RECENT PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. (1) A Primer of Philosophy. By A. S. Rappoport, Ph.D. Pp. 118. (London: John Murray, 1904.) Price is. net. (2) Religion und Naturwissenschaft. Eine Antwort an Professor Ladenburg. By Arthur Titius. Pp. 114. (Tübingen und Leipzig: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1904.) Price 1.80 marks. (3) Philosophische Propädeutik auf Naturwissenschaftlicher Grundlage. By August Schulte-Tigges. Zweite verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage. Pp. xvi+221. (Berlin: Georg Reimer.) Price marks. 3 (4) Der Skeptizismus in der Philosophie. By Raoul Richter. Erster Band. Pp. xxiv +364. (Leipzig: Dürr'sche Buchhandlung, 1904.) Price 6 marks. R. RAPPOPORT'S book, which appears in (1) DR Mr. Murray's new series of primers, is on the whole a very satisfactory introduction to the study of philosophy. The statement is always accurate, interesting and suggestive, and the terminology is carefully chosen. There are many interesting quotations; perhaps those from the German will not always be understood without a translation by the average reader of a primer. On p. 2, the statement "it was astonishment that first made man philosophize" is attributed to Aristotle. No doubt Aristotle said so, but Plato had the same idea before him. On p. 45 the term sociology is said to be derived from the Latin word socius, society (sic). (2)" Religion und Naturwissenschaft" is a counterblast to a lecture given by Prof. Ladenburg of Breslau, on the influence of the natural sciences on the Weltanschauung. Prof. Ladenburg, as represented by the quotations from his work, appears to believe that experiment, observation, induction, are the key of all knowledge, and that all the progress of the last centuries has been caused chiefly by the enlightenment due to the natural sciences. This rather extreme posi man, tion Prof. Titius assails with some success, and then proceeds to vindicate the spiritual life of individualisation, Wertbestimmung, Christianity, even miracles, on lines that are not altogether novel. But the author is no obscurantist, and the argument is probably as convincing as any popular discussion can make it. The (3) The third work on our list is intended to introduce pupils of the highest classes in Realgymnasien to the philosophic principles that underlie scientific method and the general scientific thought of our time. first part deals with Methodenlehre, and discusses observation and experiment, induction, causal law and hypothesis, deduction. In the second part, entitled "The Mechanical View of the Universe, and the Limits of Knowledge," there is an adequate account of such things as atomism, teleology, the Darwinian theory, and the relations of psychical events and their physiological accompaniments. On this last head the author declares himself for a theory of parallelism, not as being the solution of the problem, but the problem itself. The book is excellent both in form and statement, and all the arguments both for and against a particular view are most fully and impartially stated. The quotations show a wide range of reading; but it would perhaps be well if the author's name and the title of the work in question were added in every case. (4) The first volume of "Der Skeptizismus in der Philosophie" contains an account only of Greek scepticism, that is to say, of Pyrrhonism and of the scepticism of the Later Academy. But as many of the chief problems raised by scepticism in all ages are discussed here at considerable length, this first volume cannot safely be neglected even by those who are chiefly interested in Hume, the "partial" scepticism of Kant, or modern positivism. The author shows himself a most competent guide. He is always fair minded; even where it is most difficult to be patient with certain wellknown quibbles of the Pyrrhonists he labours seriously to discover the grain of truth amid the heap of chaff. Almost a hundred pages are given to a discussion of sensual scepticism," i.e. the scepticism which bases itself upon the contradictory perceptions of the same object experienced by different living creatures, by different human beings, by the same human being at different times, and the like. These arguments, according to this work, have weight only as against extreme realists, and both (extreme) idealism and moderate realism (e.g. the realism of Locke) are represented as able to face the situation. With which of the two last named the author's sympathies ultimately lie is not apparent from this first instalment; it will doubtless become evident in the second (and concluding) volume. It is to be hoped for every reason that so excellent a work will soon reach completion. THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY IN JAPAN. Geschichte des Christentums in Japan. By Dr. J. Haas. Band ii. Pp. xxvii+383. (Tokio: 1904.) N this second volume Dr. Haas-whom we conIN gratulate on the well merited doctorate in theology recently conferred upon him by the University of Strassburg-pursues the history of the Christian missions in Japan from the departure of Xavier in 1549 to the year 1570 under the leadership of the Jesuit superior Cosmo de Torres, of Valencia. During that period, and, indeed, almost up to the close of the sixteenth century, the task of conversion lay entirely in the hands of the Jesuits, while the increasing trade with Japan was monopolised by the Portuguese. The sources of Dr. Haas's history are almost wholly European, and above all the famous letters