Nature

A NUMBER of new South African Palæozoic fossils-both vegetable and animal-are described by Mr. E. H. L. Schwarz in the sixth part of the first volume of the Records of the Albany Museum. It is noteworthy that the plants, which appear to be either of Upper Devonian or Lower Carboniferous age, are referable to the "Lepidodendron flora." In the same issue Mr. J. E. Duerden reviews the South African tortoises of the genus Homopus, and describes and figures, under the name of H. boulengeri, a species regarded as new to science. In regard to the tortoises of the Testudo geometrica group, the author points out that some of the named species appear to intergrade, thus suggesting that in this group we may have species in course of evolution. A fourth contribution, by Mr. P. Cameron, on the Hymenoptera in the Albany Museum, completes this issue.

THE first issue of the Memoirs of the National Museum, Melbourne, consists of a paper by Dr. A. Smith Woodward on a Carboniferous fish-fauna from the Mansfield district, Victoria. It appears that the fish-remains described were discovered so long ago as 1888, and that a brief notice of them was published by the late Sir F. McCoy in the following year. Coloured plates were, moreover, prepared under that palæontologist's direction, and these have been utilised in the present issue. Of the six generic types recognised, one is too imperfectly known for its affinities to be exactly defined, four others, Acanthodes, Ctenodus, Strepsodus, and Elonichthys, occur in the Permian and Carboniferous of Europe and the Carboniferous of North America, but the sixth, Gyracanthides, although related to a northern Carboniferous type, is altogether peculiar and of exceptional interest. It appears, indeed, to be an acanthodian referable either to the Diplacanthidæ or kindred family group, but of a highly specialised nature, the specialisation displaying itself in the enlargement of the pectoral fins, the reduction and forward displacement of the pelvics, and the absence or modification of the intermediate spines. A restored figure of this remarkable shark is given.

IN the annual report of the U.S. National Museum, 1904, Mr. G. P. Merrill, whose writings on geology are always acceptable, has produced a treatise entitled "Contributions to the History of American Geology." Sir Archibald Geikie and the late Prof. Zittel have already provided geologists with historical accounts of the growth of their subject, mainly from the European standpoint. In these "Contributions " Mr. Merrill takes up the story from the American point of view, thereby filling a serious gap in a manner that will earn the gratitude of everyone interested in the science. The mode of presentation of the subject is the chronological one, but several topics that were at one time of outstanding prominence are treated separately; such are the Laramie question, the Taconic succession, and the Eozoon problem. Not the least interesting feature in this extremely interesting work is the assemblage of portraits of American geologists, including many early workers whose names must be almost unknown in this country.

THE latest addition to the publications of the Geological Survey of Western Australia is an exhaustive report (Bulletin No. 21) on the geology and mineral resources of the Norseman district, Dundas goldfield, by Mr. W. D. Campbell. The mining plans and sections, of which five accompany the report, mark an advance on any of the official mining plans yet issued in that their most prominent features are the lodes, faults, and dykes, rather

than the underground roads. These data, together with the descriptions given in the report, form a permanent record of the Norseman mines up to the date of publication. The area dealt with in the report in to the end of 1904 has yielded 266.234 ounces of gold, or 1919 ounces for every ton of ore treated.

IN the Engineering Magazine (July) Mr. Clarence Heller gives some interesting personal observations on the effect of earthquake and fire on steel buildings at San Francisco. His photographs give a graphic record of the tailure of structural materials and systems under various conditions. Riveted connections showed their superiority over bolts when called upon to resist twist by earthquake. The great losses by fire were due to poor material, bad mortar, and miserable workmanship.

In his presidential address to the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society at the meeting held on March 27, which is published in the second part of vol. viii. of the Transactions of that body, Mr. Eustace Gurney, after surveying recent progress in "limnology," directed attention to the opportunities for research presented by the Norfolk Broads. He pointed out that after the compilation of complete lists of the fauna, much might be done in regard to a knowledge of the life-history of many species by keeping them in tanks. In addition to this, we ought to be acquainted with the physical and chemical characteristics of each sheet of water, the nature of the bottomdeposits, and so on. The papers in the same issue include one by Mr. T. Southwell on the share taken in former times by Lynn and Yarmouth in the Greenland whalefishery, one by Mr. T. J. Wigg on last year's herringfishery, and a third, by Mr. W. G. Clarke, on the classification of Norfolk flint-implements.

