6i6 



NA TURE 



[April 28. 1898 



the papers which call for special attention is an essay upon the 

 birds of the Oxford district, by Mr. F. Sidgvvick, in the Rugby 

 Society's report ; and one on birds and birds-nesting, by Mr. C. 

 Montford, in the Cheltenham Society's report. 



Arch^ologists will be interested in a paper on " Dwellings 

 of the Saga-time in Iceland, Greenland, and Vineland," by 

 Cornelia Horsford, which appears in the National Geographic 

 Magazijte (March). The Saga-time began with the colonisation 

 of Iceland in 875, and lasted for about 150 years, but little 

 definite knowledge exists as to the forms of the dwellings in 

 those days. The paper is illustrated by plans of Norse ruins 

 (so far as they are known) in Iceland and Greenland, and of a 

 supposed Norse ruin in Massachusetts. It will enable a com- 

 parison to be made between the different dwellings of the 

 Northmen and those of the native tribes of North America, from 

 the magnificent ruins of Copan to the long, narrow houses of 

 the Iroquois. 



Prof. William Somerville's sixth annual report on ex- 

 periments with crop and stock in the counties of Cumberland, 

 Durham and Northumberland, provides an excellent example 

 of useful technical education assisted by County Councils. In 

 the work of agricultural demonstration described in the pages 

 of the report, the Durham College 6f Science was associated 

 with the Councils of the counties above referred to, and the 

 information given will be distinctly valuable to the agricul- 

 turists of these counties. Of especial importance are the results 

 of rotation experiments which have been carried on for four 

 years on three Northumberland farms. The results obtained at 

 these stations are tabulated, but the detailed discussion of the 

 rotation experiments has not yet been completed. 



The fourth number of "The Psychological Index"— a 

 bibliography of the literature of psychology and cognate sub- 

 jects for 1897, compiled by L. Farrand and Howard C. Warren 

 — is a most useful publication for psychologists. The papers 

 are well classified, and there is an index of authors ; so it is 

 €asy to find what contributions have been made to the various 

 branches of the science, and what the various investigators have 

 done. There are 2465 titles in the Index, thus indicating con- 

 siderable activity in psychological science. The Index is issued 

 in connection with the Psychological Review, which is published 

 bi-monthly by the Macmillan Company. 



A Bulletin (No. 13, new series), containing a compilation, by 

 Dr. L. O. Howard, of recent laws and regulations against 

 injurious insects, and especially the San Jose scale, has been 

 issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The information 

 given will be of interest to persons engaged in trade with living 

 plants, and to horticultural and agricultural societies and others 

 wishing to propose legislation of the kind described. Another 

 Bulletin (No. 12), just issued by the U.S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, gives an account of the spread of the San Jose scale in 

 the United States during the last two years, and of the work 

 which has been done by economic entomologists in the effort to 

 subdue it. 



The latest phases of the controversy concerning the place 

 where John Cabot first landed in North America four hundred 

 years ago, are presented in a paper by Dr. S. E. Dawson, on 

 " The Voyages of the Cabots," published in the Transactions 

 of the Royal Society of Canada for 1897. Dr. Dawson con- 

 I eludes ' ' that there is no physical or geographical reason a priori 

 ■5 why Cape Breton may not have been Cabot's landfall, and that 

 the voyage was intended to be upon a westerly course. It will 

 also appear that all the conditions existing upon the North 

 Atlantic tend to make a westerly course swerve to the south, and 

 that there is, therefore, a strong preponderance of probability in 



NO. 1487, VOL. 57] 



favour of a landfall at Cape Breton." Positive evidence of 

 contemporary documents is shown to point to the same con- 

 clusion. 



Messrs. Masson and Co., Paris, will shortly publish the 

 following works of science : — " L' Anatomic comparee des 

 animaux basee sur I'embryologie," by Prof. Louis Roule ; 

 "Precis de Botanique medical e," by Prof. L. Trabut ; 

 " Elements de Botanique," by Prof. Ph. van Tieghem. 



