed for their purely physical relations. The facts of biology may possibly demand a hypothesis such as the above, that atoms not in intimate contact interact through the zther accord- ing to general physical laws, in the manner required to constitute the physical cosmos, but that there may also be a closer interpenetration of atomic nuclei in which far more complex agencies are involved. The mechanical atom of the earlier physicists, con- sidered in this physical aspect, as an unknown core deter- mining the field of activity in the surrounding zther, has had, since Faraday’s discoveries in electrolysis, to take on a more definite form as the electrical atom. The result had been fully reached by Faraday himself, though it needed to be enforced later by Helmholtz, that the energies which have play in chemical combination are of electrical origin, implying thereby, according to Maxwell’s inter- pretation, energies of intrinsic stress and motion brought to bear from atomic stores located in the adjacent zether. This doctrine has led on to the modern theory of purely electric atoms, which was already demonstrable on theoretical grounds, of course in a way less definite than we now know it, before the very remarkable discovery of electrons actually free had been reached, through the phenomena of radio-activity either electrically induced or spontaneous. Here again there is the same choice of points of view open to tentative development. We may proceed on a limited hypothesis as if the electrons are the sole primordial atoms; or we may assume that there are various ultimate atoms which have existence and structure of their own, of tvpe largely unknown and independent of the zther, and that the electrons which are associated with them, whether temporarily or intrinsically, form merely one feature of their constitution, viz. their means of communication with the «ther, and through it with other atoms at a distance to form an ordered universe. In any case we are right in following out the hypo- thesis, there being, in fact, none other open to us, that the purely physical manifestations of atoms—those, namely, that, owing to the simple interconnection involved in their common seat in the «ther, aggregate into the definite physical qualities of matter in bulk—are in the main or in most circumstances practically a group by themselves, and that they are thus capable of being investigated on these broad, simple principles of dynamics, which Newton definitely formulated as a suitable foundation for the analysis of general physical activity, as it presents itself NO. 2002, VOL. 77] in the universe. This so-called mechanical hypothesis has been eminently the fruitful one; it pointed the way to the principle of the conservation of energy, and is now elucidating the wider principle of its definitely limited availability; it gave a rational explanation of the spec- trum and of radiation in general, which has proved a trustworthy and precise guide to investigation of pheno- mena far below the surface, such as the selective dis- persion of light and the magnetic action on radiation; it reduced electrical phenomena to order and control, and connected them with light. It must therefore be presumed to be available as the clue for the further elucidation of pressing problems, such as the nature of the transmission of gravitation and of the intimate operation of chemical affinities. The tendency to reject dynamical analvsis as artificial in such subjects as electrodynamics, which received some stimulus from the theoretical writings of Hertz, seems to overlook the fact that it was precisely as a compact work- ing basis suitable for the formulation of experience in its more general aspects that the Newtonian scheme of dynamics was put forward by its author. In the course of time that scheme has become wider and more elastic through the generalisations of Lagrange and Hamilton, expounded forcibly on the physical side by Kelvin, Helm- holtz, and various others. But to take over the final results, and dress them in new language devoid of the dynamical implication, seems to involve a misreading of scientific evolution. This position may be enforced by a quotation from the final exposition of Newton’s views on the scope of natural philosophy in general, inserted by himself at the end of the famous ‘‘ Queries,’’ in ‘‘ Opticks,’’ ed. 3, p. 377 :— “To tell us that every Species of Things is endow’d with an occult specifick Quality by which it acts and produces manifest Effects, is to tell us nothing: But to derive two or three general Principles of Motion from Phaenomena, and afterwards to tell us how the Properties and Actions of all corporeal Things follow from those manifest Prin- ciples, would be a very great step in Philosophy, though the Causes of those Principles were not yet discovered : And therefore I scruple not to propose the Principles of Motion above mention’d, they being of very general Extent, and leave their Causes to be found out.’” Then he proceeds to associate his laws of motion with an atomic theory. A review of the electrical side of the atomic theory requires a consideration of the phenomena of ionisation in solutions. The theoretical difficulties which have presented themselves in this subject were discussed, in particular the nature of the energy changes which must occur when a salt is dissolved and thus split into separate ions. Reasoning from the processes of the voltaic cell, as ex- pounded after Faraday by Helmholtz, the view is advanced that an equivalent of purely local potential energy of affinity with the solvent must be exhausted in order to provide for the separation of the ions, but without much violent motional disturbance such as would diffuse partially away into the form of heat. This absence of such motional dissipation of the energies of affinity, as indicated, for example, by their almost complete mechanical availability in a Daniell’s cell, is perhaps connected with the intimate contacts in confined spaces which are characteristic of the processes at the electrodes by which the chemical change is effected. It is suggested that a similar mode of ex- planation applies to the very high, sometimes nearly complete, mechanical availability (Berthelot) of the energy of chemical transformations in dense media such as liquids and solids, as contrasted with dilute systems such as gases, which the recent work of Nernst and his pupils has brought again to the front. . The lecture passes on to touch on those extensive branches of chemical physics to which the constitution of the atom is not essential, where only a statistical grasp of the molecular associations and dissociations that are taking place is required. The quantitative theory of chemical equilibrium and of progress of chemical change as regards dilute systems comes under this head, of which the prototype and the most highly developed example is the kinetic theory of gases. The modern theory of electro- dynamics, as based on the disvlacements and motions of electrons, is in the main analogous, and the theory of NATURE [Marcit 12, 1908 gravitation, when it comes to light, will be of the sane kind. In particular, the molecular aspect of reaction in gases is passed under review. Reasons are brought forward for holding that in gases all ultimate reactions are of necessity mono- or bi-molecular. If this be so, the important work now proceeding with regard to the effect of impurities in promoting or inhibiting gaseous reactions must lead to fuller knowledge of the transient molecules or radicals which are formed in the destructive encounter of a pair of the reacting molecules, and are the carriers or inter- mediaries leading finally to poly-molecular change; while the same transient combinations may be approachable in- dependently from another side as affording the interpreta- tion of the complex banded spectra of emission or absorp- tion in gaseous media. The very remarkable and most fruitful and prophetic symbolic theories of molecular structure, especially for the complex molecules of organic chemistry, have not yet proved capable of dynamical interpretation; it seems neces- sary, however, to admit, on account of the wide range of physical properties that are nearly atomically additive, that stereochemical collocations do represent in some real way the actual aggregation of the atoms instead of mere symbolical representation of it. Recent investigation appears to bring out in certain cases a somewhat definite relation between the configuration of the molecule and the crystalline form of its physical aggregations, which, though reasonable, could not have been foreseen a priori; exact crystallographic measurements may thus in time afford another intimate clue to the molecular structures in related series of compounds. A NEW METHOD OF STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY. oN N entirely novel suggestion for the production of stereoscopic photographs is proposed by Prof. G. Lippmann in the current number of the Comptes rendus of the Paris Academy of Sciences (March 2). Let a lens be constructed of a material possessing a refractive index n, the segments forming the front and back of the lens having the same centre of curvature and the ratio of the radius of curvature of the front segment to that at the back being n—1. The front surface is the receiving lens, and corresponds to the lens of the eye; the back surface is covered with the sensitive emulsion, and corresponds to the retina. Owing to the chosen relation between the curvatures of the two faces an image of a point is formed by the front surface on the back one. The system is reversible; a ray of light proceeding from any point of the receiving surface will pass out at the front over exactly the same path as that taken by the incoming light in act- ing on the sensitive film, and this will be true in spite of any imperfection of the lens surfaces. Prof. Lippmann now imagines a material such as celluloid moulded back and front, so that the whole surface is covered with microscopic cells, each of which is an elementary cell possessing the properties of the single lens described above. The whole film resembles the compound eye of insects. This plate, sensitised, is exposed in full daylight to the objects to be represented, no photographic lens being required. The result of the operation would be a series of microscopic images fixed each on the ‘‘ retina ”’ of one of the cells. Seen from the side of the sensitive layer, the whole plate would present a uniformly grey appearance. But seen from the front and illuminated from behind the plate (supposed converted into a positive), the photograph would appear, and would possess the following peculiarities. It would appear in true relief, exactly as in nature, and shifting the eye about would produce’ a change in the photograph seen, the effect being as if the observer stood in front of a window. By stepping from side to le, in the latter case, fresh portions of the landscape would come into view, the whole always being bounded by the four sides of the window. In the case of such a as that described, the effect would be precisely similar. : As the author remarks in the paper, the technical difficul- tics in the preparation of such a plate would be verv great. Ihe chief difficulty would be the fulfilment of the con- NO. 2002, VOL. 77]| Sit plate ition necessary for the clear definition of cach image in each elementary cell; the ratio of the radii of curvature must be equal to n—1. Considering the thickness of the film, this difficulty would appear to be insuperable, but it is to be hoped that an attempt will be made to put this idea into practice, however imperfectly. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGe.—During the last four years the average income of the botanic garden has been 1708I., to which the University chest has contributed 1175/., the rest being made up of money from trust funds and from rents. The botanic garden syndicate now points out that the in- come is no longer sufficient to cover the expenses. The syndicate estimates that in future, if the gardens are to maintain their high position amongst kindred institutions, some additional income must be found, and it is recom- mended that the present grant from the University chest to the botanic garden be increased by the sum of 220l. per annum. The next combined examination for sixty-seven entrance scholarships and a large number of exhibitions at Pem- broke, Gonville and Caius, King’s, Jesus, Christ’s, St. John’s, and Emmanuel Colleges will be held on Tuesday, December 1, and following days. Mathematics, classics, and natural sciences will be the subjects of examination at all these colleges. Some of the colleges allow candidates who intend to study mechanical sciences to compete for scholarships and exhibitions by taking the papers set in mathematics or natural science. The colleges desire it to be known that any candidate for a scholarship may signify in writing his wish not to receive the emolument of the same if elected thereto, and that such candidate may be elected to a scholarship which may be honorary only and without emolument, but shall carry with it all other privileges attached to the position of a scholar. The amount thus set free will serve to increase the number of scholarships or exhibitions open to other candidates. GLascow.—Among the honorary degrees to be conferred by the University on April 22 are the following :—LL.D.: Mr. G. T. Beilby, F.R.S., chairman of the governors of Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College ; Colonel David “Bruce, C.B.; F-R-S:;-).Drs J; J. Dobbie) haRES= director of the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh; Mr. R. Kidston, F.R.S.; and Dr. J. C. McVail, county medical officer, Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire. Dr. R. Stewart MacDovueGatt, on his appointment to the lectureship in botany in Edinburgh University, has resigned his position as biologist on the staff of the Edin- burgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture. Mr. A. L. Bow try, reader in statistics in the Uni- versity of London, will give a course of ten lectures on elementary applications of mathematics to statistical data at the School of Economics, at 7 p.m., on Thursdays, March 26 and April 2, resuming after the Easter vacation on May 7, and continuing thereafter for seven consecutive Thursdays. Tne Earl of Rosebery will visit University College on the afternoon of Thursday, March 26, and will formally open the new libraries and the new south wing, which includes lecture-rooms for the faculty of arts, the depart- ments of geology, hygiene, and experimental psychology, also large extensions of the departments of applied mathe- matics, of mechanical, electrical, and municipal engineer- ing, and accommodation for the new hydraulic laboratory. Tue first volume of the report of the U.S. Commissioner of Education for the year ending June 30, 1906, has been received from Washington. In addition to chapters summarising the progress made during the year under review in the various departments of American education, the report contains a series of excellent articles on educa- tional administration in various European and_ other countries. A useful summary of the different sections of the report is provided in the commissioner's intro’ action, — Makcu 12, 1908 | “inohs) and from this digest we notice there were, during 1905-6, 622 institutions of higher education reporting to the Washington Bureau of Education. The total number of professors and instructors in these institutions reached 23,950, and the number of students 258,603—an increase of 9430 on the preceding year. The value of the property possessed by the 622 institutions amounted to 110,815,400l., of which 49,686,100!. was the amount of productive funds. The aggregate income of these institutions for the year was 8,956,700]. The total value of all gifts reported amounted to 3,543,3001.; Harvard University received 443,600l. ; Yale University, 229,100l. ; Columbia University, New York, 210,0001.; the University of Pennsylvania, 109,0001. ; and the North-Western University, Illinois, and Princetown University, New Jersey, each received about 105,0001. In this report, for the first time, the number of students in schools of technology is not given separately, because, as the commissioner points out, there has been an erroneous opinion in Europe and elsewhere that there is no higher technical training in America out- side the schools of technology, whereas the ordinary universities grant nearly twice as many degrees in science as the technical colleges, and are doing excellent work in pure and applied science generally. WE have received a couple of pamphlets (Leipzig: Verlag der Durr’schen Buchhandlung) which indicate the con- tinued interest of the German public in both sides of the question of school reform. One of these pamphlets (‘‘ Die Stadt Berlin und das Reformgymnasium ”’’) is a reprint of a strenuous argument, which was originally delivered by Stadtschulrat Dr. Carl Michaelis in 1904, against tamper- ing with the school systen of the capital. Dr. Michaelis has brought the statistical portion of his address up to date, and finds in recent educational history nothing to weaken his former contention that the establishment of a Reformgymnasium in Berlin is demanded neither by the success of the reform movement generally nor by the specific educational conditions of the city. Further, while he makes it clear that he is far from opposed to well- considered changes in other directions, he defends the old gymnasium against the reformers as an indispensable part of the school system. In particular, he criticises the con- tention that the lower classes should be preparatory’ equally to all the recognised forms of secondary school, partly on the ground that the advantage which this arrangement is alleged to give the parent in selecting the school suitable to the abilities of his child is illusory, partly on the ground that no plan devised on these lines can accord with the necessary conception of a gymnasial education. Many of these arguments appear also in the second pamphlet (‘“ Mathematik und Reformgymnasium”’), in which Dr. H. Vogt endeavours to show that the teaching of mathe- matics suffers in respect both of the time given to the subject and of the value of the instruction where it is attempted to superimpose the symnasial classes upon a foundation common to all the higher schools. The same firm of publishers has reprinted the address delivered in the University of Erlangen by Dr. Richard Falckenberg on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Kant (February 12, 1904). Tue second annual report, dealing with the year 1907, of the president and treasurer of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has reached us. It will be remembered that Mr. Carnegie’s gift of two million pounds sterling was intended to serve primarily in the establishment of retiring allowances for teachers in the institutions of higher learning in the United States, Canada, and Newfoundland, but that he left it to be administered for this purpose in such a manner as the trustees might decide to be wise. The fears expressed in some quarters that such a gift in the hands of a limited number of men might prove a centralised power which would hinder rather than aid the progress of education do not seem to have been well founded. Since the inaugura- tion of the foundation down to September 30 last, grants have been made to 166 persons (eighteen of whom died during the period), involving an annual budget of 46.0321. Of this amount, 20.2301. was devoted to retiring allow- ances in accepted institutions, and 17,7021. to retiring allowances made to individuals. In the group of retire- NO 2002, VOL. 77] NATURE ments on the basis of age an interesting comparison is made; the number of allowances granted on this basis to professors not in accepted institutions before October, 1906, was eighteen; since then only eight similar allowances have been made. This indicates that the number of aged pro- fessors whom on account of their distinguished merit alone the trustees would be likely to add to the holders of allowances is rapidly diminishing. It is also interest- ing to note that retiring allowances to professors ‘in State universities are made only when the services rendered to learning by the applicant have been of great distinction. As indicative of the number of. applications made to the trustees, it may be stated that the files of the foundation show that 500 applications have been refused. Tt is satisfactory to learn that when once the principles of award have been decided upon finally, the trustees will see that the retiring allowance comes to the recipient ‘‘ as a right, not as a charity; as a thing earned in the regular course of service, not a courtesy.’ SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Physical Society, February 14. — Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Annual general meeting. Address by the newly elected president, Dr. C. Chree. Dr. Chree referred to the magnetic results obtained by the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4. The expedi- tion was furnished with magnetographs, and the reduction and discussion of the curves has been done by the National Physical Laboratory. Before describing the results, the president spoke of the nature of the preparations that might be made in any future national scientific expedition. The observers should have a preliminary training lasting over some months, and should be practised in the use of instruments. These instruments ought to be ready for use and fully tested months before the date of the expedi- tion. A programme should be got out in good time, so as to admit of rehearsals by the observers. An inquiry, after the return of the expedition, into the value of the results obtained might be useful in securing that meritorious work in science would not be overlooked. Lantern-slides relating to the diurnal inequalities of the magnetic elements in the Antarctic were exhibited and described. Slides of corresponding Kew results were shown for intercomparison. The president dwelt on the relatively highly disturbed nature of the Antarctic records. In the Antarctic, the declination and horizontal force magnets were practically never at rest. So large and incessant were the disturbances that no idea of the nature of the regular diurnal inequality was obtainable from in- spection of individual curves. Diurnal inequalities, how- ever, derived from the curves of single months, and still more of a whole season of the year, proved to be of a comparatively smooth character. Royal Meteorological Society, February 19.—Dr. H. R. Mill, president, in the chair.—The formation of “* snow rollers ’’ observed at Ryton on Dunsmore, near Coventry, on January 29-30, 1907: C. Browett. It seems that the flakes of a light fluffy layer of surface snow are made adhesive by a rise in the temperature of the air above the freezing point, while the under snow remains cold and dry, and the particles of damp surface snow are enabled to adhere to each other, but not to the dry under snow. A strong wind may then push over little projections of the surface snow and start them rolling, when, of course, they will travel and grow until the resistances overcome the propelling power of the wind. These ‘‘ snow rollers ”’ vary in size, some being only a few inches in diameter, while at times others have been seen 2 feet or more in length Comparison of ships’ barometer readings with those deduced from land observations: E. Gold. This paper contained the result of a preliminary investigation undertaken at the Meteorological Office into the relation between the barometer readings taken on ships during their passage across a line between Falmouth and Brest, and the readings deduced for the ships’ positions from the observations at these places and the trend of the isobars, on the assumption of regular pressure changes. Taking into account the various causes which can appreciably 454 NATURE [Marcu 12, 1908 influence the height of the barometer on board ship, it appears that until the two chief ones—the wind and the vertical acceleration jeffects—are eliminated, it will be impossible to draw any satisfactory conclusions regarding the relative values of atmospheric pressure over sea and land. It can be said in general that there appears to be a tendency for the barometric pressure to be lower between Falmouth and Brest than would be expected from the land observations, Geological Society. February 19.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair.—The two earth- movements of Colonsay: W. B. Wright. The supposed Torridonian rocks of Colonsay exhibit in their folding and cleavage the effects of two movements analogous in their results to those proved by Mr. Clough in the Cowal dis- trict of Argyll. Not only the planes of the first or slaty cleavage, but also the quartz veins formed along them, have been folded by the second movement, and may be observed to be crossed at considerable angles by the cleavage produced during this second movement. An extensive series of lamprophyre dykes, obviously later than the first cleavage, are found to be folded and cleaved by the second movement. Moreover, some of these dykes traverse and are chilled against a mass of syenite, which can also be proved to be later than the first cleavage. The distinctness of these two movements is, therefore, con- sidered to be completely established. The second cleavage being of the nature of strain-slip, its development along the axial planes of the folds is of interest, and is briefly discussed.—Notes on the River Wey: H. Bury. The part of the River Wey within the Wealden area is divided into six sections :—(1) the consequent river cutting the Chalk at Guildford; (2) the subsequent stream coming in from the east at Shalford; (3) the western subsequent stream parallel to the Hog’s Back; (4) the continuation of the last westward (the Tilford River), rising at Selborne and receiving many tributaries, including the Headley River, from between Blackdown and Hindhead; (5) the short obsequent section from Farnham to Tilford (the Waverley River); and (6) the portion above Farnham coming from Alton and beyond (the Farnham River). Part i. deals with the relation of sections (6), (5), and (4) to the Blackwater ; part ii. with the Paleolithic Gravels of Farnham; and part iii. with the Farnham branch of the Wey and the Alton district, which is remarkable in that there is a complicated series of Chalk valleys, which spread over some fifty square miles of country and discharge their waters into the Wealden area. Royal Microscopical Society. Februarv 19.—Mr. A. N- Disney in the chair.—An improved type of mercury vapour lamp for use with the microscope: J. E. Barnard.—Eye- pieces for the microscope: Mr. Nelson.—Results of observations, extending over a period of four years, on a rare protophyte: Rey. E. Tozer.—Dimorphism in the recent foraminifer Alveolina boscii: F. Chapman.— biddulphia mobiliensis: Mr. Nelson. The author described some exceedingly minute secondary markings in the primary areolations of this diatom, discovered by him. Faraday Society, February 25.—Dr. T. M. Lowrv in the chair.—Hydrolysis as illustrated by heats of neutralisa- tion: V. H. Veley. It is pointed out that a correlation of hydrolysis values and basic constants deduced there- from with those of heats of neutralisation presents important issues. Determinations by an accurate method at different temperatures are required to test the validity d@ log! K dt : general character are discussed for the hydrochlorides of nitrogen bases, also of certain sodium salts of phenols and organic acids. The effect on thermoneutrality and basic constants by the introduction of a second amino-grouping is considered. Finally, it is pointed out that determina- tions are required of hydrolysis values at considerable dilution of certain metallic chlorides.—A study of the sulphur anion and of complex sulphur anions : Joseph Knox. The solubility of HgS, red and black, in Na,S, KS, and BaS solutions has been determined, and has been found to depend on the formation of the complex anion NO. 2002, VOL. 77] of Nernst equation Q=RT*e Relationships of a HgsS"’. By its greater solubility in these solutions the black modification of HgS has been shown to be the less stable form. The constant for the formation of the com- plex anion from the ions Hg™ and S! is ,— (eS, (ug is”? From saturated solutions of Na,S and HgS a erystalline double sulphide of sodium and mercury, 2NaS,5HgS,3H.O, has been isolated. From the study of the complex forma- tion between HgS and Na,S it is concluded that Na,S is almost completely hydrolysed into NaOH and NaSH. IST unr, Royal Anthropological Institute, February 25.—Mr. A. L. Lewis in the chair.—Montenegrin manners and customs: M. Edith Durham. An account was given of the people’s beliefs in spirits and fabulous serpents, with their marriage arrangements and funeral ceremonies. All cousins, to whatever degree, are considered as blood rela- tions, and marriage between them is prohibited, and it is interesting to note that godfatherhood is also a recognised relationship, a godson becoming of blood kin to all his godfather’s relations. CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, January 27.—Dr. Hobson, presi- dent, in the chair.—(1) Exhibition and description of a portion of a fossil jaw of one of the Equidz (British East Africa) ; (2) exhibition of zebra skins (thirteen) and skulls (four) from British East Africa, with special reference to the problem of the centre of distribution of the three species of zebras: Prof. Ridgeway.—A new genus of Ixodoidea, together with a description of eleven new species of ticks : Prof. Nuttall and C. Warburton.—(1) Report on the brain of a microcephalous idiot; (2) description of a micro- cephalous new-born pig: Dr. Duckworth. February 1o.—Mr. S$. Ruhemann, vice-president, in the chair.—The nature of y rays: Prof. J. J. Thomson. The author supported the view that the y rays have a structure similar to that ascribed to the R6ntgen rays in his ‘‘ Dis- charge of Electricity through Gases,’’ consisting of small pulses of electric force, the pulses having a very small area as well as being very thin. These pulses form a system made up of separate units, which may be at con- siderable distances from each other. Each of the units possesses mass, momentum, and energy. It was shown that all the properties of the y rays could be explained on this view without the introduction of the somewhat far- fetched hypotheses which are necessary if the view that the y rays are combinations of positive and negative ions is adopted.—The velocity of kathodic secondary radiation : Prof. J. J. Thomson. > Gal te toa Our Book Shelf :— i -Curtis: ‘‘ Nature and Development of Plants.” — Jo 12 oe) SSRs we) 430 Mayo: ‘The DM iccakestor Actas Cy Ts ; a ~ 436 Duparc and Monnier: Traité de Chimie analytique qualitative, suivi de Tables systématiques pour vAnalyse’ minérale/ucamemresin sn: ).) ei 437 de Nansouty : ‘‘ Actualités scientifiques” . . Be cy Jordan : ‘‘ California and Californians” ; ‘‘ The Alps Ofpkcing-I. Now what can be more probable than that this Moschus the Phenician, that Posidonius speaks of, is the very same Person with that Moschus the Physiologer, that Jamblichus mentions in the Life of Pythagoras, where he affirms, that Pythagoras living some time at Sidon in Phenicia, conversed with the Prophets that were the Successors of Mochus the Physiologer, and was instructed by them. He conversed with the Prophets that were the Successors of Mochus and other Phenician Priests. And what can be more certain than that both Mochus and Moschus, the Phenician and Philosopher, was no other than Moses the Jewish Lawgiver, as Arcerius rightly guesses. It seems that it ought to be read Moschus, unless any had rather read it Mochus or Moses. Where- fore according to the Antient Tradition, Moschus or Moses the Phenician being the First Author of the Atomical Philosophy, it ought to be called neither Epicurean nor Democritical, but Moschical, or Mosaical.”’ Dublin, February 26. Joun Knorr. Tabulated Values of Certain Integrals. In reply to the letter of Mr. C. E. Adams in NATURE of March 19, a table of the values of the integrals re- quired will be found in Airy’s “ Undulatory Theory of Optics ’? (Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1877) on p. 158. Harry M. ELpER. 41 Netherhall Gardens, N.W., March 20. RAR Ub SM OE OE aie Mal a Marcu 26, 1908] ‘NATURE 487 NOTES ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS.' VII.—TuHe ABERDEEN CrircLEs (Continued).* N December, 1906, I gave an account of my measures of four examples of a very special type of circle which is only to be found, so far as I know, in Aberdeenshire. They were described in relation to other circles by Mr. Lewis in his paper on the stone circles of Scotland. My wife and I again went to Aberdeen last autumn and measured another twenty-five, leaving, I believe, still more than a hundred to be examined. The survey last year has greatly increased the in- terest in them, and I hope to show that a complete mquiry into them may advance science in many direc- tions, especially if other allied questions are included in the research. The instrument employed in the reconnaissance, for time did not allow of a complete survey, was a com- pass clinometer of Barker’s pattern, giving azimuths and angular heights of the horizon, say, to half a degree, a reading quite as fine as can be hoped for, considering the rough condition of the monuments, and the presence of trees on the horizon in many cases. As I said in my 1906 notes, observations of the height of the horizon in winter, when the trees are leafless, are very desirable. In the observations last year, the orientation was determined by attempt- ing to find the direction of the line across the circle at right angles to the face of the recumbent stone. Last year I worked differently. The method of observation adopted was to measure the azimuth of the line lying along the common N. and S. sur- faces of the supporters and recumbent stone, and in the eastern direction where possible. When there was no common line, supporters and recumbent stone were dealt with separately. In some of the complete and undisturbed triliths the correspondence of the azimuths of both surfaces showed that immense care had been taken in selecting and “ plant- ing ’’ the stones. The mean of the azimuths thus obtained, deducting go°, gave the direction of the observing line across the circle. In some cases it seemed as if the circle builders had got this line in the first instance by erecting two stones on the opposite side of the circle about the same distance apart as the two supporters—a kind of avenue, the surfaces of the recumbent stone being placed at right angles to this line. This premised, I next give a comparison between the Cornwall and Aberdeen monuments :— (1) Assuming that the recumbent stone in Aber- deenshire was used as a directrix, like the outstand- ing stones of the Cornish and Gorsedd circles, all the conclusions I arrived at in Cornwall and on Dartmoor are abundantly confirmed. (2) I have examined no circle in Aberdeenshire the astronomical use of which, with one or two excep- tions to be referred to later, is not perfectly obvious in the light of former work. : (3) The directions indicated by the Aberdeen recum- bent or directing stones are generally the same as those indicated by the outstanding stones in Corn- 1 Continued from p. 416. 2 NaTuRE, vol. Ixxv., p. 150. NO. 2004, VOL. 77] wall. The exceptions are that the cardinal points N. true and W. true are indicated in the former. (4) The N. and the W. true alignments may indi- cate an advance in astronomical knowledge. The N. alignments suggest that time at night was determined by circumpolar stars. The W. alignment shows that the equinoxes were fixed as well as the solstices. (5) Of the twenty-nine circles | have examined, fifteen are clock-star circles, two are May-year, and three solstitial. Of special circles we have four facing N. and one facing W. (6) Arcturus and Capella were used as clock-stars in Cornwall; in the higher latitude of Aberdeen Castor might have been used. (7) So far, and quite provisionally until a larger number of circles is examined, I think Castor was not used. (8) In the clock-star circles the azimuths range from N. 4° E. to N. 29° E. These azimuths, taking the heights of horizon inte account, give us N. declinations from 34° 45’ to 31°. If Capella is in question, the dates lie between B.c. 1200 and B.c. 2000; if Arcturus, B.C. 950 and B.c. 250. Mean dates are :—Capella, B.c. 1600; Arcturus, B.C. 600. I append a diagram which shows the connections Fic. 20.—The recumbent or directing stone and supporters of the Cothie Muir Circle, a normal example, existing between the azimuths, the elevation of the horizon—both measured quantities—and the declina- tions, and dates of the use of the clock-stars. The numbers on the curves refer to the fifteen clocls-star circles enumerated below :— 1, Braehead Leslie; 2, Leylodge; 3, Loudon Wood; 4, Tomnagorn; 5, Wanton Wells; 6, Old Keig; 7, South Fornet; 13, Nether Boddam; 8, Aikey Brae; 9, Castle Fraser; 10, New Craig; 11, Loanhead of Daviot; 12, Kirkton of Bourtie; 14, Cothie Muir; 15, Eslie the Greater, Note that on the diagram the circle G3) is misplaced. The azimuth should be 21° 15’, not 11° 15/; conse- quently the (73) circle should be moved along the “© 5° hill ’’? curve until it touches the circle (G). As an illustration of the use of the curve, take the case of the Cothie Muir circle, number 14. The true azimuth across the circle, i.e. at right angles to the recumbent stone, was found to be N. 18°55! E., and the elevation of the horizon in that direction 48. Pro- jecting the point where the 18° 55’ azimuth ordinate intersects the ‘‘ 4° hill’’ curve, on to the declination scale, we get 34° 42/ N. as the declination. Referring to the time scales for Arcturus and Capella, it is seen TABLE of AZiIMUTHS.N TowarpsE. E CIRCLES OF WHICH THE AZIMUTHS AND HEIGHT OF THE HORIZON WERE OBSERVED NATURE [Marcu 26, 1908 488 that the former had this declination in g20 B.c., the latter in 1300 B.C. * (9) There is so far no absolute demonstration as to which of the stars in-question was used, or whether | they were used at different times. Some light may be thrown on this point if the approximate dates | "conditions at Aberdeen are such that no direct solution _of the problem is so far possible. | But there are some sidelights. Against the older date is the fact that the Aberdeen circles, even May-vear circles, differ in the method of alignment used in other parts of Britain, includ ing the west coast of Scotland, at the earlier date. But the presence — 7 of the recumbent stone is not the only difference; the central stone of the Gorsedd is generally re- placed by a cairn, or rings or mounds of stones. The true N. alignments at Dyce, Whitehill Wood, Raes of Clune and Candle Hill (Insch) have no counterpart in the South, and they may be heid to indicate possibly an ad- vance in the manner of determin- ing time at night, and therefore an erection at a more recent date. Again, the work at the various circles showed that the Aberdeen system of alignment is far inferior to that of the employment of an outstanding stone some distance away from the circle as in the Cornish monuments. But it must not be taken for granted that this inferior method of alignment Ss. meant an inferior knowledge of astronomy, which we should be justified in associating with an earlier date. I am rather inclined to attribute it to the fact that an exact knowledge of the length of the year and of the number of days in each quarter having been gained, exact alignments became less necessary. As time went on, the circle became of less impori- ance as an astronomical instru- azimuths and heights of hill o s ment, though its other uses re- mained, and this latter view seems strengthened by the fact that in Fic. 21.—Showing Aberdeenshire the circles are very frequently located on the tops of low hills, convenient places of assembly, whereas in Cornwall this, so far as I now remember, did not often happen. The Aber- deenshire circles, indeed, are generally at a much lower level, among the cultivation. It was chiefly the astronomical require- ment of a clear horizon which was fulfilled in Cornwall and Dart- moor, at heights from 1000 to CLock-star Conoitions. Lat 57, THE NUMBERS INDICATE TH 1500 feet. Another strong argument against | the older date is the absence of Z| 4 cromlechs in the Aberdeen district. 03/4 2100 as 30-— 200— May we not take the absence of ] the cromlech and the presence of the cist as another proof of modernity? By cist I mean an 22 20} | eof | 300-— Ji4z—_ -20 obvious grave as opposed to the ‘“chambered cairns’? of some AZIMUTH > 6° £394 100— 294 | i { | | } OT tne solstitial cireles at Midmar, Sunhoney and Stonehead can be determined, using the change of obliquity. q This question of date is, of course, one of surpass- ing interest, and it is not a little curious that the NO. 2004, VOL. 77]| authors, which were as obviously not built as graves merely. These ‘‘ chambered cairns,’’ I take it, are really the interiors of barrows, and are large examples of cromlechs. It is imma- terial whether the barrows were built. of stones or earth to make the chambers rain-tight. ‘This would depend upon which was most handy—stones ——————S”—s— ra 2 * 2 ? ; ~] * . Makcu 26, 1908] NATURE 489 in. Scotland, chalk at Stonehenge, earth in Corn- wall. Now while ‘‘ cists *’ are common to Scotland, Dart- moor and Cornwall, the ‘‘ chambered cairn ’’ or crom- lech is in Scotland special to the west coast. I do not know at present whether there is any representa- tive of it nearer to Aberdeen than Callernish or Sten- ness. The difference between the east and west coast of Scotland is thus strongly emphasised, and the view of a difference of time in the building operations is strengthened. I now return for a moment from the side-lights to the clock-star conditions, in order to give a table of the measurements, from which the declinations of the stars were determined by means of a curve con- necting azimuth and declination, for different eleva- tions of the horizon, for the general latitude of 57° N.; consequently the measurements are not final, but are sufficiently accurate for a preliminary discussion. Between 2000 B.c. and 1 p.c Arcturus and Capella were the only first-magnitude stars to come within the declination range shown in the table, and, as my results show that they were used as clock-stars in Cornwall and Devon, I consider that the evi- dence in their favour warrants the assumption that one of them was used as a clock-star by the circle- builders of Aberdeenshire. I give the dates for both. Azimuths ia | Dates B.c. | |28| 8 | (2s Circles at— S True, at 2/64/39] s Woz | right-angles | § | © || & | br | across n=|A 3 | & oe circle 27l Le) Nee | | . | ; f [i eG, een Geo Braehead Leslie... .../132 20\N. 23 35 E.| 14 |30 58 250/2000 Leylodge ... 123. O|N. 14 15 FE.) 0 |31 18330 1940 Loudon Wood 120 40!\N. 11 55 E.| 0 |31 38 370)1890 Tomnagorn 208 124 ON. 15 15 E.) 3731 42 3901860 Wanton Wells ... 130 30\N. 21 45 E.| 2 |31 52 4201830 Old Keig 138 ON. 29 15 E.} 4 |3t 55 430 1820 South Fornet ... 116 48\N. 8 3E.| 0 [32 4 450 1800 Nether Boddam... 130 o|N. 21 15 E.| 2 |32 8 460\1790 Aikey Brae... .. 1113 ON. 4 15 E.| 0- |32 18|=00/1760 Castle Fraser ...|[29 36\N. 20 51 E.| 24 |32 42 570\1680 New Graig... ... ...../129 34N. 20 49 E.| 23 |32 43570 1680 Loanhead of Daviot.../116 45.N. 8 OF.) 1 33 14 660 1580 Kirkton of Bourtie .../123 30 N. 14 45 E. 24 |33 577701460 Cothie Muir ...[{27 40IN. 18 55 EB.) 4 |34 42 920 1300 Eslie the Greater _...|113 30.N. 4 45 E.| 24 135 5980/1230 In future notes, after referring to some more “‘ side- lights,’’ I shall give the measurements of the May- year and solstitial circles. ; NorMAN Lockyer. PROPOSED ALTERATION IN CALENDAR. THE eee last great alteration in the calendar was that which was known as the Gregorian Reforma- tion. It was promulgated in 1582, and at once ac- cepted in all countries which were under the Roman obedience in ecclesiastical matters, but only gradually adopted by those belonging to the Reformed Western Church (which are all usually called Protestant, though that term strictly pertains to the Lutherans only), whilst the Eastern Church adheres still to the old Julian style. Now it is often forgotten that the change then made was two-fold, the two parts having really no reference to each other, and the assertion frequently NO. 2004, vor, 77 | made that the Gregorian calendar was constructed, or nearly so, to agree with the astronomical length of the year, applies to only one of these changes, the other, which made a violent hiatus in the succession of days, being effected with a totally different object. For if the year were to be assigned its true length and not the 365% days decreed by Julius Cesar, it would at first sight have seemed most natural to choose a convenient epoch, such as the end of a century, and simply ar- range the omission of a leap-year at certain stated times from that. (Here we may parenthetically remark that a regulation to drop a leap-year at the end of each 132nd year would have been more accurate, and quite as simple as that actually adopted.) But it was also thought necessary to bring back the vernal equinox to the date it occupied, not at the Christian era, but at the time of the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century. Hence ten days were omitted from the current sequence, and when England came into line with other western countries, eleven days were omitted in 1752. This, of course, makes great care necessary in comparing events as given in English and Continental narratives between 1582 and 1752. The change now proposed, and recently brought before the House of Commons by Mr. Pearce, is of a much more drastic kind. It is not a reformation of the Gregorian calendar as regards the length of the year (and a small change of the rule, as already men- tioned, would improve its accuracy at long intervals), but a proposal to alter the succession of the days of the week and of the month to secure a degrée of symmetry in their correspondence, and an equality in the four quarters of the year. Thus the first of January and the leap-year day, which, however, is to be, not in February, but in June, have each to be considered in every respect a dies non; if either falls on a Sunday, not that day, but the next is to be reckoned as Sunday, which, of course, would occa- sionally throw Sunday one day, or even twe days, ahead of its place in the sequence of seven days. Now it may safely be affirmed that, not only for its practical inconvenience and disturbance of the uni- formity and continuity which are so desirable in a calendar, but for other reasons also, even more weighty, this alteration can never be accepted in Christian countries, nor could it commend itself if we began de novo. As regards the days of the month, the case is dif- ferent. The existing arrangement was a perversion ot that decreed by Julius Caesar. He ordained that the year should begin with January, the ist being the day of new moon nearest the winter solstice when the change was made, and that that month should have thirty-one days and each alternate month afterwards, the rest to have thirty, excepting February, which should have twenty-nine days in common years and thirty days in leap-years, to fall every fourth year. In the reign of Augustus, who looked upon August as his special month, though it was not that of his birth, the convenient and easily to be remembered arrange- ment of Julius was altered in order that August might have as many days as July. By the earlier arrange- ment the days of the successive months were 31, 29 (Or 30); 31, 30, 31, 30; 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 30; by the later (now followed), 31, 28 (or 29), 31, 30, 31, 30, 31 Blin SO, Sine Bor, ae No doubt Cesar placed the leap-day in February because that had been the last month of the year in the old Roman calendar. There would be no harm, if we were starting afresh, in placing it in June as pro- posed by Mr. Pearce; but it would injure continuity (always a desirable thing in itself) and not attain his object unless the day, as well as New Year’s Day, were made a dies non, both in the week and in the 490 NATURE [Marcu 26, 1908 Neither of these would be» convenient; the month. i ony. first is, for other reasons also, inadmissible. On one point we agree with Mr. Pearce, and that is as regards the incidence of Easter. There is a common, but false, impression that the existing cum- brous arrangement has the authority of the Council of Nica. All that that council decreed was, in opposi- tion to the so-called Quartodecimans, that Easter should always be kept on a Sunday; the particular Sunday was regulated by various cycles, the Metonic being usually followed, and the present rule was ini- tiated by the advisers of Pope Gregory XIII., the English Prayer-Book rule arriving at the same end, when our calendar was reformed, by a slightly dif- ferent process. It has not secured uniformity in Christendom because the Eastern church still follows the Julian calendar, and therefore its Easter is usually different from ours. A rule to keep Easter on the second Sunday in April (when the first Easter in all probability fell) would be very convenient, but it is an ecclesiastical question, and the alteration should be the act of the whole church. To make it always on the same day of the month, as well as week, as Mr. Pearce proposes, could not be done without accepting his other drastic and inadmissible proposals. Weode, Ie: PECULIARITIES IN THE STRUCTURE OF SOME HEAVENLY BODIES. ROF. SUESS has recently contributed a sugges- tive paper on peculiarities in the structure of some of the heavenly bodies * to the Academy of Sciences of Vienna. He remarks at the outset that the present phase of geology is similar to that of anatomy at the time when the structure of the human body was first compared with that of other living organisms. For the purpose of comparative study it is essential that the earth should be regarded as a whole, and when this is done it becomes fairly obvious that acid rocks and their derivatives, which form so large a portion of the visible surface, are far less important as con- stituents of the globe than might at first sight be sup- posed. We see but little of those heavy substances to which the earth owes its high density, and which appear to be more closely associated with the basic than with the acid rocks. Our author considers that for the general purpose which he has in view three main types of rock should be recognised—SiAl rocks (sal or salic rocks), SiMg rocks (sima or simic rocks), and NiFe rocks (nife or nific rocks). For the simic rocks containing chromium and iron he uses the term crofesima. The most important occurrences of platinum are in the crofesimic rocks, which also contain almost always traces of nickel. These rocks are of deep-seated origin, and it is a significant fact that they frequently occur as intrusions along planes of movement in the younger mountain chains, such as the Alps, e.g. zone of Ivrea. In 1901 the author, in a letter to Sir Norman Lockyer (Nature, October 24, 1901, p. 629), directed attention to the fact that the metals associated with the basic rocks are not only distinct from those which often accompany the acid rocks, but that they agree closely with those which stand out prominently in the Fraunhofer spectrum and in @ Cygni. This led Sir Norman to institute a special research, with the result * that ‘‘the views of Prof. Suess were con- irmed .. . and that the metals conspicuously repre- ente d in the spectra of the sun, the chromosphere, ur yni are, in the main, those which are asso- linzelheiten in der Beschaffenheit einizer Himmelskérper” (S7tz. | S. em-naturw. Klasse, Bd. cxvi., October, 1907.) pic Comparison of Meta's present in Certain Terrestrial and ources.”” (Solar Physics Committee, 1907.) NO. 2004, VOL. 77 | clated with basie rocks; also that, with the possible exception of yttrium and lithium, the metals typical of acid rocks are not represented in «@ Cygni. There is, of course, evidence that several of the acid-rock- metals such as potassium, beryllium, cerium, tin and zirconium are represented in the Fraunhoferic spectrum, but the solar lines are in each case incon- spicuous.”’ Commenting on the above quotation, Prof. Suess points out that if the composition of the earth be considered quantitatively there is every reason to be- lieve that it would, if subjected. to the necessary physical conditions, yield a sun in which the basic group of metals would spectroscopically dominate over the acid group. In considering the distribution of metals of the basic, or, as he now expresses himself, of the simic group, the author directs attention to the local pre- dominence in terrestrial occurrences of certain metals, e.g. titanium over nickel and vice versa. Similarly, if y Cygni be compared with « Cygni, titanium, stron- tium, and scandium will be seen to be more im- portant, and iron, chromium, and magnesium less important in the former than in the latter. The special importance of titanium in sun-spots is compared with the predominance of this metal (ilmenite) over nickel in the contents of the diamond- pipes of South Africa, which are regarded as the most striking terrestrial examples of gaseous erup- tions. In the concluding part of the paper the author briefly reviews the theories as to the origin of meteorites, and favours the view that they, together with the planetoids, represent the fragments of an anonymous planet which formerly occupied a position between Mars and Jupiter. ‘‘ The centre of this planet,’? he says, ‘‘consisted of nife like that of Agram or Elbogen. Towards the exterior the pro- portion of magnesium increased, and a_ transition from nife to sima took place, as is probably the case with the earth, although the supposition cannot be verified by observation. A salic outer crust was absent unless it be represented by the perfectly molten telxtites.’’ * SUR VGHN ELIOT, Ki Civ, Woks. HE news of the death of Sir John Eliot, K.C.1.E., F.R.S., in his sixty-ninth year, at his residence, Bon Porto, Cavalaire, Var, France, will be received with great regret by a very large circle of friends. His death was extremely sudden, and tool place in the early morning of Wednesday, March 18. He was walking on a steep hill in his own grounds, super- intending the work of his men, when he suddenly sat down and passed away. The cause of death is said to have been apoplexy. Sir John Eliot was throughout his life a most inde- fatigable worker, and since his retirement from the Indian Service about five years ago he had continued to work with unabated vigour. Indeed, the strenuous work which he undertook may perhaps have under- mined his health, and have caused his premature death. He was one of the most genial companions possible, having a most charming personality, to- gether with a keen sense of humour. He was most widely read and well informed in almost every subject, and at the same time he was one of the most modest of men. He was. a most accom- plished musician, and played the organ and piano with very great execution and feeling. He was also 1 This term has been proposed by Dr. F. E. Suess (‘‘ Die Herkunft der Moldavite und verwandter Glaser,” Jahr. geol. Reichsanst.. 1900, p. 193) for certain peculiar vitreous bodies which he refers to an extra- terrestrial origin. Marcu 26, 1908 | NATURE 491 greatly loved and esteemed by his subordinates and fellow-workers, and by his many friends. Sir John Eliot had a most distinguished career, and the major part of his life was devoted to India, at first to educational work, and later on to Indian meteorological problems. He was born at Lamesby, in Durham, on May 25, 1839. The details of his earlier education have not been recorded, but he went up to Cambridge University about 1866 and took his degree from St. John’s College in 1869, and was second (bracketed) wrangler and first Smith’s prizeman of his year. He was then elected to a fellowship at St. John’s .College, which he held from 1869 up to his marriage in 1876. As a young man his health was not very robust, and he was advised to avoid the climate of England, so that after taking his degree he accepted an appointment in the Indian Government Service as professor of mathematics at the Roorkee Engineering College. This he held from 1869 to 1872. He was then transferred to the regular Indian Educa- tional Service as professor of mathematics at the Muir Central College at Allahabad, an appointment which he held from 1872 to 1874. About this time he turned his special attention to physics rather than to pure mathematics, and also undertook certain meteorological worls at Allahabad. In 1874 he was appointed professor of physical science at the Presidency College, Calcutta, and combined this with the post of meteorological reporter to the Govern- ment of Bengal, both of which he held from 1874 to 1886. He was then appointed meteorological reporter to the Government of India and director general of Indian observatories, an appointment which he held until he retired in January, 1903. On his retirement the Government of India published in the Gazette of India a most complimentary resolution thanking him for ‘‘his long and meritorious services.’’ As an educationist he has left his mark in the various colleges in India in which he worked, and also in the Calcutta University, of which he was for many years a most distinguished Fellow. Many of the present generation of educated Indian gentlemen who are holding very prominent positions are largely in- debted to Sir John Eliot, not only for his actual teach- ing, which was of a particularly high order, but also for his kindliness and sympathy towards his students. The example shown by his work and character had a great effect on all brought in contact with him, and he was very greatly respected and loved by his students and by all classes of Indian gentlemen, for it may be truly said of him that his great abilities were more than equalled by his extreme modesty and invariable kindness. ‘ In his capacity as Fellow of the Calcutta University he also did very notable work, and by his great influ- ence and marked powers of persuasion he was able to introduce many considerable reforms into the courses of instruction in mathematics and physical science, and in the latter case he was specially successful in making the courses more practical and more thorough than they had hitherto been. As a meteorologist, India also owes him a large debt of gratitude. As meteorological reporter to the Government of Bengal, he largely extended the meteorological system, and introduced daily weather reports with charts based on telegraphic information, and he also instituted a very comprehensive and effec- tive system of storm warnings for coast stations round the Bay of Bengal, and of flood warnings for inland stations. One of his earliest meteorological papers was a ‘‘ History of the Backergunge Cyclone of 1876,”’ in which storm about two hundred thousand people were drowned in about half an hour by a huge storm wave, which swept over the Island of Sandip. NO. 2004, VOL. 77] | In this monograph Sir John Eliot largely developed and extended the theory of the formation of cyclones. This publication indeed excited a good deal of atten- tion both in India and in England, and in both in- stances this was unusual. So much attention was directed to this memoir and to the cyclone which it described that a request was made in the House of Commons for the report to be produced and laid on the table, and it was then made available to those interested in England. The reputation as a meteorologist which Sir John Eliot gained while occupying the post of meteorolog- ical reporter to the Government of Bengal rendered it a foregone conclusion that when the higher post of meteorological reporter to the Government of India fell vacant it would be offered to him. This post had been created about the year 1875 or 1876, and its first incumbent was the late Mr. H. F. Blanford, F.R.S. Up to about 1875 there had only been local officers in charge of the meteorology of the different provinces (such as Bengal, Madras, and Bombay) into which India is divided, but it was felt that if Indian meteor- ology was to make any real progress it must be studied as a whole, and not piecemeal. Hence the ap- pointment of meteorological reporter under the Im- perial or Indian Government was created, and all the observations taken in the various provinces were, after local use, sent on to the Indian Meteorological Depart- ment. Much and most valuable work was done by Mr. Blanford in the development of the department on an Imperial basis, and also in the foundation of sys- tematic and organised investigation and in the prompt diffusion of meteorological information thus obtained, but, as in all great schemes, the progress of consolida- tion of the work in its imperial aspects was rather difficult. With Mr. Blanford’s work as a basis, Sir John (then, of course, Mr.) Eliot was able to make more rapid progress. He largely increased the area from which observations were received, and also the number of reporting stations in the area already covered. Indeed, during his tenure of office he almost doubled the number of stations which sent in reports, and extended them so as to get observations from very high altitudes (11,000 feet elevation), and also from outlying places like Kashmir and the routes leading towards Central Asia, and from such places as Leh, Ladakh, Dras, &c. He made the work of the observ- atories more accurate and more systematic, and ar- ranged that by telegraphic communication the latest meteorological information from all parts of the Indian Empire in the form of daily weather reports with charts should be at once available at headquarters. Indeed, it is not too much to say that from the time he took over charge of the Indian Meteorological De- partment, its efficiency and usefulness were very largely increased, and that he brought it quite into line with the most modern meteorological organisa- tions. Under him the department published many series of most valuable results and memoirs. He also developed a complete system of storm warnings for the whole of the coast-line of India and Burma, ex- tending over some thousands of miles, and also estab- lished flood warnings for the whole of India by which telegraphic warnings are sent of expected floods to all engineers in charge of irrigation and other large works, and in other cases where similar damage may occur. Daily reports with charts dealing with the sea areas of the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean were also established, and, further, he established a most valuable system of seasonal forecasts, which gradually became of very great value, though naturally to begin with they were rather tentative and experimental. Those who navigate Indian seas are also especially 492 NATURE [Marcu 26, 1908 indebted to Sir John Eliot for his work, “ Handbook of Cyclonic Storms in the Bay of Bengal,’’ which has in all human probability been the means of saving many vessels and valuable property—possibly from destruction and certainly from damage—by enabling such vessels, by the rules laid down in that work, to avoid the more dangerous parts of these cyclones, and also generally to escape from them altogether by the knowledge thus given of the indications of the ap- proach of such storms and of the tracks usually fol- lowed by them in the different months of the year. Indeed, it would be an easy matter to prove that in many instances the information and warnings conveyed from the Indian Meteorological Department have been the means of helping that Government and individuals in a most remarkable manner, and that even to put the matter on the lowest ground, it has saved the State vast sums of money by giving accurate information of the precise meteorological conditions of the country, and timely warnings of possible famines, and in some cases, when famine seemed looming in the immediate future, of timely information of approaching rainfall, which at once would do away with the necessity of starting famine relief operations on a large scale. The Indian Meteorological Department has far more than justified its existence, for it has really proved itself of far greater value than its relatively small cost. Sir John Eliot was also very greatly interested in the subject of solar physics, and he was largely in- strumental in starting the solar physics observatory at Kodaikanal, in southern India, and immediately on his retirement he was appointed as a member of the Solar Physics Committee, and also on other scientific bodies, and he worked quite as hard as he had always done in India. Indeed, he was at work up to the last, for on the Monday before his death he was engaged on his new book, ‘‘ A Handbook of Indian Meteorology,” and said he was making great progress with it. One who knows well the work of Sir John Eliot after his return to Europe writes as follows :— “Sir John Eliot left India full of enthusiasm for the future of his department. As a public servant he had the rare satisfaction of knowing that a scientific enter- prise begun with some doubt and misgiving, had, under his direction, established its claim to a recog- nised position, and had justified the anticipations of its promoters. His last official step was to secure for his successor the increase of the scientific staff of which he had himself felt the need. “On his return to England he gave expression to his experience and his aspirations in an address to the British Association at Cambridge in 1904 as president of the subsection for astronomy and cosmical physics. Reviewing his own work and stimulated by his suc- cess, he looked beyond the forecasts of to-morrow’s weather to anticipating, on strictly scientific grounds, the character of the seasons by the correlation of meteorological phenomena over extended regions of the earth and their possible relation with solar changes. He became secretary of the Solar Commission, origin- ated upon the proposition of Sir Norman Lockyer by the International Meteorological Committee, which met at Southport in 1903. The purpose of the com- mittee was to collect comparable meteorological data from all parts of the world and solar data for compari- son with them. He spent a considerable part of his last stay in England in planning new arrangements for carrying out the objects of the Commission. In the latter part of his address at Cambridge he advo- cated the organisation of the British contribution to this side of meteorological work upon an imperial sis. He realised that an imperial combination would ireat such questions with a breadth of view that is | NO. 2004, VOL. 77] not possible or permissible in any single colony or de- pendency, guided, as it must be, by the narrower con- sideration of its immediate needs. ‘** His plan was to provide for organised observations from areas too wide to be within the control of any single Government; to place the material thus obtained at the service of workers in all parts of the world by publishing it while it was still of direct practical utility and to ensure its application to the service of the Empire by a special staff of trained workers. ‘“ Anyone who reads the address cannot fail to catch something of his enthusiasm. There is a ring of the ‘“Jand of hope and glory ’’ about his appeal for the extension of our knowledge of the facts. ‘* Wider still and wider be thy boundaries set ’’ bespeaks the ideal of his meteorological method, and it was to the various parts of the King’s dominions that he looked for its realisation. The task was no light one. The British Association made a beginning, but imperial wheels grind very slowly. It says much for Eliot and for India that he carried with him the active support of the Indian Government for the proposal. He wel- comed the idea of a meeting of British meteorologists in Canada, because it gave him the opportunity of getting a step forward, and although conscious of the personal sacrifice which it involved, he undertook to make the journey to Ottawa this year for the purpose. The intention cannot be fulfilled.”’ “Tt is a bitter disappointment to all his fellow- workers that death has brought his efforts to an untimely end. His enthusiasm was entirely free from any suggestion of selfishness or personal ambition ; he could speak from an unique position with un- rivalled experience. There is no one now to take his place. But the idea remains, and this country seldorn wants for men when there is real work to be done. Remembering Eliot’s achievements we are em- boldened to fall back upon the refrain, and to add the second couplet without misgiving.”’ Among the more prominent of Sir John Eliot’s pub- lications are numerous accounts of cyclones and severe cyclonic storms occurring within Indian seas; also numerous meteorological discussions contributed to the Indian Meteorological Memoirs, to the Indian Cyclone Memoirs, to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and to the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society; his ‘* Handbook of Cyclonic Storms in the Bay of Bengal ”’ (already mentioned), and his last publication, which tools the form of that most valuable work, ‘* The Climatological Atlas of India,’’ published by the authority of the Government of India only a few months ago; while at the time of his death he was engaged in writing a ‘““ Handbook of Indian Meteorology *’ to accompany this, also to be published under the direction of the Government of India. Sir John Eliot was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1895; he was created a C.I.E. in 1897, and was given his K.C.I.E. in 1903 on his retire- ment. In 1877 he married Mary, daughter of Mr. Wm. Nevill, of Godalming; his widow survives him, and he has left three sons. ASB: NOTES. Sir Oxiver Lopce was unable to deliver his presidential address to the Faraday Society on Tuesday on account of an attack of influenza, from which, however, he is now recovering. WE regret to state that the Duke of Devonshire died at Cannes on Tuesday morning, at seventy-four years of age. The Duke was a Fellow of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. en Marcu 26, 1908] NATURE 493 Tue Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, F.R.S., has been elected | what authority and under what conditions such experiment a corresponding member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in succession to Lord Reay, who has been elected an associate. ' Tue Paris Academy cf Sciences has accepted a legacy of 4ool. from M. Sabatier to found a biennial prize to be known as the Sabatier prize. Own the drill ground at Issy-les-Moulineaux on Friday, March 20, Mr. H. Farman traversed the complete circle two and a half times with his aéroplane, the length of the flight being 2750 yards, and the time 2m. 15s. Wirtn regard to the inquiry of a correspondent (NATURE, March 5, p. 417) for particulars concerning the mist and Sicilian earthquake of 1783, Mr. E. A. Martin, The Museum, Croydon, writes to point out that Gilbert White has a reference thereto in his Letter 65 to Barrington (‘‘ Natural History of Selborne ’’). Dr. Hart-Epwarps, who recently had his left hand amputated in consequence of X-ray dermatitis, has been granted a Civil List pension of 1201. a year. When Dr. Hall-Edwards has recovered from the effects of the amputation, another operation will be necessary, and at least four fingers of his right hand will have to be amputated, On Thursday next, April 2, Mr. R. Lydekker will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on (1) ‘““The Animals of Africa,’’ (2) ‘‘ The Animals of South America.’’ The Friday evening discourse on April 3 will be delivered by the Right Hon. Lord Montagu of Beau- lieu on ‘* Tne Modern Motor-car,’? and on April 10 by Prof. J. J. Thomson on ‘‘ The Carriers of Positive Electricity.”’ Tue death is announced, in his seventieth year, of Dr. D. B. St. John Roosa, president of the New York Medical Post-graduate School, and professor of diseases of the eye in that institution. He formerly held chairs in the Uni- versity of the City of New York and the University of Vermont. He was the author of a pocket medical lexicon and of various treatises on the eye and the ear. Pror. W. A. KetLermMan, who has held the professor- ship of botany at the Ohio State University since 1891, has died of malaria in Guatemala, which country he was visiting in order to study its flora. He was born in 1850, graduated at Cornell in 1874, and had taught botany at the Wisconsin State Normal School and the Kansas State Agricultural College. He was perhaps most widely known as founder and editor of the Journal of Mycology. Among his books were ‘‘ Flora of Kansas,”’ ‘‘ Spring Flora of Ohio,’’ and *‘ Phyto-Theca.”’ REFERRING to the article on ‘‘ Some London Problems ”* published in our issue of March 19, a correspondent directs attention to the arrangement for the construction of deep- water wharves near Gravesend, in Long Reach, about five miles above Tilbury. These wharves have been licensed by the Thames Conservancy and approved by the Board of Trade, though their construction has delayed because of the Port Bill. This wharf will be capable, our correspondent states, of dealing with three million tons of traffic a year. Tne Royal Commission on Coast Erosion has been directed to inquire whether, in connection with reclaimed lands or otherwise, it is desirable to make an experiment in afforestation as a means of increasing employment during periods of depression in the labour market, and, if so, by NO. 2004, VOL. 77] been should be conducted. The following new members have been added to the commission :—Mr. J. Galvin, Mr. E. S. Howard, C.B., Mr. H. C. Monro, C.B., Dr. W. Somer- ville, Mr. F. Story, and Mr. J. Ward, M.P. Tue sixty-first annual meeting of the Palzontographical Society was held on March 20 in the rooms of the Geo- logical Society, Burlington House, Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., president, in the chair. The annual report alluded to the unusually varied contents of the volume for 1907, due to an attempt to provide indexes and title-pages for several monographs which were either complete or dis- continued. The council is beginning to favour the plan of publishing smaller works,. and has included in the current volume a complete monograph of British Conulariz, by Miss Ida L. Slater, with five plates drawn by the author. The council welcomed a contribution from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, which provided five plates of Scottish Carboniferous fishes de- scribed by Dr. Traquair. Mrs. G. B. Longstaff, Mr. H. A. Allen, Dr. F. A. Bather, and Mr. William Hill were elected new members of council. Dr. Henry Wood- ward, F.R.S., Dr. G. J. Hinde, F-R.S., and-Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S., were re-elected president, and secretary respectively. treasurer, No. 3 of the 1908 issue of the Bulletin of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg contains an elaborate and well- illustrated account of the developmental of the echinoderm Echiurus, by Dr. N. Salensky. history Tue third part of vol. vii..of the Emu—issued as a special supplement—is devoted to a list of Australian birds on the model of the one now in course of issue by the British Museum. The compiler, Mr. G. M. Mathews, who has recently come to reside in this country, announces his intention of issuing an illustrated work on the birds of Australia, to which the present ‘‘ hand-list ’? is a pre- liminary. Recent issues of the Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum include papers by Mr. A. H. Clark on the crinoid genus Comatula (No. 1585), and on the occurrence of infrabasals in certain modern pentacrinids (No. 1582), as well as one (No. 1580) by Mr. C. B. Wilson on North American parasitic copepod crustaceans, and another (No. 1586) by Miss Richardson on isopods from the northern Pacific. In an article published in the National Geographic Magazine for February under the title of “‘ The Police- men of the Air,’’ Mr. H. W. Henshaw raises the question as to what would happen if birds were completely exter- minated. ‘‘ No one,’’ he observes, ‘‘ can foretell with absolute certainty, but it is more than likely—nay, it is almost certain—that within a limited time not only would successful agriculture become impossible, but the destruc- tion of the greater part of vegetation would follow. It is believed that a permanent reduction in the numbers of our birds, even if no species are actually exterminated, will inevitably be followed by disastrous consequences.”’ It is added that bird-protection in the United States re- quires specially stringent laws on account of the large influx of immigrants from southern Europe, to whom every bird, no matter how small, is regarded as food which ought not to be wasted. A FURTHER contribution to the controversy with” regard to the alleged existence of a British willow-titmouse (Parus atricapillus kleinschmidti) is made by Mr. H. B. Booth in the March number of the Naturalist. It has been stated 494 NATURE | Marcii 26, 1908 that the principal differences between willow-titmice and marsh-titmice are that the feathers on the crown and forehead are longer and more loosely constructed in the former than in the latter. The edges of these feathers are also glossy black in the marsh-titmouse, thus causing the crown to be glossy and of a deeper blackness than that of the willow-titmouse, which is brownish or sooty black. In the latter, again, the tail is distinctly graduated, instead of being almost squared. To these differences Mr. Booth adds the darker rufous colour of the flanks and under- parts of the willow-titmouse. Tue evolution of the elephant forms the subject of an interesting article by Mr. R. S. Lull, in the March number of the American Naturalist. Starting with the fact that they made their first appearance in the Fayum district of Egypt during the Eocene, the author considers it probable that the proboscideans remained in Africa during the Oligo- ‘cene, although we have no direct evidence to that effect. Be this as it may, the four-tusked mastodon (Tetrabelodon angustidens) made its appearance in the early Miocene of Mogara and Tunisia, whence it migrated by means of a land-bridge connecting Tunisia and Sicily with Italy, and thence by way of Greece, into Asia. Having reached that continent, it apparently gave rise to the Indian Mastodon cautleyi and M. latidens, from which in turn sprang the primitive, or stegodont, elephants, and from these again elephants of the modern type. Later on the typical elephants themselves migrated westwards to Europe, and thence to Africa, while in the other direction they travelled by way of Bering Strait to America. Hence we are led to conclude, as has been previously pointed out by Mr. Lydekker, that while the Proboscidea originated in Africa, the modern African elephant is of Asiatic parentage, and was an immigrant into the land of its forefathers in com- pany with the ancestors of the giraffes, okapis, and ante- lopes which now dominate Ethiopia. It is added that, next to man, elephants have been the greatest travellers of all mammals, having reached practically all parts of the world. Unper the heading of “‘ Investigations on the Develop- ment of Trypanosomes in Tsetse-flies and other Diptera,’’ Prof. E. A. Minchin gives in the March number of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science the results of his investigations during a sojourn in Uganda as a member of the commission on sleeping sickness. In the author’s opinion, it may now be admitted that trypanosomes undergo development (as distinct from multiplication) in invertebrate hosts, more especially tsetse-flies. It is, how- ever, remarkable that, whereas Trypanosoma brucei under- goes a complete cycle of development in at least one kind of tsetse, this is not the case with T. gambiense. The explanation suggested is that Glossina palpalis, the only kind of tsetse found at Entebbe, is not the proper host of T. gambiense, a suggestion supported by the fact that sleeping sickness is a disease of comparatively recent introduction into Uganda. That the Gambian trypano- some has a proper host of its own cannot be doubted, and it is probable this may be a native of the Congo, where it is suggested further investigations on sleeping sickness might advantageously be conducted. In Uganda T. gambiense merely commences its developmental cycle in G. palpalis, by which, in that district, it is transmitted the human subject in a purely mechanical and direct received from Messrs. Zeiss a pamphlet de- Siedentopf’s paraboloid condenser, with which an exceedingly well corrected dark ground illumination NO. 2004, VOL. 77] may be obtained for microscopical work. For observation, medium and high-power dry objectives should be employed. The apparatus is particularly adapted for the observation of such minute objects as bacteria and their flagella, spirochetes, &c., in the fresh and living state, and for photographing the same under these conditions. We have also received Messrs. Zeiss’s general catalogue of apparatus for ultramicroscopy, which contains much matter of interest. In the Journal of Hygiene for January (vol. viii., No. 1) Miss Harriette Chick contributes an interesting article on the theory of disinfection, She shows that a very complete analogy exists between a chemical reaction and the process of disinfection, one reagent being represented by the dis- infectant, and the second by the protoplasm of the bacterium. In the case of anthrax spores, the course of disinfection apparently proceeds in accordance with the well-known equation for a unimolecular reaction, if numbers expressing ‘‘ concentration of reacting substance ”” are replaced by ‘‘ numbers of surviving bacteria.’’ A non- sporing organism, B. paratyphosus, shows a departure from the simple law owing to permanent differences in resistance to disinfectants among the individual organisms, the younger bacteria proving to be the more resistant. The process of disinfection is influenced by temperature in an orderly manner, and the well-known equation of Arrhenius can be applied. Some evidence was obtained that, in disinfection with mercuric chloride, a toxic com- pound is formed between the metal and the substance of the bacterial cell. Tue principal article in the Bulletin du Jardin Impérial Botanique of St. Petersburg (vol. vii., parts v.—vi.) is an account of the soil and vegetation of the district of Jaila, in the Crimea, communicated by Mr. A. Krischtofowitsch. TaMaRIND seeds are to be reckoned among the fairly nutritious plant products that have been reported to provide food during periods of famine in India. The pulp of the fruit is an esteemed ingredient of certain condi- ments. The kernels of the seeds when freed from the skin and roasted furnish a not unwholesome flour suitable for mixing with cereals to make small cakes. Further details and analyses are given in the Agricultural Ledger (No. 2, 1907) prepared by Mr. D. Hooper and published by the Government of India. Tue annual publication “One and All Gardening” has reached its thirteenth issue. Among the numerous articles, Mr. H. J. Wright furnishes an account of garden: teaching in schools, in which he provides a working plan for laying out a school garden, and summarises the pro- gress made in different counties. Mr. S, L. Bastin con- tributes a note on the method of retarding flowers. The editor takes for his subject the formation of garden associations to stimulate horticulture in country and town; in this connection Mr. F. H. Stead records a remarkable development of gardens in the borough of Walworth, where last year more than one hundred gardens were entered for competition at the local flower show. Tue fauna and flora of the Snares and Auckland Islands form the subject of an ecological descriptive sketch con- tributed by Dr. L. Cockayne to the New Zealand Times (December 11, 1907). The author refers to the evidence furnished by the animal and plant life on the Snares in favour of the view that when a land area is curtailed the exceptional species most frequently survive in the struggle for existence, and so reduced areas generally contain numerous endemic species. The meadows of the Marcu 26, 1908 | NATURE 495 Auckland Isles furnish numerous choice plants, notably the species of the composite genus Pleurophyllum, Myosotis capitata, a Celmisia, and gentians. Characteristic plant associations on the islands are the tussock-grasses, Poa scoparia, Poa foliosa, and Danthonia bromoides, confined to special localities determined chiefly by wind conditions. Tue preservation of plants so as to maintain their green colour has been attempted in several ways. Prof. Trail some years ago recommended the use of a solution of acetate of copper in acetic acid, whereby compounds of chlorophyll with copper are formed. He contributes a note to the Kew Bulletin (No. 2) to point out the advantage of using a boiling solution. In the same number an article on Jequié manicoba refers to the occurrence in north-east Brazil of rubber trees allied to Manihot Glaziovii, the source of Ceara rubber. According to German botanists, three other species, dichotoma, hepta- phylla, and piauhyensis, should be distinguished; they are named after the regions in which they grow as Jequié, S. Francisco, and Piauhy manicobas; all are considered to be more valuable than Manihot Glaziovii. Determina- tions of new plants are published as ‘‘ Diagnoses Africanz, XXI.,’’ and ‘‘ New Orchids, XXXI.’’ The identification and occurrence of different patchouli plants form the sub- ject of another article, and Mr. A. D. Cotton discusses the appearance in Great Britain of the alga Colpomenia sinuosa, indigenous in the Mediterranean. Tue report of the Chief Inspector of Mines of Mysore for the year 1905-6 (Madras, 1908) is devoted chiefly to official data on the progress of the Kolar gold mines. A decline in production is noticeable, due mainly to the decline in grade of the ore milled. There was also notice- able an increased death-rate from accidents in 1905, due mainly to a serious underground fire at the Nundydroog mine. The total value of gold bullion produced from the commencement of mining operations in Mysore up to the end of 1905 was 23,384,532I. Tue Geological Survey of Great Britain issued two additional west-country memoirs at the close of 1907. Mr. Clement Reid’s ‘‘ Geology of the Country around Meva- gissey ’’ (price 2s.) illustrates Sheet 353, which includes also the gneissic islet of the Eddystone from Sheet 354. This relic is probably part of an Archzan mass running east-north-east, which has governed the trend of the earth- folds in the Mevagissey district. The memoir points out how the Silurian rocks, coloured as “‘ Grauwacke’’ in the old map of 1839, have now been delineated in some detail ; ‘but volunteers are asked for who will elucidate the difficul- ties still remaining. Beautiful examples of shear-structure in banded slates are given in the photographic plates. The second memoir is by Mr. Ussher, in explanation of Sheet 348, on ‘‘ The Geology of the Country around Plymouth and Liskeard’ (price 3s.), and forms a very notable contribution to our knowledge of British Devonian strata. Dr. Flett describes the numerous volcanic and intrusive rocks occurring here on various horizons. An unconformity is suggested between the Lower and Middle Culm-measures, to account for the occurrence of both series directly on Upper Devonian beds in the northern portion of the map. Mr. Ussher believes that the submerged valleys cut in the rock on the south coast owe most of their depth to river-erosion during the epoch of elevation that gave us the raised beach of the district. When this beach, therefore, was being formed at sea-level, these valleys ended in merely shallow tidal inlets. This conclusion is, as Mr. Ussher points out, in opposition to views put forward for similar phenomena in NO. 2004, VOL. 77]| the south of Ireland. Mr. D. A. Macalister contributes a report on the mines and minerals of the district. The colour-printed maps accompanying the memoirs above mentioned are published at 1s. 6d. each, and include, as usual, clear longitudinal sections of the country in the margins. AccorRDING to a report in the Proceedings of the Phila- delphia Academy for December, 1907, the glaciers of Alberta and British Columbia are passing through a period of shrinkage, which attained special development during the year under review. The Asulkan glacier, for example, which for several years was stationary or slightly advancing, showed a marked decrease during the past season. ‘“ Pre- ceded by a cold and stormy winter and a summer with low average of sunshine and low temperature, these conditions point to an interesting series of changes which may ulti- mately throw some light on the relation between weather conditions and glacier change.” Tue Scottish Oceanographic Laboratory at Edinburgh has recently issued, in the shape of a small pamphlet, an account by Dr. J. Hjort, of Bergen, of some of the results of modern international oceanic research. The account, which is translated from the Norwegian, deals firstly with the new methods of current-measurement, and then with the life- history and development of several of the commoner food- fishes, such as haddock, herring, saith, cod, and plaice. Diagrammatic illustrations are given of the form and size of the scales of these fishes at different periods of existence, and the means of thereby ascertaining the approximate age of any individual fish. The ages of the plaice are illus- trated, on the other hand, by diagrammatic sketches to scale of four specimens at as many stages of existence. The pamphlet should be of considerable value to all who are connected with our fisheries. A DETAILED account by Mr. A. Schmauss of twenty-one unmanned balloon ascents made in 1907 at Munich is published in an excerpt paper from the regular meteor- ological year-book of Bavaria. The experiments, which were made with great care, show that in the lower air strata the temperature gradient is subject to great oscilla- tions, and that the greatest decrease of temperature with height is found between 5 and 8 kilometres. Between 8 and 11 kilometres there is a transitional zone leading to the upper isothermal layer or inversion. After this stratum of increasing temperature follows another slowly augmenting decrease of temperature from about 14 kilo- metres upwards. Between 1 and 5 kilometres the same rate of decrease of temperature that exists at mountain stations was found to hold good. In the U.S. Monthly Weather Review for October, 1907, Mr. H. H. Clayton (by permission of Prof. A. L. Rotch) discusses the lagging of temperature changes at great heights behind those at the earth’s surface, and types of pressure changes at different levels, as shown by the records of sounding balloons liberated at St. Louis in April and May, 1906. The observations show that at all heights above about 1 kilometre the temperature changes occur later with increasing elevation; at 10 kilometres the maxima and minima are generally about twenty- four hours later than on the ground. Only a few observa- tions at 15 kilometres were available, but they appear to show that the irregular ranges of temperature at that height are much less than at sea-level. Referring to the maxima and minima of pressure, it is found that at 10 kilometres the curve is almost the reverse of that at sea-level; at 15 kilometres it is somewhat similar to that at 10 kilometres, but the ranges are much reduced. 496 Among other useful articles we may mention Mr. W. A. Bentley's interesting studies of frost and ice crystals, and 4 mathematical investigation by Prof. F. H. Bigelow on vortices in the atmosphere. Tipat bores in China and Japan form the subject of two recent papers differing widely in character. In the Popular Science Monthly for March Dr. Charles Keyser Edmunds eives an illustrated account of his visit to the Hangchow bore, while a bore in Odawara which sometimes does much destruction is treated. from the hydrodynamical point of view by Prof. H. Nagaoka in a short note in the Pro- ceedings of the Tokyo Mathematico-Physical Society for November last. Tue Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society for March contains an account of a joint meeting held at Chicago in December last between mathematicians and engineers for the discussion of the teaching of mathematics to engineering students. The discussion in question refers mainly to the mathematical requirements of the average engineer who is occupied exclusively in practical applica- tions of known methods. Little or nothing is said by the speakers about the growing need of original workers, who, by bringing the highest mathematical knowledge to bear on engineering problems, are able to devise new methods, and to guide the ordinary practical experimenter. A suGGESTION for a new economic arithmetic is the subject of a short paper in the Economic Journal for March by Prof. T. N. Carver. The author’s ideas are simple and practical, and at the same time scientific. He considers that the teaching of arithmetic can be illustrated with advantage by simple problems based on tables, of which he gives as an example one showing the quantity of corn grown with varying quantities of labour on a given quantity of land. The problems that can be worked out as exercises with such a table include the following :—Given the cost of labour and the value of the corn, how many days’ labour can be most profitably devoted to the cultivation of the fields? Or, again, given the number of available days’ labour, how many acres can be most profitably cultivated? It is pointed out that complicated mathematical methods or the plotting of curves are unnecessary for the solution of such simple problems, and the author quotes the existing methods of dealing with tariff reform contro- versy as an instance of the want of such simple training. In support of the author’s view, it must be admitted that there is a great deal commonly taught under “arithmetic” which might well be superseded by such studies as he suggests. But where are the statistics necessary for such a course to be obtained ? Tue National Geographic Magazine (xix., 1) contains an illustrated of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell’s experiments with his Cygnet man-lifting kite. This kite was sent up in December, 1907, both with and without a man, Lieut. Selfridge having ascended 168 feet with it, and having remained in the air for more than seven minutes. The kite is described as ‘‘ tetrahedral ’’ in shape —perhaps it would be better to describe it as a triangular prism with oblique ends. It measures 13 metres laterally at the top and 10 metres at the bottom, 3 metres longi- tudinally at the bottom, and 3 metres in oblique height. 3393 winged having a surface of metres. It weighs 85 kilograms, and_ is with floats, weighing 9-4 kilograms, which enable account It consists of cells 183-6 square it to t on the surface of a sheet of water. In the experiments performed at Baldeck, Nova Scotia, the kite flew with remarkable steadiness, and Dr. Bell considers NO. 2004, VOL. 77] WALURE [Marcit 26, 1908 this fact a justification for extending the experiments to motor-driven machines constructed on a similar principle. AN interesting lecture was given by Sir William Preece at the Institution of Electrical Engineers on March 12 on his recent visit to America, and the various improvements in constructional and engineering work since his previous visits were dealt with. The sky-scraper buildings appear to afford a considerable day load in that they employ numerous lifts which are constantly in use, but the public supply does not benefit from these very much, as in the larger buildings the tendency is to erect private plants. On the telephone question, America seems to have gone ahead of us on this side. In most of the hotels telephones are installed in every bedroom, so that business may be transacted wifh any part of the country. This applies also to the restaurants, where telephones may be plugged on to your table if desired. The Telephone Tariff question has also been thoroughly considered in America, and the message rate has been adopted in preference to the simple annual rental. In the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (vol. xliii., No. 12) Messrs. Gregory P. Baxter and John H. Wilson describe a number of re-determina- tions of the atomic weight of lead, the true value of which is at present uncertain owing to the wide dis- crepancies in the results of previous workers. The method of analysis adopted consisted in determining the proportion of chlorine in lead chloride by precipitation with silver nitrate; this method seemed the best to use in view of the fact that the halogen can be determined with great accuracy, and the elimination of moisture from lead chloride is easily effected by fusion of the salt in a current of hydrogen chloride. Silver chloride, moreover, when precipitated from a dilute solution of lead chloride, does not contain an amount of occluded lead salt large enough to be detected. Special care was taken, of course, in the purification of the materials employed. The results obtained, were very concordant, varying in one series, in which the ratio PbCl,:2Ag was determined, from 207-173 to 207-202, with an average of 207-188; in another series, based on the ratio PbCl,: 2AgCl, the average 207-191 was obtained, with a range of variation from 207-181 to 207-204. The mean result, Pb=207-19 (O=16, Ag=107-93), is nearly three-tenths of a unit higher than the value for the atomic weight of lead now in use. A sEconp edition of Mr. J. W. Hayward’s ‘‘ First Stage Steam ’’ has been published by Mr. W. B. Clive. Tue spring list of the Oxford University Press includes ““ Floral Mechanism ”’ (part i., types 1 to 12), by Dr. A. H. Church, and Lectures on Evolution,’’ by Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S. Messrs. A. GALLENKAMP anp Co., Lirp., have issued a catalogue of the Meker hot-flame burners, Dennstedt’s combustion furnaces, accessories for use with the furnaces, and cylinders of compressed air, which they are now pre- “a pared to supply. edition of Mr. W. T. Lynn’s ‘* Remarkable Eclipses’? has been issued by Messrs. S. Bagster and Sons, Ltd. The booklet has been brought up to date, and provides a sketch of interesting facts connected with solar and lunar eclipses. A NINTH Messrs. A. anv C. Brack will publish shortly a book on “ Kafir Socialism,’’ by Mr. Dudley Kidd; a book on botany for young children, by Mr. O. V. Darbishire, of Man- chester University; and a re-issue, at a popular price, of Marcu 26, 1908] Clerke'’s 1) the fourth edition of the late Miss Agnes M. “* History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century.’ Tue Bibliographischen Institut of Leipzig and Vienna has sent us the first part of a second revised and enlarged edition of Dr. M. W. Meyer’s popular work on general astronomy entitled ‘‘ Das Weltgebaude.’’ The edition will be completed in fourteen parts, to be published at the price of one mark each. It is announced that which have hitherto appeared in the Journal of Hygiene, will in the future be published in a separate volume to be entitled Parasitology, a Supplement to the Journal of Hygiene. The publication will be edited by Prof. Nuttall and Mr. Shipley. papers on parasitology, A HIRD edition of Mr. Douglas English’s ‘‘ Wee Tim’rous Beasties ’’ has been published by Messrs. Cassell and Co., Ltd. These studies of animal life and character were reviewed in the issue of Nature for December 24, 1903 (vol. Ixix., p. 176), on which occasion we reproduced one of the excellent illustrations with which the volume is plentifully supplied. WE have rece’ved a copy of an interesting and fairly complete international catalogue of the more important periodical publications of the world, which has been com- piled by Prof. Emile Guarini, and published in Paris by MM. H. Dunod and E. Pinat. The price is 3 the catalogue gives the address, publisher, and price of 4063 reviews and journals classified according to countries. Messrs. Pawson AND Braitsrorp, of Sheffield, have published a third edition of Mr. J. Simpson’s ‘* The Wild Rabbit in a New Aspect, or Rabbit Warrens combined with Poultry Farming and Fruit Culture.’? The book has been revised and enlarged, contains several illustrations, and will probably the encouragement of rabbit warrens and rabbit farming, whether conducted for sport or profit. franes, and assist ANOTHER volume has been added to the series dealing with the fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma, edited by Lieut.-Colonel C. T. Bingham, and pub- lished under the authority of the Secretary of State for India by Messrs. Taylor and Francis. The volume continues the consideration of the Coleoptera, and is con- cerned with a portion of the family Chrysomelide. It is the work of the late Mr. Martin Jacoby. In a short pre- face the editor expresses the hope that the book will direct the attention of collectors in India to this somewhat neglected but important group of phytophagous beetles, and prove of assistance to them in their study. new OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Water VapPourR IN THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE.—A glance at a print from a series of spectrograms taken by Mr. Slipher on January 15, which Prof. Lowell has kindly sent to Sir Norman Lockyer, leaves but little doubt that water vapour is present in the atmosphere of Mars. ‘This print includes two spectra of the moon and one of Mars, and whilst the a band is absent from the former, it is quite a marked feature of the latter spectrum. The exposure for the spectrum of Mars was from 5h. 35m. to 8h. 30m., the mean altitude of the planet being 43°, whilst those for the moon were made at 15h. 26m., the altitude being 30°; the aqueous vapour per cubic foot of air, during the ex- posures, was found to be 1-25 grains. Tne Dispersion oF LiGuT IN INTERSTELLAR Space.—In No. 6 (February 10, p. 266) of the Comptes rendus Dr. C. Nordmann described a method whereby the dispersion of light in interstellar space might possibly be determined. Briefly, the method consists in making photometric observa- NO. 2004, VOL. 77] NALORE 497 tions of quickly changing variable stars, the light of the star being first passed through different coloured screens for each observation. If all radiations traverse space with equal velocities, such observations should give light-curves agreeing in phase among themselves and with those deter- mined in the ordinary method; but if some radiations are relatively retarded, then the light-curves so determined should exhibit marked deviations of phase. Three liquid screens transmitting only radiations of AA=5900 to the extreme red, 5900 to 4900 and 4900 to the ultra-violet, respectively, were prepared, and Dr. Nordmann’s pre- liminary results are published in No. 8 (February 24, p. 383) of the Comptes rendus. Algol and A Tauri were the stars examined, and in both cases it was found that, whilst the light-curves obtained when the several screens were successively employed agree in amplitude and form with the ordinary light-curves, there is a measurable difference in the epoch of any specific phase. With Algol the difference in time for the red and blue screens amounted to sixteen minutes, whilst for the red and green screens the difference was nine minutes ; these preliminary values are probably correct to within about three minutes. The difference between red and blue for A Tauri was about forty to sixty minutes, i.e. approxi> mately three times the analogous difference in the case ot Algol; that is to say, the parallax of A Tauri is, pre- sumably, about one-third that of Algol. Combining these results with Pritchard’s value for the parallax of Algol, o0"-0556, it follows, assuming space to be homogeneous, that the difference between the velocities of the extreme ends of the visible spectrum amounts to something of the order of 150m. per second. Dr. Nordmann points out that this method of investiga- tion offers great possibilities in several lines of research, among which the determination of the parallaxes of variable stars and the gauging of space for dark absorb- ing material would not be the least interesting from a cosmological point of view. Tue Movinc Opject NEAR JuPITER.—Some revised Green- wich positions for the suspected new Jovian satellite are given in No. 4239 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 235). This object was observed by Prof. Albrecht at the Lick Observatory on March 8, and its visual magni- tude was recorded by Prof. Aitken as 15-0. DisTRIBUTION OF STANDARD TIME IN Ecypr.—The February number of the Cairo Scientific Journal (vol. ii., No. 17, p- 50) contains a very interesting account, by Captain H. G. Lyons, of the methods of determining and distributing standard civil time in Egypt. The standard now used is the East Europe Time of the thirtieth meridian E. of Greenwich, and Captain Lyons’s history of the long sequence of events which led to its adoption is of great interest. The organisation for the distribution appears now to be efficient, and is described and illustrated in the article under notice. OBSERVATIONS OF ALGOL VaRIABLES.—The results of a systematic investigation of the light-changes of ten Algol variables are published by Dr. K. Graff in No. 11 of the Mitteilungen der Hamburger Sternwarte. The observa- tions were made during the years 1905, 1906, and 1907, and Dr. Graff, in addition to giving the observational and derived values and the method of reduction, gives charts of the regions surrounding the variables, and a light-curve for each. The stars observed were W Delphini, SW, SY, UW, VW, and WW Cygni, U Sagitte, Z Persei, Z Draconis, and RW Tauri. NEBULA AND NEBULOSITIES OBSERVED BY PROF. BARNARD. —The purity of the atmosphere at the Mount Wilson Observatory is once more emphasised by some results de- scribed by Prof. Barnard in No. 4239 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 231, March 17). Nebulosities suspected on earlier photographs are shown unmistakably on those taken during Prof. Barnard’s sojourn at Mount Wilson; con- siderable extensions are shown on others. . Messier 8, 16, 17, and 20 are amongst those now described, and in the case of the last-named, the Trifid nebula, extensions appear which have not been seen before by Prof. Barnard; the greatest diameter is 36’ long, in a S.E. and N.W. direc- tion, and the numerous black lanes, which have made this nebula celebrated, are beautifully shown. 498 RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS. IN the Journal of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, vol. xlii., parts ii, and iii, Mr. V. U. Grigorieff writes on the agricultural position of the natives of the Minusin country, Yenisei government. The author carefully examines the economic and legal relations of Russian colonists and aborigines, and considers that agri- cultural prospects are good, but would be improved by the introduction of scientific methods. The Tartar natives of Minusin have changed but little during centuries of inter- course with Russians, and this persistence of racial characteristics and habits contradicts the opinion of some investigators that the natives will disappear unless Russified. It is interesting to note that cattle-rearing is carried on best on the borders of steppe and forest land, and is not so satisfactory if conducted exclusively in the steppe or the forest. Mr. A. V. Koltshak describes the last expedition in search of Baron Toll to Bennett Island, which was fitted out by the Academy of Sciences. The Baron left the vessel Dawn in May, 1902, with the intention of explor- ing the island. The search expedition came across some notes by the Baron, indicating the date of his departure for the south. Thorough search failed to reveal fresh traces, and there appears to be no doubt that the names of Baron Toll and his party have to be added to the long roll of explorers who, since Sir John Franklin, have perished in Arctic regions in the cause of science. Mr. K. N. Tultshinsky writes on a commercial journey to Bering Straits, during which he witnessed mining opera- tions in Alaska. Statistics of means of communication in Russia are contributed by Mr. I. F. Borkovsky. The various Tartar tribes along the Volga and the con- ditions of their education have been studied by Mme. S. V. Tshitsherin, who worked among them during the famine of 1899. She describes the ‘‘ Ilminsky ’’ system of educa- tion, the work of an enlightened, patriotic Russian and Slavophil, N. I. Ilminsky, who spent many years among the heathen tribes, winning their love and esteem by sympathy and knowledge of their languages and con- ditions, and will be remembered for his philanthropic efforts to introduce Russian civilisation. Statistics of population and interesting illustrations accompany this article. An important contribution, by Mr. A. I. Voieikoff, bears the comprehensive title of ‘‘ Distribution of Populations of the Earth in Dependence upon Natural Conditions and the Activity of Man,’’ with numerous statistics and charts. It is tempting to dwell on Mr. Voieikoff’s facts and figures at great length. In Siberia, Turkestan, and the Caucasus there are opportunities and land enough to sustain millions if the necessary knowledge and capital were applied. Of countries of which details of population are published, New Zealand possesses the smallest mortality, and this may be accounted for by its agricultural people living in plenty, the small number of children, and the fact that the mothers do not labour in the field; but New Zealand is still in its immigration stage, and there are few old men as compared with Ontario and Australia, where the process of colonisation began earlier. Paucity of births in Australia is a serious question. Such hindrances to population as plagues, artificial feeding of infants, and alcoholism are discussed, and two conclusions arrived at are worth noting :—(1) degeneration undoubtedly exists among the more cultured classes of the Russian nation and in the manufacturing population; (2) alcoholism is less prevalent among the Russian people than among other nations of Europe and their colonies. Alcoholism, t.e. chronic poisoning by alcohol through daily—though moderate—use of vodka or beer, must be distinguished from drunkenness. Scarcely a question is left untouched, and the author’s studies range over ancient and modern history, medical and registrars’ reports, and the trade statistics of many countries. Vol. xxxvi., part ii., of the Proceedings of the Imperial y of Naturalists of St. Petersburg contains a vast ar of important and interesting material. Prof. N Wedensky contributes an obituary notice, with a pr t and account of the work, of Prof. I. M. Se noff, an eminent physiologist, pupil of Du Bois Reymond, Funke, Ludwig, and Helmholtz, founder and NO. 2004, VOI. Tai NAT ORE [Marcu 26, 1908 teacher in the Russian physiological school, and a leading autherity on the brain and nerves. With the death of this man of science Russia lost a distinguished son. A list of his writings on medical and chemical subjects follows. An exhaustive study of fresh-water Rhizopoda is given by Mr. S. Averintseff, who begins with the physical properties of protoplasm and passes to the struc- ture of shells. A bibliography, lists of species, and hand- some plates are given. The first section is taken up with the general morphology and physiology of Rhizopoda, the second is devoted to Rk. testacea, and a further part on R. nuda is promised. The rest of the volume is occupied with papers on the study of nerves. Mr. W. K. Denemark examines and describes the excitability and conductibility of nerves ex- posed to the action of distilled water. This influence, due to the extraction of salts, produces in nerves the successive functional alterations observed under the influence of posi- tive agents—narcotics, salt solutions, high temperature, &c. Restitution is only effected by the application of sodium salts. The author considers that the presence of sodium salts in the chemical structure of a nerve is abso- lutely essential for its functions. The effects of a constant current on a nerve which has been subjected to the action of narcotics are described by Mr. N. N. Malisheff. Mr. G. Levitsheff details the action of halogen acids on nerves, and Mme. H. N. Gulinoff the influence of freezing. Prof. N. E. Wedensky contributes a lengthy paper on the effects of strychnine intoxication on the reflex system. In No. 17 of the Proceedings of the Zoological and Zootomical Cabinets of St. Petersburg University, Mr. V. Zhuk writes on the lamprey, describing external marks, the organs, skin, skeleton, and muscles, with illustrations. An extensive bibliography of Cyclostomi follows. Studies in the anatomy of Piscicola are furnished by Mr. V. D. Zelensky, with a German résumé. P. geometra is the only species found in European fresh waters. Mr. Zelensky treats (1) meta- merism with reference to the nervous system, and (2) the vessel system. A short bibliography follows. Mr. V. M. Shimkevitsh, one of the editors, writes on the correlations of Bilateria and Radiata. In conclusion, he remarks that, speaking generally, the principle of gradual displacement of one source of origin by a neighbouring one, sometimes even developed from another embryonic layer, has had far greater application in embryology than is usually con- sidered. This principle enables a comparison between organs not at all homologous in origin to be established. In the Proceedings of the Imperial Society of Naturalists, vol. xxxiv., part v., Mr. K. D. Glinka records extensive observations with regard to weathering. Observations of this nature, he points out, should not be confined to the surface of soils, but should embrace lowes strata. An alumino-silicate dissolved in water may, in favourable circumstances, give rise to a series of new combinations, e.g. zeolites. Analysis of a fresh piece of rock shows that out of 1 per cent. of alumina, 0-72 per cent. is lost in solution. This high solution indicates that a consider- able portion of alumina in sandstone does not exist in the form of primary silicates, but in a free form. The author discusses the genesis of the mineral serizite, first discovered in the Taunus range, and taken for talc, to which it bears external resemblance. Numerous tables of analyses are furnished. Taking widely separate districts in Russia, Mr. Glinka describes weathering of biotites, augites, zeolites, &c., at considerable length. There is a short report by Prof. P. A. Zemiatchensky on the rate of weathering of sand and limestone formations, with hints as to calculation of their antiquity. Mr. V. Lehmann sends a contribution, with a plate, on Terebratulacea in layers with Virgatites virgatus and Oxynoticeras catenu- latus. The attention of palzontologists has been directed chiefly to the study of ammonites, and it is important to examine other forms. The author corrects the hitherto accepted list. The Bulletin of the Imperial Academy of Sciences is worthy of comparison with the highest publications of this nature. We have received three handsome volumes, containing the proceedings of the physico-mathematical section. In vol. xxii., Mr. T. Wyragevitch writes on the Actinia of the Black Sea in the neighbourhood of Balaclava, and Mr. A. Borissiak contributes notes on Marcu 26, 1908] Black Sea plankton. Astronomers will be interested in the calculations of Mr. G. A. Tikhoff with regard to the position of stars. Of wide general interest is the article by Mr. K. N. Davidoff on the islands of the Indo- Australian archipelago. The fusion of Europeans and Malays in Amboina has produced a curious type, and the Malay tongue is mingled with Dutch and Portuguese words. According to a horrid custom, a would-be bride- groom cannot be accepted until he makes the maiden an offering of the head of an enemy. Mr. A. Birula writes on the Solifugze of Persia, with frequent references to Mr. R. Pocock’s notes on this order. In vol. xxiii., the eminent naturalist Mr. V. Bianchi describes Passeriformes and Palearctic larks (Alaudide), basing his observations on collections in the museums of London, Tring, and Paris. He expresses indebtedness to Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, the Hon. W. Rothschild, and other naturalists for help. Mr. N. Donitch contributes reports of observations of the annular solar eclipse of March, 1904, made at Cambodia, and of the total solar eclipse of August, 1905. In the latter case, observations were made at Alcala and Assouan, and Mr. Donitch acknowledges indebtedness for assistance from members of the British Survey Depart- ment in Egypt. Notes of inundations at St. Petersburg are furnished by Mr. S. Griboyedoff, and lengthy studies of rainfall in the capital, with diagrams and tables, are given by Mr. E. Rosenthal. Mr. A. Belopolsky’s investi- gations of the radial velocity of the variable star Algol appear in vol. xxiv., and there is another astronomical paper, by Mme. Zhilov, on the proximate absolute orbit of the minor planet Doris. Mr. V. Bianchi describes a new species of pheasant from the mountain regions of western China. Balloon experiments at Kutshino are described by Mr. V. Kuznetsoff. From fossils collected by the polar expedition of Baron Toll, 1900-3, Mme. M. Pavloff is able to draw deductions as to the changes of climate of east Siberia from the Tertiary period. Several papers on aérial mechanics are by Mr. D. P. Riabushinsky, and Mr. M. Golenkin writes on a botanical visit to Java. The report of the geological museum of Peter the Great (Academy of Sciences) concludes the volume. THE CORALS OF HAWAII.2 “THE madreporarian corals present some of the most difficult problems in the matter of the determination of species that are to be found in the whole range of the animal kingdom. So difficult are these problems that Mr. Bernard in his indefatigable labour on.the catalogue of the Madreporaria of the British Museum frankly gave them up, and, abandoning the time-honoured binomial system, adopted a new numerico-geographical system of nomenclature. The difficulty arises from our want of knowledge of the influence played by environmental conditions in the formation of the characters that are presented by a colony of coral polyps and the skeletal structures to which they give rise. In the absence of any direct experimental evidence, upon which alone the problems can be solved, it has been the custom to give specific names to groups of specimens which seem to be separated from other and similar groups of specimens by appreciable differences in the sum total of their characters. The species that are thus constituted inevitably break down if new specimens are found that are intermediate in character between the specific groups already determined, but when they are based on the examination of a very large number of speci- mens collected from a restricted area, they have at least the advantage of serving a useful purpose for the systematist for a considerable period of time. It is this system which Mr. Vaughan has adopted in the very handsome memoir of 415 pages, and illustrated by ninety-six plates, which appears under the modest title of ** Bulletin 59 of the Publications of the United States National Museum.’’ The author has given himself the task of examining a very large number of specimens from the Hawaiian Islands and the island of Laysan, of form- ing a conclusion as to the most convenient limits for the 1 ‘Recent Madreporaria of the Hawaiian Islands and Laysan.’”’ By T. Wayland Vaughan. Pp. ix+ 427; illustrated. (Washington : Government Printing Office, 1907.) NO. 2004, VOL. 77] NATURE 499 specific groups, and of giving an opinion on the species problem based on his extensive knowledge and experience of these corals. The result is a work which cannot fail ~ to be of essential importance to all those who are interested in the Madreporaria, and a most noteworthy addition to human knowledge. But in spite of its undoubted value, and in spite of the great skill and labour that have been spent in its compila- tion, there are some points in this memoir on which it is necessary to offer a few words of criticism, not in any unfriendly spirit, but in the hope that they may influence in some way those who follow in the author’s footsteps and attempt to write a memoir of a similar kind. Our knowledge of the anatomy of the coral polyps them- selves, as distinct from the skeletal structures they form, is admittedly imperfect, but the researches of Moseley, Bourne, Fowler, Duerden and others have at least thrown some light on the relations of the genera and on those characters of the species that are comparatively free from environmental variation. Such evidence as these researches afford must be taken into consideration in any satisfactory scheme of classification, and must be used, so far as it is possible to use it, in conjunction with the evidence derived from the structure of the skeletal characters In the light of this evidence, for example, the division of the order into the old suborders Imperforata and Perforata breaks down. The perforate Eupsammiide are not related to the Madreporidz and Poritidze so closely as to justify their inclusion in the same suborder, whereas the imperforate Pocilloporide are not related to the Oculinidz and Stylophoride with which they were formerly associated, but exhibit much closer affinities with some of the Imperforata. It may be true, as Mr. Vaughan re- marks, that there is at present no satisfactory classifica- tion of the Madreporaria. It may be that for many years to come no classification will be suggested that will be satisfactory to all students of the group. But there is no reason whatever for ignoring the valuable researches of Duerden, and for retaining a classification that is altogether antiquated and misleading, such as the one that is used in this memoir. It is clear that until we have obtained far more in- formation than we have at present concerning the structure of the soft parts of the coral anatomy, the skeletal characters must play the most important part in the deter- mination of species, but in such a determination every character that the hard parts exhibit must’ receive its due recognition. For example, it is well known that some genera, and perhaps some species, are more liable than others to be influenced by the presence of epizoic crustacea, worms, and other animals, and no description of a series of specimens is satisfactory if this influence is altogether ignored. The genus Pocillopora is one of those that is particularly liable to the attacks of the crab Hapalo- carcinus, and in a note by Prof. Verrill that is quoted by the author (p. 88), the statement is made that the species of this genus in the Hawaiian Islands are usually subject to the malformations caused by this epizoite. But in the descriptions of the species of this genus the author makes no reference to the crab galls, nor are they clearly shown in any of the photographs that are given to illustrate the text. This is a serious oversight, for when the memoir is used for the purpose of the identification of the species of Pocillopora, the galls will at once present a difficulty which the museum curator will not be able to solve by its help. He will ask how far he is able to neglect the presence of these galls, or in what respect they are the determining cause of the general form of growth upon which the species and varieties are founded. ’ An interesting form described in the volume is Leptoseris tubulifera, which differs from the other species of the genus in showing a number of hollow, tubular cavities around which the corallum is folded. Similar tubes are found in the alcyonarian genus Solenocaulon, in the stylasterine genus Errina, and in the madreporarian genera Neohelia, Amphihelia, &c., and in all these cases there seems to be little doubt that they are due to the influence on growth of epizoic crustacea or worms. It is difficult to believe that this is not also the case in Leptoseris tubulifera, and if it is the specific distinction from EL. hawatiensts is not very clear. 500 NATURE Finally, objection must be taken to the proposal to substitute the generic name Acropora for the well-known and widely distributed coral that is usually called Madre- pora, a proposal originally due to Verrill, but one which cannot be accepted. The name Madrepora has been used for this genus since the time of Lamarck (1801), and has become definitely established by use in all the principal memoirs on the subject and in the museums of the world. To change it now can lead to no useful purpose, and can but produce a perfectly unnecessary confusion; and the confusion will be all the worse confounded if, as is pro- posed, the generic name be transferred to the equally well-known imperforate coral Oculina. It may be true that if we are entirely to conform to the so-called rules of nomenclature the change is justified, but these rules were drawn up, not for the confusion of science, but for its convenience and for the sake of simplicity ; and when it is found, as in this case, that they are likely to produce just the opposite effect from that for which they were intended they must either be amended or broken. This is by no means an isolated case, for it has been pro- posed on the same plea that we should use the name Polypus for the common octopus, Astacus for the lobster, Potamobius for the fresh-water crayfish, and that many other changes of a similar kind should be introduced. It has been found in practice, not only inconvenient, but practically impossible, to make these changes, and the customary names are still used. So it will be with the name Madrepora. We may argue and plead as we like for the change, but custom is too strong for us, and the proposal will not be accepted. The time has come when the committee of the International Congress of Zoology should reconsider seriously the question of the maintenance of the names of well-known or widely distributed genera, and endeavour thereby to prevent the confusion with which the strict adherence to Linnean nomenclature threatens us. S. J. Hickson. COMMEMORATIVE DINNER TO SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY, K.C.B., FR.S. IN commemoration of the twenty-first anniversary of Sir William Ramsay’s election to the chair of chemistry in University College, London, the professors of the college entertained him to dinner on March 18. The Provost, Dr. T. Gregory Foster, was in the chair, and covers were laid for eighty persons. The guests included Lord Rayleigh, Lord Reay, Sir Norman Lockyer, Sir Alexander Kennedy, the Master of the Temple, the Masters of the Worshipful Companies of Drapers, Mercers, and Carpenters, the president of the Society of Chemical Industry, the Clerk of the Fishmongers’ Company, Prof. H. B. Dixon, Prof. A. Smithells, Prof. J. M. Thomson, Prof. Meldola, Mr T. Harrison Townsend, Mr. Henry Higgs, Mr. M. Carteighe, Dr. E. M. Borrago, Dr. F. Clowes, and Colonel Wolseley Cox. After the toast to the King had been drunk with due honour, the chairman explained that the dinner was, in the first place, the means of expressing the personal affection and admiration of his colleagues for Sir William Ramsay. Leaving it to others to tell what Sir William’s contributions to science had been, the chairman referred to the services he had rendered to the college and to London by establishing a great school of chemistry, and also to his perseverance and tact in questions relating to the re-organisation of the University of London. He had never been weary of expressing the great principles of the true relation of examinations to teaching in the Uni- versity, and of emphasising the view so strongly held by him that in all university examinations the candidates’ teachers should of necessity have a share. Lord Rayleigh then proposed the health of Sir William Ramsay. He told how, twenty-one years ago, when he 's secretary of the Royal Society, papers from Ramsay passed in rapid succession through his hands. Many of Ider members, perhaps because they were old, hardly ved of his new methods; but, fortunately, these were accepted. Proceeding, he reminded the com- the work which Sir William had done in investi- the gases of the atmosphere, of the never failing xy which led him to new discoveries. NO. 2004, VCL, “A [Marcu 26, 1908 Prof. Dixon seconded the toast, and in doing so attempted to take the view of a later generation in look- ing back on Sir William Ramsay’s work. Having briefly summarised that work as a contribution to the develop- ments of chemistry, he concluded by comparing his activity to that of radium itself. The toast having been enthusiastically drunk, Sir William Ramsay replied. After thanking his colleagues for their invariable kindness and helpfulness, and his assistants and students for their loyalty and devotion to their work, he emphasised the debt that he owed to them in whatever. he had accomplished, and went on to explain how he had received the first suggestion which led to the discovery of argon, and how generously Lord Rayleigh had allowed him to follow out that suggestion. He dwelt, further, on the questions raised by the chairman in con- nection with university organisation, and expressed the hope that the University of London would even more fully than it had at present develop the principles to which reference had been made. At a later stage in the evening, in reply to an inquiry from one of the guests as to when a new laboratory would be built for Sir William, the chairman stated that, though they have the ground and the plans, they have not yet obtained the money for buildings. Prof. Ker then proposed the health of the other guests, and Lord Reay replied. In view of his close connection with the college as president and chairman, his lordship said that he could hardly consider himself a guest within the college walls, but he thanked the professors for having done him the honour to invite him to commemorate with them Sir William Ramsay’s twenty-first anniversary. He proceeded to tell of the great work which Sir William had done in advising Mr. Tata about the organisation of the new institute that he had founded in India, and how Sir William’s influence was likely to be extended through the fact that one of his pupils, Dr. Morris Travers, was holding the position of head of that institution. Referring to the need of new laboratories for the chemical depart- ment, and the inconvenient accommodation now provided for Sir William Ramsay, Lord Reay hoped that just as at Essen the little cottage had been preserved from which the great Krupp gun factory was developed, so that when the new laboratories were built, which his lordship hoped would be soon, the room in which Sir William Ramsay’s discoveries had been made should be also preserved. Expressions of regret for absence were received from the Chancellor of the University (Lord Rosebery), from the Principal (Sir Arthur Ricker), from Profs. Tilden, Crum Brown, and many others. NEW SLIDE-RULES. MESSRS: J. J. GRIFFIN AND SONS, LTD., ‘of Kingsway, London, have sent examples of two slide- rules which they are introducing at a very low price—the longer one, which is 25 cm. in length, at 2s., and the shorter, which is 12-5 cm. in length, at 1s. These rules with their slides are made of card, and the divisions are printed. In point of clearness and accuracy they are nearly equal to the best rules divided on celluloid, and they are vastly superior to the old-fashioned box-wood rules of thirty or forty years ago. In each case the upper lines of the slide and of the rule go from 1 to 10 twice over or from 1 to 100, being what are called ‘* A’? and ““B” lines, while the lower lines of the slide and of the rule are on twice the scale, being ‘‘D” lines. Each is pro- vided with a cursor with chisel pointers both to right and left. The back of the slide and all the remaining spaces on the rule are left plain. The accuracy of the surfaces of juxtaposition is specially noteworthy, and is greatly in excess of what is generally associated with card struc- tures. Each is provided with a paper imitation-leather case. With rules such as these, the real utility of the slide-rule may, it is hoped, be brought home to thousands to whom the expense of the now nearly universal celluloid rule is prohibitive ; it may even be hoped that some daring mathematical master in a public school may see fit to inculeate the wholesome practice of making calculations not vastly more accurate than any possible knowledge of the data can be, and use rules such as these both io Marcu 26, 1908] NAL ORE 501 exemplify the idea and to let schoolboys know how the daily arithmetic of the laboratory and of the workshop is carried out. Masters should also find them useful for curve tracing on squared paper, as the coordinates of any parabola or rectangular hyperbola, or of any curve re- presenting the law of inverse squares, can be read off from the rule with a single setting of the slide. With such inexpensive slide-rules it is to be hoped that the makers will in time provide two spare slides at a slight additional cost. For instance, one should be divided so as to give sines and tangents; the second should have a scale of equal parts to give logarithms and a log log or P line for exponential calculations. They might also with advantage print on the back of the rule constants that are frequently required, but at no extra cost. With such extra slides the master would be able to illus- trate further curve tracing, and the line of sines would be specially useful in the optical class for reading off angles of incidence and of refraction with any refractive index, or for showing the necessity of total internal reflection when the scale of sines stops short of the number representing the refractive index. He would also find it useful in solving triangles. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Cameripce.—Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall, F.R.S., Quick pro- fessor of biology and fellow of Christ’s College, Cam- bridge, has been elected to a professorial fellowship at Magdalene College. MANCHESTER.—By the will of Mr. G. Harrison, who died on January 21, 10,0001. is bequeathed to Owens College for scholarships or fellowships, or such similar. purposes as the council of the college may direct, subject to the words *‘ George Harrison ’’ being always associated with the obiects provided for by this bequest. Sir FREDERICK WILLS has contributed another 5oool. to the fund for establishing a university at Bristol. This brings his contribution up to 10,0001. At the beginning of this year Mr. H. O. Wills promised 100,000!. toward the endowment of the university provided a charter be granted within two years. Tue University of London Union Society appears to have made good progress since its formation in July, 1906. The annual report for 1906-7 shows that at the end of the session there were 377 members, 180 of whom were graduates. Monthly meetings for discussion were held during the Lent and Easter terms of 1907, and, in addition, friendly relations have been established with the Students’ Representative Council, the University Athletic Union, and the University Musical Society. The new union is modelled on the lines of those eXisting at Oxford and Cambridge, and deserves the support especially of the students of London colleges affiliated to the University. Intending members should apply to the secretary, Mr. D. W. H. Bell, 20 Maxey Road, Plumstead. A BILL to establish compulsory continuation schools in England and Wales, and to amend the Education Acts of 1870 and 1902 in respect of the age of compulsory school attendance, was introduced in the House of Commons on Tuesday by Mr. Chiozza-Money, and read a first time. In introducing the Bill, Mr. Chiozza-Money said that according to the last census there were in England and Wales 5,000,000 youths of both sexes between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one, and of these not more than 400,000 were receiving any measure of systematic training. This does not include the children of the upper and middle classes, but if 400,000 be added the extraordinary con- clusion is arrived at that out of 5,000,000 young people between fifteen and twenty-one years of age only 800,000 continue training after leaving the elementary schools. The practical result is that untrained boys and girls drift into the ranks of the incompetent, the unskilled, and the unemployed. The Bill abolishes all partial or total exemp- tions of boys and girls under fourteen years of age. It abolishes half-timers, making fourteen years the lowest age at which a boy or girl might leave an elementary school. A continuation scholar is defined as a boy between NO. 2004, VOL. 77] the ages of fourteen and seventeen, and a girl between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. The Bill makes it the duty of the education authority to establish continuation schools, with technical classes, and the attendance of con- tinuation scholars is made compulsory on the parent and the employer. The hours of attendance would be six per week, spread over one, two, or three days. The cost of carrying out the provisions of the Bill would be defrayed out of money voted by Parliament. AsouT a year ago the Board of Education requested its Consultative Committee to consider and advise the Board what methods are desirable and possible, under existing legislation, for securing greater local interest in the administration of elementary education in administrative counties by some form of devolution or delegation of certain powers and duties of the local authority to district or other strictly local committees. The committee has reported to the Board, and the report has been published (Cd. 3952). A prefatory memorandum states that the findings of the committee are under the consideration of the Board, and that the report has been published to provide information in view of the discussion arising out of the Bill recently introduced in the House of Commons to secure compulsory devolution. The Consultative Com- mittee has arrived at certain general conclusions which should prove of value in assisting intelligent action. Every education committee, it is suggested, should, so far as existing powers go, secure as managers of schools the services of persons familiar with the educational needs of the locality and likely to be regarded with confidence and sympathy by parents, teachers, and the education authority. At the same time, there are certain duties requiring a wide outlook and broad educational experience which, the committee thinks, should be reserved by the authority itself. A certain number of counties exist which might with advantage create some form of local subcommittees and delegate to them duties appropriate to their needs and circumstances. It is very important to notice that the Consultative Committee states that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to devise any uniform system which would give general satisfaction throughout the country. It would be fatal to efficiency if a parochial spirit became predominant in the administration of education. It is desirable by all means to encourage an interest in educa- tional matters in all districts by every legitimate means, but every step must be taken to ensure that the supply of efficient education in every locality is a national matter which must not be left at the mercies of local prejudices. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society. December 5, 1907.—‘‘]-ocalication of Function in the Lemur’s Brain.’’ By Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S., and Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S. The brain of the lemur, the lowest of the ape-like animals, does not appear to have been subjected previously to a thorough examination.- Page May and Elliott Smith brought a brief communication on the subject before the Cambridge meeting of the British Association in 1904. Their experiments were apparently limited to stimulation of the cerebral cortex, and they have never published a full account of their work. Brodmann has worked out some of the histological details of the structure of the cortex cerebri, and Max Volsch has performed a stimula- tion experiment upon one lemur. The work of these investigators will be referred to again in the course of this paper. (1) The brain of the lemur has a simple convolutional pattern, and the fissures are few and for the most part shallow. (2) The motor areas are limited to the central region of the cortex. (3) Extirpation of the excitable areas is followed by transitory paralysis of the corresponding regions on the opposite side of the body, and by degeneration of the tracts which pass to the bulbar or spinal grey matter which controls these movements. Degeneration also occurs in commisural (callosal) and association tracts in the cerebrum. 502 (4) The motor areas are characterised histologically by the presence of Betz cells. Localisation by histological study is therefore possible, and there is a close corre- spondence of the results so obtained with those obtained experimentally, (5) There are, however, two types of motor cortex in the lemur’s brain. The large type of Betz cell is found in the greater part of the motor cortex, particularly where limb and body movements are represented. The smaller type of Betz cell is found in the area governing face, tongue, ear, and eye movements, and in this excitable region there is a layer of granules; it is therefore probably sensori- motor. (6) Although the investigation relates in the main to motor representation, histological examination of the occipital (and especially calcarine) region shows it to possess the structural characters of the visual cortex in other animals. That no eye movements could be elicited by faradic stimulation of this region is probably due to the difficulty of the experiment, as explained in the text. February 13.‘ On the Determination of Viscosity at High Temperatures.’ By Dr. C. E. Fawsitt. Com- municated by Prof. Andrew Gray, F.R.S. Measurements of viscosity at temperatures higher than 300° C. to 400° C. present considerable difficulties, and until the present year this subject has not been touched by experimenters. The present communication contains a description of the method used. The method is suitable for the measure- ment of the viscosity of liquids which are not very viscous —not more than, say, fifty times as viscous as water—and is especially designed for the determination of the viscosity of molten metals and salts. The determination of the viscosity of salts up to 1200° C., or even higher, can be quite satisfactorily carried out by this method. Deter- minations of the viscosity of metals are much more difficult, owing to the impossibility of preventing a certain amount of surface oxidation. oxidation will completely spoil a series of observations, and the prevention of oxidation is really the chief difficulty in such determinations. The method used is based on the method originally given by Coulomb, the modifications introduced being due to the special nature of the determinations. In method a horizontal disc is allowed to execute horizontal vibrations about a vertical suspending wire attached to its centre. The viscosity of the liquid can be calculated from the rate of decay of amplitude. In making a series of observations with this apparatus, the disc is allowed to sink about half an inch below the surface of the liquid. The amplitude of the oscillations is indicated by a pointer (wire) at right angles to the top of the iron rod which carries the disc, and the pointer moves above a circular scale divided into degrees. With this apparatus, the determination of the viscosity of a liquid is accurate to within 5 per cent. of the absolute value, unless there are special circumstances, as in the case of molten metals, when the results are apt to come out considerably too high. The smallest trace of surface | Coulomb’s | NATURE [Marcu 26, 1908 parts of these two hydrocarbons, thus refuting the adverse criticisms of Harries and Antoni (Annalen, 1903, cccxxviii., 66) on the work published by Crossley and Le Sueur (Trans., 1902, Ixxxi., 821).—The viscosity of aqueous pyridine solu- tions: A. E. Dunstan and F. B. T. Thole. The authors have repeated their experiments on the viscosity of aqueous pyridine solutions, and find that the same discontinuities occur in the curve as were previously observed (compare Hartley and others, Proc., 1908, xxiv., 22).—The action of thionyl chloride on the methylene ethers of catechol deri- vatives, ii., piperonyloin, piperil, and hydropiperin: G. Barger and A. J. Ewins.—Traces of a new tin-group element in thorianite: Miss C. de Brereton Evans. The dark brown sulphide of the new element separates with arsenious sulphide, from which it differs in being soluble in water, to form a deep brown solution. It yields a hygroscopic brown oxide, which on reduction in hydrogen furnishes a grey metal. Incidentally, proof was obtained of the presence in thorianite of arsenic, mercury, bismuth, molybdenum, and selenium.—The sulphination of phenolic ethers and the influence of substituents: S. Smiles and R. Le Rossignol. The authors have confirmed the con- clusion that the sulphonium base derived from phenetole is produced in three stages, at which the sulphinie acid, sulphoxide, and base are consecutively formed, by isolating the sulphinic acid.—The relation between unsaturation and optical activity, part ii., alkaloid salts of corresponding saturated or unsaturated acids: T. P. Hilditch.—The wandering of bromine in the transformation of nitro- aminobromobenzenes: K. J. P. Orton and Miss C. Pearson.—A new isomeride of vanillin occurring in the root of a species of Chlorocodon, preliminary note: E. Goulding and R. G. Pelly. The results obtained show that the odorous constituent of Chlorocodon root is a monomethyl ether of a dihydroxybenzaldehyde~ having an odour intermediate between that of vanillin and piperonal, but which is not identical with vanillin or any of its known isomerides.—The volatile oil of the leaves of Ocimum viride, preliminary note: E, Goulding and R. G. Pelly. The composition of the oil is approximately as follows :—thymol, 32 per cent.; alcohols (calculated as C,,H,,O), 40 per cent.; esters (calculated as C,,H,,.OAc), 2 per cent.; the remainder consists chiefly of a terpene (or possibly a mixture of terpenes), which is a liquid of pleasant lemon-like odour, boiling at 160°-166°.—Experiments on the synthesis of the terpenes, part xii., synthesis of terpins, terpineols, and terpenes derived from the methylisopropyl- cyclopentanes, Me.C,H,.CHMe,: W. N. Haworth and | W. H. Perkin, jun.—The initial change of the radium The results obtained show the availability of this method | for the determination of viscosity up to the highest temperature at which a platinum capillary has been used. F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The solubility of iodine in water: H. Hartley and N. P. Campbell. The solubility of iodine in water has been determined at 18°, 2S 1 45°, and 55°, and the heat of solution has been calculated from the temperature coefficient of the solubility.—Nitro- derivatives of o-xylene (preliminary note): A. W. Crossley and Miss N. Renouf. o-Xylene yields two trinitro-deri- vatives, the one melting at 71° and the other at 115° (com- pare Noelting and Thesmar, Ber., 1902, xxxv., 634). A new dinitro-o-xylene melting at 82° has also been isolated, and a substance melting at 115° which is a dinitro- derivative of some condensed benzene ring derivative.— Substituted dihydrobenzenes, part ii., 1 : 1-dimethyl-A?:4- I and 1: 1-dimethyl-A*:*-dihydrobenzene : dihydrobenzene \. W. Crossley and Miss N. Renouf. Dimethyldihydro- benze ne prepared by the elimination of 2HBr from 3: 5-dibromo-r : 1-dimethylhexahydrobenzene has been Proved to consist of a mixture in approximately equal NO. 2004. VOL. 77] emanation: N. V. Sidgwick and H. T. Tizard. Geological Society, March 4.—Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Metriorhynchus brachyrhynchus, Deslong., from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough: E. T. Leeds. Two skulls have recently been obtained from the Saurian zone of the Lower Oxford Clay, in the neighbour- hood of Dogsthorpe, Peterborough. ‘The mandibles were missing. The two specimens have been referred to Metrio- rhynchus brachyrhynchus. This is believed to be the first recorded occurrence of the species in England.—The high- level platforms of Bodmin Moor, and their relation to the deposits of stream-tin and wolfram: G. Barrow. In this | area there are three platforms :—one, which is marine and Chemical Society, March 5.—Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., _ of Pliocene age, terminating in a steep slope at 430 feet; a second, at a height of 750 feet, seen about Camelford and at the foot of Delabole Hill; and a third, a little under 1000 feet, first recognised on Davidstow Moor. The superficial deposits which bear tin above the 750-feet platform differ markedly at times from those below it. These deposits are not so concentrated as the stream- sorted material below, but they have been frequently worked in past times. The veins from which the wolfram is derived have been found close to the points wnere the ‘“wash ’’ is enriched by their denudation. The success of working depends to some extent on the slope of the granite-floor on which the detritus rests. On Bodmin Moor the larger marshes have a floor of kaolinised granite, but there is a difficulty in working it at many points in consequence of the water-logging by peaty water. Royal Anthropological Institute, March 10 —Prof. Ww. Ridgeway, president, in the chair.—The origin of the crescent as a Mohammedan badge: Prof. Ridgoway. It pipet Maxcu 26, 1908] NATURE 503 was demonstrated that the crescent badge had its origin, not in the new moon, as generally supposed, but in the well-known amulet formed of a claw or tusk. These in course of time were placed base to base, with the result that the crescent form arose. The two tushes are joined together by string or by a silver plate, but in later examples the amulet is carved out of one piece of material and all. traces of the joint are lost, except that in some cases a panel of ornament survives to mark where the join was originally. Examples were exhibited from Turkey, Greece, Africa, and New Guinea, and Prof. Ridge- way traced the amulet back so far as the date of the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta, where an example was discovered in the recent excavations. The crescent seen on modern English horse-trappings was also shown to have originated in this amulet—Some Megalithic’ re- mains in central France: A. L. Lewis. The paper dealt principally with monuments in the neighbourhood of Autun, including the dolmen at La Rochefort and the standing stones at St. Pantaléon. With these last the author com- pared other lines of stones at Carnac, Gezer, Dartmoor, and in the Khasi Hills. He also dealt with the two types of circle in Scotland, and showed that they had each a definite locality, those with recumbent stones being found only around Aberdeen, while those with great chambered cairns in the middle are found round Inverness. He was of the opinion that the two types of circle were con- temporary, and that the differences were solely due to local influences. Physical Society, March 13.—Dr Charles Chree, F.R.S , president, in the chair.—The distribution in electric fields of the active deposits of radium, thorium, and actinium: S. Russ. The first experiments were made with the active deposit produced from radium emanation. The amount of active deposit directed to a kathode decreases as the pressure in the vessel is reduced, but after a certain pressure is reached the amount going to an anode shows a corresponding increase under the same conditions. The main feature brought out is that at the lowest pressure reached aimost as much activity is obtained on the anode as on the kathode, while at atmospheric pressure the activity of the latter is about twenty times that of the former. Similar experiments conducted in hvdrogen, air, and sulphur dioxide indicate that the collisions between the active deposit particles and the gaseous molecules play an important part in the distribution of the active deposit in electric fields. Experiments on similar lines with thorium and actinium show that while at atmospheric pressure nearly the whole of the active deposit particles of thorium are directed to the kathode, this is not neces- sarily the case with actinium. Other observations indicate that the sign of the electrical charge exhibited by the _active deposit particles of actinium is a function of the distance that these particles have travelled through the containing gas before reaching the electrodes.—Note on certain dynamical analogues of temperature equilibrium : Prof. G. H. Bryan. Attention is directed to the follow- ing results of a method described in 1900 (Archives Néerlandaises) under the title of ‘*‘ Energy Accelera- tions” :—(1) In a system of uniformly distributed particles, a stationary state of statistical equilibrium cannot exist under the Newtonian law of force, whether the forces between the particles be attractive or repulsive, except when the particles are at rest in a state of unstable equilibrium. (2) For energy-equilibrium to exist the force between the particles, if repulsive, must vary according to a higher power of the inverse distance than the square; if attractive, it must vary according to a lower inverse power than the square of the distance. (3) In a system in which the kinetic energy cannot be expressed as a quadratic func- tion of the velocities with constant coefficients, the equa- tions of energy-equilibrium no longer take the form of linear relations between the various components of kinetic energy, so that the commonly assumed analogue between temperature and kinetic energy becomes inapplicable. CaMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, March 9.—Dr. Hobson, presi- dent, in the chair.—(1) The formation of lactic acid and earbonic acid during muscular contraction and_ rigor mortis; (2) the complete hydrolytic decomposition of egg- NO. 2004, VOL. 771 albumin at 180° C., and on the constitution and synthesis of dead and living albumin: Dr. Latham.—(1) The formation of y-pyrone compounds from acetylenic acids ; (2) the action of mustard oils on the éthyl esters of malonic and cyanoacetic acids: S. Ruhemann.—The absorption spectra of some compounds obtained from pyridine and collidine: J. E. Purvis.—The limitations of the copper- zinc couple method in estimating nitrates: J. E. Purvis and R. M. Courtautd.—A double sulphate of guanidine and aluminium: F. Ferraboschi.—JThe property of a double-six of lines, and its meaning in hypergeometry : H. W. Richmond.—Energy accelerations and partition of energy: C. W. Follett. Paris. Academy of Sciences, March 16.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—The extension of the theorem of Clausius : E. H. Amagat.—The characters of tuberculous infection in their relations with the diagnosis of tuberculosis: S. Arloing and L. Thévenot. In a post mortem examina- tion the absence of macroscopic lesions is no proof of the absence of tuberculous infection, and this is the explana- tion of the occasional want of agreement between the experimental diagnosis (sero-agglutination or application of tuberculin to the skin or conjunctiva) and the post mortem examination.—Report by the committee on the application of the metric system to French coinage. The views of various commissions dealing with this question from the date of the foundation of the metric system are reviewed, and the question of the advisability of intro- ducing a 25-centime piece considered, and reported on unfavourably. To preserve the unity of the metric system the committee conclude that the only coins should be I, 2, and 5 centimes, 1, 2, and 5 decimes, 1, 2 and 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 francs, and this view is confirmed by the academy.—The dispersion of light in celestial space. The history of the question and the first results: G. A. Tikhoff.—The presence of water vapour in the atmosphere of the planet Mars: P. Lowell. Photographic observa- tions made at the Flagstaff Observatory, Arizona, U.S., during January of this year, establish the presence of water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars. The plates used were rendered sensitive to the extreme red rays, and with an exposure of two to three hours were capable of photo- graphing the spectrum in the neighbourhood of the band a, the most intense band due to water vapour. Photographs of the spectrum of Mars clearly show this band a, whilst the spectrum of the moon taken on the same plate shows no trace of this band, thus eliminating the effects of the earth’s atmosphere (see Nature, March 12, and p. 497 of the present number).—The series of Taylorian polynomials : A. Buhi.—The general solution of the problem of equil- ibrium in the theory of elasticity, in the case where the forces are applied at the surface : A. Korm.—The electrolysis of solutions of hydrochloric acid: Th. Guilloz. In a recent note on this subject M. Doumer, on the basis of his experiments, raises objections to Hittorf’s theory of electro- lysis. In the present note the author directs attention to recent work by Noyes and Sammet on the mobility of H and Cl ions in dilute solutions of hydrochloric acid, and points out that these researches afford an experimental proof that the disturbances due to the evolution of oxygen during electrolysis are without effect on the transport numbers.—The velocity of evaporation and a method of determining the hygrometric state: P. Vaillant. The liquid the evaporation of which is being studied is placed on a balance, and the rate of evaporation deduced from ten oscillations of the beam. The formula Q=B(F—f), where Q is the quantity evaporated in a given time, F the pressure of the saturated vapour, and f the pressure of the water vapour in the atmosphere surrounding the balance, was shown to be valid experimentally. By using pure water and pure sulphuric acid successively the method can be applied to give f, the determination being reduced to two weighings.—The hydrates of arsenic acid: M. Auger.—The pseudomorphoses of the microclines in microgranites from the valley of the Meuse (Ardennes) : Jacques de Lapparent.—The magmatic parameters of the voleanic series of Anglona and Logudoro (Sardinia): M. Deprat.—Asymmetry of the figure and its origin: Richard Liebreich. From the examination of several thousand 504 NATURE [Marcu 26, 1908 human skulls, dating from prehistoric times to the present day, the author considers that asymmetry is the normal form of the human figure, and is not, as supposed by Lombroso, a sign of degeneration. A simple physiological reason is put forward as the cause of this asymmetry, which is regarded as the necessary result of the erect posi- tion of the human species.—The quantity of X-rays absorbed and transmitted by the successive layers of tissues: H, Guilleminot.—An attempt at grafting articular tissues: Henri Judet. CaLcuTta. Asiatic Society of Bengal, March 4.—Certain unpub- lised drawings of antiquities in Orissa and northern Circars: Manmohan Chakravarti. This paper invites attention to the eleven folios of drawings received by the society in December, 1822, and forming a part of the remarkable collection of Lieut.-Colonel Colin Mackenzie. It takes up two of the folios dealing with the antiquities of Orissa and northern Circars; the one of the smaller size (B) has eighty-five originals, while the other of the larger size has two originals and thirty-two duplicates, and gives a brief description of each in the Appendices A and B. They contain interesting drawings of Hindu sculptures, pillars, and other architectural designs, drawn in 1815.—The exact determination of the fastness of the more common indigenous dyes of Bengal, and comparison with typical synthetic dye-stuffs, part nik dyeing on silk: E. R. Watson.—Oil of Lawsonia alba: D. Hooper.—A by Yeast Juice: A, Harden and W. J. Young.—The Antagonistic Action of Calcium upon the Inhibitory Effect of Maznesium: S. J. Metzler and J. Auer.—Studies on Enzyme Action, X1., The Hydrolysis of Raffinose : Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., and W. H. Glover. —Studies on Enzyme Action, XII., Emulsin: Prof. H. E..Armstrong, F.R.S., Dr E. F. Armstrong, and E. Horton.—On Some Features in the Hereditary ‘Trans- mission ot the Albino Character and the Black Piebald Coat in Rats, Paper II.:; G. P. Mudge. Roya InstiruTion, at 3-—The Animals of fAfrica: R. Lydekker. F.R.S. Royav Society or Arts, at 8.—The Navigation of the Air: Prof. H. ss Hele Shaw, F.R.S. Linnean Society, at 8.—Altitude and Distribution of Plants in Southern Mexico: Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S.—The Anatomy of some Sapotaceous Seedlings: Miss Winifred Smith.—Notes on some Sponges recently collected in Scotland: Dr. N. Annandale. Civit aND MeEcHaNicaL ENGINEERS’ SOCIETY, at 8.—Efficiency of Boiler Heating Surface: C. Humphrey Wingfield. Cuemica Society, at 8.30.—The Condensation of Epichlorohydrin with Phenols : D. R. Boyd and E. R. Marle.—Rate of Hydrolysis of Chloro- acetates and Bromoacetates, and of a-Chlorohydrin by Water and by Alkali, and the Influence of Neutral Salts on the Reaction Velocities. Preliminary Note: G. Senter.—A New General Method of Preparing Diazonium Bromides : F. D. Chattaway.—On the Probable Nature of the Impurity found in the Triphenylmethane Spectrum: W. N. Hartley.— The Absorption Spectrum of Triphenylmethane: A. G. G. Leonard. — The Constituents of Cyprus Origanum Oil. Isolation of a New Terpene (Origanene): S. S. Pickles. INstviTuTION OF ELrcrricaL ENGINEERS, at 8.—High Speed Electrical Machinery; G. Stoney and A. H. Law. FRIDAY, APRit 3 at 9-—The Modern Motor Car: Roya. InsTITUTION, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. ' InstrruTION oF Civit ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes on the Foundations of an Indian Bridge: G. W. N. Rose. SATURDAY, Apru. 4. general theory of osculating conics: Prof. Syamadas } Royar InstituTiON, at 3-—Electric Discharges (through Gases: Prof. J. J. Mukhopadhyaya. Thoinson, #.R.S. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. OE. PAGE Misleading Seismology ...... Pelion. obs THURSDAY, Mancu 26. Roya Society, at 4.30.—Bakerian Lecture: The Thermal and Electrical Conductivities of Metals and Alloys at Low Temperatures: Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S.—Note on the Values of the Board of Trade Standards of Current and Electromotive Force: T. Mather, F.R.S., and F, E. Smith.— Note on the Rise of Meteorological Balloons and the "Temperature of the Upper Air: A. Mallock, F.R S. Royat Society or Arts, at 8.—The Navigation of the Airy: Dr. H. S. Hele-Shaw, F.R.S RoyaL INSTITUTION, at 3.—Standardisation in Various Aspects: (2) Elec- trical Engineering : Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. CHEMICAL Sociery, at 5.—Annual General Meeting. — —Presidential Address: The Electron as an Element: Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S. FRIDAY, Marcu 27. Roya InsTiTuTION, at 9 —Radio-active Change in the Earth: R. J. Strutt, F.R.S. PuysicaL Society, at 5.—(1) Notes on the Plug Permeameter; (2) On the Use of Shunts and Transformers with Alternate Current Mecsuring Instru- ments ; (3) On Wattmeters ; (4) Experimental Demonstration of Alternate Current Wave Propagation in a Helix: Dr. C. V. Drysdale. IxsritutTion OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Combustion Processes in English Locomotive Fire-Boxes: Dr. F. J. Brislee.—Combusuion Pro- cesses in American Locomotive Fire-Boxes: L. H. Fry. Royat GEOGRAPHICAL SocIETY, at 8.39.—A Canoe Journey to the Plains of the Caribou: E. Thompson Seton. SATURDAY, Marcu 28. Royat InstiruTion, at 3.—Electric Discha) ges through Gases : Thomson, F.R.S. the Hon. Prof. J. J. MONDAY, RoyaL GEOGRAPHICAL Sas TY, ing the British Empire ; Roya Society oF Lewes. INSTITUTE OF ACTUARIES, at 5.—On Reversionary Bonuses as affected by Expenses and Variations in Rates of Mortality: H. H. Austin, TUESDAY, Marcn 31. Roya InstiTuT1I0N, at 2.—The Egyptian Sudan: its History, Monuments, and Peoples, Past and Present: Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge. Institution oF Civi_ ENGINEERS, at 8.—Some Methods of Heating adopted in Hospitals and Asylums recently built: E. R. Dolby. WEDNESDAY, Apru. 1. Roya Society or Arts, at 8.—Dr. Schlick’ s Gyrescopic Preventing Ships from Rolling: M. Wurl. Marcu 30. at 8.30.—Geographical Conditions affect- (3) British Islands: H. J. Mackinder. ARTs, at 8.—Fuel and its Future: Prof. V. B. Apparatus for Geo1ocical. Society, at _8.—The Geological Structure of the St. David's Area (Pembrokeshire): J. F. N. Green. Society oF Pupiic ANALYsTs, at 8.—Lead in Tartaric Acid, Cream of Tartar and Baking Powders: The President.—(1) ‘he Nitrogen Factor for Casein; (2) The Recovery of ae seuleoue! from Waste Gerber ors: H. D. Richmond.—Carapa Oi . J. Lewkowitsch.—A Rapid lethod for the Estimation of Mercuric Salte in Aqueous Solution: S. G. versedg INTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 8. THURSDAY, Apriv 2. Re Society, at 4.30.—Prolable Papers: Complete Survey of the Cell Lamination of the Cerebral Cortex of the Lemur: Dr. F. W. Mott, FURS: ind Miss A. M. Kelley.—The Alcoholic Ferment of Yeast Juice. Part III, The Function of Phosphates in the Fermentation of Giucose NO. 2004, VOL. 77 | German School Botany....... x 3 ies ao isle Elementanysehysics: 75) cs assis © eno Our Book Shelf :— Bell: ‘‘ The Mechanism of Speech.”—Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S.... 483 South : ‘ The Moths of the British Isles,”’_W. F. K 483 Kienitz-Gerloff: ‘‘ Physiologie und Anatomie des Menschen mit ausblicken auf den ganzen Kreis der Wirbeltiere.”"—W. W. . . Sie rmA Se Stephenson : ‘‘ The Elements of Geography ” dec Hemmelmayr and Brunner: ‘* Lehrbuch der Chemie und Mineralogie fiir die vierte Klasse der Real- SEHULSAIy Cc... =, a) et CORIO OR sy) (0am nem oe Letters to the Editor :— The Cotton Plant.—W. Lawrence Balls ; Lieut.- Colonel'D:: Prain, Cie Bek...) 484 The Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere. Be Co Stromeyer; W.H. Dines, F.R.S.. . ig iss The Penetrating Radiation. —Prof. A. s. Eve . . . 486 Mosaic Origin of the Atomic Theory.—Dr. John Knott i 486 Tabulated Values of Certain Integrals. —Harry M. Eiders. 486 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. VII.—The Aberdeen Circles (Continued). (Lllustrated.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. . . . 8487 Proposed Alteration in the Calendar. By W. T. L 489 Peculiarities in the Structure of some mee Bodies . . sige anette Sir John Eliot, RC Ee Rise By A. ie oie ne eet Ae Nowes D Se cl OAR, 0 GO Eee Our Astronomical ‘Column:— Water Vapour in the Martian Atmosphere . . . . . 497 The Dispersion of Light in Interstellar Soares aroma n ey: The Moving Object near Jupiter . . . - Roe aa CY, Distribution of Standard Time in Egypt . . . . . . 497 Observations of Algol Variables . . . . - 497 Nebulz and Nebulosities observed by Prof. Barnard Aon Russian Scientific Publications . . 498 The Corals of Hawaii. By Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S. 499 Commemorative Dinner to Sir William Ramsay, Eten 25 Spa ee ooor ano dea G old 6. 2 Se New Slide-rules. . .. Ree EES University and Educational Intelligence . Bao Societies and Academies... ..... Uc CE OX Diary/of | SOCieties! yey en) otha eels ne SO ~ NALOTTE 505 THURSDAY, APRIE 2, 10908. ELECTRICITY AND MATTER. The Corpuscular Theory of Matter. By Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. Pp. vii+172. (London : Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 7s. 6d. net. HE present volume is an expansion of six lectures delivered by Prof. J. J. Thomson in his capacity of professor at the Royal Institution. It is a simple and clear account of the development of the corpus- cular, or, as some prefer to call it, the electronic, theory of matter to explain the passage of electricity through metals and gases. The last two chapters are devoted to consideration of the properties of model atoms built up of corpuscles, and the evidence in favour of the view that the number of the corpuscles in an atom is about the same as its atomic weight in terms of hydrogen. The proof of the independent existence in matter of electrons of mass small compared with the atoms has supplied a great stimulus to the attack of that most important problem of physics, the connection between electricity and matter. This attack has been con- ducted both on experimental and theoretical lines, and while only a beginning has been made, yet the results already obtained have been instrumental in giving a much clearer and deeper insight into the conditions of the problem, and afford considerable justification for the hope of still greater advances in the immediate future. There has been a tendency in some quarters to view with alarm, if not with distrust, the philo- sophie speculations of the physicist, more particu- jarly when dealing with the question of the constitu- tion of the chemist’s atom. It is apparently considered indelicate to pry too deeply into the mysteries of atomic structure, especially if mathematical analysis is the instrument of investigation. This attitude appears somewhat unreasonable to the average physicist, and arises largely from a misunderstanding of the relative place of theory and experiment in physical science. A student of the history of physical science cannot fail to be impressed by the notable part played by mathe- matical physics in the development of the subject, and there is no obyious reason why the cooperation between the two branches of the subject should not be as fruitful in the future. The physicist from his train- ing is seldom content merely to describe phenomena, but seeks for some form of theory that will serve to give a general explanation of the facts and to show their relation with other branches of the subject. In dealing with such a complicated and_ intangible problem as the constitution of the atom, it is essential that theory should go hand in hand with experiment, for without some kind of theory the experimenter is in most cases as helpless as a ship without a rudder. This attitude of the physicist is very well expressed by Prof. J. J. Thomson in the opening chapter. After NO. 2005, VOL. 77] mentioning the postulates on which the corpuscula theory of matter is based, he proceeds :— “From the point of view of the physicist, a theory of matter is a policy rather than a creed; its object is to connect or coordinate apparently diverse phenomena, and above all to suggest, stimulate and direct ex- periment. Jt ought to furnish a compass which, if followed, wiil lead the observer further and further into previously unexplored regions. Whether these regions will be barren or fertile experience alone will decide; but at any rate, one who is guided in this way will travel onward in a definite direction, and will not wander aimlessly to and fro.”’ The working out of the logical consequences of a simple theory and the comparison of the deductions with experiment is eminently scientific, and of great importance to the specialist who is able to form a critical estimate of the adequacy of the theory. The danger of too free a use of hypothesis is not so much for the specialist as for the general reader who, from lack of expert knowledge or of time, is unable to form a critical judgment on the matter. In such a case there is a tendency to assume that a theory which may be admittedly tentativein character represents the final, accepted views on the subject. Two of the most interesting chapters of the book are devoted to the application of the corpuscular theory to explain the passage of electricity through metals. In one chapter the theory developed is similar in general outlines to that originally advanced by the author and the late Prof. Drude. The corpuscles which are responsible for the passage of electricity through a conductor are supposed to be free from the molecules for a time sufficiently long for them to be in temperature equilibrium with the molecules of the metal. This implies that the corpuscles behave like a gas, and that temperature equilibrium is reached when the mean kinetic energy of the corpuscle has become equal to that of a molecule of a gas at the same tem- perature. The passage of the current is then supposed to result from the drift of these free charged cor- puscles, brought about by the action of the external electric field applied to the conductor. This theory is shown to account in a satisfactory way for the con- nection between thermal and electric conductivities of metal, and with minor assumptions for the Peltier and Thomson effects. Prof. Thomson points out that this form of theory suffers from one very serious defect. In order to account for the conductivities observed in metals, it is necessary to assume the presence of such a large number of free corpuscles in the metal — that the specific heat of these alone, quite independently of the atoms of the metal itself, is about ten times greater than that experimentally observed. The author in the next chapter develops another form of the theory which is free from this objection, and at the same time fits in with the facts to be explained equally well as the first theory. The second method supposes that the corpuscles are not free in the metal except for the time required to pass from one atom to another. They are pulled out of the atoms of the metals by the action of the Z 506 J LATS ie [APRIL 2, 1908 surrounding matter, and immediately pass into ad- jacent atoms. This view materially reduces the num- ber of corpuscles required for the transfer of elec- tricity. In both these forms of theory the atoms of the metal itself are supposed immobile, and to play no direct appreciable part in the transfer of the current. The important question of the type of radiation to be expected from a metal on the above theories is fully considered. Since the corpuscles are suddenly started and stopped, they must radiate energy in the form of thin pulses analogous to the pulses which are sup- ; posed to constitute the Rontgen rays. Lorentz has shown that if this radiation be analysed by means of Fourier’s series, the amplitude of the long waves agrees closely with that deduced independently of such assumptions by means of the thermodynamical theory. Prof. Thomson, however, points out that the main radiation must consist of short waves analogous to very easily absorbed Rontgen rays. It would be of great interest and importance if the presence of such a type of radiation from metals could be experimentally detected. In another chapter the author explains the construction and properties of his well-known ‘‘model’’ atoms built up of rings of rotating corpuscles. No one can fail to admire the in- genuity displayed in the construction of such atoms, and in showing the remarkable way in which they imitate many of the known properties of the atom. On this hypothesis the properties of the atom are dependent on the number and arrangement of the negative corpuscles. The corresponding pcsitive elec- tricity, which is distributed throughout the volume of a sphere, merely serves as a cement to hold the atom together. This form of atom, while it has many ad- vantages from the point of view of calculation, is somewhat artificial, for it implicitly assumes very peculiar properties for the positive electricity. To say that a positively charged body is one that has lost a negative corpuscle is not an explanation, but begs the question of the nature of positive electricity. The trend of modern views is to diminish in some direc- tions the importance of the negative charge and to emphasise that of the positive. This is borne out by the author’s estimates that the number of free cor- puscles in an atom is about the same as its atomic weight in terms of hydrogen. Until we have a clearer idea of the nature of positive electricity we cannot hepe to form a clear view of the constitution of the atom. The proof of the existence of a positive electron —the counterpart of the negative—if such exists, would be of enormous importance to theory and ex- periment. The problem of the nature of positive elec- tricity is now very much to the fore, and it is to be hoped that we shall not have to wait too long for a solution. Like all Prof. Thomson’s books, the present volume is lucidly and simply written, while the mathematical analysis required for the development of the con- of the theory is made as simple as possible. To all those interested in the latest views of the con- nection between electricity and matter this book will be very welcome. 1D IRS seque nces NO. 2005, VOL. 77. CHARTING THE WORLD’S COMMERCE. Atlas of the World’s Commerce. Compiled from the Latest Official Returns at the Edinburgh Geo- graphical Institute, and edited by J. G. Bartholo- mew. (London: G. Newnes, Ltd.) Twenty-two parts, each 6d. net. R. BARTHOLOMEW is a skilled hand at map- making, and in setting himself to chart the commerce of the world he has undertaken a gigantic task. With the aid of 176 large pages of coloured plates, containing more than rooo maps and diagrams, he attempts to describe the products, imports, exports, commercial conditions and economic statistics of all the leading countries of the world, and he says quite justly that the successful accomplishment of such a work must throw much needed light on the solution of the great problem of international trade which we in British politics call ‘‘the fiscal question.” His first object is to show whence we derive our food, drink, clothing, and all that we use in our daily lives. No better text could be chosen for the enlightenment of our politicians, whatever be their fiscal views, and indeed of all who would understand where England really stands in the world of commerce, and what are the essentials of her future as the central force of a great Empire. The very immensity of Mr. Bartholomew’s under- taking tends to lessen its topical value. For instance, the last three years have been momentous in their effect upon the sources of British food supply, and Mr. Bartholomew can be of little help to the man who would understand how far we are dependent upon foreign and how far upon colonial supplies, when he only carries us down to the year 1903. Canada, for instance, figures in Mr. Bartholomew’s diagrams as yielding less than 86 million bushels of wheat. The produce of her western section alone was in 1906 considerably in excess of that figure. The fiscal con- troversy is especially associated with the food produc- tion of the newer countries, and the usefulness of Mr. Bartholomew’s diagrams, so far as the fiscal con- troversy is concerned, goes little beyond the course of our dependence upon the older countries, such as the United States, Russia, &c. For his distribution of the chief sources of the British supply of wheat, Mr. Bartholomew brings us no further down than the 1901-3 average, from which we see that the Canadian percentage was 84 and the United States percentage 43/5. The limited usefulness of such figures is evident when it is noted that in 1906 the Canadian proportion was at least 124 per cent. and the United States proportion 37 per cent. There may have been in- superable difficulties in carrying the averages down to a more recent period, but it is obvious that, in the absence of more recent figures, it is necessary to endorse with qualification Mr. Bartholomew’s claim that in his new atlas “the whole fiscal question is clearly illustrated.”’ We may note one other respect in which the topical usefulness of Mr. Bartholomew’s investigations is limited, and it is a vital one. In dealing with the import and export trade of the United Kingdom Te APRIL 2, 1908] NATURE 507 (p. 33), the imports are lumped together with no allowance for the fact that in some cases large pro- portions are re-exported, and therefore, except from the point of view of the shipper, the gross totals throw no light on the industry of the country, in fact they can only mislead. The importance of this allowance for re-exports is shown in the textile group. Thus, of the 52,400,o00l. worth of imports of cotton, no less than 7,000,000l. worth was re- exported, and of the wool imports of 26,600,000l. no less than 11,200,0o001. If Mr. Bartholomew had these calculations in mind, he would hardly have ventured upon the conclusion he draws in a note to this dia- gram in the following words :— ““Tt is at once evident that articles of food greatly preponderate, the value amounting indeed to 40 per cent. of the total. Raw material accounts for more than 28 per cent., of which 163 represent textile fibres.”’ But we would not leave Mr. Bartholomew’s atlas without a recognition of the enormous labour it must have involved, and of its successes in several direc- tions. The maps are excellent, and the table of the commodities of commerce and the gazetteer of coun- tries and ports of the world have obvious uses. MASONRY AND CONCRETE ARCHES. Symmetrical Masonry Arches. By M. A. Howe. Pp. x+170. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., rg06.) Price Ios. 6d. net. HE author’s object in this text-book has been to present in a simple and direct form a method which can be employed in the design of masonry arches according to the elastic theory. He _ points out that since such arches are built of materials and under conditions which are more or less un- certain in character, the use of rigidly accurate formulze is not necessary. The first portion of the book consists of two chapters, in which the various formule which are required in the design of such arches are deduced, and then several examples are worked out in detail to illustrate the application of the formula. Indepen- dent formula are obtained for the effects of bending, axial thrust, and temperature; these formulz are then combined, but the author points out that as the effect of axial stress is small, except in very flat arches, it may in general be neglected in obtaining a combined formula. For symmetrical arches fixed at the ends, the following conditions must be satisfied, viz., the central angle and the relative elevations at the supports must each remain unchanged, and the length of span must remain constant; Mr. Howe is therefore able to obtain three equations involving the three unknown quantities—moment, vertical reaction, and horizontal thrust at the supports of the arch. He then proceeds to deal with a number of special cases of loading, and discusses fully the temperature effects; graphical representations are frequently used to show the results obtained by analysis. The last part of this portion of the book is devoted first to a discussion of the. trustworthiness of the NO. 2005. VOL. 77] elastic theory when applied to ribs composed of natural stone voussoirs, and to plain and reinforced concrete ribs (the author comes to the conclusion that the theory may be used with confidence so long as no tensile stresses occur); and secondly to a_ collection of empirical formulz for the thickness of the ring at the crown and at the supports in stone arches, and for the thickness of the abutments. The examples of the applications of the formula, which are fully worked out, cover the following cases :—(1) An arch for a single-track railway bridge of 60-feet span and a rise of 8 feet, the arch ring to be constructed of granite; (2) an arch with a clear span of 50 feet and a rise of to feet, constructed of reinforced concrete (in both cases the maximum stresses produced by dead load, live load, and changes of temperature are computed); (3) the author takes again the data employed in the second example, and gives an in- genious and much shorter method for working out the values of the horizontal reactions and bending moments at different sections of the arch. In the fourth chapter, dimensioned illustrations are given of a few typical arches, and, in the form of an appendix, data have been brought together for 500 arch bridges of masonry, plain concrete, and reinforced concrete. The data in this appendix will be of con- siderable service to engineers who may be called upon to design arch bridges of one or other of these a Lies: materials. OUR BOOK SHELF. Kausalititsprinzip der Biologie. By Dr. Friedrich Strecker. Pp. viii+153. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price 3 marks. Von Baer said that the chief end of biology was to refer the formative forces of organisms to the general forces and vital directions (Lebensrichtungen) of the Kosmos. According to the mechanists this is rapidly being done; according to the neo-vitalists this is not being done at all, for the characteristic activities of living creatures cannot be described in the formule of physicochemical happenings, and there is in the organism an autonomous regulative force or entelechy. Biologists oscillate between these two positions, or dogmatically entrench themselves in either of them, very much as philosophers did in regard to empiricisnr and rationalism before Kant’s critique showed a better way. Dr. Strecker seeks to be a daysman between the two biological schools, laying his hands upon them both, pointing out that there is truth on both sides, but that there is a third outlook which dominates both. For the practical methods and analytic results of the “ Entwicklungsmechaniker,’’ such as Roux, the author has an appreciative respect; his criticism is epistemological rather than biological; he does not think that there is any hope of rationally interpreting organisms in mechanistic formule. For the neo- vitalists he has also much that is good to say, for they at least do not give a false simplicity to the facts of life; on the other hand, he does not hold with an “entelechy,’? which seems to be an ingenuous way of bundling all the difficulties into one term, and saying “there’s an end of it.’? The fact is that the mechanists and the vitalists are tarred with the same stick, they are ekgenetic, they seek to interpret re- sults which have come to be, instead of concentrating attention on the process of becoming, which is the Das 508 engenetic method. In the inorganic world we have to do with passive things, with an externally con- ditioned series of sequences; in the world of organisms we have to do with creative agents, with an internal activity, like that of our own psychical life, with en- genetic doings, not with ekgenetic occurrences. The only way to get at the gist of the organism, its in- ternal creativeness, is as we get at our own internal life—engenetically. Man crowns the evolution series, his most distinctive feature is his psychical experience, and it is in the light of this that we must try to read the secret of the dominating, correlating, regulating principle in the life of organisms. This, at least, is what we understand this exceedingly abstract treatise to mean. eeAmele. Pha?makognostisches Praktikum. By Dr. Ludwig Koch and Dr. Ernst Gilg. Pp. viii+272; illus- trated. (Berlin: Gebriider Borntraeger, 1907.) Price 6.80 marks. Ir appears that the recent edition of the German Pharmacopeeia has placed additional responsibility upon the German pharmacist, and he is now required to be practically cognisant with the microscopical char- acteristics of the medicinal plants in their entire as well as in their powdered form. The book before us deals with the above subject, and is intended to be used as a laboratory handbook for pharmaceutical students. The initial chapter is devoted to the methods of pre- paring microscopical specimens of the respective plants and their powders, and staining them appro- priately. In addition, the adequate magnification for drawing and photographing the respective objects is fully dealt with. The microscopical characteristics of all the official medicinal plants, or rather the parts of them which are official, are fully described, and following upon such description is an account of the microscopical appearance presented by the powdered drug. The order followed in the boolx corresponds to the part of the plant which is official; for instance, the cortices are all considered together, the rhizomes together, the roots together, and so forth. The whole subject is treated in great detail, and abundant illus- trations are scattered through the text of the micro- scopic appearance of the respective preparations. The volume commences with a table of contents and con- cludes with a register, from which latter it appears that no fewer than eighty drugs are described. By Dr. Heinrich Simroth. (Leipzig : K. Grethleius, 1907.) Die Pendulations-theorie. Pp. xii+564; maps. Price 12 marks. TakING as his basis Dr. Paul Reibisch’s ‘‘ Ein Gestalt- ungsprinzip der Erde” (1901), supplemented by Mr. D. Kreichgauer’s ‘Die Aquatorfrage in der Geologie ’’ (1902), the author of the curious volume before us discusses the effects which would, in his opinion, be produced on the animal life of the globe by secular changes in the direction of the polar axis. Mr. Kreichgauer, it seems, is of opinion that in the course of geological time the two poles have actually changed places, and also that during such oscillations huge ‘wobbles’? or waves have been produced in the earth’s crust in the intervening latitudes. These “ wobbles,’’ if we understand him rightly, the author believes have produced marked effects on the distri- bution of animal life, having, so to speak, ‘‘ shaken ”’ ihe various groups into particular positions. The dis- tribution of ali the chief groups is discussed according to the new theory, and in many cases illustrated by maps. i Without in any way committing ourselves to an Gpimion on the author’s views, it may be pointed out NO. 2005. VOL. 77 | NA TORE, [APRIL 2, 1908 that several of these maps are inaccurate. The one illustrating the distribution of ichthyosaurs (p. 249) ignores, for instance, the fact that remains of these reptiles have been obtained from more than one locality in Africa, which is left a blank in the map in question. This being so, it is difficult to see what value attaches to Dr. Simroth’s conclusions in this and several other cases. Re The Minimising of Maurice, being the Adventures of a very small Boy among very small Things. By Rev. S. N. Sedgwick. Pp. ix+150. (London: Elliot Stock, 1907.) Price 5s. net. A worp to ‘‘ grown-ups ’’ which prefaces this volume asserts ‘there are quite a lot of things in it which only children are able to understand ’’—the italics are not ours. There are ‘‘ baby ’’ language, indifferent verse, and talking animals in great profusion, but, despite all these, we are very doubtful as to whether the book will really appeal to children, The illustra- tions are good, and these at least will set young readers questioning and observing. We should have preferred a simple account in good literary English of the forms of animal life introduced, and so would most of the children we know. Les Progrés de la Photographie astronomique. By Prof. P. Stroobant. Pp. 34; illustrated. (Brussels = M. Hayez, 112 rue de Louvain, 1907.) Tuts thirty-four page extract from l’Annuaire astro- nomique de l’Observatoire royal de Belgique pow 1908 is typical of those services which Prof. Stroo- bant is continually rendering to contemporary astro- nomy. It contains in a concise and lucid form descriptions of the methods by which photography renders such valuable services to astronomical re- search. The photography of regions, such as nebule, the discovery of minor planets and satellites by the photographical method, the investigation of the physical peculiarities of comets and of the solar photo- sphere, the observations of variable stars and of proper motions are all dealt with in turn, and in each case the text is illustrated by excellent reproductions of actual photographs. Duplicate, detachable plates, for use in a stereoscope, are included in order to illustrate the value of Prof. Wolf’s stereocomparator method for the detection of small proper motions and of variations in magnitude. Wiis (1) I laterizi. By Ing. G Revere. Pp. x+208; 134 figures. Price 3.50 lire. (2) La Tecnologia delle Saldature autogene det Metalli. By Prof. S. Ragno. Pp. iii+129. (Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1907.) Price 2 lire. THESE are recent additions to the ‘“‘ Manueli Hoepli,”” a collection which numbered goo of these small pocket- books on April 1, 1907. Mr, Revere’s book deals with brickwork. It opens with general and historical in- formation, and then deals in succession with the selection and extraction of the clay, its subsequent pre- paration, brick-making machinery, the drying process, and finally the brick kiln. The need of such a book has arisen through the great development that has taken place in the brick industry in recent years, notably in Italy, where improved machinery has been largely introduced. Prof. Ragno’s manual deals with the soldering and welding of metals. Five methods are distinguished, namely, the electric, oxy-hydrogen, oxy-acetylene, oxy- gas, and aluminium methods. The advantages of these methods are discussed. Two appendices deal respectively with the cutting of metals by means of an oxygen jet and the methods of producing oxygen commercial ee — APRIL 2, 1908 | NATORE 509 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NatuRE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] Mendelian Characters among Shorthoins. I HAVE just come upon a phenomenon which, although it may be interesting to naturalists, may be alarming to breeders of Shorthorn cattle. It is that the roan Shorthorn is a hybrid, and must remain so for ever. The data on which this statement is based are to be found in a paper on the inheritance of coat-colour in cattle, by Miss A. Barrington and Prof. Karl Pearson, published in Biometrika for March, 1906. For the purposes o their paper these authors, having examined in the Shorthorn Herd-book the pedigrees of more than 2000 calves, noted the colours of these and their paregts, and analysed and tabulated the figures found. They divided the sires and dams according to the colours under which they are registered, and then made an analysis of the colours of the calves produced. There are five different colours registered, viz. red, red and little white, red and white, roan, and white. A sire of any one of these colours may be bred with a dam of any one of them. Miss Barrington and Prof. Pearson made an analysis of the colours of the calves produced by bulls of all the five colours when bred with cows of every one of the same five colours. For instance, they found that by mating 514 roan bulls with 514 roan cows there had been produced eighty-six red calves, thirty-one red with little white calves, thirty-five red and white calves, 278 roan calves, and eighty-four white calves. These cases at a first glance give rise to no Mendelian suggestion. No more does the full collection of cases. Miss Barrington and Prof. Pearson failed to find in them any Mendelian indications. But if we consider the nature and history of the Short- horn breed the Mendelian characters come out. The Shorthorn is a composite breed. A hundred and fifty years ago it consisted of at least three, and possibly four, different strains. The chief ancestry came from the Low Countries. They were red-and-white flecked cattle—fleck- vieh. In Durham and Yorkshire they wedged themselves in between the original British black cattle in the north and the Anglo-Saxon red cattle in the south. They also possibly reached westwards to the Longhorns. The Anglo- Saxon red cattle were probably the purest. The northern black cattle and the western Longhorns were not pure. They were intermixed with white cattle—cattle which had been introduced originally by the Romans. It was impossible for the recently introduced flecked cattle not to become mixed with black blood in the north, with white blood in the north and west, and with red blood in the south. Breeders, however, did not like the black blood, and it was soon bred out. The white was retained, but, so far as I know, it is difficult to say how much Anglo- Saxon red blood was retained. It is on that ground any uncertainty-arises. But, if red blood was retained, it was nearly related to the red and white blood introduced from the Continent. If we look upon the Anglo-Saxon red cattle and the Low Country red-and-white cattle as being of one race, then, since the black blood was bred out, the Shorthorn is a combination of two races. If we look upon these red and red-and-white cattle as different races, then the Shorthorn is a combination of three. I tried to find Mendelian characters among the cases collected by Miss Barrington and Prof. Pearson by assuming the Shorthorn to be a three-fold combination, but unsuccessfully. Then Prof. Arthur Thomson’s account of the blue Andalusian fowl in his newly published “Heredity ’? suggested the idea that the red, red and little white, and red-and-white Shorthorns might be taken as one race. Are not these Shorthorns splashed reds just as one of the blue Andalusian parents is ‘* splashed white ’’? The Shorthorn, then, becomes a composite breed with one parent white and the other splashed red. NO. 2005, VOL. 77| Assuming this to be so, then the Mendelian characters of the Shorthorn come out. There are one or two small discrepancies, but they can be explained. It is sometimes difficult to say whether a calf is red-and-white or roan. Thus all that are labelled red and white may not be really red and white, and all that are labelled roan may not be really roan. Among Shorthorn breeders white calves are not desirable. Cases of false registration and the substitution of another calf for a white—that is, giving a red or a roan calf a white calf’s pedigree—have not been unknown. Thus some red or roan calyes may not be the progeny of the parents attributed to them. For the same reason that white calves are undesirable, a good many white calves are not registered at all. Thus the real numbers of white calves born are greater than the numbers registered, and the number of matings recorded is less than it ought to be through matings that produced white calves being unrecorded. For the reason that white calves are not wanted, a white bull and a white cow are very seldom mated. Thus very few such matings are registered. Assuming the horthorn to be a combination of two races, a red and | white, then, according to the Mendelian formula as exe plified by the blue Andalusian fowl, we ought to get tk- following results :— (1) Red crossed by red should give red calves. (2) White crossed by white should give white calves. (3) Red crossed by white should give roans. (4) Roans inbred should give reds, whites, and roans in the proportion of 1, 1, 2. (5) Roans crossed by reds should give roans and reds in equal proportions. (6) Roans crossed by whites should give roans whites in equal proportions. and This, giving heed to the expected exceptions as indicated above, is what we find, viz. :— F Red Roan White 438 Reds crossed by reds give 413 25) ee o 3 Whites crossed by whites give ©. tte @i- ste 3 71 Reds crossed by white give... BY no | GIB) see a) 514 Roans crossed by roans give... 152 ... 278 ... 84 450 Roans crossed by reds give ... 226 ... 230 ... ) 23 Roans crossed by whites give... to) Twit” 9 For the breeder of Shorthorns this means that, if he wishes to avoid white calves, he is limited to three crosses, viz. red with red, red with roan, and red with white. He gets whites when whites are bred together, when whites are bred with roans, or when roans are bred together. James WILSON. Royal College of Science, Dublin, March 19. The Nature of 7 and X-Rays. In a letter to NaTURE of January 23 (p. 270) Prof. Bragg mentions the results of some experiments on y rays from which he concludes that the ether pulse theory of y rays is not tenable, but which support his theory that the y rays consist of neutral pairs revolving in a plane con- taining their direction of translation. From the close resemblance of X-rays to y rays he assumes that they also consist of neutral pairs. His reasoning seems to be that if the y rays are ether pulses only, they should pro- duce in any substance which they strike secondary kathode rays which come off equally in all directions, and if they do not the ether pulse theory cannot be correct. Prof. Bragg’s experiments show that the secondary Ikathode rays coming from the side of a substance on which the y rays fall differ in the amount of ionisation they produce from those coming from the side from which the y rays emerge.’ Also that the ‘‘ emergence ’’ kathode rays from a substance of low atomic weight are greater than those from a substance of higher atomic weight, while with the ‘‘ incidence’? kathode rays the substance of high atomic weight gives off more than the substance of lower. I have been working for some time upon the secondary kathode rays produced by X-rays with a form of apparatus which can be easily adapted for a repetition, with X-rays, of Prof. Bragg’s experiments with y rays (see Amer. Jour. Sci., October, 1907, p. 285). I have therefore tried to 510 NATURE {APRIL 2, 1908 find out whether his results with y rays hold also for X-rays. Following closely Prof. Bragg’s method of pyocedure with pairs of metals consisting of lead and aluminium, copper and aluminium, and copper and lead, I found that in every case the ionisation due to the ‘ emergence ” secondary kathode rays was greater than that due to the incidence ’? rays. The ‘‘ incidence ’? secondary rays were, in different experiments, from 50 per cent. to go per cent. of the ‘‘ emergence.’’ It appeared, however, that the differ- ence was not as large in the case of lead as in the case of copper. This is in agreement with Prof. Bragg’s result for y rays. A separate experiment showed that the thickness of the layer of copper from which the secondary rays can emerge is not great enough to absorb the primary rays to an extent sufficient to account for the marked difference between the ““ emergence ’’ and ‘‘ incidence ’’ secondary rays. On the other hand, however, both the *‘ emergence *’ and incidence ’’ secondary radiation produced greater ionisa- tion when it came from a metal of high atomic weight than when it came from a metal of lower atomic weight. This difference was very marked with the above-mentioned pairs, and also with lead and carbon. This is directly opposite to the effect observed by Prof. Bragg with y rays. It should’ be noticed that the ionisation chambers used in these experiments were so short that a very small frac- tion of the secondary X-rays coming from the metals was absorbed in them, while they were long enough to absorb all the secondary kathode rays. Thus practically all the ionisation was due to the secondary kathode rays. Although these experiments, together with those of Prof. Bragg, show that for both X-rays and y rays the secondary kathode rays are not produced equally in all directions, I cannot agree with Prof. Bragg that the evidence is con- clusive that X-rays and y rays must consist of some type of radiation other than electromagnetic pulses. The reason he gives on the neutral pair theory for lack of symmetry ce in the secondary rays is that these secondary rays are the- negative parts of the primary pairs. As these primary neutral pairs possess momentum in the direction of pro- pagation, it is natural to suppose that their negative parts, when liberated from the positive, would be more likely to continue in their original direction than to turn back. On the other hand, an electromagnetic pulse possesses momentum also in the direction of propagation. Though little is known of the mechanism of the production of secondary kathode rays by ether pulses, it is not unreason- able to suppose that an ether pulse could contribute some of its momentum to the secondary kathode particles, causing them to go more in the direction of propagation of the primary than in any other. Since we know that X-rays, which come from a region where electrons are being violently accelerated, must consist in part, at least, of ether pulses, and since all the experi- mental evidence previously gathered in regard to their nature has been favourable to the ether pulse theory, it seems to me more reasonable to look to the ether pulse theory for an explanation of both X-rays and y rays than to a theory of neutral pairs. It must, however, be recog- nised that this lack of symmetry in the secondary kathode rays is a difficulty in the way of the ether pulse theory which needs explanation. I hope soon to determine by means of absorption experiments whether this lack of symmetry is due to a difference in penetrating power or quantity of secondary kathode rays. Cuar_ton D. Cooksey. Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., March 7. Martinmas in May. Norman Lockyer in his book on ‘‘ Stonehenge ”’ ects the festival of St. Martin, which falls on mber 11, with the beginning of winter in the May- year, which falls astronomically on November o. it, however, seem to be aware that there was another festival of St. Martin which fell on May 12. This was the Subventio St. Martini, a festival which was appointed to be observed by a council held at Tours in 841 to commemorate the restoration of the relics of the NO. 2005, VOL. 77 saint to Tours after they had been hidden on account of the incursions of the Northmen. Sir Harris Nicolas in his *‘ Chronology of History,’’ published in 1838, stated that the festival was still observed in the province of Tours. The date of the appointment of the festival is late, but reverence for sacred stones survived until long after that time, and it might be worth while to try to discover whether any connection can be traced between the appoint- ment of the festival and an attempt to discourage the old stone-worship. It seems clear that it was this festival of the Subventio which is alluded to in the entry in the Parker Manuscript of the Old English Chronicle for the year 913 :—‘ In this year about Martinmas King Edward bade build the northern fortress at Hertford, between the rivers Maran, Beane, and Lea: and then after that in the summer between Gang-days and Midsummer King Edward went with part of his forces to Maldon in Essex.’? The King opened his campaign at Martinmas, May 12, by commen- cing a fortress at Hertford, and then between Rogation- tide (May 23-25) and Midsummer he marched to Maldon. The fact that the chronicler regards the period between May 25 and June 24 as summer has a bearing on the question of the observance of a May-November year. It is likely that the Martinmas of 919 is also the May festival, but it is clear that the Martinmas of 918 and of 921 must be the festival in November. C. S. Taytor. Banwell, March 24. An Annotated Copy of Newton's “ Principia.” Anout three months ago I was asked to look through a list of old books, which had recently come to Australia as portion of the personal property in an estate which had been in Chancery some years. The books had become the property of a resident of this city, who employed an agent to dispose of them. Among a number of books which I bought was a copy of Newton’s “‘ Principia,’’ and when I came to examine it more closely 1.found that it was one of the original edition of 1687, with the imprimatur of S. Pepys ‘‘ Reg. Soc. Preeses Julii 5 1686.’’ I found also that it contained nearly five pages of MS. additions and corrections for a second edition, written in Latin, as well as numerous corrigenda throughout the book, with occasional detailed alterations in the diagrams. Inside the cover, in another handwriting, there was the following note:—‘‘ The Amendments in this book were written by Sir Isaac’s own hand. See his original MSS. of his Optics in Trin. Coll. Library, Cambridge.” I have since compared the handwriting of these ‘‘ addi- tions and corrections’’ with a facsimile of Sir Isaac Newton’s handwriting in the Commonwealth Parliamentary library, and consider there is a distinct similarity. I have now had the first two pages of the notes photo- graphed, and have forwarded them to the librarian of the college referred to in the note, with the view of a further comparison. The notes are punctiliously detailed, with a reference to each page, and the alterations in the body of the text of the book are made with almost microscopic care. As the notes are headed as intended for a second edition, I cannot see what other source but the mind and hand of the author they could have come from. I am informed by the former owner of the book (Mr. H. C. Elderton) that it belonged to the family of James, of Ightham Court, Kent, probably to Sir Demetrius James, who is supposed to have been knighted about the year 1685. It and a number of other old books formed a small collec- tion which were set apart, packed in oak chests, and stowed away in an old clock-tower, where they remained ever since until brought to Australia. I shall let you know the result of my inquiries, and, in the meantime, perhaps some of your numerous scientific readers may be able to throw some light on the book’s history, for if it should be Sir Isaac Newton’s personal copy, and contain his personal notes, it must become an object of great interest to the scientific world. Bruce SMITH. 149 Phillip Street, Sydney, Australia, February 25. APRIL 2, 1908] NATURE 51f TWO COUNTY BIRD-BOOKS.' te write a history of the birds of Yorkshire, far the largest of our English counties as to include almost every kind of natural feature to be found in this country, was no light undertaking, and Mr. Nelson is to be congratulated on the conclusion of his labours, extending over many years, and upon the able way in which he has arranged and digested the so unrivalled and _ exceptionally “complete mass of material placed at his disposal, which has_ been | accumulated by the numerous ornithologists who, from the time of Thomas Allis (who wrote the first | complete list of Yorkshire birds in 1844) down to the present day, have been engaged in working out the | local ornithology of this great section of “Eng land. This information Mr. Nelson has been able to supple- ment with his own observations for many years past. The scope of the work is comprehensive. The account of each species in- cludes particulars of faunistic position, dis- tribution, migration, nidification, folklore, varieties, and ver- nacular names; whilst the report on the birds of Yorkshire prepared for the York meeting of the British Associa- tion in 1844 by Thomas Allis is here published for the first time. A voluminous introduction deals with the physical aspect of the. county and the several dis- tricts into which the great diversity of its natural features has made it convenient to divide it. Following this, migration, so remarkable on _ the Yorkshire coast from its geographical posi- tion, is duly con- sidered, and the chapter concludes with a review of the avi- fauna of the county. Situate about mid- of way on the eastern Fic. 1.—Unusual Site fora seaboard of the British Isles, and directly opposite the European con- tinent, Yorkshire is sufficiently far south to include species the distribution of which is of the southern type | —such as the nuthatch and nightingale, which find in | it the northern limit of their range—while it is suffi- ciently far north to admit of the inclusion of such species as the curlew, dunlin, &c., ‘‘ which here meet with their southern breeding limits.’? These remarks, though true on the whole, must not be taken in too literal a sense, for both the last-named birds breed in Great Britain further south than Yorkshire. The author states that the avifauna of Yorkshire, com- pared with that of other counties, stands unrivalled, 1 (x) * The Birds of ss orkshire. Being a Historical Account of the Avi- fauna of the County.” By T. H. Nelson, with the cooperation of W. Eagle | Clarke and F. Boyes. 2 Vols. Pp. xlv +xii+843; illustrated. (London: A. Brown and Sons, itd, 1907.) Price 25s. net. (2) ‘‘ Notes on the Birds of Kent.”” By R. J. Balston, Rev. C. W. Shep- herd, and E. Bartlett. Pp. xix+465; with g plates and a map. (london R. H. Price 20s. net. NO. 2005, VOL. 77] Porter, 1908.) Dipper’s Nest, on the River Nidd. not only in its numerical extent, but also—a circum. stance of much greater significance—in the inherent richness which is shown by the number of species breeding annually within its limits. That this should be so would be anticipated by anyone who has read the topographical description ‘of the county, in which are found wild mountainous country, heathery moor- lands, and romantic dales; pasture ‘and arable land, woodlands, marshlands, chalk wolds, and a coast line 117 miles long, and one of the most diversified possessed by any English county. We find, indeed, in Yorkshire almost every kind of natural feature that England affords. The configuration of the coast line materially in- creases the advantage of the position, which is stil! more enhanced by the possession of two such projec. tions as Spurn Point and Flamborough Head (the latter on the same parallel of latitude as Heligoland, is so famous for the vast hordes of the island which R. Fortune. From ‘‘ The Birds of Yorkshire.” | migratory birds which pass and repass it in spring and | the northern autumn), which as a locality productive of rare birds | has few equals. We _ accordingly find Yorkshire accredited with a | list of 325 species after excluding 21 recorded on in- sufficient Tevidence. Of these no fewer than 123 are considered to be annual breeders. It is in this list of breeding species (which it owes to its size, diversity of natural features, surface, soil and climate, and to its peculiar geographical position) that the strength of the Yorkshire list mainly consists. Among the resident species are the nuthatch, wood- lark, and lesser spotted woodpecker, which here find limit of their general distribution in | Britain during the breeding season; thé raven, buz- | zard, and pereg grine falecon—now reduced to a few airs—as well as the goldfinch and the sheldrake, | both of which are local. The nightingale, reed- warbler, wryneck, turtle dove, and stone curlew 512 NATURE [APRIL 2. 1908 («among the summer migrants) reach in Yorkshire the north limit of their annue! distribution during the breeding season. If we ada to these and other well- known midland and southern species the very local nied flycatcher, which is common in many localities, and such moorland and fell birds as the merlin, twite, lipper, grey wagtail, grouse, golden plover, dunlin, and curlew, various wild ducks, and the numerous rock birds which resort to the sea cliffs in the nesting season, we get a breeding avifauna which is probably unequalled by that of any block of adjacent English counties equal to Yorkshire in size, although it is surpassed by that of North Wales, with a much smaller Yorkshire is, however, singularly deficient in area. terns. Among the many rare and accidental visitors may be mentioned the Siberian meadow bunting (the only Fic, 2,—Peregrine Falcon’s Eyrie, North-west Yorkshire. From ‘‘ The Birds of Yorkshire.” known European example), the cuneate-tailed gull— better known as the wedge-tailed or Ross’s gull—and Bulwer’s petrel, which were both until recently unique as British specimens, the desert wheatear, rufous turtle dove, McQueen’s bustard, &c. Like other dis- tricts, Yorkshire has lost several breeding species, the kite, the harriers, bittern, bustard, grey se, avocet, ruff, godwit, and black tern. Probably ‘ticle which will claim the most general atten- nd to which many ornithologists will turn first, the guillemot and the famous ‘‘ loomery ’ Flamborough cliffs. A most interesting and sunt of this bird and its breeding habits, raordinary variation in the colour and j ges, will be found here; as also of t ractice of climbing for eggs carried out on the Yorkshire cliffs, accompanied by some excellent illus- TO: ZOO VE 7 | NO. 2005, VOL. 77 | a) zs its ¢ trations, which make the account given quite clear to those who have never been present at this harvest of the cliffs. Notwithstanding the fact that about 80,000 eggs is the average yearly “ take,’’ it is stated that there is no diminution in the numbers of the birds. But the egg collecting is carried out with some care, some portions of the cliffs being ‘‘ fallowed ’’ occa- sionally; and, moreover, there are dangerous parts of the cliffs which are never climbed, and in these places the birds hatch out their first eggs without inter- ference. In the carefully prepared articles on each species, the history in the county of the declining or recently extinct birds is fully given, every bit of avail- able evidence and information having been most praiseworthily preserved. Especial attention may be directed to the excellent articles on the raven, the rarer birds of prey, and the great bustard. A point is made of the earliest allusion to each species as a Yorkshire bird. In this connection we notice that the author has included as an early reference to the black grouse a letter from Fr. Jessop to John Ray, written in 1668, saying he had stuffed the skins of a moor cock and moor hen. We may point out that at that time these names were used to designate the cock and hen of the red grouse. For although the word grouse is now applied almost exclusively to the red grouse, it probably originally belonged to the black grouse or black game, our ‘‘ grouse’? being commonly spoken of until comparatively recent times as moorgame. That the latter was the bird referred to by Jessop is quite clear from another letter addressed by him to Willoughby (vide Derham’s ‘* Philosophical Letters,’’ p. 367). The work is lavishly illustrated, and many of the illustrations are most interesting, or give pleasing scenes of bird-life. But the greater part are photographs of nests and eggs, and as satisfactory or unsatisfactory as such illus- trations must be. Many, indeed most, photo- graphic representations of the nests and eggs of small birds are ‘‘ faked ’’—the nests tilted forward or unnaturally exposed in order that the contents may be seen, and the eggs must be arranged in order that all of them may come into view. You cannot see the eggs in a reed-warbler’s nest by looking at it sideways, nor can you see the whole five eggs in any small nest without looking directly down upon it. Tits’ nests are not naturally exposed to the gaze. Pictures of nesting scenes and sites are far more valuable. The photographing of birds’ nests has been rather overdone. A large proportion of such pictures are worth little, and many of them do not really represent what would be seen by the observer; and it is to be regretted that in their desire to get prints of the nests of different species the disciples of this new sport have made many a pair of birds desert their eggs, and by keeping away their parents have caused young birds to suffer from prolonged exposure to cold, from which they so often do not recover. No nest of a really rare bird, at all events, should be subjected to risks of this kind. The same species can always, if it is really desirable, be photographed where it is comparatively common. But there are many good and useful pictures in these volumes. The dipper’s nest on a branch, the sparrow- hawk’s, showing the tufts of down; the falcon’s eyrie, and the crow’s nest showing the tree, may be men- tioned; while sites such as Cautley Crag, the island in Swinstv Reservoir, the Humber mudflats at Spurn, Hornsea Mere, and the many views of cliff scenery, as well as the snow scene with red grouse sitting on the roof of a moorland cottage in Teesdale, illus- — ante aa APRIL 2, 1908] NEA LOL 513 trate most excellently the ornithological characters of Yorkshire. The errata, in which there is a curious misprint, is not quite complete, and omits to state that lesser spotted woodpecker should be greater (p. 276), and blue tit should be great tit (p. 114). There are two indices, but unfortunately no map. The latest work on the birds of Kent (which from its title, indeed, does not claim to be a complete history of the subject) is founded. on the niaterial brought together in connection with a certain area of that county; but in that limited por- tion of the county it was noticed that the avifauna would scarcely be of sufficient importance to fill even a small work. It was therefore found advisable to take in the whole of the county. It was also thought desirable to collect all the material hitherto written, and give to those who have done so much towards our knowledge of the birds of Kent full credit for their observations. This has in the main been carried out, and the result has been a compilation giving us a great deal of information about the birds of Kent. Indeed, so anxious have the authors been to give all possible credit to those who have written anything about the local ornithology that they have been mislea into including in their book a number of notes and observations which were not worth reproduction, and the discursiveness of which has made it extremely difficult to arrange the facts in the present work in an orderly and:systematic manner. In fact, the book is very well described by its title, and although the reader has never been led to expect a systematic his- tory (from a local point of view) of the birds of Kent, the book is a storehouse of facts relating thereto. We should have been glad to have a complete book on the subject to fill up a blank in the county bird-boolx shelf; a volume with more personal obsery- ations from the authors, and a compilation more com- plete. The present volume has not been brought up to date. For instance, a valuable paper pub- lished in the Zoologist so long ago as February, 1907, has been quite overlooked. Had this been con- sulted the sheldrake might have been added to the list of ducks breeding in Kent, while the status in the county of the shoveller and some other ducks, as given in the volume under notice, would have been some- what modified. Nor has the information relating to the various birds always been brought down even to recent years. Concerning the guillemot breeding on the Kentish coast, we have a description of the breeding colony in St. Margaret’s Bay, written so long ago as 1852, and a note on the same made in 1887, but nothing more recent in the way of exact information about the bird breeding on the coast at the present day, although we are told that the bird is, during the summer and breeding season, very numerous. It would surely have been worth the while of one of the authors to ascertain the exact conditions of the breeding place or places after the lapse of twenty years. This is only one instance out of several. Again, on turning to the articles on the birds more particularly associated with Kent, we find that the greater part of that on the Sandwich tern consists of matter written in the eighteenth century, and we are left in doubt as to whether this bird still breeds annually on the coast or not. The article on the Kentish plover is more satisfying, although it consists almost entirely of quotations (ex- cellent in themselves), with no qualifications, remarks, or annotations by the authors. An exact statement of the status in Kent of each bird would have been welcome. Kent is credited with a list of 320 species, but of these the black grouse is stated to have long been extinct. We cannot quite follow the authors in NO. 2005, VOL. 77] their application of this word when they go on to say that many of the birds, which might also come under the same word, such as the crane, bustards, cream-coloured courser, &c., are likely to become occasional visitors, although comparatively extinct in the county (italics ours). There are certainly no grounds for calling the last-named bird ‘‘ extinet ’’ in the county, as it has never been anything more than a purely accidental straggler to these islands; while the other two species are absolutely, and not only comparatively, extinct as native birds in Great Britain, although they may occur from time to time as visitors. Speaking of the rarer visitors to Kent, the authors remark on one very extraordinary circum- stance, viz. that a very large number of the rare seed-eating and other birds should have been found on the Sussex coast, whereas none of them have been observed in the adjoining county of Kent; and the suspicion here expressed that most of these birds have been introduced by human agency has certainly been entertained by many people. The introduction contains an excellent topographical account of this maritime county (with its 140 miles of coast lapped by tidal water) and its natural features. There is an index, and a map of a handy size. and sufficient for its purpose. The frontispiece to this well-got-up volume is a picture from a photograph of a bit of woodland with a woodcock on her nest, and. is one of the most beautifully executed and successful pictures of this kind we have ever met with. The difficulty in at first seeing the sitting bird, and the failure of the eye to pick it up at once on again glancing at the picture, as well as the way the figure and details of the bird seem to grow on the sight when once it is located, or located once more, is an admirable representation of the real facts of such. cases. The other eight full-page plates depict birds—like the masked shrilke, which has only occurred once in Great Britain—especially associated. with Kent, and (especially the one named) are very wel- come. But they would have been more useful had they been more correctly coloured. The wing coverts of the lesser kestrel should not have been grey, and the legs of the avocet should have been bluish-grey and not olive-green, a colour which has been also used for the legs of the Kentish plover instead of the correct black or brownish-black. Ornithologists will be glad to have the voluminous literature relating to the birds of Kent collected in this nice-looking volume, the paper, binding, and general get-up of which do the publisher great credit. MODERN NITRE BEDS. VER since the invention of ‘ villainous saltpetre,”’ the provision of a sufficiency of nitrates has been one of the preoccupations of a ministry of war, and the necessity has become greater rather than less under the conditions of modern warfare. The potass- ium nitrate that was required for the fabrication of gunpowder is now replaced by the nitric acid used in making the various types of nitro-explosives, but it is always the nitric ion that has to supply the oxygen, and the consumption in a modern battle attains a magnitude of which our immediate predecessors using black powder had no conception. Indeed, one truly scientific argument against war may be drawn from the enormous losses it occasions in the world’s limited stock of combined nitrogen. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century, India was the only source of nitrates on a large scale, and though a certain amount of nitre was recovered from the efflorescence of the walls of cellars and from arti- ficially made beds of earth mixed with decaying animal 514 NATURE [APRIL 2, 1908 matter, it was not until the closing of the seas to France during the wars of the Directory that the necessity of an internal supply of nitrates directed the attention of the French savants to the process of nitrification. ‘Their labours reduced to a system the making of nitric beds, but the maximum production was never more than about 5 kilos. of nitre per metre cube after the bed had been established for two years. it was nearly eighty years later that the researches of Schloesing and Mintz, Warington and Winograd- sky showed that nitrification was brought about by bacteria, and at the same time afforded a justification and an explanation of the procedure which had been worked out empirically for the nitre bed. The dis- covery of the nitrate of soda deposits in Chile left no place for the old nitre beds, but as MM. Miintz and Lainé point out in a very interesting memoir lately presented to the Société d’Encouragement pour 1’In- dustrie nationale (T. cix., pp. 951-1042. Paris, 1907), the conditions that prevailed at the close of the eighteenth century might recur, and France be again driven to manufacture her war stores of nitrates at home. The authors have therefore been studying in detail the process of nitrification on a large scale to ascertain if the process could be so quickened and intensified as to have any practical value. Start- ing with sulphate of ammonia as a home product obtainable on a large scale, they worked out the con- ditions of temperature, concentration, nature of medium, &c., which would result in the maximum formation of nitrates. The most important step they have made is to show that humus, so far from being inhibitive of nitrification, as most organic substances are, is actually favourable, so that peat or turf, which is almost wholly humus, by reason of its great water- absorbing powers and the large surface it offers, be- comes the best of all substrata for nitrification, if it is also supplied with a sufficiency of carbonate of lime, and a vigorous growth of the necessary organisms is first established in it. As a final result of their investigations, MM. Miintz and Lainé show that the optimum production of nitrates is attained when the ammoniacal liquids per- colate through successive beds prepared of finely divided peat mixed with carbonate of lime. It is im- possible to begin with a concentrated solution of the sulphate of ammonia, 7°5 grams per litre being about | the optimum when the “ nitriére ’’ is in full activity; but after this liquid has been nitrified, successive addi- tions of fresh sulphate of ammonia can be made, and the liquid put through another bed until a concentra- tion of 47 grams of calcium nitrate per litre is reached, a figure which is still well below the limit of 20 per cent. at which nitrification ceases. With such an installation the authors expect a daily formation of 7°5 lxilos. of nitrate of calcium per metre cube of turf, which represents an extraordinary advance upon the old nitre beds producing 5 kilos. of potassium nitrate per metre cube in two years. Of course, the process at present is not within the domain of practical politics; ammoniacal nitrogen has practically the same market value as the nitric nitro- gen produced, so that the labour expended and the cost of evaporating the final solution would all be wasted; but, as the authors began by pointing out, the occasion may yet arise when a country without com- mand of the sea may require to manufacture its own nitrates. Then ‘“‘ nitriéres’? could be established by peat bog to convert into nitrates the ammonia which ld be distilled out of the peat. The only doubt gen will even then leave for such a process. IDE el NO. 2005, VOL. yh that occurs to us is what opening the recent electrical | methods of making nitrates from atmospheric nitro- | PROMINENCE AND CORONAL STRUCTURE. NYONE who has studied the forms of the corona observed at different eclipses knows that these forms change from time to time, going through phases which are more or less repeated every eleven or twelve years according to the solar activity. I have previously indicated (Monthly Notices, R.A.S., vol. Ixiii., No. 8, p. 481) that there is reason to believe that these changes of shape depend, not on sun-spot action, but on the position and percentage frequency of solar prominences, so that when prominences are most frequent, either near the solar poles or equator, the coronal streamers follow suit. Prominences can now be observed and_photo- graphed every day, but coronal streamers and the lower corona can only as yet be seen during eclipses. From photographs taken during eclipses, it is difficult always to associate certain streamers with prominences, and indeed this should be the case. The reason for this is that prominences are only seen on the limb of the sun that is in profile in such photographs, while streamers may be observed in perspective in addition. The base of a large streamer need not necessarily, therefore, be situated on the solar limb. It is, I think, now generally acknowledged that a study of eclipse photographs has shown that there is an intimate association (a) between streamers and the lower corona, and (b) between the lower corona and prominences. The more, therefore, the form of the lower corona can be attributed to prominence action the more the streamers will depend on prominence activity. In the eclipses of 1898, 1901, and 1905 ‘“‘ arched ”’ or ‘‘ envelope ’’ structures were photographed. Thus Prof. Dyson, in describing the series of three arches he photographed in 1901, said, ‘‘ A very remarkable arch in the corona. Round the prominence three separate arches are shown, one inside the other. . . . They have the appearance of cloud over an erup- tion.” Again, the Astronomer Royal, referring to his photographs of the 1905 eclipse, writes, ‘‘ very bright prominence associated with oval rings and g Pp arched structure in the corona.”’ The question arises, are these ‘‘ arched ’”’ forms q | composed of prominence or coronal material? Photo- graphs taken with prismatic cameras during these eclipses might answer this question, since they are capable of recording, in monochromatic light, images of the sun’s surroundings. An examination of such photographs taken by the Solar Physics Observatory’s expedition had, however, shown no indication of any such “ arch ”’ systems, but it is quite possible that the comparative faintness of the objects in question and the insuffi- cient lengths of exposure given may account for their absence in the records. So far as I am aware, no such series of ‘‘ arches ’’ has been photographed except during the eclipses above mentioned, so that whether the material com- posing the arches is ‘‘coronal’’ or ‘‘ prominence ”’ is still undecided. Although the routine work with the spectro- heliograph ot the Solar Physics Observatory since the year 1904 has been to secure, daily if possible, photographs of the sun’s disc and limb in the wave- length of the ‘“‘K” line of calcium, it was not until July 17 of last year that a photograph was obtained which presented a magnificent series of ‘‘ arches.” 