2QO 



NATURE 



[April 27, 191 1 



Mist Chick and Dr. Martin give iin Interesting sum- 

 mary, with new cxp«rinientf, on the readiness with which 

 various rat flcns bite man (Journ. of Hygiene, x'u, 191 1, 

 No. 1). The matter is of importance with reference to the 

 spread of plague. They find that the common rat flea of 

 temperate regions (Ceratophyllus fascialus) readily bites 

 man. Two more specimens of Xenopsylla cheopit, the 

 common rat flea of India and other p.irts of the tropics, 

 have been captured by Dr. Boycott at Guy's Hospital. 

 Only oiie specimen of this flea has hitherto been recorded 

 in England. The destruction of fleas by exposure to the 

 sun Is dealt with by Captain Cunningham, I. M.S., in 

 No. 40 of the Scientific Memoirs of the Government of 

 Im!i;i It i>< found that in the hot sun of India fleas die 

 in about forty-five mlnufrs, thf result bring chiefly due to 

 the heat rays. 



To Mr. F. L. Dames, of Berlin, we arc indebted for a 

 coov of " Bibliotheca Entomolopica," a classified catalocue 

 of entomological works .and papers for sale at his establish- 

 ment, containing, in this instance, 763'^ items. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the 

 second number of The Nature Photographer, the official 

 ortran of the Nature Photographic Society. The feature of 

 this issue is a portrait of a prey wagtail, which is a superb 

 example of live-bird photography. 



In our laiit week's number reference was made to a 

 notice in the Aarsberetninc; of the Bergen Museum, of the 

 recent scientific cruise of the Michael Sars in the Atlantic. 

 A fullor .nnd well-illustrated article on the same subject, by 

 r")r. Joli.Tn Iliort, appears in Naturen for March and April. 

 After an introdtu (dry notice of the object and extent of the 

 cruise, at ii lit ion is directed to the hydrograph'cal results, 

 which include observations on temperature and salinity 

 taken at no stations, these bein^ illustrated by maps and 

 diaf^rams. After a short notice of the plankton, and 

 another of pelagic animals, the deep-sea fishes taken during 

 the cru'se rece've fuller attention, special interest attach- 

 inc to the maps illustrating the localities where specimens 

 of Cvclothone, Gonostoma, and Chauliodus were respectively 

 taken. 



Writing in his usual picturesque and attractive style. 

 Sir Harry Johnston, in the April number of The Quarterly 

 Rcvierv, pleads for the preservation of the fauna and flora, 

 not only of the British Empire, but of the world at 

 large. For he recognises that if effective measures are to 

 be t.nkon with this end in view, they ought to be taken 

 without delay. " lest, before we can put in force rej^ula- 

 tions to save from destruction the rarer and more wonder- 

 ful and beautiful of living forms on the earth's surfare, 

 they may be swept away for ever to gratify the whim or 

 the taste of the uneducated many." Sir Harry puts the 

 case in a very temperate manner, freely admitting that in 

 many districts. East Africa for example, the claims of 

 agriculture must be paramount, and that the wild fauna 

 should be mainly restricted to reserves. In urging that 

 such reserves should not be oj>ened even to personages of 

 the most exalted rank, the author has our full sympathy. 

 Whether he is justified in his belief that the Lado white 

 rhinoceros is even now in peril of extinction, may perhaps 

 be doubtful ; but we are in full accord with him in regard- 

 ing a recent much-advertised slaughter of the species as 

 altogether unjustifiable. That we ourselves are by no 

 means blameless in such matters, is, however, proved by 

 the evidence quoted as to the recent enormous destruction 

 of sea-elephants in South Georgia. 

 NO. 2165, VOL. 86] 



In the February number of The Cairo Scientific Journal 

 Mr. F. Ilughe« discusses the amount of silt carried by tli- 

 Nile during the floods of 1908 and iqio. Observatior. 

 were made near Cairo and at points on the Rosetta brandi 

 of the river, and results in parts per million of from i2o< 

 to aooo were obtained. Some examples were collected fron; 

 canals of various dimensions, and the reduction of coarser 

 suspended matter in some rases in subsidiary canals 

 very marked after a short distance. 



Thr Dutch Meteorological Institute publishes a series of 

 observations obtained by means of kites on board ship in 

 tropical latitudes. Forty-one ascents are given, 2360 metrf«i 

 being reached in one case. Naturally the sets of observa- 

 tions at any one place are few, but the material will be of 

 value in connection with such other information as accumu- 

 lates in these little investigated regions. Pressure, tem- 

 perature, humidity, and wind force and direction are given. 



In the April number of The Geographical Journal the 

 positions of nineteen geodetic positions of stations of the 

 Ujjanda are given. The War Office intend to publish a 

 full account of the operations and calculations connected 

 with this work, and in a second part to discuss the local 

 attraction, based on a comparison between the above 

 positions, and the astronomical latitudes now being com- 

 puted by the Belgian astronomer, M. Dehalu. The same 

 number contains a reference to Dr. K. Peucker's proposals 

 for the colouring of relief maps, for which aerial locomo- 

 tion has produced demand. His method is based on the 

 teachings of physiological optics, and there is certainly 

 room for a more scientific and less empirical study of 

 cartography in this country than has hitherto obtained. 



A CKOGRAPHiCAL report on the Franz Josef Glacier ha* 

 been published by the New Zealand Department of Mines. 

 Mr. J. M. Bell, the director, examined the area in 1908 

 and 1909, a topographical survey of the glacier and its 

 tributaries being made with theodolite and phototheodolite. 

 A number of points were fixed and marked for future 

 reference, for the frontal face of the main glacier is tfver 

 changing and it is difficult to determine its general direc- 

 tion -of movement ; on the whole, it seems to have re- 

 treated in recent times, and now stands at a point 692 feet 

 above sea-level. Measurements of a series of points on the 

 glacier surface gave rates of movement of from a foot a 

 day near the side to about double this amount near the 

 centre. 



In " Extracts from Narrative Reports, 1907-8," of the 

 Survey of India, are given more detailed results than can 

 be included in the annual report. The diurnal variation 

 of horizontal magnetic force was determined at Trichinopoly, 

 in southern India; and a comparison of the magnetic 

 instruments at Dehra Dun with those which Mr. D. C. 

 Sowers, of the Carnegie Institute, had used while travelling 

 overland from Pekin to Srinagar, was made. Full details 

 of the secular change values for each month are given 

 at each of the four magnetic observatories of Dehra Dun, 

 B.nrrackpore, Toungoo, and Kodiak;5nal, as well as hourly 

 means of declination and horizontal force. The section 

 dealing with tidal and levelling operations gives the values 

 of the tidal constants for the eight stations in operation. 

 Binocular American precise levels were used by one party, 

 and were to be used by all parties in the following season, 

 by which change an appreciable increase in the rate of 

 work was attained. In the work of the pendulum partj 

 the changes in the times of vibration of each of the four 

 pendulums from 1904 to 1909 are given and discussed. 