IN the Annual Report and Proceedings of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club for 1905-6, the secretary announces a small excess of expenditure over receipts. The two most important papers in this issue are a résumé of the club's recent work with regard to local glaciation, by Madame Christen, and an account of the Carnmoney chalcedony, by Mr. J. Strachan. As the results of his investigations on the latter subject, the author is disposed to reject the theory that deposits in lava of chalcedony of the nature of the one in question are due to decomposition changes in favour of the idea that they are contemporaneous products of the rock, and that they were formed during the final stages of cooling and drying. He is also of opinion that the associated zeolitic or calcitic layer, as well as the siliceous contents of the veins or cavities, owes its origin, not to the decomposition of the parent rock, but to the last stages in its formation.

ACCORDING to the observations of Mr. A. Toyama, ol the College of Agriculture, Tokyo University, published in the June issue of Biologisches Centralblatt, Mendel's law of heredity is strictly applicable, in a very large number of cases, to cross-bred silkworms. The colours of the cocoons and the larval markings are, for instance, strictly Mendelian, while other features appear to conform to certain laws not yet formulated. No single instance was observed in which an irregular development of Mendelian phenomena took place. In another article issued in the same number Dr. H. Simroth urges that the sporadic development of a black phase of the hamster affords an instance of undoubted mutation among mammals. In giving Cricetus vulgaris niger as the equivalent of Schreber's "Mus cricetus Linné niger," the author is unwittingly founding a new subspecies, as no C. v. niger occurs in any of the published lists.

Tiu: Department of Agriculture in India has commenced the issue of a chemical series of memoirs. Part i. contains an article by Dr. J. W. Leather, agricultural chemist to the Government of India, on the composition of Indian rain and dew. The author points out that the amount of ammonia and nitric or nitrous acid found in the annual rainfall by observers in different parts of the world has varied within wide limits. The observations at Rothamsted during fifteen years, 1889-1903, show mean quantities of 278 lb. of ammonia" nitrogen and 1.19 lb. of "nitric nitrogen per acre per annum, the total being 3.97 lb. ; but there has been a tendency among observers in the East to attribute to tropical rainfall much greater amounts. A record of these compounds was kept recently for twelve months at Dehra Dun and Cawnpore, both stations being nearly within the tropics, and is of interest as additional evidence upon the subject. The results obtained were, approximately, in lb. per acre :-Dehra Dun, ammonia 2-04, nitrate and nitrite 137, total 3.41; Cawnpore, 2.48 and 077 respectively, total 3.25, the amount of ammonia being less at both stations than at Rothamsted; of nitric acid, the Dehra Dun rain contained somewhat more, the Cawnpore rain a good deal less, than at the English station. Information regarding the quantity and composi

tion of dew is but limited. Observations were made at Cawnpore between September, 1904, and March, 1905; the amount of dew was only 0-17 inch, and contained approximately 0.055 lb. of "ammonia" nitrogen and 0.056 lb. of nitric" nitrogen per acre. Dr. Leather thinks it probable that the method adopted at Cawnpore for registering the amount of dew gave a low result.