1 Abstract of a paper read before the Royal Society on January 16 (Roy- | Soc. Proc., Series A, vol. Ixxx., No. A 537, pp. 178-183). | SE APRIL 2, 1908] NATURE By be) The disturbed area on the sun was situated near the south pole in the eastern quadrant. Two photo- graphs of this region were secured, one at 3h. 14m. p-m., G.M-P., and the other at 3h. .50m. p.m., G.M.T. In the first (see Fig. 1) the arches are clearly visible and complete, but in the second they are less discernible and partially broken up, in spite of the fact that the second photograph had _ the better exposure. The 1nost conspicuous feature of the whole dis- I, is the series of three reach down to turbed area, shown in Fig. concentric arches, which nearly chromosphere, chromosphere, are 1/5, 2/9, and 3/6. The radii of the arches photographed and measured by Prof. Dyson for the 1901 eclipse were 1/2, 2/4, and 3/7. It will thus be seen that both are of about the same order of magnitude. It will be noticed further that the intensity of the arches is not uniform; thus the outside one has five points of increased intensity, while the next in order has three such maximum points. On the eastern side of these arches there is another distinct semi- | oval which intersects two of the three main arches. | On the southern side are some minor projections from the chromosphere which by their curvature seem to indicate that they form part of the whole disturbance. The magnitude of this very active region will be Fic. r.—A prominence in the form of ‘‘arches”’ at the Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington. more readily grasped when it is stated that the extreme portions were separated by 12/7 and the highest point from the chromosphere measured 3/6. Thus the breadth extended 353,000 miles, or more than three-quarters of a solar radius, and the height was about Io1,600 miles. It is interesting to note that there is apparently no large prominence underlying these envelopes, but whether there is one just on the near or far side of the limb cannot be stated. The above photograph demonstrates that ‘‘arches similar in form and magnitude to those secured during eclipses have now been photographed in the light of calctum vapour. This indicates that at any rate one of the components of the material of which they are built up is calcium. As the spectrum of the corona has no line at this wave-length, the deduc- tion may be made that the arches photographed. during eclipses are most probably of ‘* prominence ”’ and not of ‘‘ coronal ’’ material. We have, therefore, show the dependence of the form of the corona on prominence activity. Since the above paper was communicated to the Royal Society, M. A. Hansky has published the results of his discussion of the corona pictures NO. 2005, VOL. 77 | ” another link in the chain to | the | Their heights, as measured from the | photographed in ‘‘K” light on July 17, 1907, | the Advancement of Science (1890, he secured at the total solar eclipse of August, 1905, and one of the conclusions which he has arrived at is as follows :— “Tl est trés probable que la forme et la direction des rayons coronaux dépendent de la form et la direc- tion des protubérances au-dessus desquelles ils sé trouvent ’’ (Mitt. d. Nikolai-Hauptsternwarte su Pulkowa, Band ii., 1907, No. 19, p. 118). Wiiiiam J. S. Lockyer. DR. A. W. HOWITT, C.M.G. Be the death of Dr. A. W. Howitt, recorded in Nature of March 12 (p. 443), a link has snapped between the old days of the perilous exploration of Australia and the detailed scientific investigations of the present day. As early as Mr. Howitt’s knowledge of bush-craft was such that a syndicate in Melbourne appointed him head of an expedition to acquire a tract of the “ Promised Land’’ in Central Australia, of the existence of which Warburton had recently confirmed the report of Stuart. In 1860 he conducted a prospecting expedition in Gippsland. The following year he was selected to lead a party in search of the ill-fated Burke and Wills Expedition, of which John King, the last survivor, was rescued; later Mr. Howitt penetrated into the Great Stony Desert. Thus for many years Mr. Howitt had a wide personal acquaintance with the physical characters of southern and south-eastern Australia. On his numerous expeditions and journeys he came into close and friendly contact with the natives, some of whom were in a condition of com- plete savagery, and, later on, cir- cumstances enabled him to acquire considerable influence over tribes in south-east Australia, so much so that he was even permitted to be present at their sacred ceremonies. In 1873, Mr. Howitt joined the late Dr. Lorimer Fison in investi- gating the classificatory system of relationship which obtains among certain tribes, as well as the tribal class system and the rules of marriage and descent connected therewith. These investigations were published in 1880 in their memor- able book, ‘* Kamilaroi and Kurnai,’’ which laid the foundations of a truer conception of Australian scciology than was previously possible. Of similar joint authorship were papers ‘‘ From Mother-right to Father-right ’’ and ‘‘ On the Deme and the Horde,’’ in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute (1882, 1884). In the same journal, from 1883 to 1908, Mr. Howitt published a series of papers of great value dealing with Australian sociology, initiation cere- monies, religion, and other phases of native customs and beliefs. In the production of these Mr. Howitt was assisted by some sixty correspondents from various parts of the continent; these informants were subjected to continued questioning, which elicited more detailed knowledge. Mr. Howitt also published in the annual report of the Australasian Association for 1891, Igo1), papers “On the Use of Gesture Language in Australian Tribes,’? ‘‘ Anthropology in Australia,’’ and ‘On Trade Centres in Australian Tribes.’’ On the occasion of the meeting of the British Association in Cam- bridge in 1904, the University of Cambridge presented Mr. Howitt with the honorary degree of Doctor in Science, in recognition of his ethnological investiga- 1858, 516 NATURE [Aprit 2, 1908 tions. Later in the same year Dr. Howitt published, with Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., his great work on ‘“* The Native Tribes of South-east Australia,”’ in which is embodied his life’s work in ethnology. By far ihe greater part of the materials was collected and re- corded before 1889. Since then the native tribes have more or less died out, and in the older settlements of south-eastern Australia the tribal remnants have now almost lost the knowledge of the beliefs and customs of their fathers. Fortunately, Dr. Howitt began to observe and collect information before it was too late, but even then much had disappeared. Dr. Howitt’s book contains a great mass of in- formation concerning numerous tribes, and thus it serves as an invaluable storehouse for students, but it is more than this, as it embodies the mature opinions of the father of Australian ethnology, who, by his kindly and sympathetic nature, was able to gain and retain the confidence of his native friends. The opinion of a man of such prolonged and varied experience in the field, combined with the knowledge of what others had collected, must always carry weight. The collecting and recording of complete ethnological data are* naturally matters of first im- pcrtance, but of even greater interest is the true appreciation of the ideas which underlie the actions of men. He who has lived among the people he describes should be the best interpreter of their ideas and ideals, and in these matters we are not likely to find a surer guide than the genial explorer and student whose death will be deplored by ethnologists all the world over. A. C. Happon. NOTES. Tue astronomical section of the Paris Academy of Sciences has elected M. Maurice Hamy, of the Paris Observatory, to succeed the late Dr. Janssen as a member of that section of the academy. M. Hamy entered the observatory in 1884, and was awarded the Lalande prize in 1895. Tue Paris correspondent of the Times states that the Academy of Sciences has appointed a committee, composed of MM. Becquerel, Bouquet de la Grye, and Poincaré, to consider a suggestion by M. Bouquet de la Grye concern- ing the application of wireless telegraphy to the problem of the determination of longitude at sea. The idea is to utilise the wireless telegraphy station of the Eiffel Tower in order to send, for instance, every night at midnight a Hertzian signal giving the time of the meridian of Paris. M. Bouquet de la Grye thinks, indeed, that if a wireless telegraphy station were established at the Peak of Teneriffe signals could be detected completely around the earth. Tue next International Congress of Archzology will be held at Cairo in 1909. For the purpose of discussing subjects of interest to those concerned in the work of museums, art galleries, and kindred institutions, a conference of members of the Museums Association and others interested will be held in the Harris Free Public Library and Museum, Preston, on the afternoon of Saturday, April 11. Tne twenty-fourth annual meeting of the Society of Dyers and Colourists will be held on April 3, at 4.30 p.m., at the Technical College, Bradford. The president, Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., will deliver his presidential address on “ The Founding of the Coal-tar Colour Industry.’’ The first the medal will be made to Profs. NO. 2005, VOL. 77] awards .of Perkin C. Graebe and ©. Liebermann for their synthesis of alizarin. On the evening of the same day the members of the society will dine together at the Great Northern Victoria Hotel, Bradford. EarTHQUAKE shocks occurred at Mexico City during the evening of March 26, and were felt also at Guanajuata and Rincon. The town of Chilapa, in the State of Guerrero, was destroyed. The disturbances were recorded by Prof. Milne, F.R.S., at Shide, in the Isle of Wight; by Prof. Belar at Laibach, Austria; and by Prof. Michie Smith in southern India, all of whom communicated their observa- tions to the Daily Mail. The earthquake is reported to have begun soon after 11 p.m. on March 26, to have reached its maximum at 11.53 p-m., and continued for more than three hours. The shock was felt at St. Thomas, in the West Indies. We learn from the April number of Nature Notes, the magazine of the Selborne Society, that at last a Bill is to be introduced into Parliament to restrict the importation of birds’ skins, and so prevent in some measure the rapid extermination of beautiful birds, of which the egret (‘‘ osprey ’’) and birds-of-paradise are typical examples. A short time ago, Lord Avebury, president of the Selborne Society, called together a meeting of representatives of the various learned societies at his house. to consider whether legislation ought to be attempted, and this being the general opinion of those present, the main features of a Bill drafted by Mr. James Buckland were adopted for presentation to the societies interested. Errorts are being made to form an Institute of Metals, which it is hoped by the promoters will follow similar lines to the Iron and Steel Institute. The proposed institute is intended to advance the knowledge of non-ferrous metals and their alloys, more especially copper, zinc, tin, aluminium, lead, nickel, silver, and platinum; to form a means of communication between members of the same trade; and to arrange periodical meetings for the purpose of discussing practical and scientific subjects relating to the metallurgy and use of the metals enumerated. Ih. 28m. Mars in conjunction with Moon. Mars 4.15’ N. >> 3h. 27m. Venus in conjunction with Mars. Venus 137 WN 9. Ioh. 55m. Jupiter in conjunction with Moon. Jupiter 1° 21’ S. 14. Ith. 56m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 7- 8h. 45m. Minimum of Algol (8 Persei). 19-22. Epoch of April Meteors (Radiant 271° + 33>). 20. Venus. Illuminated portion of disc=0°540. 3h. 12m. Uranus in conjunction with Moon. Uranus o° 27’ N. 24. 4h. 45m. to 8h. 27m. (Ganymede). Venus at maximum elongation (45° 37’ E.). NO. 2005, VOL. 77] Transit of Jupiter’s Sat. III. 26,) 7h Comet 1907 I1.—We have received an abstract of a paper read by Prof. E. Weiss before the Vienna Academy of Sciences on February 6, in which the author directs atten- tion to the striking similarity of the orbit of comet 1907 II. to that of the comet of 1742. It appears probable that they refer to the same body, having a period of 165 years. From the fact that the earth passes very near to the ascending node of the cometary orbit towards the end of March, Prof. Weiss expects that a fairly rich meteor shower, from a radiant at a=307°-6, 5=—60°-7, should be observed in the southern hemisphere. Tue PRESIDENT OF THE ASTROGRAPHIC CONGRESS.—At the request of several members of the permanent committee of the Astrographic Congress, Sir David Gill has, we understand, proposed to the permanent committee that M. Baillaud, the new director of the Paris Observatory, should be elected president of the international congress in succession to the late M. Loewy. Remembering -the important part played by France in the labours expended on the Carte du Ciel, the generous support of the Insti- tute of France in the publication of the committee’s re- ports, and the great and successful efforts of Admiral Mouchez, M. Tisserand, and M. Loewy in the furtherance of the work, it is almost as a matter of course that the director of the Paris Observatory should be elected to fill the important position of president of the international committee. Tue Herium, D,, Line IN THE SoLar SpecTRuM.—In No. 394 (March, p. 133) of the Observatory, Captain Daunt continues the discussion as to the presence of D, as a dark line in the solar spectrum, raised by the photographs taken at Kodaikanal by Mr. Nagaraja last year, and comes to the conclusion that the fine dark line shown on the photographs is not an absorption effect of D, at all. The main objection raised by Captain Daunt is that the fine dark line on the photographs runs right across the spec- trum, and is sligtly widened over the spot, whereas, according to his own and to Mr. Buss’s observations, the helium absorption line is generally very broken and patchy, and has never been. seen over the spot itself; it always appears in the faculic areas surrounding the spot. Two ReMaRKABLE SPEcTROScoPIc Binaries.—In a note published in the Observatory (No. 394, p. 139, March) Mr. Gote shows that two spectroscopic binaries, a Carine and a Pavonis, recently discovered at the Lick Observatory, must have. remarkably small masses. In the case of the former, if the inclination of the orbit be 90°, the mass is but 0-007 of the sun’s mass, and if the inclination is 30° this value is only increased to 0-056. The corresponding mass values for a Pavonis are 0-00047 and 0-0038 re- spectively, and in this case the result is more remarkable still, for a Pavonis is a brighter star, mag. 2-12; its spectrum is of the Orion type. Mr. Gore suggests that both these stars.are probably near our system, and an effort should be made to determine their parallaxes. VARIATION IN THE RapiAL VELocity oF 8 Ursa Mayjoris. —In No. 4239 of the Astronomische Nachrichten Dr. H. Ludendorff announces that plates taken at Potsdam show the radial velocity of 8 Ursze Majoris to be variable. The values given range from —6 km. (March 27, 1904) to —26 km. (April 28, 1905), and in a footnote it is stated that later observations show the period to be twenty-seven days. Dr. NorpMANN’s VarRIABLE STAR OpseRVATIONS.—Follow- ing up the researches mentioned in these columns last week (p. 497), Dr. Charles Nordmann has obtained equally striking results from observations of 8 Lyra and 6 Cephei. In these cases the epochs of maxima and minima, as observed through the coloured screens, agree with the ephemerides, but the amplitude and form of the light- curves vary with the region of the spectrum observed. Thus for 8 Lyra the difference between the principal maximum and minimum amounts to 0-66 magnitude with the red, 0-94 magnitude with the green, and 1-34 magnitude with the blue screen. The differences between the two prin- cipal maxima vary from o-3 magnitude with the blue to zero with the red screen, and it is shown that this star emits a greater proportion of the less refrangible rays at the principal than at the secondary minimum. Similar results accrue from the observations of 6 Cephei (Comptes rendus, No. 10, p. 518, March 9). APRIL 2, 1908] NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY DURING _ 1907. ‘THE report for 1907 of the National Physical Labora- tory, presented to -he general board on the occasion of the annual meeting and inspection of the laboratory on March 20, contains abundant evidence of the rapid growth and extension of its activities during the past few years, as well as of the usefulness and importance of the research work which such an institution is able to undertake. Following closely upon the report of the Treasury Com- mittee, which has done valuable service, both to the labora- tory and to the public, in defining more precisely the limits to be set and the conditions to be observed in regard to the acceptance of certain classes of test work, this account of the past year’s work affords conclusive evidence that the organisation of special departments for the verifica- tion of instruments and examination of materials need be no hindrance to the concurrent prosecution of those re- searches which constitute the most important part of the laboratory’s work. It is interesting to note opening of the laboratory in 1901. Apart from the observatory depart- ment at Richmond, the laboratory originally comprised a physics depart- ment at Bushy House and an engineering depart- ment housed in an adjoining building of two bays. At the present time the accommodation afforded in Bushy House is supple- mented by that of three other build- ings, together covering an area at least double that of Bushy House itself, in addition to a smaller building mainly devoted to the test work for the Indian Govern- ment, transferred to the laboratory from Coopers Hill, and a special building erected for the War Office standard lead- ing screw lathe. Of the three larger buildings, the THE the changes effected since the VAP Saray Fic. 1.—General view 0 engineering building is now nearly doubled in size; the building for electrotechnics and photometry was completed in 1g05, and considerable progress has been made with its equipment, which is described in a special appendix to the report, referred to below; while the build- ing for metrology has been more recently erected, and the transference to it of the comparators and apparatus for measurements of length is only now being begun. One special feature of the metrology building is a long passage arranged for the verification of 50-metre survey- ing tapes and wires, whether on the flat or in catenar Of general public as well as of special scientific interest the completion of the new magnetic observatory at Eskdalemuir, in Dumfriesshire. Primarily intended for the resumption of the magnetic work interrupted at Kew by the coming of the electric tram, it will be equipped generally with the recording and other apparatus necessary is to a first-class meteorological station, and will maintain a close connection with its parent institution at Rich- mond. Dr. Chree’s admirable work in the analysis and interpretation of the Kew records will thus be continued NO. 2005, VOL. 77] NATURE om and extended. Eskdalemuir is situated towards the head | of the Esk valley, some eighteen miles from Lockerbie on the Caledonian, and from Langholm on the North British Railway, sufficiently far from the nearest point of either line to be secure from magnetic disturbance. The locality promises to be no less free from social perturbations, and the relief measures to be adopted in the event of a severe winter will no doubt engage the attention of the com- mittee at an early date. Mr. G. W. Walker, of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Glasgow University, is the first superintendent. Among other matters of general interest, one or two branches of work recently undertaken by the laboratory may be referred to shortly. The transference to the laboratory of the Indian Government test work has led to the formation of a new department, of which Mr. Rosenhain is superintendent. The equipment of the new building in which the work is carried out has been systematically planned with the view of securing ease and rapidity of working ; a description of the arrangements and of the methods of analysis employed is given in the report of the department. Ly f ey BEY /f W777 NN 1 A lar ge bay of Electrotechnical Building, looking east. | The testing of taximeters, undertaken for the Com- missioner of Police, has aroused a good deal of public attention. The tests applied consist of an exhaustive examination both in the laboratory and on the road of one instrument of a type, and of its mechanism, and of a simpler verification of the accuracy of each individual instrument. The tests are carried out at the laboratory, but a building has been erected in the Lambeth Road for the reception of taximeters for re-examination after use. The testing of glow-lamps under the specification issued by the Engineering Standards Committee may also be mentioned here. The Lamp-testing Bureau of ._New York is responsible for reporting annually on some 13,000,000 lamps, to the benefit alike of the manufacturer and the consumer. Indications are not wanting of a demand for such tests in this country; increased facilities for the work are being provided in the photometry department. Turning now to research, the papers published during the year include some of the most important work carried out by the laboratory. Foremost among these must be mentioned the three papers on the fundamental electrical 522 NATURE [APRIL 2, 1908 for work, with Prof. Ayrton, Mr. Mather, and Dr. -Mr. F. E. Smith is responsible, and which, with earlier paper on mercury resistance standards, embody results of the worl: of the electrical standards depart- ment from the foundation of the laboratory. We shall, no doubt, have oceasion to refer more particularly to these three papers in dealing with the ‘‘ Collected Researches ’ of the laboratory, vols. ili. and iv. of which are now ready for issue. The ampere balance, planned originally by Viriamu Jones and Ayrton, the electrical part of which was constructed at the laboratory, with such modifications of the original design as experience showed to be neces- sary, under Mr. Smith’s supervision, has given results “far exceeding that secured in any absolute determination of any electrical unit. . . . The balance was intended to give the ampere to 1 part in 10,000, but about 1 part in 50,000 appears to have been attained. A little uncertainty units, the exists as to the value of g and the axial length of the coils; the latter uncertainty may shortly be removed ’’ (by the construction of new coils). The work on the comparison of various forms of silver Fic. 2.—General view of one of the instrument-testing stations. voltameter has led to results of the same order of accuracy. Mr. Smith has shown that under specified conditions all the different types of voltameter experimented with give identical results for the electrochemical equivalent to within 2 parts in 100,000. In a suggested specification Yor the international ampere the Rayleigh form is recom- mended as the easiest to erect. The paper on the Weston cadmium cell summarises the results of all the observations made at the National Physical Laboratory, and establishes the reproducibility ind constancy of the cell. The results of comparisons between American, French, German, and English cells are Siven in the report, and show that standard cadmium cells in be set up by different experimenters with different erials to agree within a few parts in 100,000. | The results obtained, in these researches and in those ltaneously carried on in the standardising institutions | 1t Washington, Paris, and Berlin should make the way | lk for the International Conference on Electrical Units to be held in London probably this year. Mr. Smith is 1 igratulated on having placed the laboratory in the 2005, VOL. bh 4d which—in conjunction, as regards some parts | forefront of the institutions engaged in this work. The construction of the Lorentz apparatus, to be presented to the laboratory by the Drapers’ Company, has been already commenced, and may perhaps be completed within the current year. The research work of other departments must be dealt with more shortly. Mr. Campbell has published a valu- able series of papers on mutual inductances: construction of standards, and methods of measurement. ‘These latter include the use of a novel form of vibration galvanometer. Dr. Harker’s high-temperature work has been delayed by his illness, but a new type of high-temperature furnace has been devised which promises well for the uniform heating of fairly large objects to about 2500° C. In the metrology department much time has been devoted to the development of methods of measurement of screws, and a 4-metre standard bar has been divided and calibrated. Mr. Hunter, in the optical department, has devised a method of considerable interest for the measurement of definition, more especially of photographic lenses. In the electrotechnics department a research on the dielectric resistance of insulating materials, undertaken for the Engineering Stand- ards Committee, has been delayed by the failure of the 100,000-volt __ trans- former under con- struction. In the engineering department, Dr. Stanton has com- pleted some import- ant researches. The wind-pressure work has established in- teresting results as regards the relative pressures on large and small plates, which receive re- markable confirma- tion from the ex- periments of M. Eiffel. The com- parison of open-air results on large models with those obtained earlier for small models shows that the.values for large surfaces in the open can be inferred with accuracy from observations in the laboratory. Other researches _ carried out deal with the resistamece:: tf materials under re- peated stresses and blows in four forms of impact testing machine, and the elastic limits of material under alter- nating stress. In the new department for metallurgy Mr. Rosenhain has been very active, and at least three researches of first-rate importance were in progress during the year under his direction. The most interesting is perhaps the investigation of the alloys of aluminium, copper, and manganese, in continuation of the work carried out by Dr. Carpenter on the aluminium-copper alloys, which appears in vol. iii. of the ‘‘ Collected Researches.’? For the purpose of the metallurgical research an ultra-violet microscopic outfit has been installed for obtaining photo- micrographs at magnifications up to 3600 diameters. The report is followed by an appendix, which gives some details as to the equipment of the electrotechnical laboratory (including the department for photometry). Much yet remains to be done to complete the equipment of this building, but the arrangements have been planned with the view of meeting the demands which are likely to arise, and the account given is of no little interest and APRIL 2, 1908] NATURE 523 The chief feature is probably the careful provision the distribution of voltage and current about the utmost flexibility in this respect for the varied purposes of test and utility. made for the building, being essential research, The building—mainly on one floor—comprises one large bay (Fig. 1) for machines and alternating current test work, two parallel rooms of half the area for heavier test work and resistance and direct-current work respectively, with offices and workshops beyond. The photometry section, on two floors, runs at right angles to these on the east. Above are the rooms for the photometric measurements, with a go-feet track for arc-lamp work ; the ground floor provides accommodation for life tests, Fic. 3.—Water cooled regulating resistances—capacity 6000 amperes. and is already largely occupied with the specially designed life-test racks necessary to cope with the probable de mand to which reference has been already made. The results of the work on light standards at the laboratory since 1903 were laid before the Institution of Electrical Engineers by Mr. Paterson in December, 1906, an institution premium, and much time has been devoted during 1907 to work on the pentane standard, while the photometry of differently coloured lights is also receiving attention, The instruments for occupy the centre of the under a platform to screen off light, electrostatic voltmeters, reading up to 400 volts, NO. 2005, VOL. 77 | alternating current standard work main bay (Fig. 1); on the right, on two in a paper which gained | are the two standard | approximately circular scales 26 feet in length, with an accuracy of 1 part in 10,000. Outside the building, on the opposite side of the main bay, is a small, entirely | detached, fire-proof high-tension transformer house, to be occupied by the 100,000-volt transformer, with the aid of which it is proposed that Mr. Rayner should continue the valuable researches on insulating materials already pub- lished. Twelve-inch ducts carry the high-tension current into the large bay. Fig. 2 gives a general view of an instrument testing station—or testing bench—at the east end of the large | bay (see Fig. 1). The bench part of the stand in front is arranged as a cupboard with glass top, in which instru- ments of horizontal type can be tested at any tempera- ture; for other purposes the glass can be covered with teak lids. The back compartment contains heating lamps and a fan for carrying the heated air to any part of the station, the upper part being arranged so that it can be covered with a thin celluloid cover. Above the station may be seen the main heavy current leads. In Fig. 3 are shown the water-cooled regulating resistances employed for heavy current work, of 6000 amperes capacity. The resistance room, in charge of Mr. Melsom, contains arrangements for all high and low resistance work, except that on ultimate standards; for tests on cables, insulation testing sets, &c., and for dry-cell testing. For accom- modating accumulators under test a small build- ing has been erected outside the north wall. Mr. Paterson and his collaborators have given the utmost attention to all detail throughout the building, the benefit of which will doubtless be felt as the work increases. ; Although the development of the laboratory since 1901 has been rapid, it is clear that even now it has but barely reached its most active period of growth. The need and the value of the services it can render become progressively mor« apparent, and Dr. Glazebrook’s able administra- tion and untiring energy may be expected to pro- duce even greater, if perhaps not so obvious, advances in the next seven years. THE NORTH SEA FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS. HEN the British Government in 1902 under- took to cooperate with other countries bordering on the North Sea in an investigation into the fisheries of that region, it delegated its share of the work in the north to the Scottish Fishery Board and in the south to the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom- The latter has now issued its second report upon the work done by its naturalists and hydrographer covering the period 1904-5. Four papers are included, and the first is by Dr. Wallace on the age and growth-rate of plaice in the southern North Sea, and is the result of the application of a method of determining the age of the fish by the otolith or ‘‘ ear-stone.’” Various attempts have been made to determine the age of fishes. The scales furnish some evidence, but | in most cases, at any rate, they are hard to read. The | otolith method, on the other hand, is easy, and much more | rapid than the scale method. | The otolith shows on its surface a series of concentric rings alternately light and dark, and Reibisch in 1899 found that each light ring represented the growth of the | otolith during the summer, while the dark rings repre- | sented winter growth. There seems to be no difference in structure in the alterhate rings, the different appearance being produced entirely by a difference in the density of. the substance. In the light opaque rings the particles are more closely packed, while in the dark more or less | transparent rings the particles are farther apart. Since NATORE, [APRIL 2, 1908 Reibisch’s discovery of the importance of these rings as un indication of the age of the individual fish, Redecke, Johansen, and Wallace have all independently proved the orrectness of his discovery. In the present paper Dr. Wallace applies the method to determine the rate of growth of the plaice, its distribution in relation to age, and other points of interest with regard (o the habits and life of the species. Previous to the application of this method the only means of getting approximately at the age of the fish was by measuring the length of large numbers of individuals and obtaining a frequency curve, but, as Dr. Wallace points out, this method had many disadvantages which are avoided by the otolith method. By examination of the otoliths, not only is the average length for any age determined, but also the maximum and minimum lengths are obtained. The only assump- tion made is that all plaice emerge from the egg on April 1! Since the plaice only spawns once a year, and the spawning season at the most lasts three months, the error, owing to this assumption, is negligible. Having determined the ‘‘ age-groups,’’ Dr. Wallace discusses their distribution in the area investigated, and in connection with this is brought out the existence of a ‘‘selective migration,’’ that is, the distri- bution or sorting out of individuals according to size. The larger fish of the year tend to move into deeper water than the smaller. It is not a new observation that large fish are found in deeper water, but age is a factor which has not previously been taken into con- sideration. At any depth are to be found fish representing the larger ones of a recent year, the average sized ones of an earlier year, and the smaller ones of a still earlier year, and so on, but the bulk of the fish of any one size will belong to one particular year, so that at any given depth we shall find the fish of one par- ticular year dominant. Although this is the rule up to three or perhaps four years old, these older fish seem to be affected by other factors not yet sufficiently understood, as on apparently similar grounds the average size of the fish may differ considerably. : In discussing the average growth-rate of the plaice in the southern North Sea, Dr. Wallace points out that there is a different average growth-rate in the two sexes, and also that the longevity of the female is greater than that of the male. Up to five years of age the average number of males and females is apparently the same, but after that the males rapidly fall off in numbers, and in plaice of eight years old and upwards gt per cent, are females. The males arrive at maturity one or even two years earlier than the females, and after seven years prac- tically cease to grow. We reproduce one of the excellent series of photographs | of otoliths taken by Mr. R. A. Todd, representing the right otoliths of twenty plaice. The fish were 27 cm. long, and the majority were four years old, as can be seen from the otoliths, which nearly all show four white rings. Dr. Wallace’s paper is somewhat difficult reading owing to the short paragraphs and frequent interpolation of tables, diagrams, and references. A short summary cover- ing all the ground would, we think, in the circumstances | have been specially useful. Mr. R. A. Todd has continued his researches on the food of fishes, and some most valuable results are brought out by his laborious work. First he notes the fact that he younger fish of every species examined (thirty-four in chiefly depend upon crustacea for their sustenance, phipods, cumacea, and decapod larvae forming the chief food supplies. ndly, he shows that although in the young fish tion between all species may be great, in the adults n is not nearly so keen, except in certain cases The chief food of all fishes appears and crustaceans, but a few species echinoderms and ccelenterates as supple- D9. 200 5. VOL. ial // mentary supplies. Competition is avoided by each species preferring some few particular species, which often seem to form its staple diet. Mr. Todd’s researches have led to some _ interesting observations as to a fasting period peculiar to one or two Pleuronectide. It seems that this is connected with the spawning period, as in the salmon, but in the case of the plaice it is chiefly the male which abstains from food, since on the spawning grounds “‘ the greater the excess of dG over @ the greater the proportion of empty stomachs.” The report upon the plankton of the English Channel, by Dr. L. H. Gough, contains some interesting observations as to the causes of distribution. In spite of the fact that the minute organisms constituting the plankton are primarily dependent for their distribution on the water movements, there are two characteristic classes, the oceanic, found only away from land, and the neritic, found in shallow waters. Salinity was at first supposed to be the determining factor, it being thought that the oceanic forms could not survive in the fresher waters near the coast, but Dr. Gough points out that these forms are capable of withstanding a greater range of salinity than is to be met with in the region explored. The most Views of the concave (outer) surfaces of right otoliths of twenty-five plaice, mostly with four rings. Magnified about three times. recent theory to account for this distribution is that the decomposing organic matters in the shallower waters where bottom fauna and flora flourish are poisons to the oceanic species, whereas they are either innocuous to or possibly necessary for the neritic species. The fourth paper in the report deals with the surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean south of 60° N. lat. from September, 1904, to December, 1905. Mr. D. J. Matthews explains that the paper is almost entirely de- scriptive, giving an account of the distribution of surface salinity and temperature over a period of sixteen months. Samples of water have been obtained over a large area through the assistance of the captains of a number of steamers. Even during the short period covered certain striking facts have been observed as to the movements of the waters. For instance, a distinct waxing and waning of the Labrador current has been detected. Monthly charts showing temperature and salinity for the whole sixteen months add greatly to the interest of the paper. The volume forms a valuable contribution to science. Frank Batrour BROWNE. APRIL 2, 1908] NATURE : 25 EXTENSIONS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. ON Thursday last, March 26, the Chancellor of the University of London, the Earl of Rosebery, visited University College, the occasion being the opening of the new libraries and the south wing after the changes made consequent upon the removal of the boys’ school to Hamp- stead. The Chancellor on his arrival was met by the Vice- Chancellor (Sir William Collins), Sir Philip Magnus, Lord Reay, Sir Edward Busk, Sir Felix Schuster, Sir Arthur Riicker, Dr. T. Gregory Foster, Dr. Bourne Benson, the deans of the college faculties, and other members of the college committee. After an inspection of the alterations, the Chancellor proceeded to the botanical theatre and gave an address, formally declaring the new libraries and south wing open. In his address Lord Rosebery said they met on a very interesting occasion, because they met to celebrate the fact that, owing to the removal of University College School, the accommodation of University College itself had been increased by fully one-third, and that therefore it had taken one more gigantic stride onward in its progress as a great centre of university life. To achieve this result great exertions had been made. No less than 276,o00l. had been raised by the magnificent bounty of various donors. As a result of these donations there had been found room for scientific departments hitherto inadequately housed. There had been found room for an adequate museum and class-rooms for geology; a biometrical labora- tory for research, which enabled Prof. Karl Pearson to continue his experiments in much more advantageous circumstances; a laboratory had been added of national eugenics (owing to the bounty of Mr. Francis Galton) which could not but be of great advantage to that portion of the curriculum. In the school of engineering a museum had been added, and a hydraulic laboratory. In the school of electrical engineering the accommodation. had been doubled. The research laboratory of experimental psycho- logy had been lodged in entirely mew quarters. The department of hygiene had been greatly enlarged and largely equipped mainly by the generosity of. the Chad- wick trustees. In the faculty of arts eleven new lecture- rooms had been added. But perhaps the library was the most remarkable feature of the new enlargement. The method of arrangement required notice by everyone who was interested in that subject—a large general library and a series of specialised libraries in enclosed subdivisions which served as conference rooms for teachers and pupils. Last, but not least, Lord Rosebery alluded to the extra accommodation for the students of the union. He honestly thought that no wiser thing could have been done by the authorities than to make their students feel it not merely a class-room, but a home, and to give them accommodation where they could spend their leisure hours as their elders did in clubs. He had reason to believe that the University College Debating Society was one of the most formidable of those academic parliaments which sometimes invited their seniors to address them on the principle, he thought, on which the Spartans were wont to place a drunken helot in their midst to serve as a melancholy example of what might happen to them if they did not stop in time. He also directed attention to the new recreation grounds and the residential hall at Ealing, which will be ready next October. This was a record of manifold activities and of splendid beneficence. It inspired certain expectations in those who were interested in the work of University College and of the University of London. There they had a college which yielded to few colleges in the world in its appliances, situated in the midst of the greatest metropolis in the world, educating and rearing hundreds and hundreds of students, the centre of one form of university life in the metropolis. What a long way they were from the old Stinkumalee, as it was derisively called by Theodore Hook. Stinkumalee, he told his young hearers, was the atrocious name that was applied to University College in the days of its youth. Did it not show what an enormous march had been made by that college since the time when it was known by such a nickname as that? The whole of London at this moment was teeming with NO. 2005, VOL. 77| university life. All this life irresistibly was drawn to the University of London. He was sometimes tempted to ask himself if the machinery-of their university was adequate to the great strain that was being put upon it by the multiplications of the institutions that were under its foster- ing care. He sometimes doubted, if they were to under- take new tasks and burdens, whether their constitution was sufficiently elastic to undertake them. They had not all the power that tradition gave of the splendour of antiquity, but they had the advantage of the vigour, the adaptability of extreme youth. They were a new bottle into which new wine could be abundantly poured without risk. He pleaded that University College might not forget its youth, because its youth was its strength, and he thought it well that he should put this consideration before them, because the occasion was not a light one, either in the history of the University or of the College, because the visit of the symbolic head of the University to Uni- versity College on that occasion emphasised and embodied the alliance between the University and a college which had so lately taken place, and from which he and they all augured such immense advantage in the future. The thanks of the meeting to the Chancellor were accorded on the -motion of the Vice-Chancellor, seconded by Lord Reay (the chairman of the college committee), and supported by the Provost, Dr. T. Gregory Foster. On leaving, Lord Rosebery shortly addressed the students in the cloisters, declaring that they had had good advice poured, over them like pots of ointment, like spikenards of eloquence. He would only detain them then to point out that the University in the last resort depended upon the men it turned out. He asked them, and it was his only message for the day, to turn out ladies and gentlemen worthy of the University of London. In addition to the outline given by Lord Rosebery, we may signalise more in detail the changes in the engineer- ing departments. In general engineering the drawing office has been enlarged and arranged so as to provide separate junior and senior offices controllable from the same demonstrators’ boxes. There is accommodation now for too students working at the same time. Space has been provided for an engineering museum, the equipment of which has already begun. A small engineering demonstra- tion room has been added. In the electrical department the lecture theatre has been removed to a quieter position, and is now a more commodious room. An excellent re- search laboratory has been provided, where the professor and his students are continuing their researches on wireless telegraphy. These include the design and insertion of instruments for measuring electrical waves used in wire- less telegraphy, dielectrics, and the photometry of electric lamps. A private room, a small demonstration room, and an adequate apparatus room have been added. In the department of applied mathematics the extensions include a general research laboratory. At the present time an elaborate research in craniology is being carried out. There are 2500 crania in store, of which 1600 are Egyptian of about 1500 B.c. and goo Egyptian of about 7000 B.C., sent at various times by Prof. Petrie from Egypt. The department of experimental psychology has two new rooms with adjoining dark-room accommodation allotted to it. The experimental methods now deal with all the higher intellectual processes, including attention, memory, association of ideas, judgment, apperception, the emotions, and will. In general, we may say that the alterations enable large portions of the work of the college to be carried out in greatly more favourable circumstances than hitherto. The rooms are provided and the workers also. Much, however, is still required in the way of equipment and of endow- ment of research, so as to enable this to be carried out in a thoroughly efficient manner. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Mancuester.—By the death of the Duke of Devonshire the University has lost its Chancellor, and although it is only a few months ago that the late Duke was elected to this office, he had as president, first of the Owens College 526 NATURE [APRIL 2, 1908 and latterly of the University, on many occasions taken an active part in forwarding the interests of the institution. Under the will of the late Mrs. John Rylands, the Uni- versity directly benefits by a legacy amounting to 75,0o00l., and, in addition, the munificent endowment of the John Rylands library will be of great service to many engaged in literary study and research. Two further recent bequests must be recorded. Mr. George Harrison, of Manchester, a retired cotton spinner, has left 10,o0o0l. for the foundation of scholarships or fellowships, and Mrs. Margaret Stern, of East Barnet, 500l. Prof, Ernest Rutherford, F.R.S., has been awarded the Bressa prize by the Academy of Science of Turin in recog- nition of the importance of his researches during the past three years. Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., has announced his intention of resigning the chair of geology, which he has held since 1874, at the end of the present session; he will, however, accept an honorary professorship and give special courses of lectures. Prof. Dawkins will continue to take an active part in the affairs of the Manchester Museum, in which he has taken so great an interest since he first came to Manchester in 1869 as its curator. Lorp Rayreicn will probably be elected to the vacant Chancellorship of the University of Cambridge in succession to the late Duke of Devonshire. Tuere will be an annual exhibition of students’ work at the Borough Polytechnic Institute, Borough Road, S.E., on Saturday, April 4. It is announced that Prof. A. Crum Brown, BARES professor of chemistry in the University of Edinburgh, con- templates retiring at an early date from the chair which he has occupied since 1869. Pror. P. J. WuitE having been granted leave of absence for six months on account of ill-health, the Senate of the University College of North Wales has appointed Dr. W. A. Cunnington acting head of the department of zoology for the summer term. Tue Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- tion for Ireland issued recently in pamphlet form the lectures delivered during 1906 in connection with the department’s scheme of short summer courses for teachers, and an account of technical instruction in Ballymena by Mr. P. F,. Gillies, which appeared first in the department’s Journal. IN connection with the forthcoming Franco-British Exhibition, a ‘‘ children’s week ”’ is to be held. A number of French school children and their teachers, half of whom will represent secondary schools and half elementary schools, will be present. The scheme is receiving the sup- port and sympathy of the French and British Governments, and careful preparations are being made to secure the com- fort and health of the visitors. A daily educational course is to be given in the British section of education, in which both French and English children will participate. Physical exercises and games typical of both countries will take a prominent part. Tableaux vivants, in which the children of both nations will join, illustrating historical events and symbolical of the advantages of peace and the entente cordiale, will be another important item of the week’s proceedings. The idea is excellent, and we are sure that no pains will be spared to make it a complete success. In introducing in the House of Commons on Tuesday a Bill to make further provision with respect to university education in Ireland, the Chief Secretary for Ireland adopted Sir Norman Lockyer’s plea for a two-power tandard in education as well as in naval defence. He yinted out that the provision of adequate facilities for ‘r education is as necessary as the aim to be at least as strong at sea as any two foreign nations. A isit to Strassburg would be sufficient to show what the people of Germany are doing for the people of Alsace, and would also show that foreign universities may do this country, during every hour of every day of the ‘academic year, a considerable amount of injury by way of competi- tion. Something has been done in England, Scotland, NO. 2005, VOL. 77] and Wales to supply this undoubted want. A number of teaching universities have of recent years sprung up among our great and murky towns—Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Birmingham are now being associated in the minds of their younger citizens, not merely with docks and warehouses, not merely with shops and factories, least of all with gaols, lunatic asylums, and workhouses, but nobler structures from which are streaming forth the in- spiring traditions, the ever-strengthening traditions, of university life and training. The Bill introduced proposes to establish two new universities in Ireland; these two universities to have their seats respectively in Dublin and in Belfast. In Belfast there will be but one college, the present Queen’s College, and it will not be able to have any other, except, of course, by a subsequent Act of Parliament. Dublin will have three constituent colleges, and three only—Cork, Galway, and the new college, with a charter and an incorporated body in Dublin. ‘The exist- ing Royal University will be dissolved as from some appointed day, and its buildings, property, and endow- ments will be dealt with in a manner mentioned in the Bill. It is suggested, as a matter of finance, that the 20,0001. from the Irish Church Fund shall be divided into two equal parts, and that the university in Belfast shall take 10,0001. for maintenance and the new university in Dublin the other 10,o00l. for maintenance. In addition to the present charge on the Irish Church Fund of 20,000l. there is a present charge upon the Exchequer of 36,500l., which the Bill proposes to increase to 80,000]. This is the provision by way of new endowment, 43,5001. Belfast will thus get 10,o00/. for its university, part of the Irish Church Fund; it will also have 18,0001. by way of annual endowment, making in all 28,000]. a year. The new college in Dublin has first of all to be built, and then endowed and maintained, and the proposal is that out of the moneys suggested 32,000]. a year shall endow and maintain the new university in Dublin when it has once been started. Then the income of the Queen’s College, Cork, will be increased to 18,0001. a year, and the income of Queen’s College, Galway, will be increased to 12,000l. a year. It is proposed also that a grant of 60,0001. should be made to the new University of Belfast to enable it to provide itself with a university worthy of the province to which it belongs. It is believed that a maximum sum for the purpose of the University and college in Dublin should be 150,000l., which, it is hoped, will be sufficient first of all to complete the present university buildings. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Zoological Society, March 17.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—Some observations on the effects of pressure upon the direction of hair in mammals: Dr. W. Kidd. This paper was a sequel to other communications on the subject of the direction of hair, and consisted chiefly of the observed effects of the pressure of harness on certain regions of the coats of domestic horses. This pressure was shown to produce reversed areas of hair, and it was held that these results supported the view put forward in other papers that changes in the arrangement of hair are due to mechanical causes. Fifty-three cases were brought together, and eight different regions of the coats of the horse were shown in which the effects of pressure were found.-Mammals obtained by Mr. C. H. B. Grant in the Gorongoza Mountains, Portuguese S.E. Africa: O. Thomas and R. C. Wroughton. This was the ninth of the series of papers on the mammals of the Rudd Exploration of South Africa. One hundred and fifty specimens were dealt with, belonging to thirty-one species and subspecies, of which three were described as new.—Notes upon some species and geographical races of serows (Capricornis) and gorals (Nzamorhedus), based upon specimens exhibited in the society’s gardens: R. I. Pocock. It was pointed out that the ‘‘ grey’’ goral of the Himalayas was originally described by Hardwicke as Antilope goral, and that the ‘‘ brown”? goral, to which the specific title goral has been applied in recent literature, required a new name. The author proposed to call it Naemorhedus hodgsoni. Concerning the genus Capri- APRIL 2, 1908] NADTORE 527 cornis, he stated that although only one form had been hitherto distinguished from the Himalayas, the available material pointed to the existence of at least four subspecies in that mountain range. Geological Society, March 18.—Pro’. W. J. Sollas,F.R.S., president, in the chair—The Carboniferous rocks at Loughshinny (county Dublin), with an account of the faunal succession and correlation: Dr. C. A. Matley and Dr. A. Vaughan. After an introduction recalling the succession at Rush, already described by the authors, a detailed account is furnished of the various sections in the Loughshinny area. About 1100 feet of Carboniferous rocks -are exposed. They consist mainly of limestone, but also include a thick mass of conglomerate and many inter- calated beds of shale and chert. The rocks have been much folded, and to some extent faulted. The lowest rocks belong to some part of the Dibunophyllum zone, the higher range through Cyathaxonia beds into Posidonomya Limestones and shales of Pendleside age. The Lane Con- glomerate may be on or near the horizon of the Rush Conglomerate. Local decalcification has caused the more or less complete disappearance of some of the Cyathaxonia and Podsidonomya Limestones. The region was close to an old shore-line of the Carboniferous Limestone Sea, the actual position of which appears to have been almost parallel to, and a short distance seaward of, the present coast-line between Rush and Skerries.—A note on_ the petrology and physiography of Western Liberia (West Coast of Africa): J! Parkinson. The country is low-lying, with a gradual rise northward from shore-level, and rivers mature in character with alluvial flats raised above flood- level. Where the River Tuma falls into the River St. Paul the remnant of a hanging valley can be seen. Flat- topped ridges and isolated hills trending parallel to the foliation of the gneiss are characteristic of the country around Sanoyei and Boporo. There is a striking absence of late deposits of old gravels and sands. In the southern part of the district there are indications of a series of garnetiferous gneisses, tremolite schists, kyanite schists or @neisses, garnet-graphite gneisses, &c., associated with others of granitic type, the latter being apparently free from microcline and containing a pleochroic pyroxene. These rocks are replaced in the north by biotite gneisses and hornblende schists, which have an approximate and singularly constant east-and-west (magnetic) strike in their foliation. Microcline is common. These old crystalline rocks are cut by an extensive series of basalts and ophitic dolerites, resembling so closely the post-Cretaceous dykes of Southern Nigeria that it is difficult to avoid the con- clusion that they are of the same age. Linnean Society, March 19.—Mr. H. W. Monckton, treasurer and vice-president, in the chair.—Exhibits (by permission of the director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).— W. B. Hemsley: A second specimen of Platanthera chlorantha with three spurs. The plant exhibited a spike, each flower of which had the three petals spurred, a case of true peloria, whereas the specimen shown on January 17, 1907, had the three sepals spurred, a case of false peloria—T. A. Sprague: Female flowers and fruits of Sterculia Alexandri, Harv., an extremely rare tree from Uitenhage, the only locality known for it—C. H. Wright: Specimens of (a) Sphaerothylax algiformis, Bisch., a rare South African podustemaceous plant; (b) Archangiopteris Henryi, Christ and Gilsenh., a Chinese genus of Maratti- acez, of which a better supply of material had been recently obtained.—Papers.—The Podostomata (=Pycnogonida) of the temperate Atlantic and Arctic Oceans: Canon A. M. Norman. The classification of Sars had been adopted, and the paper itself contained a complete enumeration of the group within the regions specified.—Amphipoda Gammaridea from the Indian Ocean, British East Africa, and the Red Sea: A. O. Walker. The total number of species from the three collections was fifty, in thirty-six genera, seven being new to science, and one being the type of a new genus.— A revision of the genus Codonopsis: T. F. Chipp. The author included the genus Glosocomia of D. Don, and other species which could not well be assigned to either. The genus was divided into four sections, dependent upon the attachment and insertion of the corolla and calyx. NO. 2005, VOL. 77] Finally, the distribution of this genus along the mountain ranges of Asia was described and illustrated by a map on the screen.—The Holothurians of the Sudanese Red Sea: E. Hindle. Paris. Academy of Sciences, March 25.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair—The theory of flow over a vertical thin edge and without lateral contraction: J. Boussinesq. The results of the theoretical investigation of the author are compared with the empirical formula of Bazin, the latter representing numerous experiments. The agreement is moderately satisfactory.—The theory of electrocapillarity : M. Gouy.—The determination, at the Observatory of Paris, of the systematic errors in the reproductions of the réseaux of the chart of the heavens: Jules Baiilaud.—The applica- bility and various modes of representation of surfaces with coinciding lines of curvature: L. Raffy.—The application of an alternative method to the biharmonic problem: S. Zaremba.—Remark concerning a note on the differ- ential equations of an electrified corpuscle in a magnetic field: Carl St6érmer.—The gases arising from electric sparks: M. de Broglie. It has been shown by de Watt- ville and Hemsalech that if the air supply of a Bunsen burner passes over two metallic terminals between which electric sparks are passed, the flame of the burner gives the spectrum of the metal of the electrodes. The author has examined air thus treated, and finds it to contain ions of feeble mobility (about 10 m per second in a field of 1 volt per cm.), neutral centres capable of being trans- formed into ions of feeble mobility by exposure to radium or R6éntgen rays, and fine particles visible in a strong beam of light. The last are in part electrified, and prob- ably constitute the chief source of the spectrum obtained. —The absorption spectra of crystals of the rare earths in a magnetic field at the temperatures of the liquefaction and solidification of hydrogen: Jean Becquerel and H. Kamerlingh Onnes. Previous work at temperatures dawn to —190° C. has shown that the size of the bands varies proportionally to the square root of the tempera- ture. At —259° C. the majority of the bands no longer follow this simple law. Two of the bands from xenotime appear to pass through a minimum, and are wider at —259° C. than at —253° C. A few of the bands, how- ever, appear to follow the same law as down to —190° C. Down to the temperature of liquid air, all the bands show an increase of intensity corresponding to an increase of absorption. This does not hold for lower temperatures, and for each band there is a temperature at which the absorption passes through a maximum.—The detection of minute quantities of helium in minerals: F. Bordas. The exhaustion is carried out by means of charcoal cooled to the temperature of liquid air, and a Pliicker tube is inter- posed between the vessel in which the mineral is heated and the charcoal vessels. The helium being much_ less readily absorbed by the cooled charcoal, very minute quantities can be detected. Helium has been recognised in this apparatus in 0-02 gram of Japanese naegeite.— The photography of the vibrations of the voice: M. Marage. The vibrations fall on a thin membrane of india-rubber, and are transmitted from this to a small plane mirror. Two reproductions of the photographs obtained accompany the paper. The apparatus, once set, can unroll, expose, develop, and fix 25 metres of paper without any manipulation. Various suggestions are made for practical applications ——Some examples of lines pre- senting a Zeeman phenomenon abnormal in the sense of the magnetic lines of force: A. Dufour. The second spectrum of hydrogen is formed of three types of line, the first being unacted on in the field, the second giving the ordinary Zeeman effect, and the third the abnormal Zeeman effect.—The action of chlorine upon dithymol: H. Cousin. The products of the action are a dichlorothymol, a dichlorothymoquinone, and a dichloride of the latter compound.—Some derivatives of phenylisoxazolone: A. Wahi and André Meyer. Condensation is readily effected between phenylisoxazolone and aromatic aldehydes, the pro- duct being precipitated in nearly quantitative yield—The products of the action of aluminium chloride and hydro- chloric acid gas on benzene: G. Gustavson. Methyl- 528 phenylcyclopentane has been isolated from the numerous products of this reaction: —Some derivatives of thiophene : V. Thomas. Magnesium acts on a-iodothiophene in presence of ether, giving an organomagnesium compound which behaves similarly to phenyl magnesium iodide in many of its reactions. Details of the products resulting from the action of various ketones are given.—The forma- tion of acetic aldehyde in alcoholic fermentations: A. Tritiat. The experiments described prove that acetic aldehyde is not a true product of fermentation, since if the fermentation is carried out in the presence of hydrogen or carbon dioxide, air being carefully excluded, no aldehyde can be detected. If air is freely admitted during the fermentation, more aldehyde is produced than if a little air is present.—The production of gum in the Moringa: F. Jadin and Volcy Boucher.—The phytology of the eastern region of Kabylie and Djurdjura: G. Lapie.— The levers in the organism: A. Guillemin. A discussion of the efficiency of the leg muscles and bones considered as levers.—The discovery of Palzeolithic paintings of man and animals in the Portel cave: René Jeannel. More than forty paintings of animals and human beings have been found on the walls of this cave. None of the designs have been cut into the rock, and they are coloured either black or red, both in line and flat wash. Some of the objects are partially masked ‘by stalagmitic deposit. Two designs represent men on foot in profile; others represent bison, reindeer, and horses, the last being the most numerous. Photographs have been taken of some of the objects, and the remainder will be photographed shortly. —Anemometric studies of helices copied from animals : Paul Amans.—The Pliocene and Pleistocene eruptions of Limagne: Ph. Glangeaud.—Contribution to the study of the solar calorific radiation: C. Féry and G. Millochau. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Royat Society, at 4.30.—Complete Survey of the Cell Lamination of the Cerebral Cortex of the Lemur: Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S., and Miss A. M. Kelley —The Alcoholic Ferment of Yeast Juice. Part III The Function of Phosphates in the Fermentation of Giucose by Yeast Juice : A. Harden and W. J. Young.—The Antagonistic Action of Calcium upon the Inhibitory Effect of Magnesium: S. J. Melizer and J. Auer.—Studies on APRIL 2. Enzyme Action, XI., The Hydrolysis cf Raffinose. XII., Emulsin: Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., and others. Roya InstiTuTion, at 3.—The Animals of =Africa: R. Lydekker. F.R.S. Roy at Society OF Arts, at 8.—The Navigation of the Air: Prof. H. S. Hele Shaw, F.R.S LINNEAN Society, at 8.—Altitude and Distribution of Plants in Southern Mexico: Dr. Hans Gadow, F.R.S.—The Anatomy of s me Sapotaceous Seedlings: Miss Winifred Smith.—Notes on some Sponges recently collected in Scotland: Dr. N. Annandale. Civit anp Mecuanicar Encineers’ Sociery, at 8.—Efficiency of Boiler Heating Surface: C. Humphrey Wingfield CuemicaL Society, at 8.30.—The Condensation of Epichlorohydrin with Phenols : D. R. Boyd and E. R. Marle.—Rate of Hydrolysis of Chloro- acetates and Bromoacetates, and of a-Chlorohydrin§by Water and by Alkali, and the Influence of Neutral: Salts on the Reaction Velocities. Preliminary Note: G. Senter.—A New General Method of Preparing Diazonium Bromides : F. D. Chattaway.—On the Probable Nature of the Impurity found in the Triphenylmethane Spectrum: W. N. Hartley.— The Absorption Spectrum of Triphenylmethane: A. G. G. Leonard.— The Constituents of Cyprus Origanum Oil. Isolation of a New Terpene (Origanene): S. S. Pickles. Insvirution OF ELectrricaL ENGINEERS, at 8.—High Speed Electrical Machinery : G, Stoney and A. H. Law. FRIDAY, Aprit 3. Roya InstTiTuTION, at 9.—The Modern Motor Car: Beaulieu. INSTITUTION OF CivIL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Notes on the Foundations of an Indian Bridge: G. W, N. Rose. SATURDAY, Apr. 4. , at 3.—Electric Discharges through Gases: MONDAY, Arzu. 6. Vicrorta InsTiTuTE, at 4.30.—History of the Spread of the North American Fauna: Prof. J. Logan Lobley. \RISTOTELIAN SociETY, at 8.—Impressions and Ideas: IETY OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, at “Strength” of Wheat Flours: J. L. Lord Montagu of Royat Institur Thomson, F.R. ON, Ga Prof. J. J. H. Wildon Carr. 8.—Considerations affecting the Baker and H. F. E. Hulton.—Note S on Murexide as a guondam Dye Stuff and Printing Colour: W. Smith. TUESDAY, Arr 7. Rovat Institution, at 3.—The Egyptian Sudan: its History, Monuments, and Teweles Past ‘and Pp : Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge. OOLOGICAL SociEry, at A Monozraph of the Chiropteran Genera Uroderma, Euchisthenes, and Artibeus: Dr. NO. 2005, VOL. 77] NATURE Knud Andersen.—On | [ArRIL 2, 1908 Certain Points in the Structure of the Cervical Vertebre of the Okap and the Giraffe: Sir Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S.—Some Australian Spiders: H. R. Hogg INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The King Edward VII. Bridge, Newecastle-on-Tyne: F. W. Davis and C..R. S. Kirkpatrick. Junior InstituTIon oF ENGINEERS, at 8.—Purification of Water: George H. Hughes. WEDNESDAY, Apri 8. Roya Socmry or Arts, at 8.—Technical Education in America: Sir W. H. Preece, K.C.B., F.R:S. THURSDAY, Aprit 9. SSS EEN at 3.—The Animals of South Ainerica: R. Lydekker, E.R FRIDAY, Apri 10. Royat Institution, at 9.—The Carriers of Positive Electricity : Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. Roya AstronomIcat SOCIETY, at 5. PuysicaL Society, at 8.—An Experimental Investigation of the Nature of y Rays: Prof. W. H. Bragg, F.R.S., and Mr. Madsen.—Experiments on Artificial Fulgurites: Miss D. D. Butcher.—Short-spark Phenomena : W. Duddell, F.R.S. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8. SATURDAY, Apriv 11. Royat Institution, at 3.—Electric Discharges through Gases: Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. CONTENTS. PAGE Electricity and Matter. By E.R......... 505 Charting the World’s Commerce ......... 506 Masonry and Concrete Arches. By T. H. B. . .. 507 Our Book Shelf :— Strecker: ‘‘Das Kausalitatsprinzip der Biologie.”— ACT. | |.) a) een en aan (ae 507 Koch and Gilg: ‘‘ Pharmakognostisches Praktikum” 508 Simroth: ‘* Die Pendulations-theorie.’—R. L.. - 508 Sedgwick : ‘‘The Minimising of Maurice, being the, Adventures of a very small Boy among very small Wit Cor each o po oo Sel Stroobant : ‘‘ Les Progrés de la sage astrono- mique.”—W. E. R. obs 508 Revere : ‘‘I laterizi” ; Ragno: ‘ iy Tecnologia dai Saldature autogene ai Iie tallllticemre yeas Bo eles) Letters to the Editor :— Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns,—Prof. James) Wilson) ) 2.245 0c 509 The Nature of y and X-Rays. Mevenitan D. Gasman 509 Martinmas in May.—Rev. C. S, Taylor ... 510 An Annotated Copy of Newton's ‘‘ Principia.” — Bruce Smith Pa reo: s' 0, Gee oo We). 15 TO Two County Bird-books. (J///ustrated.). .« Pah Sar Modern Nitre Beds. By A. D. H. 2 Kel 513 Prominence and Coronal Structure. (///ustrated.) By Dr. William J. S. Lockyer .... on hor ite Dr. A. W Howitt, C.M.G. By Dr. A. C. Haddon, FIRS ome: RP ee O33"'0) 5 Cape roe oo xo GES Notes. (///ustrated.). . . SiG och CMO E cS or Mio GD Our Astronomical Column:— Astronomical Occurrences in April sae 520 Comet 1907 II... . 5 See 520 The President ae the Metecnrapere Eauheece. ys yet (Se The Helium, D,, Line in the Solar Spectrum .. . 520 Two Remarkable Spectroscopic Binaries 520 Variation in the Radial Velocity of 8 Ursz Majors sto Dr. Nordmann’s Variable Star Observations . . . 520 The National Physical Laboratory during 1907. (Zilustrated.) . a Rene? ei ASK The North Sea Fisheries Investigations. (Lllus- trated.) By Frank Balfour Browne 5 523 Extensions at University College, London . . 525 University and Educational Intelligence. . . . . . 525 Societies and Academies... .... 526 Diarylofasocieties!s 02) pene ai 528 Wald (Ui aes oe) THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1908. EXPERIMENTAL EMBRYOLOGY. Experimental-Zoologie. Part i. Embryogenese. Eine Zusamnenfassung der durch Versuche ermittelten Gesetzmassigkeiten tierischer — Ei-Entwicklung (Befruchtung, Furchung, Organbildung). By Dr. Hans Przibram. Pp. 125; 16 plates. (Leipzig und Wien: Franz Deuticke, 1907.) Price 7 marks. OME three years ago Dr. Przibram, who is well known as a brilliant representative of the school of experimental zoologists, published “‘ An Introduc- tion to Experimental Morphology,’? which met with wide acceptance. The present volume is an expansion of part of the ‘‘ Introduction,’’ and forms an inde- pendent treatise on experimental embryology. It is to be followed by four other parts, dealing with regeneration, evolution, vitality, and function, and the whole will form a text-book of experimental zoology. If the subsequent parts are like the one before us in lucidity and thoroughness, Dr. Przibram will earn the gratitude of all interested in this dynamic aspect of the science; and who, nowadays, can afford to stand aloof? The present volume discusses, in the light of experimental results, the processes of fer- tilisation, cleavage, gastrulation, and differentiation, and sums up in an analysis of the influence of chemical stimuli, moisture, density of the medium, pressure, gravity, electricity and magnetism, light and heat. There is a copious and carefully executed bibliography, and the figures in the plates, which are partly com- piled and partly original, are very clear and interest- ing. The author discusses large and difficult problems, in regard to which there is room for considerable differ- ence of opinion, but his treatment of these is thoroughly objective and undogmatic. We cannot do better than give some samples of his general con- clusions. Fertilisation, whether artificial or spermatic, brings about a withdrawal of water from the egg; this accelerates the vital processes which are going on of themselves, and the egg passes from a relatively resting state to progressive development. The un- fertilised egg has an organisation of different kinds of substances which guarantees the forthcoming mani- foldness. The direction of the first cleavage is in a plane at right angles to the axis of the first karyo- Ixinetic spindle, and the position of the latter is deter- mined by the geometrical architecture of the egg and the fertilisation-meridian (on which the spermatozoon enters). In regard to the familiar sequence of centrosome division, astrosphere formation, nuclear division, cytoplasmic division, and perhaps also the progressive differentiation of the blastomeres, we must not suppose that any particular linkx in the chain is the necessary cause of the next link; we must rather suppose that a common cause evokes them in succession, and that their cooperation secures the typical development. Provisionally we may say that the common cause of the mitotic phenomena lies in a localised change in NO. 2006, VOL. 77] the fluidity of the enchylemma and the associated re- arrangement of a monocentric into a dicentric surface- tension-system. The second and subsequent cleavages depend on a rhythmic recurrence of the metabolic rela- tions involved in the first cleavage (the entrance of oxygen conditioning the continuance of the meta- bolism, the intensity of which changes with the changes in the proportion of absorbent surface to assimilatory volume), and on the presence of an- tagonistic substances, which partly prevent the com- plete separation of the blastomeres (calcium), and partly secure a certain cohesion (sodium). The arrangement of the blastomeres depends on Plateau’s law of the smallest surface, modified by differences in the consistence of different parts of the ovum, which are also responsible for the different sizes of the blastomeres (Balfour’s law). Blastulation and gastrulation depend on chemotactic influences, which are set at work by metabolic processes, and admit not only of passive-mechanical displacements, but of active migrations as well. In different zones of the egg there are chemically different substances which normally condition the differentiation of the various organs. Thus the blastomeres acquire a pro- spective value. If there is no rearrangement of material, an artificial fractioning of the egg is followed by a self-differentiation of the fragments, so that semi-embryos, quarto-embryos, and so _ on, result; but if a re-arrangement is effected, restoring the status quo of the intact ovum, then dwarf com- plete embryos result. The prospective potency of such blastomeres is greater than their prospective value. The influence of external factors is subsidiary when compared with the internal formative factors, and animal embryogenesis may be described as an almost quite perfect self-differentiation in Roux’s sense. We have stated these general conclusions because of their great interest, but it must be noted that the bulk of the book is a terse statement of concrete facts from which the expert student may draw his own conclusions, and at this stage that is well. Io 4X5 “A GEOLOGICAL REVIVALISM. Prinzipienfragen. By E. Reyer. Pp. W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price Geologische x+202. (Leipzig: 4.40 marks. HIS work recalls, with renewed interest, a remarkable paper by Mr. Reyer on the Schloss- berg of Teplitz, to which the attention of the present writer was directed by Prof. Judd nearly thirty years ago. Are not some of Reyer’s models still preserved in London, and have not these models, and respectful visits to the Schlossberg itself, influenced many of us in our attempts at teaching ever since? Mr. Reyer, however, when he went further into the theory of the formation of mountains by the protrusion of masses from below and the gliding of the superin- cumbent layers, found the geological world opposed to him, and he turned, as he now informs us (p. v.), to fields of sociological activity. Yet he should surely be satisfied with the numerous references to his AA a2° NATURE [ APRIL 9, 1908 work, especially on volcanic questions, in Zittel’s “ History of Geology’? or Geikie’s monumental “« Text-book.’’ Ampferer’s recent exposition of ‘* Un- terstromung,’’ moreover, as a cause of mountain- crumpling comes very near in many of its details, though not in its foundations, to Reyer’s theory of superficial ‘‘ Stré6mung,’’ (see NATURE, vol. Ixxvi., 1907, p. 423). Though Ampferer quotes very few authori- ties, it seems likely that Reyer’s views are still fructi- fying, even if they bear forbidden fruit. At any rate, we may welcome his return to the arena at a time when no champion can assert that his own views on mountain-building have satisfied all known conditions. Mr. Reyer himself, in this clearly-written treatise, proposes to leave his statements and arguments un- burdened by a bibliography. The numerous illustra- tive diagrams suggest in most cases drawings made from models, and some of them represent the results of experiments performed in plastic materials. There is a freshness of exposition that brings home to us many facts that are familiar, but which are often liable to be passed over without adequate consider- ation. The exposition itself is, if we may say so, diagrammatic. The author points out very early how delta-deposits slide upon the rocks beneath them, and how a loose valley-side moves out towards the river, which carries away the material, and thus renders the land-flow less apparent. From p. 52 onward we read of massive extrusions of material from the molten interior of the earth, and we remember the sliding of the deltas when we are asked to picture successive extrusions as lifting the crust above them and allowing of a lateral slip of the ruptured sedimentary layers. The great difference between these postulated extrusions and our common notions of intrusive bodies appears to lie in their long-continued and successive character, whereby a later igneous mass causes a previous one to bulge up and swell out as a coat, through which the later mass may break. It is urged that if this occurs below a deep ocean, the extruded matter may become as crystalline as granite, and subsequent sedi- ments may be laid down on it with a false appear- ance of having been invaded, All this should probably be kept in mind, but we doubt if the average field-observer has been so often misled as Mr. Reyer would wish us. to believe. He opposes the idea of the differentiation of a common igneous magma (p. 61), since acid and_ basic magmas must have separated early in the history of a cooling globe, and massive protrusions are likely to mix them up again, so as to produce the phenomena observed. Such protrusions or extru- sions are held to be sufficient to explain the existence of infolds of sediments between adjacent igneous masses (pp. 69 and 155); and an admitted revival of the ‘‘crater of elevation’ theory appears on p. 73. There is much in the book that is in pleasant accord with the views consistently maintained in Britain in regard to the relations of various types of igneous rock; and the principle of successive ex- trusions (or may we say intrusions?) has been adopted, to mention only two examples, by Prof. Sollas for NO. 2006, VOL. 77] the Leinster Chain and by Dr. Harker for the gabbros of the Cuillin Hills. Mr. Reyer’s views cannot fail to make us think more carefully, and we trust that his book will be widely read by those who have to interpret the history of great regions of the crust. We may hereafter be grateful to him for maintaining the theory of gravita- tional gliding (pp. 142, 147, &c.) as opposed to the crumpling of strata by lateral thrust against the influence of gravitation. In this respect he has re- lighted a very ancient candle, which burnt brightly in Scrope’s hands in 1825 (‘‘ Considerations on Vol- canos,’’ pp. 201-2). It will now, in all probability, never be entirely put out. GRENVILLE A. J. COLE. HYDRAULICS. Hydraulics. By F. C. Lea. Pp. xii+536. Edward Arnold, 1tg08.) Price 18s, net. HATEVER may be the extent to which the science of hydraulics was neglected during the century which elapsed between the theoretical researches of Bernouilli and the practical applications of Armstrong, it cannot be urged that there is any lack of attention to the subject at the present time, if one be permitted to judge from the number of text- books which have appeared within recent years, and even within the last few months. So striking an output must surely be fraught with great potentialities. The science of hydraulics has a field which is some- what vague and ill-defined, and is of greater or less extent according to the views of different writers. Originally, the definition of the term only covered a reference to the laws which governed the motion of fluids in pipes and water-courses. Then it was extended to include the use of water for motive purposes, and the means and appliances by which that end was achieved. Other developments have followed, and now it is rare to find two text-books covering even approximately the same ground, or agreeing in respect of either limits or order of treat- ment. We are acquainted with one treatise which includes within its purview the principles of lubrication ; with another which regards what is commonly differ- entiated as the science of pneumatics as a constituent section; with a third which ignores the motion of bodies in fluids; and so on. The range of the treatise under consideration, though not so extreme as in some cases, is never- theless exceedingly comprehensive, and it may be added that the treatment is very complete. In view of the license to which allusion has just been made, we do not presume to offer any criticism on the propriety of presenting the elementary principles of hydrostatics as an introduction to the subject; we ourselves should hardly have thought of referring to a text-book on hydraulics for them. No doubt it is useful for the student to have his memory refreshed on fundamentals, though he may not unreasonably be supposed to have acquired a competent knowledge of them elsewhere. Still, there they are for consultation, if required, and they form a not inapt introduction. (London : APRIL 9, 1908] NATURE 53 The laws governing floating bodies are touched upon, and investigation is carried so far as to cover the eminently practical and up-to-date case of the floating dock. From these considerations, the author proceeds to deal with the subject of fluids in motion, which constitutes the essential feature of the book. He makes Bernouilli’s theorem his starting-point, following on to Torricelli’s law and the theory of flow through mouthpieces with the coefficients due to various forms of orifice. Then, having dealt with weirs, he directs his attention to fluid flow through pipes and channels, explaining the well-known basic formula, v=cV/ mi, and quoting the values assigned to the coefficient by Chezy, Bazin, Darcy, Ganguillet and Kutter, and others. This brings us to chapter vii., in which we find a description of the methods adopted for gauging the flow of water through an orifice, in streams and in pipes, including a brief reference to Stromever’s suggestion for the use of a chemical agent. Chapter viii. treats of the impact of water on vanes, and thence it is a natural transition to water-wheels and turbines in chapter ix. Both this chapter and the following, on pumps, are very full and explicit, and are effectively illustrated by a number of typical ex- amples. Chapter xi. is devoted to an exemplification of the application of hydraulic power to industrial purposes by means of various machines. In two short concluding chapters the author deals with the modern investigation of stream-line flow and the resistance to motion of bodies in water. An admirable feature of the work is the large number of worked numerical examples. The type is clear and the illustrations are good. Altogether the work forms an excellent text-book, and is cordially to be recommended to students of this most interesting and useful science. TECHNICAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. Traité complet d’Analyse chimique appliquée aux Essais industriels. By J. Post and B. Neumann. Second French edition, by Dr. L. Gautier. Vol. i., part i. (pp. 217, price 6.50 francs). Vol. ii., part i. (pp. 202, price 6 francs). (Paris: Librairie scien- tifique, A Hermann, 1907-8.) HE present review is concerned with the first two instalments of the second French edition of a German treatise on technical chemical analysis, which has already passed through three editions in the original. The complete work will consist of two volumes divided into eight sections, each section deal- ing with some special branch of analytical practice, and the editors have secured the cooperation of some twenty-seven eminent contributors in order that the various chapters may embody the results of the latest experience. Judging by the style of the first two sec- tions, now before us, it would appear that the editors are aiming rather at a clear and succinct outline of contemporary analytical method, and of the genera! NO. 2006, VoL. 77] nature of the materials to which they are applied, than at an elaborate and detailed treatise. Subject to this proviso, they may be congratulated on having so far achieved a considerable measure of success, and their efforts may be commended to British chemists who feel the need of a manual of this description. Vol. i., part i., deals with such subjects as water, solid fuels, pyrometry, and gas analysis in a fairly complete and satisfactory manner, The open- ing chapter on water analysis (pp. 1-38), by Dr. H. Vogel, of Berlin, is somewhat too compressed and desultory to be of real use, and might be advan- tageously enlarged in future editions. Then follows an excellent résumé by Dr. H. Langbein of the methods in vogue for the chemical analysis and calorific valuation of solid fuels (pp. 39-73); the value of this chapter would have been enhanced by a fuller treatment of the ash analysis of coals and its import- ance in relation to the various uses of the raw fuel. The third chapter, by Prof. B. Neumann, of Darm- stadt, on pyrometry (pp. 74-126), deals very completely with the various thermoelectrical and optical methods used in technical practice, and so far as these methods ‘are concerned the treatment of the subject is all that could be desired. The scanty references to the air thermometer and to electrical resistance methods are, however, to be regretted. The concluding chapter, on gas analysis (pp. 127- 217), also by Prof. Neumann, is disappointing in that it deals with little else than the crude and un- trustworthy methods of Hempel and Orsat (or various medifications of them), which have long been the despair of workers, who instinctively demand some- thing both accurate and convenient, and which, we hae hoped, were being rapidly discarded in technical laboratories. In these days, when the applications of gascous fuels are increasing daily, the introduction of really accurate methods of gas analysis in technical practice is fast becoming an urgent necessity, and it is quite a mistaken notion that methods of precision are necessarily inconvenient or tedious, and therefore unsuited to the exigencies of a works laboratory. The opinion of Dreschmidt, quoted on p. 136, as to the incompleteness of the absorption of carbonic oxide by an ammoniacal solution of cuprous chloride may be disputed, since it can easily be demonstrated that a properly prepared and fresh solution will absorb the gas almost as rapidly, and, for all practical purposes, as completely, as a caustic alkali absorbs carbon dioxide. It may also be remarked that there is no reference to gas calorimetry in this chapter. Vol. ii., part i., dealing with the physical, mechanical, and chemical testing of limestones, mor- tars, cements, ceramic products, glass, and the like, has been entrusted to Drs. H. Seger and E. Cramer, of Berlin. Their treatment of the subject is admirably clear and succinct, and will certainly be appreciated by all general readers. Whilst there is nothing very new, good judgment has been exercised in selecting the best methods and appliances, and the whole is a singularly well-balanced production, and eminently readable. The one fault to be found with their work is the paucity of the references to analytical literature. 532 NALORE [ArkiL 9, 1908 The two sections are clearly printed and admirably illustrated, but, as is unfortunately the case with the majority of chemical treatises published on the Con- tinent, references to British work and authorities are conspicuous by their absence. Wer AeB: BRITISH ARCHAZOLOGISTS IN ITALY. Papers of the British School at Rome. Vol. iv. Pp. x+296; illustrated. (London: Macmillan and Cox, Ltd 1907.) Price 31s. Gd.net: HE “ Papers of the British School at Rome,’’ while similar in format, are not similar in form to the ‘‘ Annals of the British School at Rome,’ nor can they be precisely similar in content, since the pleasure of chronicling the results of actual excava- tions is denied to the director of the British School at Rome. Let us always gratefully recognise the greater liberality of the Hellenic authorities and the greater tolerance of the Greek archeologists, who, while naturally and rightly desirous of keeping Greek antiquities in Greece, at the same tirne recognise the fact that the antiquities of classic Greece and Rome are the heritage of the whole civilised world, not of one country alone, and admit that the privilege of searching for them should be freely extended to all who have the money and the will to carry out the work. Some day, perhaps, the Italians will do like- wise. Until then, British archzeologists in Italy are confined to the contemplative life, and can do little more than write papers of the type presented in the volume under review. The director, Mr. Thomas Ashby, most approaches the standard of the practical work of the Athens school in his very interesting paper on the ‘‘ Classical Topo- graphy of the Roman Campagna,” which is illustrated by good photographs, perhaps somewhat unnecessarily reproduced abroad, either in France or Italy, as the lettering beneath them shows. Probably we hardly realise how intensely hideous was the Roman style of country-house architecture, until we see such a place as Sette Bassi, which Mr. Ashby _ illus- trates. It must have looked exactly like a warehouse, or, more probably, a piano factory. All the beauty and grace of ‘classical ’’ architecture is Greek; the Romans were by nature as inclined to unredeemed utilitarian ugliness in their architecture as are the Germans or ourselves. Of the other papers, Mr. A. J. B. Wace’s “Studies in’ Roman Historical Reliefs’ is an interesting piece of critical work. Mr. Yeames, late of the British Museum, assistant director of the school, has some in- teresting remarks on Roman art of the post-Antonine period (first half of the third century a.D.) as exempli- fied in a small ivory statuette of a gobbo or hunch- back in the British Museum. fhe last paper, and in lmportant, 1s On some ways the most “The Early Iron Age in South Italy,’? by Mr. T. E. Peet, who reaches interesting conclusions. In his preface the director says that the papers “of Mr. Yeames and Mr. Peet, the latter especially, NO. 2005, VOL. 77] though still belonging to the archeological sphere, deal with departments of it which have not previously found a place in the Papers of the School.” Since to the minds of many the department cf archeology represented by Mr. Peet’s paper seems the most important of all, it is to be hoped that no future Papers of the School at Rome will fail to contain some contribution on the prehistoric antiquities of Italy, about which we want to know far more than we do at present. leo 18lc OUR BOOK SHELF. Armature Construction. By H. M. Hobart and A. G. Ellis. Pp. ix+348. (London: Whittaker and Co., 1907.) Price 15s. net. THE widespread use of dynamo electric machinery for all sorts of purposes is sufficient justification, if such be required, of treatises dealing with the design and construction of such machinery. Many books haye been written on this subject, but we believe this is the first time that a complete volume has been devoted to the consideration of the construction of what is, per- haps, the most important part of any dynamo, viz. the armature, To those who know anything of this class of machinery, it will be obvious that there is ample scope for a writer with first-hand knowledge to compile an interesting and valuable book; to men- tion only one point, the practical construction of a good commutator is a process full of interest. The book before us will certainly repay careful study in spite of a certain lack of proportion which is very noticeable. A very brief summary of the contents is as follows : The first seven chapters describe the various work- shop processes whereby the mechanical parts of the armature are built up, that is to say, the armature stampings, the spider, and the commutator; the next two chapters are devoted to armature windings for direct-current machines and for alternators, treated diagrammatically; and the last four chapters to the methods of winding and to finishing and testing. When it is stated that 172 pages (including full-page illustrations) out of a total of about 390 are devoted to winding diagrams alone, it will be apparent that the authors have allowed their enthusiasm for such diagrams to get the better of their judgment. There is no doubt that the subject is of great interest, but in the opinion of the present writer the two lengthy chapters devoted to it are quite out of place in such a work; in so far as explanations are necessary for the proper understanding of subsequent chapters, three or four pages would be ample to furnish all that are required. The chapters that deal with construction pure and simple are well written and illustrated, and con- tain a large quantity of valuable information. Chap- ter ii, on armature laminations, is perhaps the best in the book, and contains specifications for the com- position of suitable steel; the various methods of testing the quality of the steel are described, and con- stants are given which may be taken as satisfactory. The process of stamping the core plates is given in detail, and is illustrated with a number of photo- graphs of slotting presses and other tools. The other chapters are also full of interest, and, but for the error of judgment mentioned above, the whole book might be unreservedly recommended to those who from one cause or another are concerned with the practical details of armature construction. APRIL 9, 1908 | MATURE 533 The Dancing Mouse; a Study in Animal Behaviour. By Robert M. Yerkes. Pp. xxit+290. (New York: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and Go., etd’; 1907.) — Pricesssqnet- Tue most characteristic feature of the best psychology of the present day is the tendency to look for much of the explanation of mental life in its antecedents and surroundings. The older individualistic position is being rapidly left behind. The continuity of mind is now as clearly recognised as the continuity of life. Lower forms of mental activity, in the race no less than in the individual, are found to throw much light upon the nature of developed human consciousness. Such forms are, however, matters of inference, not of direct observation; it is therefore not surprising that the science of comparative psychology is so far from keeping. pace with its elder brother, comparative anatomy. The worl thus far done has been of a somewhat sporadic nature, in one prominent case, at least, vitiated by faulty psychological theory. More decided progress may be looked for in the application of the experimental method. Dr. Yerkes’s book on the Japanese dancing mouse, the first of a series to be devoted to the study of animal behaviour, is an excellent example of this plan ot procedure. A very full description is given of the two principal forms of test employed, viz., the light- discrimination test and the labyrinth test. The former was employed to investigate not only the visual dis- crimination of the animal, but also its powers of learn- ing by experience and of retaining the lessons thus learnt. As “motive ’’ to the use of the discriminative faculty, Dr. Yerkes employed punishment, in the form of mild electric shocks for mistakes made, considering this not only more humane than the motive of hunger usually employed in such experiments, but also better adapted to the peculiarities of behaviour of the animal, viz., its superabundant activity. Here the criticism at once suggests itself that such a mode of procedure would probably encourage a mechanical production of habit in the animal, and fail to stimulate any germs of higher mental faculty that might be present. The results obtained certainly fail to show the presence of any reasoning power above sense discrimination. Even the inference to power of discrimination may not be completely justified. Sense-differentiation and _ the mechanical working of hedonic selection would seem able to account for all the facts. Yet the mice might have been capable of higher mental processes, e.g. in terms of kinasthetic imagery, which the experiments failed to call into operation owing to the insufficiency of the stimulus or motive employed. Apart from its value as a contribution to science, the book is an extremely readable one, and is, moreover, admirably bound and printed. W. B. Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India. Part i., Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body. By Dr. A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, €.I.E. Pp. xii+252. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) Price tos. 6d. Some time ago, when Dr. Hoernle was preparing an edition of two old Indian medical tracts, pre- served in the Bower manuscript of the fifth century A.D., he was surprised to find how little we knew of medicine as taught and practised in Ancient India. The volume under review is the first fruit of a resolve to make good that deficiency in the history of medicine so far as it can now be made good by a study of existing manuscripts and documents. Of the three systems of medicine which have come down to us the most ancient is that ascribed to Atreya, a physician who is assigned by Dr. Hoernle to the sixth century B.c.; the system ascribed to Susruta, the NO. 2006, VOL. 77] : surgeon, is nearly as ancient; the third system, that of Vagbhata, the Galen of the mediaeval East, as Dr. Hoernle describes him, dates from the seventh cen- tury a.D., and is a compound of the two older systems. Evidently amongst the ancient Indians, as among medical men of to-day, a knowledge of the bones was regarded as fundamental in the study of medicine. In the system of Atreya the number of bones in the human body is given as 360 (the nails, teeth, and tooth sockets are counted as separate bones); in that of Susruta 300, while in WVagbhata’s system they number 360. In modern text-books of anatomy the number of bones is variously estimated from 200 to 214, the number varying according to the inclusion or exclusion of certain small bones and some which are only occa- sionally present. The ancient Indian anatomist shows an intimate knowledge of animal tissues in classify- ing the cartilages with bones; he regarded cartilage as an immature form of bone. In the course of transcription the text naturally became corrupt; for instance, in Atreya’s system the two humeri, four wrist bones and two eyes (their outer coat was believed to be cartilaginous, hence they were classified as bones) came to be omitted, but the total number of 360 was made good by increasing the number of face and neck bones. In all three systems the thumb is stated to have three joints or phalanges; Dr. Hoernle points out that a similar mistake is made in the sum- mary of bones given in the Talmud. The Talmudic summary, probably derived from the Greek school at Alexandria, follows very closely the systems of Ancient India. How far the systems of medicine amongst the early Greeks and the Ancient Indians were reiated cannot yet be estimated; thanks to the labours of Dr. Hoernle we know much more of the systems prac- tised amongst the Indians than amongst the Greeks. Altogether Dr. Hoernle, although not a medical man himself, has laid medical men under a deep obligation to him by rendering so easily accessible the knowledge and practice of physicians who tended the sick in northern India some centuries before Christ was born. The Sea-shore, Shown to the Children. By Janet Harvey Kelman. Described by Rev. Theodore Wood. Pp. xi+146; with 48 coloured plates. (London and _Edinburgh: -~I. C. and E.G: Jack, n.d.) Price 2s. 6d. net. Tuts book belongs to the ‘‘ Shown to the Children ”’ series, and consists of forty-eight coloured plates with a short description written in the simplest possible language of each of the subjects depicted. From such an immense choice of material it was no doubt difficult to decide what should be described and what left out, but, on the whole, we think that the choice has been a very good one. The chief objection to the book is the use of English names for most of the objects described. Some of these names are unfamiliar to us, while others are surely local. In some cases the generic name has been used, e.g. Chiton, Purpura, Pinna, Terebella, &c., and we think it would have been an advantage if this system had been more freely adopted, the English names only being used where there could be no doubt whatever as to their being well-known ones. Alcyonium is called ‘‘ the sea-finger’’; in some localities, at least, it is known as ‘‘dead men’s fingers.’? Pleurobrachia is called ‘‘ the sea-acorn,”’ but in another well-known book of the sea-shore its English name is given as ‘‘ the sea-gooseberry.”’ The name ‘‘sea-acorn’’ is usually applied to a barnacle. This attempt to give English names to objects not 544 NATURE [APRIL 9, 1 908 well known has led to an unfortunate use of the terms caterpillar and chrysalis, which are here applied to the zoza and megalopa stages of the crab. We can understand the desire on the part of the author to bring home to the children the fact that the zoza and caterpillar represent the larval stage in the life-histories of crab and butterfly, and that the chrysalis of the butterfly and the megalopa of the crab are also corresponding stages, but to call a zoza a caterpillar and a megalopa a chrysalis is carrying comparison too far. FraNK BaLtrour BROWNE. Déviations des Compas. By Pierre Engel. Pp.. vit 64; with 3 plates. (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1907.) Price 2.75 francs. Tue brief introduction well describes the subject- matter of the book. It is divided into four parts. The first consists of a theoretical study of the magnetic field of a ship. It is quite simple, and in- volves no knowledge of mathematics beyond the rudiments of trigonometry. The second part is equally elementary in its treatment, and deals with the action of the field in question on a magnetic needle, together with an outline of the principle of compensation. The third part deals with the com- pensation of the Thomson or Kelvin compass, while the fourth part consists of various information and remarks, both general and particular, relating to the Thomson compass. Of the plates, the third and fourth are charts of the world showing curves of equal horizontal intensity and equal magnetic in- clination respectively. Ensign Engel has produced a book which should be of great use to naval officers, to whom a knowledge of the principles of the modern mariner’s compass is indispensable, but to whom a highly mathematical treatment would be prohibitive. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Pp. 421+152. (London: Darling and Son, 1907.) Price 5s. Tuis volume of the Kew Bulletin is the second of the regenerated series. For the most part the contents are connected with systematic or economic botany. Herbarium workers have contributed lists of new flowering plants from Africa and elsewhere, reduc- tions of the Wallichian herbarium, identifications of alge and fungi, and special articles. The rubber boom is reflected in several articles, notably in the accounts of Guayule rubber, obtained from Parthenium argen- tatum, and of Mgoa rubber, the product of the East African tree Mascarenhasia elastica. Various ad- ditions have been made to the wild fauna and flora of the gardens, the most important being the list of lepidoptera compiled by Mr. A. L. Simmons. Notes on the cricket-bat willow and on gardens and parks in South Wales represent the work of members of the gardens’ staff, and articles have been contributed from India and Africa by former members of the staff. The Will to Doubt: an Essay in Philosophy for the General Thinker. By Alfred H. Lloyd. Pp. xi+ 285. (London: Swan Sonnenschein and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 45. 6d. THE thesis defended in this, the latest, volume of Prof. Muirhead’s ethical library is that doubt is no mere negative of belief, but a positive element abso- lutely necessary to real life. It is true that the common-sense view of the world is full of contradic- tions that furnish abundant food for doubt, and that no less must be said of the more special and abstract views which constitute the sciences. But though Prof. Lloyd thus agrees with Mr. F. H. Bradley in with contradictions,’’ he does not follow the Oxford philosopher to his famous conclusion that all experi- ence is therefore only of ‘‘ appearance”’ and not of ‘reality.’’ In his view, on the contrary, contradic- tion actually serves experience by holding it down to the real world which it would otherwise miss. It follows that the ‘‘ doubter’s world’? must always present certain positive features which will accord with the principles of Descartes, the typical modern doubter. Among these will be found psychophysical parallelism and ‘‘ the immortality of whatever is indeed real.’’ Prof. Lloyd’s argument is interesting, and is ably, if not always convincingly, developed, but suffers from his somewhat perverse and strained efforts after brilliance of style. He has, moreover, shown more courage than prudence in choosing a title which in- evitably suggests comparison of his work with that of his compatriot, Prof. William James. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] An Annotated Copy of Newton’s “ Principia.’ Ir may interest your correspondent (p. 510) to know that Le Neve, in his ‘‘ Pedigrees of Knights’ (Harleian Soc., 1873, Viii., p- 192), states that Sir Demetrius James, of Itham, was knighted on May 10, 1665. An account of the family may be found in Hasted’s ‘‘ History of Kent,’” vol. ii., p. 247. Much information about the preparation of the second edition of the ‘‘ Principia”? may be found in Brewster’s ““ Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton,’’ vol. ii., p. 273 et seq., but it is needless to burden your columns with quotations from so accessible a book. Two specially bearing on the point at issue will suffice:—‘‘ Even in November 1702, when he [Newton] was visited by Bd. Greves, who saw in his hands an interleaved and corrected copy of the Principia, he» would not acknowledge that he had any intention to reprint it.’’ ‘‘In a letter dated October 11 [1709], Newton intimated to Cotes that he had sent him by Mr. Whiston ‘the greatest part of the copy of his Principia, in order to a new edition,’ thanked him for his letter of the 18th of August, and requested him not to be at the trouble of examining all the Demonstrations, but ‘to print by the copy sent him, correcting only such faults as occur in reading over the sheets,’ which would entail upon him ‘ more labour than it was fit to give him.’”’ The results of Mr. Smith’s further inquiries will be awaited with interest. W. R. B. PripEAux. Reform Club, Pall Mall, S.W., April 2. Proposed Alteration in the Calendar. Wiru reference to the proposed alteration of the calendar so ably discussed by ‘‘ W. T. L.’’ in Nature of March 26, it seems to me that the drastic scheme advocated by Mr. Pearce is not only inadmissible because interfering with the continuity of the weeks, but it is not the simplest scheme that could be adopted, even allowing the inter- ference proposed. The Positivist Calendar agrees with Mr. Pearce’s pro- posal in that it divides the year into fifty-two weeks with a supernumerary day which is not included in any week, and with two such supernumerary days in leap years. The two calendars are also alike in that these super- numerary days are not included in any month. But the Positivist Calendar is the sithpler of the two in that it makes all the months of the same length, namely, four weeks; and Blackstone informs us that in law a month holding that our experie at all its levels is © 73 F 8 t our experience at all its levels is ** riddled | means ‘‘28 days, unless otherwise expressed.” NO. 2006, vot. 77] — APRIL 9, 1908] NATURE 259 This makes the number of months in the year thirteen; but it has this advantage over Mr. Pearce’s scheme, that not only are the months all of the same length, but that they all begin on the same day of the week, and thus any given day of the month is on the same day of the week in every month. The seven-day week, which is no doubt descended from the Jewish week, is one of the most widely spread institu- tions in the world. All Christian and all Mohammedan nations, although they may agree in little else, agree in respecting the week; and it would be impossible to induce many of them to interrupt the continuity of their weeks by excluding one day annually from any week and two days every fourth year, and unless the change were inter- national and all but universal it would only introduce confusion and destroy that identity of the week which now obtains throughout Christendom and Mohammedom. D. Macxtr. 4 Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, March 28. Helium in the Atmosphere. RECENT investigations have demonstrated the widespread presence of the inert gases in the crystalline rocks, and the Hon. R. J. Strutt has shown that while the bulk of the gases in granite consists of nitrogen, there is a small but appreciable quantity of argon and helium, the former amounting to from three to four times the latter. On the disintegration of the rocks a portion of these must find their way into the atmosphere. The question arises whether our present atmosphere contains the accumulations of past accessions from the earth’s crust, in the same way as the sodium chloride in the sea represents, subject to certain qualifications, the sum of the contributions of the rivers in the past. It is found, however, that while the air examined in our laboratories contains about 1 per cent. of argon, there are only one or two parts in a million of helium. The small proportion of the latter has given rise to the sugges- tion that it is escaping from the atmosphere as fast as it enters it. This receives no support from the kinetic theory of gases. Dr. G. H. Bryan calculates (Phil. Trans., A, excvi., p. 19) that at a temperature of 127° C. it would take eighty-four thousand million years to remove a_ layer 1 centimetre thick of helium from the surface of the earth. In other words, the pressure of the gas which at the beginning of that period was found at the height of a centimetre would at its end, other conditions remaining the same, be found at the surface of the earth. Dr. Johnstone Stoney, however, supposes that there may be extraordinary molecular velocities, due to collisions and other causes, which result in the loss of helium. Such an hypothesis, however, is quite unnecessary, for, accord- ing to the ordinary views as to the constitution of gases, they will not distribute themselves uniformly in the atmo- sphere, but to a certain extent take up positions according to their relative densities. Mr. J. H. Jeans (“‘ Dynamical Theory of Gases,’’ 1904, p. 316) calculates that if helium forms a millionth part by volume of the air at sea-level, it must amount to more than 2 per cent. at an altitude, which is dependent on temperature. With our increasing know- ledge of atmospheric temperature and the distribution of helium in the earth’s crust, we ought soon to be in a position to calculate the present amount of free helium, and employ it to obtain an approximate higher limit for the total disintegration of crystalline rocks since the consolida- tion of the earth’s crust. J. W. Evans. April Meteors. Moonticut will prove a serious impediment to observa- tions of the Lyrids in the present year, the more especially as, according to calculations made by the writer, the general maximum of these meteors will take place immedi- ately after full moon. The following are particulars as to when meteor showers at this period may be expected to make their appearance, and the computed intensity of the display in each instance, the results being expressed in Greenwich Mean Time :— Epoch, April 18. Shower of second order of magnitude ; NO. 2006, VOL. 77 | the maxima precede the epoch, the principal of which occur on April 16, 6h. 25m.; April 16, 14h.; and April 17, 6h. 5om. Epoch, April 18, 15h. This shower is of the twenty- second order of magnitude, and has its principal maxima on April 16, 7h. 45m.; April 16, gh. gom.; and April 17, 13h. This minor shower has also two secondary maxima, occurring on April 17, 23h., and April 18, 3h., re- spectively. : Epoch, April 21. This shower is of the twenty-first order of magnitude, its principal maxima, which precede the epoch, occurring on April 19, 16h. 35m.; April 19, 19h. 20m. ; and April 20, 17h. Towards the end of April there is another meteor shower of the ninth’ order of magnitude, the epoch of which occurs on April 29, 6h., and the principal maxima of which’ fall on April 27, 16h.; April 27, 19h. 3om.; and April 27, 21h. As a general rule, the intensity of a meteoric display is inversely as its estimated order of magnitude; hence meteors may be expected to be most abundant on the night of April 16, as the two strongest maxima of a shower of the second order of magnitude occur on this date, besides two maxima of another shower which is partly super- imposed on the former. Lyrids will probably be most in evidence on the morning of April 17. Dublin. Joun R. Henry. Coloration of Glass and Quartz by Radium. ON many occasions attention has been directed to the coloration of glass and quartz by the rays from radium. The coloration of glass is generally connected with the presence of manganese or lead, and I venture to suggest that in quartz too the darkening arises from the associa- tion of some foreign substance with the silica. A small plate of quartz crystal was exposed to radium for three weeks, and became,’ not only irregularly violet at one place, but also showed two sharply defined parallel lines strongly coloured, with the space befween them scarcely affected. On the othen hand, a quantity of powdered chemically pure silica acquired no colour’ after the same exposure. It may also be pointed out that pure boric acid, fused to a transparent plate and protected from moisture, was unaffected by radium even after two months’ continuous exposure to the rays. Borax, however, will show a slight action after three weeks, and both these substances afford, when incorporated with a small quantity of pure sodium silicate, a good basis for the production of experimental glasses to test the action of radium when other constituents, such as lead, iron, &c., are added either singly or together. It may be found that the coloration by radium will serve as a test for the purity of the silica used in making vessels for certain classes of chemical research, so that, apart from its physical interest, the matter seems worth following up. Cuartes E. S. PHILLips. Cast!e House, Shooters Hill, Kent, April 2. An Early Notice of Neolithic Implements. Tue subjoined quotation must, I think, be among the earliest specific descriptions of a Neolithic implement found in this country. Newbery’s ‘‘A Compendious History of the World” (vol. i., London, 1768, pp. 11-12) :—‘‘ That the earth has been amazingly altered since its first formation is evident from the spoils of the sea being daily discovered even in the midst of rocks and the tops of mountains: to which let me add that the skeletons, horns, &c., of the animals of one country, have been dug out of the bogs and mines of another, even at an immense distance, and where suth animals are not now to be found: even stones have been discovered at a great distance in the earth, which bore evident marks of art about them; and some time since I had two taken out of a peat pit near Newbury in Berks, which were large, ground to an edge in the form of an ax, and so perfect that wood might be cut with them.” Joun L. Myres. The University of Liverpool, March 23. ON ANCIENT BRITISH MONUMENTS." ABERDEEN CIRCLES (Continued). Ty my last notes I dealt, amongst other matters, with those cireles devoted, obs eae of clock-stars. It is from these that dates can be derived when we are sure of the star. I pointed out that we were not sure of the star, which might have been either Arcturus or Capella. I must confess that although, as I have already said, there is no definite proof that the period of B.c. 600 is to be preferred to B.c. 1600 as the mean time of the set- ting out of the Aberdeen circles, such considerations as I then gave point to the more recent date. I may add that the N. circles, if used to determine the time at night, tell the same tale. With little knowledge of the heavens we can understand the importance of an exact alignment to Arcturus or Capella when, in my view, the astronomer-priest took his departure and told the curate left in charge to ‘‘ keep her at that ’’; but when the stars were more familiar there would be less need to indicate the rising places of either Arc- turus or Capella, and the four circles with due N. alignment indicate probably that there was no longer need for a rising NOTES VITI.