November 17. iq»o] 



NATURE 



8=; 



the fangs of venomous serpents, for introducing the poison 

 they secrete into the bodies of their victims. In a speci- 

 men of Thalassophryne reticulata examined by the authors 

 the poison-sac was found to occupy the whole length of 

 the under side of the spine. The position of the sac is 

 ich that any pressure tending to drive the spine into the 

 ;in of another animal would produce a pressure on the 

 ic, and thus inject the poison with considerable force into 

 e wound. 



The ova and larvae of teleostean fishes taken at 

 Plymouth in the spring and summer of 1909 form the 

 ..bject of the chief article in the Journal of the Marine 

 ■ ological Association (October). The work was specially 

 reeled to practical questions connected with the fishing 

 dustry, such as the location of spawning areas, the dura- 

 tion of the spawning period, and the relative extent of the 

 breeding of various kinds of fishes in the Plymouth area 

 rather than to details of purely biological interest, and 

 accordingly the descriptions of the eggs and larvae form- 

 ing the subject of the article bear special reference to the 

 means of ready identification at different stages of develop- 

 ment. A striking feature in the collection of pelagic 

 ■ :Jgs was the overwhelming preponderance of those of non- 

 arketable species, such as rockling, rock-wrasse, boar- 

 ~h. and dragonets. It may be assumed, if sufficient 

 uTiples be taken, that the relative abundance of eggs in 

 ihe plankton affords a trustworthy index to the pro- 

 portionate numbers of adult fish at the spawning season, 

 and it may therefore be expected that in inshore areas 

 such eggs should be largely those of rockling and wrasse. 

 nut this does not explain the predominance of dragonets, 

 ar-fish, &c., over whitings, dabs, plaice, and soles. 

 Although the latter are the objects of attention on the 

 part of trawlers, it is still an open question to what 

 xtent the present state of affairs may be attributed to 

 awling. 



In the Biologisches Centralblatt (October 15) is published 

 le first portion of an article, by Prof. K. Goebel, on 

 xual dimorphism in plants, discussing the extent to 

 vhich dioecious plants are modified apart from the sexual 

 organs. Examples of specific differences in seed plants 

 . are rare. Cannabis sativa is often quoted as a good 

 , example, although the author doubts if there is much dis- 

 tinction in a praefloral stage ; he also questions whether 

 : is possible to distinguish staminate and pistillate speci- 

 aents of Cycas, Taxus, and Juniperus when not in flower. 

 \mongst cryptogams better examples occur, notably in 

 le case of such liverworts as Symphyogyne leptothele, 

 hich is figured. The fundamental reason for the differ- 

 nces lies in the necessity for providing more nourishment 

 for the products of the egg cell, and this also explains the 

 (lositions of the sexual organs in monoecious plants. 



The current number of Tropical Life (No. 9, vol. vi.) 

 contains several articles on cotton cultivation both in the 

 British Empire and the United States. In Egypt, Mr. 

 Foaden points out, cotton occupies from one-half to one- 

 third of the total acreage of cultivated land in those 

 provinces where the conditions are suited to its growth, 

 while the value of the crop is from 25,000,000/. to 

 30,000,000/. annually. Unfortunately, there has been a 

 gradual fall in \ield per acre during the past few years, 



he cause of which has been variously attributed to a rise 



1 the subsoil water brought about by increased irriga- 

 on, to an increase in insect pests, and to soil exhaustion. 



I hough the fertility of the Nile Valley is proverbial, the 

 jils are usually deficient in nitrogen ; crops show re- 



aarkable increases when nitrate of soda is applied or 

 when a crop of clover — berseem — is ploughed in. 



NO. 2142, VOL. 85] 



In the current number of the Fortnightly Review Mr- 

 J. Sa.xon Mills writes on the production of sugar from 

 sugar beet, which he regards as one of the most hopefuf 

 schemes yet suggested for the benefit of rural districts. 

 All the arguments in favour of the crop are set out con- 

 cisely, and some very persuasive statistics are given. FielJ 

 trials in Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Essex, and at Newnham 

 Paddox have shown that crops varying from 15 to 20 tons 

 per acre can be obtained containing 16 to 18 per cent, of 

 sugar, while the Continental crops are lower both in 

 quantity and in sugar content. Indeed, sugar beet is 

 actually grown on a commercial scale in parts of the 

 eastern counties, but is shipped to Holland to be worked 

 up in the Dutch factories. It is contended that factories 

 would prove highly advantageous in English countrj' dis- 

 tricts, and would also prove a remunerative investment. 

 .As several factories are already being started in England, 

 it ought not to be long before very definite information is 

 forthcoming on this question. 



The report on the Experiment Station, Tortola, Virgin 

 Islands, for 1909-10, is to hand, and records certain^ 

 improvements and additions to the station in connection 

 with the sugar and cotton work and the water supply. 

 The export trade in sweet potatoes and limes shows signs 

 of increasing, while it has also been shown that a limited 

 quantity of cacao could be produced for export. The cotton 

 industry received a check owing partly to a fall in price 

 and partly to bad weather ; early planting is recommended 

 as an improvement in cultivation. The report on the 

 Botanic Station, Agricultural School and Experimentaf 

 Plots, St. Lucia, 1909-10, shows that continued and steadv 

 progress is being made. During the year no fewer than 

 77.557 plants were sent out for distribution from the 

 station, against 43,492 for the previous year. A scheme for 

 prize-holdings competitions has been introduced, and will, 

 it is hoped, raise the general level of cultivation. 



In a paper read at the November evening meeting of the 

 Pharmaceutical Society, Prof. H. G. Greenish and Miss 

 D. M. Braithwaite described a method by which the 

 presence of the drug-room beetle (Sitodrepa panicea) mav 

 be readily detected in powdered drugs. The quantity- of 

 beetle present in an infested drug is so small that its direct 

 examination under the microscope is practically impossible, 

 and it is therefore necessary to separate the particles of 

 insect from the drug before they can be observed. The" 

 process of separation devised by the authors is dependent 

 upon the fact that the hardened parts of the mature beetle 

 are of such a highly chitinous character and so extremely 

 resistant to the action of acids, alkalies, and oxidising 

 mixtures that it is possible to destroy the organic matter 

 of the powdered drug without destroying the beetle. It is 

 possible by means of the process described to detect 

 particles of beetle in a powdered drug containing 

 oooooi gm. of beetle in 5 gms. of powder. By the use 

 of this method it can be shown whether a powdered drug 

 is prepared from " worm-eaten " or sound material. In 

 the course of their investigations the authors found that 

 while the larvae of the beetles undoubtedly ingest con- 

 siderable quantities of starch, only a small proportion of 

 this appears to be digested. It seems probable that the 

 substances chiefly utilised as nutriment by the lar\ae are 

 not carbohydrates, but nitrogenous substances, such as the 

 remains of protoplasm, &c. 



Blackhead is a highly infectious disease of turkeys 

 prevalent wherefver they are domesticated, and causes great 

 financial loss each year. The symptoms are voluntary 

 isolation, Stupor, loss of appetite, drooping of the wings. 



