December 30, 1897] 



NATURE 



215 



and thorough. In the college course, if anything besides 

 English is required, and I think there should be, I would have 

 the natural science as necessary a part of the education as 

 language and mathematics. I would not have it possible for a 

 student to graduate from the college without having studied, and 

 thoroughly studied, mathematics as far as trigonometry, at least 

 one foreign language, and at least one physical and one 

 biological science. And I do not mean a few weeks of study in 

 any of these branches, but exhaustive, careful, critical study. 

 The methods of study in all these branches are diverse, and are 

 absolutely essential for symmetrical mind-building," 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, November 25. — "Further Note on the 

 Transplantation and Growth of Mammalian Ova within a 

 Uterine Foster-Mother." By Walter Heape, M.A., Trinity 

 College, Cambridge. 



In 1890 an experiment was recorded {Roy. Soc. Proc, vol. 

 xlviii. ), designed to show that it is possible to make use of the 

 uterus of one variety of rabbit as a medium for the growth and 

 complete foetal development of fertilised ova of another variety 

 of rabbit. The experiment was further undertaken in order to 

 determine what effect, if any, a uterine foster-mother would 

 have upon her foster-children, and whether or not the presence, 

 during development, of foreign ova in the uterus of a mother 

 would affect offspring of that mother present in the uterus at the 

 same time. In this experiment, two fertilised ova obtained from 

 an Angora doe rabbit which had been inseminated thirty-two 

 hours previously by an Angora buck, were inserted into the 

 fallopian tube of a Belgian Hare doe, which had been in- 

 seminated three hours before by a buck of the same breed as 

 herself ; and in due course the Belgian Hare doe littered six 

 young, four of which were Belgian Hares, while the other two 

 were Angoras. This year experiments were made with Dutch 

 and Belgian Hare rabbits, and the method adopted was the same 

 as that described above, the result being that the Belgian Hare 

 foster-mother gave birth to seven young, of which five were 

 Belgian Hares and two were apparently Dutch. Both these 

 Dutch young were, however, irregularly marked, and it ap- 

 peared possible, 'after all, either (i) that the Belgian Hare foster- 

 mother had influenced the Dutch fertilised ova, or (2) that 

 these two young were really a cross between Dutch and Belgian 

 Hare. 



In order to test the first of these possibilities, the same Dutch 

 buck was put to a tried, thoroughbred Dutch doe, and she pro- 

 duced a litter, every one of which was badly marked, thus 

 showing that the bad marking of the foster-children can be 

 justly attributed to their father's influence. The second pos- 

 sibility was more difficult to test. A cross between the Dutch 

 buck and the Belgian Hare foster-mother was obviously possible, 

 for when the foreign Dutch segmenting ova were introduced 

 into the fallopian tube of the Belgian Hare foster-mother, they 

 were still surrounded by spermatozoa from the Dutch buck, 

 which were still alive, though failing in vigour. But the Belgian 

 Hare doe had been inseminated -by a Belgian Hare buck just 

 before the operation, and the spermatozoa from this buck would 

 arrive at the end of the fallopian tube before ovulation took 

 place ; it would be at least twenty-four hours younger than the 

 foreign Dutch spermatozoa, and both more vigorous and in far 

 greater numbers than the latter. The possibilities are distinctly 

 in favour of the host of younger and more vigorous Belgian 

 Hare spermatozoa beating the few older and less vigorous, 

 foreign, Dutch spermatozoa in the struggle for the Belgian Hare 

 ova ; but, at the same time, it is possible that the latter won. 

 The only way to test this at all seemed to be by crossing the 

 same Dutch buck with Belgian Hare does, and comparing the 

 offspring of such crosses with the young foster children. This 

 was done, and two Belgian Hare does each produced, in con- 

 sequence, five young. Of these, three were Belgian hares 

 splashed with white, one was black and white, three were fawn 

 or fawn and white (the fawn being mixed with a delicate bluish 

 dun shade), and three were thoroughbred Belgian Hares. The 

 father's influence was seen in the introduction of white and in 

 the fawn and dun colours. None of the young, however, at all 

 closely resembled the Dutch breed. ^ 



With regard to the foster-children, one of them died at an 



NO. 1470, VOL. 57] 



early age, but the second lived, and is now more typically Dutch 

 than it was when younger ; it is coloured and shaped remarkably 

 like the Dutch doe from which the foreign fertilised ova were 

 obtained. The remarkable likeness is in itself very strong 

 evidence of the origin of this young one, and when considered 

 in conjunction with the results obtained by crossing the Dutch 

 buck with Belgian Hare does, there can be little doubt it was 

 derived from Dutch parents. This result, supported by the 

 result obtained in 1890, is greatly in favour of the contention, 

 that it is possible to make use of a uterine foster-mother, and to 

 do so without thereby influencing any of the young which are 

 nourished by her. 



