October 6, 1923] 



NA TURE 



,21 



Research Items. 



The Origin of American Quill-work. — The 

 ^methods of American quill-work are figured and 

 ' lescribed in the August issue of Man by Mr. H. Ling 

 ioth. Mr. Ling Roth remarks that the principle of 

 ipping the quill ends over a band of weft, twined- 

 rork, or sinew, distinguishes the technique of Ameri- 

 m quill-work from that of other peoples — Tyrolese 

 )r Nepalese — who practise quill decoration. But, 

 strange to say, the same method is used by Ainu 

 fmat-makers, and bearing in mind the ethnic connexion 

 'between north-east Asia and north-west America, he 

 suggests that the American technique was brought 

 from Asia, and that Americans in later times, finding 

 that the soft porcupine tail-quills were adaptable for 

 this form of decoration, made use of the comparatively 

 new-found material, and gave us the much-admired 

 quill-work ornamentation, an invention in itself of no 

 mean order. 



The Winnebago American Indians. — The chief 

 contribution to the thirty-seventh annual report of 

 the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1915-16, pub- 

 lished in the present year, is a monograph on the 

 Winnebago tribe by Mr. Paul Radin. The Winnebago 

 and closely related tribes, like the Missouri, Oto, and 

 Iowa, certainly represent the second westward migra- 

 tion of the Siouan tribes. It is impossible to say 

 when they entered Wisconsin, but if they can be 

 identified with the builders of the effigy mounds, they 

 came from the south or south-east. But it is remark- 

 able, if this theory be accepted, that no effigy mounds 

 are found in Illinois, and it may be assumed that the 

 Winnebago developed the mound-building habit after 

 they had reached Wisconsin ; or that other types of 

 mounds in Illinois are the work of them and kindred 

 tribes. It is also possible that since the effigy mounds 

 are undoubtedly associated with the clan organisation, 

 this type of social organisation was adopted by the 

 Winnebago only after they had entered Wisconsin. 

 This well-illustrated monograph gives an elaborate 

 account of the history, archaeology, material culture, 

 social customs, clan organisation, and the cults of the 

 Winnebago. 



The Thresher Shark. — In Science of July 13 

 Prof. W. E. Allen gave a description of the behaviour 

 I' of a thresher shark [Alopias vulpes), as observed by 

 him on the coast of California. We have received 

 rom Prof. Allen another account of the same occur- 

 rence. The shark was seen in pursuit of a small 

 ish, which it overtook, and then, turning sharply 

 iownwards and to the right, made a whip-like stroke 

 nth its long tail, almost instantly followed by another 

 Stroke ; as a result the victim was badly crippled and 

 rauld have been an easy prey, had the shark not been 

 Tightened off. Prof. Allen concludes that the long 

 /hip-like tail of Alopias is a highly efficient weapon 

 jfor crippling its prey, and he contrasts the methods of 

 lis shark with those used by the soupfin shark 

 Waleus zygopterus), which chases a fish with its mouth 

 lirected towards the fugitive, trying to snap it up 

 ?hen close enough to so so. 



The Periodicity and Migrations of Locusts. — 



[n the Bulletin of Entomological Research for July, 



" Ir. B. P. IJvarov discusses the habits of the swarming 



3cust, Schistocerca gregaria (peregrina), which is the 



>nly Old World representative of the genus. The 



Jcust Acridium flavivcntre, Burm., is regarded as no 



longer a distinct species but as the solitary phase of 



the dimorphic species 5. gregaria. Mr. Uvarov agrees 



irith the conclusion of Vosseler that the migration of 



5. gregaria either as nymphs or adults has nothing to 

 do with need for food or with the search for new 

 breeding-grounds, and a solution of the phenomenon 

 is not yet forthcoming. Kiinckel d'Herculais has 

 observed, and Vosseler has studied more thoroughly, 

 the extremely interesting colour changes in the 

 individuals forming migratory swarms. These changes 

 in 5. gregaria are very pronounced, and Mr. Uvarov 

 believes that they are in direct physiological con- 

 nexion with the maturation of the sexual products, 

 and of the development and reduction of the fat-body. 

 The life-cycle of this species is very poorly known and 

 its permanent breeding-grounds and the conditions 

 under which breeding takes place are greatly in need 

 of study. The author's conclusion regarding two 

 different phases of the species suggests a promising 

 line of investigation. Opportunities should be taken 

 during years of mass invasions to observe the con- 

 ditions of existence of the migratory phase, and also 

 during years of minimum prevalence, when the 

 solitary phase is most likely to be met with. Observa- 

 tions of this kind recorded by Morstatt in East Africa 

 suggest that the periodicity of locusts is not due to 

 invasions from outside, but to increased local multi- 

 plication under dry conditions. 



Surveys in North-West Yunnan. — In the 

 Geographical Journal for September there is published 

 a map of part of North-West Yunnan which has been 

 corrected by Mr. E. A. Reeves from the observations 

 of Prof. J. W. Gregory and Mr. C. J. Gregory, 

 Mr. Kingdon Ward, and Mr. E. C. Young. This 

 map shows that part of the Salween River between 

 about lat. 27° 30' N. and lat. 26° 30' N. is entirely 

 unmapped. Most of the longitudes depend upon 

 traverses and not on astronomical determinations. 

 The altitudes along Prof. Gregory's route are based on 

 a series of boiling-point observations. 



Distribution of Land and Sea in Past Times 

 IN Australasia. — Now that the hypothesis of drift- 

 ing continents has added a new fascination to palaeo- 

 geography, geologists will find the series of maps and 

 considerations put forward by Prof. W. N. Benson, 

 of the University of Otago, New Zealand, of permanent 

 value for consultation (" Palaeozoic and Mesozoic 

 Seas in Australasia," Trans. New Zealand Institute, 

 vol. 54, p. I, 1923). The paper is a highly interesting 

 " attempt to trace the geographical evolution of 

 Australasia," and the author concludes that the 

 opening of the Cainozoic era saw Australasia broken 

 into blocks, the various regions thenceforth having 

 individual and not connected histories. These regions 

 provide the geographical features traceable at the 

 present day. Prof. Benson takes us from the Tethys 

 belt to the Antarctic fringe, and he even includes 

 (pp. 46 and 48) such a detail as the evidence of 

 glaciation on the borders of Western Australia and 

 South Australia at the close of Cretaceous times. 



The Lavas of the Pacific Basin. — Dr. H. S. 

 Washington has traced the sequence of three t^^pes 

 of basic lavas in Hawaii in the past, and the irregular 

 outpouring of all of these types at the present day, 

 from the collation of a large series of analyses, 

 mostly due to his own work, and forming a very 

 solid contribution to petrography {Amer. Journ. Sci., 

 vol. 206, p. 465, June 1923, and vol. 207, p. 100, 

 August 1923). It may be remembered that this 

 indefatigable author (" The Deccan Traps and other 

 Plateau Basalts," Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 33, p. 

 803) has recently concluded that the marked fluidity 



NO. 2814, VOL. I I 2] 



