; 9 6 



FRESH FACTS 



[may 1899 



Poisons of Parasites. G. H. F. Nuttall. " The poisons given off by 

 parasitic worms in man and animals," Amer. Nat. xxxiii. 1899, pp. 247-249. 

 In a short article in the March number of our American analogue, Mr. Nuttall 

 sums up the evidence advanced by Peiper and others to show that a number of 

 parasitic worms, both nematodes and cestodes, give off poisons within the body 

 of their hosts. These poisons may account for some of the peculiar symptoms 

 induced by the presence of the parasites. 



Submarine Photography. L. Bout an. " L'instantane dans la photogra- 

 phic sous-marine," Arch. Zool. Exper. vi. 1898, pp. 299-330, 4 pis. 8 figs. 

 The plates accompanying this paper show that the author has attained some 

 measure of success in submarine photography. At a depth of three metres good 

 instantaneous photographs may be obtained by utilising sunlight only and with- 

 out getting into the water. It is probable that photographs may be effectively 

 taken at much greater depths by utilising a powerful artificial light. 



Rock Structures. Catherine A. Raisin. " On certain structures 

 formed in the drying of a fluid with particles in suspension," Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 Lond. lxiii. 1899, pp. 217-227, 2 pis. The powder of various rocks, when 

 mounted in water for examination under the microscope, exhibits interesting 

 forms when dried. The paper considers the origin and method of experiments, 

 classification of forms produced, conditions and causes of formation, possible 

 applications in nature, and results affected by crystallisation. The results may 

 throw light on the origin of certain minor structures in rocks. 



At the March 21 meeting of the Zoological Society of London, Mr. F. E. 

 Blaauw gave an account of the breeding of the Weka Rail (Oeydromus australis) 

 and Snow-Goose (Chen hyperboreus) at Gooilust, N. Holland. The Rails could 

 not be induced to complete the periods of incubation, always eating the eggs 

 after sitting for a few days. One young was eventually hatched by placing an 

 egg under a bantam-hen. The Snow-Goose (a female) paired with a male 

 Cassin's Snow-Goose (C. caeridescens), and laid and hatched three eggs. The 

 young birds, it is said, were apparently assuming the plumage of the male 

 parent. 