of the Jesuit missionaries from Japan, of which the volume is largely a précis. These authorities are not, however, sufficient, and with the progress of the work it becomes more and more evident that the true history of the Christian century in Japan can only be written in the Peninsula, where, as Father Cros's great book on "St. François de Xavier " tells us, in the inexhaustible archives and libraries of Lisbon and Madrid, and in those of Simancas, Coimbra, Evora, and Ajuda, are to be found the original documents in vast numbers from which alone an adequate account of that most interesting chapter in the world's history can be gathered. In the score of years covered by the present volume the faith was preached over the whole of Kiushiu and most of Central Japan, the northern and eastern Daimiates and the whole of the great island of Shikoku In being untouched. This work was accomplished by eleven Jesuit fathers, assisted by four converts. 1564 the Daimio of Omura, the first Christian Daimio, known as Sumitada, or Omura Risen (Risen was his Buddhist name), was baptised, and adhered to the faith until his death in 1587. It is of this convert that Crasset writes : "He went to the chase of the bonzes as to that of wild beasts, and made it his singular pleasure to exterminate them from his states " ("Murdoch,' P. 238). It would, however, be merely special pleading to take this language literally, otherwise than as expressing the worthy father's admiration of the vigour with which the newly made convert promulgated Christianity within his petty domain. Up to 1570, out of the fifteen or sixteen millions of Japanese, some twenty thousand had been baptised. This seems a small proportion, but the true measure would be the ratio of the baptised to the population of those parts of Japan where the gospel had been, with some adequacy, preached. As to the quality of their Christianity it is difficult to form a judgment. The steadfastness of large numbers under persecution is some guarantee of the reality of their belief; on the other hand many in becoming Christians followed the example or obeyed the commands of their feudal superiors. Another much debated point, not easy to determine, is to what extent the native converts "provoked" the immense majority who still adhered to the Way of the Gods and the Way of Buddha. It is certain that the Buddhists were "provoked," but there is little evidence that they had any real cause of complaint during the period now considered-the provocation was of a passive, not of an aggressive character. On the whole, the fathers were far from unpopular with the common folk. They were looked upon as superior beings, and Froez says of his reception at Yoko seura : "All the Christian inhabitants came to meet us and were so delighted at our arrival that they would willingly have taken us on their shoulders and borne us off. It was not until 1587 that persecution began, the result of a fit of policy of the cruel, crafty, but capable Taiko, Hideyoshi. Dr. Haas writes lucidly, and his pages are full of interesting details; but the narrative is obscured by an over-abundance of matter that might well be relegated to notes or appendices. The Germans seem unable to distinguish between books and note-books. F. VICTOR DICKINS. OUR BOOK SHELF. Lectures on the Diseases of Children. By Robert Hutchison, M.D., F.R.C.P. (London: Edward Arnold.) Price 8s. 6d. net. It is difficult to praise this little volume too highly. It deals with one of the most attractive and satisfactory subjects in medicine, the treatment of children's diseases; the style is excellent, and the illustrations, which, with one or two exceptions, are taken from photographs of the author's cases, are unusually good. In some three hundred pages Dr. Hutchison describes aspects of some of the more common diseases of childhood which, as he says, are not usually dealt with in systematic lectures. In the first instance, the lectures were given at the London Hospital; subsequently they were published serially in the Clinical Journal, while their present appearance in book form is in response to the request of a number of readers who wanted them in a convenient form for reference. The early chapters deal with the problems of infant feeding, and the subject, which unfortunately is closely allied, of the various digestive disturbances which occur in hand-fed babies. Upon questions of diet Dr. Hutchison speaks with special authority, and his remarks on the difficult subject of artificial feeding are concise and practical. The In the space of a short lecture it is not possible or desirable to deal with all the conceivable methods by which children might be, or have been, fed, but it seems an omission not to mention "laboratory " milk, which, whatever its objections, certainly offers the physician a method of wonderful precision in prescribing the exact percentage of fat, proteid, and lactose which he requires for any individual patient. establishment in London of the Walker Gordon Laboratory, at which this milk can be obtained, and the existence of a farm in connection with it at which every precaution is taken to procure germ-free milk with scientific accuracy, certainly deserve mention in any book which deals with the subject of substitute feeding. The expense of " laboratory milk puts it beyond the reach of many babies, but it is less expensive than a wet nurse, and avoids all the disadvantages inseparable from employing one. In succeeding chapters Dr. Hutchison deals with various common