It is worthy of notice, if the above is true, that in case telegony 

 be actually demonstrated, the characteristics of a primary husband 

 transmitted to the offspring got by a secondary husband, can only 

 be so transmitted through the ova of the mother. 



" Mathematical Contributions to the Theory of Evolution. 

 IV. On the probable Errors of Frequency Constants and on 

 the Influence of Random Selection on Variation and Corr .-la- 

 tion." By Karl Pearson, F.R.S., and L. N. G. Filon, 

 University College, London. 



A brief indication of the nature of the contents of this paper 

 is given on p. 210. 



December 9 — "On the Calculation of the Coefficient of 

 Mutual Induction of a Circle and a Coaxial Helix, and of the 

 Electromagnetic Force between a Helical Current and a Uniform 

 Coaxial Circular Cylindrical Current Sheet." By J. Viriamu 

 Jones, F.R.S. 



Zoological Society, December 14. — Lieut. -Colonel H. H. 

 God win- Austen, F. R S. , Vice-President, in the chair. — Mr. 

 G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., offered some further remarks upon 

 the Siluroid Fish, Vandellia cirrhosa.—A communication was 

 read from Dr. E. A. Goeldi, " On Lepidosiren paradoxa from 

 the Amazons." This memoir treated of the geographical dis- 

 tribution of the Lepidosiren on the Amazons, and of its external 

 structure and dimensions, and gave an account of its habits in a 

 natural and captive state. — Mr. J. Graham Kerr gave an account 

 of his recent expedition, along with Mr. Budgett, to the Chaco 

 of Paraguay in quest of Lepidosiren : and made remarks on its 

 habits as there observed. Mr. Kerr also gave a general account 

 of the early stages of its development, drawing special attention 

 to the presence in the larva of external gills and a sucker similar 

 to those of the Amphibia. — A communication was read from Dr. 

 A. G. Butler, containing a list of thirty-three species of butter- 

 flies obtained by Mr. F. Gillett in Somaliland during the present 

 year, and giving the dates of the capture of the specimens and 

 their localities. — Mr. Old field Thomas read a paper entitled 

 '• On the Mammals obtained by Mr. A. Whyte in North Nyasa- 

 land, and presented to the British Museum by Sir H. H. 

 Johnston, K.C.B. ; being a fifth contribution to the Mammalogy 

 of Nyasaland." This memoir contained notes on sixty-one 

 species of Mammals, four of which were characterised as new, 

 viz. Macroscelides brachyrhynchus malosce, Crocidura lixa, 

 Myosorex sonlla, and Graphinrus johnstoiii. — A communication 

 was read from the Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge, F. R.S., de- 

 scribing a new genus and species of Acaridea (Eatonia scopiili- 

 /era) from Algeria. — A communication by Mr. J. Stanley 

 Gardiner, " On some collections of corals of the family Pocillo- 

 poridie from the South-west Pacific Ocean," was read by the 

 author. Twenty species of the genus Pocillopora and one of the 

 genus Seriatopora were enumerated and remarked upon, five 

 species of the former genus being described as new, viz. Pocillo- 

 pora septula, P. oblusata, P. coronala, P. rugosa, and P. 

 glomerata. — Mr. W. E. de Winton gave an account of a col- 

 lection of Mammals from Morocco, made by Mr. E. Dodson on 

 behalf of Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker. Twenty-one species were 

 enumerated as represented in the collection, of which the follow- 

 ing were described as new : Crocidura whitakeri, Mus pere- 

 grinus, and Leptis atlanticus. 



Dublin. 

 Royal Dublin Society, November 17. — Dr. F. T. Trouton, 

 F. R. S. , in thechair. — Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F. R. S. , presented 

 a paper upon atmospheres upon planets and satellites (see p. 207). 

 — Mr. W. E. Wilson, F.R.S., read a paper upon the apparent 

 cometary nature of the spiral nebula in Canes Venatici. The 

 paper was illustrated by a remarkably fine photograph of the 

 nebula taken in February 1897, by the author. — Dr. F. T. 

 Trouton read a paper upon the arrangement of the crystals of 



