590 



NA TURE 



[April 21, 1898 



We have received the first part (for 1896-97) of the Trans- 

 actions of the British Mycological Society. Descriptions are 

 given of several new Fungi, or of species new to Britain. 



The Boianisches Centralblatt states that Dr. C. Marchesetti 

 has undertaken a botanical expedition to Upper Egypt and Pales- 

 tine ; and Dr. M. Pedersen (of Copenhagen), an investigation 

 of the vegetation of Disco Island, Greenland. 



At the venerable age of ninety. Prof. R. A. Philippi resigns 

 the directorship of the National Museum at Santiago, Chile, 

 which he has held for forty-three years. He is succeeded by 

 his son. 



As "Circular No. 13," the United States Department of 

 Agriculture (Division of Botany) publishes a description, with 

 excellent drawings, of the edible and poisonous Fungi natives of 

 the States, by Mr. Frederick V. Colville. 



Prof. D. P. Penhallow reprints from the Transactions of 

 the Royal Society of Canada a useful review of Canadian 

 botany from 1800 to 1895, being a paper read before the 

 Botanical Section at the last meeting of the British Association. 



The American Naturalist for February gives a full account 

 of the first annual meeting of the Society for Plant Morphology 

 and Physiology, held at Ithaca, N.Y., on December 28 and 29, 

 1897, at which many important and interesting botanical papers 

 were read. 



The Botanical Gazette for March gives a list of the persons 

 officially designated by the Government as botanists or myco- 

 logists in the United States, fifty in numl)er. These are situated 

 at fifty-one State experiment stations. Every State in the Union, 

 with the exception of ten, has its State botanist. New York and 

 Connecticut having two each. 



The firm of J. B, Bailliere et fils, of Paris, is publishing a 

 *' Bibliographie Botanique," to appear in five monthly parts of 

 32 pp., each of two columns. The first fascicle, comprising the 

 letters A to C, will appear shortly. The titles of about 10,000 

 volumes and pamphlets will be included in the work ; the date 

 of publication, number of pages, and some account of the 

 contents will, in each case, be included. 



Under the title, Die Metamorphose der Pflanzen, im 

 Lichte palceontologischer Thalsachen, the well-known paloeont- 

 ologist. Dr. Potonie adduces arguments, derived from the geo- 

 logical history of plants, in favour of the view that all the 

 higher forms of vegetable life have been derived, by metamor- 

 phosis, from the forking of an archaic thalloid structure. 



The Biologisches Centralblatt continues to publish a succes- 

 sion of interesting papers in both branches of Biology. The 

 phenomena of impregnation in the Rhizopods, non-sexual pro- 

 pagation in Phanerogams, the relationship between the arctic 

 and the antarctic plankton, spermatogenesis in Paludina vivi- 

 para, the relationships between Phanerogams and Cryptogams, 

 are among the subjects discussed in the most recent numbers. 



We learn from \\^& Journal of Botany that a new British flora 

 is in preparation by the Rev. E. F. Linton, who will take the 

 London Catalogue for the basis of his work. A large number of 

 " forms," and not a few distinct species, have been added to our 

 flora since the publication of the last edition of the existing 

 manuals. The publication is also announced of a flora of 

 Cheshire by the late Lord de Tabley, which will be edited by 

 Mr. Spencer Moore. The flora of Kent, by Mr. F. J. Hanbury 

 and the Rev. E. S. Marshall, is nearly ready for the press. 



Petermann's Mittheilungen contains a new geological map of 

 ^jjava and Madura, by Dr. R. D. M. Verbeek, which is a con- 

 NO. i486, VOL. 57] 



siderable advance on that published by Junghuhn in 1855. A 

 short paper discusses the relation of the topography of the 

 islands to their geological structure. 



Dr. Max Eckert, of Leipzig, contributes a paper to Peter- 

 majtn^s Mittheilungen on the Karren and Schratten districts of 

 the German Alps. Various forms of primary and secondary 

 Karren are recognised ; the most typical form occurring in pure 

 chalk at levels where weathering is greatest — i.e. between i6co 

 and 2300 metres. 



In a paper published in the Zeitschrift fiir praktische Geologic, 

 Prof. Dr. Rudolf Zuber, of the University of Lauberg, discusses 

 modern theories of the formation of petroleum. The author 

 believes that the hypotheses at present in the field are either too 

 purely chemical or too purely geological, and he criticises a 

 number of them from this point of view, without, however, 

 advancing anything definitely new to take their place. 



We have received a reprint, from the American Antiquarian^ 

 of a paper on the geography of the Tsimshian Indians, by Mr. 

 G. A. Dorsey. The Tsimshian Indians form one of the most 

 important stocks of the North-west ; they inhabit villages on 

 the Nass and Skeena rivers of British Columbia, and are distinct 

 in language from the neighbouring tribes. Mr. Dorsey's paper 

 chiefly consists of a list of the villages, and notes as to name, 

 position, &c., of each. 



The instruments devised for recording the occurrence of an 

 earthquake, or analysing its motion are very numerous, and are 

 described in many scientific journals. Dr. R. Ehlert has, there- 

 fore, rendered a great service by collecting and classifying in 

 one memoir (Gerland's Beitrdge zur Geophysik, vol. iii. ) the 

 accounts of all the more important seismographs and seismo- 

 scopes that have so far been constructed. 



The latest addition (No. 1084) to the Smithsonian Miscel- 

 laneous Collections is a "Bibliography (1748- 1896) of the 

 Metals of the Platinum Group " — platinum, palladium, irid ii>, 

 rhodium, osmium, ruthenium — by Prof. J. L. Howe. The 

 publication of this volume was recommended by the Committee 

 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 

 having charge of indexing chemical literature. All papers upon 

 metals of the platinum group found in scientific literature to the 

 close of 1896 are given in the order of the date of appearance, 

 and are also indexed according to subjects and authors. It is- 

 thus easy to determine what papers have been published upon 

 the physical and chemical characteristics and properties of any 

 members of the platinum group of metals. The volume will 

 therefore be of the highest value to many scientific investi- 

 gators ; and by publishing it the Smithsonian Institution has- 

 increased the obligations which men of science owe to the 

 Institution for making works of this character available. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cyitomolgus, S ) 

 from India, presented by Mr. H. Times ; a Silver-backed Fox. 

 (Canis chama), a Suricate (Suricata tetradactyla) from South 

 Africa, presented by Mr. W, Champion ; a Grey-breasted 

 Parrakeet {Myopsittacus monachus) from Monte Video, pre- 

 sented by Mrs. Evelyn Heathcote ; a Gold Pheasant (T-^aM- 

 malea picta, <J ) from China, presented by Mrs. Abbot Robinson ; 

 a Long-necked Chelodine [Chelodina longicol/is) from Australia, ■ 

 presented by Mr. R. Kirkwood ; an Isabelline Bear ( [/rsus 

 isabellinus) from India, deposited ; a Red-vented Cockatoo 

 {Cacatua hcematuropygia) from the Philippine Islands, two Toco 

 Toucans {Ramphastos toco) from Guiana, a Lapwing ( Vanellus 

 cristatus, two Knots ( Tringa canutus) from Lincolnshire, pur- 

 chased ; a Gayal {Bibos frontalis, 9 ), a Mouflon {Ovis musimott, 

 (J ), a Hog Deer {Ce^vus porcinus, 9 ), born in the Gardens. 