—Tue star to be con- sidered; the posi- | fvOMm On) thie brighter stars in relation to the Pole star in the circumpolar re- gion itself could be used, and there can be little doubt that it then be- came a question of the nightly voyage of (thie Great Bear round Polaris. In such observations we have the begin- ning of the em- plovi ment of the “ night dial ’’ used throughout Britain | until a century ago, and of the system of observation by which the Arabs in the Soudan still tell the time at night to within ten minutes. The question of the number of stones in the circles may also help us. The once existing condition of things at Crichie, fully illustrated in Anderson’s admir- able book on Scotland in pagan times (‘* Stone Age,’ p. 105), is worthy of consideration. The circle con- sisted of six stones only; the meridian is clearly marked, and my observations made from the out- standing stone show that it was quite accurately laid off. This fact and the other that the cist was found in the middle of a north alignment are, in my mind, proofs of relative modernity. One question, then, is, May we accept all small circles, such as Crichie and Tuack, as being more modern than those in Corn- wall and even in Aberdeenshire, where the number of stones in the circle is greater? The many interments in these circles also favour this view. And now a word about the May-year circles; from astronomically we can get no date, but we know that in the south they preceded the solstitial circles and perhaps it is permissible to make the same as- these Sl tion for Aberdeenshire, but in this case we deal 1 cumbent stones, so again they are dissimilar, therefore their date is probably not the same as the in the south. 1 Continued from p.. 489 01 2005) VOLaG7 as I believe, to the NATURE f[ArRIL 9 1908 So far as my work has gone, we have ‘align- ments to the May year at Berry Brae and Hatton of Ardoyne; the remains of a May-year avenue at Ardlair and another marked on the Ordnance map near Kirkton of Clatt. The true azimuths of the May sunrise near Aberdeen are approximately :— Seasborzontes.-2) 2) <<: Mtesp tte pemeee No 7a Ome LEIS! iy" ha SEeBEEeB eos Sach oa5. 60 SrA. beh Cae et yee 61 30 In my reductions 1 have taken the magnetic vari- ation at W. 18° 45/ provisionally until the recent results obtained by the Admir alty and Ordnance Survey are known. It is remarkable that either the recumbent stones or supporters, or both, have been disturbed in these May-year circles, suggesting a practice acted on by the Egyptian priests in regard to the worship of any other sun- or star-god than the one to which they were specially attached. This is an argument in favour of the erection of the May-year circles before the solstitial ones at Midmar, Sunhoney and Stonehead, which have been left intact. Fic. 22.—Contrasting the directing stone and supporters at Ardlair. The most remarkable case of disturbance is at Ardlair, on the N.W. of the circle area. This is one of the exceptional cases to which I re- ferred in (2), where the only May-year avenue I have measured occurs, hence the circle may once have been a May-year one. With the single exception of Old Bourtree Bush, where the recumbent stone is due E. of the centre of the circle to define the place of the | equinoctial sunsets, all the circles I have measured have the recumbent stone in the S.W. quadrant. This general condition has been previously noted by Mr. Coles, and also by Mr. Ritchie, who informs me that in the case of the only variation from this law he has noted, it is known that the recumbent stone, having been moved by the farmer, was wrongly re- placed when he was compelled to restore it. At Ardlair the recumbent stone is in the S.E. quad- rant, but there are indications that this was not its original position. It is unlike any other recumbent stone I have seen; I believe its many sharp angles and cracks are due to the action of fire, and the angles and cracks are all the more striking since both sup- porters are rounded and crackless. The removal of the stone from its position facing the May sunrise, subjecting it to the action of fire, and placing it between two stones in the circle, so that its length would lie in the direction of that sun- vise, are all suggested as acts of the solstitial priests. The mean of all my measures gives an azimuth APRIL 9, 1908 } NATURE 537 along the stone and its supporters of N. 61 the azimuth of the May sunrise with hills 2 N 61° 30! E. The other exceptional case is at Garrol, where there has been great disturbance, and where, as at Ardlair, the length of the recumbent stone lies in the direction which points to the rise of the May sun, the mean of many measures giving Ni j60? 45/65. te! Jaa G high is My measurements of the May-year circles were as follows :— May-year. Sun’s Declination 16° 20! N. (May 6, August 8). Azimuths. We as Dates. | & ul vere ees | . | Su E} tionof | = | Circle at— is 5.3 | True, at the a | | 5 @ | right-angles | horizon. | 5 May. | August. |x = 5| across circle. A ja — 3 | Berry Brae ......... 170 | N. 61 15 EZ 1 | 15 30 May 3. Aug. 11 Hatton of Ardoyne | 166 | N. 57 15 E. % =| 17 8} Mayo) Aug. 5 (assumed), ——— Mean of above... ae | 1619| May 6| Aug. 8 Some of the previous measures in Cornwall may be given for comparison :— s | 9 = Dates. : Eleva- | 4 | Monument at— eae tionof | £7 : horizon. | 3 Aa, | A May. August. | = Se a | Boscawen-un— 5 P| ee Circle to two large men- fou N. 66 50 Bh r.0 |1455, May 1 Aug. 13 ferry Maidens— Circle to Fougou ......... N.64 oF o 30 |162r' May 6 Aug. 8 Tregeseal— Circle to Longston=...... N.67 20 E.| 1 18 75 3\ May 2 Aug. 13 Longstone (Tregeseal)- 5 fo Wwe Lanyon Quoit.... N.67 o E. a) ™ 3) Apr.23 Aug. 16 own ‘Tor— = | Direction of avenue...... N.67 oE.! © 30 1423, Apr.30 Aug. 15 (assumed), St. Cleer — } | Holy well to Trevethy | cromlech .... N.64 oF.| 030 | 1621) May 6| Aug. 8 (assumed) | Lesquoit cremlech— Orientation of cromlech. |N.64 oE. 130 |1655|May 8 Aug. 6 Druids Altar (Pawton)-- | | Orientation of cromlech. N.64 oE.| 130 |1655| May 8 Aug. 6 Mean of above ...... | 15 38! May 4 Aug. ro In addition to these, I have found? that Lulis * and Borlase* give plans of a number of cromlechs in Cornwall which appear to be oriented to the May sun. They are as follows :— : Cromlech. Authority. Azimuth. Lanyon Quoit... N. 66 F. Mulfra Quoit N. 63 E. Chywoone Quoit.. N. 64 E. Zennor Quoit wie Luki N. 64 E ‘Three Brothers Grugith ...... Luki N. 64 E Mean of above... eee aa = ce a N. 64° 12° E. Assuming an elevation of the horizon between 3° and 1°, this mean value is the exact azimuth of the May sunrise in Cornwall. I next give details touching the solstitial circles. 1 See Nature, No. 1987, vol. Ixxvii., p. 84, November 28, 1907. The Prehistoric Stone Monuments of Britain—Cornwall.” 3 © Antiquities of Cornwall.” ° NO. 2006, VOL. 77] With these, accurate measurement is a difficult matter, and, as the determination of the date of erection from the variation of the obliquity of the ecliptic entails very precise measures, I content myself with pointing out that thé declinations are probably solstitial and that they agree, in the mean, with the values pre- viously obtained for the English solstitial circles. Azimuths, | rs | Elevation oes ease Circle at— Magnetic, True, at of the Declination mean of right-angles__ horizon. observa- across | tions. | circle. Sunhoney ... ler |N. 52 35 E. 4 22 25 Midmar .«..... a I55 15 46 30 2 2n0ns Stonehead (Insch)...... 146 15 67030 I 25 41 Mean of above... pee rp ae 23 47 I append some measures made in the south of England for comparison :— ze Elevation Sout tre Monumen cate Azimuth of the Declination (true). hori N. orizon. Stonehenge— : Direction of avenue from circle... |N. 49 34 E. © 35 23 54 Stanton Drew— ; Great circle to N.E. circle.. 51 0 a He 23 49 Boscawen-un— Centre of circle to fine menhir ... 53 3° 115 22 58 Tregeseal— Centre of circle to holed stones... 53 20 115 232 Longstone (T’regeseal)— SomVlen-an= Wola versecracesossescenses)| 50 30 © 34 2407, Mean of above “op oe a ae 23 34 General Conclusions. ” Should subsequent-inquiries confirm the balance of argument: against the use of Capella, we shall be led to the following conclusions :— (a) Dealing with the circles already measured by me in the two localities, the Aberdeen circles are more than a thousand years younger than those of Cornwall and the west coast; and here we have one reason why the east-coast circles are dissimilar, and those at Callernish and Stenness to the west are simi- lar, to the Cornish circles. (b) With this great difference of time to deal with, we have also probably a difference of origin between the West coast and East coast swarms. (c) As the May year is still supreme in Scotland generally, it is clear that the solstitial Aberdonians were at some point of time overpowered in influence by a return wave from the west of Scotland. Since my return from Aberdeen Mr. Horton Bolitho, one of the hon. secretaries of the Cornwall branch of the Society for the Astronomical Study of Ancient Monuments, and whose knowledge of the Cornish alignments is second to none, has sent me the follow- ing information concerning the circles in Perth- shire :— “‘T examined six circles in Perthshire last year and this, but 1 found no trace of recumbent stones such as are associated with the Aberdeen circles. The Perth- shire circles closely resemble the circles of Cornwall, showing traces of May-year and solstitial alignments with at least one clear use of a clock-star in azimuth N. 18° E. Trees prevented any fine measurements being taken, and local assistance in searching for out- standing stones was lacking. In two of the best pre- : 1 At Sunhoney, as the recumbent stone was curved and irregular, it was simpler to measure directly across the circle at right-angles to the length of the recumbent stone ; the magnetic azimuth thus obtained was 71° 20. 538 NATURE [APRIL 9, 1908 served circles I tound a central or ‘ Gorsedd’ stone, and in one case two central stones.’’ Mr. Bolitho’s observations then intensify the purely local fashion of the Aberdeen circles. One of the associated inquiries to which [ have referred will be to trace the existence of recumbent stones in some part of Europe; anothvr will be to see if the area of the recumbent stone has also special ethnological or craniological characteristics. With regard to the first point, Anderson (‘‘ Stone Age,’’ p. 124) tells us that in Norway and Sweden there is no example of a circle with a recumbent stone and supporters. With regard to the second, the paper on British ethnology by Mr. J. Gray (Man, April, 1902) is full of promise. A point worthy of notice is the great preponderance in the number of circles used to take the time at night over those enabling the seasonal changes and the sun’s place throughout the year to be fixed. In Corn- wall both were equally provided for. We may, I think, include the circles with a north alignment with the clock-star circles as used to determine the time at night. They are respectively situated at Dyce, Whitehill Woad, Raes of Clune and Candle Hill (Insch). As before stated, they probably represent a later development when the observer’s knowledge was so far advanced that he needed only the cardinal point in order to recognise the clock- stars which it was necessary for him to observe. Judging by the trouble taken to determine time at | night by the use of special circles in Aberdeen, reli- gious services at fixed hours of the night are suggested to be as early as the time of the circle builders. As these night observations were common to the two localities, we may conclude that in both, the circle associated with the via sacra, the chambered cairn, the holy well and the holy thorn, and the sacred festivals, represent the earlier form of the monastery buildings of later times. I am anxious to conclude by expressing our deep obligations to many helpers, First of all to Dr. Fraser for his invitation to come and do some more work, his generous hospitality, and the use of his motor-car for the examination of the circles within a radius of twenty miles of the Granite City, some of which we saw under his own guidance. That is the first point; next comes the local help in four distinct regions—Inverurie, Durris, Buchan and Insch. For the Inverurie district Mr. Ritchie, of Port Elphinstone, gave up two of his precious Saturday holidays, during which he piloted us to many circles which he had most carefully selected from a much larger number as being best worth examining. At Durris Mr. Braid and his son took us to the circles at Eslie and the Raes of Clune, and, further, had prepared a careful plan of the latter circle, thus fulfilling a promise made last year. On our arrival at Mintlaw for the study of the Buchan circles, we found the Rev. Dr. Forrest, Mr. Ainslie, and his assistant, Mr. Gall, at the station, and with their help several circles near Mintlaw and Lon- may were measured. Later on we proceeded to Insch, and passed two nights in the comfortable Railway Hotel there. The obliging landlord, Mr. Haddon, had taken immense pains to secure local information. Colonel Smith, and lr. J. Graham Callander who had only returned two s from studying Greek inscriptions in Asia Minor, npanied us on each of the days, and with their re enabled to measure seven circles, some m many miles from our headquarters. Norman Lockyer. by NO. 2006, VOL. 77 TREES. MONG the many excellent books which have been written about trees there are none, in our opinion, better than the present work. It is full of interest from cover to cover. The many beautiful photographs of the diiferent parts of trees are strikingly true to nature, and, having been taken from-fresh material, they show the salient features of the different species much more clearly than could be observed from dried herbarium specimens. We have also beautiful por- traits of the various trees themselves in summer and winter condition, as well as special plates illustrating the appearance of the bark. The accompanying illus- tration will speak for itself. In his introduction Prof. Groom has given a very interesting and clear account of the various members, both vegetative and reproductive, which make up the body of the tree. The special function of each part Bark of Cork Oak. Part of an illustration in ‘‘ Trees and their Life histories,” and the influence of the environment on its activity is described in a way which the non-botanical reader should have no difficulty in following and thus laying a clear foundation for the better understanding of trees and their life-histories. It is difficult to say which part of the book is best, but in the introduc- tion the author has broken new ground. A great fault in many similar works is that they contain a mere accumulation of facts, and dry, formal descrip- tions of different trees and their various parts, which the non-botanical reader may learn and thus get to kknow the various species by head mark. This is all very well so far as it goes, but surely it will make 1 “Trees and their Life-histories.” By Prof. P. Groom. Pp. xvi+4o7; illustrated from photos. by H. Irving. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 25s. net. APRIL 9, 1908] NATURE 539 the study of trees much more intelligible and in- teresting when the meaning of structure and form is clearly and simply described to the student, as in the present work, After this excellently written and beautifully illus- trated introduction, the author takes up the gymno- sperms. He does not attempt to deal with every known species, but certainly there are few which are likely to be met with in various pinetums, parks, and forests in this country which have not been dealt with. The life-history of each is clearly and well described and illustrated by photographs. As Prof. Groom states in his preface, “ Particular trees have been selected for more detailed discussion, so as to serve as types by which to demonstrate certain structural features or general phenomena observable in tree- life.’’ The study of the conifers appeals to a vast number of people, and a distinct gap in the existing literature has been filled by this work. No doubt other books give descriptions of the different species, but these are too condensed and technical to be of any use to the general reader. The broad-leaved trees are similarly dealt with in an interesting and masterly manner. Analytical tables and diagnosis of families have been added. These, together with the numerous illustrations and the special mention of dis- tinctive features which is prefixed to the account of every tree described, will certainly ensure facility and accuracy in identifying the different knds of trees with which the reader is likely to come in contact. The author is to be congratulated upon the produc- tion of a work which should certainly be in the possession of all those interested directly or indirectly in trees and their growth. A. W. B. DR. JAMES BELL, C.B., F.R.S. WE regret to have to announce the death, on March 31, in his eighty-fourth year, of Dr. James Bell, formerly principal of the Somerset House laboratory. Dr. Bell was a native of County Armagh, and entering the Inland Revenue Service became, when a comparatively young man, an assist- ant in the chemical department of Somerset House, then under the charge of Mr. George Phillips. This department, the forerunner of the present Govern- ment Laboratory, was the outcome of the Tobacco Act of 1842, and was created with the object of supplementing the provisions of that Act in suppress- ing the adulteration of tobacco. For his chemical education Dr. Bell was mainly indebted to the late Prof. Williamson. Indeed, in the early days of the Somerset House laboratory a close association existed between it and University College, and a number of the first assistants were trained in theoretical and practical chemistry in the Gower Street laboratories, and some of them, like Duffy, Kay and Railton, were encouraged by Dr. Williamson, then in the full vigour of his scientific activity, to try their prentice hands at original investigation. In the first years of its ex- istence the laboratory, the staff of which consisted solely of Mr. Phillips himself, was almost exclu- sively engaged on the objects for which it was founded, but as its utility became more and more apparent its operations were gradually extended, and eventually embraced the examination of practically every excisable article. The laboratory at this period was also largely concerned with inquiries as to the brewing values of various materials, and on the methods of determining original gravities, and on the denaturing of spirits of wine so as to permit its use for manufacturing purposes without danger NO. 2006, VOL. 77 | to the revenue—all of which work found its applica- tion in subsequent Acts of Parliament. On the death of Mr. Kay, Mr. Bell became deputy principal, and he continued in that office until the retirement of Mr. Phillips in 1874, when he succeeded to the principalship, holding that position until his resignation in 1894. During the fifty years of its existence the operations of the laboratory had greatly extended, and it had contracted associations with practically every Government department which had need of chemical advice and assistance, in addition to the large extension of its work connected with Revenue matters. | Much of this development took place during Dr. Bell’s principalship. But to the public at large Dr. Bell’s tenure of the office was mainly signalised by the association of the Somerset House laboratory with what’is in reality one of the least important of its many duties, viz. the Food and Drugs Acts. This popular misapprehension of the proper functions of the laboratory is no doubt due to occasional newspaper references to the fact that a disputed case of analysis of some food-stuff, drink or drug has been referred by magistrates to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for the opinion of their chemical advisers. As a matter of history, this connection of the Somerset House laboratory with the Food and Drugs Acts occurred at the very time that Dr. Bell succeeded to the principalship, as a result of a report of a Select Committee of the House of Commons on the working of the Act of 1872, and this circumstance caused the laboratory to be known to the public at large to a much greater extent than formerly. The new responsibility thus thrown on Dr. Bell involved a very considerable increase of work on the department, not so much in actual analysis of re- ferred samples as in investigations into the methods of food analysis in general and in the establishment of standards of quality. Thirty years ago the methods of food analysis were, for the most part, in a very unsatisfactory condition. The great teachers of chemical analysis, Berzelius, Rose, Wohler, Thomson, Bunsen, Fresenius, and the men trained in their schools, were mainly concerned in the dis- covery and elaboration of the methods of mineral analysis, and very little attention had been paid to processes for the systematic examination of food with a view to the determination of its quality or to the detection of adulteration. The first Food and Drugs Act was largely ineffective owing to this cir- cumstance. When the office of a public analyst was first created, practically each analyst had to devise his own methods, and at the outset no uniformity or agreement was possible. The condition of things to which this gave rise, with the consequent frequent instances of injustice, was indeed the cause of the appointment of the Select Committee above referred to. As regards methods of analysis, Dr. Bell, as the referee eventually appointed under the Act of 1875, was in no better position than other analysts who held office under the Act, and he at once turned all the force and ability of his laboratory to the elabora- tion of the methods for the examination of such articles of food and drink as experience showed most frequently came within the purview of the Act. In this work he was assisted by some of the most com- petent analysts the laboratory ever possessed, notably Mr. George Lewin, .the late Mr. Harkness, the late Mr. John Holmes, and Mr. Cameron, each of whom did yeoman service in getting together the material embodied in the work by which Dr. Béll is best known, viz. his ‘“‘ Chemistry of Foods.” It was mainly in recognition of the service thus ren-: dered to the community that Dr. Bell was elected into . 540 NATURE [APRIL 9, 1908 the Royal Society in 1884, and was made, two years later, a graduate of the Royal University of Dublin. Ilis official position. further led to his selection as president of the Institute of Chemistry in 1888. He was one of the original members of the Institute,«and (ook much interest in its operations. He was made a Companion of the Bath in 1889. Dr. Bell enjoyed the respect and esteem of many successive Boards of Inland Revenue, who found in him a shrewd and astute adviser of ripened judg- ment and large experience, eminently cautious and sound. His bonhomie and geniality, his strong common sense and tactful sympathy, his _ fair- mindedness and obvious impartiality rendered him an admirable agent in the conduct of the occasionaliy complicated and difficult adjustments of the apparently conflicting interests of the ‘‘ Trade ’”’ and the Revenue, which the head of the laboratory is now and again called upon to determine. He was loyally served by his staff, who entertained warm feelings of regard and affection for him. Many of them testified to their appreciation of his many good qualities by their presence at his funeral on Saturday last at Ewell. ANG 105 NOTES. Tne sixteenth James Forrest lecture of the Institution of Civil Engineers will be delivered at the institution on Monday, April 27, by Prof. Henry Louis, who has selected for his subject ‘‘ Unsolved Problems in Metal Mining.”’ Tue Geological Society of London is taking a poll of all the fellows resident in the United Kingdom to ascer- | tain whether a majority is in favour of admitting women to the society, and, if so, whether as fellows or as associates. Dr. W. N.. SHaw, F.R:S., and Dr: I. H: Warren, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, have been elected members of the Atheneum Club under the pro- visions of the rule of the club which empowers the annual election by the committee of three persons ‘‘of dis- tinguished eminence in science, literature, the arts, or for public services.” Dr. HeEnrr Destanpres, who since 1897 has _ been assistant director of the observatory at Meudon, has been appointed director to succeed the late Dr. Janssen. Dr. J. N. Lancrey, F.R.S., professor of physiology in the University of Cambridge, has been elected a foreign member of the Royal Danish Scientific Society. Tue third International Congress of Philosophy will be held at Heidelberg from August 31 to September 5. Prof. Windelberg is to be president, and Dr. Elsenhaus Plock, of Heidelberg, is acting as secretary. Tne annual dinner of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy will be held at the Hotel Cecil on Friday, May 8. The president, Mr. A. James, will preside, and many distinguished guests have already accepted invitations to be present. We learn from the British Medical Journal that the fown Council of West Ham has passed a_ resolution authorising the placing of a branze tablet on the house in Upton Lane, Forest Gate, now St. Peter’s Vicarage, where Lord Lister was born. Tne sixth International Congress of Psychology will be held at Geneva from August 31 to September 4, 1909. Prof. E. Claparéde, professor of physiological psychology NO. 2006, VOL. 77 | in the University of Geneva, is the general secretary of the congress, and may be addressed at Champel, 11, Geneva. A new Polar expedition is being equipped, under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Marine, with the object of discovering a north-east passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and thereby accelerating naval com- munication between Western and Far Eastern Russia. A CORRESPONDENT sends us a page from ‘‘ Wind und Wetter,’ by Prof. E. Lommel (Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1873), containing a description of the dark cloud which covered Europe and a part of Asia in 1873 (see NATURE, March 5, p. 417, and March 26, p. 493). Tue body of Emanuel Swedenborg, who died in 1772 and was buried in the Swedish Church, Prince’s Square, Ratcliff Highway, was removed on Tuesday from its place of sepulture and conveyed to Dartmouth, where it was placed on board the Swedish cruiser Fylgia for conveyance to Sweden. A GENERAL meeting of the American Philosophical Society will be held at Philadelphia on April 23-25. The preliminary programme, a copy of which has reached us, shows that thirty-six papers on important scientific subjects will be brought before the meeting by leading men of science in the United States. Tue Back bequest for 1908 has been awarded by the Royal Geographical Society to Lieutenant George Mulock, R.N., on account-of the survey work which he did on the National Antarctic Expedition, and the map in six sheets which he prepared after the expedition returned. A MESSAGE from Stockholm states that it is the intention of the Swedish Government to ask the Riksdag to make a grant for a scientific expedition to Spitsbergen in the coming summer for geological and geographical research. Prof. Gerard de Geer, the Rector of the University of Stockholm, will be the leader of the expedition. It is proposed to hold a conference of meteorologists representative of the United Kingdom and of the British colonies and dependencies in the course of the summer in Canada on the invitation of the Royal Society of Canada. The meeting was originally fixed for the last week in May. We are now informed by Mr. R. F. Stupart, director of he Canadian Meteorological Service, that it has been post- poned, and is to be held in Quebec in the last week of July, immediately after the celebration of the tercentenary of Champlain’s landing. An adult living specimen of Lepidosiren paradoxa—the South American lung-fish—reached the natural history llepartment of Glasgow University some months ago, and has remained in a healthy condition. To this—the first living specimen which has ever reached the Old World— there have just been added eight others obtained by Mr. W. E. Agar on his recent expedition. It is hoped that in time it may be found possible to induce them to breed in captivity. THe summer meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science will be held at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., during the week beginning June 29. A committee, under the chairmanship of Prof. R. Fletcher, has been appointed to make the necessary arrangements. An invitation has been received from the president of the Blue Mountain Forest Association for members of the association to visit the Blue Mountain Forest, otherwise known as the Corbin Blue Mountain Park or Preserve, covering about 40,000 acres, where the celebrated herds of buffalo, deer, mountain goats, boars, &c., may be seen. a ttt APRIL 9, 1908] NATURE 541 AGRICULTURAL science in America has lost a promising writer and teacher by the death, in his forty-second year, of Prof. Willis G. Johnson. He was formerly an instructor in the University of Illinois, and was engaged in special investigations for the natural history laboratory of that State. Later he became State entomologist of Maryland, and organised the Maryland State Horticulture Depart- ment. Of late years he had written largely on fruit-tree pests and kindred subjects, and had edited the American Agriculturist. Wirn reference to his article in NAturE of March 26 on the proposed alterations in the calendar, the author writes:—‘ In p. 489, col. 2, line 13, for ‘each 132nd year’ read ‘each 128th year.’ Dropping a leap year at the:end of each latter period would be equivalent to having in that time 97 common years and 31 leap years, or 46,751 days in all, differing from 128 tropical years by only 0.00160 of a day. This is much more accurate than the Gregorian rule; and, if the latter is a little more easy to remember, that is of little advantage for what can come at most once in a lifetime.” IN a letter to the Paris Academy of Sciences, Prince Roland Bonaparte announces his resolution to place the sum of 100,000 francs (3960l.) at the disposal of the academy for the encouragement of scientific . research. This sum is not to be treated as capital, but is to be used freely in the form of annuities, not as rewards for work done, but to enable competent workers, who have already proved their capability, to carry out new researches which otherwise they would be unable to prosecute. In his letter to the academy—which appears in No. 9 of the Comptes rendus (March 2)—the Prince expresses the hope that his example may be followed to such an extent that a per- manent fund, devoted to this end, may be established. Tue following are among the lecture’ arrangements at the Royal Institution after Easter :—Mr. Gerald Stoney, two lectures on the development of the modern turbine and its application; Prof. F. T. Trouton, two lectures on (1) why light is believed to be a vibration, (2) what it is which vibrates; Prof. W. Stirling, two lectures on animal heat and allied phenomena; Mr. W. Bateson, three lectures on Mendelian heredity; Dr. A. Scott, three lectures on the chemistry of photography; and Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot, two lectures on Chile and the Chilians. The Friday even- ing meetings will be resumed on May 1, when Prof. J. Larmor will deliver a discourse on the scientific work of Lord Kelvin. Succeeding discourses will probably be given by Dr. J. Y. Buchanan, Dr. H. T. Bulstrode, Prof. J. C. Kapteyn, of the University of Gr6éningen, and Sir James Dewar. A Reuter telegram states that Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen, who jointly commanded the Anglo-American Polar Ex- pedition, returned from Alaska on April 2. Captain Mikkelsen started from Flaxman Island on October 16 and journeyed along the northern shore of Alaska, proceeding thence along the Yukon River towards Fort Gibson. The expedition traced the continental shelf in Beaufort Sea. Information was obtained concerning ocean currents which will be useful when Captain Mikkelsen makes another attempt to reach the unknown continent. Beyond the continental shelf there is water of great depth, demon- strating that Beaufort Sea is not a shallow basin, as has been supposed. The journey north was made along the 149th meridian, and soundings were taken occasionally. At a distance of sixty-four miles from the land it was impossible to touch bottom with a 320-fathom line. NO. 2005, VOL. 77] Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, the expedition’s geologist, has remained at. Flaxman Island to carry on scientific work. In Nature of February 13 (p. 345) Dr. T. J. J. See gave a quotation from Strabo suggesting that Mochus of Sidon was the originator of the theory of atoms. Dr. Dreyer pointed out, however, in the following issue (p- 368) that the so-called book of Mochus is a literary forgery. Dr. See now writes to state that, though this is the case, it does not justify the inference that Mochus himself was not a real authority of weight. In reply, Dr. Dreyer asks why should it be necessary to accept the existence of Mochus as a historical fact, simply because Posidonius was taken in by the forgery? It is known from other evidence that his mind was not very critically inclined. The book of Mochus is only one of a number of apocryphal writings about Demokritus, most of which pretend to have been written by himself, and describe his skill as a sorcerer and magician. See Zeller, ‘‘ Philosophie der Griechen,”’ i., p. 842 (5th ed.), and Susemihl, “‘ Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur in der Alexandrinerzeit,’’ i., p. 483. Zeller points out that .the roots of the philosophical doctrines of Leukippus and Demokritus are so clearly dis- tinguishable in the earlier Greek philosophy that it is out of the question to deduce them from Eastern sources. Tue report of the Royal Scottish Museum for 1907 records a marked increase in the number of visitors, the total exceeding that for the previous year by 92,000. Although this increase may be partially accounted for by an extension of the hours during which the museum is open, it apparently indicates an increased interest in the institution on the part of the public. An unsatisfactory feature is the presence of a bonded whiskey store within less than a dozen feet from part of the west wing of the museum, AccorpINnG to the recently issued report, the Royal Zoa- logical Society of Ireland enjoyed an unusually good season during 1907 in the matter of receipts, the gate-money show- ing an increase of nearly 15001. over that of the preceding year. This satisfactory state of affairs is attributed in great part to the recent Dublin exhibition, aided, no doubt, by the improved attractions of the gardens themselves. On the other hand, the list of paying members shows a diminution. The report is illustrated by photo- graphs of the new seal-pond and of several interesting animals. Lion-breeding continues to be carried on success- fully and profitably. As the collection includes lions from both West and East Africa, as well as one from Persia, it would be interesting if the authorities would afford information as to the characteristics of these local forms. serious A sHort editorial note in the January number of the Indian Forester refers to the very important subject of forests and water supply, but no data from Indian terri- tories'are quoted. The extent to which camphor has been planted in eastern Asia, India, Africa, and the United States is summarised in an article on the subject, and the methods of producing camphor synthetically are indicated. A re- printed article by Mr. A. M. Smith discussing the correla- tion between the moon’s phase and the period of felling bamboos bears out the view that the phenomena which have led to the belief are connected with the amount of water in the culms; the amount varies greatly with transpiration and with the conditions of light. Miss E. M. Farr has compiled a catalogue of the flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Selkirk Range Mr. ; that is published as vol. iii, No. 1, of the Contributions 542 from the Botanical Laboratory of the University of Penn- Of conifers, Pinus Murrayana and Picea Engel- manni are dominant in the Rockies; Larix Lyallii is a ponseie uous tree at high elevations, and Tsuga Mertensiana is another characteristic Alpine tree occurring in the west sylvania. of ene region. Among flowering plants, the grasses, sedges, Cruciferae, Rosacez, and Composite are the largest orders. Numerous interesting Alpine plants are found, as Erythronium grandiflorum, known as the glacier lily, Agquilegia formosa, Anemone Drummondii, various saxifrages, Parnassia Kotzebuei, Lutkea pectinata, and Vaccinium myrtilloides. The plants growing on Sulphur Mountain, so-called because of the hot sulphur springs, include Primula Maccalliana, Saxifraga caespitosa, aoe nivalis, and Hutchinsia calycina. A SEMI-POPULAR account of light-emitting plants, by Dr. C. Miller, is published in the February number of Himmel und Erde. In 1815 Heinrich recorded the observation that light is evolved by the wood of certain trees, and later John Heller rightly ascribed the phenomenon to fungi. Hartig identified one mycelium as that of Agaricus melleus, and more recently Molisch showed that the mycelium of other fungi produce the same effect. The fruiting bodies of Agaricus Gardneri, A. igneus, and A. olearius emit light, also the Australian fungi Panus incandescens and Pleurotus canescens. The light observed in connec- tion with dead animal matter, attributable to bacteria, is due in certain cases to the presence of Bacterium phos- phoreum, and it is peculiar that this organism only exists at temperatures below 30° C.; other bacteria produce the luminous effect in connection with marine fishes and animals. The emission of light at sea has been variously attributed to bacteria, Peridineze, and Pyrociste. A dis- tinctly novel idea of utilising light-emitting bacteria to provide a lamp was devised by Dubois and Molisch. WE have received from the president of the International Aéronautical Committee a summary of the places at which scientific kite and balloon ascents were made in the months September—December, 1907, in Europe, the United States, and at Helwan (Egypt). Heights of 20,000 metres and upwards were reached by registering balloons at Uccle, Brussels (25,990 metres on September 5), Strassburg, and Pyrton Hill (Oxon). The meteorological results are not stated in the summary. Tue Deutsche Seewarte has published the results of meteorological observations for 1906 at the stations under its control, consisting of ten stations of the second order, fifty-six storm-warning stations on the coasts of Germany and hourly readings at four normal observatories. These results have been published in practically the same form for twenty-nine years, and owing to the great care bestowed upon all details connected with the service, the volume is one of the most valuable annual contributions to the meteorology of Europe. Part iii. of the year-book of the Meteorological Observa- tory of Agram contains the rainfall observations made in Croatia and Slavonia in the years 1903-6. In the last year there were 121 observing stations; the data form an important contribution to the climatology of those parts, the tables are worked out in great detail, and the precipita- tion is particularised by the usual international symbols. We note, however, that, contrary to the method obtaining country, the values are entered to the day of isurement instead of to the previous day. in this THE usual annual summary of the climatology of the past year, based on observations made at Juvisy, appears NO. 2006, VOL. 77] NATURE [APRIL 9, 1908 in the February number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France. It is pointed out, in discussing the monthly temperatures, that only on five occasions since the commencement of the nineteenth century has the mean temperature for the month of July been lower than it was in 1907. The relation between sun-spot activity and terrestrial temperature is discussed, and it is shown that from 1879 until 1897 the annual temperature curve followed the sun-spot curve, with a maximum in 1893. The parallelism was not continued, however, during the period 1897 to 1900, but in 1g01-2 there was a temperature minimum corresponding to that of sun-spots. The sun- spot maximum of 1905 was not accompanied, in these latitudes, by a thermic maximum, but it is suggested the excessive rain of that year, with its resulting lowering of temperature, was occasioned by the excessive evaporation in tropical regions. WE have received from the Danish Meteorologicat Institute its report on the state of the ice in the Arctic seas for 1907. The report is in its usual form. Tue Bulletin of the American Geographical Society for January contains an article by Prof. R. De C. Ward on some problems of the tropics. Prof. Ward emphasises the bounty of nature in providing all the necessaries of life in tropical latitudes, and the tendency for natives of such climates to make no attempts to attain higher civilisation. None of the energetic and enterprising nations of the world has developed under the easy con- ditions of life in the tropics. In considering the labour problem, the marked social gulf which is certain to ensue if white men attempt to develop tropical countries by aid of indolent natives is discussed. The white residents con~ stitute a caste, and tend to become despotic, while the country is governed on the standards of the temperate zone. Reference is made to the tendency of Europeans to become enervated in a tropical climate, and the problem of tropical government is illustrated by the example of British India. After briefly discussing the seats of primitive civilisation, Prof. Ward directs attention to the migratory movements in history from colder to warmer climates, mentioning the descent of the barbarous tribes of the Himalayas into India, and the invasions of Greece and Rome from the north. AN account of the earthquake of January 2, 1908, by Mr. Maxwell Hall, is published in the Jamaica weather report. The principal origin of this shock lay in the western part of the island, near Ipswich and Appleton. Rocks were thrown down in a railway cutting between these towns; many houses suffered damage in the district between Falmouth and Montego Bay; at Black River it is said that goods on shelves and in windows of shops on the south side of the High Street were thrown into the street, but those on the north side were thrown inwards. At Chapelton, Mr. Maxwell Hall reports that undulations of the ground could be seen-as well as felt; this observa- tion is interesting, as the shock was not severe, no damage was caused, and the violence, as defined by Mr. Hall, corresponds to about the fifth degree of the Mercalli scale. In an article in a Stuttgart newspaper, the Deutsches Volksblatt, Mr. Schips endeavours to apply recent chemical theories towards elucidating the origin and formation of the diamond from quartz-bearing rocks. The diamond, he points out, is always associated with silicates, and one of the minerals with radium emanation is always present. He concludes, therefore, that the diamond has been formed by the influence of the emanation on silicon. APRIL 9, 1908] In Concrete and Constructional Engineering for March Colonel J. Winn summarises recent progress in the develop- ment of reinforced concrete in Great Britain. During the past year steady advance? has been made, and the decision to build the new General Post Office extensions and various small post offices of reinforced concrete will have a far- reaching effect. Another interesting article in the same issue, by Mr. W. R. Crane, deals with the use of concrete and reinforced concrete in mines. Details are given of concrete linings at several shafts in the United States. Other articles dealing with reinforced concrete in reservoir, aqueduct, and conduit construction, with a ten-storey re- inforced concrete building in Pittsburg, with reinforced conerete bridges in Italy, sea defences in Holland, and leading jetty on the Manchester Ship Canal, illustrate in a striking manner the variety and number of the structures which are being executed in this material. Two interesting papers were read before the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland on March 17. Mr. H. A. Mavor discussed the electric propulsion of ships, giving a comparison of the results to be obtained on a ship of large size driven direct by steam turbines with what can be done by the application of electric gear. The ship, details of which are worked out, had a total of 17,000 horse-power delivered to the three propellers, and a speed of 203 knots. The propellers were 8 feet 13 inches in diameter, and the speed of revolution was 377 per minute. The maximum probable efficiency of these pro- pellers is calculated to be 62 per cent. An electric equip- ment would, it is shown, permit of the use of propellers of about 14 feet diameter at 140 revolutions per minute, and an efficiency not less than 7o per cent.—an improve- ment more than sufficient to cover the loss in the electric motors. In the second paper Mr. W. H. Hatfield traced the evolution of malleable cast iron, and discussed its present position in the metallurgical world. He takes exception to the statement made in the report on the nomenclature of iron and steel that malleable cast iron should not be regarded as a variety of cast iron, inasmuch as it does not exhibit the extreme brittleness that characterises cast iron. He considers that it should properly be classed as cast iron. The nomenclature is, however, a matter of slight moment. The tests given by the author show that malleable cast iron can be produced giving a tensile strength of twenty-three tons per square inch with an elongation of 19 per cent., a reduction of area of 20-6 per cent., and a bending angle of 180°, results which are as good as those given by many samples of wrought iron. In structure, these castings are very similar to wrought iron. In a note reprinted from the Atti of the Venetian Institu- tion (Venice: C. Ferrari, 1908), Dr. U. Cisotti applies elliptic functions to the problem of efflux of a liquid from an opening containing an internal mouthpiece, a particular case of two-dimensional discontinuous motion. The paper forms the sequel to one in the Rendiconti del Circolo matematico di Palermo, xxv. (1908), on discontinuous motion in general. Tue recently established Italian bi-monthly Scienza pratica contains a paper by Mr. Lorenzo d’Adda on the substitution of cement for steel in the armour of battle- ships. The idea was suggested to the writer by the way the Russian shells bounded off the batteries of the Japanese in the siege of Port Arthur without producing any great | damage. Among the advantages suggested are a consider- able saving of weight and cost; moreover, the author points out that efficient adhesion can be secured between the cement NO. 2006, VOL. 77] NATURE 543 and iron owing to the simiiarity of their coefficients of expansion. Other papers sare an illustrated obituary notice of the late Emilio Rossetti, late professor of physics at Buenos Ayres, who was also a pioneer of engineering in the Argentine Republic, and papers on the steam turbine and the trans-Apennine canal. A considerable collection of science abstracts, mainly dealing with engineering, is another important feature of the new journal. Pror. GRuNER, of Bern, has written a small pamphlet dealing with ‘‘ The World of the Infinitely Small’’ at the instance of the Keplerbund of Godesberg, a society which aims at the spreading of a knowledge of science amongst the people. The author has succeeded in presenting his subject in a most fascinating manner. He approaches the infinitely small by a series of steps, one of which deals with ultra-microscopic vision, and may be mentioned as illustrating the author’s method. The colour of ruby glass is due, he shows, to the presence in it of minute particles of gold too small to be seen with a microscope, under which the glass looks a uniform material. When, how- ever, the glass is examined by the ultra-microscope the gold particles appear as points of light on a dark background like stars in the sky. What, he asks, would be the appear- ance of these particles if we could bring to bear on them a power which exceeded that of the ultra-microscope as much as the latter does that of the ordinary microscope? Tue December (1907) number of Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity contains an article by van Fyerdingen on the life and work of the late Dr. M. Snellen, director of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Holland. It deals mainly with the scientific and organising work of Dr. Snellen. Apart, however, from the character and importance of the scientific work in which Dr. Snellen was engaged, and which secured him many friends throughout the scientific world, his perfect mastery of the English tongue, his genial ‘character, and his fund of anecdote made him a most welcome visitor to these shores, and increased the number of his admirers. We are glad to add our tribute of respect to that of the Dutch Meteor- ological Institute. In the Bulletin of the U.S. Bureau of Standards for January, Messrs. W. A. Noyes and H. C. P. Weber give an account of their re-determination of the atomic weight of chlorine. The method consists in weighing the hydrogen absorbed in palladium and the chlorine in the form of potassium chloroplatinate. The hydrogen, on being passed over the heated chloroplatinate, combines with the chlorine to form hydrochloric acid, which is condensed and weighed. The mean result is 35-457, silver being 107-88. These values differ slightly from the 35-467 and 107-91 found recently by Prof. H. B. Dixon and Mr. E. C. Edgar by the same method. AccorpinG to the February number of the Journal of the Réntgen Society, the committee of the society, which has under consideration the establishment of a standard unit of radio-activity, has made an interim report in which it recommends that 1 milligram of pure radium bromide be regarded as the standard, and that the ionisation pro- duced by the y rays from it, after passing through 1 centi- metre of lead, be taken as a measure of the unit of radio- activity. There are, however, certain difficulties in the adoption of these suggestions which the committee has still under consideration, and will deal with in a future report. Tue Cambridge University Press has issued a fourth | edition of ‘ Petrology for Students: an Introduction to the NATURE [APRIL 9, 1908 544 Study of Rocks under the Microscope,’? by Mr. Alfred Harker, F.R.S. The book has been revised, new figures have been added, and a few old ones have been withdrawn. Tur U.S.. Department of Agriculture has issued, at the request of librarians and others interested in entomology, a complete list of the publications of the Bureau of Entomology and those of the Department of Agriculture in general bearing on the same subject, and published by members of the Bureau or under its auspices. The list has been compiled by the librarian, Miss Mabel Colcord. / A seconp edition of ‘‘ An Elementary Course of Prac- tical Zoology,’’ by the late Prof. T. Jeffery Parker and Prof. W. N. Parker, has been published by Messrs. Mac- millan and Co., Ltd. The first edition was reviewed at length in the issue of Nature for April 12, 1900 (vol. Ixi., p- 559). In the present edition some parts have been slightly extended, and various modifications made through- out; in addition, short accounts have been introduced of Monocystis, Nereis, and Obelia, and several new figures added. Tue Carnegie Institution of Washington has published an ‘‘ Index of Economic Material in. Documents of the States of the United States: New York, 1789-1904.’’ The index has been compiled by Mr. A. R. Hasse, of the New York Public Library, for the department of economics and sociology of the institution. The index runs to 553 large pages, and deals only, with the printed reports of administrative officers, legislative committees, and special commissions of the States, and with governors’ messages for the period since 1789. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Comet 1907d.—No. 4234 of the Astronomische Nach- richten (p. 159, February 22) contains Herr Kritzinger’s continuation of his: ephemeris: for’ Daniel’s comet. At present the calculated magnitude of this object is about 1o-8, and the comet is situated about 2° north of uw. Virginis. OssERVATORY Map oF THE Moon.—From Mr. Porthouse, of 6 Bates Street, Birch Lane, Longsight, Manchester, we have received a copy of his recently published map of the moon. This. map is printed on a circle of 12 inches diameter, the different formations being shown very clearly in. outline. At the side of the sheet is a printed list of the formations, with reference numbers and the diameters according to Neison. The map can be read easily in the dim light of the observatory, and can be obtained from the publisher for eightpence, post free. Tue Recent Maximum or Mira Cetit.—From forty-one observations of Mira, made with an 8-inch telescope, a pair of field-glasses, and the naked eye, and extending from September 8, 1907, to January 29, M. Félix de Roy found that the maximum brightness occurred on November 1, 1907, with, a magnitude of 3-41. From October 29-5 to November 4-5 the brightness of the star apparently re- mained constant. A comparison with M. Roy’s observa- tions of the 1906-7 maximum shows the period of fluctua- tion to be 318-5 days, some thirteen days shorter than it is given by Guthnick from the discussion of the observa- tions made during the last three centuries; other observers of the recent changes place the maximum at dates varying from October 30 to November 9. According to Chandler’s computations, a maximum of Mira Cygni was due to take place on April 4-5. On March 9 and 26, respectively, M. de Roy estimated the magnitudes of this object to be 6-60 and 5-88 (Gazette astronomique,-No. 4, March 31). SuN-spoT OpsERVATIONS.—In No. 4237 of the Astro- Nachrichten (p. 205, March 6), Herr T. Epstein compares the results of his sun-spot observations made during the years 1905, 1906, and 1907. The figures for NO. 2006, VOL 77] nomuische the half-years show that the maximum daily frequency took place in the second semester of 1905, and the yearly values indicate a steady decrease during 1906 and 1907. The ratio of the number of groups in the northern to the number in the southern hemisphere was almost reversed during 1907, for whereas in 1906 it was 1-55:1, in 1907 it was 1: 1-28. MERIDIAN CIRCLE OBSERVATIONS OF PARALLAX STARS.— Lick Observatory Bulletin, No. 129, contains a list of forty-five stars which have been observed at the request of Dr. L. de Ball for use in his heliometer measures of parallax. The positions given are the results of 400 observations, made on twenty-five nights, by Prof. R. H. Tucker. THE Recent Tota Sovar Ectiese.—From a note in No. 1, vol. ii., of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society (Canada), we learn that the Lick Observatory eclipse party arrived back at Mount Hamilton on January 25. Rain fell during a part of the total phase, but some good photographs were obtained, for although the instruments were wet, they worked perfectly. A New ExprpitloN TO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.— With the object of extending Prof. Boss’s fundamental catalogue work to the southern hemisphere, an expedition, under the direction of Prof. R. H. Tucker, of the Lick Observatory, is to be dispatched to either New Zealand, South America, or South Africa. The Carnegie Institu- tion has offered to bear the expense of the proposed observatory, and it is expected that the work will take about three years to carry out. The large Pistor and Martins meridian circle of the Dudley Observatory (Albany, U.S.A.) will be employed for this work (Journal R.A.S., Canada, vol. ii., No. 1, p. 43). THe HamsurGc Opservatory.—Prof. Schorr’s report of the Hamburg Observatory, for 1906, contains an account of the new buildings and instruments. The new observa- tory lies about 20 kilometres to the south-east of the present one, and is at an altitude of 4o metres above the : Elbe. The buildings are in the shape of a T, and cover an area of 33,652 square metres. Among the new instru- ments is a Steinheil refractor of 60 cm. aperture and 9 m. focal length, to which is adapted a correcting lens — for the purpose of photography, and a meridian circle of 19 “n. aperture and 2-3 m. focal length; the circles are of 74 cm. diameter, and are divided in 4’ intervals. Re- ports, in brief, of the 1905 and 1907 eclipse expeditions and of the variable-star observations and time-service are also given in the volume. _— THE ZIEGLER POLAR EXPEDITION.* N the introduction Mr. Fiala gives a somewhat scanty historical account of the expedition, a footnote refer- ring the reader for details to his popular narrative ‘‘ Fight- ing the Polar Ice.’’ One gathers that the expedition was equipped by Mr. W. Ziegler, of New York—who died before its return—and that the vessel which conveyed the expedition to its objective, Franz Josef Land, in 1903 was ~ lost, the party being eventually rescued in 1905. Mr. Ziegler had the sagacity to leave the choice of a scientific leader to the National Geographic Society, and its selection of Mr. Peters seems justifie! by the results. — Mr. Peters was himself to have preparec the scientific results for press, but shortly after his return’ to America he was appointed to the magnetic survey ship of the Carnegie Institution, and his duties as editor devolved on Mr. J. A. Fleming. The magnetic instruments, a wnifilar magnetometer and a dip circle, were loaned by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and a programme was pre- pared by Dr. L. A. Bauer. Meteorological instruments were lent by the U.S. Weather Bureau and the U.S. Signal — Corps, and the completeness of the records obtained prob- — ably owes a good deal to the fact that one of the members of the expedition, Mr. Francis Long, was a trained observer of the U.S. Weather Bureau. 1 ‘* The Ziegler Polar Expedition 1903-5,” Anthony Fiala, Commander. Scientific Results obtained under the direction of William J. Peters. Edited by John A. Fleming. Pp. vii-+630; with maps. (Washington, D.C. Published under the auspices of the National Geographic Society, 1997-) APRIL 9, 1998 | NATURE 545 The results appear under six sections :—magnetic, pp. 1-360; auroral, pp. 361-8; meteorological, pp. 369-488; tidal, pp. 489-596; astronomical, pp. 597-622; and map construction and survey work, pp. 623-630. The pocket at the end contains a map of the Polar regions down to latitude 65°, indicating the routes of the chief Polar ex- peditions, and two charts of Franz Josef Land, one of the whole archipelago and the other of the part surveyed by the Ziegler expedition. The magnetic work consisted mainly of observations at Camp Abruzzi, Teplitz Bay (81° 47’-5 N. lat., 57° 59’ E. long.), from September 28, 1903, to July 1, 1904, and at Camp Ziegler, Alger Island (81° 21’-5 N. lat., 56° 5’ E. long.), from June 26 to July 30, 1905. Miscellaneous observations were also taken at Tromso, Archangel, Barents Sea, and en route from Teplitz Bay to Cape Flora. Teplitz Bay, in Rudolph Island, is in the extreme north of the group of islands forming Franz Josef Land; it was the station occupied by the Duke of the Abruzzi’s Italian expedition in 1899-1900. Alger Island is towards the south of the group, while Cape Flora, in Northbrook Island (the site of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition), is in the extreme south. Fig. 1 (from p. 604) shows the nature of the observatory at Teplitz Bay. Prefaced to the magnetic observations is a condensed narrative relating mainly to auroral appearances and observational details, but occasionally of more general interest, as the follow- ing extract from the February, 1904, record will show :— “32:20:00 sky clear, no aurora; 12:22:56 bear trying to break into observatory; 12:23:20 aurora’ in south-east; 12:23:40 to 48 observer investigating outside to see if bear is gone.”” For some time after this in- cident the observer, following the example of the Nansen expedition, pro- vided himself with a revolver, the presence of which is conscientiously recorded. Considering the absence of self-recording instruments, the mag- netic results obtained are, thanks to Dr. Bauer’s programme, remarkably extensive. Eye readings of the declina- tion magnet were carried out, so far as the exigencies of the situation per- mitted, on the following plan. On one day each week readings were taken at two-minute intervals throughout the whole twenty-four hours; on a second day similar observations were made for eight hours, and on each of four other days for four hours. The observations on these last five days were so arranged as to cover all hours of the day; thus results were obtained in each week answer- ing to observations at two-minute intervals for two com- plete days. Diurnal inequalities of declination were formed for each four-week period at Teplitz Bay, each hourly value being a mean from 4x2X30, or 240, read- ings. These inequalities are analysed in Fourier series and illustrated by curves. During the nine months at Teplitz Bay, the range of the regular diurnal inequality varied from 107’-1 in June to 263 in February—March. ‘The mean of the ranges from the two four-week periods November 29 to December 26 and December to January 23 was 36’-7. The existence of so large a range in the Arctic mid-winter is noteworthy. Throughout the whole time the general character of the diurnal variation Was an easterly movement (of the north end of the magnet) from about 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. ‘The return movement to the west was fairly continuous and rapid in summer, but in winter there was usualiy a secondary east and west movement in the afternoon. The greater rapidity of the movement during the day, so characteristic in temperate latitudes, seems not to exist at Teplitz Bay except at mid- summer. The corresponding analytical feature is the relatively small amplitude of the twelve-hour Fourier wave. The diurnal inequality of declination observed at Alger Island in June-July, 1905, had a somewhat smaller NO. 2006. VOL. 77] 27 | details. | less than 73-4 miles per hour. that observed at A satisfactory is range, but was generally similar to Teplitz Bay at the previous midsummer. feature in connection with the declination observations the frequency and consistency of the determinations of the true bearing of the distant marks employed. More than fifty absolute observations of horizontal force and more than sixty observations of inclination (with two needles) were made at. Teplitz Bay; at Alger Island there were sixteen observations of horizontal force and eight of inclination. In accordance with the experience of previous Arctic observers, it was found that whilst magnetic storms and aurora were generally associated together, this was not always the case. Declination observations happened, fortunately, to be taken on November 1, 1903, during part of the great magnetic storm then in progress. In the course of 1h. 48m. the declination changed by 17° 18’, or some thirty-two times the corresponding change at the | Cheltenham Observatory (where the horizontal force is about three times that at Teplitz Bay). If the same pro- portion existed throughout the rest of the storm, the declination range at Teplitz Bay must have exceeded 50°. The auroral data are mainly descriptive, and there is no attempt at trigonometrical observations or tabular There are, however, nineteen handsome plates, Fic, 1.—Exterior of Observatory at Teplitz Bay. based on chalk sketches made by Mr. Fiala, illustrating a number of auroral types, especially the corona. Plates VII. and VIII. show banded structures having in some respects a somewhat striking resemblance to those pro- duced artificially by Villard.* Of the meteorological observations, the longest series consists of hourly records of wind velocities from a Robinson cup anemometer at Teplitz Bay from September, 1903, to May, 1905. Allowing for possible differences between American and English estimates of wind velocity, we may safely characterise Teplitz Bay ‘as a windy place. The average velocity for the whole period was 14-6 miles per hour. Monthly means varied from 8-2 in August, 1904, to 24-2 in February, 1905, and 24-6 in December, 1903. On four days the mean hourly velocity exceeded sixty; on December 28, 1903, the mean velocity was no In winter, high gales were associated with a low barometer and a high temperature. Changes of temperature were notably large and rapid. Eye readings were taken thrice a day, at 8 a.m., noon, and 8 p.m., of barometric pressure, temperature (from ordinary and from maximum and minimum thermometers), precipitation, wind (velocity and direction), and cloud (amount, species, direction of motion), These observa- 1 Nature, vol. Ixxvi., p. 481. 546 NATURE i APRIL 9, 1908 tions lasted at Teplitz Bay from September 1, 1903, to April 30, 1904, and at Cape Flora from May 21, 1904, to July 30, 1905. Vaking the mean of the three daily read- ings, the monthly mean temperature varied at Cape Flora from —19°-9 F, in January to +35°-6 in July; at Teplitz Bay, March had the lowest mean temperature, —19°-7 F. At Cape Flora, the precipitation during the year ending with May, 1905, was equivalent to 21-37 inches of rain. A recording thermograph and barograph were in action at Teplitz Bay from October, 1903, to April, 1904, and a barograph was run at Cape Flora from June, 1904, to May, 1905. From the records of these instruments diurnal inequalities are deduced for individual months, and Fourier coefficients calculated. Taking arithmetic means from individual months, the amplitudes (in thousandths of an inch) of the three first terms in the case of the barometric pressure were :— : eqg-hour 12-hour 8-hour MeplitzBaye (winter) ssuicecm ested Wee mOMe= Pals Gapel Blorag(year)\h 222 gest iesotetS) Mace eS waressta Tidal observations were made at Teplitz Bay from April 1 to June 3, 1904, and at Cape Flora from May 21 to August 31, 1904. Readings, to o-o1 foot, were taken on a tide staff once an hour, usually throughout the whole twenty-four hours. Fig. 2, reproduced from p. 493, shows The wooden frame the arrangements at Teplitz Bay. Fic. 2.—Tide Gauge at Teplitz Bay. rose and fell with the ice it rested on, the heavy stone remaining on the sea bottom. There is an elaborate harmonic analysis of the data, following generally the methods of Sir G. H. Darwin. The mean difference between high-water and low-water level was fairly similar at the two stations, being 1-138 feet at Teplitz Bay and 0-966 foot at Cape Flora. There was, however, a differ- ence of 33 hours in the ‘‘ establishment of the port ”’ at the two places and the conclusion is drawn (p. 596) that the tide from the Atlantic reaches Franz Josef Land by two channels, the deeper, between Spitsbergen and Green- land, chiefly influencing Teplitz Bay, the other, between Spitsbergen and Norway, chiefly influencing Cape Flora. The astronomical observations served to fix the latitude and longitude of the stations and the azimuths of the declination marks. Considerable care was evidently given to them, but they call for no special remark. As will have already been inferred, one can have nothing but praise for the zeal displayed. Magnetic observers who took observations at two-minute intervals for eight hours on end, at temperatures below o° F., cannot be accused ‘eating Arctic exploration as a pretence for a picnic. also be added that no trouble has’ been spared in the most of the material collected. Valuable, as the results are, they must be accepted with NO, 20060,5 07/7; several reservations. As the dates will have shown, the series of observations, especially the tidal ones, were short, and the representative nature of the results is thus exposed to more or less doubt. This consideration cannot but suggest itself to anyone who examines some of the data critically. Taking, for instance, the mean monthly data from the thermograph record at Teplitz Bay, we find that in March the 10 p.m., midnight, and 2 a.m. readings are the only ones of the two-hour readings to exceed the mean for the day, the maximum coming at 2 a.m.; but in April these are the precise hours to which the lowest temperatures are attached. Again, the diurnal inequality range is 3°-3 in January, in the depth of the Arctic night, but only o°-8 in October. In the case of the magnetic data, there are other sources of uncertainty. There was appreciable local disturbance both at Teplitz Bay and Alger Island, and its precise effect, though probably not large, cannot be assigned. After the return of the magnetometer to America it was found that a cloth hood, believed to have been fastened to the end of the magnet box in 1899, had been attached with steel tacks. Observa- tions at Cheltenham showed no effect on the declination, but a decrease of 250 y (1 y=0-00001 C.G.S.) in the hori- zontal force. A correction of +255 y (or nearly 4 per cent.) was thence calculated and applied to observations made in the Arctic. In the case of the dip circle com- parisons at Cheltenham before the expedition gave for the two needles corrections of only +0/-2 and —o’-3, but the corresponding corrections obtained after the expedition were —4q'-1 and —5’-6. In view of these uncertainties, and the lack of direct information as to diurnal change, the deductions made as to secular changes of horizontal force and inclination at Teplitz Bay by comparison with the results of the Italian observers for 1900 should be regarded with reserve. Again, at Teplitz Bay there were only nine months’ magnetic observations, and the deductions of diurnal inequalities for the three missing months, and thence for the year as a whole, are of somewhat doubtful value. The deficiencies referred to are such as attach more or less to most expeditions, and there are probably few Polar observations which are not affected by at least as serious uncertainties. There are many points in connection with the observational programme and its execution which merit the attention of those contemplating magnetic or meteor- ological work in high latitudes. C. CHREE. SANATORIA FOR CONSUMPTION. A® a supplement to the thirty-fifth annual report of the Local Government Board, Dr. Bulstrode has pub- lished an imposing volume on “ Sanatoria for Consump- tion and certain other Aspects of the Tuberculosis Ques- tion.’”” This report, copiously illustrated by photographs, plans, and charts, extends to 7oo pages, and is an admirable exposition of the present position of the problem of prevention of tuberculosis. In part i. is set forth a general review of the changes which have taken place in medical opinion as to the etiology of tuberculosis and as to the mode of its invasion of the human body. The theory of infection by inhalation of dust gine by dried sputum, and the evidence on which it is based, reviewed; also the theory of von Behring that infection can be usually traced to the ingestion of tuberculous milk in infancy, remaining latent until some debilitating in- fluence causes the focus of infection to light up to the undoing of the organism. Calmette’s theory that direct infection occurs mainly by the ingestion of food tainted by droplets of infective expectoration is also discussed, and finally we have the conclusions of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, that a material amount of human tuberculosis is attributable to infection of the intestinal tract by ‘“‘ tubercle of bovine origin.’ The proportion of tuberculosis due to this source, un- fortunately, has never been definitely ascertained, but the pronouncement of the Royal Commission is important in the light of Koch’s dogmatic statements as to the essential difference between human and bovine tubercle, and all this difference entails. APRIL 9, 19¢8] NAL ORE. 547 Dr. Bulstrode gives us many tables of statistics which prove the gradual but steady diminution of tuberculosis, and emphasise the curious phenomenon that this declension is much more marked among females. In this satisfactory state of affairs sanitary reform, improved conditions of living, and higher wages have all played their part, but the report does not help us much to estimate the relative value of the various methods of attacking the disease which have been tried. The difficulty of estimating the value of sanatorium treatment is brought out, and we are told that until this method has had a longer trial figures of results will only lead to confusion and misconception. Stress is, however, laid on the fact that to obtain the best results from sanatorium treatment cases of tubercu- losis must be treated in their earliest stages, and further, that after treatment an easy path of suitable work must be provided until a life of full activity can be tolerated by the patient. The problems which arise in the selection of a sana- torium site, and the conditions necessary in sanatorium buildings, are thoroughly discussed. Dr. Bulstrode con- cludes that, with foresight and care, the erection of sanatoria with all actual essentials might be provided at a smaller cost than has hitherto been the case. This is an important conclusion, for if we are to provide adequately for the tuberculous population, many more sanatoria must be erected, and the question of money has ever been the chief difficulty in the way. One of the most interesting chapters, which is amplified in part iv., relates to the German system of compulsory insurance as a factor in the control of phthisis. The figures given are striking, and we see here admirably exemplified the value of coordinated effort as opposed to rs haphazard methods of control employed in the British sles. The conclusion is thrust upon us that in the control of phthisis Germany is far ahead of us. We are set an excellent example, which we would do well to follow. Our comparative failure is largely due to this want of coordination, and the waste of money and energy thereby entailed. This part of the report concludes with a chapter on the teaching of hygiene in the public elementary schools. Tuberculosis is associated with ignorance no less than with poverty, so that there can be no question as to the importance of teaching elementary hygiene, especially so far as food values are concerned, as a means to the reduc- tion of tuberculosis both in childhood and adult life. In part ii. we are given a well-illustrated directory of all the public sanatoria in England and Wales, which should prove of much value for reference. This part of the report has been provided with an index, which might mercifully have been extended to the whole volume. Part iii. is devoted to a discussion of notification of tuberculosis (voluntary and compulsory). There are as yet no data available by which the substantial utility of notification can be tested, and we must await a more extended experience before a decided opinion can _ be formed. The whole volume is an admirable and comprehensive piece of work, which should be read by all those interested directly or indirectly in the problems of tuberculosis. R. Frerpinc-Ourp. THE SOCIETY OF DYERS AND COLOURISTS, HE twenty-fourth annual general. meeting of the Society of Dyers and Colourists was held at Bradford on Friday, April 3, in the large hall of the Technical College. The president, Prof. Meldola, having taken the chair, the Lord Mayor of Bradford, on behalf of the town, welcomed the meeting, and especially the distinguished foreign visitors, Prof. Liebermann and Dr. Schreiner, who were present. The president then, on behalf of the society, awarded the Perkin medal, which for this occasion had been duplicated, to Profs. Graebe and Liebermann for their synthesis of alizarin in 1868. The medal was founded by the society in 1906 in honour of the late Sir William Perkin, and in celebration of the jubilee of the discovery of mauve, the NO. 2006, VOL. 77] first of the coal-tar colouring matters, the terms of its award being ‘‘ for investigations, discoveries or inventions of high scientific or industrial importance applicable to or connected with the tinctorial industries.” In presenting the medals, which Prof. Liebermann re- ceived on behalf of himself and colleague, the president pointed out that this first presentation was in recognition of a‘discovery which, although made forty years ago, was still practically effective in enabling the tinctorial industry to be supplied with some of the most important of the artificial colouring matters. The synthesis of alizarin was of extreme scientific interest as having been the first case of the artificial production of a natural colouring matter, and it was also of particular importance as having exerted a marked influence on Perkin’s career as a manufacturer and scientific investigator. Prof. Liebermann, on behalf of Prof. Graebe and himself, acknowledged the honour which had been conferred upon them, and in eloquent terms paid tribute to the memory of the late Sir William Perkin. The president then delivered an address on the founding of the coal-tar colour industry, in which he reviewed Perkin’s life-work from the technical side, and gave a history of the foundation and development of the Greenford Green factory, where all Perkin’s industrial operations were con- ducted. On the motion of Mr. Hindley, seconded by Dr. Hertz and supported by Sir Robert Pullar, the president was thanked for his address, which was ordered to be published in the journal of the society. In the evening the members and their guests dined at the Great Northern Victoria Hotel, the president occupying the chair, and being supported by Prof. Liebermann, the Lord Mayor, the ex-Lord Mayor, Sir Robert Pullar, Dr. C. Dreyfus, and representatives of most of the great dyeing and printing firms of the district, as well as by well-known authorities connected with the educational and scientific side of the tinctorial industry, such as Profs. A. G. Green (Leeds), W. M. Gardner (Bradford), Dr. J. C. Cain (London), Dr. Knecht (Manchester), and Mr. C. Rawson (Leicester), &c. All the officers of the society, which has its head- quarters in Bradford, with sections in Manchester, the West Riding, and London, were also present. The toast of the society was proposed by the Lord Mayor, and responded to by Sir Robert Pullar. The president gave the toast of the medallists, which was enthusiastically received in both German and English forms, and to which Prof. Liebermann responded. The toast of the president was proposed by Mr. Ald. Godwin, the ex-Lord Mayor, in a humorous speech, and replied to from the chair. Dr. Schreiner, the inventor of the well-known process for ‘‘ Schreinerising *” fabrics, also addressed the meeting in acknowledgment of the honour done to his distinguished countrymen and to himself as a guest. As Prof. Graebe was unable through indisposition to be present at the gathering, a telegram was dispatched in the name of the society expressing regret at his absence and wishes for his speedy recovery. ENCKE’S COMET. HE observations of Encke’s comet made at the Heidel- berg Observatory deviate so strongly from the pre- dicted places that Dr. Backlund, the director of the Pulkowa Observatory, has thought it necessary to investi- gate the cause. He finds that the perturbations by Jupiter, which were calculated in duplicate by H. Kamensky and Fraulein Karolikowa, have been correctly applied, so far as they depend on the first power of the disturbing force, but that in the period 1901-4 the comet approached Jupiter almost as closely as is possible, and that in consequence perturbations of the second order are very sensible. The corrections to the several elements, depending on the action of Jupiter, were as follows :— ist Order 2nd Order Mean anomaly ... +1E 55:2 —3 34'1 Long. perihelion —o 85 ~O 15°7 Long. node +0 48 -I o72 Inclination + I 2°0 _— Excentricity + 2 39°8 -1 76 Mean motion + 079255 — 0"°3210 The corrections improved value of to the ephemeris, after applying the the perturbations, and taking into 548 NATURE [April 9, 1908 account the influence of the acceleration, are, for the three of the college if it is to meet the demands made upon it; days :— they include the following :— 1908, Jen 3 Jan x a 79 ; by ee eae Aa’) 2nlothovaoves +0 40°31 +0 27°50 New buildings for anatomy, Ad\ >) 2s 32) 24075 oul ae OR —2 21°65 physiology, and pharmaco & & logy ... oo a8 ++. 50,000 oes 15,250 whereas the corrections to the published ephemeris, found New buildings for the depart- by Dr. Kobold from Dr. Max Wolf’s observations, are of ment of chemistry. (The quite a different character :— scheme could be carried out Te a8 in two sections, costing 1 1 40,0001. and 30,0001. re- 1907 Dec. 25 +34°5 — 24 SEEGLIVElY)Ii c--)| | cHnamMEeenE GOGO Mmmm nil 1908 Jan. 2 ... +352 «2 2. —24 Building alterations and new ” x9 13 tee aA JO! vareey jee b= 3429 equipment for botany and » 99, «14 HiAT Ee! vison loveaty = 310 pathological chemistry. 5,000 C0 nil 3315 39), 8L5 +470. ne = 24 Re-fitting of general library Dee on eide Span ace =p), | Gog Snosage ORS) and completion of science er) ree aes H44°3 0 ee ee HF 4 library See ae rest) 53000, 205 nil It will be seen that the neglected perturbations in no A way explain the deviations ae oe computed and Dr. J. M. Fortescur BrickpaLte has been appointed observed places. In declination these differences are par- ticularly striking, and no permissible alterations to the elements will reduce them to the order of errors of observa- tion. Prof. Backlund makes two suggestions by way of ex- planation :—(1) that the object observed from December 25 to January 19 was not Encke’s comet; (2) that this comet has divided itself into two parts, and that the part that has been observed has, by the process of dislocation, been deflected from the original orbit. Observations in the southern hemisphere, which will be possible in June, will decide this point. Dr. Backlund further points out that, previous to this year, the comet has never been observed before perihelion passage when the date of perihelion falls between April and July. Dr. Ebell has computed a parabolic orbit from the observations made at Heidelberg, and the result is suffici- ently surprising. The dates selected were January 2, 13, and 19, and the middle place is fairly well represented, but the outstanding errors on December 25 were AA+32'-40 and A8+12’-19. The elements are as follows :— T ... 1907 Dec. 6'0569 Berlin M.T. @ ... 39 25°59 ) (OYE Bag MGA FROG 19080 2a 2 LOR2ZOL00 j log g 058448 The node and inclination are not very different from those of Encke, but the perihelion distance is rivalled only by the comet of 1729. The material is not sufficient to derive an ellipse. It will probably be found that the Heidelberg object is not the comet of Encke. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Lonpon.—The report of the committee of University College for the year 1907-8 has just been issued. During last session there were 1191 students, of whom 171 were registered as post-graduate and research students. The report deals, among other matters, with the work of the faculties for the past year, and gives a list of the re- searches and original papers published during that year. That list occupies thirteen octavo pages. Among the de- partments that seem to have been specially productive may be noted the department of applied mathematics under Prof. Karl Pearson, from which no fewer than twenty- eight papers were issued during the year. Seven of these were from the Francis Galton Laboratory of National Eugenics. The departments of chemistry under Sir William Ramsay and Prof. J. Norman Collie produced twenty-four original papers, while the subdepartment of spectroscopy issued seven. The list. of post-graduate courses is valuable as an indication of. the extensive pro- vision for higher work that is now to be found in London. The report concludes with a summary of the urgent needs NO. 2006, VOL. 77 | director of the public health College, Bristol. Tue Fishmongers’ Company has given 1oool. towards the fund for carrying out the scheme of incorporation of King’s College with the University of London. Mr. Carnecig has given a further donation of a million pounds sterling to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Attention was directed in our issue of March 12 (p. 452) to the admirable work done already by the foundation, which was two years ago inaugurated by Mr. Carnegie and endowed by him with two millions sterling. The fund, which now amounts to 3,000,000l., is’ intended primarily to serve for providing retiring allowances for professors and others in universities and colleges in the United States, Canada, and Newfound- land. Originally the benefits of the foundation were con- fined to privately endowed educational institutions, and Mr. Carnegie has increased the fund so that professors in State institutions may also be eligible to participate in the benefits of the scheme. Tue seventy-fourth annual report of Bootham School (York) Natural History, Literary, and Polytechnic Society, that for 1907, provides excellent evidence that in some English secondary schools at least the out-of-school hours are opportunities in which the boys may follow their natural bent and cultivate their individuality. The boys band themselves together in societies for the outdoor study of numerous branches of natural history; they record meteorological data, study the archzology of the neigh- bourhood, practise photography, work in metal and wood, and besides these and other practical pursuits they take part in a flourishing literary society. Boys and masters are to be congratulated upon the report, and the boys also on the fact that they are allowed to manage the societies largely by themselves. Ir is well known, says the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, that American employers give much more atten- tion than has been the practice in this country to afford- ing facilities to their managers and workpeople for obtain- ing technical knowledge. For example, a large organisa- tion of spinners and manufacturers at Atalanta (Georgia) has adopted the following scheme for keeping their employees up to date in commercial and technical know- ledge of the textile trade. A librarian is employed to secure all the latest books dealing with spinning, weaving, and textile engineering; all periodicals from all parts of the world bearing on the subjects are purchased or other- wise secured. The librarian prepares brief descriptions of the books, to which anyone may refer to get a quick idea of the contents. In some instances the whole periodical is filed; in others special articles are cut out, and sometimes foreign articles are translated and pasted in scrap-books. Everything is carefully indexed, and the library is open to any employee. A NATURE-STUDY course for women is to be given again this year at the Horticultural College, Swanley, Kent, during the summer holidays. The course will extend from August 1 to 12.. Weather permitting, most of the instruc- laboratory of University AprRIL 9, 1908 | NATURE San) tion will be given out of doors, rambles in the country under the guidance of experienced teachers being the chief feature. It is hoped to combine the natural history excursions with points of antiquarian and other interest in outlying districts, and an endeavour will be made to render the course useful, both for home life and school work. The report for 1907 on the work of the college as a whole shows that good progress continues to be made. The chief feature of the year was the establishment of a course in natural history, which has for its object the training of third-year students who have passed the ordinary gardening course at the college and wish to increase their knowledge of natural history subjects in order to qualify as teachers of gardening and nature- study. Tue third International Congress for the Development of Drawing and Art Teaching is to be held in London from August 3 to 8 next. Previous meetings in Paris in 1900 and in Berne in 1904 proved very successful in stimulating the application of art to industry. The pro- moters of the London meeting direct attention to the fact that as a nation Great Britain compares unfavourably with her commercial competitors in the attention paid to applied art in technical schools. On these grounds, with others, an appeal is made to educational authorities and employers of labour to assist in making the forthcoming congress a success, both by contributions to the necessary funds and by interesting administrators and teachers in the scheme. Drawing should be allied with all subjects of study, but it is especially useful to the student of science, and it is to be hoped that the congress will lead to an improvement in the methods of teaching drawing in our schools, as well as to a recognition of its importance in a complete scheme of education. Full particulars of the London meeting can be obtained from the secretary of the congress, 151 Cannon Street, London, E.C. Tue second International Congress of Popular Educa- tion is to be held in Paris from October 1 to 4 next. It is being arranged by la Ligue francaise de 1’Enseigne- ment. Invitations have been sent to various educational associations in different parts of the world to send dele- gates to the congress. All expenses in connection with the congress are to be borne, we understand, by the league. Among the subjects to be introduced and discussed at the meetings in Paris may be mentioned :—Societies for the encouragement of the education of the masses, popular lectures and libraries, the education of women in house- hold and maternal duties, professional education, the inter- national exchange of children for educational purposes, and the system of visits by teachers for the study of foreign methods. It is hoped to publish the addresses and dis- cussions at the congress, and in this way to bring together much valuable experience gained in different countries in the direction of solving difficult educational problems. There is every reason to hope that the meetings will prove even more successful than those of the first congress, held at Milan in 1906. All inquiries should be addressed to M. Léon Robelin, general secretary of la Ligue francaise de l’Enseignement, 16, rue de Miromesnil, Paris. THE accounts for the year ending July 31, 1907, of the various London polytechnics show that the total ordinary receipts of all the institutions amounted for the year to 203,9521.. The grants of the London County Council amounted to 77,358/., or 37-93 per cent. of the total receipts. Grants from the Board of Education reached 32,844l., or 16-11 per cent.; the amounts received from City Parochial Foundation were 28,3301., or 13-89 per cent., and from City companies, &c., 5917/., or 2-90 per cent. The total ordinary expenditure on revenue account of all the institutions amounted to 207,519]. Large increases occurred under two heads, viz. ‘‘ teachers’ salaries,’ 10,317/., and “‘ apparatus and other educational appliances and furniture,’’ 31161. Taking the results as shown by the accounts, it is seen that, so far as ordinary income and expenditure are concerned, there was a deficit of 3567/. on the institutions as a whole. With regard to items of an exceptional nature—principally new building works and special equipment—the total income was 15,0891., of which the London County Council’s grants amounted to ggo1l., and the expenditure was g113/. Of NO. 2006. VOL. 77] the total amount of revenue, it is interesting to note that the fees of students and members of the various poly- technics amounted in all to 47,255I., or 21-57 per cent., and what are called in the accounts voluntary subscrip- tions reached gr61l., or 4-18 per cent., nearly twice as much as in the previous year, though other percentages were practically the same in both years. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. * Royal Society, December 5, 1907.—‘‘ On the Structure of Sigillavia scutellata, Brongn., and other Eusigillarian Stems, in Comparison with those of other Paleozoic Lycopods.”” By E. A. Newell Arber and Hugh H. Thomas. Communicated by Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S. This paper contains the first full account of the struc- ture of the Eusigillariz or ribbed Sigillarias of the Rhytidolepis section. The stele has a well-marked pith, bounded by a continuous ring of scalariform tracheides— the primary wood—the outer margin of which is crenu- lated. The ribs are really formed of cortical tissues, and not by fused leaf-bases. They consist largely of phello- derm, and externally what is probably a small zone of primary cortex, which lay without the region of secondary meristermatic activity, still persists. The leaf-bases, con- sisting of thin-walled parenchymatous elements, merely form bracket-like projections from the ribs. The presence of a ligule and a ligular pit has been detected for the first time. The course of the leaf-traces in the leaf-bases and cortical tissues has been followed with important results. The bundle is collateral, and without secondary wood. In the leaf-bases the trace consists of a double xylem strand, the two xylem groups being widely separated. These two strands unite as they pass through the phelloderm. The structure of the trace is almost identical with the foliar bundle of the leaf Sigillaviopsis sulcata, which is obviously simply the leaf of a eusigillarian stem. The parichnos increases greatly in size as we pass from the exterior of the stem to the inner margin of the peri- derm. The two strands further unite, first below and then above the trace, so that, at a deep level in the peri- derm, the trace is completely surrounded by a broad zone of this tissue. January 16.—“The Conversion of Diamond into Coke in High Vacuum by Kathode Rays.” By the Hon. C. 4. Parsons, C.B., F.R.S., and Alan A. Camp- bell Swi .ton. The apparatus employed consisted of a Crookes tube furnished with two concave cup electrodes of aluminium which, when supplied with high-tension alternating current, acted alternately as kathode and anode, and accurately focussed the kathode rays on to the diamond, which was supported on a plate of iridium. As the proper degree of vacuum was reached by means of mercury pumps, and as the volts were raised, the diamond in each of the two experiments made became red, and then intensely white hot, until with about 9600 volts and 45 milliamperes passing through the tube it commenced to become black. Finally, with 11,200 volts and 48 milliamperes (537 watts), a rapid disintegration of the diamond took place with considerable increase in volume, the residue having much the appearance and consistency of coke. As measured by a Féry optical pyrometer, the disintegration took place at the temperature of 1890° C. Observations of the spectra of the residual gases in the tube before and after the conversion of the diamond into coke showed differences, but these were not thought sufficiently marked to determine with exactitude any varia- tion in the nature of the gases present. January 23.—‘‘ Report on the Eruptions of the Soufriére in St. Vincent in 1902, and on a Visit to Montagne Pelée in Martinique. Part iii The Changes in the Districts and the Subsequent History of the Volcanoes.’’ By Dr. Tempest Anderson. Communicated by Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S. The principal points of interest in the observations made 55° NALOLAS during the author’s second visit lie in (1) the changes wrought by denudation on the deposits left by that erup- tion; (2) the light thrown by those changes on the opera- tion of the forees which had moulded the features of this island in its earlier history; (3) the information he was able to collect with regard to the volcanic disturbances subsequent to the great eruption of May, 1902; and (4) the return of vegetation to the devastated areas. In the 1902 eruption a certain amount of the ejecta overtopped the Somma ring, i.e. the remains of the original great crater, and descended some of the valleys to the north of it; but by far the greater portion was dis- charged into the transverse depression which extends right across the island and separates the Soufriére from the mountain known as Morne Garu, about three miles to the south. The water from the crater lake was discharged at the beginning of the eruption down the Rabaka and Wallibu rivers, while the solid and gaseous ejecta, in the form of the incandescent avalanches and black clouds, descended to both sides of the island. The most important geological phenomena were observed in the Wallibu district. These phenomena have been fully described in the published report, as also the subsidence of part of the coast. To this district, therefore, attention was especially directed in 1907 with the view of observing the further progress of the changes and the return of vegetation. A description of the Wallibu valley is given in the full paper. In that district the beds of newer date have been dissected into flat-topped plateaux by small rivers running in deep gorges, which have again been filled in places by ejecta of eruptions and re-excavated in different degrees, and sometimes on different lines, leaving plateaux and terraces of different ages and heights. This action is well exemplified in the lower valley of the Wallibu. In the Ig02 eruption this part of the valley was filled by the incandescent avalanche to a depth of at least 1oo feet in the upper part, and less towards the sea, and it was in this deposit of hot ash that the explosions of steam and hot ash, flows of boiling mud, and other secondary pheno- mena took place. In 1907 almost the whole of this ash had been washed away, but a fragment remained in the shape of a terrace 60 feet to 80 feet high, situated on the north side of the valley. The ash of which it is formed is unstratified, and contains very few ejected blocks or fragments of any kind. The floor of the valley is all composed of water-sorted material, chiefly gravel and coarse sand, but with a good many blocks as big as a man’s head. They represent ejected blocks and fragments of lava derived partly from the ash of 1902 and partly from older beds, the fine ash in each case having been washed away. The surface of the gravel bed showed marks of quite recent running water, and during the last winter, 1906-7, the river ran along the foot of the north bank of the valley. When examined in March, 1907, it ran along the south side of the valley, and had already in those few months excavated a new channel about 30 feet in depth. The stratification, as exposed in the side of this new valley, is very distinct, and the sort- ing by water, mentioned above, is very evident. Further up the mountain the remains of the avalanche became more abundant in the valley bottoms, and here they were also often better preserved, so that traces of the feather pattern erosion, so noticeable in 1902, were still visible on the surface. This was mainly due to the surface of these ash deposits, like those to be presently mentioned on the ‘plateaux and on the ridges, having ‘consolidated into a crust almost like a cement pavement which resists the action of the rain. Another interesting point was observed with regard to these massive ash deposits. Instead of one stream re- establishing itself along the centre of the deposit, the tendency is for a new stream to form on each side at or near the junction of the new ash with the old valley slopes; and, as these streams deepen themselves, two new valleys are formed where only one previously existed, and the walls of each are composed on the one side of the new ash and on the other of older tuff, with occasional terraces of new ash. It appears to be due to the fact that the water from the old slopes, in running down into the original valley, meets the soft new ash, and at once NO. 2006, VOL. 77 | [APRIL 9, 1908 turns down along the valley and so starts the new stream, and it seems likely that the chief cause of its so turning is that the surface of the deposit tends to be higher along the middle of the valley than at the sides, as is usual with mud-streams or glaciers. A good example of the action above described is to be found in a wide valley to the north of and parallel with the lower Wallibu valley, and bounded on the south by the Wallibu plateau. Before the 1812 eruption the Wallibu river flowed down this valley, but its course was changed after that eruption. The floor of the valley is now occupied by the gorges of two small rivers, divided by a very narrow ridge, formed of ash different from and less consolidated than that com- posing the walls of the main valley, and considerably lower than the Wallibu plateau. In 1902 both these gorges were filled with new ash to the level of the main valley floor. One of these, the Trespé gorge, now emptied of the 1902 ash, shows its north wall to be much higher than the south, and also formed of older and more con- solidated -tuff. The same conditions, with sides reversed, are seen in the other gorge, the higher bank in that case being the Wallibu plateau to the south. The Wallibu plateau is composed of ash older than that dividing the above two small rivers, but still comparatively new, and its flat top and precipitous sides, both north and south, proclaim it to .be in an early stage of denudation, while the south bank of the Wallibu river on the south of the plateau is composed of older tuff and lava, and shows a much more mature type of denudation, viz. sloping hills with rounded or ridged tops, and a good deal weathered into valleys or gullies. The north face of the plateau, like the south, is precipitous, and obviously much less advanced in weathering than the slopes of the Soufriére on the opposite side of the broad valley of the Wallibu Dry, and Trespé rivers to its north. The mass appears to be the remains of an avalanche, or succession of avalanches, of hot ash poured into the de- pression between the Soufriére and Morne Garu, on an enormously larger scale than anything formed by recent eruptions. It may be that the present bed of the Wallibu to the south and the broad valley to the north are enlarged and deeply excavated developments of the valleys that were formed at the sides of this prehistoric avalanche. Descriptions of the changes in the fans and low plateaux subsequent to 1902, of the shore subsidence, and of the upper slopes of the mountain, are given in the full report, as well as a detailed description of the crater as seen in 1907. The topography of the old crater is still correctly re- presented on the Admiralty Chart (published with the report, part i.). The whole of the interior of the crater is still quite bare, without any trace of returning vegeta- tion; small patches of moss appear about the rim and on the slopes outside, then grasses, herbaceaus plants, and large sheets of ferns, and lastly, below a height of about 1500 feet, luxuriant tropical vegetation. It is interesting that this sequence presents many points of resemblance with that observed on Krakatoa. The present condition of the devastated areas is de- scribed fully in the report, which contains also a history of subsidiary eruptions which followed the great one of May, 1902. The difference in character between the erup- tions of the Soufriére and Montagne Pelée, referred to in the report of 1902, appears to have continued since that year, the outbursts from the former volcano being generally less frequent but more violent than from the latter. The report also contains an account of a subsequent visit to the voleano of Montagne Pelée, in Martinique, with a description of the crater as the author then found it; a discussion of the phenomena of the remarkable extrusion and subsequent destruction of the dome and spine, which have been described by Lacroix and others, and a com- parison of the sequelz of the great eruptions in the two islands of Martinique and St. Vincent. Entomological Society, March18.—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse, president, in the chair.—Exhibits.—Dr. T. A. Chapman: Photographs of the empty egg-shells and young larve of Papilio homerus.—G. C. Gahan: (1) A remarkable larva of the Trictenomide, which, though heteromerous, was wholly different in character to the larvae of that group; APRIL 9, 1908] NATURE 351 (2) a larva of Dascillus cervinus from Ireland.—Presi- dent: Photograph drawing of the larve of Coniopteryx, a small neuropteron common enough in its perfect state, but rarely found as a larva, when it may be beaten out of fir trees —W. J. Kaye: Three Pereute species from the Chanchamayo district of Peru, viz. P. leucodrosime, P. callinice, and P. callianira, together with specimens of the Nymphaline Adelpha lara. These Pierines and Nymphaline occurred together at an elevation of from 2500 feet to 3000 feet. It was wrong to suppose that any Heliconius melpomene-like species entered the association, as Heliconius species of this pattern did not ascend to such an elevation, or if they ever did it was only as a rare exception. On the under-side, if when both Pereute and Adelpha are at rest they conceal the coloured portion of the fore-wing, the hind-wing would then give a very strong similarity of one to the other.—L. W. Newman: A long and varied series of Smerinthus populi bred from wild Bexley parents in June, 1907, the series ranging from extreme dark specimens (about 6 per cent.) to very light (about 10 per cent.), and pink shaded or tinged (about 20 per cent.), the remainder being intermediate forms.— Paper.—The larve of Trictenotoma childreni, Gray, and Melittomma insulare, Fairmaire: C. J. Gahan. Chemical Society, March 19.—Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair.—A new form of pyknometer: W. R. Bousfield.—The action of heat on a-hydroxycarboxylic acids, part iy., racemic-aa’-dihydroxy- adipic acid and meso-aa’-dihydroxyadipic acid: H. R. Le Sueur. aa/-Dihydroxyadipic acid, melting at 146°, has been resolved into its optical antipodes by fractional crystallisation of its cinchonidine salt. The acid melting at 174°, when heated, forms a lactone-lactide, and must be regarded as the meso- or internally compensated variety. —tThe spontaneous crystallisation of sodium sulphate solu- tions: H. Hartley, B. M. Jones, and G. A. Hutchinson. The authors have examined the spontaneous crystallisation of sodium sulphate solutions, and have found that if the solutions are subjected to mechanical friction three of the four possible solid phases, viz. ice, Na,SO,,7H,O, and Na,SO, are produced spontaneously at different tempera- tures. The spontaneous crystallisation of the fourth solid phase, Na,SO,,10H,O, is of rare occurrence.—Constitution of hydroxyazo-compounds. Action of diazomethane and of mercuric acetate: C. Smith (and in part A. D. Mitchell). —Orthobromophenols and some bromonitrophenols: P. W. Robertson.—The constitution of thiocyanates containing an electronegative group: A. E. Dixon and J. Taylor. —The quantitative conversion of aromatic hydrazines into diazonium salts: F. D. Chattaway. All primary aromatic hydrazines can be quantitatively converted into the corre- sponding diazonium salts either by chlorine or by bromine. The operation can be most easily carried out by dissolving the hydrazine in glacial acetic acid, cooling the solution to about —15° by the addition of crushed ice, and either passing in a rapid stream of chlorine or adding the calcu- lated quantity of bromine dissolved in acetic acid and similarly cooled by ice.—Quantitative separation of thallium from silver: J. F. Spencer and Miss M. Le Pla. A quantitative separation of the salts of silver and thallium is effected by a stream of chlorine, whereby the thallium is oxidised to the very soluble thallic chloride and the silver is precipitated as silver chloride. The thallium is eventu- ally precipitated and weighed as thallous iodide.—Molecular volumes of the nitrites of silver, mercury, and the allxali metals: P. C. Ray.—Lithium nitrite and its decomposition by heat: P. C. Ray.—The existence in aqueous solutions of a univalent cadmium ion, a subvalent thallium ion, and a bivalent bismuth ion: H. G. Denham.—Note on the oxidation of phenylhydrazine by Caro’s acid: J. C. Cain. —Some reactions of keten: F. Chick and N. T. M. Wilsmore.—Para- and meta-nitrosoacetanilide: J. C. Cain.—Labile isomerism among acyl-salicylamides and acyl-hydroxyamines: A. W. Titherley. Royal Microscopical Society. March 18.—Lord Avebury, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—A series of fourteen mounted specimens of the rarer species of fresh-water polyzoa, mostly foreign species from Lake Tanganyika, Rhodesia, northern India, America, and Japan: C. F. NO. 2006, VOL. 77] Rousselet.—Annual address: seeds, with special refer- ence to British plants: the President. Attention was confined to the dicotyledons, the consideration of seeds of the conifers and monocotyledons being deferred until next year. The subject was treated from the point of view of the dispersal of the seeds and fruits by various agencies. Royal Anthropological Institute, March 24.—Prof. W. Ridgeway, president, in the chair.—Sinhalese magic: Dr. W. L. Hildburgh. The paper dealt with a variety of subjects, including charming ceremonies, astrology, and devil dancing. The charms were of various kinds, pro- tective, for instance, to keep off evil spirits, or to guard the house, in which category amulets were included; love charms, charms to secure the favour of anyone, for ex- ample, a judge, and the like. A number of horoscopes were exhibited, which almost invariably take the form of a roll, as it is considered necessary to write each on a single leaf, which is best preserved in the roll form. The language in which horoscopes are written can only be read by the initiated, and consequently they are often translated, and the translations may be written in ordinary books without prejudicing the results. On the subject of devil dancing, Dr. Hildburgh exhibited a number of slides showing the different devils represented, and also a collec- tion of the masks and costumes worn. Some of the devils represented are those who actually afflict the patient; others are powerful devils by whom the afflicting devils are controlled, while others again are devils who are afflicted as the patient is afflicted. EDINBURGH. Royal Society, March 16.—Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The lamellibranch fauna found in the Millstone Grit of Scotland, and the lamelli- branchs from the Silurian rocks of Girvan: Dr. Wheelton Hind. The first of these important papers contained an account of the lamellibranchs found by the staff of the Geological Survey of Scotland in beds of the Millstone Grit series, between the Castlecary Limestone and_ the Coal-measures. The fauna is quite unique, containing, for example, the remarkable genus Prothyris, not hitherto recorded from British Carboniferous rocks. The specific form seems to be identical with that found in the Upper Coal-measures of Nebraska. Although a few members in the newly discovered fauna of the Scottish series have been found in the Millstone Grit of Hazel Hill, Yorkshire, and ‘in beds immediately below the Coal-measures of Bristol and South Wales, yet the fauna as a whole bears a striking resemblance to the fauna of the American Coal- measures. The second paper dealt with the fine series of lamellibranchs collected by Mrs. Robert Gray from the district of Girvan. Many of the shells were in remark- able preservation, enabling the details of the hinge plate and interior to be examined. It was interesting to note such a fine development of lamellibranchs in these early rocks. A great proportion of the species are probably new, and many of the genera are described for the first time from British specimens. Here again the resemblance to certain American faunz, especially those from the Trenton and Hudson groups of Minnesota and New York, is very striking—A test for continuity: Dr. W. H. Young.—The theory of hessians in the historical order of development : Dr. Thomas Muir. Paris. Academy of Sciences, March 3c.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—Various properties of the curves expressing either by their envelope, or directly, the coefficients of yield m of a thin-walled vertical weir, without lateral contrac- tion, as a function of the relative pressure N’ exercised under the sheets at the level of the sill: J. Boussinesq. —The determination of the time, both on land and at sea. with the aid of wireless telegraphy: Bouquet de la Grye. With the present installation at the Eiffel Tower, wireless signals can be sent a distance of 2000 kilo-_ metres, and it has been estimated that by increasing the electric energy this distance could be doubled. It is suggested that a special signal should be sent exactly at midnight, and it would have to be the subject of an international arrangement to avoid possible confusion by multiplication of such signals. Such a time signal would 552 NATURE [AprIL 9, 1908 be of the greatest service to navigators within its radius. —On the proposal of the president, the examination of the proposition in the preceding note was referred to a committee composed of the members of the. sections of astronomy, geography, navigation, and physics, together with MM. Darboux, Poincaré, and Cailletet—The earth- guake of March 26, 1908 (Chilapa, Mexico), registered at Paris: G. Bigourdan.