NATURE 



[Nov. 7, 1878 



recommendation. We believe the author has omitted by- 

 far the most important reason, viz., the deposit of heavy- 

 road detritus caused by the admission of storm waters, 

 which retards the free flow of the sewage and retains a 

 mass of decomposable matter in the sewers quite suffi- 

 cient to account for the abominable effluvium emitted by 

 the gullies and ventilators of the London system. A 

 reason advanced for the admission of surface water into 

 sewers given by the author, and to which much weight is 

 attached, is the fact that it was found by the analyses of 

 Prof. Way that the washings from the streets of London 

 resulting from rainfall were equal in impurity to average 

 sewage. If the surface of our streets is permitted to 

 become so filthy that, even when diluted with rain-water, 

 the product is only suited for admission into the sewer, 

 it would surely be better to turn more attention to the 

 collection and carting away of the filth rather than to 

 get it washed away out of sight where its presence will not 

 be remarked until the next dry weather renders it painfully 

 apparent. It is somewhat to be regretted that the author 

 has not devoted a small amount of space to a subject 

 having so important a bearing on the sanitary condition 

 of a town and the successful operation of a system of 

 sewerage as the scavenging of streets, especially when 

 we consider how much improvement in this respect is 

 needed in the metropolis. We believe that in London 

 and other large towns, the saving in the destruction of 

 clothing would at least pay for the proper cleansing of the 

 streets without making any allowance for the saving of 

 time and discomfort in locomotion. 



The chapters dealing with the properties of materials 

 and the construction of sewers, contain much useful 

 information derived from the author's own experience 

 and other sources, and may be consulted with much 

 advantage by those engaged on works not only of this, 

 ■■'but of other descriptions. 



The much vexed question of sea outfalls and the influ- 

 ence of tidal currents on the selection of site is discussed, 

 <but it seems a pity that where ignorance and prejudice 

 demand this mode of disposal, the author should not have 

 laid stress upon the necessity of abstracting much of the 

 solid matters held in suspension, thus much diminishing 

 what is becoming an intolerable nuisance in many sea-side 

 places. In giving so much importance to dilution with 

 tidal water, it should have been borne in mind that this 

 takes place in the direction of the breadth and depth of 

 the volume of liquid discharged ; but in the case of the 

 solids floating on the surface, only in the former direction, 

 and in both cases very slowly, as may be seen by an inspec- 

 tion of the metropolitan outfalls. It is impossible in the 

 space at our disposal to notice the numerous details de- 

 scribed and illustrated ; the plates of all the more important 

 are carefully drawn and well executed, no trouble being 

 spared to make them thorough working drawings, while 

 a sufficient number of woodcuts are introduced amply to 

 illustrate the text. There are other books on this subject 

 of a more popular nature, containing most of the informa- 

 tion required by those who desire a general knowledge of 

 the subject freed from too technical matters, but this is 

 undoubtedly the best book hitherto published in this 

 country for the student of practical sanitary science and 

 for the engineer who requires a thorough treatment in 

 detail of that branch of his practice. 



THE NAPLES ZOOLOGICAL STATION 



Mittheilungen aus der zoologischen Station zu Neapel, 

 zugleich ein Reperatorium fiir Mittelmeerkunde. Erste 

 Band, I. Heft. (Leipzig : 1878.) 



SINCE the foundation of the Zoological Station at 

 Naples, nearly one hundred naturalists have worked 

 in the laboratory connected with it, and a goodly number 

 of papers, which have resulted from their labours, are 

 scattered through the biological periodicals of almost all 

 the civilised nations of Europe. Gratifying as this suc- 

 cess must be to Dr. Dohm, the founder of the institution,- 

 he does not show himself inclined to repose on his laurels, 

 but aims at still further extending the scope of the sta- 

 tion by startfng two publications in connection with it. 

 One of these, of which we have the first number before 

 us, is published in octavo size, and, as we learn from the 

 preface, is intended for smaller papers, and general 

 notes on the habits of animals living in the Aquarium^ 

 and other zoological topics. It will, moreover, be 

 the medium for recording the systematic observations 

 now being carried on by the permanent staff at the 

 station. The second publication will be in quarto size, 

 and will bear the title "Fauna u. Flora des Gulfes von 

 Neapel und der angrenzenden Meeresbezirke." As its 

 name indicates it will consist of fully illustrated mono- 

 graphs of the various groups of animals found in the Bay 

 of Naples or adjoining seas. The parts may be pur- 

 chased separately, or may be subscribed for by the 

 payment of i/. yearly. The contents of the first part of 

 the "Mittheilungen" promise very well. Dr. Schmidt- 

 lein, who manages the public aquarium, contributes three 

 short papers. One of them gives an interesting account 

 of the habits of a large number of the various animal forms 

 living in the aquarium. A second deals with the periodic 

 appearances of pelagic animals in the Bay of Naples during 

 the two past years, and the third is a list of the breeding 

 times of the marine forms inhabiting the Neapolitan seas. 

 Dr. Hugo Eisig, the general manager of the station^ 

 contributes a paper of very great importance on the 

 segmental organs of the Capitellidae. He shows that, in 

 some species of this group, it is normal for several seg- 

 mental organs to be present in a single segment, and 

 that the number of these organs present in a segment 

 increases in passing from before backwards. Dr. Eisig 

 compares the segmental organs in Annelids with the 

 segmental tubes in Vertebrata, and points out how closely 

 the arrangement he has found in the Capitellidae agrees 

 with that described by Dr. Spengel in some Amphibia. 

 There is an illustrated paper by Dr. Meyer on some 

 points of crustacean anatomy, and two botanical papers 

 by Drs. Falkenberg and Smitz. Dr. Dohm himself 

 communicates some observations on the Pycnogonida;, in 

 which he adduces a large amount of evidence to prove 

 that the view as to the number of their appendages 

 put forward by him some years ago, which was subse- 

 quently attacked by Semper, is, in all essential points, 

 correct. 



The number as a whole is very creditable to the 

 zoological station, and we may congratulate the founder 

 upon the continued prosperity of the institution, as 

 evinced by its ever-increasing activity in all directions. 



F. M. B. 