THE value of statistical researches in the subject of heredity and variation is well illustrated by a paper lately published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, under the joint names of W. E. Castle, F. W. Carpenter, A. H. Clark, S. O. Mast, and W. M. Barrows, on the effects of inbreeding, cross-breeding and selection upon the fertility and variability of Drosophila, a genus of Diptera which feeds in the larval stage on over-ripe fruit. The experiments were conducted with great care, and their results recorded with minuteness, the outcome being a valuable set of conclusions on various moot points connected with the subject. The authors consider that their experiments prove that, although long-continued inbreeding (extending in one case to fourteen generations) may possibly cause a decline in fertility, this effect may be more than counterbalanced by selection of the most productive among closely inbred pairs. No falling-off was observed in either strength, size, or variability in the inbred generations. Different degrees of fertility are characteristic of different stocks; inheritance of such differences does actually take place, and gives material for selection. Indications were found of a cyclical change in fertility. This appeared to be due to external conditions, e.g. temperature. The quality of low productiveness was found to conform imperfectly with Mendel's law, but the alternative character of high and low fertility is not sharply defined. Sexual maturity was shown to be reached at some time between twenty-four and thirty-nine hours after emergence from the pupa, and a single male was proved to be capable of fertilising at least four females.

DR. SHADWORTH H. HODGSON'S paper on the interrelation of the academical sciences, read to the British Academy on March 14, has been published by Mr. Henry Frowde. Dr. Hodgson asks what is the common ulterior

end of the four sections of the British Academy, dealing as they do with the different sciences of history, philology, philosophy, and law. These four branches of inquiry, he discovers, have to do with man, and his conscious activities in every direction, and the relations of men with men and with other conscious beings; and the whole group has as its differentia from the positive physical sciences the fact that it takes consciousness as the point of view. So the ulterior aim of all the sections is the harmonising and organising into a system of the knowledge obtained in each section and subsection of those conscious activities which are its special province, with the further purpose of harmonising those conscious activities themselves into a concerted life of mankind on earth. The lecturer further claims that internal organisation of the academical sciences can only be effected by connecting the sciences of history, philology, and law with philosophy, "which alone possesses in its metaphysical department a secure foundation for any science whatever, being itself founded, alone among all, upon the analysis of consciousness, or experience, without initial assumptions of any kind."

THE "Year-book of Agriculture" for the State of vision of its new director of agriculture, Dr. Cherry, conVictoria for the year 1905, recently issued under the supertains a series of valuable articles on economic biology. It supplies an interesting case of the rapid spread of a European plant in Australia, which is of value from the exact information available as to its rate of movement. Some seeds of a species of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) were planted at Bright twenty-five years ago by a lady who wanted the plant for medicinal purposes. From her garden it spread to the Bright racecourse, where it grew so luxuriantly that it gained the popular name of the racecourse weed." Thence it has been carried by cattle, as shown by a map of the present distribution of the plant in Victoria, along all the main stock routes from Bright. Among other directions it has crossed the main water-shed of Victoria into Gippsland, and now occupies more than 10,000 acres of good land. Methods proposed for its eradication are engaging the attention of the Agricultural Department of Victoria, which has tried extensive series of experiments. Treatment of the ground with pyrites, at the cost of more than 51. an acre, has been the most successful. The cost of some of the methods tested is prohibitive, ranging up to 471. an acre. Amongst other valuable articles in the volume are those on the soils of Victoria, by Dr. Cherry; on farm irrigation from small dams, by Mr. A. S. Kenyon; and on various branches of dairy farming

THE report of the committee on ancient earthworks and fortified enclosures, presented to the seventeenth congress of archæological societies held at Burlington House on July 4, is now available. The committee regrets that the archæological societies have not yet been able to undertake the systematic scheduling of the ancient earthworks and defensive enclosures in their respective districts. The report contains a list of the additions to the literature of the subject of the committee's inquiries, a list of recent cases of the destruction or mutilation of defensive outworks, tumuli, and barrows, and some account of the excavations during the year.

IN the annual report of the U.S. National Museum, 1904,
Mr. G. P. Merrill, whose writings on geology are always

acceptable, has produced a treatise entitled
46 Contribu-
tions to the History of American Geology." Sir Archi-
bald Geikie and the late Prof. Zittel have already provided
geologists with historical accounts of the growth of their
subject, mainly from the European standpoint. In these
"Contributions " Mr. Merrill takes up the story from
the American point of view, thereby filling a serious gap
in a manner that will earn the gratitude of everyone
interested in the science. The mode of presentation of the
subject is the chronological one, but several topics that
were at one time of outstanding prominence are treated
separately; such are the Laramie question, the Taconic
succession, and the Eozoon problem. Not the least
interesting feature in this extremely interesting work is
the assemblage of portraits of American geologists, in-
cluding many early workers whose names must be almost
unknown in this country.