diseases of childhood. They are all delightful reading, full of common sense and helpful One would suggestion as to diagnosis and treatment. like to quote extensively, but the book is one that every student of the subject, whether he be qualified or not, should possess. Special interest attaches to the lecture on mental deficiency in childhood, often a subject of great difficulty in practice, and one with which the ordinary textbook scarcely deals. The photographs illustrating this chapter are particularly good. The concluding chapters are devoted to the diagnostic significance of some common symptoms, such as wasting, cough, fever, &c. It is impossible to do full justice to this delightful book in a short notice. The work forms a valuable adjunct to the good text-books already written on the subject, and it shows to the full the clinical knowledge and the literary ability of the author, whose reputation, already high, will no doubt be increased by it. Elementary Manual for the Chemical Laboratory. By Louis Warner Riggs, Ph.D., Instructor in Chemistry in Cornell University. Pp. vi+138. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1904.) Price 5s. 6d. net. THIS Volume embodies the author's idea of what should be taught during a one-year course of chemistry, the time available being not less than a hundred and twenty hours for laboratory practice, and sixty for "recitation "work. It is arranged in short numbered paragraphs, each containing a direction to the student or an explanation of some point or process, and is intended to be used, under the guidance of an instructor, in conjunction with some general text-book of chemistry and physics. The About one-third of the work is devoted to preliminary experiments in general chemistry. student is then introduced to simple volumetric analysis, the principles of which are very well explained -this forming, perhaps, the best portion of the book. After three experiments in gravimetric work the learner passes on to systematic qualitative analysis, treated from the standpoint of electrolytic dissociation. The author recognises that, "logically," the quantitative work should follow rather than precede the qualitative; but after repeated trials he prefers the order indicated. In the present connection, however, the matter is more one of convenience than of logic. Accepting the author's system, the experiments themselves are judiciously selected, and well fitted for their purpose. But there are educationists who would by no means agree that "theoretical explanations should be reserved for the recitation-room," and not given in the laboratory. Still less would they say that the students should "study thoroughly all the details of an experiment before attempting to perform it," and that "this should be done outside the laboratory." Whether such a system would tend to produce a hodman or an architect would depend, as it seems to the writer, less upon its own merits than upon the personality of the instructor. C. S. Die Einheit der Naturkrafte in der Thermodynamik. having been increased from fifty-five to sixty-eight. It may be considered as forming a most excellent guide to the practice of photography, and a perfect reference for those who so continually question one as to "the best book on photography, for a beginner, you know "; and it will doubtless prove useful as a reference book to many who have long passed the beginner stage. There is a decision of tone and clearness of exposition, combined with an intelligent anticipation of the many questions which arise at every step of the path, which render it especially suitable for this purpose. At the same time, the scientific reader who hopes to gain from it some account of the work which has been done of late years, with a view to the clearing up in some measure of the chemical and physical problems in which photography abounds, will probably be greatly disappointed. The two most noteworthy features of this, as of almost all English works on photographic science, are found in the method in which contemporary German literature is ignored, and in which the whole of modern physical chemistry is disregarded. The fact, for instance, that development may be regarded as a reversible heterogeneous reaction occurring between ionised salts, in accordance with the mass law, seems to be entirely beyond the idea of this or any other book on the subject. Development with ferrous oxalate is here represented by the 3AgBr+3FeC2O1 = FeBr ̧ + Fe(C2O4)3 +3Ag, which, involving as it does the existence of ferric ions in the developer after use, gives a sufficiently distorted view of the reaction. While we find the chemical theory of the book to be of this type, the information as to the progress of sensitometry is of the slightest, no mention whatever being made of the notable researches by Dr. Eder. A most original suggestion as found at the close of the chapter devoted to that subto the nature of the developable condition is to be ject. In brief, this book is a most delightful manual of the practice of photography, but can scarcely claim to represent the scientific side of the subject in any sense whatever. C. E. KENNETH MEES. Ants and Some Other Insects. An Inquiry into the Psychic Powers of these Animals. With an Appendix on the Peculiarities of their Olfactory Sense. By Dr. August Forel. Translated from the German by Prof. William Morton Wheeler. Pp. 49; figures. (Chicago, 1904.) Price 2s. 6d. As described in the secondary title, this pamphlet is The Science and Practice of