Mr, T. R. Dallmeyer has just published a useful little book 

 entitled " A Simple Guide to the Choice of a Photographic 

 Lens." This book seems to be exactly suited to the require- 

 ments of a whole host of photographers, especially amateurs 

 who prefer to have their information retailed concisely and 

 simply by one who knows. A great feature of these thirty 

 pages is the appeal to diagrams which illustrate more clearly 

 than words many fundamental facts regarding lenses and their 

 behaviour. Four excellent platinobromide reproductions are 

 inserted, to illustrate the capabilities of the author's new 

 universal stigmatic lens, Series ii. F/6, which does the work of 

 practically four ordinary lenses. 



The firm of Gustav Fischer, Jena, announces for early 

 publication the following new works and new editions : — 

 " Ueber Herzbewegung und Herzstoss," by Dr. Ludwig Braun. 

 This volume will contain the results of an experimental study 

 of movements of the heart, analysed by means of a kinemato- 

 graph. — "Die Bakteriologie in der Milchwirtschaft," by Dr. 

 E. von Freudenreich. — The second part of Dr. Oscar Hertwig's- 

 work on " Die Zelle und die Gewebe," dealing with the general 

 anatomy and physiological properties of the tissues. — " Beitrage 

 zur Klinik der Riickenmarks-und Wirbeltumoren," by Dr. II. 

 Schlesinger. — The first section of " Mitteilungen aus der 

 Augenklinik," by Dr. J.. Widmark. — The fourth enlarged 

 edition of Dr. Robert .Wiedersheim's " Grundriss der ver- 

 gleichenden Anatomic der Wirbeltiere." 



The Chemical Publishing Company, Easton, Pennsylvania, 

 has published a second, thoroughly revised edition of" Labor- 

 atory Experiments on the Class Reactions and Identification of 

 Organic Substances," by Dr. A, A. Noyes and S. P. Mulliken. 

 A sixth edition of Mr. P. McConnell's serviceable " Note- 

 book of Agricultural Facts and Figures for Farmers and Farm 

 Students" has been published by Messrs. Crosby Lockwood 

 and Co. — The present state of knowledge of Rontgen radiation 

 and its practical applications is well stated in the second edition 

 of "Practical Radiography" by A. W. Isenthal and H. Snow- 

 den Ward, published by Messrs. Dawbarnand Ward. Many of 

 the illustrations in the book are very fine. — A revised and 

 enlarged edition (the sixth) of Messrs. Marion and Co.'s well- 

 known " Practical Guide to Photography " has just been issued. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include four Silver Pheasants {Euplocamus nycthe- 

 inerus) from China, presented by Mr. H. J. Veitch ; a Comm.on 

 Barn Owl {Strix flammed), captured at sea, presented by 

 Captain George Innes ; a Black-winged Peafowl {Pavo nigri- 

 pennis, i ) from Cochin China, presented by Mr. Richard H. J. 

 Gurney ; four Undulated Grass Parrakeets ( Melopstttacus undti- 

 latus) from Australia, presented by Mr, Aitchinson ; a Black- 

 bellied Sand Grouse (Pterocles arenarius) from Asia, a Pin- 

 tailed Sand Grouse [Pterocles alchata). South European, a Rosy 

 Bullfinch {Erythrospiza githaginea) from Algeria, presented by 

 Mr. E. G. B. Meade- Waldo ; two Common Bluebirds (Sialia 

 wilsoni) from North America, two Yellow-bellied Liothrix 

 {Liothrix luteus) from China, an Amaduvade Finch {Estrelda 

 amandava) from India, a Red-bellied Waxbill {Estrelda rubri- 

 ventris), a Ctimson-eared Waxbill {Estrelda phcenicotis) from 

 West Africa, presented by Miss Edith M. Kemp Welch ; four 