—The manuscripts of Evariste Galois, catalogued by M. J. Jannery, and kept under this he ading at the library of the Institute of France.—The ralations between lecithin and tubercle bacilli and tuberculin; A. Calmette, L. Massol, and M. Breton. Using the hemolytic action of snake poison in presence of lecithin as a test, the authors prove that the tubercle bacillus has an affinity for lecithin, and tuberculin behaves in a similar manner. The bearing of this on the reaction of tuberculin on the body is discussed.—The present state of the problem of the dispersion of light rays in inter- stellar spaces. A first attempt at the application to pro- visional determinations of stellar distances: Charles Nordmann. Discussing the recently published results of M. Tikhoff, the author ‘points out that both their methods, although quite independent, lead to the same qualitative results, namely, that there is really produced a dispersion of light in interstellar space, and that it has the same sense as ordinary refractive media.—A phenomenon attributable to positive electrons in the spark spectrum of yttrium: Jean Becquerel. The experimental study of the Zeeman effect in the spark spectrum of yttrium gives results which may be most simply explained by assuming the presence of positive electrons.—The number of electrons in the atom: J. Bosler.—The determination of the factor of ionisation in’ solutions of hydrochloric acid: E. Doumer. A study of the ratio of the volumes of hydrogen and oxygen evolved during the electrolysis of solutions of hydrochloric acid of different concentrations with anodes of silver or mercury.—The density of the vapour of propionic acid: A. Faucon. By the method of Dumas the vapour density of propionic acid was found to vary from 3:27 at 123° C. to 2-57 at 210° C., the theoretical vapour density being 2:55. Two thermodynamical formulz are applied to the results to calculate the heat of vaporisation of pro- pionic acid.—The OH{(1)Cl(2: 4:6) trichlorophenol and its transformation into chloroquinones: E. Léger. The trichlorophenol is prepared by the action of a strong solu- tion of sodium hypochlorite upon phenol; nitric acid (1-41) converts this into a mixture of trichloroquinone and tetrachloroquinone.—Styrolene oxide: MM. Tiffeneau and Fourneau.—The B-aa-diallyl-ketone alcohols: E. E. Blaise and I. Herman.—The magmatic parameters of the series from the volcano Monte Ferru, Sardinia: M. Deprat.—Researches on the development of Gloeosporium nervisequum: A, Guilliermond.—The Lagoa Santa race in the precolombian populations of the equator: M. Rivet.—The American Synalphee: M. Coutiere.—The tectonic. of the littoral of the Algero-Moroccan frontier : Louis Gentil. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Aprit 9. Roy ae ANSUIRUTION: at 3.—The Animals of South America: R. Lydekker, InsvITUTION OF ELEctRical. ENGINEERS, at 8.—Electric Supply Prospects and Charges as affected by Metallic Filament Lamps and Electric Heating: H. W. Handcock and A. H. Dykes. INSTITUTION OF MINING AND METALLURGY, at 8.—The Electrical Equip- ment of Gold Mines: H. J. S. Heather.—Addendem to Paper on Earth Temperatures on Witwatersrand Gold Fields: H. F. Marriott.—The Carat Weight: E, J. Vallentine.—-An Electro-magnet for Testing the Suitability of an Ore for Magnetic Separation: L. H. L. Huddart.—The Gold Alluvials of the River Drau in Hungary: A. von Gernet FRIDAY, Aprit. to. Roya. InstiTuTIoN, at 9.—The Carriers of Positive Electricity : Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. Reyat AsTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5.—Measures of Southern Double Stars 1907: J. L. Scott.—Tables of the Hypergeometrical Functions 4 ey 4 F(.1/6, 5/6, 2, sin? 2) and F( - 1/6, 7/6, 2, sin? =) between the Limits jota equals 90 and 180 Degrees: C. J. Merfield —On Mr. Roberts's Method termining the Absolute Dintersoneon an Algol Variable Star: Rev. J. On the Orbit of S23 Secchiz=32481 BC ; 8581 AB; and y Velorum land1i: T. J. 13 See.—Note on the Adop: ed Coordinates of the ombay (Colaba) Observatory: A _M. W. Downing.—Probable Pape Description of a Long-focus Ccelostat Reflector: J. H. Reynolds.—Note NO. 2006, VOL. on the newly-discovered Eighth Sa‘ellite of Jupiter : Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Puysicat Society, at 8.—An Experimental Investigation of the Nature of y Rays: Prof. W. H. Bragg, F.R.S., and Mr. Madsen. —Experiments on Artificial Fulgurites: Miss D. D. Butcher.—Short-spark Phenomena: W. Duddell, F.R-S. INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Governing and the Regularity of Gas-engines: J. Atkinson —The Effect of Mixture Strength and Scavenging upon Thermal Efficiency: Prof. B. Hopkinson. SATURDAY, Avrit 11. Roya InstirurTion, at 3.—Electric Discharges through Gases + Thomson, F,R.S. Prof J.J. MONDAY, Apri. 13. Roya GroGraruicat Society, at 8.39.—Explorations on and Around Prince Charles Foreland, Spitsbergen : Dr. W. S. Bruce. TUESDAY, Avriu 14. Roya STaTIsTICAL SOCIETY, at 5. INSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8.—Further Discussion: The King Edward VII. Bridge, Newcastle-on Tyne: F. W. Davis and C. R. 5. Kirkpatrick. WEDNESDAY, Apri. 15. Geotosicar. Society, at 8.—The Geological Structure of the St. David's Area (Pembrokeshire): J. F. N. Green.—Notes on the Geology of Burma : L. V. Dalton. Rovat METEOROL' OGICAL Society, at 7.30.—Report on the Phenological Observations for 1907: E. Mawley. —The Anticyclonic Belt of une Southern Hemisphere : Colonel! H. E. Rawson, CB. Royat Microscopicat Society, at 8.—On Dendritic Growths of Gennes Oxide in Paper: J. Strachan.—Nature’s Protection of Insect Life: F. Enock. Miers INSTITUTE, at 3-30.—The Assuan and Elephantine Papyri: Dr .» Belleli. CONTENTS. PAGE Experimental Embryology. ByJ.A.T..... - 529 Geological Revivalism, By Prof. Grenville A. AV Cole 3) eso roto o/c. FNAME <9. 0 529 Hydraulics . . Beets Pe tatae' 530 Technical Chemical Analysis. "By W. A.B. 531 British Archzologists in Italy. By H. H.. 532 Our Book Shelf :— Hobart and Ellis: ‘t Armature Construction ” 532 Yerkes: ‘‘The Dancing Mouse ; a Study in Animal Behaviour.’—W. 533 Hoernle : ‘‘ Studies in the Medicine of Ancient. India” 533 Kelman: ‘‘ The Sea-shore, Shown to the Children ”— Frank Balfour Browne . . eran t fe ca 533 Engel : ‘‘ Déviations des Compas”... ...- + + 534 “Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew”. 534 Lloyd: ‘‘The Will to Doubt: an n Essay in Philosophy for the General Thinker” ... . ns 534 Letters to the Editor — An Annotated Copy of Newton’s ‘‘ Principia.”— NV. brideaux aie: 534 Proposed Alteration in the Calendar. _Dr. D. Mackie 5 534 Helium in the Atmosphere.—Dr. J. W. Evans 535 April Meteors.—John R Henry. ... 535 Coloration of Glass and Quartz by Radium. —Charles E. S. Phillips . 535 An Early Notice “of Neolithic Implements. —Prof. John L. Myres ... 535 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. VIII. The Aberdeen Circles (continued). (Lllustr ated) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 536 Trees. (Iiustrated.) By A. W.B.. . . Seepemesge Dr. James Bell, C.B., F-.R.S. By T. ED. e539 Notes . . MAb. 6 oto nee eo SO Our Astronomical Colamn:— Comet 1907d . . Beeeeiro. Gee 544 Observatory Map of the Moon o RB » 544 The Recent Maximum of Mira Ceti. . .-. ..-. 544 Sun-spot Observations. . . ; 544 Meridian Circle Observations of "Parallax Stars . 544 The Recent Total Solar Fclipse . . Fay eye A New Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere 544 The Hamburg Observatory 544 The Ziegler Polar Expedition | (Z//ustrated.) By Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S. . 544 Sanatoria for Consumption, By Dr. R. Fielding- Ould 546 The Society of Dyers and Colourists 547 Encke’s Comet... Deinbe ad sii University and Educational Intelligence . 2 sao So.ieties and Academies... ..... 549 _Diary of Societies). :.2.h. ical aaomente 4. SE2 NATORE 553 APRIL 16, THURSDAY, 1908. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE HIGHER FUNGI. Pilze, eine Monographie. Pp. .vi+257. (Leipzig : By W. Chemie der hoheren Dr. Julius Zellner. Engelmann, 1907.) Price 9 marks. HE detection, isolation, and characterisation of the definite compounds resulting from the vital processes of living organisms is a branch of organic chemistry which is slowly developing and of which the progress is necessarily dependent upon the develop- ment of pure chemistry. In fact, it may be said that in some respects this department of biochemistry is in advance of the pure science, because the living organism has already furnished chemists with im- mense numbers of compounds which are quite definite, but of which the chemical constitution is at present unknown. Indeed, it may be stated in much wider terms that there is probably no such thing as an “indefinite ’? chemical compound in the whole animal or vegetable world. There is no doubt that many, perhaps the majority, of the organic compounds present in animals or plants are of very high molecular weights and of great atomic complexity, and there is also no doubt that many of the products which have been isolated and studied are complex mixtures or combinations of such complexes. But to speak of such products as ‘‘indefinite’’ is simply tantamount to the admission that our modern methods of research are inadequate, and that our knowledge of bio- chemistry must develop concurrently with the develop- ment of new methods for dealing with these highly complex molecules. The ultimate aim and object of scientific chemical work in this field is presumably to follow the develop- ment of the various compounds in the living organism —to detect the genetic relationships between the mole- cules for the purpose of learning how nature works in the vital laboratory. As a prelude to this know- ledge it is necessary to get, in the first place, an inventory, as complete as possible, of the compounds actually known to exist in, or to be produced by, the animal or plant. With respect to plant chemistry it may be said that practically all the works dealing with this subject have hitherto been of the nature of such catalogues or inventories. Here and there, as the result of these studies, genetie relationships have been detected, but this field of research is urgently in need of systematic cultivation. As a subject it bristles with practical difficulties, and for the achieve- ment of successful results the investigator should combine the qualifications of an expert chemist with those of the expert botanist. It is not surprising that, in the circumstances, the biostatical aspect of plant chemistry should have progressed so much more rapidly than the biodynamical aspect. Dr. Zellner’s monograph may be regarded as another contribution to plant chemistry from the bio- statical side. It deals with a particularly interesting NO. 2007, VOL. 77] 1 . . nothing in group, and will be found invaluable to students and workers in this field. By the ‘‘ higher fungi’’ the author means all those orders generally classed as fungi with the exclusion of bacteria, moulds, and yeasts. The line of demarcation, as Dr. Zellner points out, is perhaps not, strictly speaking, a scientific one, but for practical purposes it is both justifiable and convenient, as bacteriology and fermentation have been developed into large and important branches of science, and their literature is amply provided for. In treatment the present work follows the chemical rather than the botanical classification, the chapters, of which there are twenty-two, bearing the titles of the chemical families, beginning with the mineral constituents, and passing on to the hydrocarbons, fats, lecithins, alcohols, acids, amino-acids, purine group, bases, carbohydrates, tanning and colouring matters, resins and terpenes, proteins, &c. The chapters on the ferments and toxins of fungi will be of particular interest to many readers. One chapter is devoted to the consideration of the nutritive value of fungi, which the author does not consider to be very high. In this chapter there are many valuable | tables giving the quantitative results of the analysis of the proximate constituents of large numbers of species. In the case of certain chemical families of very wide occurrence, such as the carbohydrates, the author has been obliged to interpolate tables based on the botanical classification. Thus in chapter xii. there is a tabulated list of no fewer than 233 species, giving the distribution of mannitol, mycose (trehalose) and glucose, or other reducing sugar, together with the name of the observer and the year of the dis- covery of the carbohydrates. In giving the details of the various compounds, the author has wisely thought it unnecessary to enlarge upon the chemistry of well-known and widely distributed substances which are of general occurrence in the vegetable kingdom. On the other hand, compounds of special interest in mycological chemistry, such, for example, as muscarin, ergotin, choline, &c., which are essentially, if not exclusively, products of fungi, are dealt with ex- haustively. As is so generally the case with German writers of monographs on scientific subjects, the refer- ences to authorities are fully given. As a contribution to scientific literature there is this work calling for criticism. The author, unlike many specialists, takes a remarkably fair view of the “perspective ’’ of his subject, and the result is a work which may be described as concisely complete. It may savour of impertinence for a ‘foreigner’? to complain of the spelling of his own language by a German writer, but those who are in the habit of following German work in our own sub- jects—i.e. the working men of science of this country generally—have become accustomed to certain estab- lished modes of spelling in such scientific publications as the Berichte of the German Chemical and Botanical Societies, and so forth. We in this country have become ‘‘ hardened ”’ (literally) into seeing K for C (hard); we have got over the first shock of seeing such words as Glukose, Fruktose, Mykose, &c., and BB 554 NALORE [APRIL 16, 1908 we have even been obliged to admit that Muskarin is obtained from Amanita muscaria.1 But now Dr. Zeliner has a further shock for us, and we find such words as Kalzium, Zitronensdure, Glyzerin, Azetyl, &c., scattered throughout his pages. Thus (p. 97) Mykose forms an ‘‘ Oktoazetylverbindung,’’ which is no doubt chemically true, but, stated in this form, it seems to jar upon the orthographic nerve of the average English reader. All this is, of course, purely personal, perhaps old-fashioned or narrowly insular, and has nothing to do with the scientific merits of the work, which, as has already been said, are of a very high order, and every worker in the domain of plant chemistry will be grateful to the author for having produced it. R. MeErpora. BOTANICAL INSTRUCTION. Plant Biology. A Text-book of Elementary Botany arranged for Modern Methods of Teaching. By Dr. F. Cavers. Pp. xvit460. (Cambridge: Uni- versity Tutorial Press, rg07.) Price 3s. 6d. Laboratory and Field Manual of Botany. By J. Y. Bergen and B. M. Davis. Pp. viii+257. (Boston and London: Ginn and Co., n.d.) Price 4s. 6d. Studies in Plant Life. By J. Adams. Pp. v+179. (Dublin and Belfast: Fallon and Co., Ltd., n.d.) -Elementary Botany. By M. A. Liversidge. Pp. 128. (London: Blackie and Son, Ltd., 1907.) Price Is. 6d. net. Introduction to Elementary Botany. By Charlotte L. Laurie. Pp. viii+84. (London: Allman and Son, Ltd., n.d.) Price 1s. net. Our Woodlands, Heaths and Hedges. By W. S. Coleman. Pp. viii+141; with 8 plates. New edition, entirely reset. (London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1907.) Price ts. HE advocates of an exclusively experimental course of study in the natural sciences are con- fronted with the difficulty of time limitations, so that in practice it becomes necessary to strike a balance between lecture and practical work. Dr. Cavers has indicated in ‘Plant Biology ’’ the lines of work that he has found successful with training-college students, in which the training is almost entirely derived from observation and experiment. The foundation of the course consists of experiments—of which about three hundred and fifty are outlined— in connection with the nature and function of parts of the flowering plant; so far as possible the bean plant is used as the type. Flower and soil, biology and ecology provide a subsidiary section. The course differs mainly from ordinary practice in excluding the examination of selected types from the main and in the general omission of flowerless With regard to the composition of the subject-matter, the author deserves great commend- ation; the arrangement is well planned, the ex- periments are generally simple and practicable, and the information is contrived to make the student groups plants. 1 The farmilis etek ip By, Z ; The familiar Cheszisches Central-Blatt has now become a Zentral-Blatt. NO. 2007, VOL. 77| think. A series of questions at the end of each chapter can be used either by the student or his instructor to gauge the progress that is being made. The appendices also contain much useful matter ; hints on practical work refer to special opportunities afforded month by month; a summary of Engler’s system of classification is provided, and a glossary of botanical terms. The manual prepared by Mr. Bergen and Dr. Davis is a practical handbook primarily arranged in accord- ance with their text-book ‘‘ Principles of Botany.” The first part relates to the structure and physiology of seed plants. The plan adopted of outlining the instructions without detailed information that is left for the student himself to discover is good, but the authors have not been very happy in distinguishing between more and less important facts or in system- atising the subject-matter. As an instance, it may be cited that the description of a typical young dicotyledonous stem is not particularly noted, while the structure of the climbing dicotyledonous stem receives undue prominence. The second part, indi- cating type studies of flowering and flowerless plants, is more felicitous. Spirogyra forms a suit- able introduction for studying the cell in detail. Pleurococcus, Vaucheria, Ulothrix, and Cdogonium are chosen as the types of green alga, while refer- ence is also made to Ulva, Cladophora, and Coleochete. Microsphera, the lilac-mildew, is selected as the type of an Ascomycete, and the intro- duction of Marsilia is quite a desirable innovation. Ecology is dealt with in the third section under the headings of flower pollination, seed dissemination, types of vegetation, &c. The remainder of the book is devoted to but valuable hints on re- agents, methods of fixing and staining, cultures of the lower plants, and apparatus. Considered as a whole, the authors have provided a useful manual that presents a large amount of practical information in a limited amount of space. The small book written by Mr. Adams is of an extremely superficial nature. Owing to generous spacing and a large number of illustrations, the text is less than would be expected. In the circumstances, it would have been advisable to give more space to the essentials of plant structure as exemplified in the flowering plant and to have omitted the cursory de- scriptions of flowerless plants and plant habitats. The author has taken pains to introduce facts of prac- tical importance to the agriculturist, such as fer- tilisers, dwarf shoots, &c., but there is a lack of clearness and accuracy in some of the elementary definitions. The limits of Miss Liversidge’s book are set by the intention of covering the syllabus of work for the Oxford and Cambridge junior local examinations. It is evident that it has also been written rather with the view of giving facts for examination purposes than of training the young mind. There are four parts, assigned to external morphology, anatomy, physiology, and systematic botany. The design of the physiological part is good, but the experimental accessory APRIL 16, 1908] NALRORE 355 instructions could be materially improved. The anatomical facts are clearly stated considering that this part of the subject is much more advanced than the rest of the book. But speaking generally, the author has aimed at brevity, and in so doing has sacrificed exactness; this is specially noticeable in the course of external morphology, where several mistakes and incomplete definitions occur. The short introduction to elementary botany planned by Miss Laurie is a direct antithesis to the last, as the facts recorded are few, but they are deduced or suggested so as to arouse interest and stimulate experiment and thought. Written primarily for quite small children, it shows how facts in the life-history of plants may be taught from simple experiments, such as the growth of mustard seeds in a bottle In addition to morphology and the accompanying physiology, there are chapters on interrelation between plants and animals, climbing plants and colours ot plants. Although the information is couched in a form understandable by young children, the book could be advantageously adopted as a first course for older children, and might be profitably consulted by many teachers as a guide to imparting instruction. The observation of trees and shrubs is preeminently suited for a nature-study class, and possesses the advantage that there is much to be noted even during the winter months. A _ short, concise manual or primer at a modest price is an existing desideratum. The volume written by Mr. Coleman compasses the subject and certainly sells at a modest price, but it fails to satisfy the want alluded to. The author has culled much interesting information of a general and historic nature, but there is an almost entire absence of the numerous botanical features of interest, such as winter buds, arrangement of leaves, &c., and for identification the reader is mainly dependent upon the illustrations. The notes on animals and _ insects haunting the various trees and shrubs are so useful that one wishes the author had given more space to these facts of natural history. A list of British lepidopterous insects the caterpillars of which feed on certain plants is provided in an appendix. APPLIED MATHEMATICS. (1) Computation and Mensuration. By P. A. Lambert. Pp. ix+o2. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 3s. 6d. net. (2) A First Statics. By C. S. Jackson and R. M. Milne. Pp. viii+380. (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1907.) Price 4s. net. (3) Practical Calculations for Engineers. By C. E. Larard and H. A. Golding. Pp. xiii+455. (London: C. Griffin and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. net. (1) HE author says that the boys in the secondary schools of America are not taught to apply their mathematics independently, and consequently find, on entering college, that they have difficulty in NO. 2007, VOL. 77] making effective use of their theoretical knowledge, and this book is intended as a link between the school and college courses, to be studied either at the end of one or the beginning of the other. The same deficiency is manifest in boys leaving our schools, and in this country is being met by im- proved teaching combined with practical work .in the laboratory, as a regular part of the school course. The book is admirably planned and written, is concise, neat in method and interesting, and meets a real want in a worthy manner. It begins with examples of direct measurement, approximate numbers, and contracted arithmetic, estimating the degree of accuracy by the number of decimal places; perhaps the number of significant figures would have been better. This is succeeded by examples of prac- tical geometry, including the construction and measurement of triangles, and some squared-paper work. Then follows the volume of a prismatoid, and in later chapters on mensuration it is shown that the prismoidal formula, or Simpson’s rule, is widely ap- plicable. There is a useful chapter on trigonometrical computation, introducing very appropriately the notion of a vector with examples of vector summa- tion. Logarithms and the slide rules are next con- sidered, followed by an interesting chapter on limits, illustrated by several important convergent series. The author always seizes on the salient points, is never prolix, and the interest never flags; in each chapter the student is well started on his way, then provided with good and suggestive examples, and wisely left to his own resources. Thus, although the pages of the bool are comparatively few, the usual ground is covered, and a thorough and efficient train- ing in practical computation is provided. English teachers would do well to consult this work. (2) This text-book proceeds on easy lines, and the student is provided with a wealth of examples at every stage from which to choose, the answers being collected at the end of the volume. In their. scheme the authors have considered ‘‘ the historical order of development of the subject, as indicating almost infallibly the line of least resistance.’”? Thus in the first chapter the principle of the lever is intro- duced, and the law of moments for parallel forces is established by simple experiments, then illustrated by examples of ancient and modern steelyards and balances, and finally applied to find the conditions of equilibrium of three parallel forces in a plane. The next two chapters deal with the parallelogram law for forces at a point, the treatment being here again, as always, experimental, graphical, and analytical, with examples of useful applications in the arts. It is not quite clear why the authors should substitute the term ‘geometric’? addition for vector addition, or why arrow-heads should ‘sometimes ’’ instead of always be inserted in vector diagrams. In chap- ter iv. the principle of moments is again con- sidered, being now deduced from that of the parallelo- gram and applied to couples. Then follow sections dealing with machines, friction, and centres of 556 NATURE [APRIL 16, 1908 gravity, the latter being somewhat extensively applied, including Guldinus’s rules and mensuration problems. The concluding chapters relate to forces and jointed frames in two and three dimensions, with examples ot roof and bridge trusses and cranes. fhe general plan of the book is good, the endeavour “Jay stress on the practical utility of the rather than on ‘“‘ rigour of deduction.’? In carrying out this very laudable idea, the authors, through lack of practical experience, sometimes err by giving drawings like that of the safety-valve on p. 242, in which the constructional details are almost offensively crude, or by giving examples like No. 16, p. 140, where the efficiency of a Weston differential pulley-block is stated to be 80 per cent., or like No. 38, p. 77, in which a rail, supported at the ends and loaded as a beam at the middle, is said to be bent into a circulay arc. In spite of these minor defects, however, the book can be recommended as affording aa excellent introduction to statics. being to ° a +);) science (3) The general character of this work places ‘it somewhere between the engineering pocket- book and the college text-book. The methods, formule, and appliances which a student encounters during a good college course in mechanical engineer- ing are here, not demonstrated, but collected and described, systematically, and applied to such prac- tical examples as are likely to occur in an engineering workshop. In section i. the subject-matter comprises arithmetical, graphical, and mechanical computations, by modern abbreviated methods, and includes tech- nical mensuration, the use of the slide-rule and the planimeter, and mathematical tables. In section ii. we have laboratory experiments and calculations re- lating to machines, acceleration, momentum, force, work, energy, and power. Section iii. relates to boilers and heat engines, considered both from the thermodynamical and constructional point of view, with a chapter on the cost of motive power. These three sections are well adapted for students who have passed from college to practical work, in helping them to recall their theoretical knowledge as occasion may require. A good collection of examples will be found for practice. The style is perhaps somewhat diffuse, and there are a few minor defects, but this portion of the book will be appreciated in many quarters. The fourth and concluding section, however, is of most interest and value. It deals with the business side of engineering, a branch that is beyond the usual college course, yet of paramount importance to the young aspiring engineer. The subjects discussed are the commercial aspects of engineering; the quali- fications and duties of the works manager; the calcu- lation of weights and the preparation of estimates and bills of costs; and the bonus and premium systems of The authors give some most - striking examples of the great value of squared-paper work in the systematic plotting of variable quantities in all branches of a manufacturing establishment, and the ns to be learnt therefrom. This section is ex- tremely suggestive, and will well repay the careful all practical engineers. wages. study of NO. 2007, VOL. 77] MULTUM IN PARVO. (1) Die Tierwelt des Mikroskops (die Urtiere). By Dr. Richard Goldschmidt. Pp. iv+100; 39 figures. (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. (2) Das — Stisswasser-Plankton. By Dr. Otto Zacharias. Pp. iv+130; 49 figures. (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. (3) Befruchtung und Vererbung im Pflanzenreiche. By Prof. K. Giesenhagen. Pp. iv+132; 31 figures. (Leipzig: Quelle and Meyer, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. (4) Das Werden und Vergehen der Pflanzen. By Prof. P. Gisevius. Pp. 132; 24 figures. (Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. (5) Das Schmarotzertum im Tierreich und seine Bedeut- ung fiir die Artbildung. By Prof. Ludwig von Graff. Pp. iv+132; 24 figures. (Leipzig: Quelle and Meyer, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. (6) Die Mechanik des Geisteslebens. By Prof. Max Verworn. Pp. iv+104; 11 figures. (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1907.) Price 1.25 marks. T was Leibniz who said that the more science advances the more it will be expressed in little books. If that is so, the recent abundant crop of primers may be regarded as a healthy sign—especially when we find that many of them are very good. It need hardly be said that an introduction to the study of parasitism by von Graff, or to the study of fresh- water plankton by Zacharias, cannot fail to be useful and stimulating. There is also an economic side to the phenomenon presented by the bundle of primers before us. It seems as if the great encyclopedias, which were relatively costly, were being replaced by these cheap booklets. Instead of saving up to purchase the huge volume P, containing much that he does not want, the student can buy at a shilling each three little treatises on parasitism, plankton, and protozoa. This expresses a democratisation of scien- tific literature, with its familiar analogue in the popular ‘ sixpennies.”’ (1) In a clear and precise way, Dr. Richard Gold- schmidt tells the story of the Protozoa—how they came to be known, where they are found, how they live, what part many of them play in the economy of the sea, what they have done in building up chalk cliffs and the like, and how they come into close quarters with man in malaria and sleeping sickness, and other diseases. With the aid of excellent figures, most of which are familiar, and some of which, like Max Schulze’s Polystomella, could hardiy be improved upon, the author introduces the student to the rhizopods, the infusorians and Sporozoa, and although the book will not, of course, enable the observer to identify many of the Protozoa which he may discover, it will help him to understand them and to realise how many problems even the common ameeba still raises in a reflective mind. (2) The indefatigable director of the biological station at Plon deals with a subject to the study of which a great part of his life has been honourably devoted—the fresh-water plankton. His treatment of APRIL 16, 1908] NATURE 557 it seems to us to be peculiarly successful, as we would expect from one writing out of full knowledge and with strong enthusiasm, and what he has to say may be profitably read by many besides the laity. Besides descriptions of the various constituents of. the plankton—crustaceans, rotifers, infusorians, algz, and so on—Dr. Zacharias gives an account of methods of study, of the relations of the plankton to environ- mental conditions, of the origin of new species and varieties by isolation, of the inter-relations of plants and animals, of the application of hydrobiology to fisheries, and of the pioneer station at Plén. (3) Prof. K. Giesenhagen deals with a subject more difficult than those of the two preceding volumes— namely, fertilisation and heredity in the vegetable kingdom. He begins with the phenomena in their simplest terms in the green algae, and works gradually upwards through moss and fern to phanerogams, not forgetting the by-faths of parthenogenesis and vegeta- tive multiplication. The point about his treatment is that he uses the facts as a basis for a discussion of the deep problems of heredity, such as those raised and in part solved by the discoveries of Mendel and his successors. (4) Prof. Paul Gisevius has compressed into a small volume what every educated person should know about plants, and there is a flavour of intellectual ‘‘ pem- mican ”’ in the result. ture of plants, both inside and outside; he then dis- cusses nutrition and respiration, constructive meta- bolism, and the migration of material; he leads us from seed and seedling to the flowering, fruiting and withering; he takes a survey of the vegetable kingdom, and throws the light of the past on the present; and he ends up with the phenomena of repro- duction and with breeding experiments. It seems to us that he attempts too much, carrying terseness to an extreme, but his work is well done. (5) Prof. Ludwig von Graff supplies a masterly introduction to the study of parasitism among animals. Without overwhelming us with details, he takes us into the heart of the subject, and the style of the book is a model. Von Graff has much that is ex- tremely interesting to relate—for parasitology has made great advances of recent years—and his dis- cussion of such themes as the origin of the parasitic habit and the influence of parasitism on the parasite is very instructive. Admirable too are the tabular summaries of life-histories. The appalling list of human parasites, based on Braun’s_ well-known treatise, reaches a total of 129, and this number must be greatly increased, since in not a few cases several species are counted as one. (6) In some ways the most striking volume in this bundle of primers is that in which Prof. Max Verworn deals with ‘‘the mechanism of psychical life.’”’ It consists of five lectures on the physiological aspects of mental processes, and the author has been well advised to leave them with the vividness of oral discourse. fe deals with the relations of mind and body (the dualism of which he regards as a superannuated fic- tion), with the processes, e.g. fatigue-changes, in the nervous elements, with the dissimilatory stimuli that NO. 2007, VOL. 77] He deals first with the struc- | pass incessantly through the intricate maze of nerve- fibres and ganglion-cells, with the fascinating pheno- mena of sleep and dreaming, and with the puzzles of suggestion and hypnosis. More, perhaps, than in regard to the other little books which we have noticed is there room here for difference of opinion, but all will agree that the author presents his view of psychical life with masterly clearness. It must be clearly noted that he refrains from giving his facts any philosophical setting, he argues neither for materialistic nor for spiritualistic interpretation, he aims at a physiological analysis of the sequences with which we are all familiar, and he does not conceal that his title expresses a scientific ideal rather than an actual achievement. Ile 4h I OUR BOOK SHELF. Index of Archaeological Papers (1665-1890). Edited by G. L. Gomme. Pp. xi+o910. (London: A. Con- stable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 25s. net. Tus volume is in effect an author-index to the papers of archeological and kindred character published in the journals of learned societies and elsewhere during the twenty-five years prior to 1891. It includes the contents of some ninety-four periodicals, amount- ing in all to nearly 20,000 monographs under the authors’ names. An appendix supplies a list of the titles which were found to have been omitted from the main classification during its compilation. The papers of like characters which have appeared from 1891 until the last year or so have already been similarly treated in the annual index, published under the auspices of the Congress of Archeological Socie- ties in union with the Society of Antiquaries. There is thus placed before the student of to-day, as the editor justly claims, a continuous index from the first publications in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society down to the present time. This work is henceforth as indispensable to the student of British archeology, in particular, as are the tables of log- arithms, sines, and cosines to the mathematician. The latter may be calculated, indeed, just as the archeological papers may be hunted out by individual workers; but those who in the past have wasted hours and days in turning over the pages of twenty-five times ninety-four volumes in search of their own quest will be grateful to Mr. Gomme and his helpers for their patient work, and for the completeness of the result. This index includes within its scope, not only the archeology of the British Isles, but archeological fragnients from many countries. Thus we find Evans (A. J.) on Albania, Birch, Budge, Petrie, Poole (R. S.), and Renouf on the problems of Egypt, Hogarth on inscriptions from Salonica, Ramsay on the results of his explorations in Phrygia and western Asia Minor, and so forth. The difficulty of editing such a mass of different material must have been very great, and the work laborious. Here and there we notice the inclusion, whether accidental or intentional, of papers which seem to us to be irrelevant; as, for example, ‘‘ The Writings and Influence of Coleridge ”’ (Redish), ‘*‘ The Height and Weight of Boys aged Four- teen in Town and Country Schools,’’ and other more or less statistical writings, by Francis Galton. In other cases where folklore is the subject, discrimination is less easy; and we certainly think that the editor has been wise to incorporate writings of philological character in cases where the author’s material was archeological. Thus M. Maspero on_ various 558 NA LOTT [APRIL 16, 1908 features of Egyptian archeology and philology, and Sir J. Rhys covering similar ground in Wales, are not inappropriate. There is one thing, however, which we commend earnestly to the Congress, namely, the preparation and publication of a supplementary place-index, which might be brought as nearly to date as possible, and would render this volume and the annual indexes doubly or trebly valuable. The fact that some fifty- four of the journals indexed are the publications of local archaeological societies speaks for itself. With Mr. Gomme’s work completed the rest would he easy; but it is none the less an urgent need. Notions générales de Biologie et de Plasmogénie com- parées. By Prof. A. L. Herrera. Translated by G. Renaudet. Pp xxviii+260. (Berlin: W. Junk, 1906.) Price 10 marks. Tuts is a remarkable book, full of suggestive specu- lation, much of which is unlikely to command general acceptance, but at the same time the analogies which the author draws between emulsions of various sorts and organic form are full of interest. The whole book seems to have arisen out of a series of notes for students, and its rathér disconnected form retains the impress of this original design. The result is rather original, and arrests the attention even where one does not agree with the author. Prof. Herrera suggests that organic structure arises as the result of precipitation, coagulation, or solidifi- cation modified by the presence of diffusion currents and similar influences. A large number of experiments are given in which commonly occurring organic struc- ture is closely imitated by precipitations of silica, &c., under conditions which are carefully described. There is a refreshing freedom from dogmatism, but the author has the full courage of his own con- victions, as is shown by the crisp and clear definitions which he gives of phases of organic life that most investigators find difficult of satisfactory expression. The worl: is introduced by a preface from the pen of Moritz Benedikt, professor of medicine at Vienna, who is, of course, in sympathy with the general trend of the book, whilst he is, like its author, alive to the many difficulties in establishing all the conclusions. A sentence from the final essay of the volume, also contributed by Prof. Benedikt, puts the main thesis of Herrera so clearly that we may be pardoned for quoting it:—‘*. .. le monde organique, et la vie, sont nées du monde minérale dans les masses de vésicules mousseuses hautment organisées.’’ Linfiihrung in die Paldéontologie. By Gustav Stein- mann. Second edition. Pp. xii+542; illustrated. (Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 1907.) Price 14 marks. In the matter of bulls this edition shows a marked in- crease over the first edition (1903); while, in most cases, at any rate, it appears to have been brought fairly well up to date. The ancestral proboscideans from the Egyptian Eocene are, for instance, duly noticed, and recent work on Patagonian Tertiary verte- brates likewise receives due attention. On the other hand, we notice an absence of any reference to Dr. Broom’s opinion that the South African Triassic Trity- lodon is, after all, a mammal; while in certain cases the author departs from the generally accepted classifi- cation without any apparent or sufficient reason. In the ungulate mammals, for example, the hippo- potamus is removed from the Artiodactyla to find a place with Dinoceras and Coryphodon among the Amblypoda; in fact, Hippopotamus and the American Vertiary genus Merycochcerus are actually included in the family Coryphodontide. This is bad enough, but when we find Oreodon—the immediate ally of Mery- NO. 2007, VOL. 77| cochcerus—occupying its proper position in the neigh- bourhood of the camels, we are at a loss whether to attribute such eccentricities to mere carelessness or to lack of knowledge on the part of the author: Carelessness cannot, however, be pleaded in the case of the phylogeny of the vertebrata given at the close of the volume. For there we have carefully com- piled tables in which the dolphins are brigaded with ichthyosaurs as Ichthyotheria, while sperm-whales and plesiosaurs are grouped together as Plesiotheria, and whalebone whales and the mosasaurs as Thalatto- theria. The giving of definite names to these incon- gruous groups is of itself a sufficient proof that the author regards them as definite phylogenetic assem- blies, and not mere instances of adaptive analogy; but the matter is clinched by the following statement on p. 512, viz. :—‘** Wir sind also vor die Entscheidung gestellt, entweder ein unverstandliches und geradezu libernattirliches Eingreifen vorauszusetzen, oder uns im Rahmen des gesetzmassigen Naturgeschehens die zahlreichen einzelnen Saugerstamme voneinander gesondert aus ebensovielen Stammen der Reptilien herworgegangen zu denken.”’ With such eccentricities, alike in classification and phylogeny, we are unable to recommend Dr. Stein- mann’s volume as a trustworthy guide to the student of paleontology. Neither can we congratulate the publishers on the illustrations, unless, indeed, a ‘** paleeographic ’’ style of art be deemed specially suit- able to a paleontological treatise. Re: The Chemistry of the Diazo-compounds. By Dr. J.C. Cain. Pp. xi+172. (London; Edward Arnold, 1908.) Price 10s. 6d. net. WHEN we compare the steady output of monographs on chemical subjects on the Continent with the few publications of this class in English, we naturally ask whether English publishers are less enterprising than their neighbours, or English chemists less given to specialisation. We are inclined to the former view, and regard it as a welcome sign that the new departure in Eng- lish chemical literature, introduced in the form of physical chemistry manuals, and published under the editorship of Sir W. Ramsay, has found favour with another enterprising firm, and extended to organic chemistry. It is to be hoped that the present volume represents the first of a series of similar publications. Although the chemistry of the diazo-compounds appears at first sight to be a subject of rather re- stricted range, it must not be forgotten that it is of direct technical importance, connected as it is with one of the largest branches of the colour industry. Moreover, a special interest attaches to the appearance of Dr. Cain’s book at the present time, for it stands as a memorial of the fiftieth anniversary of Griess’s famous discovery. Although Johann Peter Griess was a German, born and bred, the bulk of his researches on the diazo-compounds were carried on in_ this country, first whilst he was acting as assistant to Hofmann in London, and later during intervals of leisure extending over many years after his appoint- ment as chemist to Messrs. Allsopp, brewers, of Burton-on-Trent. The protean character of the chemical changes which. the diazo-compounds exhibit, their close con- nection with colour chemistry, as well as their struc- tural relations, which still furnish a perennial subject of discussion, appeal in turn to the scientific and industrial chemist (if this distinction between the two forms of chemical energy is permissible). The author has been able to write with the authority of long experience in the works and in the laboratory, and his exhaustive method of treatment has not rendered AprIL 16, 1908] NAL ORE a9 the subject either tedious or involved. It is, on the contrary, an eminently readable and attractive volume. It is divided into chapters describing the preparation and reactions of the diazo-compounds, their derivatives, and their constitution. In an appen- dix a short account is given of the author’s new theory of their structure. This is not the place to enter upon a discussion of the subject, but a strong case is made out for the new view, which should stimulate fresh experimental work of an interesting character. Iie HBG (Ce Handbuch der Physik. By Dr. A. Winkelmann. Second edition. Fifth volume, second part: Elek- trizitat und Magnetismus, II. Pp. xiv+o71; illus- trated. (Leipzig: J. At Barth; 1908.) Price 16 marks. THE present portion of this encyclopedic treatise con- sists of electrodynamics and induction, by K. Waitz; absolute measurements of magnetic and electric quan- tities, by A. Oberbeclk; technical applications of in- duction, by Th. des Coudres; telephony, by L. Rell- stab; and the theory of electric phenomena, by L. Graetz. Important though every one of these sections is, it is doubtless to the last that the reader will turn first on account of the great developments of theory during the last decade; and especially will he turn to the chapters on electrons and on the electromagnetic equations for bodies in motion. We have stated in reviewing the previous parts that the treatise is not intended for continuous reading. It is essentially an encyclopedia, a book of reference. But it is the treatise per excellence to which reference should be made by all those who wish to know what has been done and what theories have been enunciated in the domain of physics. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] The Condensation of Helium. In Narure of March 12 I have. found a note referring to my experiments on the expansion of helium, made in consequence of my determinations on the isothermals of helium, at —252° C. and —259° C., which yielded nearly —5° K. for the critical temperature of helium. The prosecution of the experiments has shown that what I observed in expanding the gas was not the evapora- tion of solid helium, but solution phenomena of solid hydrogen in gaseous helium. I have communicated to the Amsterdam Academy a note on my experiments, which at the moment leave the condensation of helium a yet undecided question. ; Of course, I have written the details to Sir James Dewar, and I hoped to do so to you to-day, but by press- ing duties I cannot do it before to-night, and you will probably go to press before that letter reaches you. So I beg to be allowed to send you first this short notice. Leyden, April 14. H. KaMERLINGH ONNEs. Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns. Pror. Witson is welcome to any satisfaction he can obtain out of the Mendelian interpretation he gives to our statistics of coat-colour in Shorthorns. As a matter of fact, some readers may consider that the same inter- pretation is given with greater numerical accuracy on pp. 440-4 of our original memoir (Biometrika, vol. iv.). For example, we give 656 crosses of roan and whole red alone, resulting in 243 whole reds, eighty-five red and whites, and four whites. The remainder consists of 324 roans. Of this we say “the close approximation to the Mendelian number of the roans is noteworthy, but the appearance of 4(WW) is again impossible unless some of NOs 20075) VOLs 77 the reds are to be treated as heterozygous.’’ Why does Prof. Wilson reduce our total red roan crosses to 456, and leave out the inconvenient four whites? Why does he give only three whites crossed by white as giving three whites, while we dealt with ninety-one such crosses giving eighty- six whites, four roans, and one red? Why, further, does he leave out the whole of our Table I. on p. 441? We followed up the white cattle pedigrees, writing to the breeders about special cases, and finding in the great bulk of instances the crosses and colours stated in the Herd- book confirmed. If it be asserted that the colours given in the Herd-book are incorrect, or, still more vitally, that the confirmation of those facts given to us by reputable breeders are misstatements, then the only conclusion is that Mendelism cannot be discussed on the basis of the Shorthorn data. That is a logical position; it is not, however, logical to use the data, and escape inconvenient facts by the statement that they are due to errors or to deception, or to omission to enter calves (which we found on inquiry among English large breeders to be not so frequent as has been asserted). The facts stated by us on p. 442 of our paper, which cannot at present be made fully public, show that there are probably latent colour determinants in white cattle which can be made patent if two individuals of pure white coat, but one of mixed race, be crossed. Recent experi- ments seem to show that the actual amount of pigmenta- tion in the coat is an inherited character in mammals; no explanation, Mendelian or other, which overlooks the difference between whole and parti-coloured animals can in the present state of our knowledge be considered satis- factory. As it is, the parti-coloured cattle are being bred out, and the possibility of this shows that red and parti- colour are not interchangeable. This point is illustrated again by the fact that in whole red crossings about 3 per cent. of roans appear, but in parti-colour crossings about 8 per cent. of roans occur. There is at the bottom of this, I believe, a physiological fact, and I am not pre- pared to overlook it by saying, with Prof. Wilson, that 438 red by red matings gave twenty-five roans, which are to be put down as due to errors and misstatements because they do not fit his view of the case. Within broad -lings Shorthorns do show segregation in the results of the crossings; this is really the great idea embodied in the Mendelian view. It may be possible on a determinantal theory to offer a reasonable account of the Shorthorn data; such a theory would certainly follow recent Mendelian work in discriminating between whole and parti- colour coats. On the other hand, it is a possible attitude to discard the data as untrustworthy; it is not logical, I hold, to discard just as much as you please of the data and no more in order to make it fit the simpler Mendelian ratios. Kart PEARSON. Biometric Laboratory, University College. Tue validity of Prof. Pearson’s criticism of the view that Shorthorn cattle are Mendelians turns upon the accuracy of my statements (a) that in the Herd-book roans are sometimes registered as reds and reds as roans; (b) that many white calves are not registered at all; and (c) that coloured calves are sometimes substituted for white ones. Unfortunately, these statements are all true, although the last one only need cause very serious regret. The following may make the position clearer. A short time ago a very distinguished breeder was re- gretting the substitution of coloured calves and_ the difficulty of proving cases of substitution to be such. This breeder persistently uses white bulls in order to get roan calves from his red cows, and, in proof that red calves entered in the Herd-book as the progeny of reds and whites are probably substitutions, he mentioned that in all his experience he had got only one red calf from his white bulls and his red cows. That red calf—a bull—came to Ireland, and is still alive. To the great disappointment of his owner, he has bred several white calves from roan cows. First, by being the son of a white bull and a red cow, and, next, by breeding white calves from roan cows, this red bull disproves the theory that Shorthorns are Mendelians; but I had the privilege of seeing him this afternoon, and he is not red, he ts rozz. He is, however, 560 NATURE [APRIL 16, tgo8 such a roan as might be mistaken for a red unless closely examined. Here, then, is one of our most distinguished breeders referring to substitution, and making an error of descrip- tion as regards the colour of a calf. The last time I visited the farm where the above ‘‘ red ”’ bull is standing I saw some white calves, and this after- noon one of them, now six or eight weeks old, was miss- ing. I asked the owner what had become of him, and got the reply, ‘‘ I have sold him.’’ This particular white calf may be referred to in the Herd-book by his breeder, but many another similar one is never referred to at all. Prof. Pearson suggests that, if there are inaccuracies and misstatements in the Herd-book, ‘‘ Mendelism cannot be discussed on the basis of the Shorthorn data.’’ I do not agree. But, if not Mendelism, can biometric theories be discussed upon the same data? The latter half of Prof. Pearson’s letter does not bear much upon the present issue, but I should not be astonished, if his theories as to colour determinants and parti-colours are followed up, that each of the two races from which the Shorthorn is descended should split up into more than one variety. Prof. Pearson thinks that, because I neglected the figures in the first part of his original paper, I was evading some of the data. This is not so. I did not notice that they comprised other data, for which I am sorry, because the ninety-one white crossings which gave eighty-six white calves, four roans, and one red, would have been helpful. I had not seen the original paper since the time it was published two years ago, and, when I conceived the idea that Shorthorns are Mendelians, I went straight to the two tables from which I quoted, in the belief that they con- tained all the relevant data collected by Miss Barrington and Prof. Pearson. James WILSON. Royal College of Science, Dublin, April 8. The Nature of y and X-Rays. Ir I am putting the correct interpretation on Mr. Barkla’s letter in Nature of February 6 (p. 319), I have to thank him for the admission that his experiments are not so contrary to the neutral pair theory as he had at first. supposed. Mr. Barkla still concludes, however, in favour of the ether pulse theory. He has compared the intensities of two secondary beams emitted by carbon under the influence of an unpolarised primary beam, the one returning on the track of the incident rays, the other moving in a perpendicular direction. His calculated ratio is 2:1; experiment gives 1-85 to 1 (Phil. Mag., February, p. 293). Such an agreement has its value. But, at the same time, he finds that for harder rays the ratio drops to 1-45 to 1, with no sign of a limit. His theory ‘is unable to predict this decline, far less to measure its amount. It is no compliment to the ether pulse theory to describe such incomplete successes as ‘ absolutely conclusive evidence.” He invites me to suggest a theory of scattering which shall have as much success as his own. But, on the neutral pair theory, the laws of scattering must depend directly on the constitution of the atom, as to which it is scarcely possible to do more than speculate. It is ‘not incumbent on me at this stage to frame an independent hypothesis by the success of which my older one is to be judged. He wishes to avoid arguments founded on an experi- mental study of the y rays. But it is quite legitimate to begin with the y rays, and to carry the argument over to the X-r ays, on the ground that there is an “extremely close parallelism between the two types. Evidence of this sort cannot be avoided by resolutely facing the other way. It will perhaps conduce to greater clearness if I state ly position briefly. (1) Nearly a year ago I pointed out that almost all the mena of y and X-rays could be explained on a \tral pair theory at least as well as on an ether pulse heory. This applied particularly to all effects connected he production of secondary kathode rays of, high ; : effects which are at the root of most of what jas been observed. NO. 2007, VOLE.u7;| (2) I have recently described some experiments carried out by Dr. Madsen and myself which seem to me to sup- port my contention in the strongest way as regards the y rays. (3) Since X-rays and y rays resemble each other so faithfully in most respects, particularly those connected with the high-speed kathode rays, I have therefore sug- gested that the experiments also support my contention regarding the nature of the bulk of the X-rays. (4) There are a few outstanding phenomena of the X-rays which do not fit in so readily with a neutral pair hypo- thesis, particularly Marx’s velocity experiment, and the diffraction experiments of Haga and Windt. These seem to prove the existence and activity of ether pulses. As regards Mr. Barkla’s polarisation effects, I have indicated a possible way of explaining them on the neutral pair theory; but I am quite content to wait for the guidance of future experiments, amongst which Mr. Barkla’s recent work will take its proper place. (5) If I admit the existence of ether pulses, I do not thereby weaken my contention that the most important and effective part of y and X-ray radiation is material. We know that ether pulses exist; it does not rollow that they do everything. On the contrary, the evidence for the ether pulse theory is extremely weak in just this direction; there is a danger that the post hoc has been confused with the propter hoc. When I see a boy jerk his arm, and hear immediately afterwards a rattling on my roof, I know quite well that the motion of the boy’s arm has set an air pulse going, but I do not conclude that one of my chimneys was in a dangerously explosive condition, and that the air pulse has precipitated the violent discharge of half a brick. V. H. Brace. The University of Adelaide, South Australia, March 12. The Corrosion of Iron and Steel. A PAPER describing the investigation of the causes of rusting of iron was read in May, 1907, before the New York Section of the American Chemical Society by Mr. William H. Walker and others, and has been recently printed in this country. After criticising the various ex- planations which have been put forward of the rusting of iron in contact with water, the authors approve the sugges- tion of Whitney that the first step in the process is the escape into the liquid of iron in the form of positively charged ions. In confirmation of this, the authors state that they succeeded in detecting iron by chemical tests in water which contained only a trace of electrolyte, and was free from oxygen and carbon dioxide, after the water had been in contact with iron. Such an explanation would apply to a fact which con- fronted me some years since when investigating the cause of the action of water on lead. Every precaution was adopted to bring a surface of metallic lead absolutely free from oxide into contact with water free from dissolved gases, with the expectation that if these conditions were fully complied with no lead would pass into solution. In the course of the investigation the precautions which were taken to secure the conditions specified gradually became more stringent, and the amount of lead passing into solu- tion was correspondingly reduced; but when the utmost possible care had been taken, lead in very minute propor- tion was still detectable in the water by chemical tests. It is of interest to note that the proportion of fead was constant when the contact of water with lead had been brought about in repeated experiments with some variations in detail. The impression produced by these results on my own mind was that undoubtedly lead in the metallic state must have passed into the water, and upon re- consideration of the experimental work and its results I feel satisfied that this was the case, and that the lead probably passed into the water as iron did in the experi- ments made by Whitney and repeated by the American investigators, when they brought iron into contact with water under conditions similar to those which I had secured. FRANK CLOWES. The Grange, Dulwich. APRIL 16, 1908] NATURE 561 THE GEOLOGY OF SOUTH LAND.* HE National Antarctic Expedition is to be con- gratulated upon the care and promptitude with which its scientific collections are being worked out by the staff of the Natural History Museum. The results are being issued with the fulness of illustra- tion and the excellent form characteristic of the publi- cations of that institution. The work has been thoroughly supervised and edited. The first volume has a general preface by Sir Ray Lankester, and a | special preface by Mr. Fletcher, in whose department | the work of this volume was executed; the biological work is being edited by Mr. Jeffrey Bell. The first volume deals with the geological worl of the expedi- tion, and contains two reports. The first, by Mr. H. T. Ferrar, records his observations upon the strati- graphical and glacial geology. It is accompanied by a valuable geological map of the district around | MacMurdo Sound, based on the topographical survey | by Lieut. Mulock, and by an admirable series of photographs, that are a valuable supple- VICTORIA ment to the text, but by whom they were taken is not stated. The geological specimens obtained were mainly collected near the Discovery's winter quarters, and on the oppo- site part of the mainland. The extended field observations and the large amount of material collected are clearly the result of most inde- fatigable and courageous work, under diffi- cult and dangerous conditions, and are a most important addition to Antarctic geology. The geological formations at MacMurdo Bay are divided by Mr. Ferrar into four series: the recent voleanic rocks of the islands - the gneiss and granite that form the foot hills and the basement of the mainland plateau; a wide series of horizontal sandstones, the Beacon Sandstones, that form the plateau of southern Victoria Land; and some dolerite sills intrusive into the Beacon Sandstones. Unfortunately there is no definite evidence as to the age of these sandstones. Some plant remains were found in them, and are de- scribed by Mr. Arber, according to whom they are ‘‘ unfortunately of little value botanically *’; he calls them ‘‘ carbonaceous “ which in all probability are Mr. Arber concludes neither permit of any impressions, ”’ of vegetable origin. that the specimens “ a ae Fic. opinion as to the botanical nature or affini- ties of the fossils themselves, nor of the geo logical age of the beds in which they occur. Con- sidering the extent and abundant exposure of these sandstones, the apparent rarity of organic remains in them is significant. Mr. Ferrar devotes three chapters to glacial observations, and describes Ross’s ice barrier as a Piedmont glacier, formed of confluent flows of land ice. The evidence offered in support of this con- clusion is not very convincing, but until the issue of the meteorological data collected by the expedition, it is better to suspend judgment upon this question; and it may be hoped that Lieutenant Shackleton’s expedi- tion will collect further information as to the intimate structure of this ice. The second part of the volume is occupied by Dr. Prior’s report on the rocks of South Victoria Land. This report is masterly from its combination of refined petrographic research with insight into the tectonic bearings of the microscopic evidence. Dr. Prior shows 1 National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904. Natural History, vol. Geology (Field-Geology: Petrography). Pp. xii+160; 10 plates Bae 2 depressed by snow below water-level. maps. (By order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 1907.) Price 3os. NO. 2007, VOL. 77] that the volcanic rocks include basalts, Ikenytes, phonolites and trachytic phonolites; the dykes are of camptonite, kersantite, and banakite; and the base- ment rocks of South Victoria Land include granite, diorite, gneiss and a crystalline limestone, of which a specimen was found by Dr. Wilson. Dr. Prior’s report contains an interesting discussion of the chemical relations of the rocks and their interpreta- tion by the American quantitative system of classifi- cation. He shows that the district is a distinct petro- graphic province characterised by the association of limburgites with intermediate rocks, which are rich in alkali and contain anorthoclase as the predominant felspar. He has calculated the percentage mineral composition of the rocks and assigned to them the names they would receive in the American quantitative classification, and he concludes (p. 120) that ‘the result shows that the classification supplies a variety of names to rocks not differing very widely in chemical composition. ’ The sequence of the volcanic rocks is a question of 1-—The two lower men are standing upon the upper surface of sea-ice National Antarctic Expedition. much interest, especially as some field observations were regarded as showing that the trachytes were younger than the basalts; but Dr. Prior concludes from his study of the rocks that this view is improb- able, and that the trachytes and kenytes preceded the basalts, as they did in the typical kenyte area in East Africa. The most widely interesting part of Dr. Prior’s report is probably that discussing the geo- graphical relations of South Victoria Land. He points out that the rocks are chemically allied to those of the Atlantic coast type, and not to those of the Pacific coast type. He, of course, recognises that, according to this use of the terms Atlantic and Pacific, the southern end of New Zealand must be regarded as of the Atlantic type, for the rocks of South Victoria Land are petrographically allied to those of Dunedin de- scribed by Dr. Marshall. An article in Nature (in 1901, vol. Ixiii., p. 610) on the probable geological relations of Victoria Land pointed out that the sudden change in the geographical grain of southern New Zealand might very lilkely be continued into Ant- 562 arctica, and that accordingly the view suggested by Reiter that the mountains of South Victoria Land were the continuation of the mountain chain of New Zealand might require modification. results issued in this volume show that, as expected, South Victoria Land is a high plateau broken off to | the east by the subsidences which have formed the Ross Sea. Moreover, the suspected ‘affinities between Victoria Land and New Zealand have been greatly strengthened by the discovery of the kenyte series of Ross Island; and the predictions in Nature (vol. Ixili., p 610) that ‘‘ the palazontological results may be meagre ’’ has proved only too true. Reiter’s theory, however, requires one modification. earlier descriptions of Victoria Land asserted the voleanic nature of the mountains on the plateau of South Victoria Land (as, e.g., is the case in Mexico NATURE The geological | [APRIL 16, 1908 rocks of the Pacific type, and subsidences those of the Atlantic type, is no real explanation; and though the coincidence is certainly widespread, it does not appear to be universal. The chemical character of the vol- | canic rocks can only be used as a test of the tectonic structure of coasts with important limitations; and | the coastal types may still be regarded as based essentially on geographical structure, and not on the | chemical composition of their lavas. | J. W. Grecory. NAVIGATION OF THE AIR The | ape author of this work at the outset states that | he has no intention of writing a technical text- | book, and his treatment of the subject, which em- _braces aé@rial navigation generally, is distinctly of a Fic. 2.—Uplift of morainic material in the ice at the foot of Knob Head. National Antarctic Expedition, and parts of the Andes), whereas the volcanoes, at least in the area reached by the expedition, were limited to the foundered area in front of the plateau, as is the case in eastern Asia. Accordingly the struc- ture of South Victoria Land may be of the inner or secondary Pacific type, and any remains of an outer or primary Pacific coast connecting New Zealand and Graham Land may be expected further to the east. The evidence is not yet sufficient for a final opinion, and an alternative interpretation, in deference to the petrographic evidence, is to regard the coast of South ia Land as of the Atlantic type; but there does seem any clear reason why the distribution of inic rocks of different chemical types should be cc d by the nature of the crustal movements. The suggestion that fold movements produce volcanic not vok controll 2007, VOL. 77] di popular kind. Portions of the work, for example, those relating to ballooning and balloon photography, are dealt with in great detail, and show an intimate practical acquaintance with the subject; the section also relating to carrier pigeons, both in connection with ballooning and otherwise, is a welcome addition to the literature of the homing pigeon. On the other hand, some portions of the work are scarcely satis- factory, even from the popular standpoint, the chapter devoted to flying machines, for example, being a col- lection of scraps of information strung together with- out any definite scheme; on the face of it, this chapter is intended to be arranged in historical order, but 1 “ Airships Past and Present, together with Chapters on the Use of Balloons in Connection with Meteerology, Photography, and the Carrier Pigeon.” By A. Hildebrandt, Translated by W. H. Story. Pp. xvi+364. (London : A. Constable and Co., Ltd., 1908.) Price ros. 6¢. net. APRIL 16, 1908 | dates are not given where they are of importance, and even so well-known a worker in the field as Har- graves is practically ignored. The illustrations are numerous, and, on the whole, are very good; of special interest is the photographic reproduction of a ‘double deck ’’ Lilienthal machine in flight, which appears to be of the type used by the late Herr Lilienthal on the occasion of his last flicht, when he unfortunately met with his fatal accident. Of the great variety of ‘‘ birds’ eye’ photographs given, perhaps the most interesting are the cloud studies given in Figs. 125, 143, and 185; also a fine view of the pyramids of Egypt, Fig. 200. The chapters on ballooning entitled ‘‘ Ballooning as a Sport,’’ ‘‘ Scientific Ballooning,’’? and ‘‘ Balloon Photography,’’ in addition to those on “ Military Bal- looning,’’ make interesting reading, and constitute the most useful and trustworthy portion of the book ; there is much information collected in pages devoted to these chapters that might be sought for elsewhere in vain. The account, however, is essentially of a popular kind; it is difficult to read these chapters without raising an “‘ aéronautical appetite ’’; the description of over-sea ballooning and the illustrations of the de la Vaulx deviatory are particularly interesting. From ‘ Lilienthal on his flying machine. Airships Past and Present.” It is when departing from the declared intention of the work that its author most lays himself open to criticism. Thus, on p. 17, in discussing the theory of the ascension of the Montgolfiere, there is a simple little pitfall into which the author has gratui- tously precipitated himself. On the assumed _ baro- metric pressure of 30” of mercury, it is stated (we may presume correctly) that the weight of a cubic foot of air heated to 212° F. is 0059 lb. Herr Hildebrandt then goes on to say Ue At a height of | 8330 feet, a cubic foot of air at a temperature ‘of 32 deg. Fahr. weighs only o’059 Ib., and therefore a ‘ Montgolfiere * cannot. reach a greater height than this, seeing that the lift then disappears, unless the te mperatures, given in the above table, can be exceeded.’ The assumption made here seems to be that the air within the balloon does not expand as the pressure is relieved by altitude, just as if the air inside the balloon were contained by a hermetically sealed pressure-proof envelope. On p. 30 a description is barometer word tube diaphragm, NO. given of an aneroid which certainly is a mistake; either the has been used in translation instead of 2007, “OU. 77 NATURE or else the author describes a particular | 563 aneroid (probably made by Bourdon, of Paris) instead of the aneroid as generally constructed ; the almost universal practice of instrument makers is to employ a flexible diaphragm, not a tube as stated. On p. 89 it is somewhat puzzling to find that most of the ‘‘ dirigibles ’’ have a greater content than that of their containing cylinder. according to the figures given. For example, a balloon 30 feet in dia- meter and 148 feet long is given as holding 137,500 cubic feet of gas; in view of the fact that a cylinder of these dimensions has a volume of only 105,000 cubic feet, this requires some explanation. Several other cases are equally incomprehensible. On Pp. 96 the year 1862 is assigned to Phillips’s ‘* venetian blind ’? captive machine ; ‘this appears to be an error of about thirty years (antedate). The fatal accident to Herr Lilienthal is stated to have been due to a want of adjustment, the machine turning over at a height of 50 feet from the ground. The authority for this version of the accident should be stated; the account, as published in Nature (Sep- tember 3, 1896), contributed — by Prof. Carl Runge, from the evidence of an eye-witness (the assistant of Herr Lilienthal), made no mention of any error of adjustment, but attributed the capsize to a sudden gust, which carried the machine to a height of 30 metres (too feet), from which the fatal plunge took place. In the chapter on carrier pigeons an account of certain experiments, stated to have been made with trained swallows, is given, but again no trustworthy au- thority is mentioned. A passage may be quoted as follows :—‘‘ An Antwerp trainer sent up some swallows and pigeons at the same time at Compiégne, in France. The pigeons covered the distance of 145 miles in 37 hours, while the swallows arrived in 1 hour 7 minutes; the speed of the latter was therefore three times that of the former.’’ Now the time taken by the pigeons appears to denote that there was no wind of consequence, and therefore the velocity of flight of a swallow may be calculated as 130 miles per hour, a conclusion full of improbability. Statements of this kind should only be inserted in a serious work after careful verification, and with the authority stated, place and time also being given, if possible. NOTES. Tue fourth International was opened at Rome on Monday, of King Victor Emmanuel II., and the proceedings con- cluded on Saturday last, when an invitation was accepted to hold the congress of 1912 at Cambridge. The number of members shows a considerable increase on that of previous and a great deal of valuable work has been done in the sections. The Guccia medal has been awarded to Prof. Francesco Severi, for his papers on the geometry of algebraic We hope to give an account of the proceedings of the congress next week. Congress of Mathematicians April 6, in the presence congresses, surfaces. Iv was announced at the meeting of the Institution of | Naval Architects on April 8 that the council had grate- fully accepted an offer from Mr. A. F. Yarrow, vice- | president of the institution, to defray the cost, up to | 20,0001., of an experimental tank for research purposes | to be erected at the National Physical Laboratory, pro- | vided that cost of maintenance for the first ten years was assured. A committee is to be appointed to carry out the scheme. Papers on the employment of. the steam turbine for various classes of ships took a prominent place in the proceedings of the Lord Cawdor elected president of the institution upon the retirement of Lord Glasgow. meeting. was MAT ORE {APRIL 16, 1908 Tue annual conversazione of the Selborne Society will be held at Burlington Gardens, New Bond Street, W., on Friday, May 1, from 7.30 to 11 p.m. Tue death is announced, in his eighty-seventh year, of Prof. Franz von Leydig, of the University of Bonn, dis- tinguished by studies in comparative histology and various works upon anatomical subjects. his Mr. J. P. Jounson, of Johannesburg, has been com- missioned by the Government of Orange River Colony to investigate and report on the Bushmen and paintings in that territory. sculptures At Issy les Moulineaux on March 11, M. Delagrange, mounted upon an aéroplane, traversed the marked circuit seven times, the total distance being about 10 kilometres, in gm. 15s. The motor with which M. Delagrange’s machine is provided is a forty horse-power light cylinder Antoinette. Tue Town Council of West Ham has resolved to confer the freedom of the borough on Lord Lister, “ born in the county borough, and has rendered such illustrious service to the human race by his famous dis- covery of the antiseptic system of treatment in surgery and in a variety of other wavs connected with science and the alleviation of pain and suffering.” who was Reuter’s Agency learns that the British Government has decided to take independent action regarding sleeping by establishing a National Sleeping Sickness Bureau with headquarters in London. It will be remem- bered that the recent international conference in London collapsed mainly owing to the opposition offered to the proposal to establish any international bureau in London. Alternative recommendations in favour of Paris and Brussels were put forward at the time, but no agreement was come to on the question. The British National Bureau will be managed by a strong committee. Annual grants will be made by the Imperial and Sudanese Govern- ments. To combat sleeping sickness, Great Britain and Germany are concluding a convention on the subject of joint measures for the prevention of the malady in Uganda and German East at an early date. sickness Africa. This is expected to be signed Tue Naples Table Association for Promoting Labora- tory Research by Women announces the offer of a fourth prize of one thousand dollars for the best thesis written by a woman, scientific subject, embodying new observations and new conclusions based on an independent laboratory research biological, chemical, or physical science. The theses offered in competition are to be pre- sented to the executive committee of the association, and must be in the hands of the chairman of the committee on the prize, Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass., before February 25, 1909. The prize will be awarded at the annual meeting in April, 1909. The papers presented will be judged by a board of examiners, or by such specialists as they may choose. The board of examiners is constituted as follows :-—Biological Dr. W. H. Howell, Johns Hopkins Medical School; chemical sciences, Dr. T. W. Richards, Harvard University ; physical sciences, Dr. A. A. Michelson, Uni- versity of Chicago. on a in sciences, We have received a somewhat belated copy (published in 1906) of No. of the North American Fauna—U.S. Department of Agriculture—in which Mr. A. H. classifies the little skunks of the genus Spilogale. 77] 26 Howell NO. 2007, VOL. ) To Nos. 3 and 4 of vol. xxix. of Notes from the Leyden Museum, Dr. E. D. van Oort contributes two papers on Papuan birds, in the second. of which he describes, under the name of Casuarius casuarius bistriatus, an apparently new race of cassowary from the north coast of New Guinea. It is remarkable that this bird appears to be related to an Aru Island species, and thus quite different from those inhabiting the interior of New Guinea. A coloured plate of the head and neck is given. To British Birds for April Messrs. Witherby and Tice- hurst contribute an article on the spread of the little owl in England. This owl cannot now be regarded otherwise than as an introduced species in England, owing to the fact that so many have been turned loose in various parts of the country. The process began in 1843 at Walton Park, Yorkshire, but the chief centres of spread have in recent years been Hampshire, Tring, Edenbridge in Kent, and Oundle. From Oundle the birds appear to have reached Woburn, where they breed freely. They also breed near Watford and other parts of Hertfordshire, while from the Kent centre these owls have colonised a considerable portion of the south-east of England. Ix an article on the seasonal colour-change in birds, pub- lished in the January number of the American Naturalist, Mr. C. W. Beebe states that certain tanagers and bobo- links, which had been prevented from breeding, were kept during autumn in a darkened chamber with a somewhat increased supply of food. The consequence was that the brilliant breeding-plumage was retained throughout the winter. Early in the following spring the birds were re- turned to normal conditions, and speedily moulted. The new plumage was, however, the nuptial dress, and not the dull winter livery, which was skipped. The sequence of plumage-change not, therefore, invariable, but evidently in some degree dependent on external factors in the environment. is Tue faculty of orientating their position, or the sense of direction, is considered by Mr. Beniamin Widd, in the April number of the Century Illustrated Magazine, to be the most remarkable phenomenon in animal instinct. ““This faculty of judging direction seems to bear no rela- tion to the place of the animal in the general scale of intelligence. It is possessed to a considerable degree by dogs and cats, but in a very high degree by se which find their way back year after year to their rookeries from enormous distances in the open sea. It reaches a high degree of perfection in migratory birds not otherwise noted for intelligence. . The turtles which annually visit Ascension Island to deposit their eggs afford another example of the perfection of this instinct. How these reptiles can find this comparatively small speck of land in the midst of a vast ocean is, with our present knowledge, unaccountable.” the food of American In the first of these (from Two pamphlets dealing with birds have just come to hand. the Year-book of the U.S. Agricultural Department for 1906), Mr. W. L. McAtee gives a list of species feeding upon scale-insects, among which those included in the States under the position. name of grosbeaks occupy a prominent According to the second paper, which is by the same author, and forms Bulletin No. 32 of the Bureau of the Biological Survey, the birds last-named are valuable in other respects to the agriculturist and horticulturist. It should be mentioned that in America the scarlet cardinal and other members of the genus Cardinalis are commonly termed grosbeaks, and it is to this group that the remarks APRIL 16, 1908 ] NATURE 565 of the author apply. These birds are much less exclusively vegetarians than other members of the finch tribe, nearly half their food-supply consisting of animal substances. Moreover, the five species discussed in the pamphlet con- sume, on the average, nine times more wild seeds than grain and fruit, while the proportion of noxious to useful insects devoured by them is nineteen to one. Cardinal grosbeaks and their relatives are, therefore (after due allowance is made for certain injuries they inflict), of great economic value to the farmer, by whom they ought to be encouraged and protected. We offer our congratulations and best wishes for a _Successful life to the Transvaal Biological Society, the first meeting of which was held at the Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, on January 17, Dr. Theiler, C.M.G., being in the chair. We are unable to find space for descriptions of the papers read at the opening meeting, but the titles are given among our reports of societies and academies. The honorary secretary and treasurer of the society is Dr. L. H. Gough. Aw account of the sporangium in the Ophioglossacez, contributed by Mr. L. L. Burlingame to the Botanical Gazette (July, 1907), is based on an examination of the middle and later stages of development of the sporangium of Ophioglossum reticulatum. Irregular divisions of the sporogenous tissue, a remarkable difference in the stages of division of the mother cells, and an absence of definite arrangement in the positions of nuclear spindles in adjacent cells, were the chief points brought out in the investiga- tion. A multipolar spindle changing to a tripolar, and subsequently to a bipolar, condition is figured. The development of the sporangia in the three genera Ophio- glossum, Botrychium, and Helminthostachys is collated in tabular form. Dr. H. von Scurenk communicates to the report of the Missouri Garden for 1907 two interesting notes on growth connected with natural injuries to trees. In the one case sycamore buds were caught by the late frosts, with the result that the outer buds on the branches were killed, but the lower buds survived, and there was also a well- marked development of adventitious buds. The second note refers to hollow or button-like branch cankers formed vn shrubs of Rhododendron maximum as a consequence of the slow growth of the healing callus tissue. Mr. H. Hus records his experiments on the germination of Hydrastis canadensis, a sylvestral plant yielding rhizomes that are officinal in certain pharmacopceias. The same author instances a case of virescence in the petals of Oxalis stricta, and mentions that the character was trans- mitted to the second generation. Tue annual report of the botanic station, agricultural school, and experiment plots in Dominica contains also an account of the inception and development of these establishments, and illustrations of local views. In Dominica much attention has been paid to the cultivation of limes; the establishment of a spineless variety of the fruit, and the introduction of the system of manufacturing citrate of lime for export, are expected to improve the industry. The characters of the spineless lime and the qualities of the juice are compared with those of the ordinary variety. Another feature has been the dissemina- tion of the value of budding and grafting; in this con- nection, experiments in grafting cacao are noteworthy; training in these methods forms a part of the curriculum provided at the agricultural station. The manurial ex- periments on cacao plots indicate that various manures may be profitably applied, but the best results were obtained with mulchings of grass and lawn sweepings. NO. 2007, VOL. 77] A REVISED list of the flora of Natal, compiled by Mr. J. M. Wood, has been published in the eighteenth volume (part ii.) of the Transactions of the South African Philo- sophical Society. The preponderance of the order Com- posite is very marked, and is partly due to the numerous species of Helichrysum, Senecio, Berkheya, and Vernonia. The next largest orders are the Graminez and Legu- minose, then the Liliaceze and Orchidacee. The genera Crassula, Indigofera, Royena, Selago, and Mahernia are well represented. The author recognises three botanical regions, and alludes to the palms Hyphaene crinita and Phoenix reclinata, Strelitzia augusta, and the handsome shade tree, Trichilia Dregeana, that grow in the coastal region. In the midlands the hills are grass-clad, and the forests are generally confined to the valleys, where two species of Podocarpus and Ocotea bullata occur. In the uplands, Callitris cupressoides—one of the three conifers indigenous to the country—forms isolated two plants with conspicuous flowers are Ranunculus Coopert Anemone Fanninii, and the well-known Galtonia candicans is found. forests ; and In the Reliquary for April, a noteworthy article is that by Mr. E. D. Goddard on certain fibula of the La Téne type found in Wiltshire, which may be dated about 200 B.c. This is a useful supplement to the discussions on the same subject by General Pitt-Rivers, Prof. Ridgeway, Mr. Reginald Smith, Dr. Arthur Evans, others. The writer traces twenty-six examples found in England, of which Wiltshire and the adjoining counties claim no fewer than twenty—a fact which he thinks may imply a special connection of this part of England with Gaul in the period preceding the Roman invasion. In the same number Mr. J. L. Cowan contributes a well-illustrated article showing the evolution of house building in the Pueblo region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. and Tue Observatory of Rio de Janeiro is doing very useful work in collecting and publishing in its Boletim Mensal series of meteorological observations made at various places in Brazil. In the number for January-March, 1907, which we have recently received, are to be found—in addition to the current tri-hourly observations at the observatory and ten-day means for other stations—monthly and annual summaries referring to several departments for 1906. Monthly and annual rainfall values are also given for Recife (Pernambuco) for fifty-four separate years between 1842 and 1906. A copy has just reached us of the observations made at the Royal Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at Batavia in 1905; the principal change for this year is the omission of the hourly values of atmospheric humidity. In this valuable series of hourly readings the meteor- ological observations date from 1866, the magnetical from 1868; in both of these elements the influence of the moon has been taken into account. The seismometrical observa- tions date from 1898. The present volume includes the results of meteorological observations for 1901-5, and for 1866-1905 ; we also note that a discussion of the rainfall at 700 stations in the archipelago is in the press. Three important appendices accompany the volume; one of these gives a list of magnetic disturbances during 1880-1899 ; some of the statistical results have been published by the Amsterdam Academy. We hope to refer to the others, dealing with meteorological subjects, later on. Tne Survey Department of the Ministry of Finance of Egypt has issued an account of the magnetic observations made in Egypt during the ten years 1895-1905, together with a summary of the observations made previously in northern Africa. According to the charts which embody the 566 NATURE [APRIL 16, 1908 results, the declination at Alexandria has decreased from ° west, and the dip from 47° to 42°, in the last roo years. The lines of equal declination at present run nearly parallel to the Red Sea, where the declination is 2°. At the Victoria Nyanza it is 7°. The lines of equal dip run east and west, the dip being 43° north at Port Said ind 23° south at the Victoria Nyanza. The horizontal force varies from o-30 at Cairo to 0-35 at Aden, and the curves of equal force are not unlike ellipses with their major axes east and west and their centres in the Gulf of Aden. A rarer on “‘ The Possibility of a Topography of the Air, based on Balloon Observations with Special Theo- dolites,’’ by Captain C. H. Ley, appears in the last issue of the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (vol. xxxiv., No. 145). The paper forms a further contribution to the investigation of the upper atmosphere, which now plays so important a part in meteorological work. In all experiments hitherto made to determine the motion of the upper air from the drift of pilot balloons, it has been necessary either to observe the motion of the balloon through two theodolites at either end of a measured base line, or, if only one theodolite was available, to assume a value for the upward velocity of the balloon. In the present experiments only one theodolite was used, and the remaining data necessary for determining ‘Successive positions of the balloon were obtained from measurements of its apparent diameter made with a special arrangement of cross-wires in the eye-piece. Allowance was made for the expansion of the balloon by assuming approximate values for the rate of decrease of tempera- ture and pressure with height, and calculating the volume of the balloon from the usual laws for the expansion of gases. The experimental and other difficul- ties which arise are considerable, and it can hardly be claimed that the author has succeeded in overcoming them completely, but the advantages of a method which dis- 13° to 3 penses with a second theodolite are considerable, and it is | to be hoped that the experiments will be continued. The results obtained go to show that the ascensional velocity of a pilot balloon is far from uniform, as is generally assumed in experiments with only one theodolite. The most striking variations were found to occur as the balloon passed over a ridge of hills. In the vast majority of cases, when this occurred a marked increase in the rate of ascent was observed as the balloon approached the ridge, even though it was at an altitude of several thousand feet above the summit. The increase in the rate of ascent of the halloon is regarded as direct evidence of an increase in the vertical component of the motion of the air in which it floats, so that the topography of the land appears to have a close connection with the vertical motion of the air even up to altitudes of 20,000 feet. Some excellent photographs and drawings of the new Charing Cross Station of the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway are given by Mr. C. S. Lake in L’Ingegneria Ferroviaria of March 16. It is noted that the quantity of steel used in the construction of the 1000 tons. new roof was Ix School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, with 320 students, possesses exceptional environment for mining and tallurgy, and the current issue of the school Bulletin iv., No. 2), published semi-annually by the Technical 1eering Society, affords evidence that excellent the students. Mr. F. H. Cronin yives an outline of the course in steam-power plant design. Mr. D. Hollis and others contribute an admirable paper NO. 2007, VOL. 77] being done by ‘issued in on the electrometallurgical treatment of copper slimes, and Mr. C. D. Test gives an account of the occurrence, pro- duction, and commercial value of monazite. AN important contribution to the knowledge of the economic geology of Peru is afforded by a monograph, by Mr. Enrique I. Duenas, on the mineral resources of the department of the Cuzco, forming Boletin No. 53 of the Corps of Peruvian Mining Engineers. Descriptions are given of the gold washings of the river Nusiniscato, of the nickel and cobalt ore deposits of Vilcabamba, of the Silurian gold veins in Paucartambo, of the oil fields of Pallpata and Pusi, of the Tertiary and Mesozoic coal- fields of the department, of the iron-ore deposits of Chumbivilcas, and of veins of copper sulphide, argent- iferous galena, gold quartz, and stibnite in various parts of the department. The occurrence of mica in pegmatite dykes, of asbestos, of tripoli, and of other non-metallic minerals of economic value is also recorded. Ar the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on March 27, papers were read by Dr. F. J. Brislee on combustion pro- cesses in English locomotive fire-boxes, and by Mr. L. H. Fry on combustion and heat balances in locomotives. Dr. Brislee’s object was to ascertain what percentage of carbonic oxide escaped unburned, and to this end he carried out interesting trials on the London and North-Western Railway. Mr. Fry gave selections from the data pub- lished in ‘‘ Locomotive Tests and Exhibits, Pennsylvania Railroad,’’ at the St. Louis Exhibition, a book which was 1905. Both papers represent a great deal of labour, and the carefully tabulated experimental results will undoubtedly prove of permanent value, although it is doubtful whether either paper is likely to affect loco- motive practice. At the last meeting of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Mr. M. Kahn read a paper on the practical application of reinforced concrete. He ex- pressed the opinion that reinforced concrete was the best form of construction when properly handled, and the worst when improperly handled. Such being the case, it behoves the owner and the architect to ensure that only the best class of contractor is employed on his work. Contractors can only afford to carry out work which will ensure them a fair amount of profit, and if, by the adoption of re- inforced concrete, the owner is saved 10 per cent. of the cost of construction, it is advisable to grant the contractor any extra saving, so as to ensure his giving a construc- tion which will prove satisfactory in every respect. When owners and engineers realise this point, and act accord- ingly, reinforced concrete will then reach that position in the category of structural materials where it justly belongs. Tue preliminary official report on the mineral production of Canada in 1907 shows that the total value of the out- put was 86,183,477 dollars, the largest total ever reached. Compared with the production of the previous year, there are some decreases to record, such, for instance, as in gold and lead, in corundum, felspar, and graphite, but these are more than counterbalanced by large increases in the production of pig iron, silver, asbestos, coal, natural gas, petroleum, and cement. A REPORT on the work and results of the Khatanga Expedition, organised in 1905 by Dr. F. Schmidt, with the cooperation of the Russian Geographical Society, appears in the February number of La Géographie. The work of the expedition divided into three sections—the ex- ploration of the higher course of the Khatanga, and its relations with the tributaries of the Yenisei; the discovery of the main features of the lake region, and the course of was APRIL 16, 1908] NATURE 567 the Moiero; and, finally, the exploration of the extreme north of the Khatanga and Anabar. A map of the Khatanga and its upper branches shows the important additions to geographical knowledge resulting from the expedition, which has proved that the supposed immense lakes of that district do not exist. In addition, geological information of great interest has been obtained, together with important zoological and ethnographic collections. Prof. ARISTIDE FIORENTINO, writing in the Rendiconti of the Lombardy Academy, directs attention to a school-room experiment for showing the absorption of energy by an acoustic resonator. He places the resonator in the neigh- bourhood of a singing flame, and if the two are in unison the vibrations of the flame instantly cease. The author has further used the singing flame as a test for syntonised resonation. Thus he has demonstrated in the case of a gramophone horn that those tones are most readily absorbed which are most strongly reinforced. The failure to take account of this fact is no doubt partly the reason why gramophone reproductions usually represent little more than a caricature of the original music. The same records are habitually snorted out through horns of all sizes and shapes, whereas if the free vibrations of any particular horn were reduced by the absorbing action of similar horns in the manufacture of the records, the results would be much better. Himmel und Erde for March contains the report of a popular lecture on electric transmission of power to great distances, delivered by Prof. H. Gorges, of Dresden, before the Scientific Association of Berlin. The lecturer deals in a clear manner with the generation of electric current by the motion of a conductor through a magnetic field, and shows how the modern dynamo is merely an application of this principle. The generation of the power to drive the machines is also treated, special attention being given to the utilisation of the waste gases from blast furnaces and to water power. Prof. Gérges believes that the greatest future lies open to the simple alternating as distinguished from the triphase current, and instances the recent installation of the Ohlsdorf-Hamburg-Blankenese electric railway as a step in this direction. The pressure in this case is 6000 volts, with 30,000 for transmission to distant portions of the line. Tue London Geological Field Class excursions, con- ducted by Prof. H. G. Seeley, F.R.S., for the study of the Thames Basin, will commence on Saturday, May 9. Mr. J. W. Jarvis, St. Mark's College, Chelsea, S.W., is the honorary secretary. A SECOND edition of the ‘‘ Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington,’’ by Messrs. C. H. V. Tyne and W. G. Leland, has been pub- lished by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The new issue has been revised and enlarged by Mr. W. G. Leland; the usual work of correcting errors, verifying statements, supplementing the bibliographical data, alter- ing classification when required by administrative changes, and bringing the accounts to date, has been performed, and in several cases the text has been much amplified. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. Tue RECENTLY DISCOVERED SATELLITE OF JUPITER.—The observations made at Greenwich of the object near Jupiter, recently discovered by Mr. Melotte, tend to confirm the assumption that this object is in reality a satellite, the eighth of the known Jovian satellites. In the April number of the Observatory (No. 395, p- 177) there appears a note which states that the observed posi- tions, from January 27 to March 23, may be satisfied by NO. 2007, VOL. 77] the assumption that the satellite has a retrograde motion ; the pole of the orbit plane lies in R.A.=334° 48’, N. dec.=56° 44’; distance from Jupiter 0-24 astronomical unit; daily motion about Jupiter, 0°-266. On February 18 it passed the minor axis of the apparent ellipse. The arc yet observed is so small that any solution can only be tentative, but it is hoped that sufficient observational material has been gathered to ensure the re-discovery of the satellite at the next favourable presentation. Mutuat OccuLtaTioNs AND ECLIPSES OF JUPITER’S SaTELLITES.—A partial occultation of Ganymede by Europa was observed by Mr. Whitmell on January 25, the pheno- menon lasting for some fifteen minutes. Prof. Oudeman recently published some ephemerides for occultations to take place in June next, but in No. 395 of the Observa- tory (April, p. 178) there appears a list of times at which occultations will take place during the present month. In the following extract the first Roman figure indicates the eclipsed, the second the eclipsing, satellite :—Aprif Td: tohs rm, Wie, Oly; ir7d) 14hy o7me, Wee 21d. i2h. rom-, EV., U.5) 22d. oh. 4mm., V:) Mi: ged. rth. 27m., I., Il.; 28d. 13h. 29m:, IV., IIT. Tur Transit oF Mercury, NOVEMBER, 1907.—In No. 4238 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (March 9, p. 218) M. Gautier records the results of the observations made, at the Geneva Observatory, of the recent transit of Mercury. Neither the bright outer ring nor the central luminous spot was observed at any time during the transit- Times of the contacts and the positions of Mercury re- ferred to the sun’s limb at different times during the transit are given, and it is recorded that M. Pidoux, using the Plantamour equatorial of 271 mm. aperture, found the apparent diameter of the planet’s disc to be 8"-4, an amount sensibly less than that given by the ephemerides. PaRALLAX OBSERVATIONS.—The results of various parallax observations made by Dr. Karl Bohlin at the Stockholm Observatory appear in No. 4240 of the Astro- nomische Nachrichten (March 23, p. 247). The first object considered is a nebula, G.C. 1532, and the second an adjacent star, Lalande 14512. Their respective parallaxes are —o".036 and —o".058, the Briinnow relative correc- tions for the aberration constant being +0"-186 and +o!-149 respectively, corrections to which Dr. Bohlin directs especial attention on account of their magnitude. The corresponding figures for Bossert 947 (=Lalande 18115) and 61 Cygni are +0"-085 and +0"-363 for the parallaxes, and +0"-102 and +0"-048 for the corrections. ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY WITH PorRTRAIT LENSES.— Some good examples of celestial pictures taken with por- trait lenses are reproduced in No. 187, vol. xlvi., of the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (October-December, 1907, p. 417), in order to illustrate @ paper by Prof. Barnard on the subject of astronomical photography. Prof. Barnard, in the first place, discusses the great advantages accruing from photography in the correct delineation of celestial objects, and then points out the special suitability of the earlier portrait lenses of large aperture for this purpose. This is followed by a discussion of each of the objects shown, including nebulz, star clusters, meteor ‘trails, comets, &c. Most of the pictures were taken with the 10-inch Brashear doublet of the Bruce telescope. THe Harvarp CoLiteGeE Opservatory.—Prof. Picker- ing’s report of the work done at the Harvard College Observatory during the year ended September 30, 1907, is the sixty-second of its series, and contains the usual brief summary of an immense amount of work. With the 11-inch Draper telescope, 356 photographs were secured, making 17,035 in all, and with the 8-inch Draper telescope the taking of 611 photographs brought the total to 34,886. The spectra of 456 stars, taken with the 11-inch instru- ment, were studied and classified by Miss Cannon, thus bringing near to completion a catalogue of the spectra of more than 1200 stars north of declination —30°. 2719 stellar photographs were taken at Arequipa, the total numbers now taken with the 13-inch Boyden and 8-inch Bache telescopes being 11,847 and 38,224 respectively. Other results, too numerous to mention here, are con- tained in the report, and it ‘s announced that to private 568 individuals a nominal charge will in future be made for the Harvard publications. Tue SATURN PERTURBATIONS OF Various ComEts.—An abstract (No. 3) from the Archiv der deutschen Seewarte (vol. XXx., 1907) contains an important mathematical dis- cussion of the perturbations of several comets by Saturn. The first-order perturbations of comets 1889 V., 1896 VI., and 1903 V. (Brooks) are discussed, and the work has been carried out by Dr. Johannes Wendt. THE GAMES OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.* [It has been known that Mr. Ste-vart Culin, formerly of the Free Museum of Science and Art in Philadelphia, and now of the Brooklyn Institute Museum, has for many years. been engaged in a study of the games of the American Indians, and his monograph on the subject has recently been published in the ‘‘ Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.’’ The value of the memoir can partly be judged by the fact that, with the full index, it extends to 846 pages and contains 1112 figures in the text, in addition to twenty-one plates. The Tae memoir itself is practically an_ illus- trated catalogue of specimens in various museums, combined with extracts from numerous _ authors. Students of this interesting and sug- gestive branch of ethnology have now for the first time a mass of data at their disposal, and it is to be hoped that other regions of the world will be treated by equally qualified investi- gators in a _ similarly thorough manner. Some material for such studies occurs scattered in various publications and in unpublished Museum specimens, but more field- work is necessary before anything so complete as Mr. Culin’s monograph can be accomplished. The collection has been confined to games in which implements are employed, but Indian children have many amusements played without accessories which belong to a different category from those described by Mr. Culin. It is to be hoped that these will eventually be studied, as they are of equal interest with the others. The indigenous games of the American Indians, excluding purely children’s games, may be divided into two groups:—(1) games of chance; (2) games of dexterity. Games of pure skill and calculation, such as chess, are entirely absent. In the first group are:—(1) games in which implements of the nature of dice are thrown at random to determine a number or numbers, and the sum of the count is kept by means of sticks, pebbles, &c., or upon a count- ing board; (2) games in which one or more of the players guess in which of two or more places an odd NATURE Fic. 1.—San Carlos Apache Indians playing hoop and pole, Arizona. or specially marked lot is concealed, success or failure | resulting in the gain or loss of counters. In the second group are:—(1) archery in various modifications; (2) a ume of sliding javelins or darts upon the hard ground ice; (3) a game of shooting at a moving target consist- of a netted wheel or a ring; (4) the game of ball in highly specialised forms; (5) the racing games, less related to and complicated with the ball In addition, a few other games are described, \lusion is made to introduced games, such as cards ind board games. ences to games are of common occurrence in the n myths of various North American tribes. They Or ing we yames of the North American Indians.’ By Stewart Culin. Tw ity fourth \nnual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1902-3. Pp. x 346. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1907.) NO. 2007, VOL. 77] [APRIL 16, 1908 usually consist of a description of a series of contests, in which the first man or culture hero overcomes some opponent or foe of the human race. ‘The primal gamblers are the Divine Twins, the miraculous offspring of the Sun, who are the principal personages in many Indian mythologies. They, who are the morning and evening stars, live in the east and the west, ruling day and night, summer and winter. ‘Their virgin mother, who also appears as their sister and wife, is constantly spoken of as their grandmother, and is the Moon or the Earth, the Spider Woman, the embodiment of the feminine principle in nature. Always contending, they are the original patrons of play, and their games are the games now played by men. Mr. Cushing thus described the Twins in his account of the Zuni War Gods :— ““Lo! and of Chance and Fate were they the masters of foredeeming, for they carried the word-painted arrows of destiny, like the regions of men, four in number. And they carried the shuttlecocks of divination, like the regions of men, four in number. And they carried tubes of hidden things . . . and the revealing balls thereof. . . . Yea, and they bore with these other things, the feather bow and plume arrow of far-finding, tipped with the shell of heart- From a photograph by Mr. S. C. Simms. searching ; and the race sticks of swift journeys and way- winning, two of them, the right and the left, the pursuer and the pursued of men in contention. All these things wherewith to divine men’s chance, and play games of hazard, wagering the fate of whole nations on mere pastime, had they with them.” The gaming implements of most North American Indians ‘‘ are almost exclusively derived from these sym- bolic weapons.’’ Thus the stick dice are either arrow- shafts or miniature bows, and a similar origin may be asserted for the two or four bones employed in the hand- guessing game or in the four-stick game. Counting sticks in general and the numerous sticks of the widely spread stick game are arrows. The engraved and painted tubes used in the guessing game are arrow shaftments, and this variant probably arose in a country where strong, hollow reeds were used as arrows. In the games of dexterity we also find bows and arrows, often associated with the netted shield. The snow-snake, or game in which missiles | are hurled along snow, ice, or frozen ground, appears to be confined to the northern range of tribes within the limit of ice and snow; the projectiles are apparently APRIL 16, 1908] NATURE 569 derived from clubs, bows or arrows, and may be referred to the weapons of the twin War Gods. j The opposing players are frequently the representatives of the two War Gods, and gaming implements are among the objects sacrificed upon the altar of the Twins Zuni. In general, games appear to be played ceremonially, as pleasing to the gods, with the object of securing fertility, causing rain, giving and prolonging life, expelling demons, or curing sicknes There is no direct evidence of the employment of games in divination, apart from an observa- tion by Cushing. The game of hoop and pole, like the dice game, was played throughout the entire continent north of Mexico. It consists essentially in throwing a spear or shooting an arrow at a hoop or ring, the counts being determined by the way in which the darts fall with reference to the target. The game is remarkable for the wide diversity in the form of the implements employed, as well as in the method of play. A common and most widely distributed form of the hoop is twined with a network resembling Fic. 2.—Altar of War God, Zuni, New Mexico, with co:n-cob darts used in the ring (or hoop) game. From a phetograph of the reproduction in the United States National Museum. a spider’s web, the counts being determined by the par- ticular holes which are penetrated by the darts. The author regards the plain hoop as a modification of the netted hoop, which represents the net shield of the twin War Gods. This object, which the Twins derived from the Spider Woman, is a feminine symbol, and may be used as an amulet. The dart or arrows are masculine. Dr. G. A. Dorsey, who has studied the symbolism of the ring employed in the Sun dance of the Arapaho, says it is symbolic of the creation of the world, for it represents the sun, earth, sky, water, and wind. Although Mr. Culin states ‘“‘ there is no record of women participating ”’ in this game, it is played, as he himself notes, by Hopi maidens as a part of the prolonged Oraibi Odg6l cere- monies (H. R. Voth, Field Columbian Museum, Anth. Series, vi. [1903], p. 42). Though this cult is largely con- cerned with producing rain, it seems to be essentially a germination ceremony, and probably has reference to the maturation of the maidens. Mr. Culin adduces NO. 2007, VOL. 77] is dead. | alive. other | evidence in support of a fertility significance for this game, but he does not make any special allusion to it. Amongst some tribes the game is mythologically connected with the increase of buffalo; indeed, the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians call it the ‘‘ buffalo game.’’ The game had a religious character among the Apache, and probably this held good everywhere. Probably connected with the foregoing is the widely spread game played by one person which consists of catching a ring, perforated object, or a ball on a peg. Dr. G. A. Dorsey says the Klamath always play it in winter ; it is called ‘‘ splitting or punching out the moon,”’ and in this way the winter months are shortened and the advent of spring is hastened. Ball games are well developed in North America, and Mr. Culin deals with them as fully as possible. The game of cat’s cradle receives some attention, and ious figures are illustrated, but as no instructions are given as to how they are made, much of the information is of little value. Mrs. Jayne’s remarkable book on the subject is not referred to, neither is the magical aspect of the game among certain Eskimo as recorded by Boas on the authority of Captain Comer. The holy spiders taught the game to the Navaho, but calamity would befal if it were played at any other time than winter. The Zuni explain cat’s cradle as the netted shield of the War Gods, the game having been taught to them when little boys by the Spider Woman for their amusement. Owing to the ubiquitous nature of this pastime, it is evident that the Zuni explanation of its origin is purely secondary, and was invented to bring it into their mythological system. We may suspect that the same may have happened for the hoop and pole game, in spite of Mr. Culin’s belief that the oldest forms of existing games occur in the south- western United States. Lack of space precludes due mention of the numerous minor amusements described by the author, though they are of considerable interest. In introducing the memoir, Prof. W. H. Holmes, Chief of the Bureau, states that ‘“‘ the paper practically creates the science of games, and for the first time gives this branch its proper place in the science of man.’’ This eulogy is somewhat exaggerated, as others on this side of the Atlantic have directed attention to the ethnological value of the study of games, and while Mr. Culin has produced a memorable monograph of lasting value, he can hardly be said to have introduced therein any general principles that had not previously been enunciated. A. C. Happon. NERVE AS A MASTER OF MUSCLE.'* E have on the table before us two muscles. The animal was dead when they were taken from it a short while ago. But the animal was, as we are ourselves, an assemblage of organs, and many of these organs go on living for a certain time after the animal, as an animal, Hence these muscles, carefully removed, are still We notice a marked difference between their behaviour now. To understand the behaviour of organisms we have to think of them as processes rather than as structures. An animal is something happening. The function of muscles is to contract. Of the two muscles now before us, one still goes on contracting, although quite isolated from the body of which it formed a part; but the other does not contract, although that is its function in the body. The muscle which still goes on contracting is the heart; the other is a muscle like the biceps of our own arm. We might think that, as it rests there motion- less, it is not alive. It is, however, fully alive. We can satisfy ourselves of that. If I apply to it a faint electric current, it answers by exhibiting its functional activity— it contracts. Yet it does not contract of itself, nor will it, however long we may preserve it; it will die without of itself even contracting once. What is the significance of this difference between the two? The secret of this difference is largely an affair of the nervous system. The tie between muscular activity and nervous activity is always close; but it is very different in - eee delivered at the Royal Institution by Prof. C, S. Sherrington, 570 NATURE [APRIL 16, 1908 different muscles. The nervous system has been called, with a picturesque truth, the master-system of the body. It controls the action of organs; it controls, quite especially, the activity of the muscles. This heart which we see beating here receives nerves. One of those nerves when stimulated will cause it to contract less, the other to contract more. The contraction of the heart is its “beat.’’ The vagus nerve slows the beating, the other nerve guickens the beating. The heart is a tubular muscle ;- it drives blood through itself. When it contracts it squeezes the blood from it into the arteries, and so the blood flows to feed all the myriads of minute lives—cells—composing the whole com- plex living animal. The lives of these myriad minute entities all depend on their supply of blood, and therefore the life of the whole creature depends on the contraction of the heart. At each beat the heart by squeezing the Dlood out of its arterial end maintains the flow of blood, and this flow resulting from its own contraction refills it, because the blood returns to it by the veins. This beating is all which the heart has to do. What- «ver happens it must continue to do this, or the creature perishes. Life-long, night and day, winter and summer, it must do this. Whatever act the creature may be accomplishing, sitting, walking, feeding, sleeping, catch- ing its prey, or escaping its enemies, this beating must go on, in the frog about ten times a minute, in ourselves about seventy times a minute. The task is monotony itself. How admirably is the heart muscle adapted to fulfil it! Self-adjustment to meet the environmental conditions differentiates animate from inanimate nature. As characteristic as this self-adjustment itself is its constant trend toward what has sometimes been termed ‘ pur- pose.’’ Animate objects are observed to adjust themselves to their own advantage, that is, so as to prolong their individual existence or that of their species. The more we know of them the more complete appears to us this trend in their reactions. The living organism advantage- ously adapts itself to its surroundings; and every part of a living organism exhibits this power. The _heart- muscle reveals it clearly. It must not tire, and in normal circumstances the healthy heart, unlike other muscles, shows no fatigue. Its beat must always be strong enough to press its contents over into the artery against consider- able resistance which opposes it. A heart-beat which did not expel the blood would be useless, worse than useless, wasteful, because it would be energy spent in vain. Its task can be roughly likened to that of a man with a bucket who has to keep lifting water from a tank at his feet to pour it over a wall of certain height before him. If he lift the bucket much above the wall he expends more energy than he need do; if he lift it less than the wall’s height his work fails altogether. If he still, when the bucket is emptied, keep it above the wall’s height, his work stops, although his effort does not. The heart, whether its stimulus be weak or strong, beats always with sufficient power; it thus avoids the useless labour of a beat too weak to fulfil the office of a beat. If the heart were to give too prolonged contraction it would defeat its own purpose ; after its beat, which empties it of blood, it must relax to refill for the next beat: to ‘keep contracted would be for its purpose as harmful as to cease from beating; it would stop the blood instead of pumping it onward. In harmony with this, we find a prolonged stimulus to the heart does not keep the heart contracted; after the heart has replied to the stimulus by a beat it exhibits a refractory phase, during which it pays no attention to the further stimulation, and relaxes; and only after it has fully relaxed does it again pay attention to the stimulus and contract, that is to say, beat again. In short, it replies rhythmically to a continued stimulus which would keep the other muscle continuously contracted. fhat the heart should go on beating after removal from the body does not seem greatly surprising, because it is sul then alive. The wonder lies rather in its continuing to live so long when thus removed; that granted, it seems anal that it should do what it has done previously all ils life. : 2 - | = . . . . . But this oth r muscle, which likewise continues to live when removed from the body ; it, though it can contract, NO. 2007, VOL. 77 «J does not. Tnat seems—at least at first sight—the more remarkable. Why does this muscle stop? So long as it was part of the living creature it showed contraction over and over again. We must turn to the nervous system for our answer. In the first place let us note that an animal, unlike that other great example of life, a plant, cannot nourish itself from naked earth and air alone. The plant strikes down roots and throws up leaves, and draws through these material and energy with which it can replenish its own substance and activities. Where it as a seed fell, there its foster-moster Earth gives it the food it wants. Not so the animal. It must have subtler and rarer stuffs, or die. The material it needs is not spread so broadcast. It, to replenish itself, must have more special material; it must have for food material that is living, or has lived. To obtain this it has to range about. It has to hunt for it; and it itself is hunted by other animals following the same quest. Therefore its very existence involves locomo- tion. It must find food and seize it, and must itself escape being found and seized. It is both hunter and hunted. Moreover, in a vast number of cases it has to seek its kind to propagate its species. The movement necessary in this great game of life is million-sided—subtle beyond words—and most animal lives are spent in nothing else. Existence for the individual and the race depends upon success in it. Man plays it also—let us hope that sometimes he plays something else as well. In all cases the chief instruments of the game are the skeletal muscles, those muscles of which the biceps of our arm may stand as type. An old philosophic adage has it that all which mankind can effect is to move things. The dictum illus- trates how supremely chief an executant of man’s activity his muscles are. All the things which man can move are moved in the first instance by that prime thing which he can move, his body; and for this his main agents are his skeletal muscles. These execute his movements, but in doing so are but the instruments of his nervous system. Therefore it is in reality the nervous system which is the player of the game; and it is because it is really the nervous system which is the player of the game that man is the most successful creature on earth’s surface at the present epoch, for his is the nervous system which, on the whole, is the most developed, much best adapted to dominate the environment. To understand a little how the nervous system compasses this end we may turn to examine its performance in some of its simpler governing of the muscles. Its main office is to react to changes in the environment. The’ animal body is provided with a number of organs specially attuned to react to changes in the environment. These changes, in so far as they excite these organs, are termed stimuli. Thus, it has organs stimulated by the radiant energy of light and heat, others by chemical particles drifting from odorous objects, others mechanically by objects touching the skin, and so on. ‘These organs, specially adapted to environmental stimuli, are called receptors. Attached to them are nerves. Through these the excitement set up in the receptor by a stimulus spreads to the general nervous system. Arrived there, two kinds of effect ensue from it—one, a change in nerve-cells innervating muscles and glands, the other, a change in consciousness on the basis of sensation. These two effects are separable. The former, or “‘ reflex’’ reaction, is not necessarily accompanied by any manifestation of the latter, though it may be so, and very often is so. We will confine ourselves to the former, or purely reflex effect, and to its operation on muscle. The endowment with receptor organs is not equally rich in all parts of the body. It is the external surface of the animal which, as we might expect, has them in richest profusion; and the receptors of the external surface are likewise those most developed, specialised, and sensitive. This also we might expect; for it is the external surface that for countless ages has felt the influences of the illimit- able outside world playing on it. Through refinement of the receptors of its outer surface the animal has been rendered sensitive in many cases to stimuli delivered even by the remotest stars. It is a feature of receptors generally that they react most to their agent when the intensity of that agent APRIL 16, 1928] NATURE 571 changes, and the more so the more abrupt the change. It is, therefore, changes in the outside world that operate especially as stimuli, though, of course, only changes which have relation to the animal in question. If we regard the mutual relation between the animal and the world at any moment as an equilibrium, then we can say that any change in the world which changes that relation disturbs the equilibrium. Take the instance of a child asleep. A thousand agencies of the external world are playing upon it. Upon its skin, for instance, there is the pressure of the child’s own weight against the receptors, and there is the pressure of the clothes which cover it; yet it lies restful. Suppose we touch its foot. That is a change in the external world in relation to the child. The familiar fact is that the foot is drawn up out of harm’s way, as it were. The change has acted upon the child as a stimulus to some receptors of the skin. It may be quite unconscious of the touch, for its sleep may be deep. Yet the reflex action has occurred, and has done the appropriate thing. A candle may be brought into the room and its light reach the face of the child. That is a change in the outside world in relation to the child. The familiar fact is that the child’s head turns from the light. It sees no lignt, but reflex action averts its face. Or, turning to other forms of life, take a fish quiet in its aquarium. A worm is dropped into the water, and the disturbance of the water reaches the surface of the fish. The fish turns and seizes the morsel. Such a reaction on the part of such a creature is probably wholly reflex. The point for us here is, that the changes in the outside world which act as stimuli bring about appropriate re- adjustments of the body to the external world, and that in doing so the instruments of readjustment are the skeletal muscles, worked by the nervous system. The child’s heart goes on beating, whether the child’s foot lies quiet or is moved, whether its face lies this way or lies that; the fish’s heart whether the animal’s skin was stimulated by fresh commotion in the water, or was not. But with the skeletal muscles it was different. Flexor muscles of the leg, that were relaxed, are by the touch to the foot thrown into action; muscles which lay relaxed were, when the light came, caused to contract, turning the head away. Muscles of the fish that were inactive were thrown into activity by the new commotion in the water. It is these skeletal muscles, therefore, that the daily thousand changes of the external world so repeatedly and constantly affect in this way or that, and in reflex action it is always the receptors and the nervous system which impel them to react; and the result is to re-adjust advantageously to the animal its relation to the altering external world. Hence these muscles are called the muscles of external relation. So prominent are these muscles in the everyday work of life that they are the muscles of ordinary parlance. The man in the street is hardly aware that he has in his body any other muscles. These muscles are, through the nervous system, driven by the external world. The world outside drives them by acting on the receptors. It is not surprising, therefore, that this little muscle, removed from the body, and there- fore separated from the nervous system and all its re- ceptors, remains, although still living and able to contract, as functionally inactive—for contraction is its function, and it does not contract—as if it were already dead. Now this muscle, when in the body, was the servant of a thousand masters. It had to contribute to a thousand acts. In a certain sense, it, like the heart, had to do for them all but one thing, inasmuch as it had to pull the limb in one certain direction; and yet its task is a very varied one. It has to pull the limb sometimes far, some- times very slightly, or through all intermediate grades. It has to pull it strongly against great resistance, or weakly, and with all intermediate grades of intensity. We May suppose that in the course of evolution it had become adapted to this scope of purpose. And indeed we find it so. Unlike the heart muscle, this muscle when a strong stimulus is applied contracts strongly, when a weak stimulus, weakly; under a long stimulus it contracts long, under a brief, briefly. The nervous system, in making use of this muscle, wants of it just such varied action as this—now weak, now strong, NO. 2007, VOL. 77] now briet, now long, as may be suited to the act required. The little organ is admirably adapted to be the animal’s instrument in the world in which it is placed. This muscle has its place in the economy of nature, and into it it fits as a key into the lock for which it has been made. Man’s. naive view, until somewhat recently, was that the earth and the universe were made to fit him. Was the universe made to suit this little muscle or was this little muscle made to suit the universe? The problem concerning this. muscle and that concerning man are, in so far, the same. Surely our answer is that the muscle and the rest of the universe fit each other because they have grown up together —because they are part of one great whole; they fit just as a lock and key fit because they compose one thing, and it is pointless to ask whether the lock was made to: fit the key or the key the lock. The office of the nervous system is to coordinate the activities of the various organs of the body, so that by harmonious arrangement the power and delicacy of the animal’s mechanism may be obtained to the full. When reflex action withdraws the foot of a sleeping child, it is. not merely one such muscle as this which moves the limb, but many. The limb has many muscles, and even in such a simple act many and many of them are employed. That the act occurs during sleep shows that conscious- ness is not its necessary adjunct. A similar act can be similarly evoked -in an animal when the brain—the seat of consciousness—has been removed. The brain can be removed under deep narcosis of chloroform without any pain or feeling whatsoever. After that removal the animal is no longer a sentient or conscious thing at all. Then we can study in it the power of reflex action sundered from conscient and sentient life altogether. Then it is that opportunity is given for further reverent analysis of those wonderful and subtle workings of the nervous system which in ourselves are so difficult to unravel for the very reason that their working goes on without appeal to, and often beyond access of, the conscious self. When analysing the muscular action of even so simple a reflex act as that of drawing up the foot, a fact which early meets the observer is that the nervous system treats whole, groufs of muscles as single mechanisms. In lifting the limb it employs together muscles, not only of one joint of the limb, but of all the joints—knee, hip, ankle, &c. It deals with all these muscles as if they were but one single machine. If the movement is forcible, it throws them all into strong contraction; if weak, into weak. In the grading of the reflex action its influence is graded in all these muscles alike. So also the contraction in all of them is timed to begin together, to culminate together, and to desist together. Further, although the movement of this lifting of the limb is mainly flexion at its joints, the reflex accomplishes along with that some _ internal rotation of the hip and some abduction of the thigh. Why it should do so we shall see presently. Suffice us for the present that, besides the flexor muscles, the nervous system brings into play, at the same time and harmoniously with those, two other great groups of muscles, the internal rotators and the abductors. So per- fect is its skill in using the muscles as its instruments that it can deal harmoniously and simultaneously with all these individually complex groups of motor organs as though they were but one. Were we to attempt to produce this movement in the limb experimentally without employing its nervous system, we should have to apply I know not how many stimuli simultaneously to more than half the muscles of the limb- Not only that, but we should have to grade the stimulation of each of these most accurately to a particular strength. We should also have to arrange that, not only did each stimulus develop its full strength with the right speed, but that each should maintain it for the appropriate time and desist at the right speed and moment, and with pro- portioned intensity. Moreover, in the real reflex act the contraction of this or that muscle is now stressed, now subdued, with a delicacy and accuracy baffling all experi- mental imitation. The coordination in even the simple reflex we are considering may be likened to that exhibited’ by a vast assemblage of instruments in very perfect orchestration directed by a supremely capable conductor. But it is more subtle and delicate than that, even in 5/2 NATURE [APRIL 16, 1908 the simple reflex we are considering. The coordination goes much farther than we have yet assumed. The musculature of the limb is an instance of that kind of musculature which obtains where parts are adapted to move, not in one direction only or one way only, but in many. The limb has to do many different things. It has, according to circumstances, to bend or to straighten, to turn inwards at one time, at another to turn outwards, to move this finger or move that. Its musculature is therefore split up into many different muscles—some doing this, some doing that. Hence it comes that in the limb are muscles which when they contract do with the limb exactly opposite things. Thus we find a set of muscles which bend the knee, and another which straighten the knee; so, similarly, at hip and ankle, at elbow, shoulder, and wrist. These muscles of opposed action are called antagonists. Now in the flexion reflex—the reflex we are considering—when the reflex bends the knee by causing the flexor muscles to contract, what happens with regard to the muscles which straighten the knee? Do the opponents, the muscles which straighten the knee, con- tract, or does the reflex nervous influence leave these muscles untouched? It used to be taught that the muscles which straighten the knee, the extensor muscles, contract, and by their contraction exert a moderating influence on the muscles which execute the flexion. That was the anatomical speculation deduced from simple dissection of the musculature of the dead limb. Experiment with the living limb teaches that nature does not expend her muscular energy in using the power of one muscle simply to curb the power of another. When the knee is: bent the reflex act does not hamper the working of the flexor muscles by causing a contraction of the extensors also. Nor does it simply leave the extensors out of account. No; it causes them to relax and lengthen at the same time as it causes the flexor muscles to contract and shorten. This it does by reflex inhibition; and it proportions the grade of this relaxation exactly to the grade of contraction of the opponent muscles. ; The inhibition acts, not on the muscle directly, but on the motor nerve-cells innervating the muscle. These nerve- cells are Jong filaments; one end of each lies in the muscle, the other in the spinal cord. The reflex inhibition is exercised upon them at the end which lies in the spinal cord. In the reflex we are considering, the reflex action, besides exciting the motor nerve-cells of the three muscle groups—flexors, abductors, and internal rotators—before mentioned, inhibits the motor nerve-cells of three muscle groups antagonistic to those, namely, the extensors, the abductors, and external rotators. We see, therefore, that in even the simple reflex lifting of the foot, almost every one of the many muscles composing the whole musculature of the limb receives from the nervous system a controlling influence, either of excitation to contract or of inhibition which relaxes contraction; and all this in result of a simple touch of the skin of the foot. The reaction typifies in a simple manner the action of the nervous system to knit the heterogeneous powers of the body together into one harmonious whole. Thus we see that in these actions when one group of muscles contracts the group antagonistic to it relaxes. This is a fundamental part of the coordination of the act, and its discovery throws a welcome light on the nature of certain maladies. Were the antagonistic group to con- tract at the same time as the protagonist, the desired movement would not result. The movement which then ensued would depend on which of the two muscle groups were the stronger, the protagonist or the antagonist. The alkaloid strychnine and the poison produced by the bacilli which cause the malady called ““lock-iaw ’’ possess the of destroying reflex inhibition. What the intricate of the process of this inhibition is we do not yet but it seems to be the exact converse of the process tation, the nature of which is also unknown. N hnine and tetanus-toxin change the process of inhibi- tion into its converse, namely, excitation. If a minute strychnine be administered, the reflex which, as causes the limb to bend, now causes the limb to nature igs ie n instead. This is because the extensors, when { Hexors contract, instead of being relaxed by inhibition, are excited to contraction, and being more powerful than NO. 2007, VOL. 97 the flexors move the limb in exactly the opposite direction to that in which it should move in this reflex action. Similarly with the toxin of ‘‘ lock-jaw.’’ The muscles which close the jaws are much more powerful than those which open them. In the normal act of opening the mouth the relatively feeble opening muscles contract, and the powerful closing muscles are simultaneously relaxed by reflex inhibition. But in an animal or man poisoned with this toxin the normal inhibition of the closing muscles is changed to the exactly opposite process of excitation, so that their contraction results. Against the power of these strong closing muscles the contraction of the weak open- ing muscles can effect little. Each time, therefore, that the sufferer tries to open his jaws to take food or speak, he clenches his jaws instead of opening them—experiencing a torture which, although unaccompanied by physical pain, is inexpressibly distressing ; and the disorder leads to death from inanition. But to return to the reflex lifting of the leg, whence we set out. It was mentioned that in this reflex the limb was not merely lifted, but was slightly rotated inwards at the hip, and that the thigh was slightly abducted, that is to say, drawn sideways, separating it more from the fellow-limb of the opposite. These accessory movements have a significance coinciding with much other evidence into which we have not time to enter now. They, together with other evidence, show that this lifting of the leg, so easily produced reflexly, is nothing more nor less than the first movement of the taking of a step. In fact, in our rough and imperfect analysis of this little movement, we have been examining part of the great and extra- ordinarily complex and perfect act which is called walk- ing—or more technically, so as to include the cognate acts of trotting and running—locomotion. A little re- flection will suffice to assure you that included.in the action of locomotion is also that of standing. We are apt to forget that the muscles have a static as well as a Kinetic action—that they are the instruments of maintain- ing position, as well as of the execution of movements. Directly we begin to analyse locomotion we see that its basis, as it were, is the position of standing, upon which movements of stepping are, as it were, grafted. Not much is known as yet of how animals and ourselves stand, walk, and run. In these acts, probably, every skeletal muscle in the whole body is concerned. Rheumatism can make us aware of that. A little receptor organ in the ear is a great factor in the whole matter. But of this we may be sure, that foremost in its factors are reflex actions of the limbs. Great economic questions are in- volved in this unravelling of the act of locomotion—all beasts of draught and burden are chiefly useful to us because they can stand, and walk, and run. We can only employ their powers to full advantage and with due regard to them as they unfold these powers when we shall have learnt something of the way in which these move- ments are conducted and performed. The crude and imperfect analysis which I have attempted to outline concerned but one phase of the step of a single limb. In the complete act the other limbs will at the same time be executing other phases of the whole cyclic reflex. The neck and trunk are also involved; so, likewise, the head itself. Our imperfect analysis threw sidelights on the nature of the mischief wrought by strychnine-poisoning and the malady ‘‘ lock-jaw.’’ Interesting and _ useful though these sidelights may be, more really interesting and valuable would be any light which such analysis, crude as it is, could throw on that great normal process of every- day health, animal (including human) locomotion. Analysis of the reflex movement in unconscious animals seems at the present time the only way by which such knowledge can be gained. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CampripGe.—Lord Rayleigh was on April 10 unanimously elected Chancellor of the University in succession to the late Duke of Devonshire. It is expected that the inaugura- tion and the installation of the new Chancellor will tale place during the May term. APRIL 16, 1908] NATURE 573 EpinsuRGH.—At the spring graduation ceremony on April 10, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon several guests in recognition of scientific wo-s. Sir Ludovic Grant, dean of the faculty of law, in presenting these recipients of the degree, made the following references to their achievements in the field of science :-— Dr. J. O. ArFLECK.—Whether regard be had to Dr. Affleck’s work as a teacher, or to his scientific contribu- tions to medical literature, or to his eminence as a physician and his services in the practice of his profession, he is equally deserving of recognition at the hands of his old Alma Mater. Almost from the time that he graduated, Dr. Affleck has been an indefatigable writer. Indeed, the great bulk of the medical articles in the ninth edition of the *‘ Encyclopedia Britannica ’’ are from his pen. These, and his other papers, form together a veritable store- house of scientific information. Dr. Ricnarp Caton, Lord Mayor of Liverpool.—Dr. Caton was one of the band of devoted labourers whose strenuous exertions were instrumental in calling into existence the University of Liverpool, and he himself dis- charged the duties of professor of physiology for many years with conspicuous success. With his scientific attain- ments Dr. Caton combines the accomplishments of the scholar and the zest of the archeologist. His lectures— embodying the fruits of visits to Greece and the Greek colonies—on the Greek and Egyptian gods of medicine throw a flood of light on the medical and sanitary aspects of the ancient world. Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S.—The fairy-book of science contains no more fascinating and marvellous pages than those contributed by the illustrious astronomer whose name has been so long a household word amongst us. It is to his spectroscopic researches that the present generation is largely indebted for its knowledge of the material constituents of the sun and of the stars. He it is who, simultaneously with the French astronomer Janssen, devised a means of studying the luminous atmo- sphere surrounding the sun, and those gigantic flames which previously could only be observed in the brief moments of a solar eclipse. He it is who first detected helium in the sun before this element had been discovered on the earth, while his investigations into the sun’s spots and corona are of the highest importance in solar physics. It is worthy of mention that he has acted as the leader of more eclipse expeditions than any contemporary astro- nomer. The stars, too, have yielded to him their secrets not less obediently than the sun. By means of the com- parative study of stellar spectra, he has drawn up a classification of the celestial bodies according to their temperatures and the order of their evolution, which must be reckoned as not the least noteworthy of the achieve- ments of modern science. The great subject of “ orienta- tion’? has also engaged Sir Norman Lockyer’s attention. He has examined the monuments at Stonehenge and else- where, in their relation to astronomical phenomena, a work which is of great value as serving to fix the dates of their erection. The cause of scientific education generally has had no more ardent and eloquent advocate than Sir Norman Lockyer, and, as editor of Nature and as founder of the British Science Guild, he has done as much as any man living for the diffusion throughout the country of the scientific spirit. The University is sensible that it is doing honour to itself in adding Sir Norman Lockyer’s name to its roll of honorary graduates. M. E. C. M. Senart, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Membre de l'Institut, Paris.—The literature of ancient India has been handled in modern Europe by no scholar of tore exclusive erudition or more splendid attainments than by M. Senart. He first attracted the attention of the learned world by the publication, some thirtv years ago, ot his ‘* Essay on the Legend of Buddha.’’ Then followed the volumes on the ‘‘ Inscriptions of Asoka,’ and a highly popular and instructive work on the Indian castes. Of his subsequent writings, none better exemplifies the remarkable range and accuracy of his scholarship than his edition of the famous Kharoshthi MS. of the Dhamma- _ pada, which was recovered from Central Asia by a French mission, while his monumental translation of the Maha- ‘vastu is sufficient by itself to place him in the highest NO. 2007, VOL. 77] rank of philologists. His long series of publications, viewed as a whole, possess an importance which cannot easily be exaggerated, alike from the point of view of history, of philology, and of archeology. M. Senart’s achievements have received honorary recognition through- out the civilised world, and it is gratifying to relate that his influence has been instrumental in raising up in France a distinguished school of Orientalists, who, it may be hoped, will continue to carry on his work. The degree was also conferred in absentia on RaMKRISHNA GopaL BuHANDARKAR, C.I.E., lately professor of Oriental languages, Deccan College, Poona. Prof. Bhandarkar is famed as a Sanskritist throughout the length and breadth of British India. His learned labours have extended over many years, and have been productive of a rich and valuable harvest of exegetical editions of Sanskrit works. These are chiefly remarkable in that they exhibit all that is best in the methods of interpretation traditional in India in combination with the critical scholar- ship of modern times. Prof. Bhandarkar has also devoted himself to the study of history and antiquities. He is the author of an admirable “‘ History of the Deccan’ and of numerous archaeological essays. MancuesteR.—The University kite station at Glossop Moor has now been equipped with a plant for the genera- tion of hydrogen gas for use in work with captive and free balloons. Captain Ley has taken up residence on the moor in order to continue and extend his investigations for the study of the higher air currents by means of free | balloons. In the new Ministry formed by Mr. Asquith in conse- quence of the retirement of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman from the office of Prime Minister, Mr. W. Runciman has succeeded Mr. R. McKenna as President of the Board of Education, and Mr. McKinnon Wood has succeeded Mr. T. Lough as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board. To the April number of Science Progress Prof. H. E. Armstrong contributes a vigorous article on the reform of the medical curriculum, in which he replies to Dr. Wade’s remarks on a previous paper dealing with the same subject. The article covers a wide field, and is by no means confined to the question of medical education, as it deals with the broader issue of university education in general. In particular, the position of affairs within the University of London—the opposition existing between the external graduates and the internal schools, which has culminated in the formation of two representative bodies, the Graduates’ Union and the Graduates’ Association— calls for comment. A strong plea is urged for extending the internal system so as to allow each of the larger colleges to organise its own scheme of education for the final degrees according to the particular work it has to accomplish, without being hampered by external control through examination. Such a scheme is considered as by no means likely to lower the standard of the degree, but to tend in the opposite direction by making the education imparted more real and effective. Srr Wittram H. Preece, K.C.B., F.R.S., read a paper on technical education in America before the Royal Society of Arts on April 8. Referring to the munificent gifts made by American millionaires to assist educational development in the States, he directed attention to the fact that the distribution of wealth is much a matter of fashion. In 1906, in London alone more than ten millions sterling were bequeathed for various purposes, but of this only 123,778l. was allocated to education. The total amount bequeathed over the whole country must have exceeded fifty millions sterling, and of this probably only 1 per cent. was devoted to education. Speaking of American employers of industry, it was pointed out in the paper that they fully recognise the advantage of technical attain- ments in their employees, they encourage research, they equip their own laboratories, and they support college and university by financial help, and by the gift of machinery. In America, said Sir William Preece towards the close of his remarks, all are working on_ fixed methodical lines, and gradually a national coordinated | system will be evolved which will make the United States 574 the best secularly educated country in the world, and their education policy thoroughly organised. An interesting comparison of examination statistics in 1906 with those in 1899 is made by Mr. G. F. Daniell in The School World for April. Dealing with the results of the matriculation examination of the London University, the article shows that, whereas in 1899, out of 1250 candi- dates, 842 selected a language and 402 a science “‘ option,”’ 3140 chose a linguistic and 2962 a scientific subject out of a total of 3253 in 1906. In the senior local examinations held by the Cambridge University, the stunted condition of the scientific side shown by the 1899 statistics gives place in 1906 to a more reasonable balance of science and the humanities, and, in the aggregate, the statistics of the junior examination show that science subjects are now receiving fair attention in secondary schools in general. Apparently, however, this cannot be said of the great public schools. Referring to the statistics published by the Oxford and Cambridge Schools’ Examination Board, which examines pupils from public and high schools, Mr. Daniell remarks that out of 1027 candidates for the lower certifi- cate of this Board, a total of thirty-four passes in the first class was obtained in the science subjects—of these .thirty-four, no fewer than half were in botany, the successful candidates being mostly girls. Among some 2200 candidates for the higher certificate, eighty-three distinctions were obtained in science. It is justly pointed out that “‘ this grudging admission of the claims of experi- mental science does not satisfy anyone who has realised the importance of educating the nation, especially the upper and middle classes, so that the future may find us not wanting in'men of scientific intelligence.”’ SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, February 14, 1907.—‘* The Thermomagnetic Analysis of Meteoric and Artificial Nickel-iron Alloys.’ By S. W. J. Smith. Communicated by Sir A. W. Riicker, BEReS: . As the result of purely magnetic researches, the author comes to the conclusion that a typical octahedral meteorite (containing about 7 per cent. Ni and about 93 per cent. Fe, and exhibiting very regular Widmanstatten figures) consists mainly of an alloy of the two constituents con- taining about 6} per cent. Ni. This alloy is kamacite. The thin intervening bands of more nickeliferous material (taenite) are shown in the same way to contain about 27 per cent. Ni, but, further, to be a mixture of nickel- richer and nickel-poorer constituents. The view most commonly accepted hitherto, as the result of many careful chemical analyses, has been that taenite contains at least 36 per cent. Ni. A critical examination of these analyses shows, however, that they are in accord with the more certain conclusion derived from thermo- magnetic data. In the investigation of a problem of this kind chemical methods lead to ambiguous results, because it is impossible to isolate (from a material like meteoric iron) the secondary constituent (taenite) chemically without fear of partial solution. On the other hand, the taenite can be studied in situ by means of the change of its magnetic properties with temperature, because these properties vary in a markedly different way from those of ‘the main con- stituent kamacite. Thus it can be shown that its proper- ties correspond with those of the artificial 27 per cent. alloy, just as those of the kamacite correspond with those of the artificial 63 per cent. alloy. The inference from the experiments that taenite is a eutectic mixture (of coarser structure originally than the artificial 27 per cent. alloy, which is proved also to be a mixture) is shown to be in accord with all that is known concerning nickel-iron alloys, and to afford an adequate conception of the way in which the characteristic structure of meteoric iron has arisen. The behaviour of ‘irreversible *? nickel-iron alloys during changes of temperature is shown also to be closely NO. 2007, VOL. 77] NATURE [APRIL 16, 190 analogous to the behaviour of the metastable and labile fluid solutions studied by Prof. Miers. An explanation is given of the important fact that an artificial nickel-iron alloy containing about 27 per cent. Ni is a ‘‘ magnetic invar,’’ of which the magnetic quality remains practically constant over a range of about 300° C. after the alloy has been cooled to the temperature of liquid alr. Further development of the thermomagnetic method is to be looked for in cases in which chemical and micro- graphic methods either fail to remove ambiguity or are inapplicable; meanwhile, if the interpretation of the thermomagnetic data considered is held to be established, a good many doubtful points in the relationship between iron and nickel #@ their alloys have been made clear. January 23, 1908.—* Dietetics in Tuberculosis : Principles and Economics.’’ By Dr. N. D. Bardswell and J. E. Chapman. Communicated by Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, KiGs8;, F.R.S. February 13.—‘ The Decomposition of Ozone by Heat.” By Prof. E. P. Perman and R. H. Greaves. Com- municated by Principal E. H. Griffiths, F.R.S. The rate of decomposition of ozone has been measured under various conditions, with the following results :— (1) In a glass vessel the reaction is approximately of the second order. : (2) The relation between the rate of decomposition and temperature may be expressed by the formula log k=a+bt. (3) The rate of decomposition is very largely influenced by the extent of the surface with which the ozone is in contact. (4) The reaction is of the first order when the ozone is in contact with a porous substance (clay-pipe stems) or some oxides. (5) Metallic surfaces have but little effect on the de- composition. (6) Water vapour accelerates the decomposition, and the acceleration is proportional to the amount present. (7) Nitric oxide greatly accelerates the decomposition. (8) The rate of decomposition is a linear function of thet oxygen pressure. A greater effect is produced by diluting with nitrogen than by simply reducing the pressure of the oxygen. (9) At reversible. (10) Finally, the decomposition appears to take place mainly (if not entirely) at the surfaces with which the ozone is in contact, and pressure measurements give no indication of the number of molecules reacting. oO 100° the reaction appears to be very slightly Mineralogical Society, March 17.—Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The occurrence of. meta- morphic minerals in calcareous rocks in the Bodmin and Camelford areas: G. Barrow and H. H. Thomas. The pneumatolytic action is not contemporaneous with the thermo-metamorphism produced by granite intrusions ; the gaseous intrusions are later, and often produce their greatest effect beyond the zone of ‘‘ contact action.*’ The species of mineral produced depends on the nature of the rock penetrated by the gases. In killas, tourmaline is commonly produced, but in calcareous rocks, axinite and a variety of other minerals result from the pneumatolysis. In the Bodmin area the minerals formed by pneumatolytic action in the calc-flintas are axinite, hedenbergite, epidote, yellow garnet, actinolite, and another amphibole occurring in minute dark-brown needles. In the Camelford area the minerals are mainly due to contact metamorphism. The most conspicuous are yellow garnet, epidote, and idocrase, a mineral which has not hitherto been recorded from Corn- wall.—A protractor for use in constructing stereographic and gnomonic projections: A. Hutchinson, A short: historical account was given of the stereographic projec-| tion, and a protractor designed to facilitate its construc- tion was shown. By the aid of this protractor the radii of both great circles and small circles can be readily determined. of the gnomonic projection, and to measuring the angles between planes and zones.—Supplementary notes on the | | It can also be applied to the “the anal ' | APRIL 16, 1908] mineral kaolinite: A. B. Diek. Further observations on the optical characters of kaolinite from Anglesea lead to some alterations in the data given in a previous paper. The refractive index is about 1-563 for sodium light, and the optic axia! angle, 2V, is about 68° instead of 90°. The double refraction is very low. Kaolinite from limestone at Hambleton Quarry, Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, and from sandstone near Newcastle-on-ITyne were described.—An attachment to the goniometer for the measurement of complex lamellated crystals: H. L. Bowman. The apparatus, consisting of a small screen pierced by a pin- hole, can be attached to a goniometer, and is capable of adjustment so that minute portions of a crystal face can be successively illuminated.—A new form of quartz-wedge, a modification of the Wright-wedge: J. W. Evans. A quartz-wedge cut parallel to ¢ is placed over a gypsum- plate parallel to @ showing red of the first order, and extending beyond the thin end of the wedge, so that the projecting portions can be used as an ordinary gypsum- plate. The region where the wedge overlies the gypsum is graduated at the position of exact compensation, and at each thousand micromillimetres of relative retardation. If, when placed over a mineral in the diagonal position, the black band is moved towards the thin end of the wedge, the direction of insertion is that of the vibrations which traverse the mineral with the smaller velocity; if towards the thick end, the direction is that corresponding to the greater velocity.—Calculation of the chance that the double refraction of a crystal section cut at random shall exceed a particular fraction of the maximum: H. Hilton. The problem is soluble completely for a uniaxial, and partially for a biaxial, crystal. Physical Society, March 27.—Dr. Charles Chree, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Notes on the plug permeameter : Dr. C. V. Drysdale. In the instrument a drill is employed to cut a conical hole in a casting or forging, leaving a pin one-tenth inch diameter standing in the middle. A wrought-iron plug carrying a bobbin with magnetising and search coils completes the magnetic circuit, forming a miniature permeameter. Investigations have been made showing that the amount of the end effect can be compensated by correcting the value of H in the same ratio for all specimens. Curves were given showing the results obtained by the plug permeameter when the instrument had been empirically calibrated—The use of shunts and transformers with alternate current measuring instruments: Dr. C. V. Drysdale. The paper deals mathematically and experimentally with errors in the magnitude and phase of the current. With shunts, the condition for accuracy at all frequencies is thai the time constants of the instrument and shunt should be equal. For current transformers the best results are obtained by keeping the magnetising and core-loss currents as small as possible-—Dynamometer wattmeterss Dr. C. V. Drysdale. An investigation of the theory of the watt- meter, including the effects of shunt inductance and capacity, mutual inductance, eddy currents, wave-form and of iron. It is pointed out that the theory of the watt- meter is much obscured by the use of the correction factor. The correction of a wattmeter should be applied as a lifference, and not as a ratio. A description of single and double forms of standard wattmeter and of deflectional Wattmeters containing iron was given. Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, April 9.—Mr. Bedford McNeill, vice-president, in the chair.—The elec- trical equipment of gold mines: H. J. S. Heather. A review of the present application and future possibilities of the application of electric power to mining operations, with practical notes of installations that have been made under the author’s supervision. He points out the relative advantages or otherwise of the continuous and alternating current systems for the purposes of gold-mining work.— Addendum to paper on earth temperatures on Witwaters- rand sold fields: Hugh F. Marriott. A matter dealt with in a previous paper by the same author centred round “the mean earth temperatures at the surface in the vicinity of the Rand. This addendum records subsequent investi- €ations tending to settle the point in dispute in connection With the attempt to establish a rule for the average increase of temperature with depth.—The carat weight: NO. 2007, VOL. 77] NATURE 575 E. J. Valtlentine. A concise account of the origin and present position of the carat weight as used by dealers in gold and precious stones, with records of the steps taken to establish a standard metric carat for universal adoption. An electromagnet for testing the suitability of an ore for magnetic separation: L. H. L. Huddart. A descrip- tion of a hand apparatus designed by the author for use abroad. It is suitable for the quantitative determination of the separation to be expected in treating a given ore by means of a powerful magnet.—The gold alluvials of the river Drau in Hungary: A. von Gernet. A brief account of the subject of the title, with comparisons of the relative efficacy for determining values obtained by panning small samples and counting ‘‘ colours.” Royal Astronomical Society, April 10.—Mr. H. F. Newall, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Description of a 24-inch long-focus ccelostat reflector: J. H. Reynolds. The instrument has been constructed for use in spectro- heliographic work, but is also arranged for taking celestial photographs. The focal length is 38 feet, and the diameter of the plane mirror of the ccelostat 28 inches. Specimens of photographs taken with the instrument were shown on the screen.—Dr. A. W. Roberts’s method of determining the absolute dimensions of an Algol variable star: Rev. J. Stein. Dr. Roberts had attempted to deduce from the light curve of such a variable the dimensions of the orbits of its components, but Mr. Stein showed that it is theoretically impossible to determine the absolute dimensions of the orbit in this manner.—Note on the newly discovered eighth satellite of Jupiter: Astronomer Royal. The moving object near Jupiter, found by Mr. Melotte upon photographs taken at the Royal Observatory, had been again photographed on March 27, 31, and April 3. It had also been photographed by Dr. Max Wolf at Heidelberg and at the Lick Observatory. It now appeared that the new object is a satellite of Jupiter, much more distant from the planet than the sixth or seventh satellites—First approximation to the orbit of J. VIII. : A. C. D. Crommelin. The hypothesis of retrograde motion for the new satellite appeared at present most probable; from the preliminary elements obtained the sidereal period would probably be between three and four years, and the distance from the planet about three times that of Satellite WII.—Variable-star work at Rousdon Observatory: C. Grover.—A new “ spanner ’’ sextant: Captain Gadsden. The arrangement consisted of an attachment to a sextant to enable observations to be made when the horizon is obscured or hazy.—Note on the con- ditions for the passage of the earth through the plane of Saturn’s ring: H. H. Turner. The late Mr. Proctor had given a general account of the manner in which the earth may pass through the plane of the ring, either once: or three times at each favourable opportunity. The present paper gives the explanation in a more compact and com- plete form.—Retrogradation of the sun’s shadow: M. E. J. Gheury.—Series of photographs of the Milky Way taken with a small lens of 5} inches focal length: Dr. Max Wolf.—Experiment illustrating the gradually increasing red colour of the sun as it approaches the horizon at sunset: S. L. Fletcher. Paris. Academy of Sciences, April 6.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—An isomer of diphenylcamphomethane and the con- ditions of its formation: A. Haller and E. Bauer. Details are given of the best method of reducing /L= CCH) CsAysC | e8) in alkaline solution. The substance obtained, diphenyl- camphomethane, is isomeric with the substance obtained by carrying out the reduction in acid solution, and can be obtained from the latter by. boiling with alcoholic potash, and in other ways. Various attempts have been made to elucidate the constitutions of these two isomers, but hitherto without success.—A new mineral species from the French Congo: A. Lacroix. The new mineral is a silicate of copper, differing from dioptase in being attacked with difficulty by acids, and in its composition, Si,,0,,Cu,.H,, or 12SiO,.15CuO,5H,O. 576 NATURE [APRIL 16, 1908 The name plancheite is proposed for the mineral.—The perception of relief and of depth in the simple image of ordinary photographs. Conditions and theory of this per- ception: A. Chauveau. By a suitable adjustment of the prisms of a stereoscope, the effect of relief can be obtained from a single photograph just as well as if the latter were replaced by the usual double stereoscopic photograph. The effect can be produced without any apparatus; the examination with one eye alone of a well-lighted photo- graph after some time causes the stereoscopic effect. To reduce this to the usual plane effect the other eye is rc- quired. The theory of these phenomena is considered in detail.—The. acceleration and retardation of the coagula- tion of the blood in capillary. tubes: Ch. Bouchard. The Coal-measures of the southern Oran: H. Douvillé and M. Zeiller. A detailed description of the fossils met with is given, and the analogy: with the Carboniferous deposits in Engl: ind pointed out. This is the first time that a Westphalian flora has been discovered in such a low group of four variables, and the systems of partial differential equations which correspond to them: M. Le Vavasseur. The persistent conjugate networks com- prising a family of minimum lines: L. Raffy.—The maximum useful weight that can be raised by an aéro- plane: M. Girardville. It is shown that the maximum useful weight carried by an aéroplane depends upon five variables, and possibilities of improvement may be sought for in modifying each of these.—The conditions of utilisa- tion of balloons capable of being steered, as existing at present: M. Bouttieaux. An account of modifications introduced with the view of economising ballast.—The spectroscopic study of flame of various kinds: G. A. Hemsalech and C. de Watteville. The method of feed- ing a flame with particles of metal obtained electrically, described in an earlier paper, has been applied to flames of hydrogen alone, coal gas and oxygen, hydrogen and air, and hydrogen and oxygen. Details of the results obtained with the pure hydrogen flame are given in the present communication.—The presence of spark lines in the are spectrum: Ch. Fabry and H. Buisson. All the spark lines (the enhanced lines of Lockyer) are emitted in the are spectrum of iron, but only by certain por- tions of the arc. Similar effects have been obtained with nickel and copper.—A new method of estimating the vapour of mercury in air: P. Méniere. The air is aspirated through boiling nitric acid in a special apparatus figured, and the minute proportions of nitrate of mercury treated’ with diphenylearbazide. This gives distinctive colours in proportions of mercury varying from 1/100,000 to 1/5,000,000._ The paper is accompanied by a plate show- ing twelve gradations of tint obtainable—The combustion by incandescence of gases in presence of oxidisable and incombustible bodies: Jean Meunier.—The variations of composition of ammonium phosphomolybdate : application to the estimation of phosphorus in iron and steel: G. Chesneau. The author regards a double precipitation as absolutely necessary if the precipitate is to have a constant composition, and gives detailed instructions for carrying out the process.—The ammoniacal chlorides of dimercuri- ammonium: H. Gaudechon.—Arbutine and some of its derivatives considered from the point of. view of. their rotatory power and their hydrolysis by emulsin: Em. Bourquelot and H. Hérissey.—Comparative study of the dehydration of atrolactic and p-methoxyatrolactic acids. p-Methoxyatropic and di-p-methoxyatropic acids: J. Bougault.—The formation of mixtures of isomers of constant melting point in the Friedel and Crafts reaction : G. Perrier and H. Caitle. The product obtained in the preparation of phenylnaphthylketone by the Friedel and Crafts reaction had a definite melting point, which was unchanged after several re-crystallisations. It was shown, however, to consist of a mixture of the a and B isomers. The constitution of the membrane in diatoms: L. Mangin.—The action of the hygrometric state in re- ‘atory exchanges: J. Cluzet.—The action of the ‘lcoholic extract of normal human urine on the arterial pressure: J. E. Abelous and E. Bardier.—The possible fects of carbon monoxide in poisoning by tobacco smoke : ©. Fleig. The conclusion is drawn that the amounts of bon monoxide given off during the smoking of tobacco NO. Fi 2007, VOL. 77 latitude.—The subgroups of the homogeneous linear | | Coast fever : can contribute nothing to the effects of tobacco poisoning. —The action of brewers’ yeast on the amido-acids: J. Effront.—Some artificial peroxydiastases: the important part played by iron in their action: J. Wolff.—The forma- tion of acetaldehyde in alcoholic fermentation: E. Kayser and A. Demoton. The conclusion’ relating to the origin of acetaldehyde in alcoholic fermentation, described in a recent note by M. Trillat, confirms the conclusions pub- lished by the authors a year ago.—The preparation and properties of crystallised oxyhemocyanine from the snail: Ch. Déré.—Bile and the biliary pigments: M. Piettre. —The ‘canine origin of kala-azay: Charles Nicolle and Charles Comte.—The réle of positive torsion in propulsive screws and aéroplanes : P. Amans.—The variations of temperature of the spring of Sainte-Baume (Var): E. A. Martel. Another instance of the variation in temperature of springs. The spring described has on numerous previous occasions shown a temperature of: 10°-5 C.; in October, 1907, after an exceptionally rainy month, the temperature rose to 13° C. PRETORIA. Transvaal Biological Society, January 17.— Dr. Theiler, C.M.G., in the chair.—A new species of tick found in the Transvaal: Mr. Howard.—Viscosity of blood: Dr. Frei. —Demonstration of a diseased skull of Papio porcarus (Bodd) : Dr. Gunning.—Demonstration of some stages in the life-history of Strongulus contortus, Rud.: Dr. Gough.—Further transmission experiments with East Dr. Theiler.—(1) Some additions to the Transvaal flora; (2) new plant species from the Transvaal and Swaziland; (3) notes on drabok poisoning; (4) the application of Mendel’s law of heredity in the breeding of maize: Mr. Burtt-Davy. CONTENTS. The Chemistry of the Higher Fungi. PAGE By Prof. R. MeldolasFR.S:. cite cutesemsemeilcine csivcinenae 553 Botanical Instruction. \.). licetst ore) cee enn 5a Applied Mathematics. . . PES AOE, Cc SSIS) Multum in Parvo. ByJ. A. T, SOMANCMet cos SS Our Book Shelf :— “Index of Archzological Papers (1665-1890)” . . . 557 Herrera: ‘‘ Notions générales de Biologie et de Plas- mogénie comparées” . . : 558 Steinmann: ‘‘ Einfiihrung in Sdie Paliiontologie.”"— i 1S ae 558 Cain : “The Chemistry of the {Diazo- compounds.” — BC... Pies o. fo 558 Winkelmann : ‘* Handbuch der Physik Ceara: 559 Letters to the Editor :— The Condensation of Helium.—Prof. H. Kamer- hingh'Onnes) -) sie saceem meme) inte SSO Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns.—Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S.; Prof. James Wilson . 559 The Nature of + and X-Rays.—Prof. W. H. Bragg 560 The Corrosion of Iron and Steel.—Dr. FrankClowes 560 The Geology of South Victoria Land, (J//ustrated.) BysProfty. VW. Gregory, RS-e ils! ose een SO Navigation of the Air. (Z//usirated.) ........ 562 INOteSmmeten-.- Crop ofompoo Go oo a See Our Astronomical Column: The Recently Discovered Satellite of Jupiter Cat ee 567 Mutual Occultations and Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites 567 The Transit of Mercury, November, 1907 . . . . . 567 Parallax Observations . . Smcwoen Shey Astronomical Photography with Portrait Lenses . = =) 507, The Harvard College Observatory ....... . 567 The Saturn Perturbations of Various Comets . . . - 568 The Games of North American Indians. Oe trated.) By Dr. A. C; Haddon; F.R?S) 2 0. =) 565 Nerve as a Master of Muscle. By Prof. C. Ss. Sherrington; H.R.Si aren een reins bod on BIE) University and Educational Intelligence. . . .. . 572 Societiesiand’Academies: 3 2) fe) fotet tener elie eee 74 NATURE ~ th tor APR 23, THURSDAY, 1908. A NEW CALCULUS. | First Course in the Differential and Integral Cal- By Dr. W. F. Osgood. Pp. xv+423; with (New York: The Macmillan Com- London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Ios. 6d. culus. 125 figures. pany ; Price of (ea introduction of the Calculus at an early stage in a course of elementary mathematics has ren- dered necessary the substitution of simplified methods of treatment for those occurring in the earlier text- books; for example, an abandonment of the lavish and unnecessary use of infinite series, the convergency of which was generally ill-understood, in the differen- tiation of simple expressions. A number of good books have recently appeared written more or less with this object in view, but we have seen none in which the survival of old and clumsy methods has been reduced to the vanishing point in the same way that has been done in this book. The present reviewer has been in the habit of con- ducting a class in the calculus on simplified lines identical in nearly every respect with those adopted independently by Prof. Osgood; indeed, this book represents almost word for word what he would have wished to write had he undertaken to write a Calculus. ‘The reviewer is thus greatly indebted to the author for having saved him this troublesome and thankless task, or the alternative of continuing the elaborate lecture notes which he has found necessary to dictate to his pupils on the bookwork of the subject. The following is a brief summary of some of the salient features of the boolk to which the reviewer attaches especial importance. The methods of the calculus are discussed and exemplified in the first instance by the study of the differentiation of series of positive integral powers only. The reviewer would prefer to see the binomial theorem omitted from the proof for the derivative of x" and a proof based on the product rule substi- Juted, but this is a minor detail which any teacher can supply for himself and his class. The very important method of “‘ differentiating an equation as it stands ’’ is explicitly used as such in finding the tangents to algebraic curves as well as in dhe differentiation of fractional powers, inverse func- 4ions, and the like. The introduction of this subject ander the title of ‘‘ differentiation of an implicit function ’’? is quite unnecessary, and we are glad to see that the perfectly simple method really required for these cases is viewed in its right light. In the chapter on transcendental functions the author clearly points out that the reason for measur- ing angles in radians is essentially explained by the «alculus, and he also gives the differentiation formule for angles measured in degrees. The explanation is necessary in order to dispel any doubts the beginner may have previously formed as to the mental sanity of those mathematicians who deliberately chose an NO; 2008, VOL: 77 i incommensurable unit for the measurement of com- mensurable angles. é The author’s introduction of the incommensurable base e, though only one of a number of different possible methods, is even more satisfactory, no previous knowledge being assumed regarding this base, which is shown to make its existence felt as soon as we attempt to differentiate a power of any constant a with respect to its index, or to differentiate the logarithm of the variable to any assumed base a. When integration is explained the author does not waste too much time in discussing the methods of integrating long and complicated expressions, but proceeds very soon to the consideration of definite integrals and of geometrical and mechanical illustra- tions. “Volumes of revolution’’ only constitute a par- ticular application of a general method of finding the volume of a solid the sections of which parallel to a fixed plane are circles, squares, triangles, or other simple figures. The examples on pp. 159-161 should make this point clear. Curvature, evolutes, properties of the cycloid, moments of inertia, and attractions are discussed at aa early stage. So also are harmonic motion, resisted motion, and damped oscillations. When infinite series are introduced the student should be ready for the satisfactory and sufficiently rigorous treatment given, especially in connection with convergence. In dealing with Taylor’s theorem, the remainder is carefully attended to, and specially mentioned in con- nection with the binomial theorem. We should like to have seen the remainder given as a definite integral, but this can readily be supplied in lecture notes. Partial differentiation is fully discussed, and we notice among the examples the familiar thermo- dynamic application adpdvdt _ _ dv dt dp There is a useful chapter on solid geometry which introduces the notion of direction cosines, the ortho- gonal property of confocal conicoids, and the oscu- lating plane of twisted curves. Double and triple integrals are well discussed. The artifices so commonly used in the older treatment for calculating volumes and centres of gravity by means of single integrations in particular cases had the disadvantage, from which Prof. Osgood’s treatment is exempt, of failing to familiarise the student with notions which he necessarily encounters in the study of electricity and other branches of physics. Hyperbolic functions are not introduced until the end. In the opinion of the reviewer they have figured far too prominently in previous treatments of the calculus, with the result that the student has been encouraged to waste time in working out integrals in compli- cated forms involving ‘‘ sneezes ’’ and ‘‘ coughs,’’ and “sneeze and cough minus ones,’’ which he cannot interpret. It is to be presumed that the above words represent the most natural equivalent in speaking of the new-fashioned hyperbolic notation, for to sav (ee 578 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 ” “ essaitch ’’ and ‘‘ seeaitch ’’ is too cumbersome. For computation integrals ought to be evaluated, as the author does, in the form of logarithms, as there are few students who, when they have obtained any result involving a “sneeze minus one,’’ could calculate its numerical value. We must not forget to mention the collections of examples, which are of the type approved by the most enlightened examining boards in Great Britain. They are for the most part based on practical applications, and are of such a character as to test the student’s knowledge of the calculus itself, not his power of covering sheets of foolscap with uncomprehended formule. To sum up, it had become necessary to introduce considerable changes in the elementary treatment of the calculus, not only in the interests of the students of physics and engineering whose claims have been most prominently put forward, but also for the sounder and more rational instruction of mathematical students. The present book admirably meets the re- quirements of the case. We do not say that further improvements are impossible, but we consider that a stage has now been reached when any attempt ta make the treatment better in one particular is very liable to render it worse in another. May not an analogy also be suggested between the coincidence of the author’s and reviewer’s views, and probably the views of other teachers, and the con- ditions in the calculus for maximum value, as showing that the methods adopted are the best possible, subject to present existing conditions. “cc PREHISTORIC EUROPE. L'Europe préhistorique. Principes d’Archéologie pré- historique par Sophus Miller, traduit du danois avec la collaboration de l’auteur par Emmanuel Philipot. Pp. 212. (Paris: J. Lamarre, n.d.) Price 10 francs. eee prehistoric period in Europe is so extended, the conditions during the period so varied according to .place and time, our knowledge of the conditions so meagre and broken, that the task of putting the events of the period into the form of a connected narrative is not to be lightly estimated or easily fulfilled. ea ie te Dr. Miller decides at the outset to confine himself to the consideration of matters which have received general acceptance; from this resolution he, however, soon departs, or there would have been little to tell. The work is not so complete as the title implies; the long and important palzolithic phase is sum- marily dismissed at the foot of the fifteenth page. The author, moreover, has drawn his facts from one source only—that of archeology; the evidence of craniology and philology is ignored. Nor has all the literature been consulted. In a book which deals so much with the prehistoric age of Greece it is strange to find no mention of Prof. Ridgeway and his work. De spite these defects, however, the book forms an interesting and suggestive study; it displays much thought and judgment: ; NO. 2008) VoL. 77 The general argument, which is simple, can be expressed in a few words; it is that in prehistoric time, as in early historic time, Europe was indebted for her culture to Greece and Asia Minor; that the culture extended from the “Zgean as a centre, under- going more and more change as it neared the peri- phery. Dr. Miller likens south-east Europe, in its relation to the rest of Europe, to a town in its relation to the surrounding country. Just as the habits and culture of a town slowly spread to the rural districts, where they persist and not infrequently attain a greater development than was known in the town, so did the culture of tareece gradually extend over the whole of Europe. While on this analogy it may be well to refer to another feature—sometimes the country misses a step in the development of culture ; for instance, in many districts the lamp has been directly superseded by electricity without the inter- mediate use of gas; so in the north of Europe the Bronze age followed on the heels of the Neolithic, whereas in the south of Europe a Copper age inter- vened. It will be seen that to establish his argument the author must prove that the different phases of culture appeared earlier in the south than in the north. The higher development of any phase in the north is not against the general trend of his argument. The evidence upon which he grounds his theory is obtained from art objects, polished stone weapons, articles of bronze and copper, pottery, particularly that exhibiting decorative designs, grain, domesti- cated animals, and the architecture of the graves. As is well known, culture alone can prove a very misleading guide in correlating people, for where the same environment obtains, there will a similar culture tend to develop. The evidence which is at times admitted cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged. It is gravely argued, for instance, that a correlation existed between the people who lived in Spain and the Pyrenees during the Solutré period and the Iron-age inhabitants of Greece, since statuettes of similar form are forthcoming from both regions. No account is taken of the great difference in the age of the statu- ettes, a difference to be expressed in thousands of years. To choose another illustration, the author finds that the polished stone celts are bigger and more numerous in the north than in the south, due to the Stone age enduring longer and attaining a higher development in the north. Moreover, in the north the stone celts are of flint, whereas in the south they are of nephrite, jadeite and chloromelanite, stones rare in Europe but more common in Asia. He thereupon argues that when Man began to polish his stone tools he would use such a soft stone as nephrite or jadeite, and would not begin to polish a stone so hard as flint until the art of polishing had made considerable advance. He therefore concludes that the nephrite celts are earlier than those of flint, and that the art of polishing extended from the south to the north. It may, how- ever, well have been that it was the distribution of the various stones which governed the material of which the celts were made. He takes again the spiral motif—in mid-Europe he APRIL 23, 1908] NATURE 579 finds it on pottery, in north Europe on bronze sword- handles. In each case the motif is decorative, and so is found on the most highly prized objects. In mid- Europe pottery, so he argues, was the most valued article, bronze not yet being known when the motif arrived. By the time the motif reached the north, the Bronze age had begun. These arguments are more ingenious than weighty ; they derive their importance from the fact that they all—or nearly all—support the contention that the culture of Europe came from the south. Dr. Miiller sees no evidence of any hiatus in man’s occupation of Europe. He places the end of the Palzolithic period at a date 10,000 years ago. He accepts Piette’s mesolithic phase and Pigorini’s con- clusion that in Italy the Moustier period passed without interruption into the Neolithic. He discusses at considerable length the various late prehistoric periods, the Mycenzan, Dipylon, Villanova, Halstatt and la Téne. The book possesses 161 illus- trations and three coloured plates; it is well printed and well planned. Its chief defect is that it is not in some respects quite up-to-date. Witii1am WricuHt. CHEMICAL RESEARCH. Untersuchungen in der Puringruppe (1882-1906.) By Emil Fischer. Pp. viii+608. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1907.) Price 15 marks. RGANIC chemistry during the last twenty years has progressed with such marvellous rapidity that it is quite impossible for the modern chemist to {keep in touch with every phase of the present-day movement. The old subdivision of the investigator into the classes inorganic and organic is no longer suffi- cient to indicate clearly the course followed by any individual worker. Every branch of chemistry is split up into innumerable microscopic divisions, each of which claims its own adherents. Further than this, the botanist, the biologist, and others are encroaching on the domain of pure chemistry, and demand a know- ledge of the compounds related to their own particular science. Bearing these facts in mind, it follows as a natural consequence that such books as the present one find so welcome a position in the standard literature of chemistry. The present volume contains the entire experiments of E. Fischer and his students for the last twenty-four years, and deals entirely with the purine group, in- cluding the brilliant syntheses of uric acid, xanthine, eaffein, and allied compounds. The introduction, com- prising the first eighty pages, appeared in the German literature in 1899 under the title of ‘‘ Synthesen in der Puringruppe,’’ and is well known to all students of chemistry. At this time the systematic study of the purine group had reached a definite issue, and since then no new principle has been evolved. The later work has been devoted to details, with perhaps the exception of one paper, which treats of the isomerism of methyl uric acids. The contents of this first chapter is almost complete, and gives a full survey of the sub- ject as it is known to-day. Following this is the NO. 2008, VOL. 77] second part of the book, which contains the forty- seven publications of the author and his students. The first forty contain the worl previous to 1899, while the remaining seven have been published sub- sequent to the compilation of the introduction. These papers contain the complete experimental data of the originals, and are given in the order of publication. It is quite impossible to read this book without mar- velling at the wonderful fertility of the brain of this modern genius. No problem seems to be too great for his inventive faculty. Even the incomplete work of Baeyer receives new life in his hands. It is not with the purine derivatives only that one associates the name of E. Fischer, but many other groups have been added to the list. It will be remembered that the author published his book on the amido-acids and proteins about a year ago. The success of this volume is the direct cause of the present one, which was written with the same object as the former. The literature on the subject is contained in various journals, and these are not always accessible to students of science. The demands of modern science, on the other hand are such that it is of vital importance to be able to acquire a detailed knowledge of many highly specialised subjects with- out any great inconvenience. The literature of the biologist, for example,-is already voluminous enough to require his whole attention without having to keep in touch with chemical developments. For such students this book was originally intended, and these will undoubtedly feel grateful to the author. These, however, are not the only men of science who owe grati- tude to E. Fischer. Every modern chemist should read this book, not only for the individual results, but to gain a better knowledge of the wonderful methods of manipulation employed. These are of general import- ance. Throughout, the well-worn track of modern methods is employed, but, as a rule, small alterations —vital to success—are made. It is here that the special genius of the author is seen at its best, for which the whole of the scientific world must express its thanks. OUR BOOK SHELF. Tron and Steel. By J. H. Stansbie. Pp. xiii+375. (London : Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. net. 4 DurinG the last few years so many elementary books on iron and steel have been published that it would almost appear that an addition to the long list was unnecessary. Mr. Stansbie’s book is, however, an excellent one. Written from the notes of his lectures to students of the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, it gives as comprehensive a view as its limits permit of the modern aspects of iron and steel manufacture, together with historical details sufficient to enable the student to follow the march of progress. It is printed in clear type, and the eighty-six illustra- tions, although they would have been improved by an indication of the scale, are well chosen and well adapted to indicate to students the construction of the furnaces described. In arrangement of the subject-matter, the worl differs but slightly from many of its predecessors. An introductory chapter on chemical principles is fol- 580 NATORE [APRIL 23, 1908 lowed by chapters on iron ores and fuels, primitive methods of iron and steel production, pig iron and its manufacture, the refining of pig iron in small charges, crucible and weld steel, the Bessemer pro- cess, ‘the open-hearth process, mechanical treatment of iron and steel, physical properties of iron and steel, iron and steel under the microscope, heat treatment of iron and steel, electric smelting, and special steels. The information given has been brought up to date by reference to the latest books and to papers read before the Iron and Steel Institute. The book is com- mendably free from misprints. The names of Brinell and Legénisel are, however, wrongly spelt; and there appears to be some inaccuracy in the statement that an American blast furnace producing 800 tons of Bessemer pig iron in twenty-four hours would yield 1200 tons of slag during that period. The author probably intended to have said that the furnace would yield 1200 Ib. of slag per ton of pig iron made. L'Energétique et le Méchanisme au Point de Vue des Conditions de la Connaissance. By Abel Rey. Pp. 187. (Paris: Félix Alcan, 1908:) Price 2:50 francs. Ix a former work, recently noticed in these columns, M. Rey analysed contemporary physical theories with the object of showing that, in spite of profound differ- ences of procedure, they all bear witness to a common basis of assured experiential fact. In the present book he considers the two rival points of view under which modern theories are ranged—those of the Newtonian mechanics and of the newer energetics—with the more practical purpose of determining whether either of them possesses intrinsic superiority over the other. There are two fundamental laws of progress in knowledge—it advances by repeated assimilation of the unknown to the known, and with constantly rhythmic alternation of generalisation and deduction. The pro- gressive interpretation of the physical aspect of nature by the concepts of the traditional mechanics complies with each of these laws, while energetics, which seeks merely a single formula from which the established particulars of experience may be formally deduced, runs counter to both. Thus the former alone can be permanently an efficient instrument of investigation. This, in brief, is M. Rey’s thesis. It need be added only that it is worked out in a very interesting manner, and with a competence that should render his study of equal value to the man of science and the cpistemologist. N. Abel’s Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology. Trans- lated from the tenth German edition by Dr. M. H. Gordon; with additions by Dr. A. C. Houston, Dr. T. G. Horder, and the Translator. (Oxford Medical Publications.) Pp. xi+224. (London: Henry ¥rowde, and Hodder and Stoughton, 1907.) Price 5s. net. Tne fact that Abel’s handbook of bacteriology has reached its tenth German edition is sufficient proof that it fulfils a useful purpose, and the appearance of this translation will render it available for British and American Jaboratories. It is just the bool for the laboratory table, giving the practical details which are so often required immediately to hand, and the binding in glazed covers will render it less liable to be soiled. The work of British investigators is ade- quately noticed, and the section on the examination ol water, milk, shell-fish, &c., is contributed by Dr. Houston, a sure guarantee of its trustworthiness. The translation is sometimes a little clumsy, e.g. ‘‘ salad ’’ potatoes (p. 26). The culture of the glanders bacillus on potato is inadequately and incorrectly described, and the proof reading has evidently been carelessly done. Thus NaCL for NaCl, and HCL for HCl 2908 no aU. SOCS, occur several times, and the iodine solution used im Nicolle’s modification of Gram’s method is stated to have the following composition :—1K+2Ki+200 Aq- (for 114+2K1+200 Aq.). Apart from such. smalh blemishes, the book can be recommended as a most useful laboratory guide. R. T. Hewett. Vererbung des Geschlechtes. Pp. v+81. (Berlin : Gebriider Die Bestimmung und By Dr. C. Correns. Borntraeger, 1g07.) Price 1.50 marks. [In this volume, Dr. Correns makes another contri- bution to the subject that he has studied for many years, of hybrids and their hereditary characters. Arr attempt is made to throw some light on sex tendency in germ cells, to discover the stage at which the sex- sharacter is determined, and to find out whether sex ‘endency appears to conform to Mendelian laws, or, in Mendelian phraseology, whether sex may not be a consequence of gametic segregation. The method has been to raise hybrids, using for one or both parents moneecious or dicecious plants. The earlier experi- menis were made with the moncecious Bryonia alba and the dicecious Bryonia dioica. When pollen of the former was applied to stigmas of the latter, the result- ing plants were female, some few showing traces of moncecism. The converse produced half male hybrids, half female, but most of the latter showed a tendency to moncecism. Sterility of this first gener- ation put a stop to further experiments. A result was also. obtained by pollinating the flowers of Melandrium album with pollen from Silene viscosa, From his interpretation of the results, Dr. Correns concludes that sex determination is a simple inheritance pheno- menon conforming to Mendelian laws of segregation ; that the females are homozygotes, the males are heterozygotes. This last supposition is, however, opposed to the idea postulated. by Castle that no sex characters are homozygous. Apart from the Men- delian argument, the reader will find some suggestive remarks with regard to the inheritance of sexual characters. Lehrbuch der Physik. By Prof. H. A. Translation from the Dutch by G. Siebert. volume. Pp. iv+62r. Price ro marks. Turs is a translation from the fourth Dutch edition of Prof. Lorentz’s text-book. The mastery of the author over the facts of physics is, of course, Lorentz. Second (Leipzig : J. A. Barth, 1907.) guarantee of the excellence of the exposition. The contents of this volume are connected with sound, light, electricity, and magnetism. The treatment is. exceedingly simple; if we have any criticism to make it is that most students, even though not taking up physics as one of the principal subjects of their study, would like to learn more than the book offers. In other words, we think that in many places the treat- ment is unnecessarily meagre. We are sure that the chemist would like to be told more about theories of the voltaic cell. The large amount of work that has been done by physical chemists under the leadership of Ostwald and Nernst is left absolutely unnoticed. We turn naturally to the chapter at the end on the electron theory. Here, as elsewhere, what there is is excellent; but we feel that we expected more on this subject from Prof. Lorentz. There are so many phenomena known now which are capable of being simply described and used in illustration and support of the modern fluid theory of electricity. This scanti- ness will probably tell against the book competing with others of a similar grade, in England at any rate. A collection of 72 examples appears at the end; solu- tions are not given to these, There are also fifteen useful tables of data. NATORE 551 © APRIL 23, 1908] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. {The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NATURE. No notice is taken of anonymous communtcations.] The Condensation of Helium. In addition to my short note printed in last week’s Nature (p. 559), let me begin by remarking that as recently as last year, in an address to the Dutch Congress of Natural Science and Medicine, I expressed the opinion that it would be scarcely possible to liquefy helium. Olszewski, from his expansion experiments, had deduced that the critical temperature of helium was lower than 2° K. Dewar had no more succeeded in liquefying it by expansion, and some experiences of my own on_ helium gas sinking in liquid hydrogen seemed to indicate that helium was nearly a perfect gas. At the same meeting | indicated the determination _ of the isothermals of helium, an investigation with which I was occupied, and which I had prepared by a series of researches, as the direct way to the calculation of the critical temperature. The first results I obtained with the isothermals changed totally my views on the liquefaction of helium. From the isothermals down to —217°, it followed that the critical point of helium is at nearly 5° K., more in harmony with the estimate of the boiling point at 5° or 6° K. by Dewar, according to the helium absorbed in charcoal, and the determinations at —252° C. and —259° C. confirmed the result. It thence followed that it would be possible, by rapid expansion of helium compressed at 100 atmospheres at the melting point of hydrogen, to pass below the critical temperature, and to cause a mist to appear in the gas. Also liquefaction by the Joule-Kelvin effect seemed possible. It was to put the first conclusion to the test that I made any recent experiments. The new features of my application of the expansion method to helium were :—(1) the great quantity of gas; (2) the application of a stop-cock on the tube to let off the gas from the tube into a gas-holder, a gas-bag, or a vacuum; (3) an extremely thin-walled beaker, placed in the thick-walled tube to protect the cooled gas against heat conduction. These devices had been used by Olszewski in his experiments on the expansion of hydrogen. At the expansion a dense cloud appeared, from which solid masses separated out, floating in the gaseous helium, resembling partly cotton-wool, partly also denser masses, as if floating in a syrupy liquid, adhering to the walls and sliding downward, while at the same time vanishing rapidly (20 seconds). There was no trace of melting. So far as I could judge, then, from my experiments, I considered it probable that this solid substance was helium. The helium had been burned with copper oxide and passed over charcoal at the temperature of boiling hydrogen, and I trusted to have a gas with only very small admixtures. If helium passed immediately to the solid state, fhen the position of the vapour-line to the adiabatics would be more favourable for condensation than if it passed into the liquid state, and the voluminous aspect of the solid mass was in harmony with this. By the above, and also by other observations, which afterwards gave rise to doubt or proved incorrect, I was for some time under the impression that I had seen solid helium rapidly giving off vapours of the pressure shown by the gas (once more than 15 atmospheres was shown). The continuation of my ex- periments has shown that they must be explained in quite a different way. By a not sufficiently explained cause, the gas proved to be not so pure as was supposed, considering the method of purification. In analysing what was absorbed by charcoal at the temperature of boiling hydrogen until the charcoal removed no more hydrogen, so that the gas could only contain traces of hydrogen, it could be proved that in one case the gas had contained only 0-45 and in another only 0-37 volume per cent. of hydrogen at most. (About a small possible quantity of neon I could not yet be certain.) But this small admixture must have had a very great influence; for at a first repetition of the experiment with the helium subjected to this new treatment no cloud at all was observed. In this NO. 2008, VOL. 77] experiment the velocity of expansion had been too small. At a second repetition with the same gas, but with greater velocity of expansion, a thin cloud appeared and vanished extremely rapidly (1 second). The mist now had a different aspect. The explanation of the previous observation is to be found in solution phenomena of solid hydrogen in gaseous helium. The phenomena which made the impression of being the giving off of vapour had been the solution of deposited solid hydrogen in the gaseous helium, the latter rapidly returning from the lower temperature to that of melting hydrogen, and the pressure increasing in con- sequence. Helium at the temperatures that come into account here can, according to the theory of mixtures, take up at every temperature a percentage of hydrogen, deter- mined by that temperature in such a way that it is not deposited at any pressure. With acceptable suppositions one can deduce that at temperatures above the melting point of hydrogen this percentage can be considerable, and that at this melting point itself it can be more than 1 per cent. From mixtures with smaller percentage, the hydrogen is only deposited at lower temperatures, e.g. by expansion. By the smallness of the quantity of hydrogen present it is also explained that, after prolonged blowing off of the helium, no solid hydrogen was left, for the quantity was so small that it could evaporate in the space which it found at its disposal. It is remarkable that so small a quantity of admixture as the gas contained has been able to give the total phenomenon of a substance condensing to a solid and re-evaporating, though the rapid evaporation is in harmony with the smallness of this quantity of substance, considering that even denser masses Were seen to be blown away sometimes. There cannot have been much more than 1 milligram or 15 cubic milli- metres of solid hydrogen in round numbers in the tube— probably there was less in it—and yet the tube of nearly 7 cubic centimetres was over its whole length for almost a quarter filled with dense, flaky substance. So far as the experiments on the expansion of helium are now advanced, they show the curious forms that the solution phenomena of a solid in a gas take in the case of helium and hydrogen. They further point to the possi- bility of realising with mixtures of hydrogen and helium the rising or falling of the solid substance according to the pressure exerted on the gas, the barotropic phenomenon for a solid and a gas. But the question of condensing helium is to be considered yet as an open one. Let me add a few words as to the mist observed in the repetition of the expansion experiment with the ‘‘ coal- pure ’’ gas. It is certain that this gas only contains very small quantities of hydrogen. The spectroscopic test also gives traces only. It is possible that the amount of the traces will prove sufficient to attribute the mist to the traces of hydrogen left in the gas. But it is also possible that the mist has been a liquid cloud, and the changed aspect seemed to point to this. If this might prove to be the case, then the critical point would be nearly what I calculated from the isotherms, and helium would obey tolerably well the laws of van der Waals. The tube broke, and so I could ‘not attain more certainty about the nature of the cloud. The preceding experiments show very strikingly how careful one has to be in arriving at conclusions from the appearance Or non-appearance of a cloud by expansion. A decision about the critical point of helium is therefore only to be obtained by a prolonged systematic investigation, which will take much time. April 14. H. KaMERLINGI ONNES. Satellites of Yellow and Green Lines of Mercury. BEING engaged with the investigation of the Zeeman effect by using a 35-plate Echelon spectroscope constructed by Hilger, I made an experimental test of the resolving power of the instrument on the yellow and green lines of mercury. With a lamp of the Aron type (30 volts, 6 amperes), and by eye observation with a micrometer, I found the following satellites, some of which seem to be new. 6A is given in Angstrém units. The measurements by Janicki with an Echelon spectroscope, and by Bacver 582 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 with Lummer-Gehrcke plates, are cited for the sake of comparison :— A= 5790 ( Yellow line). Observed 5A Intensity Janicki Baeyer —0'266 $ —O'251 ies _ —0'170 ay —0°187 —o'19 —o'122 q —O'1lg —0O°127 —0'077* T Fr an —0'032” ¢ = = Principal Line Principal Line Principal Line +0'035* 4 — ae — +0'073 t +0°084 ve — +0°142 $ +0°132 + 0°139 +0'189 t +0°168 Be _ +0°235 Z +0°230 +0'237 A=5461 (Green line). Observed 6A Intensity Janicki Baeyer —0'247 4 — 0'232 —0'250 —0'216" 4 o— — — 07175" $ = = —o'142* 4 = es —oO'110 4 — 0099 sae —0°107 —0'084 4 —- nA -0°072 —0'058 4 — 0066 —O'OSI —0 C24 4 —0'025 Principal Line Principal Line Principal Line + 0'033" + = ee +0 068* 4 +0°088 +0'087 +0°109* 4 _— — +0°143 $ +0°133 +0°132 +0'201* Pe — ae + 0°230 ¥ = aoe +0°222 Some of the lines not Eheed by Janicki and Baeyer, and marked with an asterisk, seem to be new, but the scanty literature on spectroscopy at my disposal does not permit me to conclude which of them were observed for the first time. Of the numerous satellites of the green line, observed by Janicki, is separated into two lines, —o-247 and —o-216, and —o0-099 into two, —o-110 and —o0.084. The lines —o-.216 and +0-033 are evidently the same as —o-208 and +0-032 given by Gray and Stewart. The satellite +0-087 observed by Baeyer, +0-088 by Janicki, +0-093 by Gehrcke and Baeyer, +0-082 by Fabry and Perot, and +0.084 by Houston is resolved into two com- ponents of nearly equal intensity, +-0-068 and +0-109. Gray and Stewart give only +0-067. The green line was separated into twenty-one components by Lummer and Gehrcke . with a single interference plate; here it is separated into fifteen lines. Some of these lines will be separated into components by increasing the resolving power. The spectrum produced by heating an ordinary vacuum tube of H-shape containing a few drops of mercury, and excited by an induction coil, gave results almost coinciding with those of Janicki, as observed by Mr. Amano and myself. The appearance of the satellites seems to be in- fluenced greatly by the construction of the tube and the mode of excitement. H. Nacaoxa. Physical Institute, March 15. — 0-232, Tokyo University, Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns. I was much interested in Prof. James Wilson’s letter in Nature of April 2, and I sent the number to my friend, Mr. William Duthie, of Collynie, Tarves, Aberdeenshire, a well-known breeder of Shorthorns of the first class, in the hope that Mr. Duthie, from his own experience, might check some of the numbers given by Prof. Wilson. Mr. Duthie sent my note to Dr. Thomas F. Jamieson, of Ellon, who is also a famous breeder of Suortionss: as well as an agricultural chemist of repute. Jamieson wrote to Mr. Duthie, and I have the eee of both to send the following extract from his letter, which will interest, not only Prof. Wilson, but also those who may be collecting statistics pep auaing) the Mendelian aspects of the problem of heredity : “I have long been of opinion that the Shorthorns have arisen from a combination of a red breed anda white one. NO. 2008, VOL. 77] There is a remarkable tendency in them to produce animals which are entirely white (unless, perhaps, the ears), more so, I think, than those which are entirely red, and I find that of the white calves the majority are females. I would like you to test this latter point from your own knowledge, in order to see if you also find it so. There is no doubt that a red bull mated with a red cow will almost always produce a red calf, more especially if the bull’s own parents were both red, and similarly with white upon white. My red bull ‘‘ Topsman,’’ 63,447, gave me 113 calves, and not one of them white. He was mated eleven times with a white cow, and the result was ten roans and one red. He was mated sixty times with a red or red-and-white cow, and every one of the calves was red. He was mated forty-two times with a roan cow, with the result that twenty-three of the calves were roan and nineteen red. ‘‘ Topsman’’ had white socks on: the hind shanks, and several of his calves had so too, probably about twenty-six of them, or 23 per cent.”’ Joun G. McKenprick. Maxieburn, Stonehaven, April 11. Ionisation of Air by Ultra-violet Light. Since Lenard has shown that ionisation of the air is produced by light of short wave-length, it has seemed advisable to extend his researches into the region of the extreme ultra-violet, discovered by Schumann, and to investigate the effect on air of light of wave-length below A 1850. For this purpose, a discharge tube filled with hydrogen to a pressure of 1 mm. of mercury, and a screen-cell, were used, both similar to those described by Prof. Lyman in the Astrophysical Journal, March. Below the screen-cell was a chamber where ionisation took place. Dry, dust- free air was blown through this chamber into a cylindrical condenser system. The ionisation produced by the light from the vacuum tube was measured by the charge acquired by one of the cylinders, the other being kept at a constant potential. The air pressure in the screen-cell could be varied at will. Precautions were taken to guard against surface effects. Under these conditions, it has been found that the ionisation increases in a most marked degree as the pressure in the screen-cell is decreased. It is, therefore, evident that ionisation is produced in air by light from that part of the spectrum discovered by Schumann, and that the effect increases considerably with decrease in wave-length, at all events, in the neighbourhood of A’ 1800. It is proposed to investigate the effect in some of the elementary gases. FREDERIC PALMER, jun. Haverford College, Haverford, Pa., U.S.A., April 10. THE INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICAL CONGRESS AT ROME. pee congress of 1908 has been considerably larger than its three predecessors. Up to April 4, the official membership list contained 648 names, but later additions have increased the number of those present to about 530 members, and 167 ladies accompanying them. The weather has been of the same unsettled character that we are accustomed to describe as “ British Association weather,’’ but the brilliancy of the gatherings has not been materially affected by the spells of rain. The proceedings commenced with a reception at the University, given by the rector (Prof. Tonelli) on Sunday, April 5, but the congress was formally opened on the following morning in the Hall of the Horatii and Curiatii at the Capitol, in the presence of the King, when addresses were read by Mr. Nathan, Mayor of Rome, by Prof. Blaserna, representing the Reale Accademia dei Lincei, and by the Minister of Public Instruction. A discourse was afterwards read by Prof. Vito Vol- terra on mathematical progress in Italy during the APRIL 23, 1908] NATURE 8 y ° 593 last half of the nineteenth century. Prof. Volterra discussed the work of Cremona, Betti, Brioschi, Bel- trami, Fergola, Battaglini, and Dini, and directed at- tention to the recent publication of Galileo’s complete works under the patronage of the King. The subsequent meetings were held in the magnifi- cent suite of rooms occupied by the Reale Accademia dei Lincei at the Palazzo Corsini, where ample accommodation was available for general and _ sec- tional meetings, as well as secretarial and post offices and a buffet. The pretty garden behind the palace was also thrown open, and in the groves the wild Bellevallia romana was in full flower. A service of automobiles running intermittently to and from the middle of the town was placed at the disposal of the members. At the first general meeting a report was presented by Profs. Segre, Noether and Poincaré, awarding the Guccia medal to Prof. Francesco Severi lor his work on geometry of algebraic surfaces. Subsequently Prof. Mittag-Leffler gave a lecture on the arithmetic representation of analytic functions of a complex variable, and Prof. Forsyth lectured on the present condition of partial differential equations of the second order as regards formal integration. The sectional meetings commenced on Tuesday morning, April 7, the sections being as follows :—i., analysis; il., geometry; iii.a, dynamics and mathe- matical physics; iii.b, statistical and practical applica- tions; iv., philosophy, history, and teaching of mathematics. In the section of analysis, Prof. Marcolongo directed attention to the lamentable death on March 30 of Dr. Laura Pisati, who was at that time preparing her paper for the congress entitled “‘ An Essay on a Syn- thetic Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable.’ From a long list of subsequent papers the following may be selected :—Jordan, solution of the sextic; Borel, theory of groups; Frizel, power of continuum; Young, applications of semi-continuous functions; Schlesinger, parametric problems in the theory of linear differential equations; Rémoundos, zeros of in- tegrals of a class of differential equations; Volterra, method of images in the hyperbolic type; E. G. Moore, a form of general analysis; Fredholm, Fourier’s integrals and theory of linear integral equa- tions; Adhémar, equations of Fredholm and Volterra; Orlando, resolution of integral equations; Stéphanos, extension of invariant and covariant theory of binary forms. In the geometry section, we note Andrade, theorem of Ampeére-Stockes and Euclid’s postulate; Bagnera, algebraic equations resolvable by meromorphic func- tions which are quadruply periodic in two parameters ; Severi, certain results in algebraic geometry with special reference to the irregularities of a linear system; Bianchi, Darboux’s transformation of sur- faces of minimal area; Brouwer, a theory of groups independent of the axioms of Sophus Lie. In section iii.a, Sir G. H. Darwin gave a com- munication on the rigidity of the earth, illustrated by diagrams showing the displacement of the vertical when the moon has a high north or south declination. It was estimated that the earth’s surface rose and fell 17 em. with the tides, and 20 cm. with variations of barometric pressure. Among other papers we notice Lauricella, certain extensions of the equation of elasticity; Lamb, a theoretical confirmation of the engineers’ approximate treatment of bending of beams; E. E. Levi, discussion of certain elastic de- formations which satisfy Weingastein’s but not Vol- terra’s condition; A. Korn, an attempt to build up a theory of pulsating spheres capable of accounting for electrical as well as gravitational phenomena; Levi Civita, retarded potentials; Garbasso, white light; NO. 2008, VOL. 77] Greenhill, geometry of gyroscopic motion, descriptive of a method of drawing families of curves hodographic to the Poinsot herpolhode; Sommerfeld, an attempt to account for turbulent motion of viscous liquids ; Genese, reciprocal polars applied to statics; Kolosoff, elastic problems in two dimensions treated by com- plex variables. Section iii.b met on three days only, the first two being devoted to statistical problems, with especial reference to life assurance. An address was given by the chairman, Signor Guido Toja, on the relations between mathematics and actuarial science, and the papers included Dawson, on necessary cautions in deal- ing with actuarial problems; Borel, application of probability to biology; Castelli, the teaching of actuarial science; Poussin and Elderton, papers of a graphical character; March, population statistics. The third sitting was devoted to the mathematics of engineering and building, a subject introduced by Prof. L. Luiggi. Papers were read by Prof. D’Ocagne, representing the French Office of Works, on the cal- culus in engineering, and the approximate rectifica- tion of circular ares; by Swain, on teaching of mathe- matics for engineers; by Canevazzi, and finally by Claxton Fidler, on the theory of construction. The last-named communication derives considerable import- ance from the reference to the comparatively recent bridge disaster in America, which a mathematical in- vestigation proved to have originated through one of the stays having had to play the part of a strut during the process of construction, thereby causing buckling, which would not have occurred in the completed structure. ; The fourth section was devoted on the Tuesday morning mainly to philosophical aspects of mathe- matics, the subject being introduced by Prof. Federigo Enriques. A discussion between Profs. Itelson and Pastor was a noticeable feature of the proceedings. On the Wednesday and Saturday the discussions were mostly historical. Prof. Krazer directed attention to the publication of Euler’s works, in accordance with a wish expressed at the previous congress, and proposed a vote of congratulation to the Swiss Society of Naturalists, which had undertaken the ini- tiative in this task. It was further proposed to invite the Association of Academies, and the Academies of Berlin and St. Petersburg in particular, to assist in preparing the volumes. A proposal was made by Prof. Amodeo in favour of the publication of the col- lected works of Bonaventura Cavalieri. Thursday and Friday were devoted to the teaching of mathe- matics. A number of reports had been invited as to the position of mathematical teaching in the schools of various countries. Germany was represented by Gutzmer, France by Borel, Great Britain by Godfrey (whose paper was summarised by Vailati, and dis- cussed by Gibson), the United States by D. T. Smith, Austria by Suppantschitsk, Hungary by Beke, Italy by Vailati and Conti, Switzerland by Fehr, Greece by Stéphanos. Prof. Archenhold proposed that a standing committee should be formed for the study of questions regarding the teaching of mathematics in secondary schools, this motion being carried in the section. Prof. Loria presented the first copy of the fourth volume of Moritz Cantor’s ‘* Vorlesungen tiber Geschichte der Matematik,’’ and a volume containing the report of the educational committee of the German Association of Naturalists and Physicians was pre- sented by Prof. Gutzmer. The sectional meetings have, as a rule, lasted only about a couple of hours, leaving plenty of time for exchange of ideas between individual congressists out- side the formal meetings. The discourses, occupying a little under an hour 584 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 each at the general meetings, have been another im- portant feature of the congress. We have referred to the first three of these discourses; the remainder were as follows :—Darboux, methods and problems of infinitesimal geometry ; von Dick, the Mathematical Encyclopedia; Newcomb, the theory of the lunar motion, its history and present state; Lorentz, par- tition of energy between matter and ether ; Poincaré, an address read by Prof. Darboux on the future of mathematics; Picard, analysis in relation to mathematical physics; G. Veronese, non-archimedean geometry. A lantern lecture was given by Prof. Stormer on the trajectories of electrified corpuscles in the field of a magnetic molecule, with applications to the Aurora Borealis. On the Wednesday evening a conversazione was given by the Municipality of Rome in the museum of fae Capitol, which was brilliantly illuminated for the occasion; the reception commenced at 10 p.m., and lasted until the early hours of the next morning. On the Thursday the congress was entertained to a sump- tuous tea, by invitation of the Minister of Public In- struction, at the Stadium discovered in 1893, on the Palatine Hill. The old mausoleum of Augustus has within the last two months been transformed into a concert hall, the stalls in which alone contained ample accommodation for the whole of the congressists. Here, on the Thursday evening, we listened to an crchestral concert conducted by Signor Luigi Mancin- elli. The programme would be generally described as modern music; most of it was certainly very ** modern.”’ A fitting termination to the work of the congress was afforded by a splendid open-air banquet at Tivoli, given in the grounds of the Hotel des Cascades on the Sunday, the morning being spent, so far as time allowed, in exploring Hadrian’s Villa, where the Anemone apennina and other spring flowers were in full bloom, while a hurried visit to the cascades, temple of Serapis, and pretty gardens of the Villa d’Este, sometime Iknown as the Villa Hohenlohe, occupied the too short interval after luncheon until the ‘* steam rumbler ’’ whirled us back to Rome, where we parted, hoping to meet in Cambridge in 1912. In the official list of congressists we note about twenty-two English names, one with a German ad- dress and another from Egypt. That Great Britain should only be represented by four per cent. of the total number of congressists affords abundant evi- dence of the position of isolation into which our nation has drifted in its neglect of higher mathematics. There were many proofs that the Italian as well as the German mathematicians present constituted a power- ful and influential body, and the presence of the King at the inaugural meeting—an honour rarely conferred on such occasions—together with the brilliancy of the receptions, afforded evidence of the esteem in which Italy holds the mathematical professors of her universities. The French Government was represented officially by six delegates, besides special representatives of its Office of Works and statistical service. The Govern- ments of Hungary and Roumania sent delegates, as did also many Continental actuarial societies and in- surance companies. It is greatly to be hoped that the decision to hold the next congress in Cambridge may be the means of awakening our country to the great disabilities under which English mathematicians labour, in regard to higher study and research, in comparison with the mathematicians of other nations. If any good is to be done, the Cambridge congress must consist of something more than a mere display of hospitality towards forei ign mathematicians. aN NO. 2008, VOL. 77] determined effort must be made to work up a large English contingent to meet and exchange ideas witlr the congressists of other countries. A strong feeling has been expressed against the Enghsh praetice at such occasions of officially providing private hos- pitality for some members and not for others, and it has been felt that the success of these foreign gather- ings is largely due to the absence of any organised system of limited hospitality. Such a system neces- sarily divides the members into two parties, and raises up a barrier to free intercourse between them. The invitation to Cambridge was proposed by Prof. Forsyth, who represented the Cambridge Philo- sophical Society. It was seconded by Prof. Blaserna, president of the present congress, and carried enthu- siastically. For the congress of 1916, Stockholm has been proposed. Before concluding, mention should be made of the special privileges offered by the Government and Municipality in throwing open all their museums and excavations to the congressists; the important conces- sions made by the Italian State Railways; and, last but not least, the unfailing courtesy of the local com- mittee, under the secretaryship of Prof. G. Castel- nuovo, through whose exertions everything passed off with the greatest success. G. H. Bryan. JUBILEE OF THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY- ERY few institutions have had such a remark- able influence on the history of any country as has been the case with the University of Calcutta, which celebrated its jubilee on March 14. To put the case on the lowest ground of mere numbers, while in the first year of its existence less than fifty students appeared at all its examinations from the matriculation upwards, during the last few years about 7ooo students have appeared annually for its matriculation examination alone, while also in this its jubilee year no fewer than 855 students have taken their degrees in such Suinenes as arts, science, medicine, law and engineering. Educational effort on Western lines has naturally been of comparatively recent development in India. For many years after the East India Company had taken over the administration of the territories which had been acquired in India, no attempt was made to establish any regular system of education, and, in- deed, no pains seem to have been taken even to foster the indigenous systems which had been in exist- ence throughout the country for many centuries. Later on spasmodic efforts were, however, made to try to prevent the higher forms of oriental learning from falling into decay by the establishment of the Caleutta Madrasah in 1782, intended for Mohamme- dans and for the study ef Arabic and Persian, while a college for Hindus was started nine years later, the aim of which was to foster the study of Sanskrit and Sanskritic languages. The general neglect of education by the adminis- tration ‘continued up to about 1813, from which time public funds appear to have been set apart system- atically for the furtherance of education. Up till about 1835 education was conducted largely by oriental methods and in oriental subjects, and the authorities were bent upon the improvement of educa— tion by the encouragement of those learned in Sans- krit and Arabic. At that time Lord Macaulay wrote a minute, which has since become historical, advo- cating the introduction of Western education into India, and the teaching of all the higher subjects through the medium of English. From 1835 to 1854 there was much controversy as to which of these two APRIL 23, 1908] NAEORE 585 systems was besi; but the teaching of English con- tinued to make fairly rapid headway, and was popular with Indian gentlemen. A despatch from the Court of Directors of the East India Company, written by Sir Charles Wood in 1854, dealt with the whole ques- tion in a most masierly way, and practically set the question at rest in favour of the higher teaching being conducted on Western lines and through the medivnn | of English. This despatch was quickly followed in 1856 by the creation of regular education departments in the great provinces of India, manned largely by graduates of English universities, and in 1857 by the establishment of the Calcutta University, and later on of the Universities of Madras and Bombay. It says much for the faith and energy of those in power in India in 1857 that during the actual period of the Indian Mutiny steps were being taken to create Indian universities, and to foster in every way the educational advancement of the country. The Calcutta University thus had a clear and favourable field for its operations, for the spread of education through the medium of English was at once warmly welcomed by Indian gentlemen, and year by year it continues to increase in favour. So rapid, indeed, has been the growth of high education in India that within the area originally allotted to the Calcutta University, two other universities (Punjab and Allahabad) have had to be created, and still the numbers from the restricted area are almost more than can be dealt with by that university. At the time of the formation of the Calcuita Uni- versity the London University was thought to be the best model to be followed, but judging by results it would ‘probably have been beiter if the model of the older universities had been followed, if residential colleges had been formed, and if a teaching rather than an examining university had been started. In time probably the “latter will be the ideal which will be aimed at in India. The Calcutta University, for nearly the first fifty years of its existence, has confined itself mainly to the task of merely examining students sent up to it from recognised or affiliated institutions. Of course, by laying down subjects for examination the university has practically determined the subjects which had to be taught in the colleges and schools sending up the candidates, but the university has hitherto exercised no control as to the fitness of the affiliated institutions for the work they were supposed to carry on. At first little trouble arose from this fact, but great diffi- culties arose owing to the extraordinarily rapid growth in the number of “colleges and schools, which rose at one time to about eighty colleges and about 600 schools, which had the privilege of sending up can- didates. Many of such insiitutions were competing with each other with fierce rivalry, and some, if not many, attracted students largely by lowness of fees and laxity of discipline. Many institutions were thus working under unsatisfactory conditions, they were inadequately and imperfectly staffed, and the ay had few teaching appliances. They suffered indeed so acutely from extremely inadequate funds that really they could not do more than they were actually doing. With the sending up of very large numbers of imperfectly trained candidates for examination, and their conse- quent failure, the usual desire to lower standards was manifested, and the examinations almosi necessarily became suited to the average level of the affiliated institutions and to the tez iching there given. It was with a view to raise the whole tone and standard of university education in India that a new University Act was passed some four years ago, and under this a complete set of new regulations has been framed. Under them standards are being raised, NO. 2008, VOL. 77] courses are being made more thorough, examinations are being made more practical, specially in the science subjects, original research is being fostered, and has been made compulsory for the higher degrees in science and literature, and post-graduate study is being encouraged by the creation of university reader- ships and professorships. In uther important matters attempts are being made to deal with the residence and discipline of “college students, and to bring influence to bear on the form- ation of their characters. In the past the condition of affairs in these respects has been somewhat de- plorable, and the general influence of the surround- ings of students has left much to be desired. What is really wanted for India is a series of residential colleges of the type of the Mohammedan college at Aligarh, in the United Provinces, where most excel- lent work is being done, intellectually, physically, and morally. Under these new regulations, in order to retain affiliation or recognition, all institutions send- ing up candidates to the Calcutta University have w be» inspected periodically by the university authorities, and are bound to conform to certain standards of work, of equipment, and of care for the well-being of their students, while numerous other reforms have been insisted on. The new regulations are being gradually but firmly introduced, under the Vice- Chancellor, Mr. Justice Asutosh Mukerji, who is one of the most distinguished of the graduates of the Calcutta University, but it will naturally take many years before their full effect will be felt. In the future too much stress cannot be laid on the desirability of closer and closer union between the colleges and the university, and the assumption of the higher teaching by or under the immediate direction of the university itself. The de- velopment of the residential system is also much to ba desired if discipline is to be improved and character formed. The eloquent speeches delivered at the Con- vocation on March 14 by H.E. the Chancellor (Lord Minto), and the Vice-Chancellor (Mr. Justice Mukerji), show that these objects are being steadily kept in view, and that the work of reform is progressing steadily, and perhaps even rapidly. It will hence be agreed that there is a bright future in store for the Calcutta University. RECENT WORK ON PLAGUE. INCE Yersin’s discovery of the Bacillus pestis in 1894, bacteriological experiment has shown the possibility of spreading plague infection among rats and other mammals through the intermediation of fleas. The reports before us are concerned especially with the proof that this is the means by which epidemics are actually set up. Such proof may be summed up as follows :— In the first place Major Lamb, of the commission, with the members who carried out the worl under the «gis of the advisory committee, shows by numerous charts and by series of maps that the epidemic follows closely in time and place the dis- tribution of the epizootic among Mus vrattus. In Bombay this epizootic, in its turn, is similarly related to that among Mus decumanus. In earlier reports they have dealt with the results obtained by using 1 (1) Journal of Hygiene, vol. vii., No. 6, December, 1907. Third extra number, containing Reports on Plague Investigations in India, issued by the Advisory C ommittee appointed by the Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society, and the Lister Institute. (Cambridge: U Dey) Press.) Price 6s. (2) ““ Report on Plague in Queensland (February 26, :g00-June 30, 1907).”” 3y B. Burnett Ham. (Brisbane : Public Health Department, 1907.) (3) ‘The Etiology and Epidemiology of Plavue. A Summary of the Work of the Plague Commission.” Pp. vit+93. (Calcutta, 1908.) Price 4 annas, or 5. 586 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 Liston’s ingenious method of experimentation with guinea-pigs. It has been shown that these animals are very rarely infected from soil or clothes grossly contaminated with cultures of the Bacillus pestis, or from other plague-infected guinea-pigs, so long as fleas are excluded. On the other hand, they readily contract plague when exposed to the attacks of fleas which have fed on plague-infected animals. Follow- ing up this method, the commission placed healthy guinea-pigs in buildings where it appeared that plague was contracted, and found that the test animals died of plague, and, further, that the fleas they picked up in these surroundings could be trans- ferred to fresh animals in the laboratory and infect them also with plague. An exceedingly interesting experiment on these lines was carried out in Sion Village. One part of this village was evacuated by the inhabitants on the discovery of a dead rat. The commission at once took advantage of the “‘ guinea- pig method,’’ and substituted a population of healthy guinea-pigs for the decamped inhabitants. These guinea-pigs were confined to their several houses, and all chance of direct spread of infection among them was excluded. In these circumstances an epizootic appeared among the new population, which progressed through the village, following the dis- tribution of a simultaneous epizootic among the rats (M. rattus). The guinea-pig plague was so severe that thirty-six out of fifty-one animals put in the houses died. The evidence brought against the direct spread of plague from man to man rests on the immunity of hospital staffs, and of friends of patients in hospital, who very frequently lived at the bedside throughout the course of the disease. Again, the village of Worli offered an example of what often occurs. Three cases of plague were imported into the village, but in the absence of an epizootic the infection did not spread. With regard to the beginning of an epizootic in a fresh locality, it seems that infection may be carried by a healthy man and spread from him to the rats of his dwelling. Such infection, the commission supposes, is flea-borne. The yearly recrudescence of plague may be due to such fresh importation, or to the persistence of acute plague throughout the year, affecting only a few rats. The commission found in two Punjab villages that cases of chronic plague abscess in rats occurred at intervals all the year round. Whether such cases might be able to re- kindle an epizootic of acute plague is not clear, and seems to demand further experiment. With regard to the spread of infection during an epidemic, the Queensland report gives us valuable data. Mr. Burnett Ham, dealing with small epidemics, and a population more amenable than that of Bombay to sanitary regulation, was able to trace definitely the source of infection in a large majority of cases to houses, stores, or ships where the presence of infected rats was proved. An excep- tional occurrence was the outbreak of pneumonic plague in Maryborough in 1905. The infection in this instance spread directly from patient to patient; nine cases occurred. The seasonal exacerbation of plague remains un- accounted for. In Queensland and in Bombay, in opposite hemispheres, the plague-seasons still broadly coincide, though the plague-maxima in Queensland vari considerably—from February to August—in different years. A study of the figures given for the variations in the flea-infestation of rats does not reveal a complete explanation of the phenomenon. Vor instance, the Punjab experiments show that fleas NO. 2008, VOL. 77| become frequent months before the plague season begins. Fleas were actually on the decrease when rat-plague was rising to its maximum in Kasel and Dhand. Nor can we suppose that the temperature in Bombay in the cold season is low enough to keep plague in abeyance until the spring. We learn from the reports that the mean temperature of Bombay for the cold season is about 75° F., and a glance at the chart, which gives meteorological data in con- nection with the Queensland epidemics, shows that plague may appear, spread, and maintain itself under a mean temperature varying between 50° and 7o° F. The Queensland report, in addition to epidemiological data, gives a large amount of clinical information, and experiments on the prophylactic and curative value of anti-pest sera. Experiments with rat-viruses carefully maintained at high viru- lence gave results more encouraging in the labor- atory than in the field. Major G. Lamb is responsible for the third volume under notice, and he has used the opportunity to give us a very clear outline of the present state of knowledge on the subject of plague. He also indi- cates the lines along which sanitary measures may be taken with advantage. While stating that this summary represents his personal opinions, he shows how these opinions arise logically out of the ex- periments carried out by the commission. The lacune in our knowledge are brought into a healthy prominence by a summary of this nature. We do not yet possess trustworthy information as to rat population (part ii. B.), while our only means of taking a census is that of recording the percentage number of rats caught per traps set. One thing is pretty clear—that the most efficient trapping will never of itself reduce the rats of any considerable area below the minimum necessary for the spread of an epizootic. Part iii. disposes of transmission of infection by direct contact, by the air, by food, or through the soil, and gives the proofs for transmission by the rat-flea. Direct contagion certainly occurs in pneumonic plague, but this is so rare as to fall out- side the main problem. Though man plays a minor réle in the spread of an epidemic (part iv.), yet he is directly concerned in the importation of the disease into healthy areas (part vii.). It has been shown that hungry rat-fleas will cling to man and yet refrain from feeding for a considerable time. The man in the meantime may have travelled some distance and have arrived at a house where rats are abundant. His guests will then leave him for their natural hosts, and thus the rats may become infected while the man renmains healthy. At the end of the plague season in any locality plague may die out completely, or the epizootic may continue at a low level through the off-season, In the latter case the locality becomes a focus from which infection will be spread; with the arrival of the next plague season, over the surrounding country. Thus rats with acute plague are caught in Bombay all the year round. The sum of these investigations may perhaps be expressed as follows. Extinction of rats, extinction of fleas, or exclusion of rats from dwellings might any one of them put an end to human ‘plague, but all are exceedingly difficult to realise. On the other hand, the conditions which determine the off-plague season are not fully known, and may still give an indication of some practicable method of fighting the disease. Further investigation is urgently demanded. Ne APRIL 23, 1908] NATURE 587 Mr. J. R., Penneny, Mr.. A. Kinnes, and Mr. H. C. Ne Booth have been appointed to the vacant” junior assistant- AccorpinG to the Pioneer Mail, the provision of a Pasteur Institute for Burma is now assured, but some little time must elapse before the work can be started. The local community has come forward liberally in subscribing nearly a lakh of rupees, and the Government of India is understood to be addressing the Burma Administration on the subject of ways and means for carrying the scheme into effect, the total cost of such an institution being, of course, much in excess of the sum that has been raised. Ar the sixth annual meeting of the Association of Economic Biologists, held at University College, London, on April 15, Mr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S., was elected presi- dent for 1908. A summary of the scientific proceedings appears among our reports of societies. The following resolution was passed at the meeting :—‘‘ That this association, recognising the great need of an organised inquiry into the feeding habits of the birds of the British Isles with the view of obtaining a practical knowledge of their economic status, is of the opinion that a committee should be formed with the object of carrying on investiga- tions on this subject.”’ On Tuesday next, April 28, Mr. Gerald Stoney will begin a course of two lectures at the Royal Institution on “The Development of the Modern Turbine and _ its Application ’’; on Thursday, April 30, Mr. W. Bateson will commence a course of three lectures on ‘‘ Mendelian Heredity *”’ (these are the Tyndall lectures); and on Satur- day, May 2, Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot will deliver the first of two lectures on ‘‘ Chile and the Chilians.’’ The Friday evening discourse on May 1 will be delivered by Prof. Joseph Larmor, on ‘‘ The Scientific Work of Lord Kelvin’; on. May 8 by Mr. J. Y. Buchanan, on “ Ice and its Natural History ’’; and on May 15 by Mr. Herbert Timbrell Bulstrode, on ‘‘ The Past and Future of Tubercu- losis.” : At the London Institution on April 15, Mr. Valdemar Poulsen lectured on ‘‘ Telephoning without Wires.’’ The paper was translated and read to the audience, and showed that Mr. Poulsen has made a great advance in radio- telephony since his last lecture in London at the Queen’s Hall two years ago. The progress made in wireless telephony is shown by the fact that conversation has been carried on across Denmark from Lyngby to another wire- less telephone exchange at Esberg, 170 miles distant. The reproduction of the voice was clear and distinct, and easy to recognise. In addition to this, a further trial was made with a phonograph played in Berlin, the music of which was heard distinctly at Lyngby, near Copenhagen, 290 miles distant. At the close of the lecture some experi- ments with a phonograph were made, and the strains of two pieces of music were radiated to a telephone box in the roof of the building, whence the audience were enabled to hear the reproduction through telephone receivers. Mr. Poulsen showed an apparatus which was guaranteed to receive wireless messages in the Morse code, telephone cables, and wireless photographs. The wireless photo- graphs are produced by the deflection of a recorder for the fraction of a second by wireless impulse. A ray of light shines on a photographic plate, and consequently a photographic negative of easily read signals is produced. Mr. Poulsen has also produced a practical transmitter of such a size that it can easily be carried in baggage, and thus enables an officer on sea or land to communicate with other units in his own voice. NO. 2008, VOL. 77] ships in the National Physical Laboratory. Some months ago we had occasion to notice a paper by Mr. G. R. Marriner on the habits of the New Zealand kea parrot. A volume by the same observer, entitled ‘““The Kea: a New Zealand Problem,’’ is now announced by Messrs. Marriner and Spencer, of Christchurch, N.Z. We have to acknowledge the receipt of two parts (vol. xi., part ii., and vol. xii., part i.) of the Transactions of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. In the latter of these, special interest attaches to a paper by Mr. T. O. Bosworth on the origin and mode of deposit of the Upper Keuper beds of the county. In this paper, which was read at the Leicester meeting of the British Association, the author points out that the climate of the Carboniferous epoch, like that of the present day, had a highly disintegrating effect on the igneous rocks of Charn- wood Forest. Where, however, the Charnwood rocks have been buried under Keuper deposits, they present a sharp, uneroded surface, indicating the existence of dry desert conditions at the date of deposition of the latter. In the February issue of the Bulletin international of the Academy of Sciences of Cracow, Mr. K. Stolyhwo describes a human skull dating from the historic period which presents strong indications of close affinity with the Spy-Neanderthal type, the so-called Homo primigenius, of the Paleolithic epoch. The skull, it appears, formed part of a skeleton from a tomb in which was also buried a suit of chain-armour, together with iron spear-heads, &c. In the great development of the supra-orbital ridges and of the notch at the root of the nasals, the skull, which was found at Nowosiolka, closely approximates to the Neanderthal type. It may be added that, in view of Prof. Sollas’s recent reference of the latter to the Australian stock, the occurrence in eastern Europe of a late survival of the same type is a matter of profound interest. Tue Indian’ Forest Department has decided to issue two new serials, Indian Forest Records and Indian Forest Memoirs, for the publication of departmental literature. The first part of the Records, published in Calcutta in January, is devoted to an elaborate account, by Mr. E. P. Stebbing, entomologist to the department, of the lac-insect and its product. Although the exports of lac from India are of immense value, amounting in 1905-6 to more than three crores of rupees, a comparatively small revenue is yielded to the Forest Department from this source, and one of the objects of the inquiry was to ascertain whether matters could not be put on a more satisfactory footing in this respect. The inquiry also related to possible improvements in the methods of collecting the lac. The account is illustrated with two plates, one devoted to the life-history of the insect and the other to the mode of formation of the lac. It is unfortunate that, on ‘its first page, the part bears the date of 1907 instead of 1908. INSECTS injurious to the valuable sal-forests of Assam, together with the parasites and other insects by which they are infested or attacked, form the subject of an article by Mr. Stebbing, issued at Calcutta as Forest Bulletin No. 11. It has long been known that these forests are subject to severe damage from the attacks of leaf-eating caterpillars, but Mr. Stebbing considered it probable that the chief harm would be found due to a longicorn beetle akin to the one attacking sal-timber in central India. Unfortunately, this suggestion has proved only too true, 588 NATURE [Arrin 23, 1968 ° great damage being caused to the Assam timber-supply by the species (Hoplocerambyx spinicornis) so harmful to the forests of Chutia Nagpur. Tue report for the year 1906, prepared by Mr. J. H. Maiden, appertaining to the botanic gardens and Govern- ment domains in Sydney, has been received. A list of groups of plants specially interesting to students is pro- vided, and the situations in which they may be found. The successful novelties introduced to the gardens include Fagus sylvatica, var. heterophylla, Physostegia virginiana, Cassia occidentalis, known as Negro Coffee, the indigenous species Angophora cordifolia and Cheiranthera linearis, and some West Australian shrubs. Dr. C. Hosseus communicates to Engler’s Botanische Jahrbiicher (vol. xl., part iv.) an account of the vegetation observed on Doi Sutap, a mountain situated in the Shan States attached to Siam. Ascending from the rice fields, a light wood of teak and Albizzia, carpeted with composites and leguminous plants, was first reached. The “ Hill Eng’ forest, composed of species of Dipterocarpus and allied genera, on which numerous epiphytes grow, began at an elevation of 1000 feet. After ascending 2000 feet higher a forest of Pinus khasyana was found, giving place to bamboo vegetation at 4ooo feet. In this zone the new genus of the order Rafflesiaceze, Richthofenia siamensis, was discovered; several new species were also found near and between the summits. Ir is usual to associate Montserrat with the production of limes, so that it occasions some surprise to read in the annual report for 1906-7 of the botanical establishments on that island that cotton promises to become the most important industry. In the space of four years there has been a significant increase in the amount and value of the cotton exported. At the same time, the distribution list of the botanic station furnishes evidence of a consider- able demand for limes, in addition to which cacao and Castilloa rubber trees have been in request. An introduced industry, in the shape of onions grown from Teneriffe seed, shows a remarkable development within the year, and it is stated that further expansion is only prevented by the limited shipping facilities. AN trees, article by Mr. A. Maumerné on Japanese dwarf their forms and cultivation, is published the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (vol. xxxii., part i.). There are definite esthetic canons regulating the forms and outlines that produced. Many of the artistic effects are due to training of the branches, others to special development of the roots. Conifers the plants for working especially species of Thuya and Pinus. Grafting is frequently practised with specics of Podocarpus and maples. In the same volume will be found a useful article on horticultural law, by Mr. H. M. Veitch, in which he discusses such points as rights with regard to overhanging trees, fixtures, and trespassers. An annotated list of Gesneraceze is contributed by Colonel H. Beddome. in are are favourite on, Messrs. CONSTABLE AND Co. have just commenced the publication of a new monthly magazine—The Country Home—the scope of which is sufficiently conveyed in the title. Descriptions of artistic and famous country houses are provided in the accounts of Stoke D’Abernon Manor House and of several black-and-white timbered houses in Cheshire and adjacent counties. natural history There is a sprinkling of in various articles. Mr. F. Moore con- tributes NO. 2008, VOL. 77] | an excellent article on the making of lawns, and one may expect useful hints on intensive cultivation in the legend of the gardener and the cook, told by Miss L. Yates. Mr. J. W. Qdell writes the monthly notes on the garden and greenhouse. In extending a welcome to this new venture, which is attractively got up and well printed, it may be hinted that, possibly for the sake of variety, several of the articles are too short to arouse much interest. ““A CaraLtoGue of the Library of Charles Darwin now in the Botany School, Cambridge,’’ has been compiled by Mr. H. W. Rutherford, of the University library, and published by the Cambridge University Press. Mr. Francis Darwin has contributed an introduction, in which he gives interesting information, supplementary to the account con- tained in the ‘‘ Life and Letters,’’ concerning his father’s methods of work and treatment of books. The collection of books now bequeathed to the University is not identical with that at Down; thus, the books Darwin wrote and some few others from Down remain in the possession of Mr. Francis Darwin. Darwin’s pamphlets are not in- cluded in the catalogue, though part of them are on the shelves alongside his books. ‘The introduction points out hardly ever had a book bound, and the collection retains to a great degree its original ragged appearance. The general characteristic of the library is incompleteness, hardly any set of periodicals being perfect. The chief interest of the Darwin books lies in the pencil notes scribbled on their pages, or written on scraps of paper and pinned to the last page. Books are also to be that Darwin ; found marked with a cypher, as described in “ Life and Letters.’ Mr. Francis Darwin provides many facts of interest in connection with some of the more important books included in the library. In a preface, Prof. Seward expresses to Mr. Darwin the high appreciation of the botany school University for rendering the library available all students. The price of the catalogue is net. and to Sie In the Engineering Magazine for April, Mr. Jacques Boyer illustrated description of the rescue appliances used in the French collieries, special attention being given to the Tissot respirator, which dates from 1907, and the Vanginot respirator, which has been in service for several years in the Paris Fire Department, and is coming into increasing use in the French collieries. gives an BuLtetIn No. 250 of the Michigan State Agricultural College contains a full description, with plans and illustra- tions from photographs, of the new college farm buildings recently erected at a cost of 15,000 dollars, of which 10,000 dollars was granted by the Michigan State Legis- ‘The designed solely for ordinary farm purposes, and not for special experiments, and the bulletin is issued with the idea of furnishing farmers with plans of buildings considered suitable for the local require- ments. lature. buildings are Ar the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on April 10, Prof. Bertram Hopkinson read a paper on the effect of mixture strength and scavenging upon thermal efficiency. The method used for measuring the gas, described in the author’s previous paper on the mechanical efficiency of a forty brake horse-power Crossley gas-engine, especially advantageous, for it gave the actual volume of gas used in the series of forty or fifty explosions from which the indicator diagrams were taken, and the materials for a complete measurement could thus be obtained in a Diagrams with three or four different gas- was few minutes. consumptions could be got within an hour, during which APRIL 23. 1908] NATURE 589 time the calorific value of the gas would remain constant, | It is based upon a novel theory of perception, the exposi- so that the effect of changing the strength of mixture or of scavenging by running without load could be very accurately determined. When allowance is made for the gas discharged unburnt, the efficiency is not much affected by scavenging provided the strength of mixture is kept the same, which implies an increase of about 15 per cent. in the gas-charge, with, of course, a corresponding increase of mean pressure. At the same meeting Mr. James Atkinson read a paper on the governing and regularity of gas-engines, in which the various methods of governing employed were critically discussed. Tue report of the Observatory Committee of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society for the year 1907 has been received. The Falmouth Observatory is one of the important meteorological establishments subsidised by the London Meteorological Committee for the tabulation of automatic records; it has a complete magnetic equipment, and during the year in question received material assist- ance from the Royal Society towards the maintenance of this branch of its useful work. The observations fairly represent the conditions in the west of England; the mean temperature of 1907 was 0°-4 below, and the rainfall 2-78 inches above, the mean. During a brilliant display of aurora, on February 9, the magnetographs showed that a storm of great intensity was in progress. Tue Stonyhurst College Observatory (Lancashire), which has likewise sent us a copy of the results for 1907, also receives some allowance from the Meteorological Office. Its records (together with those of the Liverpool Observa- tory) represent the meteorological conditions in the north- west district of England, and it possesses a valuable series of observations extending over sixty years. The rainfall of the year was 3 inches above, and the temperature 0°-6 below, the average. Magnetic observations are carefully recorded, but the staff is too limited to undertake hourly tabulations from the curves. Some 198 drawings of sun- spots and facula were made, and Father Sidgreaves re- marks on an unexpected revival of solar activity and magnetic diturbance. Tue Royal Geographical Society has published a “Bibliography of Topographical and Geological Works on the Phlegraan Fields,’? by Mr. R. T. Giinther, con- taining about 2200 titles of books, papers in scientific and other periodicals, maps, and drawings, relating to the city of Naples and the country to the west of it, together with the volcanic islands in the vicinity. The catalogue is specifically restricted to the geomorphology, topography, and physical features of the region, and is arranged as a subject catalogue, the entries being grouped in topographical sections or sections devoted to special sub- ‘jects, and printed in each group consecutively in order of date of publication. When supplemented, as in this case, by an index of authors and subiects, no more con- venient arrangement could be devised. The catalogue will be of great service to students of volcanic and kindred phenomena, and to others interested in the region dealt with, but the reference to geology in the title might well ‘have been omitted, for the list is by no means complete in ‘this department; we notice the inclusion of papers which hhave no real bearing on the subjects to which the biblio- Sraphy is restricted, and the omission of others which should have been included. > _ Tue March number of the Psychological Review con- ‘tains the second of two interesting articles, by Dr. Boris Sidis, setting forth a new explanation of hallucinations. NO: 2008; VOL. 77 tion of which was contained in the former article. The perception of an object involves, as is well known, a reference to other sense qualities of the object than those immediately presented. Thus we may ‘‘see,’’ not only the transparency, smoothness, and whiteness of a lump of ice, but also its coldness and weight. Former doctrines of perception have regarded the latter factors of the per- ceptual complex as images; in opposition to this view Dr. Sidis maintains that, like the former, they are sensational. He distinguishes them from the sensational elements the material causes of which actually affect the sense organs, by calling the latter ‘“‘primary’’ and the former ““secondary sensory elements.’’ In normal perception we have a group containing elements of both types organised round a nucleus of primary elements, but under abnormal conditions it may happen that the primary sensory elements become subconscious or fall entirely out of the patient’s consciousness, leaving a group of secondary sensory elements standing as an independent synthetised compound. Such a dissociated group of secondary sensory elements constitutes an hallucination. Dr M. Marace described before the Paris Academy of Sciences a method invented by him of photographing the vibrations of a thin india-rubber membrane when acted on by the tones of the human voice. A small mirror is attached to the membrane, and a beam of light is reflected from it upon a band of sensitised paper slowly moved by a small electromotor. After receiving the impression the photographic paper is drawn by the motor through two develeping baths, and finally into a fixing bath. There is nothing strikingly novel in the method, and the examples of the tracings given in the paper published in the Comptes vendus of the academy do not seem to be clear or to give much information. Mr. J. W. Girtay, of Delft, Holland, has sent us a descriptive catalogue of apparatus for demonstrating the action of light on selenium. The selenium cells listed are of the Shelford Bidwell type, their resistance in the dark ranging from 25,000 ohms to 500,000 ohms. Low resist- ance and high sensitiveness, it is noted, do not go together. These cells have been manufactured by Mr. Giltay ever since 1881, and among those to whom they have been supplied is Dr. Korn, who uses them in his well-known process of telegraphic photography. Their capabilities in this direction are demonstrated by a reproduction of an excellent portrait of Dr. Korn, which was transmitted electrically. Among other apparatus described is a minia- ture photophone. Words spoken into the mouth-piece of the transmitter act upon an acetylene manometric flame, which illuminates a selenium cell placed near it; the cell is connected in circuit with a battery and a_ telephone receiver in a distant room, and the speaker’s voice is heard at the telephone. Several modifications of this apparatus are described. A compact battery of forty-nine cells, pro- viding the high electromotive force requisite for experi- ments with selenium, is supplied at a moderate price. Le Radium for March contains an account of the Worl: done recently by M. A. Dufour on the effect of pressure on the wave-lengths of the absorption lines of nitrogen peroxide and bromine. The observations made hitherto on the effect of pressure on emission spectra have led to the conclusion that the lines of bands were unaffected. M. Dufour finds, on the contrary, that certain lines of the absorption spectra of the two vapours mentioned are influenced by pressures up to about 20 atmospheres. The whole of the lines of the absorption bands are broadened 59° and rendered less sharp, but certain lines are’ unaltered in wave-length, while others increase by amounts of the order of a few hundredths of an Angstrom unit per atmo- sphere increase of pressure. ‘There seems to be no con- nection between the influence of pressure on the wave- length and the Zeeman effect in the case of bromine, although there may possibly be such a connection in the case of nitrogen peroxide. SoLvuTions of the examples in “‘ A Sequel to Elementary Geometry,’’ by Mr. J. W. Russell, which was reviewed in the issue of Nature for February 6 last (vol. Ixxvii., p. 315), have been prepared by the author, and published at the Clarendon Press, Oxford. The price of this key is 3s. 6d. net. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. STRUCTURE OF THE CorONA.—In No. 19, vol. ii., of the Mitteilungen der Nikolai-Hauptsternwarte zu Pulkowo, Prof. Hansky discusses the results derived from a study of the photographs of the corona taken by the Pulkowa expedition at Alcocébre (Spain) during the total solar eclipse of August, 1905. The principal aim of the photographs was to determine the velocity of the propagation of coronal matter in space, and the eight exposures were therefore arranged symmetrically about mid-eclipse, and given approximately equal times. Each streamer and prominence shown on the photo- graphs is discussed very fully, and Prof. Hansky finally draws the following conclusions. The corona of 1905 was of the “‘maximum” type, and was divided into eight groups of streamers, arranged symmetrically about the sun’s axis. It appears probable that the forms and direc- tions of the coronal streamers depend upon the forms and directions of the prominences above which they are found. In this conclusion Prof. Hansky’s result agrees with that recently published by Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer (see Nature, No. 2005, p. 514). The centres of emission of the streamers, though often near spots, do not coincide with them. Those streamers which occur over great promin- ences are readily distinguishable by their forms. The jets of prominences resemble jets of matter, the observed velocity of which approximates to 200 km. per sec. Any movement of coronal clouds above prominences is shown to be very slow, its velocity not exceeding 30 km. per sec. ; this is so small that any such movement during the three minutes of totality would not produce a change of position sufficiently great to exceed the limits of observational errors. SPECTROSCOPIC BINARIES NOW UNDER OBSERVATION.— With the view of assisting in the prevention of unnecessary duplication in the observation of spectroscopic binaries, Prof. Frost, director of the Yerkes Observatory, recently addressed a circular letter to the principal observers in this work asking them to furnish him, for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, with a list of the objects now under observation at the several institutions. The various replies appear in No. 2, vol. xxvii., of the journal (p. 161), and show that duplicate observations are already in pro- gress. Prof. Hartmann points out, whilst furnishing a list of stars, that duplication is not necessarily an evil, for, with the determination of radial velocities still in a state of evolution, such duplication serves as an independent check on the various results. Prof. Pickering suggests several pieces of work where cooperation would probably lead to useful results, and points out that, even with an objective-prism spectrograph, the star ¢ Ursze Majoris shows marked irregularities in its spectrum which have not yet been accounted for. Tue RELATION BETWEEN THE COLOURS AND PERIODS OF VarIaBLE StTars.—In an interesting paper which appears in No. 4238 of the Astronomische Nachrichten (p. 209, March 9), Herr S. Beljawsky, Gottingen, discusses at some length the relation found to exist between the colours ind the periods of variable stars. From the tables and curves given in the paper it is seen that in general the NO. 2008, VOL. 77] NATURE [ApRIL 23, 1908 variable stars of long period are much redder than the short-period variables. Regarding the amplitudes of the typical light-curves, it is found that up to periods of 200 days the amplitude increases with the period, bryce 200 days it appears to remain constant. A Fietp Metnop OF DETERMINING LoNGiTruDES.—Paper No. 5 of the Egyptian Survey Department is devoted to an explanation, by Mr. E. B. H. Wade, of an instrument designed by him for making field determinations of longi- tude by observations of the moon. By a system of mirrors placed at the object-glass end of a small 23-inch tele-— scope, Mr. Wade successively brings the images of two stars in contact, tangentially, with the limb of the moon, thus finding the times of equal lunar distance. The apparatus is ingeniously designed, and is readily portable. Full explanations of the instrument and the method are given in the paper, which is illustrated by a number of diagrams and curves. f OBSERVATIONS OF ERos.—The results of ten measures of the position of Eros, made with the 15-inch refractor of the Uccle Observatory during the period September 25 to October 19, 1907, are published i in No. 4240 of the Astro- nomische Nachrichten (p. 252, March 23) by Herr G. Van Biesbroeck. Comparing the positions thus determined with those given in the ephemeris published in the ‘© Berliner Jahrbuch ” for 1909, it is seen that the mean corrections to the latter are —r1-10os. in R.A. and —8!.o in declination. VARIABLE RapiAL VELOCITY OF 7 VirGINIs.—A note in No. 2, vol. xxvii., of the Astrophysical Journal (p. 160, March) gives the provisional elements of the orbit of the brighter component of » Virginis, as determined at the Ottawa Observatory by Mr. W. E. Harper. The period is found to be 71-9 days, the velocity of the system +2-2 km. per sec., the eccentricity of the orbit o-4, and the length of the semi-major axis 25,750,000 km. The - velocity-curve shows a _ variation from —4o km. to. +20 km. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS AND z REPORTS. ; ‘THE eighth report of the Woburn Experimental Fruit — Farm contains a very valuable investigation of the washes commonly used for spraying fruit trees. They have hitherto been made up in rather a haphazard way, without much reference to the chemical changes involved and Mr. Pickering is to be congratulated on having re- duced them to a scientific basis. He shows that Bordeaux mixture (obtained by precipitating copper sulphate solution with lime) made in the ordinary way consists of 1oCuO,SO,,4CaO,SO,, but this is not so economical as another precipitate, 4CuO,SO,, for obtaining which full instructions are given. An investigation of the ‘* Woburn wash’? (paraffin emulsion and caustic soda) led to a very important ex amination of emulsions in general, which has enabled Mr. Pickering to state the conditions under which they may be expected to form. When oil is churned with water it” is broken up into very minute particles; if still smaller particles of an insoluble substance are present they coat” the oil drops and prevent them from coalescing; an emulsion is therefore formed. During the progress of this work Mr. Pickering discovered a new emulsion whicel promises to be of great service to the fruit-grower. Basie copper sulphate (obtained by adding lime to ordinar copper sulphate) was churned with oil and water, and gave a perfect emulsion to which caustic soda could be added without any adverse effect. The result is a wash contain ing the three things which have to be used in winter and spring; the grower can therefore get them all on in one operation instead of in three as hitherto. The insecticidal and fungicidal action of these and other washes was also investigated, and there is a discussion of the nature of the action of insecticides. ! Of late years molasses has been increasingly used as_ cattle food, and various agricultural stations have investi-— gated its digestibility and nutritive value. A Bulletin) APRIL 23, 1998] NATURE 591 Y recently issued by the Massachusetts Experiment Station (No. 118) gives the results of experiments by Lindsey, Holland, and Smith. They found that any large quantity of molasses depresses the digestibility of the other con- stituents of the ration; this is known to be the general effect of too much carbohydrate. Molasses proved less economical than ordinary farm foods; it proved, however, a valuable condiment, and induced the animals to eat un- palatable and inferior fodder which otherwise they would have refused. It was also found to keep the animals in good condition. Two or three pounds a day is recom- mended as the proper allowance for cows and horses. In a paper recently read before the Canterbury Farmers’ Club, Mr. E. S. Salmon gives the history of the Goose- berry Mildew Order of July, 1907. This was the first order issued by the Board of Agriculture under the new Destructive Insect and Pest Act, an Act largely due to Mr. Salmon’s tireless exertions on behalf of fruit-growers. By the terms of the order the gooseberry mildew is a notifiable disease under a penalty not exceeding ten pounds ; the local authority, on receiving notice of its existence, is required to make the grower destroy immediately all diseased bushes, and then spray with an approved fungicide all surrounding bushes. The payment of compensation for the destroyed bushes is optional on the part of the local authority, but the necessary money must be provided out of the rdtes, as no Treasury grant is available. Mr. Salmon states that the order is not being carried out, and that there has been no systematic destruction of diseased bushes, because the councils have been unwilling to destroy bushes without compensation, and afraid to draw the neces- sary money from the rates. The result has been that the disease is spreading rapidly, and is now known in six counties. Instead of strengthening the order the Board has practically nullified it by issuing a second one per- mitting the grower to prune instead of burn his bushes. Mr. Salmon criticises the order strongly, and points out that pruning cannot keep the mildew in check. He goes on to say:—‘The Board of Agriculture, without any scientific leadership, have again temporised at the most critical stage. There is now but one opportunity remain- ing of dealing with the American gooseberry mildew and preventing it sweeping through the country, and that is to deal with the disease this winter, but it must be by thorough and uncompromising measures.’’ He recom- mends systematic destruction of every infected bush in the country, compensation to be awarded out of the Treasury. If this is not done, he thinks gooseberry grow- ing will cease to be a commercial possibility in England. A pamphlet has recently been issued by Mr. E. S. Salmon on the ‘‘ black scab’’ or ‘‘ warty disease ’’ of potatoes (Chrysophlyctis endobiotica, Schilb.). This dangerous disease, which came over from the Continent about 1895, now occurs in nine counties in England and Scotland, and seems likely to spread throughout the country unless drastic preventive measures are taken. The fungus attacks the growing potatoes, causing the forma- tion of wrinkled, warty excrescences which may become even larger than the actual potato itself; sometimes the stem and leaves are similarly attacked. Spores can re- main in the ground for two years at least, and there is evidence that they can remain dormant for six years. Mr. Salmon urges the desirability of bringing this disease under the Destructive Insect and Pest Act. It would certainly seem desirable that the Board of Agriculture should have expert guidance in connection with this new Act, so that diseases could be brought within its scope directly they appear, instead of waiting until considerable damage has been done. The Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope for January contains an account of the Kafir corn aphis (Aphis sorghi), an aphis which, as its name implies, badly attacks Kafir corn (Sorghum vulgare). It is stated that the pest is spreading, and is likely to be a serious matter in the near future owing to the great value of Kafir corn in Cape Colony; a thorough field study is desirable during January, February, and March, when the insect is on the corn. The same number also contains an article by W. Robertson on preventive inoculation of farm stock, dealing specially with lung sickness, anthrax, and black quarter. NO. 2008, VOL. 77] The Agricultural Journal of India (October, 1907) con- tains several articles of interest to the large Indian agri- culturist. The similarity between the conditions obtaining: in Sind and in Upper Egypt is pointed out, a similarity which has enabled Egyptian cotton to be successfully grown where previously none could be obtained. Mr. Maxwell-Lefroy contributes a useful article on practical. remedies for insect pests, and there is a good account, with illustrations, of the stock on the Government cattle farm at Hissar (Punjab). Owing to the large number of new orchards coming into bearing in South Australia, the production of fruit is likely considerably to exceed the local demand; a detailed account of the process of fruit-drying is therefore given in the Journal of Agriculture of South Australia (December, 1907). The fruits dealt with are apricots and prunes; the instructions are very full, and should prove valuable to: the fruit-grower. Another article deals with the banded’ pumpkin beetle (Aulocophora hilaris, Boisd.), which does considerable damage to melons. The December (1907) number of the Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope contains an article by Mr. Lounsbury on the Plasmopara vine disease in Algeria, in which attention is directed to the similarity between Algeria and Cape conditions. No remedy for the disease: is known, and the Cape authorities are naturally anxious that they may remain free from it. There is also a report on various methods tried for the destruction of the prickly pear. This tree spreads rapidly on ground which is not being actually cultivated, and is found seriously to injure the ground for cultivation. The best and simplest method found was to cut down the tree, spray the heaps with sodium arsenite solution, and then inject a 10 per cent. solution of the same salt into the stumps still left in the ground. This journal adopts the very useful plan of publishing the lectures given at the Rhodes University College during the vacation courses in agriculture, by which means they are made known to a much wider circle than would otherwise be possible. All the Icctures deal with important agricultural problems. In the present number the breeding and grazing of Angora goats is gone into at length; there are also two articles on the manage- iment of ostriches. We have received three leaflets from the Board of Agri- culture, No. 195 dealing with the American gooseberry mildew, No. 199 with the pine disease, and No. 202 with the frit fly. The pine disease is caused by Diplodia pinea, Kickx., a wound parasite, the mycelium of which extends rapidly towards the tip of the shoot and takes up the food supply. After a short time all the leaves fall and the plant dies. The frit fly (Oscinis frit) is stated to be one of the chief cereal pests in Europe; the chief damage in Great Britain is to oats, and there are Continental records of attacks on barley, wheat, rye, maize, and various grasses. It appears that early sown crops are less liable to be attacked than late sown. In the January number of the Journal of the Depart- ment of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland there is a full report of the first address by the new vice- president to the council, which affords eloquent testimony to the value of the work done by Sir Horace Plunkett. Itinerant instructors are now at work in every county ; in addition, winter classes are held in thirteen counties at thirty-two centres, the number of pupils attending being estimated at five hundred. Twenty-six students are train- ing at the Royal College of Science for teaching appoint- ments, fifty-seven are studying at Glasnevin with the view of actual farming, and there are also three smaller institutions with fifty-nine students between them. The prosperity of the country is increasing; the export of eggs increases rapidly, and is now valued at 2,500,000l. ; poultry are also being sent out in greater number and of better quality. Schemes are on foot to study the production of winter butter, to increase the forest land, to set up ‘cattle dispensaries in certain counties, and to push the sale of Irish produce in the English markets. All this is excel- lent; we cannot, however, help feeling mcre than doubtful about another plan suggested for the future—of choosing Irishmen by preference for teaching posts. It would surely be much better to choose the best available man, quite regardless of his nationality cn g2 NA LORE, [APRIL 23, 1908 RECENT EARTHQUAKES. TNVIL recent years the attitude of the ordinary English- man with regard to earthquakes has been one of se He argued that, although every year 30,000 earthquakes might occur in the world, his country only contributed about half a dozen, and these, because they were so small, did more to excite curiosity than to create alarm. Although in 1883 Colchester, and in 1896 Here- ford, lost a few chimney pots, and buildings were un- roofed, also at intervals, reckoned by one or two hundred years, London has been shaken, still England could not be regarded as an earthquale-producing country. British- made earthquakes may be of rare occurrence, but should there be any relief of seismic strain similar to that of 1883 or 1896 in the synclinal on which our great metropolis stands, we might find as many chimney pots in the streets but also in Europe and Asia, have by recent earthquakes been reduced to heaps of débris. When these are re- constructed, it is extremely likely that the well-tested rules and methods, the outcome of applied seismology, will not be neglected. Seismological investigations have been made, not only for scientific reasons, but to minimise the loss of life and property. In connection with the destruction of San Francisco alone, we are told that British insurance com- panies are called upon to meet claims amounting to 12,000,000l., while losses of like character may have to be met in other parts of the world. The Englishman living on his own little patch of terra firma is continually paying for earthquake effects all over the world. The thinking man now realises that insurance rates in many countries must vary with the seismicity of a district, together with the character of the structures to which they refer. Sub- as there are inhabitants. -A suggestion of this kind, how- | oceanic seismic activity frequently results in ‘the failure of ever, does not disturb the mind of our ordinary English- | cables. It is therefore of extreme importance that the = ors, Yu MARCH, 1908. Teo 780 ao a0 100 50 { pa Fo a 5 zo 2S Sa I—> NX 2°09 in Na, 4 bE a ODYs > ‘ relic ee | ; so ‘ORONTO}. PHILADELPH ar fa fa ree ~~ x Wax —— . J) TIFLIP = JASKEND \ BALTIMOR ES FER as SEYRUT A CAIRO*™) ~~ Te \z = & y 8 .| KODAIKANA\, KHARTUM LEN 7 y 7 \ (G23) MAURY ai im ; \, oe Noel CARE TOWN Antactic| Circle J MYLNE. a0 120 i o 60 +0 ron 20 in 50 =e aoe Too = 720 F G. 1.—Stations in cooperation with the British Association working with similar instruments pabine pendulum). since 1899 which have originated i in districts marked A, b, man. Hints respecting the possible instability of his country produce no effect, and he fails to see why he or his Government should be called upon to support seismo- logical investigations. Recent earthquakes have, however, modified his opinion, and although England may be free from earthquakes, he finds he has to insure against and pay for the effects which these disturbances have. caused in distant places. By observations on what has stood and what has been destroyed after violent shakings of the ground, and as the result of investigations together with elaborate and costly experiments carried out entirely in Japan, not only have new methods of construction been formulated, but these have had extensive applications. Experience has shown that the new types of buildings stand whilst the old ones are shattered. At the present moment, Valparaiso, San Francisco, Kingston, and very nany other cities, towns, and villages, not only in America, 1 Discourse delivered at the Royal Institution on Friday, March 20, by Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S. NC. 2008, VOL. 77] Number of wor'd-shaking earthqual.es , &c., are indicate 1. sites of these submarine disturbances should be located (see map). In these and in many other ways it is easy to show that England has probably a greater practical interest in the results of seismological investigation than any other country. Finance and earthquake effects are close relations. Another incentive to the removal of apathy in regard to seismology lies in the fact that the mind of the public, like that of the individual, becomes fatigued — by repetition. What is asked for is something new, ‘and, if possible, it should be sensational. Newspapers and magazines do all they can to relieve this craving, with the result that the public is liberally supplied with stories about big catastrophes and deductions based thereon. A new hors d’oeuvre has been added to the daily scientific menu, and the halfpenny paper and the sixpenny magazines have given a stimulus to investigations bearing upon earth physics. In countries where earthquakes have been severe, and where by their frequency they are continually forcing them- APRIL 23, 1908] NATURE 593 selves upon public attention, a desire to investigate is furnished by the earth itself. Chili is now arranging to have a system of observing stations. Jamaica is speaking about the same, whilst the United States are extending what they now possess. Three recent earthquakes have awakened three different Governments to the fact that, although schoolmasters may not flog their children, nature is not always as indulgent to its people. Japan, in addi- tion to establishing stations in Formosa, Saghalin, China, and Korea, has already more than 1000 observing stations, 120 of which have instruments for recording local shocks. For seismological investigations __ the Government of that country annually allocates 1oool. to 5o00o0l., and this is out- side expenditure in connection with the i chair of seismology, and concomitant with investigations of earthquakes in foreign from records made in their own country rather than those which had been made abroad. When after great con- vulsions cities have to be rebuilt, and there are many at the present moment, it is natural that information bearing upon reconstruction to reduce earthquake effects would be sought for at the world’s central office, and those who supply information would in all probability supply engineers and material. Insurance companies who wish to appor- tion rates to risks when insuring against earthquake effects might also think it best to seek their information at a central bureau. After an earthquake, when such Ne ek a—s— 40 countries. During the last ten or twelve years Japan has issued about seventy quarto volumes bearing upon seismological investigations. Russia has a_ series of well-equipped stations within its borders. For very many years Italy has given great attention to the movements of the ground. These are recorded at s stations, 160 of which are provided with instruments. Austria, Germany, and many other States are also devoting great atten- tion particularly to the collection of earth- quake statistics. I fail, however, to see that these statistics, which are necessarily -imperfect, will pass beyond the borderland | | 5 5s i} of loca] interest. So far as I am aware, all foreign stations are subsidised by their respective Governments. Great Britain enjoys the cooperation of forty-five stations provided with similar instruments, which are distributed fairly evenly over the four quarters of the world. The names and positions of these stations are shown upon the accompanying map (Fig. 1). The home stations are supported by the British Association, the Royal Society, the Daily Mail, Mr. M. H. Gray, and other private individuals. So far as the recording of world-shaking earthquakes is concerned, I believe the British cooperation to be, at the present time, quite equal to a combination of the stations of all other countries. The last outcome in connection with observational seismology has been the establishment of an International Seismological Association. The central bureau is in Strassburg, its GREAT RIFT FAULT IN president is Prof. A. Schuster, and its general meetings take place once every four years. I am not aware that France has formally announced its adherence. The British Government, by subscribing 16ol. a year to the central bureau, has accepted a shelter from a Continental vegis. For nearly fifty years the British Association has encouraged seismological research, but whatever prestige it may have gained, together with its attendant commercial and other advantages, these are passing under a new régime across the Channel. A Government of a country does not wish to seek abroad for an explanation why telegraphic messages have ceased to flow. To confirm, extend, or disprove a cablegram, a Government, 2 business house, or the public of Fic. a given country would like to obtain information within its | own boundaries. When a country or a colony finds itself cut off from the outside world in consequence of cable interruption, that country or colony, together with other countries, would like to have a ready means of saying whether the interruption had been due to submarine dis- turbances or to some other operation, as, for example, war. Those who lay cables would prefer to have informa- tion as to positions of suboceanic sites of seismic activity NOZ 2608S, VOL. 77] 2.—The folds and probable direction of fault lines in the Atlantic. companies are called upon to pay the insured, many difficult questions arise which can only be answered by seismograms. Millions of pounds sterling are dependent upon these records, and it is therefore important that the same should be readily accessible. A seismogram, which travels quicker than a telegram, may affect the Stock Exchange. We no more require a central bureau to discuss applied seismology “than we do to discuss the construction of torpedoes or flying machines. A discovery which, during the last few years, has done 594 NATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 much to popularise seismology is the fact that a very large earthquake originating in any one part of the world may be recorded in any other portion of the same. This means that the opportunity for carrying on seismological research is not a monopoly enjoyed only by those who reside in earthquake countries. Although only a few persons in Great Britain have been privileged to feel one of its home-made tremors, every one of its inhabitants is very many times per year moved by earthquakes. Back and forth motion of the ground is performed too slowly for us to feel, while, if there is a movement like the swell upon an ocean, the undulations are too long and flat for us to see. Waves start out from their epicentral area, which is a district that has been fissured and shattered by the forma- tion or extension of large faults in all directions. Observa- tion, however, shows that these waves are propagated farthest in one particular direction. For example, the chief movement following the San Francisco earthquake, which originated from fault lines running parallel to the coast of California, was much more marked in countries lying to the east or west of California than in countries lying towards the south. England and Japan obtained large records of the disturbance, while in Argentina the records were extremely small. In the case of the Jamaica earthquake, where the lines of origin ran east and west, the phenomenon was reversed. Toronto received a large quantity of motion, and England a very little. Another peculiarity of this phase of earthquake motion is that it may be propagated in one direction round the world to a greater distance than in an opposite direction. The sugges- tion is that the initial impulse was delivered in the direc- tion towards which motion was propagated farthest. If for illustration we assume that the slip on a fault line has been downwards towards the east, then the motion would travel towards the east farther than it would towards the west. That which happens corresponds to what we see if we dip the blade of a spade in water and suddenly push the blade in some particular direction. The water waves thus created travel farthest in the direction of the impulse. Another curious phenomenon connected with the large waves of certain earthquakes is that they can pass their equatorial or quadrantal region unobserved. They may be very marked for 1000 miles round their origin, and record- able, but much reduced in size, about their antipodes, but not recordable in between. For example, an earthquake originating near New Zealand may be recorded in that country, but not in India, Egypt, West Asia, or east of Europe, though in Britain it may make itself evident by the. thickening of a photographic trace. The phenomenon may he compared to a water wave running down an expanding estuary. At the mouth of such an estuary it may have become so flat that it is no longer recognisable. Should it, however, run up a second estuary, we can imagine concentration taking place, so that near the top of the second estuary it would eventually become instrumentally recordable. In these antipodean survivors we see the final efforts of a dying earthquake. It is only occasionally that the precursors and the followers of these large waves have sufficient energy to reach their antipodes. They die en route. The former, notwithstanding their comparative feebleness, because they throw considerable light upon the internal constitution of our earth, are the most interesting feature in a seismogram. They are of two kinds, a first phase and a second phase. These are usually regarded as compressional and distortional modes of wave propaga- tion. The large waves are probably quasi-elastic gravita- tional waves, something like an ocean swell, which travel round the world with a constant velocity of about 3 km. per sec., causing continental surfaces to rise and fall like huge rafts upon a heaving ocean. The precursors behave guite differently. Phase i. may commence with a velocity of 3 km. or 4 km. per sec., but as the length of the wave- path increases this quickly rises to 10 km., and thence to a maximum of 12 km. per sec. These paths are issumed to. be along chords, and so long as these chords do not lie at a depth greater than twenty or thirty miles, the speeds are such as we should expect to find in materials like those composing the outer surface of our earth. These waves, therefore, indicate a thickness for the earth’s NO. 2008, VOL. 77 crust comparap:e i. thicknesses which have been arrived at by other lines of argument. The rapid approximation to uniform speed suggests that below a depth of twenty or thirty miles we enter a nucleus which is very rigid and fairly homogeneous. The second phase waves, up to a distance of 120° from their origin, have a speed of about 6 km. per sec. For longer paths, Mr. R. D. Oldham points out that their velocity is apparently suddenly re- duced. He seeks for an explanation of this by postulating the existence of a central core in the earth where waves are retarded and refracted, with the result that the wave- paths no longer follow chords. These waves may, there- fore, emerge on the surface of the earth after having passed relatively to their starting point on the farther side of its centre. Whether we do or do not accept this central core, it is clear that the new seismology has added in a very marked .manner to the knowledge we formerly possessed respecting the interior of the globe upon which we live. Our ideas respecting its homogeneity and its great rigidity have been changed by seismological investi- gations. When large earth waves sweep round the world, it is found that at particular stations magnetic and electro- meter needles have been disturbed. Magnetometers, when installed at Toronto, do not appear to have responded to the slow undulations of the earth’s surface, while the same instruments, after being removed to Agincourt, only ten miles distant, are now affected. The inference from this and observations in other parts of the world is that the movements, rather than being caused mechanically, may be due to the disturbance of some adjacent magnetic magma. where the movements due to teleseisms correspond with unusual disturbance of magnetic needles, inasmuch as a magnetic magma is denser than common rock, at these stations the value for g should’ be higher than that which would be anticipated. For certain stations this appears to be the case. Another series of investigations which may widen our knowledge respecting conditions and operations beneath our feet are based upon the light effects which have been so frequently observed at the time of large earthquakes. Accounts of luminosity in the heavens and on hills as accompaniments to large earthquakes are common. At the time of the Valparaiso earthquake, August 17, 1906, the attention of very many people was attracted to lights which appeared upon the hills. Captain Taylor, of the R.M.S. Orissa, compared these to chain lightning, which extended as far as the eye could reach. An acquaintance of mine, Mr. G. E. Naylor, of Valparaiso, told me that he saw the lights repeatedly, and they took place immedi- ately before a shock, there being only a fraction of a second of time between the two. He described them as having a bluish tinge; to others, however, they appeared yellowish. An ordinary explanation for these appearances is that they are due to the rubbing together of rock surfaces or the discharge of frictionally produced electricity. These observations suggest that with a megaseismic collapse, not only do we get mechanical disturbances which pass through and over the surface of the world, but that part of the initial energy at the origin is converted into some other — form of energy, which possibly may find a response at very distant places. This latter transmission would, how- ever, take place with a velocity comparable with that of light. If anything of this sort has a real existence, seismo- logists may hope to record earthquakes at the moment they take place. This consideration, and the observation that from time to time a quarry in the Isle of Wight, known as Pan Chalk Pit, appeared to me to be luminous, suggested the possibility of hypogenic activities giving evidence of their existence in the form of light. Pan Pit faces north, and in winter it is not reached by the sun. Its glowings apparently rise and fall in intensity, and are most noticeable after a dull, damp day. The experiments I made were as follows :—at the end of a chamber twenty yards from the mouth of a tunnel driven into the chalk, a hole about 2 feet square was excavated. Into this a box with a light-proof door was cemented. The back of the box, which touched the chalk, was made of zinc. In the zinc three holes of different sizes were made along a vertical line. A cylindrical drum, covered with bromide If this is the case, then at particular stations. ee. APRIL 23, 1928] NATURE 295 paper and driven by clockwork, was brought up to within one-eighth of an inch from these holes. A rim on the bottom part of the drum had a ‘clearance given to it by cutting a horizontal slit in the zinc plate beneath the holes. Neither the drum, the paper, nor the rim touched the. zinc plate or the chalk. The rate of movement of the paper was go mm. per day. A small electric lamp moved about outside the box produced no effect upon the paper inside. A self-recording thermometer and a hygrometer showed that the temperature and the moisture in the chamber were practically constant. A similar piece of apparatus was installed at a depth of 160 feet in the King Edward Mine, Camborne, Cornwall. These experiments were commenced at Pan Chalk Pit in February, 1903, and were continued for four months. They were taken up again in the middle of August, 1906, and lasted eight months. A sheet of paper on development was frequently quite clear, but at times it was partly or entirely marked with dark bands, black lines, round black spots, or semi-circular spots along the lower edges. At Shide the dark bands have not been numerous, but they occurred on nearly all the sheets from Camborne. In certain cases we appear to have three bands, the positions of which apparently coincide with the three holes in the zinc plate. In some of these bands there are hard black lines broken along their length and made up of black spots. The black spots vary in diameter from a fraction of a millimetre to 8 millimetres. In the centres of some of these there is a small white or brownish spot. As pointed out by Mr. W. H. Bullock, of Newport, these closely resemble spots which can be produced on bromide paper by a tiny electric spark. During a week we may have either no spots, one spot, or a hundred spots. The semi- circular spots, which I have called singeings, are found on the lower edge of the paper where the brass cylinder joins the aluminium rim. There may be two or three of these per week, whilst at other times they occur at intervals of about half an hour. As only ten black spots occurred at the time of large earthquakes, we can only regard these as coincidences. Neither dark bands, spots, nor _singeings appear to be connected, beyond what I have mentioned, with any particular meteorological conditions. Neither is there any reason for supposing that these effects are due to radio-activity. If a piece of bromide paper is sealed up in a black envelope, and another piece is placed in a black envelope which has a thin glass window, and these are laid on a surface of chalk, the glass window touching the same, say, for a period of several days, it was found after development that one piece of paper showed the image of the window, whilst the other had only stains, which might be attributed to dampness. With the object of determining whether micro-organisms played any part in the phenomena observed, my friend Dr. R. C. Brown, of Parkhurst, has made cultures from scrapings from the surface of the chalk before which my cylinder was exposed. Cultures were also made from scrapings taken from the open chalk. Micro-organisms were found in both. These have been exposed to a moving photographic surface similar to that used in the pit, but they gave no evidence of luminosity. The conclusion for the present is that the luminosity occasionally seen at Pan Pit may result from a very feeble brush or glow-like electrical discharge. If this be the ease, it would also account for the bands on the photographic paper, the other markings being due to minute sparks. Moreover, if this is so, and we assume that silent electrical adjustments have a real existence, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that these must have an effect on what we call “ climate,’’ and hence upon everything that lives upon the surface of the globe. We have many instances of places only separated by a few miles, as, for example, Newport and Sandown in the Isle of Wight, or Bournemouth and Swanage, the climates of which are said to be very different. The thermometer, barometer, and hygrometer do not explain these differ- ences; the only apparent difference between such places appears to be one of soil and the moisture in the same. Inasmuch as we find great differences in the emanations from granite, clayslate, and chalk, it would seem extremely probable that we should find differences in the relative electrical conditions of different soils. To determine whether earthquakes NO. 2008, VOL. 77] are increasing or decreasing, it is not only necessary to turn over the pages of many histories, but also to consult the geologist. Jules Verne might perhaps have dipped deeper into time than a geologist or physicist, and drawn pictures of the re- actionary effect which might accompany the collision of one world with another, bombardments of great meteorites, a click that announced the birth of our moon, the sudden yieldings of a primitive crust covering an ocean of molten rock, and of many other things that float through the brains of those who entertain us with the results of their imaginations. The greater number of earthquakes, and certainly all that are large, originate from the formation or extension of faults. These operations have been most marked when secular movement amongst rock masses is in progress, as, for example, during the growth of moun- tains. Should this be in operation near large bodies of waters, volcanoes and earthquakes are found in the same region. If, therefore, we wish to know when earthquake frequency and intensity was at a maximum, we turn to those periods in geological history when mountain ranges were built, when volcanic activity was pronounced, and when great faults were made. The first of these periods would be coincident with the creation of the Urals, the Grampians, and other ancient mountain ranges. This tool place in Paleozoic times. Another period of mountain formation was in early Tertiary times, when the Himalayas and the Alps were slowly, but intermittently, brought into existence. In both these periods volcanic activity was pro- nounced, and beds of coal were formed. When the crust of the earth was crumbling, mountains grew spasmodically, faults gave rise to earthquakes, volcanic forces found their vents, and conditions existed which gave rise to the accumulation of materials to form coal. In quite recent times, many large faults have been created at the time of earthquakes. In 1891 the Mino- Owori fault was created in central Japan, 10,000 people lost their lives, and 128,000 buildings were destroyed. On April 18, 1906, San Francisco and other towns were ruined by movements along a fault which can be traced for a distance of 200 miles. One estimate suggests that it may be 400 miles in length. The largest fault which has been created in extremely recent geological times seems to be the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa. We are told that it commences in the south near Lake Nyassa, passes north- ward through Tanganyika, the great lakes of Central Africa, branches north-eastward towards Lake Rudolph, up the Red Sea, through Akaba to the Jordan Valley, a distance of 4000 miles. In certain districts it shows itself as a strip of country let down between two parallel frac- tures. It has been compared to the cracks which can be seen in the moon. If we accept this as a reality, we have only to imagine this Great Rift fault to be extended as regards its length and breadth, and we have a trough in many respects similar to that which holds, not thirty lakes, but the waters of the Atlantic. If we look at the Atlantic, either as shown on a Mercator’s chart or on a globe, we notice the complementary resemblances between the con- tours of the old world and the new. Then, if we draw a line down the submerged backbone of this ocean, we see that this is the reflection of the European and North African western coast line (Fig. 2). Next, if these old- world contours are pushed westwards towards this median line, while the contours of the two Americas are pushed eastwards, we find that one approximately fits in with the other. The fit becomes more marked if we bring together the submerged edges of continental shelves or lines re- presenting the general direction of the opposing coast lines. Another point not to be overlooked is that the rock forma- tions on the west side of the Atlantic are very similar to those in the same latitude on the eastern side, It is as if we had a street with the shops on one side of it exactly similar to those on the other side. In northern Spits- bergen, and again in Greenland, we find a large develop- ment of crystalline and Palzozoic rocks, and these con- tinue southwards through Labrador, Newfoundland, Maine, and then through the Alleghanies. They again appear in Brazil as far south as Monte Video. On the eastern frontier of the Atlantic, from Scandinavia through Scot- land and Ireland, Wales, western France, and western Africa as far as Cape Town, we see a replica of the two Americas. The Atlantic is a canal, the opposing banks [ATURE [APRIL 23, 1908 of which are symmetrical in form and geological material. An idea, but one which is not very probable, which this suggests is that at some very early period in the world’s history two Rift Valleys, one parallel to the eastern sub- merged backbone of the Atlantic, and the other parallel to its western frontier, were formed. Separation subse- quently took place along these faults, and these, under the influence of surface and underground activities, have con- tinually increased. If, then, the Atlantic had an origin due to Rift Valley formation rather than to folding or contraction, then the greatest earthquake in the history of the world may have taken place when east became east and west became west, and our world was cracked from pole to pole. Just as the frequency of earthquakes has fluctuated during geological time, similar fluctuations have taken place during historical time. In central Japan earthquake fre- quency had a maximum in the ninth century, and since that time, century after century, violent shakings have become less and less. In January, 1844, at Comrie, in Perthshire, twelve earthquakes were recorded. Now there may not be one per annum. At the present time, in con- sequence of the destruction of several large cities, the popular idea is that earthquakes are on the increase. As a matter of fact, the world as an earthquake-producing machine has a steady output. On the average, about sixty very large disturbances are recorded, and the greater number of these, fortunately for humanity, have their origins beneath ocean beds or in sparsely inhabited regions. In addition to these megascismic efforts, it is estimated that about 30,000 small earthquakes take place per year, England’s annual contribution to this number being about half a dozen. If we had records like these extending back- wards through several ages, we might readily estimate the time when seismic activity would cease. When this ceases, rock: folding will also cease, and the degrading processes resulting in surface denudation will be unopposed. Bit by bit land areas will be reduced to sea-level, and the habit- able surfaces, as we now see them, will be no more. An interesting observation bearing upon megaseismic frequency is found in the analyses of registers relating to the North Pacific. On the west side of that ocean seismic frequency is greatest in the summer, while on the east side it is greatest in the winter. An explanation for this is sought for in the seasonal alteration in the flow of ocean currents, the oscillations of sea-level, and changes in the direction of barometric gradients, which phenomena are interrelated. In summer, off the coast of Japan, the Black Stream runs perhaps_500 miles farther north than it does in winter, while Dr. Omori points out that, although barometric pressure may on the Japan side of the Pacific be low in summer, this decrease in load is more than com- pensated for by the increased height of ocean-level: the inference is that the pressure on the ocean bed is greater in summer than in winter, and this is the time of the greatest seismic frequency. Another factor bearing upon earthquake frequency may perhaps be found in the change in position of the earth’s pole. A chart showing the path of the earth’s north pole indicates that its movements are by no means always uniform. Although at times these may be nearly circular, it also shows sharp changes in the direction of its motion. It has even been retrograde. If on a chart showing these pole displacements we mark the time positions of world- shaking earthquakes, it is seen that these are grouped round the sharper bends of the pole-path. World-shaking earthquakes have, in fact, been most numerous when the pole-path has deviated farthest from its mean_ position. The observations embrace a period of thirteen vears, during which 750 large earthquakes were recorded. Although these earthquakes represent large mass displacements, it is not supposed that they would be sufficient to produce the observed. pole movement. The pole movement, however, may have given relief to seismic strain, or both effects may irise from some common cause. ~ ’ Mass displacements accompanying a megaseismic effort must, however, tend to produce. some pole displacement, and thus set up strains. From time to time these should find relief in the weaker portions of the earth’s crust. Large earthquakes should therefore occur in pairs, triplets. ort groups, after which we ‘should expect a period of NO. 2008, VOL. 77,5 quiescence. ‘This idea is due to the Rey. H. V. Gill, S.J. I find that the British Association registers lend consider- able support to the hypothesis. The author of the idea, however, goes a step farther, and points out that if all matter within our globe or that which constitutes its crust was equally free to move, the secondary displacement should, with regard to the earth’s axis of rotation, be symmetrically located in regard to the position of the primary disturbance. Out of 126 large earthquakes re- corded between 1899 and 1905, I find that twenty of these appear as ten pairs, the members of each pair being in symmetrically located districts. This may or may not have been a matter of chance. The observation that a marked relief of seismic strain in one part of the world has frequently been followed by a smaller relief in some distant region also suggests the idea that earthquake begets earthquake. In my own mind the relationship of earth- quake to earthquake has been fairly well demonstrated, but to place the matter beyond the borderland of doubt large earthquakes must be compared in regard to space and time with their kind, with small earthquakes, and with volcanic eruptions. All the voleanic eruptions of the West Indies have closely followed on the heels of great earthquakes which have originated, not in the West Indies, but on the neighbouring coasts of Central and South America. One general inference is that the faultings and freckles on the face of our world should have a distribution as symmetri- cally disposed as wrinkles are on the face of an elderly person. Already when speaking about the length of faults which have been created at the time of large earthquakes, we have indicated at least one dimension of the earth block which has been disturbed. For instance, the earth block which was disturbed at the time of the San Francisco earthquake may have had a length of 400 miles; its breadth might be determined by the width of the country which had been broken up by branching and parallel faults. Harboe suggests that in a meizoseismic area hidden faults may be assumed to exist along lines drawn half-way between pairs of groups of places which have been struck at about the same time. R. D. Oldham attributes the Assam earthquake of 1897 to the sudden shifting of 10,000 square miles of territory over a thrust plain. The molar displacement determined by the method suggested by Harboe would be that 50,000 square miles had been disturbed. The fact that so many earthquakes shake the whole world, or will agitate an ocean like the Pacific for many hours, indicates that the initial impulse must have been delivered over a large area, or that sudden altera- tions have taken place in the contour of ocean beds. With regard to the magnitude of the latter changes, we have learnt much from cable engineers, who have given us many instances where cables lying in parallel lines, ten or fifteen miles apart, have been simultaneously inter- rupted, and ocean depths over considerable areas have been increased. The depth to which these large faults extend is a matter of inference. We may well imagine them as passing through the whole thickness of the earth’s crust, and the displaced block falling to give up its energy to a nucleus which we know transmits undulatory move- ments all over our globe with uniform velocity. If we take this crust to be thirty miles in thickness, then with Harboe’s area for the superficial disturbance, the block which was disturbed at the time of the Assam earthquake would be represented by 13 million cubic miles. Following the initial impulse of a large earthquake, it frequently happens a few minutes later that a second severe movement is felt. In Japan this is popularly spoken of as the Yuri Kaishi, or the return shaking. This may be a second yielding within the disturbed district, but from its resemblance to the main shock it suggests an echo- like reflection. If we drop a bullet into a large tub of water, waves travel outwards to the sides of the tub, where they are reflected, and converge at the centre from which they set out. With the earthquake waves, the reflecting surface may be represented by the roots of mountain ranges. If these are at varying distances from the origin, the reflected waves would give rise to complications at the focus.. The transmitting medium for these waves I take to be the more or less homogeneous material which lies beneath the heterogeneous crust of our world. This APRIL 23, 1908] NATURE 597 transmits large waves with a constant velocity. In tne | and these in many instances have played a part in primitive case of the Californian earthquake, which originated on fault lines on the western side of that country, 1 should imagine the reflecting surface to be the Sierras, 200 miles distant. The wave group would travel to these mountains and back in about four minutes, and this is approximately the time interval between the two first large wave groups in seismograms I have of that disturbance. After the first echo or echoes, an earthquake usually dies out as a series of surgings which frequently have a striking similarity to each other. One explanation of these rhyth- mical recurring groups is that they simply represent times when the movement of the ground has synchronised with the natural period of the recording instrument. Although the terminal vibrations seen on a seismogram may be attributed to this cause, it does not exclude the idea that rhythmical beats at an origin may result in rhythmical responses at a distance. Side-issues of seismology are quite as instructive as the information we derive from the records of earthquakes. We have already referred to light effects which accom- pany large earthquakes. This, as we have seen, led up to investigations connected with micro-organisms. series of experiments, which commenced in Japan and were continued in the Isle of Wight, involved a series of investi- gations bearing upon the transpiration of plants. The fundamental object of these experiments was to determine whether valleys always retained the same form. Did they open and shut? To answer the question I set up’ on the two sides of a valley horizontal pendulums identical with those which are used to record teleseismic motion. These instruments, which are by photographic means self-record- ing, are exceedingly sensitive to small changes in level. What I found was that on fine days the booms of these instruments moved in opposite directions, each away from the bed of the valley. At night the motions were reversed, and the booms moved towards each other, that is, towards the bottom of the valley. Several instruments were employed, and the records were confirmed by the move- ments of the bubbles of sensitive levels. During the day the records indicated that the sides of the valley opened, and at night they closed. The two valleys I worked upon behaved like ordinary flowers, they opened when the sun was shining and closed at night. The best explanation | ean offer is that the phenomenon is largely dependent upon the transpiration of plants. This is marked during the day, but not at night. On a bright day a sunflower or a cabbage may discharge 2 Ib. of aqueous vapour. A square yard of grass will give off 10 lb. or 12 lb. The result of this is that during the day underground drainage has not received its full supply of water to load the bottom of the valley. At night time, when plants’ tran- spiration is reduced, subsurface drainage is increased, and the load at the bottom of the valley is also increased. Therefore, at night the bottom of a valley, in consequence of its increased water load, is depressed, and this is accompanied by a closing of its sides. During the day the load runs off, and the valley opens. This may also explain why soak wells in valleys and streams carry less water during the day than they do at night, and at the same time it suggests that the side of a valley is a bad place for an observatory. Every day as the world turns before the sun, lamp-posts and tall structures salute the same, whilst manv valleys open. At night time these movements are reversed. One phenomenon which accompanies all large carth- quakes, which, however, has never yet received the atten- tion it deserves, is the influence which great disasters have exercised upon the emotions. Immediately after the Kingston earthquake, we read of the dazed and almost insane condition of the people. Many were affected with an outburst of religious ecstasy, thinking the last day had come. The negro population camped on the racecourse, and spent their time in singing hymns. Somewhat similar scenes took place in Chili; men and women ran hither and thither, mad with terror and devoid of reason. Amid shrieks and sobs, and the wailing of a multitude, an “‘ Ora pro Nobis’’ or a ‘‘ Pater Noster’? might now and then be heard. In early civilisations underground thunderings have so far excited the imagination that subterranean monsters or personages have been coniured into existence, NO. 2008, VOL. 77] A long | religions. At the time of an earthquake in Japan, the children are told that the shaking is due to the movement of a fish which is buried beneath their country, and in Japan we find references to this fish in the pictorial art, glyptic art, literature, and everyday conversation, all of which would be unintelligible if we did not know the story of the earthquake fish. In other countries the subier- ranean creature will be a pig, a tortoise, an elephant, or some other animal. The most interesting myths, how- ever, relate to underground personages. The forty-five Grecian Titans, who were of gigantic stature and of pro- portionate strength, were confined in the bowels of the earth. According to the poets, the flames of Etna pro- ceeded from the breath of Enceladus, and when he turned his weary side the whole island of Sicily was shaken to its foundations. Neptune was not only a god of the oceans, rivers, and fountains, but with a blow of his trident he could create earthquakes at pleasure. The worship of Neptune was established in almost every part of the Grecian world. The Livians, in particular, vener- ated him, and looked upon him as the first and greatest of the gods. The Palici were born in the bowels of the earth, and were worshipped with great ceremonies by the Sicilians. In a superstitious age the altars of the Palici were stained with the blood of human sacrifices. In Roman mythology, two very familiar deities are Pluto and Vulcan. These and a host of other deities, the out- come of imagination, excited by displays of seismic and volcanic activity, we meet with every day in picture galleries, in museums, in literature, and in our daily papers. The fact that we are enjoined not to make any graven image of that which is in the earth beneath suggests that in the time of Moses a certain form of worship called for some correction. Over and above adding a clause to the decalogue, large earthquakes have in very many ways affected * religions. After the earthquake which shook England on April 6, 1580, the then Archbishop of Canter- bury drew up a form of prayer which was approved by the Privy Council, and ordered by them to be read in all dioceses in the kingdom. In the world there are many instances of religious services being held on the anniversary of an earthquake, it being regarded as an exhibition of God’s vengeance upon a wicked people. The belief that earthquakes are signs or warnings owes its origin in part to prophecies in the Bible, where, for example, we read that ‘‘ there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes’ as portending future calamities. Earth- quakes have led to the abolition of oppressive taxation, the abolition of masquerades, the closing of theatres, and even to the alteration in fashions. A New England paper, of 1727, tells us that ‘‘a considerable town in this province has been so far awakened by the awful providence in the earthquake that the women have generally laid aside their hooped petticoats.” UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. THe success of the Children’s Museum in Bedford Park, Brooklyn, as a factor in education forms the subject of an article by Miss A. B. Gallup in the April number of the Popular Science Monthly. At its commencement in 1899 the museum comprised only two rooms, containing little more than a few insects, shells, and stuffed birds. The eagerness with which these were visited by children soon led, however, to extension, and twelve exhibition rooms, furnished with specimens, models, and pictures illustrative of nearly every subject interesting to child- hood, are now open to the public. These collections illus- trate the chief branches of natural history, geography, art, and the history of the United States. Young people are encouraged to think and act for themselves, one result being the installation of a wireless telegraph apparatus by a party of boy visitors, some of the members of which subsequently obtained appointments as wireless tele- graphists. The institution seems worthy of imitation in this country. Dr. W. E. Hoyte, director of the Manchester Museum, speaking on children’s museums at a museum conference 598 NATORE [APRIL 23, 1908 held at Preston on April 11, remarked, in reference to the American institutions of this kind, that in the one at Brooklyn the following aims have been kept in view. :— (1) to employ objects attractive and interesting to children, and at the same time helpful to teachers in every branch of nature-study; (2) to secure an arrangement at once pleasing to the eye, expressive of fundamental truth; (3) to avoid confusion from the use of too many specimens, and the consequent close crowding in cases; (4) to label with brief descriptions, expressed in simple language and printed in clear, legible type. The keeping of live animals is an important branch of the work, and a source of endless interest to the young visitors. A striking exhibit is a series of historic models illustrating the six chief types of people who formed permanent settlements in North America. A SCHEME is under consideration for a university in Hong Kong. Mr. disposal of Sir Frederick Lugard, Kong, a sum of 15,000]. for the purpose. At a recent meeting, according to Reuter’s agent, Sir Frederick Lugard said he is willing to recommend the Government to provide a site, but cannot go further than that in view of the liabilities of the Government. He believes that if Hong Kong could establish a university with facilities equal or superior to those at Tokio, it would attract a large number of the wealthy Chinese students who now go to Japan, America, and Europe, and would increase the prestige and influence of Great Britain throughout the Chinese Empire. To provide an adequate endowment for even the modest beginning proposed, a sum of not much less than 100,000l. will be required. THE treasurer of University College, Bristol, has re- ceived a donation of 550/. from the University College Colston Society for general purposes, and a grant of 5ol. from the Board of Agriculture to enable the department of economic biology to carry on its investigations on the effect of electricity on plants. The County Council of Somerset has approved a scheme of research in connection with Cheddar cheese-making, and has authorised an ex- penditure of 2001. for the first year on this work. The Gloucestershire County Council has passed the following resolution in support of the movement for the establish- ment of. a university in Bristol:—‘‘ That this council approves of the scheme for promoting the Bristol Uni- versity, and will consider what, if any, financial assist- ance they can accord to it when the scheme is more fully developed.”’ In an address at the graduation ceremony of the Uni- versity of Edinburgh on April 10, Prof. Chrystal referred to reforms in secondary and university education in Scot- land. In 1886 Prof. Chrystal placed before the Scotch Education Department a scheme for a general leaving certificate examination for’ schools. The department approved the suggestion, and Sir Henry Craik carried out the scheme in detail with very satisfactory results. Prof. Chrystal now proposes to make the Scotch Leaving Certificate examination the normal course of entrance to each university, and to abolish the university preliminary examination. Already the leaving certificate examination is accepted by Scotch universities in lieu of the preliminary examination for the subjects it covers, and it is desirable to make the examination a complete passport to the universities. Part of Prof. Chrystal’s original proposal to the Scotch Education Department regarding the leaving certificate was the creation of a National Board of Surveillance, on which the department, the schools, the universities, and certain other public bodies were to be represented. His object was to avoid the necessity for the institution of a university preliminary examination. A generally accepted standard for entrance to the University is an inevitable element in university reform; but the administration of a general leaving examination for schools is not the proper business of the universities. No doubt one of the functions of a leaving certificate should be to qualify for an academic course, but it has many other functions besides, and all that the universities should claim is a share in the surveillance of the leaving certifi- cate in so far as it concerns them. Prof. Chrystal went on to say that the advance of secondary education, in par- NO. 2008, VOL. 77 the establishment of Mody has placed at the the Governor of Hong ticular the opening of Junior student centres all over Scotland, is rapidly preparing the way, if it has not already prepared it, for carrying out the ideal of the Universities’ Commissioners. ‘ I turn, therefore, with renewed hope and renewed insistence to the men of wisdom and of influence, who hold in their hands our educational destiny, and ask them to consider once more my old proposal for a National Board, which shall regulate the schools’ leaving. certificate, so that it shall become the normal portal of admission to the universities, and render the present pre- liminary examination and the present Joint Board and all its works unnecessary. This reform must, of course, be taken up as a national affair. It is no matter of the autonomy of the universities. It concerns the welfare and good government of all the secondary schools of the country; also, I may say, the relation of our standards of secondary education to similar standards all over the British Empire.” SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpbon. Linnean Society, April 2.—Lieut.-Colonel Prain, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—The anatomy of some sapotaceous seedlings: Winifred Smith. The seedlings of the Sapotacez are remarkable on account of (1) their exceptional mode of transition from root to stem; (2) the lack of continuity in the different parts of the vascular system; (3) their tensensy to a geophilous habit. To Dangeard’s axiom :—‘* Le plan vertical médian des coty- lédons correspond toujours a un faisceau vasculaire de la racine,’’? the sole exceptions vouched for are trees, and oceur in the Sapotaceze and in two genera of the Fagacez. —Notes on some sponges recently collected in Scotland: Dr. N. Annandale. Society of Chemical Industry (London Section), April 6. —Dr. Lewkowitsch in the chair.—Considerations affecting the ‘‘strength’’ of wheat flours: Julian L. Baker and H. F. E. Hulton. It is improbable that any one chemical or physica! determination can be used for determining the ‘strength ’’ of flours, as the generally accepted definition includes two distinct qualities, viz. size and shape of loaf. It is recommended that balers should apportion marks independently for size and shape. A proteolytic enzyme capable of degrading the gluten, and so influencing the character of the loaf, appears to be absent, but there is a small quantity of an erepsin. Yeast enzymes can effect partial proteolysis of gluten. Aqueous flour extracts depart from Kjeldahl’s law of proportionality. Maltose is the sole sugar formed during doughing. Flours on keep- ing display changes in enzymic activity. Doughs have a greater diastatic activity than either the aqueous extract of the flour or the flour itself, and this activity varies in- versely with the amount of water present. Flours contain a starch-liquefying enzyme, and this enzyme is closely connected with gas production. The formation of gluten from gliadin and glutenin is independent of enzymic activity, and is probably only a hydration phenomenon. Gliadin separated from flour was re-combined with the residual gluten and starch, and the gluten, in a weakened’ condition, was recovered by washing out. The diastatic activity of gluten is confirmed, and shown to reside in the glutenin moiety.—The occurrence of cyanogenetic gluco- sides in feeding stuffs: T. A. Henry and S. J. M. ‘Auld. In association “with Prof. Dunstan, the authors have in- vestigated a number. of plants which yield prussie acid when in contact with water, and show that the prussic acid is formed by the interaction of a glucoside and an enzyme which decomposes it, liberating prussic acid. Several of these plants are employed as feeding stuffs, notably Java beans, and it is to this liberation of prussic acid that the numerous cases of poisoning of cattle by these beans are due. Linseed cake also contains a cyano- genetic glucoside, but the high temperature to which the cake is heated in the course of manufacture destroys the enzyme originally present in the seed. The seed of the Para rubber tree, sometimes used for feeding purposes in the tropics, also yields small quantities of prussic acid.— Note on murexide as a quondam dye-stuff and printing colour: Watson Smith. The author exhibited a specimen APRIL 23, 1908 | IN AMOR ES 599 of commercial murexide manufactured about the year 1861, and ‘also a specimen of calico printed with it, which still exhibited the characteristic bright rose tint. Zoological Society, Apiil 7.—Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair.—A monograph of the chiropteran genera Uroderma, Enchisthenes, and Artibeus : Dr. Knud Andersen. The work was based on an examination of the material in the British and United States National Museums, and contained a discussion of the homologies of the teeth and molar cusps in steno- dermatous bats, a full description of the genera mentioned in the title, their species and subspecies, with a discussion of their probable inter-relations, and, finally, remarks on the bearing of the present geographical distribution of the species and subspecies on a former connection of the West Indian Islands with continental America.—Certain points in the structure of the cervical vertebrze of the okapi and giraffe: Sir E. Ray Lankester. The paper dealt chiefly with the posterior cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae, the author concluding that where the okapi differed in these respects from the giraffe, it resembled other, and particularly bovine, Artiodactyles. It also in- cluded a discussion of the zygapophysial articulations of the cervical and dorsal vertebre in the giraffe, okapi, and some other mammals.—Some Australian spiders: H. R. Hogg. The author gave further notes on the type species of the genus Missulena, hitherto known only by two speci- mens, a synopsis of the New Zealand genus Hexathele, with description of two new species, and a description of two new species of Dolomodes (Latreille) from Pitt Island of the Chatham Group, showing affinities with the only two species recorded from New Zealand. Association of Economic Biologists, April15.— Mr. A. FE. Shipley, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The pecking of fowls and their vision: E. Steains.—The inter-relation between entozoa and their hosts: A. E. Shipley. The author emphasised the important réle internal parasites play in disease, the full weight of which had scarcely been realised as yet by the medical profession.—The pre- disposition of plants to parasitic diseases: H. T. Giissow. —The need of an organised inquiry into the feeding habits of British birds: C. Gordon Hewitt.—The possibility and danger of the introduction of the San José scale into Great Britain: Walter E. Collinge. The author had seen this scale alive on. pears in this country, and twigs had been sent to him from Canada on which the insects had repro- duced by eggs, and hatched out in his laboratory. In view of its spread northwards in Canada, he was of opinion that some stricter and more careful examination of imported nursery stock should without delay be organised and carried out in this country.—An important factor in the natural control of the large larch saw-fly, Nematus erich- soni: C, Gordon Hewitt. The factor referred to was the field vole (Arvicola agrestis), which extracts and eats the larve from the cocoons. Royal Meteorological Society, April 15.—Dr. H. R. Mill, president, in the chair.—Report on the phenological observations for 1907: E. Mawley. Wild plants came into blossom behind their usual dates throughout the whole of the flowering season. Such early immigrants as_ the swallow, cuckoo, and nightingale were also behind their average dates in reaching these islands. The only deficient farm crop, taking the country as a whole, was that of potatoes, most of the other crops being much over average. On the other hand, the yield of apples and pears, and particularly that of the former, was below average. There was also a deficient crop of strawberries, whereas plums, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries were over average. —Anticyclonic belt of the southern hemisphere: Colonel H. E. Rawson. From an examination of the daily synoptic charts of the northern hemisphere, the author was led to the conclusion that some of the permanent anti- cyclonic systems had a progressive seasonal movement which did not take place along the same latitude each year, but was in some years north and in others south of a mean latitude. This was noticeable in the years 1881-1891, and was capable of easy explanation if the belt itself in which they moved shifted its latitude from year to year in addition to migrating north and south with the sun. On analysing the isobaric charts of the southern NO. 2008, VOL. 77 hemisphere, the author found the seasonal migration of the anticyclonic belt to be accompanied by a real displacement of the action-centres within it to the northward and to the southward. It appears that there is a period of about 9-5 years between the greatest north and greatest south position of the anticyclonic belt over South Africa, the double oscillation thus taking nineteen years. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, February 11.— Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—A method of counting the number of a particles from radio- active matter: Prof. E. Rutherford and Dr. H. Geiger. The total number of a@ particles expelled per second from one gram of radium has been estimated (Rutherford, Phil, Mag., August, 1905) by measuring ex- perimentally the total positive charge carried by the a rays from a thin film of radium, on the assumption that each a particle has the same charge as an ion produced in gases. If the @ particle is an atom of helium, it is neces- sary to assume that each a particle carries twice the ordinary ionic charge. The need of a method of directly counting the number of @ particles shot out from radio- active matter has long been felt in order to determine with the minimum of assumption the charge carried by the a particle, and also the magnitude of other radio-active quantities. It can be calculated that an a particle expelled from radium produces about 80,000 ions in a gas before its ionising power is lost. With very sensitive apparatus, it should be just possible to detect the ionisation produced by a single a particle by electrical methods. The effect, however, would be small and difficult to measure with accuracy. In order to overcome this difficulty, the authors have employed a method which automatically increases the ionisation produced by an a particle several thousand times, and so makes the electrical effect easily observable with an ordinary electrometer. By counting at intervals the number of a@ particles expelled per minute, the authors have been able to obtain the curves of decay of activity of a plate coated with radium C or actinium B. The a particles from a constant source are shot out at irregular intervals. The time interval between the entrance of successive a particles has been observed over a long interval, and the results show that the distribution curve with time is similar in general shape to the probability curve of distribution of the velocity of molecules in a gas. February 25.—Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the chair.—Notes on the greater horseshoe bat (Rhino- lophus ferrumequinum) in captivity: T. A. Coward. The author, after giving a résumé of his previous notes on the habits of the greater horseshoe bat, showed that the conclusions he arrived at were confirmed by the behaviour of examples in captivity. The winter sleep of this species is not profound; the bats leave their retreats and feed in mild weather. Bats in captivity usually awoke every evening, but during the cold weather in January slept occasionally for one, two, or three nights. When awake they captured insects on the wing, and also, though unable to walk, dropped on the floor, seized beetles, and rose with them in their mouths without difficulty, proving how the bats are able to obtain flightless insects.—Cavity parenchyma and tyloses in ferns: Mary McNicol. March 1o.—Dr. W. E. Hoyle, vice-president, in the chair.—Report of the recent Foraminifera from the coast of the island of Delos (Grecian Archipelago), part v.: H. Sidebottom. The author restricted himself to a con- sideration of two forms (Cymbalopora bulloides and Spirillina erecta) as being of special interest, and described them in some detail.—The action of selenium and tellurium on arsine and stibine: F. Jones. In a previous paper it was shown that sulphur decomposes stibine in presence of light, and at a temperature of 100° C., but not in the dark. The action results in the formation of hydrogen sulphide and antimony trisulphide. It was also shown that the liberated hydrogen sulphide decomposes stibine with formation of antimony trisulphide and free hydrogen. A similar action was found to take place between sulphur and the two gases analogous to stibine, namely, arsine and phosphine. It appeared probable that selenium and tellurium would act on these gases in a similar manner to sulphur, and this has been found. to be the case. 600 IMAL TOLER, [APRIL 23, 1908 ParIs. Academy of Sciences, April 13.—M. H. Becquerel in the chair.—The hovering of birds : Marcel Deprez. ‘The author gives a simple mechanical explanation of the motionless hovering of birds, and has constructed an apparatus capable of imitating this flight.—The determination of longitude at sea by wireless telegraphy: E. Guyou. The views of the Bureau des Longitudes on this subject are stated, especial emphasis being laid on the necessity for inter- national control.—The action of heat on the hydrates of lithia: M. de Forecrand. A description of the methods employed in obtaining LiOH, LiOH,H,O, and Li,O in a state of purity, together with some thermochemical data relating to these substances.—The adiabatic expansion of saturated fluids: E. Mathias.