These data, together with report, form a permanent

than the underground roads.
the descriptions given in the
record of the Norseman mines up to the date of publi-
cation. The area dealt with in the report un to the end
of 1904 has yielded 266.34 ounces of gold, or 1010 ounces
for every ton of ore treated.

In the Engineering Magazine (July) Mr. Clarence Heller gives sorae interesting personal observations on the effect of earthquake and fire on steel buildings at San Francisco. His photographs give a graphic record of the tailure of structural materials and systems under various conditions. Riveted connections showed their superiority over bolts when called upon to resist twist by earthquake. The great losses by fire were due to poor material, bad mortar, and miserable workmanship.

In his presidential address to the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society at the meeting held on March 27. which is published in the second part of vol. viii. of the Transactions of that body, Mr. Eustace Gurney, after surveying recent progress in limnology," directed attention to the opportunities for research presented by the Norfolk Broads. He pointed out that after the compilation of complete lists of the fauna, much might be done in regard to a knowledge of the life-history of many species by keeping them in tanks. In addition to this, we ought to be acquainted with the physical and chemical characteristics of each sheet of water, the nature of the bottomdeposits, and so on. The papers in the same issue include one by Mr. T. Southwell on the share taken in former times by Lynn and Yarmouth in the Greenland whalefishery, one by Mr. T. J. Wigg on last year's herringfishery, and a third, by Mr. W. G. Clarke, on the classifi cation of Norfolk flint-implements.

In the Annual Report and Proceedings of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club for 1905-6, the secretary announces a small excess of expenditure over receipts. The two most important papers in this issue are a résumé of the club's recent work with regard to local glaciation, by Madame Christen, and an account of the Carnmoney chalcedony, by Mr. J. Strachan. As the results of his investigations on the latter subject, the author is disposed to reject the theory that deposits in lava of chalcedony of the nature of the one in question are due to decomposition changes in favour of the idea that they are contemporaneous products of the rock, and that they were formed during the final stages of cooling and drying. He is also of opinion that the associated zeolitic or calcitic layer, as well as the siliceous contents of the veins or cavities, owes its origin, not to the decomposition of the parent rock, but to the last stages in its formation.

ACCORDING to the observations of Mr. A. Toyama, of the College of Agriculture, Tokyo University, published in the June issue of Biologisches Centralblatt, Mendel's law of heredity is strictly applicable, in a very large number of cases, to cross-bred silkworms. The colours of the cocoons and the larval markings are, for instance, strictly Mendelian, while other features appear to conform to certain laws not yet formulated. No single instance was observed in which an irregular development of Mendelian phenomena took place. In another article issued in the same number Dr. H. Simroth urges that the sporadic development of a black phase of the hamster affords an instance of undoubted mutation among mammals. In giving Cricetus vulgaris niger as the equivalent of Schreber's "Mus cricetus Linné niger," the author is unwittingly founding a new subspecies, as no

THE Department of Agriculture in India has commenced the issue of a chemical series of memoirs. Part i. contains an article by Dr. J. W. Leather, agricultural chemist to the Government of India, on the composition of Indian rain and dew. The author points out that the amount of ammonia and nitric or nitrous acid found in the annual rainfall by observers in different parts of the world has varied within wide limits. The observations at Rothamsted during fifteen years, 1889-1903, show mean quantities of 2-78 lb. of ammonia " nitrogen and 1.19 lb. of "nitric nitrogen per acre per annum, the total being 3.97 lb. ; but there has been a tendency among observers in the East to attribute to tropical rainfall much greater amounts. A record of these compounds was kept recently for twelve months at Dehra Dun and Cawnpore, both stations being nearly within the tropics, and is of interest as additional evidence upon the subject. The results obtained were, approximately, in lb. per acre:-Dehra Dun, ammonia 2-04, nitrate and nitrite 1-37, total 3.41; Cawnpore, 2.48 and 0.77 respectively, total 3.25, the amount of ammonia being less at both stations than at Rothamsted; of nitric acid, the Dehra Dun rain contained somewhat more, the Cawnpore rain a good deal less, than at the English station. Information regarding the quantity and composition of dew is but limited. Observations were made at Cawnpore between September, 1904, and March, 1905; the amount of dew was only 0.17 inch, and contained approximately 0.055 lb. of "ammonia" nitrogen and 0.056 lb. of "nitric" nitrogen per acre. Dr. Leather thinks it probable that the method adopted at Cawnpore for registering the amount of dew gave a low result.

