February 8, 19 12] 



NATURE 



487 



grown above the roots of the tree in the ordinary 

 way. The conditions of the experiment seem to have 

 precluded any sufficient contact of the grass roots 

 with the tree soil to allow of the abstraction of plant 

 food, and, if the result is confirmed, it is difficult to 

 ivoid the conclusion that the grass roots have actually 

 ixcreted a toxin. 



As already stated, the United States Bureau of Soils 

 has long upheld the view that plants can excrete 

 toxic substances, but it has been generally supposed, 

 in this country at any rate, that the experiments of 

 Daubeny and others put the hypothesis out of court. 

 But Mr. Pickering has discovered an important pro- 

 perty which the toxin (if it exists) must possess ; it 

 is extremely transient, and disappears very^ rapidly 

 from the soil. No toxic effect can be detected in soil 

 removed from round grass roots, while even the wash- 

 ings from the trays above mentioned failed to have 

 any bad efTect if they/ijHere exposed for a short time 

 to air. 'tr. 



A very interesting problem has been thus opened 

 up, the development of which will be watched with 

 interest. E. J. R. 



THE BIRDS OF HOMER. 

 'T^HE advantages of the application of scientific 

 '■ knowledge to the literary problems of the 

 Homeric poems are well illustrated by an article con- 

 tributed to the second part of the "Journal of Hellenic 

 Studies" for 1911, by Mr. J. Maclair Boraston on 



ihe Birds of Homer." He remarks that "whether 

 in the form of epithet or by special description. 

 Homer's portrayal of birds deals chiefly with essen- 

 tials. In this lie the advantage and disadvantage of 

 the Homeric method for one whose main purpose is 

 concerned with what in Homer was merely contribu- 

 tory to a fuller one. The advantage of such a method 

 is that it forces essentials to the front, and the dis- 

 advantage, that the references to these may be limited 

 by the nature of the matter they serve to illustrate; 

 or that, being references to the characteristics of a 

 class of birds, they may not suffice for the illustration 

 of a particular member of that class." 



Dealing first with what Homer calls " carnivorous 

 birds," we find three mentioned, the first represented 

 by the bearded vulture (Gypaettis barbatus), the second 

 and third including the cinereous vulture {Gyps 

 monachus), the grifTon vulture (G. fulvtts), and the 

 Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopteriis). The poet 

 describes three eagles — "the high-flyer" and the 

 "ruddy," both apparently Bonelli's eagle (Hieraetus 

 fasciatus) in mature and immature plumage, while the 

 " morphnos " or " perknos " eagle, the "black" or 

 dark," and the " snatcher " are all names for the 

 j^olden eagle (Aquila chrysaetus). The general .terms 

 for the hawk or falcon include several birds — the gos- 

 hawk (Astiir paliimbarius), the sparrow-hawk {Acci- 

 piter nisus), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregriuus), 

 the lanner (F. lanariiis), the saker (F. saccr), the 

 merlin (F. aesalon), and the hobby (F. sttbbuteo). 

 Two varieties of owl are identified with the scops 

 (Scops giu) and the long-eared owl (Asia otus). Under 

 gulls Tlomer refers to no fewer than eight varieties, all 

 found at the present day in the Mediterranean. The 

 " diving seabird " includes various kinds of terns, 

 chiefly the common tern (Sterna fluviatilis). Under 

 the head of cranes we find the common crane (Grus 

 romtnunis), and the demoiselle (G. virf^o). Swans 

 include the mute swan (Cygnus olor) and the whooper 

 (('. musicus). Of geese we have the grey lag (Anscr 

 iiiicrcus), the bean goose (A. scgettim), and others. 

 \'nong miscellaneous birds we notice the grey heron 

 i rdca cinerea) ; the jackdaw (Corvus monedula) ; the 



NO. 2206, VOL. 88] 



starling {Stur)tiis unicolor and 5. vulgaris); the rock 

 dove [Columba livia); three thrushes— the fieldfare 

 (Tiirdus pilaris), the missel thrush (7". viscivorus), and 

 the redwing (T. iliacus); the common nightingale 

 (Daulias luscinia) ; the great titmouse (Partis major) ; 

 and the ring-dove (Columba palumbus). 



Mr. Boraston 's article records a number of interest- 

 ing details illustrative of bird-life in the Mediterranean,^ 

 which will be welcome not only to ornithologists but 

 to classical students, and a survey of the facts which 

 he has collected tends only to increase our admiration 

 for the genius and powers of accurate observation 

 possessed by the greatest of the epic writers. 



SIR JOHN DALRYMPLE-HAY. BART., G.C.B., 



F.R.S. 



A DMIRAL THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN 



^^ DALRYMPLE-HAY, Bart., G.C.B., F.R.S. . 



was born in Edinburgh op Fdjruary 11, 1S21, and 

 died in London on Januar\ jS. His naval carctr was 

 commenced in August, iSq, and he was placed on 

 the retired list in 1870, under Mr. Childers's scheme, 

 having attained flag rank as Rear-Admiral about four 

 years earlier, and having occupied various offices on 

 shore after ceasing to command the line-of- 

 battle ship /ndux in 1859. His active service 

 afloat, therefore, ceased in the year ■ when our 

 first seagoing ironclads were ordered. • "During 

 the thirty-six years comprised in that' service 

 he had witnessed the change from sails to steam 

 propulsion, serving nearly all the time in wood-built 

 sailing ships, and having commanded, as captain, the 

 Indus, which was the last sailing line-of-battle sh»p in 

 seagoing commission. Sir John Hay was present at 

 the capture of Acre by Sir Rupert Stopford, and later 

 (1849) greatly distinguished himself by the destruction 

 of a pirate flotilla in China. The latter service secured 

 for him promotion to the rank of captain ; and in 

 1855-6 he commanded the Hannibal, the flagship of 

 Sir Houston Stewart, second in command of the Black 

 Sea Fleet during the Crimean War. 



When Kinburn was bombarded by the French iron- 

 clad floating batteries. Sir John Hay was present, and 

 then obtained personal knowledge of the value of 

 armour as a protection against the attacks of the 

 most powerful naval guns and shell-fire available at 

 that date. It was natural, therefore, that he should 

 have been appointed chairman of the Iron-plate Com- 

 mittee which was established in i860 to carry out 

 experiments on armour, and to investigate the innu- 

 merable proposals and inventions submitted for adop- 

 tion in the Royal Navy. In a period of rapid change 

 and transition in naval materiel it was a wise step to 

 appoint that committee, and to associate in its mem- 

 bership both distinguished officers and eminent 

 engineers and men of science — including Sir William 

 Fairbairn, Dr. Percy, and Dr. Pole — whose authority 

 on questions of metallurgy and engineering was gener- 

 ally recognised, while their advice and assistance in 

 the conduct of experiments and the analysis of results 

 were of great value. 



In his conduct of the afTairs of this committee. Sir 

 John Hay displayed great tact and marked ability, 

 often in circumsianci •. nf considerable difficulty, in- 

 ventors being both s. nsiiiv, and ready to take offence 

 when their proposals were criticised or rejected. Re- 

 cognition of the value of his work came to Sir John 

 Hay from technical and scientific societies; he was 

 elected a vice-president of the Institution of Naval 

 Architects in 1S62, and a Fellow of the Royal Society 

 in 1864. Throughout his long life Sir John Hav con- 

 tinued to take an active interest in both these societies, 

 and in connection with the Naval Architects he played 