Photography. By Chap- AN elaborate treatise on the senses of insects, especially 66 Even to-day I am compelled to uphold the seventh thesis which I established in 1877 in my habilitation as privat-docent in the University of Munich: "All the properties of the human mind may be derived from the properties of the animal mind.' "I would merely add to this: "And all the mental attributes of higher animals may be derived from those of lower animals. In other words, the doctrine of evolution is quite as valid in the province of psychology as it is in all the other differences presented by animal organisms and the conNotwithstanding all the provinces of organic life. ditions of their existence, the psychic functions of the nerve-elements seem nevertheless everywhere to be in accord with certain fundamental laws, even in the cases where this would be least expected on account of the magnitude of the differences." 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.] Archebiosis and Heterogenesis. THE columns of the daily papers have during the last two weeks contained many references to the question of the origin of life. One of the most recent utterances has been that of Lord Kelvin, who has roundly declared himself an unbeliever in the natural origin of living matter either in the present or in the past. that in reference to this question he is content to believe We must suppose, therefore, in miracles. Prof. Ray Lankester and Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, however, proclaim themselves, as followers of Huxley, believers in evolution generally, and in the natural origin of living matter in the past. They, like many others, refuse to believe that it takes place at the present time, because undoubted proof of its occurrence cannot be produced by laboratory experiments. The uniformity of natural phenomena would certainly lead us to believe, as Sir Oliver Lodge has intimated, that if such a process occurred in the past, it should have been continually occurring ever since-so long as there is no evidence to show cause for a break in the great law of Continuity. Certainly no such evidence has ever been produced, and if the origin of living matter takes place by the generation in suitable fluids of the minutest particles gradually appearing from the region of the invisible, such a process may be occurring everywhere in nature's laboratories, though altogether beyond the ken of man. My point may be illustrated thus. Bacteriologists all over Europe and elsewhere have been working for the last thirty years by strict laboratory methods, and notwithstanding all that they have made out and the good that has thereby accrued to suffering humanity, they have apparently never yet seen the development from Zooglea aggregates of Fungus-germs, of flagellate Monads, or of Amoebæ. If, however, they would only examine what goes on in nature's laboratory when a mixed bacterial scum forms on suitable fluids, they would have no difficulty in satisfying themselves as to the reality of these processes. I described such processes in your columns in 1870, more fully in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in 1872, and finally in my in Heterogenesis" (pp. 65-84, pls. vi. and vii., Figs. 53-71). "Studies Even during the last week I have again obtained photomicrographs demonstrating the origin of flagellate Monads from Zooglea aggregates forming in a bacterial scum, and if you will admit an illustrated communication on this subject to your columns, proving by such a test case my position as to the reality of heterogenesis, I shall be happy to present it, and to show that something beyond the recognised strict laboratory methods of the day is needed if we are to fathom some of nature's deepest secrets. The councils of the Royal and Linnean Societies are guided in the acceptance of papers by referees who are wedded, on biological questions, to laboratory methods. It is useless for me, therefore, again to attempt to submit such a communication to them. Their referees (probably not having worked at such subjects themselves) would not advise the acceptance of the paper, and my communication might simply be consigned to their archives. The Royal Society for the Promotion of Natural Knowledge occasions would not even allow me to submit my views to the consideration of, and discussion by, its fellows. circumstances, Sir, I appeal to you, in the interests of In these science, to allow me to send you an illustrated paper proving, so far as such proof can go, the heterogenetic origin of flagellate Monads and of Fungus-germs. Manchester Square, October 31. on two H. CHARLTON BASTIAN. [NOVEMBER 10, 1904 Average Number of Kinsfolk in each Degree. I WAS glad to read the first paragraph of the reply by Prof. G. H. Bryan to my letter, in which he acknowledges his mistake, but I cannot allow the second paragraph to pass without protest, in which he says the discrepancy can be accounted for more simply still" in a way he describes. I do not wholly understand his present view, but only enough of it to be assured that it is vitiated by some fundamental misconception. In these circumstances it is best to re-state my original argument in different words. We agree to start on the assumptions that boys and girls are on the average equally numerous, and that all other conditions are to be ignored. Then, if an individual be taken out of a family of 2d children, 2d-1 children will be left, of whom d- will, on the average of many experiences, be girls and d- will be boys. The sex