DR. SHADWORTH H. HODGSON's paper on the interrelation of the academical sciences, read to the British Academy on March 14, has been published by Mr. Henry Frowde. Dr. Hodgson asks what is the common ulterior

THE "Year-book of Agriculture" for the State of Victoria for the year 1905, recently issued under the supervision of its new director of agriculture, Dr. Cherry, contains a series of valuable articles on economic biology. It supplies an interesting case of the rapid spread of a European plant in Australia, which is of value from the exact information available as to its rate of movement.

Some seeds of a species of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) were planted at Bright twenty-five years ago by a lady who wanted the plant for medicinal purposes. From her garden it spread to the Bright racecourse, where it grew so luxuriantly that it gained the popular name of the racecourse weed." Thence it has been carried by cattle, as shown by a map of the present distribution of the plant in Victoria, along all the main stock routes from Bright. Among other directions it has crossed the main water-shed of Victoria into Gippsland, and now occupies more than 10,000 acres of good land. Methods proposed for its eradication are engaging the attention of the Agricultural Department of Victoria, which has tried an extensive series of experiments. Treatment of the ground with pyrites, at the cost of more than 51. an acre, has been the most successful. The cost of some of the methods tested is prohibitive, ranging up to 471. an acre. Amongst other valuable articles in the volume are those on the soils of Victoria, by Dr. Cherry; on farm irrigation from small dams, by Mr. A. S. Kenyon; and on various branches of dairy farming

Fisheries.

Questions of water-supply, of ground-water, and of drainage are dealt with in their sanitary aspects; the geology of the district is described according to the nature of the subsoil, whether clayey, sandy, gravelly, or chalky. A small colour-printed map accompanies the letterpress, and the memoir is further illustrated by twentytwo sections and drawings. Copies may be obtained from any agents for the sale of Ordnance Survey maps, or directly or through any bookseller, from the Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton. The price is 1s. 6d.

THE first mention of petroleum in North America is due to Father de la Roche d'Allion, the Franciscan, in 1629. Mr. Alfred Sang, of Pittsburg, U.S.A., suggests, in a note to us, that the first mention of oil in South America may be that by Albaro Alonso Barba, of Potosi, eleven years later, in 1640, in "The Art of Metals," translated by the Earl of Sandwich in 1669. The part referring to petroleum is contained in the following extract sent by Mr. Sang:"La Naphte is a sulphurous liquor, sometimes white, and sometimes black also, and is that which is called Oyl of

Food Bill, which has passed the House of Representatives, suggests a remedy. The Bill aims at the correct labelling of foods, drugs, and liquors in such a way as to show the source of the material, its treatment, and whether colouring matters or preservatives have been added. It is pointed out that not only has the chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, assisted by the medical staff of the Army, reported against the use of salicylic, benzoic, and boric acids as preservatives, but that preservatives are used in many cases a substitute for cleanliness and careful handling, thus discouraging better methods, such as chilling, sterilising, and curing. The use of artificial colouring matters, if not actually injurious, is at the best a fraud; genuine colour is one of the best indications of quality and with artificial colour to depend upon there is less need for the selection of the best materials. With regard to tinned meats, the "Government inspection," which is supposed to be a guarantee, refers only to the state of the original carcass, and antiseptics, colouring matters, filling materials, and other adulterants may be freely added. The extreme difficulty of the problem of pure food legis.