—An extremely sensitive electric hygroscope: J. Pionchon. A glass tube is silvered over the whole of its internal surface, and externall from one end to within about a centimetre of the othe:, tube is placed in circuit with a mirror galvanometer a. a battery of too volts. The resistance of the unsilvered™ portion of the tube varies with the amount of moisture present in the air, and forms a very sensitive hygroscope. —The magnetic changes in the speé*rum of silicon fluoride observed parallel to the field: A. Dufeur. It has been possible to separate the bands into three groups, in two of which the Zeeman effect is abnormal, or in a sense agrees with the existence of positive electrons.—The evaporation of water and solutions of sulphuric acid: P. Vaillant. A study of the effect of modifying some of the conditions in the gravimetric method described in a previous paper.—A new method of estimating phosphorus in organic materials: Isidore Bay. The substance is burnt in a bayonet tube with sodium carbonate and magnesia. Comparative results with this and the Carius method are given for trimethylphosphine and triethyl- phosphine.—The sulphur compounds of thorium: A. Duboin. By the action of sulphuretted hydrogen upon thorium chloride in presence of sodium chloride at a red heat, two new compounds were isolated. On analysis, these proved to be ThS, and ThOS.—Semicatalysis : the oxidation of hydrocarbons in air in presence of phosphorus : Albert Colson. Solutions of phosphorus in turpentine become oxidised in presence of air, and both the hydro- carbon and the phosphorus are oxidised simultaneously. The product H,PO,(C,,H,,O,), was isolated.—A simple reaction producing a disinfectant gas: G. Carteret. JOINT SCREWED & SOLDERED. STEEL SHELL EF GLASSTUBES STEEL THER - MOMETER BULB. APRIL 30, 1908] NATURE 607 with the pump, &c. A steel gasometer floating on mercury, and a steel pump working with mercury as a lubricant, had also been constructed for me by Messrs. Brin’s Oxygen Co. Sir William Ramsay had placed a large quantity of helium at my disposal. Preliminary experiments with oxygen led me to the conclusion that by this method it would be possible to attain to, and measure temperatures far below, the melt- ing point of hydrogen. I may point out that for very low temperatures the reading of the manometer attached to the thermometer would give a direct measurement of the temperature, as the dead space correction would be very small. Morris W. TRAVERS. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, March 29. The Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals: the Pene- trating Radiation from the Earth, IN a paper in the Phil. Mag., December, 1907, I described some experiments made by me on the con- ductivity of air confined in metallic cylinders, 60 cm. long and 24 cm. in diameter, which were made of lead, of zinc, and of aluminium. With the zinc and aluminium care- fully cleaned, a conductivity was obtained for the enclosed air, which on reduction gave the value 15 for q, the number of ions generated per c.c. per second in the air. With lead cylinders, which were investigated more extensively than those of other metals, the conductivity exhibited wide variations, and values were obtained which ranged from 160 to 23 ions per c.c. per second. During the past eight months experiments on the con- ductivity of air confined in metallic vessels have been con- tinued in the Physical Laboratory at Toronto by Mr. C. S. Wright, and he has now obtained under normal conditions with a particular lead cylinder of the dimensions given above, in a series of observations made in a room in the laboratory, a conductivity corresponding to the production of 15-3 ions per c.c. per second. With zinc and aluminium cylinders, the lowest conductivities obtained in this room by him correspond, respectively, to the values 13-4 and 12-5 ions per c.c. per second for q. He has also, during this period, conducted a series of experiments on the conductivity of air enclosed in these cylinders in and about Toronto, and has found that the conductivity of the enclosed air varied considerably with the character of the soil and rocks in the neighbourhood of the points of observation. In making measurements on the ice above the water of Lake Ontario, the conductivity was found to be very much lower over the surface of the water than at points on.the land on either side of the lake at some distance from the shore. In these experiments on the ice the values 8-6, 6-0, and 6-55 ions per c.c. per second were found for q with cylinders of lead, zinc, and aluminium respectively, and in a more extended series of observations with the lead eylinder alone, the conductivity was found to be the same over water with depths varying from 2-5 to 10 metres. Measurements were also made on board the steamer Corona during one of her passages over the lake, and values were obtained for q uniformly lower by approxi- mately 6 ions per c.c. per second than those found in the laboratory at Toronto, although the depth of the water at the wharf in Toronto, where the observations in this series were commenced, was not more than 6 or 7 metres, while it was approximately 150 metres in depth at the deepest point on the line of passage. Observations made on a sand bar extending out into the lake near Toronto gave a value of 9 ions per c.c. per second for g, and others made on land, at some distance. from the shore, at various points and over different soils, gave values ranging from 11-2 to 15 ions per c.c. per second. From the investigation it would appear that the water of Lake Ontario, as well as the sand along the shore line, contains little, if any, radio-active materials, and consequently does not contribute any appreciable propor- tion of the penetrating radiation observed at points on the earth’s surface. It would appear, too, from the constancy of the observed NO. 2009, VOL. 77] drop in conductivity that the water of the lake completely screens off any radiation coming from the soil or rock beneath it. In order to confirm this view, some experi- ments were made on the absorbing power of the water for the y rays from radium. Thirty milligrams of radium bromide were enclosed in a brass tube with walls about 1 cm. thick. This tube was laid on the ice, and the ionisation chamber placed 113 cm. above it. With this arrangement it was found that the conductivity added by the radium bromide corresponded to the generation in the air in the chamber of 4485 ions per c.c. per second. A hole was then made in the ice, and the tube was lowered to different depths in the water beneath, the conductivity being measured for each position of the radium. At a distance of half a metre below the surface the conductivity corresponded to the production of 447-2 ions per c.c. per second, at 1 metre to 16-11, at 2 metres to 0-69, and at 3 metres to 0-62 ions per c.c. per second. From these numbers it will be seen that a layer of water between 2 and 3 metres in thickness sufficed to absorb practically all the radiation issuing from the radium in the tube. In view of these experiments and of those of Elster and Geitel, who observed a fall of 28 per cent. in the conductivity of air enclosed in an aluminium cylinder, on taking this cylinder from the surface of the earth to the bottom of a mine surrounded with a wall of rock salt, it would seem that the penetrating radiation observed by a number of investigators at the surface of the earth is more or less local in character, and that, while its existence may be traceable to active substances present in the soil and rocks, the effective intensity is largely determined by the amount of inactive substances it may have to pass through in order to reach the surface. : The extremely low values found for q with the cylinders of lead, zinc, and aluminium in the experiments on the ice are interesting on account of their uniformity. They are, as is evident, of the order of magnitude of effects which might easily be accounted for by active impurities in the metals, since differences as large as these values of q may easily be obtained with cylinders made from different samples of almost any metal selected at random. Considering also the difference in the atomic weights of the three substances aluminium, zinc, and lead, and having in mind that radio-activity is a property associated with atomic structure, it would seem that if these metals could be obtained entirely free from active impurities, and the conductivity of air contained in vessels made from them studied, it would be found, if the observations were carried out under conditions or in places where no ionisation was possible from penetrating radiations arising from external sources, to drop to a very low value, if it did not entirely vanish. The experiments described in this note were made with one of Mr. C. T. R. Wilson’s latest type of gold-leaf electrometers, which was found, on account of its porta- bility, and of the facility and exactness with which read- ings could be made with it, to be most admirably suited to the purposes of the investigation. J. ©. McLennan. Physical Laboratory, University of Toronto, March 30. The Theory of Dispersion and Spectrum Series. On p. 413 of Nature (March 5) Prof. Schott attempts to show that there is an irreconcilable inconsistency between Drude’s dispersion formula and Balmer’s formula for the lines in the hydrogen spectrum. I imagined that some- one who could speak with greater authority than myself would make the obvious reply, but since no such reply has been forthcoming, and the arguments have been re- published in another journal, I venture to ask for space to point out why they appear to me fallacious. Prof. Schott’s error consists in assuming that the A, in Drude’s formula is the same as the A, in Balmer’s formula. The a, in Drude’s formula is the wave-length of the light for which the medium shows selective absorption; that in Balmer’s formula is the wave-length of the light emitted by the gas when in a luminous state. An unintelligent 608 NATURE [APRIL 30, 1908 application of Kirchhoff’s law sometimes leads students to imagine that the two quantities are identical, but Kirch- hoff’s law applies only to purely thermal radiation (cf. Wood’s ‘‘ Physical Optics,’? chapter xix.). A gas, such as hydrogen, in its non-luminous condition does not absorb selectively the light emitted by luminous hydrogen. I do not think that any absorption bands in non-luminous hydrogen have been detected; they are probably far in the ultra-violet, and there is no reason for supposing that their wave-lengths will be connected by any formula similar to that of Balmer. The reason for the difference in the frequencies of the absorption bands and the lines in the emission spectrum is sufficiently obvious. The emission of light by a gas is doubtless connected with the ionisation of its atoms. But, when an atom is ionised, the electrons in or surround- ing that atom are subject to forces entirely different from those which act upon them when the atom is ionised ; there must be a corresponding difference in the periods of free vibration. The absorption bands probably represent the vibrations of the electrons in the neutral atom, the emission spectrum those of the electrons in or around the ionised atom. Nor is there any reason why the refractive index of a luminous gas should differ greatly from that of a non- luminous gas, except in the immediate neighbourhood of a line in the emission spectrum. (It is relevant to note that Drude’s formula cannot be applied to such regions.) Only a very small proportion of the total number of atoms present is ionised even under the most favourable experi- mental conditions; most of the atoms are not ionised, and affect the light in the same way as those of a non-luminous gas. Of course, if the refractive index due to the luminous atoms were really infinite, the refractive index of the luminous gas would be infinite, however small the pro- portion of luminous atoms. But it is impossible that it should be infinite; if Balmer’s formula were accurately true for all values of m, there would be an infinite number of lines in the emission spectrum, implying an_ infinite number of degrees of freedom in the vibrating system. According to the modern view, which seems to be accepted by Prof. Schott, this system is composed of discrete charged particles possessing a finite mass; the number of such particles must be finite, and they can only have a finite number of degrees of freedom. Experiment can never demand an infinite number of lines, for, if m is very great, the lines are so close as to be beyond the range of resolu- tion. Norman R. CaMpBeELt. Trinity College, Cambridge. The Oligochztous Fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun and Lake Nyassa. In Nature of August 1, 1907 (vol. Ixxvi., p. 316), Messrs. Cunnington and C, L. Boulenger wrote a_ preliminary account of the fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun. I am indebted to these gentlemen for the opportunity of supple- menting their account by a note upon the Oligochzeta of that lake. They were so good as to send to me two tubes with a large number of specimens of a small oligochztous worm collected in the lake. These specimens were found to belong, without exception, to the species Paranats littoralis. The occurrence of this Naid in northern Africa is a new fact in its distribution. It has hitherto been met with in many parts of Europe, both in fresh water and in brackish, even salt, water. As to its marine habitat, it has been collected on the shores. of Denmark and near Odessa. It is clear from the fact that this was the only aquatic Oligochzte met with by Messrs. Cunnington and Boulenger that it must at least be a prevalent form in the lake. Mr. Cunnington has also kindly placed in my hands some examples of aquatic Oligocheta from Lake Nyassa: These belong to three species, and the contrast with the oligochzetous fauna of the North African lake is very marked. The genera represented in Nyassa are Dero, Nais, and Pristina. Unfortunately, none of the examples NO. 2009, VOL. 77] submitted to me are sexually mature. The Pristina 1 identify with Pristina longiseta, a widely spread form. The genera Nais and Dero are also found in many parts of the world, and as all three genera have already been recorded from tropical East Africa (Michaelsen in Zettschr. f. wiss. Zool., Bd. 1xxxii., 1905, p. 289), there is no cause for surprise at their occurrence in Nyassa. Still, the fact seemed to me to be worth putting on record. Frank E. Bgpparp. Zoological Society’s Gardens. THE FORTHCOMING. DUBLIN MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. HE British Association will hold its fourth meet- ing in Dublin on, September 2-8 of this year. The three previous meetings took place in 1835, in 1857, and in 1878. The 1878 meeting drew an attend- ance of 2578, which was well above the average, and it was marked by the presence of an unusually large number of men distinguished in scientific or other work at the time and since. In his presidential address before the Anthropology Section, Prof. Huxley spoke prophetically about those ‘‘ who may be here thirty years hence—I certainly shall not be,”’ little realising how both his prophecies were destined to come true. > Appropriately enough (though, I believe, not con- sciously in connection with Huxley’s forecast), the invitation for 1908 originated with Prof. W. H. Thompson, of the physiological laboratory of Dublin University. It was originally intended for 1907, but 1908 was found to be more suitable, and the invita- tion was formally accepted at York in 1906, where a deputation attended consisting of the Provost of Trinity College, Prof. Thompson, Dr. Tarleton, Mon- signor Molloy, Rev. Dr. Delaney, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin. The invitation was formally renewed at Leicester by Prof. Thompson, Rev. Dr. Delaney, and Sir Howard Grubb. At a first meeting at the Dublin Mansion House, general and executive committees were appointed, and these have been at work ever since, with the result that the arrange- ments are in an advanced state of preparation. Sub- committees were appointed to deal with finance, entertainments, hospitality, and the handbook re- spectively. The four local secretaries are Dr. Joseph McGrath, secretary of the Royal University, Prof. W. E. Thrift, Prof. W. H. Thompson, and Mr. John Mulligan, of the Hibernian Bank. About 3000/. has already been subscribed towards the expenses of the meeting. The reduced fare tickets will be available for a month, so as to include the excursions subse- quent to the official meeting. Day excursions will be arranged during the week of the meeting to the Devil’s Glen and Glendalough in county Wicklow, to Powerscourt Waterfall and the Dargle near Bray, to the Boyne Valley, and to the Shannon Lakes. The presidential address will be delivered by Mr. Francis Darwin, F.R.S., on the evening of Wednes- day, September 2, in the large hall of the Royal University. Here also will be delivered two of the evening discourses, one on ‘* Halley’s Comet,’’ by Prof. H. H. Turner, F.R.S. (Friday, September 4), the other on ‘‘ The Lessons of the Colorado Canon,” by Prof. W. M. Davis, of Harvard University (Monday, September 7). The third evening discourse will be delivered to operatives on Saturday, September 5. To this discourse ordinary members will not be admitted. The lecture hall has not yet been decided upon. The serious worl: of the sections will, for the most part, be over each day by two o'clock, leaving the eo — eS he ee 2 = ee ee ee ee erm 2 ee ee eee APRIL 30, 1908] NATURE 609 afternoon, and those evenings on which discourses are not held, free for entertainments of a social kind. Of the latter, not a few are already promised, in- cluding garden-parties by their Excellencies the Lord Lieutenant and the Countess of Aberdeen, by Lord and Lady Ardilaun, and by the provost and senior fellows of Trinity College; evening receptions are also to be held by the Viscount and Viscountess Iveagh, by the Royal Dublin Society, and by the Royal Irish Academy. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress will be ‘‘ At Home ”’ at the Mansion House, to members of the association, on the afternoon of the opening day of the meeting. The work of the Dublin meeting will be transacted in twelve sections, which, with their respective presi- dents, are as follows :—Mathematical and Physical Science (Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S.); Chemistry (Prof. F. S. Kipping, F.R.S.); Geology (Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S.); Zoology (Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.R.S.); Geo- graphy (Major E. H. Hills, R.E.); Economic Science and Statistics (Mr. W. M. Acworth); Subsection Agri- culture (Sir Horace Plunkett, K.C.V.O., F.R.S.); Engineering (Mr. Dugald Clerk, F.R.S.); Anthro- pology (Prof. W. Ridgeway); Physiology (Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S.; Botany (Dr. F. F. Blackman, F.R.S.); Educational Science’ (Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S.). To increase the general interest in the doings of the association, these sections have been distributed over various institutions in the city, the governing bodies of which have kindly undertaken to provide suitable accommodation. Thus, Trinity College, the Royal University, the Royal College of Science, University College, the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, the Royal Irish Academy, and the Royal Dublin Society all vie with each other in this respect. The reception room and administrative offices during the meeting will be located in Trinity College. Until then, offices for the local reception committee have been kindly provided at the Royal University by permission of the Senate. The official handbook is being prepared by Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger (author of “ Irish Topographical Botany ’’) and Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole, under the auspices of the Handbook Committee. It will com- prise sections on local geology, botany, zoology, history and archeology, commerce and _ industries, and the usual official information. Among the articles will be one on glacial phenomena, by Mr. J. R. Kilroe, and another on mineralogy, by Mr. H. J. Seymour, both of the Geological Survey. Mr. Nathaniel Colgan, author of ‘‘ Flora of Co. Dublin ”’ and one of the editors of “Cybele Hibernica,’’ will deal with botanical subjects. The zoology section will be prepared by Prof. G. H. Carpenter, and will comprise an essay on Irish mammals, by Dr. Scharff; birds, by Mr. R. M. Barrington (author of ‘ Migra- tion of Birds ’’); and numerous other special articles. The history and archeology of the district round Dublin will be in charge of Mr. C. Litton Fallxiner, secretary to the council of the Royal Irish Academy, and Mr. Elrington Ball (author of ‘‘ History of the “Flora of Co. Dublin’? and one of the editors of Murray’s ‘‘ Guide to Ireland”’) will deal with the prehistoric and other antiquities of the Boyne Valley, including the famous tumuli of Knowth, Dowth, and Newgrange, and with Dublin churches. There will also be articles by Mr. J. Westropp on the medizval and ecclesiastical antiquities of Dublin and Wicklow; by Count Plunkett, the new director of the Dublin Museum, on old Dublin houses; and by Dr. Cosgrave, on old views of Dublin. Dublin possesses attractions which very few capital NO. 2009, VOL. 77] cities can rival. Situated in the centre of Dublin Bay, its beautiful and prosperous suburbs extend north- wards on to the promontory of Howth and south- wards to Kingstown, Dalkey, and the far-famed Bay of Killiney, which, closed in by the Wicklow Moun- tains, presents an aspect of unsurpassed beauty. A somewhat unusual element of local colour will be given to this year’s Dublin meeting by the large number of bilingual street name-plates and sign- posts (an outcome of the Gaelic revival), on which the historic names are given in both Irish and English character and spelling. The well-known cordiality and hospitality of the Irish people may be trusted to render this year’s visit of the devotees of science one of particularly agreeable memories. SCIENCE COURT OF THE FRANCO: BRITISH EXHIBITION. HE fact that pure science will take a recognised part in the scheme of the forthcoming Franco- British Exhibition, and that it is being assigned a court specially for this subject, has already been re- corded in these columns. It is believed that this is the first large exhibition at which such distinct recognition of the claims of pure science has been made, and it may be welcomed as being an example which should be followed at all future exhibitions. The scheme of the court has been arranged so as to show apparatus and processes of historical value in the various sciences, and also, so far as possible, to illustrate various researches in science, both in the laboratory and in the factory, which have been and are being carried on. The exhibits will be ar- ranged under the head of each of the great sciences, with subdivisions where necessary. Arrangements have also been made to illustrate the nature of the scientific worl which is being carried on under the head of the exploration of the heavens, the air, the sea, and the land, which come naturally under the sciences of astronomy, meteorology, oceanography, geography, and geology. In this way it is hoped that a fairly complete review of all the important sciences will be obtained. In the previous article in Narure, the constitution and names of the full committee and of the various subcommittees were given. The preliminary arrange- ments and discussion of the principles to be followed, and the nature of exhibits to be asked for, occupied the committee several months, but the work of actually collecting the exhibits in each science. which are to be shown was handed over by the committee to the various subcommittees and their respective Con- veners, as they are the best and most appropriate judges of what exhibits are available. These sub- committees and their Conveners have really had a hard and difficult task in making representative and interesting collections, but they have, on the whele, been most successful. The usual difficulties in securing historically valuable apparatus have been experienced, and many individuals and institutions have not found them- selves able to allow such apparatus to pass out of their own custody. Further difficulties have also arisen, as is usual in such cases, in the matter of space and funds, for both have had to be provided by the exhibition itself, as no public funds have been forthcoming. The executive committee has generously given a court, comprising the space of about 14,000 square feet, free of cost, for the science exhibits, and has placed at the disposal of the science committee THE 610 sufficient funds to allow the exhibits to be safely kept and properly displayed, though perhaps the exhibits will not be shown in such lavish surroundings as might have been desired. The arrangement of the court is shown in the sketch-plan here reproduced. The north side of the court will be mainly devoted to ‘*‘ Exploration,’’ and there will be a section devoted to astronomy which will have amongst its exhibits a very complete astro- physical observatory. The other sections in this part will be devoted to oceanography, geology, and geo- graphy. : In the centre of the court there will be most in- teresting exhibits from the National Physical Labor- atory, also in electricity and magnetism, and in mineralogy and crystallography. The south side of the court will contain the meteorological exhibits, with a typical meteorological observatory, a large ex- hibit in chemistry, one of metallography, one of bio- logy, one of anthropology, and one of heat, together Outside numbers = Screen space NATURE [APRIL 30, 1908 amount and kind of the breakdown which accom- panies vital activity, and so logically the study of katabolism must come first. This is only possible when anabolism is minimal; hence arises the import- ance of the knowledge of what occurs when the intake is limited to oxygen and water. The work just published under the auspices of Dr. Benedict, the director of the Nutrition Labora- tory at Boston, U.S.A., deals with this subject in a masterly way. It is a monument of prolonged and patient industry and self-sacrifice, as well as of admirably planned experiments on a large scale under careful and coordinated guidance. The book is not one which would be selected as a com- panion for a railway journey. It consists mainly of the protocols of the experiments, their ultimate valu- ation, and the general results to be drawn from them being left for the future. A good deal of inanition work has been done in the past upon animals with useful results; a few obsery- Screens 100 high all round wall 4 9 over Tablesdotted Floor space «7222 1 Plain Tables —= W' DEACONS a5 o——_] +-=---==' 55, 58 4 3 56 60 ASTRONOMY ; OCEANOGRAPHY GEOLOGY GEOGRAPHY& GEODESY ,, i 16 [as] 18, {33 Bs 36 ES) Sees) nl 61 i>} * ° % s i oo “ o 5 MODERN 13) NATIONAL PHYSICAL MINERALOGY ° a E) 140 - 74 ELECTRICITY & MAGNET! ad 6 a LABORATORY, = — 152]157 ———_|150 SL ait 154LABORATORY SS ° . ' z SCIENCE Franco-British Exhibition. with smaller exhibits of mathematicaf science and visible and invisible radiations. It is also hoped that a meteorological observatory actually at work will be arranged in the grounds of the exhibition. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF STARVATION. O the non-scientific mind the detailed study of inanition or starvation in men and animals may appear both useless and unnecessary. It is in reality one of the most important pieces of work the inves- tigator of nutrition and allied problems can undertake. In the normal condition the processes of construction (anabolism) and decay (katabolism) are taking place simultaneously, and one can in that condition only obtain the net result of, or balance between, these two antagonistic phenomena. In order to understand the way in which the body builds itself up, it is obviously necessary that we should first know the 1 “The se Influence of Inanition on Metabolism.” senedict. Pp. v+542. (Washington NO. 2009, VOL. N c _ By Francis Gano : Carnegie Institution, 1907.) 77] fms] he ] =—J hos +102 [107 hoo 92 B3|') | oe , : RITISH EMPIRE ANTHROP- METEOROLOGY t CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY OLOGY HEAT : METALLOGRAPHY LEAGUE 120ft19-4 1206 16 == = -]i2e[19a = ==] SS] eas) ee T PLATFORM { MATHEMATICAL 1s1fz04i208S-----JrovE=s- 0] for 106/53 i] 80 Fe Setting-out of Science Section. Building No. 11. ations have been made upon men, especially upon professional fasters. In order to obtain trustworthy averages, it is necessary that such experiments should be performed upon a large number of individuals, and this is the work which Dr. Benedict has, with the assistance of his colleagues, and the voluntary self- abnegation of a number of students and others, been successful in accomplishing. Experiments on man himself are more valuable than experiments on the lower animals in such a subject as this. During Dr. Benedict’s long association with the late Dr. Atwater, the celebrated respiration calori- meter was evolved, and the generosity of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has enabled now a special laboratory, situated in Boston, to be entirely devoted to work of this kind. English workers may well envy their more fortunate colleagues across the Atlantic in the ease with which funds are chtained both for higher education xpedition. Report on the Scientific of the Vovaes of the S.Y. Scotia during the Years 1902," 1903, and t904, under the leadership of W Bruce. Vol. ii., Physics. Pp. xvit+324, Edinburgh : Scottish Oceanograph cal Laboratcry, 1907.) Pricz 1d. 1s. 2009, VOL. | ottish National Antarctic [oO NO. 77 Reduced from a Report of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. the Argentine meteorological director, Mr. Mossmann has been able to discuss observations taken during 1904, and records the mean temperature as 22°-7, the lowest reading being —26°, in June, 1903. The diurnal range of tempera- ture varies from 1°-r in autumn to in spring. It was noted that, whereas on eastern coast of Graham’s Land the easterly winds very conspicuous, the winds at Scotia Bay had only ‘small easterly component. As the expedition was not originally arranged with the intention of making magnetical observations, the only instruments taken were a portable magnetometer and a dip circle. There being no special non-magnetic area on the Scotia, no observations were made at sea. A wooden hut erected not far from Omond House, and called the Copeland Observatory, was used to shelter these instruments. The observations were made under very adverse conditions. It was often found that the magneto- 25 the are a very &) APRIL 30, 1908] NATURE 619 meter had become crusted with ice spicules, and it had to be thawed out before it could be used. Many other difficulties had to be encountered, and it is surprising that any successful observations were made; but Mr. Mossman, assisted by Mr. W. Martin, secured, besides other observa- tions, hourly observations on twenty days. The magnetic observations are discussed by Dr. Chree, F.R.S., who remarks that the results show how very carefully the observations were made. The observations extended over the period May, 1903, to February, 1904. The following values are given:—declination, 5° 31'-2 east; inclination, 54° 30’-6 south; horizontal force, 0-25704 ; mean daily range of declination obtained from the hourly readings, 8’-65. While the Scotia was anchored and frozen in Scotia Bay observations of the tide were made by means of a very simple gauge. A long wire, fastened to the sea floor by a heavy weight, passed over a pulley, and was kept taut by a lighter weight at the other end. As the ship rose and fell with the tide this weight moved up and down a vertical scale, which was observed half-hourly. The tides seem to be normal for a place in the Southern Ocean. The semi-diurnal tides are considerable, but the solar tide is unusually large compared with the lunar tide, the ratio being three-fifths, or 0-6, as compared with 0-465 of the equilibrium theory. The semi-diurnal tides are almost exactly ‘“‘ inverted,’’ so that low water occurs very nearly when the moon is on the meridian. THE METEORS OF HALLEY’S COMET, [X view of the approaching return of Halley’s comet, the Aquarid meteor shower of May ought to be awaited with special interest. We know comparatively little of this system, as it has been seldom observed. It is certain, however, that it is the richest of our May showers, and that its radiant point conforms very nearly both in date and place with the radiant and epoch of particles follow- ing the path of Halley’s comet. This circumstance alone is significant, and the supposed connection of the comet and meteoric display will be sure to receive ample investi- gation during the next few years. The Aquarids should be looked for after 1 a.m. in the mornings between the end of April and May 7, and they are directed from a region at about 337°—2°, just below the equator. Lieut.-Colonel Tupman determined the radiant as about 10° west of the point assigned, and further observations are required to ascertain the exact place, and also the precise date of the maximum of the shower. If really associated with Halley's comet, the meteors ought, in immediate ensuing years, greatly to increase in numbers, though we possess no historical records of rich showers having been observed in 1759 or 1835, when the comet previously returned to perihelion. But many meteoric phenomena haye eluded recognition, and it is very possible that some returns of these Spring Aquarids may have escaped notice, as they are only visible just before sunrise, and were never specially looked for until after their discovery nearly forty years ago by Lieut.-Colonel Tupman. This stream, like the Perseids and Leonids and many other showers, is evidently one visible nearly every year, and forming a complete ellipse. It now remains for observations in immediately ensuing years to determine whether, like the Leonids and Andromedids of November, it develops unusual intensity near the time of return of the parent comet. W. F. Denninc. SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN METAL- MINING.* [X one sense every mine is an unsolved problem from the day the first pick is put into the ground until the mine is finally abandoned as exhausted, and even then it is not always certain that it really is worked out, and that sinking or driving another 10 feet might not give it a renewed lease of life. Unlike most engineering problems, which have generally to be solved before work is com- 1 From the “‘ James Forrest” Lecture, delivered at the Institution of Civil Engineers on April 27 by Prof. Henry Louis. NO. 2009, VOL. 77] menced, a mining problem is never fully solved until all work upon it is finally concluded. At the very outset, even before we are in a position to attack the different subdivisions of the subject, we are brought face to face with what may almost be described as one of the fundamental problems underlying the whole of metal-mining, and one the solution of which can never attain finality. The work of the metal-miner being limited to the extraction from the earth’s crust of the ores of the various metals, whilst it is the business of the metallurgist to smelt’ these, so as to reduce therefrom the metals that they contain, and to fit the latter for their use in the arts, the question what constitutes an ore is one that the miner cannot answer for himself, and for the reply to which he is dependent entirely upon the development of metallurgical science for the time being. Not all metalliferous minerals are ores from the smelter’s point of view. Take, for example, an ordinary brick clay, which is a complex hydrous silicate containing, say, 15 per cent. of aluminium and 5 per cent. of iron; it is true that we can extract both these metals from it by a series of complicated labora- tory processes, but no means for doing this economically on a practical working scale have yet been discovered. Hence no one would dream of calling clay an ore of aluminium, and far less of iron. Nevertheless, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that our modern metal- lurgists, or their younger and more progressive brethren, the electro-metallurgists, may within a few years devise some practicable process for extracting aluminium from clay, when clay would straightway become an ore of aluminium, though it is not one now; and if perchance it happened that comparatively pure oxide of iron were obtained as a by-product in the same process, the clay might even be reckoned as an ore of iron also. Until some such process shall be devised, clay is looked upon by the metal-miner as a non-metallic mineral, as so much worthless gangue or waste. The history of metal-mining has shown again and again that the waste rock of one generation is the valuable ore of another, as, for example, the zinc blende of the Alston district, which is now being recovered from the waste which the old miners had left behind as worthless in their excavations, or had thrown aside on their waste heaps, the value of the mineral having been recognised when a Belgian metallurgist discovered how to extract zine from it. The point may be further illustrated by a consideration of the world’s supply of iron ore; iron, the most useful of all metals, is at the same time, next to aluminium, the most abundant, geologists calculating that 4-7 per cent. of the earth’s crust consists of iron; if this estimate be correct, the very small portion of the earth’s crust under- lying the London Metropolitan area (fifteen miles’ radius) down to the depth of only one mile would contain no less than 360,000 millions of tons of iron, none of which is in the form of a true iron ore. At the present day no one would call a mineral containing less than 25 per cent. of iron an iron ore, and unless it contains double that per- centage it will not find a very ready or a very appreciative market amongst iron smelters. As the result of various improvements in the last few decades, the whole trend of modern mining is towards the utilisation of large deposits of low-grade material, the increased scale of operations enabling economies to be effected that were impossible whilst small quantities alone were dealt with. One of the cardinal problems that will confront our successors will be how to work with profit minerals of lower grade than any that we have yet attacked, so as to enable the miner to include within his sphere of operations deposits too poor for us to deal with to-day. The possibility of determining by some means the where- abouts of the hidden treasures of the earth has long been an object of the miner’s desire, the methods for accomplish- ing which range from the mediaeval adept with his divining rod, belief in which is not wholly extinct to-day, down to a series of modern attempts to use electric currents for the same purpose. Up to the present these attempts have been unsuccessful, in spite of the ambitious claims of some of their advocates. In view of the fact that minerals differ so widely in | their electric and magnetic properties, it is quite possible 620 NATURE [APRIL 30, 1908 to conceive that some method of detecting concealed mineral deposits by these means may be devised. Indeed, for one particular class of minerals such a method has long been in existence; in Scandinavia there are many deposits of magnetite, and many others of which magnetite forms a constituent, so that all such deposits distinctly affect a magnetic needle. The Swedish prospector has long used the so-called mining compass, which consists essentially of a small magnetic needle so suspended as to be able to move both horizontally and vertically. When this compass is brought over ground in which such deposits of magnetic mineral exist, the needle indicates their presence by its change of dip, so much so that it has been customary for years past in Sweden to buy and sell mineral properties by their ‘‘ compass-drag,’’ or their effect on the miners’ compass. When, by any means, some indication is obtained of the approximate position of a mineral deposit, it has to be more precisely located by boring. Boring is of but little value for tracing mineral veins, owing to their going down so nearly vertically and to their great irregularity, but it is often used to locate irregular masses of ore; for example, bore-holes have recently been employed success- fully in Cumberland for proving deposits of red haematite in the Carboniferous limestone, even where this is over- lain by Triassic rocks. Obviously bore-holes are most valuable when stratified deposits have to be tested, and everyone will remember the conspicuous success that attended their use in proving the permanence in depth of the auriferous banket beds of the Witwatersrand. The deepest bore-hole put down up to the present is one at Paruschowitz, in Upper Silesia, which attained a depth of 6573 feet; it commenced at a diameter of 12-6 inches and finished at 2-7 inches, and it is easy to imagine the difficulties that attend the boring of so small a hole to the depth of 1} miles. The engineers in charge stated that they could not have reached this depth had not Mannesmann weldless steel tubes been available for the boring rods; I mention this fact as illustrating the depend- ence of mining upon the allied arts, for at first sight few would imagine that an improvement in special rolling-mill practice could increase our knowledge of the deeper por- tions of the earth’s crust. Bore-holes such as these are now always made by means of the well-known diamond drill, which brings up a core of the rocks passed through, and thus affords positive in- formation respecting them. Unfortunately, the only kind of diamonds suitable for this purpose, the dark opaque stones, showing no distinct cleavage, known in the trade as “‘carbons,’’ are very scarce and proportionately dear, so that diamond-drilling is now a very costly operation; I have, however, good grounds for saying that we are within measurable distance of seeing such ‘‘ carbons,’’ or at any rate ‘‘ boot,”’ produced artificially. For rocks of moderate hardness, these diamonds have of late years been replaced fo some extent by shot made of specially hard chilled iron, but these are of little use in the harder rocks. One of our greatest needs at the present moment is a metal that shall be strong, tough, and very considerably harder than quartz; the production of such a material would conduce more to the technical advancement of several branches of mining than almost any other discovery that could be named. Mineral deposits may be distinguished as superficial. shallow, or deep-seated in the earth’s crust; the first of these require no opening up, properly speaking; the second can mostly be opened up by adit levels, whilst the third class can only be reached by means of shafts. The deepest shafts in the world are in the copper-mining district of Lake Superior, where there» are at least two close upon 5000 feet in depth; with the exception of this district, of a few shafts in the Bendigo district of Victoria, a few at Tohannesburg, and) some in the Przibram mines in Bohemia, it may be said that there are practically no shafts in metal-mines more than 3000 feet deep. so that the ability to reach considerably greater depths than have hitherto been attained in most mineral fields may be taken for granted. Indeed, so far as the actual sinking is con- cerned, there would probably be no serious difficulty in sinking a shaft 10,000 feet deev, provided that it could be known with certaintv that a deposit of ore would be met with of sufficient value to recoup the outlay incurred in NO. 2009, VOL. 77] such a sinking; in other words, the main problems con- | nected with deep sinking are economic rather than technical. For centuries the only property made use of to effect the separation of minerals was the difference in their densities ; in 1858, however, an entirely new property was brought into play for the purpose, namely, the difference in their magnetic susceptibilities. This idea was due to a famous Italian engineer, Sella, whose name is well known in con: nection with the Mont Cenis tunnel. He was called upon fo treat the iron ores of Traversella, in Piedmont, which consist of magnetite containing a certain proportion of copper pyrites (the mass carrying 2 per cent. to 4 per cent. of copper), which interfered with the use of the ore for iron smelting. Sella devised a machine carrying rotating electromagnets, by which the magnetic iron ore w separated from the non-magnetic copper ore, so that both could be utilised. Other machines on similar principles were subsequently devised, and, naturally enough, they emanated from countries rich in deposits of magnetite, such as Scandinavia’ and some of the eastern States of America. Sweden especially took a prominent part in the development of the magnetic system of separation, and the Wenstr6m machine, patented in 1884, which was one of the first practical machines brought out, is still largely used, as it is well adapted to the separation of lump ore. Other machines, more particularly designed for the treatment of finely crushed ore, were brought out in rapid succession, and to-day one of the main difficulties that beset the mining engineer lies in the selection of the most suitable machine for any given purpose out of the vast number with which the market is flooded. All these machines work either by means of a moving magnetic field, produced by travelling pole-pieces, passing through the mass of crushed ore, or by causing a stream of the ore to traverse a stationary — field, these results being obtained either by travelling belts or revolving drums, or, as in the case of Edison’s machine, — by the deflection of a falling stream. It soon became apparent that, where very clean concentrates were required, the best results could only be obtained by applying mag- netic separation to a pulp of mineral suspended in water, and wet magnetic separators were soon introduced, and are to-day preferred wherever possible; they avoid the necessity for artificial drying, which is, moreover, in the case of minerals that contain iron pyrites, apt to affect the magnetic susceptibility of this mineral sufficiently to inter- fere seriously with the success of the operation. Attempts have been made to devise magnetic separators without moving parts, by the use of polyphase rotating fields, but although the idea looks promising, no satisfactory machine on this principle has yet been constructed. At first magnetic separation was only applied to the naturally magnetic ores, magnetite and magnetic pyrites ; it was soon, however, extended to certain other minerals that can be rendered magnetic by heating, such as spathic iron ore, brown hzematite, iron pyrites, &c. As early as 1875 a magnetic separator was used at Przibram for separating roasted spathic ore from zinc blende, this form- ing an excellent example of the value of magnetic separa- tion. The presence of spathic iron ore causes great difficul- ties in smelting zinc ores, as it forms a readily fusible silicate of iron which destroys the zine retorts; at the same time, the densities of the two minerals are so nearly the same that separation by ordinary dressing is impossible. The application of magnetic separation has solved the difficulty, and has rendered available for the smelter numerous ferriferous zinc ores that were previously useless. The process is receiving an extended application in America for treating argentiferous galena and zinc blende, finely divided, and intimately mixed with a large proportion of iron pyrites, in which the proportion of zinc is too high to admit of the ore being smelted direct, whilst the large amount of iron pyrites present interferes with ordinary wet dressing. This ore is crushed and then gently heated, which renders the pyrites magnetic, so that it can be re- moved by a magnetic separator ; the dressing of the residual mixture of zine and lead ores by the ordinary methods then offers no particular difficulties. Whilst the ordinary methods of magnetic separation were thus extending the sphere of their applicability, another APRIL 30, 1908] NATURE 621 form of magnetic separation was coming to the front. For a long time the method was confined to minerals that were naturally or artificially magnetic in the everyday acceptance of that word, that is to say, were capable of being attracted by an ordinary horse-shoe magnet. Faraday had discovered so far back as 1845 that numerous bodies, not magnetic in this ordinary sense, were neverthe- less affected by powerful magnetic fields, but it was not until 1896 that this principle was applied to the separation of minerals by J. P. Wetherill; he succeeded in separating a series of minerals, all very feebly magnetic, from the somewhat more feebly magnetic zinc oxide and other zinc ores of New Jersey by the use of very powerful magnetic fields, produced by means of electromagnets with wedge- shaped pole-pieces, and since his original invention this principle (the magnetic separation of non-magnetic material, as it is sometimes called) has found an extended applica- tion, one of the most recent being the magnetic concentra- tion of specular haematite by the Edison deflection method, using pole-pieces of the Wetherill type. Such separations as that of wolfram from tinstone, of raw spathic ore from zinc blende, of garnets from silver ore, which are necessary before any rational metallurgical treatment of the ores is possible, but which offer insuperable difficulties to the ordinary methods of dressing, have been rendered possible by the adoption of the Wetherill principle, and I see no reason to doubt but that it will find still more extended application in the future. I may point out that no successful wet separator for feebly magnetic minerals has yet been devised ; this is a problem presenting numerous difficulties, but probably quite capable of solution, and at the same time very well worth solving. Magnetic separation, though so comparatively novel, has already been extensively applied, the largest installations being naturally those for the treatment of iron ores. At the present moment the output of high-grade magnetite oncentrate, produced by this process, in Sweden cannot fall far short of half a million tons per annum, and in Norway active preparations are in progress for work on a much larger scale at Dunderland, Salangen, Ofoten, and Sydvaranger, from which a yearly output of fully two millions of tons of high-class iron concentrates is expected. Attempts to utilise other properties of minerals for their separation may be said to belong wholly to the present century. Thus Messrs. Blake and Morscher in 1901, and Mr. Negreanu in 1902, have attempted to use electrostatic methods, depending upon the variations in the electrification of minerals due to their varying electric conductivities ; the former of these two methods has been used with success for the dressing of blende in the United States. Finally, the difference in surface tension has been employed in Elmore’s oil separation process, in the various flotation processes, devised since the discovery of the prin- ciple by C. V. Potter in 1901, and applied to the very intractable zinc-lead ores of the Broken Hill district of New South Wales, and finally in the Elmore vacuum process. All these processes seem to depend upon the differential. adhesive force, with which water, oil, or gas cling to the surface of different minerals. These methods are still in their infancy, and the underlying principles cannot yet be said to be properly understood, but already they promise to be of great value in recovering valuable material from slimes that are not amenable to any other mode of treatment. particularly for treating those intimate mixtures of zinc blende and galena that have for so long defied the ingenuity of both miners and metallurgists. There are grounds for hoping that many of the problems that have hitherto baffled the ore-dresser may be solved by some application of these modern methods. SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. SERIES of articles has appeared in the Revue scientifique (May 18 and July 13, 1907; February 22, 1908) comparing the teaching of technical chemistry in France with the instruction given in the same subject in other countries. The last article is of special interest as presenting a French view of the relation subsisting between science and industry in our own country. After de- scribing in detail the excellent organisation of scientific education in Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, and NO. 2C09, VOL. 77] emphasising the closeness of the union existing in these countries between the manufacturer and the man of science, it is stated that the system of technical education adopted in England presents no feature worthy of commendation. The English manufacturer fails to realise how much he may profit from the assistance of pure science :— ““Vindustriel anglais parait ou veut ignorer le chimiste de carriére qui vient A lui avec un bagage scientifique ; son but étant de produire ‘ beaucoup et & bon marché” il lui suffit quand il remarque un ouvrier plus intelligent et plus. perfectible que ses camarades de l’envoyer aux écoles du soir, prendre un semblant d’instruction théorique et cela sur la seule partie de la chimie qui peut intéresser son métier.”? The many technical colleges under the control of municipal authorities in this country do not aim at pro- ducing highly trained “‘ chemists ’’ in the scientific sense of the word, but waste their resources in providing even- ing classes for workmen and artisans, and in imparting the rudiments of science to boys from the primary schools. The university colleges, on the other hand, with the exception of the Central Technical College, provide only a training in pure chemistry. Until science and industry become more intimately united in this country it is pre- dicted that the technical schools will go on producing merely good workmen and the universities men who are unable to investigate practical problems or apply discoveries made in the laboratory on an industrial scale. It would appear that the chemist is as little appreciated in France as in our own country, and it is pertinently asked whether this is not due to his lack of ‘* general culture’? which prevents him from acquiring the broad ideas necessary for the initiation or development of important enterprises. The same question no doubt may be asked of the chemists in this country, but whatever be the answer there is no doubt that, for the proper develop- ment of our industry in the near future, a closer union between the industrialist and the chemist is vitally necessary. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. CaMBRIDGE.—The board of managers of the Arnold Gerstenberg studentship gives notice that a studentship will be offered for competition in the Michaelmas term of 1909. The competition will be open to men and women who have obtained honours in part i. or part ii. of the natural sciences tripos, and whose first term of residence was not earlier than the Michaelmas term of 1903. The student- ship, which will be of the annual value of nearly gol., will be tenable for two years. The Linacre lecture will be delivered by Dr. W. Osler, F.R.S., on Wednesday, May 6, in the lecture-room of anatomy and physiology, New Museums. The subject of the lecture will be ‘‘ Thomas Linacre, his Life and Works.” It is proposed to grant the use of the Senate House on May 15 for a meeting of the members of the University to be addressed by Mr. Haldane, Secretary of State for War, in the explanation of his scheme in connection with the training of officers for war. Part i. of the natural sciences tripos will commence on Monday, May 25, and part ii. on Wednesday, May 27. The number of entries for the two parts is about two hundred and twenty. Grascow.—Among the recipients of the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Commemoration Day, April 22, were several distinguished by their scientific attainments. In the afternoon a portrait of Prof. M’Kendrick was pre- sented to the University, with the sum of 45o0l. for the equipment of a laboratory of experimental psychology in the new physiological buildings, in honour of Prof. M’Kendrick’s thirty years’ service to the University as professor of physiology. In presenting the representatives of science for the degrees, Prof. Gloag, dean of the faculty of law, made the following references to their work :— Mr. G. T. Beirsy, F.R.S., chairman of the governors of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. The present head of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society, 622 NATURE [ApPRIL 30, 1908 has done much for the advancement of chemical science and of its applications to industry. He was president of the Society of Chemical Industry in 1899, and of the chemical section of the British Association at its meeting in South Africa in 1905. He was also vice-president of the Institute of Chemistry from 1903 to 1906. He is the inventor of novel processes which have created or trans- formed important departments of scientific production; he has devoted himself to the improvement of technological training in relation to our native industries, and he has contributed many researches of value to the memoirs of learned societies at home and abroad. The Senate, in presenting Mr. Beilby for the degree of Doctor of Laws, recognise the value alike of his scientific work and of his services to an educational institution so closely connected with the University and with the City of Glasgow. : CotoneL Davip Bruce, C.B., F.R.S., Royal Army Medical Corps.—A graduate of Edinburgh University, Colonel Bruce has had a distinguished career in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and rendered eminent services to the nation in the Egyptian and South African campaigns. But his services have been not only to his country, but to humanity. To his discovery, at great personal risk, and by untiring labour, of the microbe which forms the in- ducing cause of Malta fever, and to the researches to which that discovery led, the naval and military popula- tion of Malta owe their present immunity. from a disease which has been the bane of the island for centuries. Similar work in Africa has resulted in extending our knowledge of the causes which produce the dreaded tsetse- fly disease of South Africa, and the epidemic sleeping sick- ness of Uganda. Work of this kind, requiring all the courage of the soldier, all the patience and acumen of the man of science, renders him amply entitled to any honour which a university can bestow. Dr. J. J. Dossier, F.R.S., director of the Royal Scottish Museum.—In Dr. Dobbie the Senate proposes to honour a distinguished son of this University. Dr. Dobbie com- pleted a successful career as a student by graduating with first-class honours in natural science, and obtaining the George A. Clark scholarship. After further studies in Germany and in the University of Edinburgh, he obtained the degree of Doctor of Science in that University. He acted as lecturer in mineralogy, and as assistant to the professor of chemistry in Glasgow, until his appointment as professor of chemistry in the University College of North Wales at Bangor. After holding that office for nineteen years, he was appointed to the important post he now holds—the directorship of the Royal Scottish Museum. During a life thus filled with important educational work, he has found time to make contributions of great value to scientific literature, in recognition of which the Royal Society of London has admitted him to the honour of its fellowship. Mr. Rosert Kipston, F.R.S.—Mr. Kidston has devoted much time and study to an important department of the science of geology, and is recognised as one of the leading authorities on paleophytology. A series of more than eighty papers, published under the auspices of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, attest his knowledge of the Carboniferous flora. He has arranged and cata- logued the collection of Paleozoic plants in the British Museum. His mastery of the subject, and his generous readiness’ to expend his labour for the advancement of science, have been taken advantage of by other countries than his own. He has been engaged in a catalogue of the fossil plants in the Royal Museum at Brussels, and has received an invitation to undertake similar work at Stoclk- holm. The fossil remains, now being discovered in the recently opened coalfields of Holland, are being submitted for his determination. In presenting Mr. Kidston for this degree, the Senate of the University of his native city wish to express their appreciation of his manifold services to geological and botanical science. Dr. J. C. M‘Vait, medical officer of health for the counties of Stirling and Dumbarton.—A graduate of the University of St. Andrews, and a former examiner in nedical jurisprudence and public health in this University, Dr. M‘Vail holds the highest position in that important department of modern civil administraticn—the care of public health. For eighteen years county medical officer NO. 2009, VOL. 77] of health for Stirling and Dumbarton, he has been presi- dent of the Incorporated Society of Medical Officers of Health of Great Britain, of the Incorporated Sanitary Association of Great Britain, and of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Branch of the British Medical Associa- tion. In 1906 he delivered with acceptance the Lane lectures in Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, and the following year acted as medical investigator to the Royal Commission on the Poor Law. His published works, dealing with broad questions of State medicine and sanitary science, are recognised as authoritative in these important subjects. THERE will be a reception at Bedford College for Women (University of London) on ‘‘ Commemoration Day,’’ Wednesday, May 6, after the presentation of graduates at the University of London. AN article by Mr. J. A. Venn in the issue for the Lent term of the Oxford and Cambridge Review deals with the number of matriculations at Oxford and Cambridge, respectively, from 1544 to 1906. The article is accom- panied by a graph, in which the number of matriculations —calculated on an average of five years about any given year from 1540 to.1907—and the years are plotted. The essay shows how the history of England has been reflected with clearness on university life, as evidenced by the vary- ing numbers of students who came to pursue their studies at Oxford and Cambridge. The graph reveals two striking features :—first, both universities were in the first quarter of the seventeenth century as large as they were destined to be untii 1850; secondly, the way in which the curves for the two universities keep repeating each other’s move- ments at exactly the same dates, in most instances, and very frequently to exactly the same extent, showing that similar influences were affecting both universities through- out different centuries. Readers must be referred to Mr. Venn’s article for detailed comparisons, but an example of the kind of interesting information which may be gleaned from the article may be given :—in 1630 one out of every 3600 of the male population of England and Wales proceeded to either Oxford or Cambridge, but in 1700 the figures were one in 5600. These figures con- tinued to get steadily worse until 1801, when they read one in 11,400, but at the present day they stand at one in 9000. Tue Board of Education has issued (Cd. 4038) regula- tions for the preliminary education of elementary-school teachers in England, which will come into force from August 1 next. The new regulations contain various alterations, and among these, as being of special import- ance, may be mentioned that by which it will no longer be required that candidates for pupil teachership shall pass an examination test qualifying them for recognition by the Board as pupil teachers. A prefatory memorandum to the regulations points out that, since all pupil teachers must pass a leaving examination, which usually falls between the ages of seventeen and eighteen, it does not appear to the Board desirable, upon educational grounds, that they should also be called upon to pass an examina- tion between the ages of fifteen and sixteen, except in so far as such examination may form part of the ordinary arrangements of the school at which they are being educated, or may be necessary in order to facilitate the proper selection of candidates. It is also satisfactory to find a recognition of the principle that the teacher should take a prominent part in any process of selection of suit- able candidates. The Board hopes that, in view of the annually increasing proportion of candidates for pupil teachership who have received their preliminary education in secondary schools, it may be found possible, hence- forward, for education authorities to base. the selection and approval of candidates upon the advice of the teachers of the candidates rather than upon the results of an examination. By the will of the late Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., several substantial gifts are made for scientific purposes. The Sheffield Art Gallery and Museum will receive Dr. Sorby’s large series of animals and marine alga, mounted as lantern-slides, and forming a continuous series illustrating the natural history of Kent, Essex, and Suffolk. Among APRIL 30, 1903] NATURE 623 other bequests to the University of Sheffield are :—(a) Such of his books not bequeathed to the Literary and Philo- sophical Society as the University shall select; (b) optical and scientific instruments and apparatus; (c) cabinets and cases of geological and mineralogical specimens and pre- parations not bequeathed to the citizens of Sheffield; (d) manuscript books and notes upon geological and other scientific subjects; (e) lantern-slides similar to those be- queathed to the citizens of Sheffield, and the whole of his large collection of lantern-slides illustrating many scientific and other subjects; (f) microscopical objects of rocks, minerals and metals, and other things of a like nature. A legacy of 65001. is bequeathed to the University, and the University is desired to appropriate out of other funds 3500l., the amount of a gift which Dr. Sorby made to the University College of Sheffield in 1903, making together 10,000l., as an endowment for a professorship of geology or such other subject as the University may think more’ suitable. This legacy is charged upon the funds to be appropriated to answer certain annuities given by the will and payable as and when the annuities fall in. To the Royal Society of London is bequeathed the sum of 15,o000l., the income therefrom to be devoted to the establishment of a fellowship or professorship for the carrying on of original scientific research. The object is to promote the discovery of new facts rather than the teaching of what is known. It is suggested that when possible the research shall be carried out in one of the laboratories of the University of Sheffield. This condition may, however, be dispensed with when the nature of the investigation requires that the work should be done elsewhere. So long as in the opinion of the council of the Royal Society the University of Sheffield is not efficiently equipped in laboratories and appliances, then the income shall be administered in such manner as the said council shall think best for the promo- tion of original research. Other legacies are :—the Literary and Philosophical Society of Sheffield, 500/., and the Geo- logical Society of London, roool. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Lonpon. Royal Society, February 27.—‘‘ The Influence of Tem- perature on Phagocytosis.’’ By J. C. G. Ledingham. Communicated by Dr. C. J. Martin, F.R.S. (1) When serum, cocci, and leucocytes are mixed directly and incubated at different temperatures, the number of cocci taken up increases more or less regularly with the temperature. By this method it has been shown that the phagocytic intake at 18° C. is only about one-fourth to one-fifth of that at 37° C. (2) This fall, at least within the temperature range 37° C. to 18° C., is due to the diminished rate of com- predon of the serum with the coccus as the temperature alls. (3) When cocci which have previously been exposed to the action of serum, either at 37° C. or at 18° C., are put in contact with leucocytes, the intake is practically the same, whether the phagocytosis takes place at 37° C. or at 18° C, The number taken up, however, after com- bination at 18° C., and more especially at 7° C., falls meen iors of the number taken up after combination at Shy (4) Experimenta! results, detailed above, lead one to assume that prolonged contact of a serum with cocci at a low temperature (18° C. or 7° C.) leads to a maximum absorption of opsonin by the cocci (corresponding to that temperature), so that the subsequent phagocytosis is identical whether it takes place at 37° C. or at 18° C. (5) Provided that cocci loaded with opsonin up to a certain maximum are presented to the leucocyte, the phago- cytic energy of the latter is independent of the temperature within a wide range. (6) From the appearances on stained films, it would seem that sensitised micro-organisms exposed to the action of leucocytes at very low temperatures tend to congregate near the periphery of the leucocytes, although little or no phagocytosis may take place. Hence, within a suitable temperature range, it may be presumed that the inclusion NO. 2009, VOL. 77] of sensitised micro-organisms by the leucocyte is a surface- tension effect taking place between the coccus and the protoplasmic wall, amoeboid energy playing only a sub- ordinate part in the process. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, Prof. Hy 9B) Dixon) BIR:S., “presidents inmestge chair.—An annotated list of the alien plants of the Warrington district: G. A. Dunlop. One hundred and seventy-five species, comprising with others several of Papaver, Senecio, and Sisymbrium, were enumerated in the paper. Thirty of these are now extinct.—Field notes on the birds of the Ravenglass gullery, 1906: C. Oldham. The author describes in his paper the habits, during the breeding season, of the black-headed gull, common, lesser, and Sandwich terns, as observed by him at Ravenglass, on the Cumberland coast. The term ‘‘ gullery ’’ he applies to that portion of the sandhills which is occupied by colonies of these birds. He also mentions other species— such as the oyster-catcher and sheld-duck—which nest in or in the immediate vicinity of the ‘‘ gullery.”’ March 24.— Paris. Academy of Sciences, April 21.—M. H. Becquerel in the | chair.—An addition to the demonstration of the mechanism of monocular stereoscopy: A. Chauveau.—Concerning Trypanosoma congolense: A. Laveran. A goat, inocu- lated with T. congolense on November 15, 1906, was cured in July, 1907, from the infection produced by this trypano- some. Re-inoculated with the same organism on August 22, it was infected again, but the second infection was slight, and the animal was cured at the beginning of the following November. Two fresh inoculations, made December 20, 1907, and February 6, 1908, produced no re-infection ; the goat had acquired immunity for T. congo- lense. Further inoculation of the same animal with T. dimorphon, made on April 1, 1908, produced a well- characterised infection, tending to prove that T. congolense constitutes a distinct species from T. dimorphon.—A new French observatory: Robert Jonekheere. This is the Hem Observatory, situated 8200 metres north-east of the fortifications of Lille. Astronomical observations will be commenced before the end of the year.—The influence of the silent discharge on the isolation resistance of in- sulators: F. Négre. The resistance of the insulators studied was found to be constant up to a certain critical tension. The latter depends on the dimensions, form, and condition of the surface of the insulator, the resistance falling rapidly as soon as the silent discharge appears over the surface.—The flame spectra of iron: G. A. Hem- salech and C. de Wattevillé. The metal is obtained in a fine state of division by passing one of the gases supply- ing the burner over two electrodes of the metal, either an are or sparks passing between the latter. The spectra obtained depended on the nature of the flame; thus with coal-gas and air in the region between A 2250 and A 5000 750 lines were obtained, with coal-gas. and oxygen 250, and with hydrogen and oxygen 210.—The reducing power of the ferropyrophosphates: P. Paseal. Clear solutions of ferropyrophosphate of soda in water, together with a small amount of sodium pyrophosphate, reduce gold and silver, but not platinum salts. Salts of mercury and copper are also reduced, and there is a strong tendency to the production of highly coloured stable colloidal solutions of the metals —Combustion without flame, and its appli- cation to lighting with incandescent mantles: Jean Meunier. The author holds that the temperature of the mantle is much higher than that of the flame surrounding it, and attributes this to the fact that each particle of oxide becomes the focus of an intense local combustion. The combustion by incandescence lowers considerably the inferior limit of inflammability of a gas mixture.—A demonstration of Gibb’s phase rule: J. A. Muller.—Re- marks on a wire-drawing machine of the seventeenth century: Ch. Fremont.—The progress of modern surgery judged by the statistics of operations on the knee (re- sections): M. Lucas-Championniére. For this par- ticular operation the mortality has been lowered from 36 per cent. or higher to less than 1 per cent. by the 624 NATURE [APRIL 30, 1908 application of the antiseptic methods of Lister. These results were obtained without the use of an aseptic operating room.—TYhe structure of the trachean network of the excretory canals of -the kidneys of Machilis maritima: L. Bruntz.—The Senonian and the Eocene of the north edge of the Moroccan Atlas: A. Brives.—A fan- shaped apparatus of Cetorhinus found in the fossil state in the Antwerp Pliocene: Maurice Leriche.—The direct measurement of the vertical component of terrestrial magnetism. Application to the exploration of the chain of Puys: B. Brunhes and P. David. DIARY OF SOCIETIES. THURSDAY, Apxit 30. Roya Society, at 4.30.—On Scandium: Sir William Crookes, F.R.S.— Note on the Representation of the Earth’s Surface by Means of Spherical Harmonics of the First Three Degrees: Prof. A. E. H. Love, F.R.S.— On the Hysteresis Loss and other Properties of Iron Alloys under very small Magnetic Forces: Prof. E. Wilson, V..H. Winson, andG, F. O'Dell. —The Relation between the Crystalline Form and the Chemical Consti- tution of the Picryl Derivatives: G.- Jerusalem and Prof. W. J. Pope, F.R.S.—The Condensation of Certain Organic Vapours : T. H. Laby.— A Photographic Determination of the Elements of the Orbits of Jupiter's Satellites : B. Coukson. Royat Instit = ION, at 3.—Mendelian Heredity : William Pateson, F.R.S. Roya Society oF ARTS. at 4.30.—Reminiscences cf Indian Life: Lamington, G.C.M.G., G.C.1-E. MaTHEMATICAL Socievy, at 5.30.—On a General Convergence Theorem, and the Theory of the Representation of a Function by Series of Normal Functions: Dr. E. W. Hobson.—On the Multiplication of Series; G. H. Hardy.—On g-Integration and Differential Equations: F. H. Jackson.—On the Upper and Lower Functions of a Sequence of Con- tinuous Functions: Dr. W. H. Young.—(1) On Mersenne’s Numbers ; (2) On Quartans with numerous Quartan Factors: Lt.-Col. A. Cunning- ham.—The Relation between the Convergence of Series and Integrals : T. J. VA. Bromwich.—Porisms: H. Bateman —The Influence of Viscosity on Wave Motion: W. J. Harrison.—On the Ordering of the Terms of Polars and Transvectants: L. Isserlis. FRIDAY, May t. Roya Institution, at g.—The Scientific Work of Lord Kelvin Joseph Larmor, Sec. R.S. Grotoaists’ Assocrarion, at 8.—Structural Analogies between Alloys and Igneous Rocks: W. G. Fearnsides. SATURDAY, May 2. Royat InstTiTuTION, at 3.—Chile and the Chilians: MONDAY, May 4. ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY, at 8.—The Methodological Postulates of Psycho- logy: Dr. T. Percy Nunn. Society or Cuemicat Inpustry, at 8.—The Manufacture of Sodium Nitrite: Dr. G. T. Morgan.—On some Simple and Mixed Esters of Cellulose. The Alkaline Decomposition of Nitro Derivatives of Cellulose and other Carbohydrates: Dr. W. Smith, junr.—The Mechanism of Filtration: E. Hatschek.—Metanil Yellow; its Use as a Selective Indicator : E. Linder.—The Conversion of Oleic Acid into Stearic Acid : Dr. J. Lewkowitsch. InsTITUTE OF AcTUARIES, Valuation: M. : Prof. G. F. Scott Elliot. at 5.—The Select and Ultimate Method of M. Dawson. TUESDAY, May s. Roya. InstITuTION, at 3.—The Development of the Modern Turbine and its Application : Gerald Stoney. Roya eNO Or aeiane INSTITUTE, at 8.15.—Report on the Hythe Crania: F. G, Parsons. WEDNESDAY, May 6. Roya Socmry or Arts, at 8.—The Gramophone, and the Mechanical Recording and Reproduction of Musical Sounds: Lovell N. Reddie. Geo.ocical. Society, at 8.—Solution-Valleys in the Glyme Area (Oxford- shire): Rev. E. C. Spicer.—On the Stratigraphy and Structure of the Tarnthal Mass (Tyrol): Dr. A. P. Young ; with a Note on Two Cephalo- pods collected by Dr. A. P, Young on the Tarnthal Képje (Tyrol): G. C. ric ENTOMOLOGICAL SocIETY, at 8. Society oF Pubic ANALysts, at 8.—The Examination of Oil of Tur- pentine and Turpentine Substitutes : J. H. Coste.—The Estimation of Ferrocyanide in Crude Commercial Products: Dr. H. G. Colman.— Studies in. Steam Distillation. Part iii., The Fatty Acids: H. Droop Richmond.—A New Method for Milk Testing, and some Remarks on the Sydney Supply : W. M. Doherty.’ THURSDAY, May 7 Royat Society, at 4.—Election of Fellows. ome 4-30.—Helium and Raiio- activity in Rare and Common Minerals :’ Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S —The Action of Resin a Allied Bodies on a Photographic Plate in the Dark: Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S.—A Tantalum Wave-detector, and its Applica- tion in eee Telegraphy : L. H. Walter.—Seleno-aluminium Bridges: Prof. G. Minchin, F.R.S. RovaL ou UTION, at 3.—Mendelian Heredity: William Bateson, F.R.S. CHEMICAL Society, at 8.30.—The Interaction of Diazonium Salts with Mono- and Di-hydric Phenols and with Naphthols: K. J. P. Orton and R. Nie Eyeratt.—The Condensation of Benzoin with Methyl Alcohol: J; Irvine and D. McNicoll.—The Mutual Solubility of a-Methyl- pi sidtn and Water: O. Flaschner and B. MacEwen.—The Melting Points of the Anilides, -Toluidides, and a-Naphthylamides of the Normal Fatty Acids: P. W. Robertson.—The Refraction and Dis- NO. 2009, VOL. 77] Lord persion of Triazo-conpounds: J. C. Philip.—The Dissociation Con- stants of Triazoacetic and a-Triazopropionic Acids: J. C. Philip.— The Absorption Spectrum of Camphor: W. N. Hartley.—The Viscosity of Solutions : C. E. Fawsitt.—The Action of Fused Potassium Hydroxide and of Hydrogen Peroxide on Cholesterol, Preliminary Note: R. H. Pickard and J. Yates.—The Fermentation of Mannose and Fructose by Yeast Juice, Preliminary Communication: A. Harden and W. AR Young, —The Volumetric Estimation of Silver: W.R. Lang and J. O. Wood- house.—The Constituents of Olive Leaves: F. B. Power and F. Tutin.— The Constituents of Olive Bark: F. B. Power and F. Tutin. Linnean Society, at 8.—Colony-formation as a Factor in Organic Evolu- tion: H. M. Bernard. —-Antipatharia from the Voyage of H.M.S. Sealaré : C. Forster-Cooper.—A List of the Fresh-water Fishes, Batrachians, and Reptiles obtained by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner’s Expedition to the Indian Ocean: G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S.—A Cinematographic Representation of the Movements of Pe:ipatus and other Invertebrate Animals: F. Martin Duncan. Civit anD MrEcHANICAL ENGINEERS’ SOCIETY, at 8.—Abbreviated Formule for Structural Engineers: E. Fiander Etchells. INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, at 8.—The Manufacture of Elec- trical Condensers: G. F. Mansbridge. FRIDAY, May 8. Royat Institution, at 9.—Ice and Its Natural History : J. Y. Buchanan, F.R.S. Roya ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, at 5. Puysicat Society, at 8.—A Modified Theory of Gravitation: Dr. C. V. Burton.—An Examination of the Formule for the Grading of bles : C. S. Whitehead. —Illustrations of Geometrical Optics : R. M. 4 SATURDAY, May 9. Roya_ InstituT10N, at 3.-—Chile and the Chilians: G. F. Scott Elliot. CONTENTS. PAGE AN CIENCIBTItAin .. ."culc teh che) cy ci el ll enieete nO WinearrAlgebra. ‘By GiiBiiMen s+.) cnc eens Medical Physics. Our Book Shelf :— i Hue: ‘* Musée ostéologique; Etude de la Faune Quaternaire, Ostéometrie des Mammiferes.””—R. L. Mitton : ‘* The Children’s Book of Stars,” —W. E. R. Noble: ‘‘ Cradle Tales of Hinduism” . . Rawitz : ‘f Lehrbuch der mikroskopischen Technik.” — Erofgk,: 1. Hewletti ene Letters to the Editor :— The Presence of Water Vapour in the Atmosphere of Mars.—Prof. Percival Lowell . The Condensation of Helium. (W2th Diagram. i) Morris W. Travers, F.R.S. .. 6 The Radio-activity of Ordinary Metals: the Pene- trating Radiation from the Earth.—Prof. J. C. McLennan .... b A A The Theory of Dispersion and Spectrum ‘Series. — Norman R. Campbell . : The Oligochztous Fauna of Lake Birket el Qurun and Lake Nyassa. By Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S. The Forthcoming Dublin Meeting of the British Association, By E. E. F.. . The Science Court of the Franco-British Exhibition, (With Plan.) . oy fede fo) ag ae EOC, The Scientific Study of Starvation. By W. D. H.. 610 Recent Progress of the Metric System ...... 611 Notes . . REED Ome Go 6 6. Oe Our Astronomical Column:— Astronomical Occurrences in May ........4-. ADNewastar-Pinder , ©.) isnjareey ctxalio oh oe eu le Moen Saturn’s Rings S pmo. oD 6 The Systematic Motions of the Stars | Rips ; Determination of the Errors of the Paris Observatory Réseaux . . Mews Mote. to 0 The Herschels’ Nebule . .. Horizon and Prime-vertical Curve es for Latitudes 30° to +60° . RORY EONS yc Educational Leakage. "(With Diagram. aes The Scientific Results of the Voyage, of the S.Y.. By J. Ho Re ee 605 aE 006 Dr. 606 607 607 608 608 616 616 616 616 617 617 617 617 “Scotia.” (J/lustrated.) 618 The Meteors of Halley’s Comet. "By Ww. F. Denning . . - 619 Some Unsolved Problems| in Metal- ‘Mining. Profs Hentyeouis. 2 Seetieun cue) oe ee Science and Industry. . Sie OL University and Educational Intelligence . Bape a. en Societies and Academies, . . . . |. . 9: « « « ee 023 Diaryior Societies fen. cnen ine nsmronte - = 62 Supplement to “ Nature,” March 5, 1908 iil SUPPLEMEND WORSNATURE.’ PHYSIOLOGICAL STIMULUS AND RESPONSE. Comparative Electro-physiology. A Physico-physio- logical Study. By Prof. J. C. Bose. Pp. xliii+760. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907.) Price 15s. net. N sequence to his books on response in the living and non-living (i902) and plant response (1906), Prof. Chunder Bose has published a_ third volume on comparative electro-physiology. Prof. Bose has great ingenuity in device of experimental apparatus, fertility in initiating new lines of observa- tion, and a clear style of setting forth his experi- mental results and theoretical deductions; neverthe- less, we feel far from satisfied with his performance. He strives constantly to group every result he obtains under *‘ some property of matter common-and per- sistent in the living and non-living substance,’’ and to explain by this assumed common underlying pro- perty the diverse phenomena of response which occur in metal wires, plant and animal tissues, on mechan- ical, thermal, or electrical excitation. Prof. Bose says he started his investigations seven years ago in order to demonstrate this underlying unity, and we cannot help feeling that he has pre- judged his phenomena, and, biassed by his philo- sophical conceptions, may select his experimental results and set before his reader those which confirm the main line of his argument. Using the photo- graphic method of recording, and the galvanometer as the indicator of electrical response, he has pub- lished a series of figures, each one of which illustrates some argument in the text. No tables are given showing the number of experiments done or the failures and contrary results which occur in all lines of fresh investigation, and thus, while we feel grate- ful to Prof. Bose for suggesting fresh and fruitful lines of research, we must wait for confirmation by others of his many new and somewhat startling con- clusions. To instance some of these, Prof. Bose maintains that nerve, which is universally regarded as non- contractile, ‘‘ is not only indisputably motile, but also that the investigation of its response by the mechan- ical method is capable of greater delicacy, and freedom from error, than that by the electrical.” He demonstrates the contractility of nerve by means of the deflection of a spot of light reflected from a mirror attached to a light lever, thus obtaining mag- nification up to 100,000 times, but at the same time states that it can be demonstrated even by a light aluminium lever magnifying This is contrary to the result of an English physiologist, who has, to our knowledge, tried a similar experiment. Here we have a definite assertion supported by many photographic curves and details of experiment, and one which, when tested by others, can enable us to arrive at a definite valuation of Prof. Bose’s work. Such an independent valuation is required, as Prof. Bose and the English authorities on electrical physiology have been greatly at variance. NO. 2001, VOL. 77] 50 times. Prof. Bose claims that the fibro-vascular bundles of plants, which can be isolated in long lengths from the frond of a fern or petiole of cauliflower, act as vegetable nerves, the response being in every respect similar to animal nerve, and being affected similarly by ether, alcohol, ammonia, carbon dioxide, tetanus, &c. He regards the fibro-vascular system which forms the venation of leaves as a “‘ vast catch- ment basin ’’ for the reception of light stimuli and their transmission to the parts of the plant which are in the dark. By this nervous system, he says, the tone of the whole plant is maintained. In regard to Pfliiger’s law of the polar effects of currents, Prof. Bose demonstrates photographs showing the like effects on plant and animal structures, but finds that “above and below a certain range of electromotive intensity ihe polar effects of currents are precisely opposite to those enunciated by Pfliiger.’’ He endeavours to prove that the response of nerve to excitation consists of a positive and a negative vari- ation, and that the tones of sensation, pleasure and pain depend on the ascendancy of one or other vari- ation. He seems to recognise no deficiencies in the galvanometric method, and is unaware or neglectful of the work done with the capillary electrometer and of the diphasic variations obtained with this instrument by Prof. Gotch. The galvanometer is far too inert an instrument to demonstrate the true electrical response of nerve. Prof. Bose says that “all the diverse phenomena of response may be sum- marised in the two following formula :—(1) Excitatory response takes place by contraction and galvanometric negativity. (2) Inerease of internal energy induces the opposite effect of expansion and galvanometrie positivity.” ‘“ The first of these effects is simply demonstrated by direct excitation of an excitable tissue. In order to demonstrate the second, stimulus is applied at a dis- tance from the responding point. In consequence of sudden local contraction at the receptive area, a wave of increased hydrostatic tension is transmitted with great rapidity. Energy is thus conveyed hydraulically, and at the distant point the transmitted effect induces expansion and galvanometric positivity. This is followed by the more slowly transmitted wave of true excitation, which on its arrival gives rise to the normal response of contraction and galvanometric negativity.” All we can say in criticism of this state- ment is that while it may be true for plant tissue, there is not a shadow of fact in favour of it holding good for muscle, and we must remain unconvinced by the evidence adduced by the author in favour of its holding good for nerve, until his experiments on the expansion and contraction of nerve have obtained confirmation. Prof. Bose finds that a metallic wire, the stem of a plant, and a nerve when suddenly submitted to torsion give the-same electrical response, and in consequence 1s led to make the following statement :— ‘By the conception of matter itself, on the other hand, as possessed of sensibilitvy—that is to say of molecular responsiveness, we attain an immediate accession of insight into those physical interactions Fe: iv Supplement to *‘ Nature,” March 5, 1908 which must furnish the terms of ultimate analysis _.. and are led to the discovery of the impressive continuity as existent between the responses of the most complex living and the simplest inorganic matter.”? Sensibility is the power to feel, and is the function of the cerebral cortex of man, and also, we may assume justly from the similarity of the neuro- muscular reactions, the function of the brain of the higher animals. That it is a function of the fish or frog brain we cannot affirm with any certainty. To ascribe it to a plant or wire is altogether unwarrant- able. A similar condition of molecular strain may be present in a wire, a plant stem, and a nerve fibre, and give the same electrical response, but this is not sensibility, and we even cannot conclude justly from the similarity of electrical response that the same mechanism is present. Suppose we see a cloud of steam rising over the wall of a field. It may be from a traction engine, from a dung heap, or from a team of horses heated with ploughing. Observations on the direction of the current of steam, and on the effect of modifying agents upon it, will tell us nothing as to the nature of the chemical process which results in the mani- festation of heat and the evaporation of water. Prof. Bose’s philosophy seems almost capable of asserting that the similarity in direction of the steam current proves the sensibility, not only of the horses, but of _all three structures. Apart from these criticisms, there are in Prof. Bose’s book a great many very interesting observations and ingenious methods of experimentation which will repay the reader’s attention. In parti- cular, his experiments on root pressure and the rise of sap; those by which he seeks to demonstrate that not only sensitive plants but all plants respond to excit- ation by variations in turgescence and electrical state ; his comparison of the glandular structures of sundew and pitcher plants with animal glands; his demon- stration of Dr. Waller’s ‘‘blaze current’’ in a brominated lead plate and assertion that it cannot be regarded as a sign of life; his demonstration on the motile leaflets of Biophytum of the anodic and kathodic effects of the constant current, and the velocity of transmission of excitatory waves; his comparison of retentiveness of molecular change in metals with memory. In fact, the whole book abounds in interesting matter skilfully woven together, and would be recommended as of great value if it did not continually arouse our incredulity. IE Vale THE STEREOSCOPE AND STEREOSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS. binokularen Instrumente. Pp. vili+223. (Berlin : Price 6 marks. : : Die By Moritz von Rohr. Julius Springer, 1907.) “THE scientific staff of the Zeiss firm have of late years devoted much attention to the theory of binocular instruments, and to the development of | method oi measurement depending on stereoscopic NO. 2001, VOL. 77] vision. The impetus given by the successful realisa- tion of the prism field-glass has carried them on to a more exact examination of the conditions under which binocular vision can be employed for the accu- rate determination of relative position, which has led to the design of a series of new instruments for sur- veying and other purposes, of which the stereo- comparator is the most widely known. The thoroughness with which the problem has been considered is sufficiently illustrated by the present worl of von Rohr, who has already in his previous writ- ings dealt very completely with the theory of vision by means of binocular instruments. This previous work he has now supplemented with an examination into the historical evolution of stereoscopic instru- ments, systematically planned with the view of clear- ing the ground and avoiding loss of labour from the re-development of ideas already investigated by pre- vious workers. The book is divided into three parts; the first gives in a few pages a concise statement of the theory; then follows the history, to which part i. is merely an introduction; and the volume concludes with a most useful systematic summary of the matter contained in part i1., assisted by what may be described as a logical guide arranged in the form of a genea- logical table, showing the subdivisions of the subject and referring to the place of treatment. This third part, of course, includes a bibliography. The history begins seriously with the work of Ch. Wheatstone, who is even better known as an elec- trician. Reference is indeed made to some previous writers and instruments, from the early binocular of Lipperhey, and the suggestive experiments of R. Smith. One notices some omissions here, but the book makes no pretence to be exhaustive ; the object is only to trace out the development of correct principles of construction, and to indicate the most important workers and the advances due to them. From this aspect the book is almost too thorough and complete. Much space is devoted to the famous controversy between Sir David Brewster and Wheatstone, again because of its value for the development of the theory. It is now generally recognised that Wheatstone had the much more correct grasp of the principles, and that the popularity of the Brewster type of prism stereoscope as against the Wheatstone mirror instru- ment was due to its superior handiness, which out- weighed its optical deficiencies. It is interesting to note that Brewster records the sale of prism stereo- scopes from the time of the Great Exhibition to 1856 as amounting to more than half a million; these for the most part on the improved mechanical design of Duboseq. One can still remember the wide interest aroused by this method of obtaining pictures in relief. The interest, however, soon died down, only to be revived in comparatively recent years. The simple stereoscope was gradually improved, as well as the binocular microscope, and more especially the bino- cular field-glass. The advances of photography were accompanied by the invention of various methods of obtaining ‘‘ stereograms.’’ But public interest only revived with Abbe’s introduction of the prism bi- nocular. Since then Jena has been the centre for the spread of renewed enthusiasm for the subject, while Supplement to “ Nature,’ March 5, 1908 Ni in this country tew developments have been made. More attention has been given probably in England to the binocular microscope than to any other form of stereoscopic instrument. Quite recently Theodore Brown has experimented with a method of monocular bio-stereoscopic projection, which will doubtless one day be perfected and become widely known. But only his earlier work is mentioned by von Rohr, who does not carry his account beyond 1900. For the same reason, perhaps, find no mention of the Forbes stereoscopic range-finder, or of the Aitchison prism binocular. To those interested in the history of optics, and more especially to workers in stereoscopy, von Rohr’s compilation will be of great value. For the general reader it is to be feared the technical manner in which the subject is presented throughout will prove some- what of a stumbling block. This is, we think, a matter for regret. we AMERICAN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. Physiography. By Prof. R. D. Salisbury. Pp. xx+770; xxvi plates, 707 figures. (London: J. Murray, 1907.) Price 21s. net. HE large three-volume text-book of geology by Profs. Chamberlin and Salisbury has gained a firm place in this country owing to its full treatment of many questions, inadequately discussed in previous available English text-books. This companion volume on physical geography by Prof. Salisbury will accordingly be welcomed by British teachers ot geology and geography. It is of great educational value owing to its wealth of lucid illustration and its clearness of exposition, while it will be indis- pensable as a_ reference work in geographical libraries owing to its detailed information regarding the physical geography of the United States. The book is entitled ‘‘ Physiography,’’ but the term is used, as the author remarks in his introduction, as a synonym for physical geography, for it excludes many subjects which are included in physiography as that science was defined by Huxley and is accepted in the British Isles. The book consists in the main of a description of the structure of the earth’s crust, of the working of the various agencies that attack it, and an account of the atmosphere and the oceans in so far as they affect the surface of the earth. Per- haps the most striking feature of the book is its illus- trations, which are very numerous, well selected, and excellently reproduced. They are so clear that the author has been able to abridge his text, leaving his series of photographs to tell their own story. The excellence of the illustrations is probably in part secured by the use of heavy paper, so that the volume is of such weight as to hamper its use as a student’s text-book. As a book of reference its especial value is in its descriptions of the phenomena vf physical geography taken from a country where tl.« illustrations are un- usually clear and suggestive; and it gives most useful summaries of such well-known geographical incidents as the San Francisco earthquake and of the fault which caused it; of the storm which destroyed Gal- NO. 2001, VOL. 77] veston in 1go00, and the tornado which devastated Louisville in 1896. In the chapter on the ‘‘ weather-maps,’’ the author summiarises various reasons for the failure of weather predictions, and he remarks that occasional mistakes are inevitable, and that one mistake is remembered longer than many correct forecasts. He claims that in many cases the American forecasts have been of immense economic value; for example, fifteen million dollars’ worth of property were saved in 1897 by warn- ings of impending floods; on one occasion half a mil- lion dollars’ worth of fruit about Jacksonville, in Florida, and during 1901, 3,400,000 dollars’ worth of produce were saved by warnings of approaching cold; the forecasts also render it possible to avoid unneces- sary risks, as when, in September, 1903, vessels valued at 585,000 dollars were detained in ports on the coast of Florida, and thus avoided a heavy storm. In a work of so wide a scope there are naturally many points on which there is room for difference of opinion, but the author is cautious and fair in his treatment of all controverted questions. We are glad to find that he is emphatic in his statement that the term ‘* Gulf Stream ” is of doubtful propriety for any- thing beyond Newfoundland, and that the climate of north-western Europe would be much more temperate than that of corresponding latitudes of North America even if there were no Gulf Stream (pp. 544-s). He holds that the only explanation of glacial periods which has not been discredited is that based on variations in the composition of the atmosphere. In his discussion of the question there is no criticism of Schloesing’s view as to the control of the amount of atmospheric carbonic acid by the sea. The author is a firm adherent of the view of the ice erosion of fords. Each chapter is followed by a table of useful exer- cises, and by a list of references to literature. ‘They are mainly from American sources, which is natural in a book designed for American — students, but an English edition might have included more references to work easily available to British students ; for instance, among the excellent illustrations and account of the eruption of Mt. Pelée and St. Vincent, there is no reference to the reports of Anderson and Flett. It may also be remarked that the Aconcagua ascent no longer holds the record, and that while it did, Zurbriggen was not the only man who had made it. Jee Ge POLYPERIODIC FUNCTIONS. An Introduction to the Theory of Multiply-Periodic Functions. By Dr. H. F. Baker. Pp. xvi+336. (Cambridge: University Press, 1907.) Price 12s. 6d. net. HE saying that IJ n’y a que le premier pas qui coute certainly does not hold good of mathe- matics; and, oddly enough, it conspicuously fails in cases where it might be expected to justify itself. It is but a step from elliptic to hyperelliptic, from single to double Theta-functions; yet whereas Jacobi reduced all the essential theory of elliptic functions to a most elegant, and for some purposes a final, vi Supplement to ‘‘ Nature,’ March 5, 1908 shape, it is only now becoming possible to construct a corresponding theory for the hyperelliptic functions. Towards this Dr. Baker, in the first part of his treatise, has made a really valuable contribution. The first chapter contains an extremely clear account of the hyperelliptic integrals, and in particular gives the standard ones in their explicit algebraic form. ‘The corresponding Theta-functions are defined, and their properties investigated; the solution of Jacobi’s inver- sion problem is given in an unusually clear form, and art. 10 contains an instructive discussion of the vanish- ing of a double Theta-functicn—perhaps one of the most troublesome points in the whole theory. Chapter ii. contains the differential equations for the Sigma-functions which are afterwards used to find their expansions. By means of Aronhold’s symbolical notation they are expressed in a compact invariantive form; and the way in which they are obtained is an elementary one. At the same time, as the author would probably admit, the process is that of leading up to a known result, and not a heuristic one; this is not said by way of disparagement, because it often happens that tedious methods of discovery are properly replaced by others of a more artificial kind. Dr. Baker, in a note at the end, directs attention to the desirability of re-casting the demonstration so as to make it more strictly analogous to the method used for the elliptic Sigma-function. Chapter iii. deals with the properties of Kummer’s surface and Weddle’s surface in connection with the properties of the hyperelliptic functions. Here the author’s powers of dealing with algebraical analysis appear to great advantage. He has expressed the principal results in a form that is both explicit and elegant; and the English reader who has this book and Hudson’s ‘**‘ Kummer’s Surface ’’ will be able to attack, if he likes, a very interesting and unusually definite field of research. Chapter v. is of a similar character, and contains, among other things, Mr. Bateman’s proof of the differential equation of the asymptotic lines on Weddle’s surface, and a geo- metrical interpretation of the addition theorem. Chapter iy. deals with the expansions of the Sigma- functions, and gives a great number of explicit terms; the invariantive character of the coefficients should be specially noticed. The second part of the book, ‘‘ on the reduction of the theory of multiply-periodic functions to the theory of algebraic functions,’’ is of a much more recon- dite and difficult character. One of its main objects is to prove the theorem that the most general single- valued multiply-periodic meromorphic function is ex- pressible by Theta-functions. The proof given partly depends upon Kronecker’s theory of the definition of algebraic constructs (Gebilde) by means of systems of equations, partly upon the consideration of a set of “defective ’? integrals. Dr. Baker is admirably honest, and on p, 207 makes the remark :—‘‘ It seems certain that the values of k,, can be taken so that the determinant [c,,| is not zero ’’; the temptation to make this a positive statement instead of a conjecture would have been considerable to many writers. Whether or not Dr. Baler’s proof will stand minute NO. 2001, VOL. 77 | cc examination in all its parts remains to be seen; it is at any rate an original and very interesting discussion of an extremely difficult and important problem, It is not easy at the present time to foresee what will be the ultimate shape assumed by the general theory of Abelian functions. So far as mathematical rigour is concerned, as well as in its definiteness and attention to detail, the work of Weierstrass is preeminent, and its influence may be continually noted, and is frequently acknowledged in the present treatise. On the other hand, the more intuitive methods of Riemann and his followers are extremely illuminating and fruitful in suggestions and results; while as regards algebraic functions, the method of Dedekind and Weber is very hard to improve upon. One main difficulty, of course, is the increase in the number of independent variables in the associated Theta-functions ; to get a ‘‘ geometrical ’’ field for the variables we must either plunge into unknown spaces or take new elements (e.g. straight lines) in our own. Much light on the general theory and its difficulties is afforded by some special examples which Dr. Baker gives here and there, for instance, on pp. 255-72. In fact, an accumulation of such examples would greatly help beginners to grasp the arguments of the general theory. In conclusion, attention may be directed to the great economy of space which the author obtains by akbreviated notation for matrices. The only draw- back is that matrices are continually denoted by letters of the same type as those indicating quantities. More- over, double Theta-functions are expressed in the form 4(u), which stands for O(u,,u,); consequently, the be- ginner must be careful to realise the full meaning of the symbols, and he must at once make himself fami- liar with the elementary theory of matrices. Perhaps, in another edition, matrices might be indicated by letters of a special type. G. B. M. REINFORCED CONCRETE. Principles of Reinforced Concrete Construction. By F. E. Turneaure and E. R. Maurer. Pp. viii+317. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1907.) HIS is the latest text-book on a branch of engineer- ing construction which during the past ten years has developed from its first small beginnings to such an important position that not only is it essential for civil engineers and architects to be familiar with its various applications, but they should also have a sound knowledge of the principles which underlie the design of reinforced concrete structures. The authors have therefore practically divided the book into two sections, the first part dealing with the theory of the subject, the results of tests, and such questions as working stresses and economical proportions, while the second part is devoted to the application of rein- forced concrete to building construction, arches, retaining walls, &c. After discussing fully the properties of the two materials, concrete and steel, both when used in- dependently and when used in combination, the | authors proceed to obtain working formule for the Supplement to ‘ Nature,” March 5, 1908 vil stresses in reinforced concrete beams and columns; in the case of beams of rectangular and T section, flexure formulz are deduced, based on the assumption of linear variation of the compression of the concrete for working loads; and for rectanglar beams on the assumption of a parabolic variation of this compres- sion for ultimate loads, in both cases neglecting the tension in the concrete; examples are fully worked out to illustrate the use of these formule. A con- siderable amount of lengthy arithmetical work is necessary in using these formula, and a series of diagrams has been prepared, published on pp. 213— 223, by means of which problems may be solved with rapidity and with a degree of accuracy quite sufficient for all practical purposes. These diagrams are at the end of chapter yi., in which the authors have collected together into a convenient form for reference all formule deduced in the earlier chapters of the book. Any engineer or architect who did not wish to check the accuracy of these formulz or to become familiar with the principles upon which they are based, but merely desired to apply the results directly to some problem of design, would find every- thing he wanted in a compact form in the forty pages of this chapter. Since T beams are often continuous over their sup- ports, and since at such points there is a negative bending moment throwing the flange into tension and the lower part of the web into compression, a system of double reinforcement must be adopted in such cases, and this problem is fully worked out, as is also the problem of computing the stresses when the resultant of the external forces acting on the one side of the section of a beam is not parallel to that section. The remainder of chapter iii. is devoted to a discussion on the shearing stresses in reinforced beams, and to the strength of reinforced columns; as the authors point out, in ordinary construction the ratio of length to least width seldom exceeds 15, hence they have dealt with the problem simply as one of short columns. In chapter iv., the results of a large number of tests of reinforced beams and columns are given, in- cluding many tests carried out by the authors them- selves; not only are the actual numerical results of these tests of importance, as they afford the only safe test of the accuracy of the formule used in their design, but also much valuable information in regard to the design of such reinforced members may be gained from a study of the way in which the final collapse takes place; several plates are given, repro- ductions of photographs of the fractured beams, which show clearly how the disposition of the reinforcing bars in the beam influences the manner in which it gives way when the destructive load is reached. In the next chapter the working stresses which can be permitted with this material are fully treated, and such constructive details as the use of steel of high elastic limit, the durability of the material, and its power of resisting the effect of fire. In the last ‘three chapters a number of practical details in reinforced concrete work is given, and the problem of the deter- mination of stresses in arches is dealt with in a very neat and compact fashion. ap lst 18h NO. 2001, VOL. 77] THE EVOLUTION OF DRESS. The Heritage of Dress, being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes. By W. M. Webb. Pp. xxvi+393. (London: E. Grant Richards, 1907.) Price 155. net. HERE was certainly room for a scientific account of the evolution of dress. The present book, however, which professes to be “‘a popular contribu- tion to the natural history of man,’’ is hardly more than a collection of curious survivals in modern fashions, uniforms, the dress of the Court, the Church, the Bar, and other learned and official personages. The bibliography consists largely of articles in maga- zines and newspapers, and the author seems to have little acquaintance with the scientific literature of the subject, such as the frescoes of the Minoan Age un- earthed by Mr. A. J. Evans; the contributions of Mr H. Balfour, Mr. Skeat, Dr. Westermarck, and Dr. Haddon on the evolution of ornament; Prof. Ridgeway on the penannular brooch; Dr. J. G. Frazer’s classical paper on mourning as a disguise to baffle the ghost. He appears not to have read even such popular works as those of the late Mr. Elworthy on the ‘* Evil Eye ” and ‘* Horns of Honour,”’ But if Mr. Webb has not written a scientific treatise on the ‘‘ Heritage of Dress,’’ he has given us, within its limits, an interesting and suggestive book, pro- vided with excellent drawings which really illustrate the many topics with which he attempts to deal, and with an index which, if not quite accurate, is still sufficiently comprehensive. His aim is to furnish a record of survivals, and perhaps in no department of modern life are these more numerous than in that ci dress. It is a fact of much scientific importance in connection with the history of social development that so many details in modern costume which we are in- clined to believe capricious or accidental, due to the inventive genius of the tailor or the milliner, are really traceable to primitive forms, and that the perpetual changes of fashions are the result of a process of evolution, advancing on conservative lines, in which the influence of early ideas is apparent. This can be readily illustrated from the wealth of material supplied by Mr. Webb. Thus perhaps the earliest form of dress is the shawl or wrapper, the fringes of which in the modern examples date baclx to the most early kind of loom, From this are derived the jacket of the woman as well as the trousers of the man. It is more hazardous to trace the shape of the hat to that of the primitive hut; but the band on our silk hats and ‘* bowlers,’? now purely orna- mental, is almost certainly a relic of the fastening of the original cloth headdress. The origin of liveries, which represent the costume of the wearers’ masters in earlier times, is equally curious. When we come to uniforms, almost all their distinguishing features have a history as survivals. The red coat toox its colour from that of the best coat in the days of Charles II., and it has thus naturally descended to the fox-hunter and golfer; the baton of the field-marshal is the box in which he used to carry the orders of his sovereign; the epaulettes of the Imperial Yeoman take us back to chain-mail; the Vill Supplement to ‘ Nature,” March 5, 1908 ‘prickers ’’ of the hussar to the old flint-lock musket. Putties, which Mr. Webb traces back to Anglo-Saxon times, are proved by recent discoveries to be as old as the Mycen-ean culture. Much, of course, still remains mysterious. Why has a man’s coat its buttons on the right, that of a woman on the left? Is the cockade descended from the chaperon headdress of the time of Richard II. ? Whence come the buttons on the jacket of the page and on the trousers of the costermonger? Can it be, as Mr. Webb suggests, that grooms weave straw in the manes of horses because the horse once thought to be a corn-spirit? Such matters require for their solution a wider range of induction and a more scientific study of the evidence than is provided by the present book, which raises, if it fails to solve, many other curious problems of the same kind. was MODERN VIEWS OF ELECTRICITY. Modern Views of Electricity. By Sir Oliver Lodge, [BIR Third edition, revised. Pp. xvi+518. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1907.) Price 6s. HEN Sir Oliver Lodge decided to issue a new edition of his well-known treatise, he set him- self a very difficult task. The first edition was pub- lished in 1888, the second in 1892; he might well have thought that the development of the science during the past fifteen years had been so rapid that nothing short of complete re-writing could render the book deserving of its title. However, he has concluded that, since recent progress has amplified our views of electricity rather than altered them, the treatise has not lost its value; that it is still an expression of the truth, though it may be only a partial expression. Accordingly the general plan of the third edition is the same as that of the first; the changes that have been made consist of a few minor alterations and omissions, together with the addition of six appended lectures. The earlier editions are so familiar that no detailed comment is necessary. Electrostatic, conductive, and magnetic processes are described and illustrated by a series of mechanical analogies, leading up to the representation of the electromagnetic ether as a medium made up of elastically connected gear wheels, separated in some regions by surfaces of slip. In the elaboration of these analogies the author is seen at his best; everything that he writes is extremely sug- gestive, though some students may be puzzled by the inconsistency between the different illustrations that are used in different parts of the book to represent the same action. We would direct special attention to the admirable treatment of the magnetic effect of materials with a permeability greater than unity. However, we think that the author has underrated somewhat the change in eyen the simpler parts of the which has been necessitated by recent dis- true that these discoveries have affected our views of the electric properties of matter rather than the properties of electricity itself, but all electrical experiments involve the use of material Thus the discovery of the great difference between positive and negative electricity invalidates Sir Oliver Lodge’s representation of the magnetic NO. 2001, VOL. 77] work, coveries. Tt