of the individual who was taken out in the first instance is quite unimportant; the result will be the same whether that individual be a boy or a girl. Prof. G. H. Bryan thinks, if I understand him rightly, that the sex of the individual in question is of importance. Some persecuting demon must have again caused my pen to write and my eye to overlook an absurdly erroneous figure in my last letter. The faulty passage runs (2×16, as it should be)"; the 16 ought to be replaced is 80 by 32. It is intended to be quoted from the right hand column of line (5) in the table which accompanies that letter. FRANCIS GALTON. Misuse of Words and Phrases. IN the preface to my book on "Cubic and Quartic Curves I have stated my views on the matters referred to in the last paragraph of T. B. S.'s letter. advocate of the use and, if necessary, the invention of I am a strong words of classical origin to express new ideas, and I consider the phrase self-cutting inelegant. My objection to the phrase non-singular cubic or quartic curve is that no such curves exist, since Plücker has shown that all algebraic curves, except proper conics, possess a determinate number of singularities. Thus anautotomic quartics possess 52 simple singularities, viz. 28 double and 24 stationary tangents. It is also possible for such curves to possess compound singularities, formed by the union of one double and two stationary tangents. With regard to the use of an, the rule is that before a word beginning with a vowel an is to be used instead of a for the sake of euphony, but when a word beginning with a vowel is pronounced as if it commenced with a consonant, a must be used instead of an. The phrases such an one, an uniform rod, an wonderful sunset, an yew tree, are all equally incorrect. A. B. BASSet. November 4. The Coming Shower of Leonids. THE pretty abundant shower of Leonids witnessed last year encourages the hope that a fairly rich return may be observed this year. There will be no moonlight to interfere with the brilliancy of the display should it occur, and the most probable time of its apparition will be before sunrise on November 15. In 1903 the maximum occurred between 5 and 6 a.m. on November 16, and, allowing for leap year, the ensuing maximum should take place on November 15 at about noon. The shower seems likely to be observed to the best advantage at American stations, as in 1901, but it should be carefully watched everywhere, and with a special view to ascertain the hour of greatest abundance. It is to be hoped that some further attempts will be made to determine the place of the radiant by photography. We have already a sufficient number of eye observations of the position, and the work of ordinary observers will be better directed to counting the number of meteors visible at regular intervals during the night, and registering the most brilliant objects. The meteors from other showers should also be noted, and especially any conspicuous Taurids that may appear. The latter by their slow long flights and yellow trains are readily to be distinguished from the swiftly moving Leonids with their green streaks. W. F. DENNING. OWING to the large numbers of shooting stars visible on the night of November 15, 1903, the expectation of witness ing a meteoric spectacle on perhaps a more extensive scale will probably be revived on the near approach of the Leonid epoch of 1904. Reasons have already been given for supposing that last year's display was connected by the nineteen years' period with a very similar phenomenon observed on November 13, 1865, the interval between the two events representing two complete revolutions of the meteoric cycle. The present epoch, therefore, which is thus associated with the historic meteor shower of November 14, 1866, will be liable to reproduce its brilliant prototype, though only to a limited extent. The anticipated shower, however, if it takes place, will not occur on the night of November 14, as it might naturally have been expected to do, owing to 1904 being a leap year. The meteor-swarm, according to calculations made by the present writer, has undergone considerable retardation since 1903, and as a result of this perturbation the Leonid meteor shower becomes due in 1904 on the night of November 15. It is on the latter night, therefore, that the maximum will take place, whether it culminate in a shower or not. will occur, however, on November 14, 15h., an interesting miniature meteor display. The shower on the night of November 15, though not so intense, will be more extensive than that of 1866, as maxima fall due at 9h., 12h. to 15h., and 17h. 30m. G.M.T. JOHN R. HENRY. The Definition of Entropy. There FROM time to time controversies have appeared in various journals regarding that most difficult of all physical conceptions-entropy. I have purposely avoided passing any opinions as to the merits of the views of different writers, as I have considered the question far too large a one to be dealt with satisfactorily by destructive criticism directed towards particular points. I have, however, now found a definition of entropy which certainly appears to meet most of the objections to the conventional treatment. That definition may be stated somewhat as follows: Let the available energy of any system at any instant relative to a refrigerator of temperature T, be defined by the condition that it is the maximum amount of energy that could be obtained from the system at that instant by reversible thermodynamic engines working between the system and the