"so strongly entrenched in business systems that a proposition to put truthful labels on foods and drugs intended for interstate commerce has met continuous defeat for more than fifteen years at the national capital."

IN the Atti dei Lincei, xv., 10, Dr. G. Almansi discusses how far the principle of virtual work is applicable to systems in which friction exists.

Peter, of admirable vertue to cure old pains, proceeding lation is owing to the fact that adulteration has become from cold causes. It will draw fire to it (as the Loadstone does Iron) with that force, that it will take fire at a great distance from the flame, as hath been confirmed by the miserable experience of the Conde de Hercules de Icontrarii, of the Country of Ferara, who having a well in his ground, the water whereof was mixed with Petreol; and by some breaches or cracks in the well, much of this water ran to waste; commanded it to be repaired; the Laborer that was let down into the bottom of the Well desired a Candle, the better to see his work, which was furnished him in a Lanthorn, and immediately through the holes of the Lanthorn the Naphte suckt the flame into it self and set fire on the whole Well, which discharged it self instantly like a great piece of Cannon, and blew the poor man into pieces, and took off an arm of a Tree that hung over the Well.

IN the Ethnography of the Macedonian Slavs " (London: Horace Cox), translated from the second edition of Dr. Cvijić's well-known booklet, we have a useful criticism of many wild statements which have been made with regard to racial relations in Macedonia. After treating of the sense of nationality and showing its connection with religion in the area in question, the author discusses the value of ethnographical maps published in the peninsula and elsewhere; he has little difficulty in showing that the majority are quite untrustworthy. Most of them are dominated by erroneous conceptions as to the term Bulgarian, adopted by Macedonian Slavs, and often used by the peasant to denote simply one who speaks the Slav tongue; an additional complication is introduced by the attribution of the same name by the Macedonian peasants to the Serbs, so that Russian, Serb, and Bulgarian all bear the same name. The maps published in the peninsula reflect only the political aims of the cartographer. In such circumstances Dr. Cvijić's impartial evidence is of the highest value. A comparative table at the end of the booklet shows the variations of the statistical tables. The translation would have gained if an anthropologist had revised the terminology.

AN article on pure food legislation, by Mr. Robert McD. Allen, in the Popular Science Monthly for July has a special interest at the present moment. Its object is to show the difficulties which have retarded legislation with regard to the adulteration of food in the United States in the past, and the proposals by which the Hepburn Pure

AN interesting note on "Americanism" is contributed to the Rendiconti of the Lombardy Institution, xxxix.. 10-11, by Dr. Bassano Gabba. It deals largely with religious thought in America, with special reference to Catholicism.

A SIMPLE machine for compounding sine-curves is described by Prof. W. G. Cady in Science, xxiii., 597While not possessing the same capabilities as Michelson's harmonic analyser, the instrument is convenient for demonstration purposes, and gives the resultant of a fundamental sine-curve and either its second, third, or fifth harmonic with any desired amplitude and phase-relation. A COMMEMORATION of Christopher Columbus, read on the 400th anniversary of his death by Dr. Dalla Vedona, is It is pointed out published in the Atti dei Lincei, xv., 11. that the work of Columbus initiated a new method of research by applying to navigation the theory of the sphericity of the earth. As the author remarks, the fundamental conception of Columbus was absolutely rational and absolutely scientific.

STEREOPHOTOMICROGRAPHY

forms

the subject of two papers in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society for June. One, by Mr. W. P. Dollman, of Adelaide, is illustrated by a photograph of polyzoa (Idmonea radians), the other, by Mr. H. Taverner, by groups of Foraminifera and the water mite (Ecpolus papillosus, Soar). In both cases the photographs were taken by successive exposures on the same plate with a screen cutting off half the objective.

Mosr teachers of geometrical optics have, at one time or another, devised arrangements for showing the paths of rays reflected at a mirror or transmitted through a lens; in general, however, such arrangements require time to be spent in their adjustment, and the results obtained are often very poor when the trouble taken in attaining them is considered. Prof. Hart! has laid all teachers of experimental optics under an obligation by

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Nature, Volume 74