refrigerator T., the remaining portion of the energy being, of course, called non-available energy. Then in any change of the system the increase of entropy is the quantity obtained by dividing the increase of nonavailable energy by the temperature T, of the refrigerator. I hope to publish a detailed treatment shortly, but in the meantime I would mention that this definition overcomes all the difficulties inherent in the conventional treatment of at least the more ordinary irreversible phenomena, such as friction, impact, gas rushing into a vacuum. If we adopt the principle of degradation of energy as the fundamental second law of thermodynamics (as I suggested in the Boltzmann Festschrift), Clausius's statement that the entropy of the universe tends to a maximum now follows at once. So, too, do his inequalities. For every irreversible transformation in the interior of a system produces loss of available energy, and therefore (since it does not affect the total energy) increase of non-available energy, and therefore increase of entropy. We may say that entropy can be generated, but never destroyed. It follows that the total increase of entropy in the system is greater than the quantity of entropy entering from without. This is Clausius's inequality for an irreversible non-cyclic process. If the process is cyclic the total gain of entropy is zero, and therefore the entropy generated in the system must be exported during the cycle. This is Clausius's inequality for a cyclic process. The introduction of the refrigerator presents no real difficulty. If non-available energy, instead of being given to the refrigerator T., is worked down reversibly to a refrigerator at a lower temperature T,, its amount will be decreased in the ratio T, T. G. H. BRYAN. The Direction of the Spiral in the Petals of IN Selenipedium grande, S. longifolium, and S. conchiferum, the twisted petals are so arranged that the direction of the spiral is right-handed on each side. They are not heteronymous, i.e. the right petal with a left twist and the left petal with a right twist, as in all antelopes' horns, nor are they arranged homonymously, as in most sheep's horns,' but the twisted petals have the same direction on each side, and in the cases above mentioned the right-handed spiral is always present. In trying to find a cause for the direction, I expected it to appear that before and during the unfolding of the flower the petals were twisted when lying together, and thus took the bias, which continued during growth. If two strips of paper be laid together and twisted into a pipe-lighter, each, when separated, would exhibit the same spiral twist. Examination of the still-folded flower proves that this simple explanation is not the true one, and, at least in S. grande, the petals are straight when they show at first (two inches or more in length), and become afterwards spirally twisted during growth and elongation. The necessary bias to determine the direction of the spiral evidently acts after the unfolding of the flower, and is a slight force acting continuously during growth, such as would be made by the circulation if there were a difference in the circulation of the sap in the two edges of each petal. This difference would act alike in each, and would make each petal twist in the same way; but, of course, this is a mere conjectural suggestion. GEORGE WHERRY. Cambridge, October 30. Thinking Cats. THE story of the cat that saved the cook, in your last issue, is certainly remarkable, but surely it is not unusual for cats to find out how to direct attention when they want to get into or out of a house, or for them to conceal their kittens in curious places. Two instances of the former occur to me among many. A cat in my father's house used to rattle the letter-plate at the front door (it was in a window near the door) whenever it was shut out, and another, in my own house, would come to any lighted window, even on the top storey, and tap at the glass if it was shut out at night. In the same house a cat hid its kittens, after one family had been destroyed, under the boards of a lead flat, so that, as they grew, it could not get them out, and directed our attention to them by running backwards and forwards. They were released by taking up the boards. From cats to birds seems a natural transition. I have a curious instance, at this moment, of a pair of robins mistaking their own importance. Last spring they built, and reared their family, in a hole in the wall of an old country mansion, which was being rebuilt under my supervision. The wall was inside the house, in the great hall, and the female sat on her nest, looking out at the workmen, amid all the noise and disturbance of building. They disappeared in the summer, but now that the house is finished and occupied, the pair have returned, and flit about the same hall and the adjoining drawing-room, evidently under the impression that the house was built for them. R. LANGTON COLE. Change in the Colour of Moss Agate. A FRIEND of mine possesses a penholder the handle of which is made of moss agate. Originally the colour of the handle was bluish throughout, but recently the upper part of the handle has become very much lighter in colour and much more transparent. I thought perhaps some of your readers could tell me whether it is usual for moss agates to undergo changes of this kind after having been cut and polished, and, if it is usual, to what agent or agents the change is ascribed. W. A. WHITTON. County School, Bridgend, November 7. |