Dec. 19, 1878] 



NATURE 



145 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Studies from the Physialogical Laboratory in the . Uni- 

 versity of Cambridge. Edited by the Trinity Praelector 

 in Physiology. Part III. (Cambridge : Printed at the 

 University Press, 1877.) 



This volume of 165 pages, together with numerous 

 elaborate plates — the largest of the Cambridge Biological 

 " Studies '■' yet published — is a most pleasing indication 

 of a vigorous spirit of research in a body "which has by 

 many been thought to be solely educational. It is not, 

 indeed, the number of the memoirs and papers here 

 collected, but their quality, which makes them worthy of 

 the university whose name they bear on the title-page. 

 In quantity they are far from commensurate with the 

 latent means and opportunities of the colleges and Uni- 

 versity of Cambridge, but in their thoroughness and 

 dignity they display a spirit which would do honoiu: to 

 any university. They represent a new feature in the 

 history of biological science in this country, viz., the 

 recognised official charge of biological research in high 

 places, where it has been too long neglected. The Bio- 

 logical and Physiological School of Cambridge is a rare 

 and valuable "sport" in the offspring of an organism of 

 decided conservative tendencies : may we not hope that, 

 ere long, Oxford will give birth to a similar healthy 

 monster ? 



' All the papers of this volume have been'published 

 before in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, or 

 elsewhere ; but we are not the less glad, on that account, 

 to see the present collection. If the cause of scientific 

 research were more secure in England than it is, the 

 publication of special collections of memoirs of the 

 various schools might be held to be an unnecessary luxury, 

 or even —since rivalry may become ungenerous— a posi- 

 tively dangerous habit. Under our present conditions, 

 however, it is not only pleasant to be reminded now and 

 s^in of the various centres of organised research among 

 us, but it materially strengthens the hands of English 

 ^ientific workers to invest the different growing schools 

 with somewhat of a personal and individual interest. 



The volume contains physiological and anatomical 

 papers, chiefly in zoology, but also in botany. Dr. Michael 

 Foster and ^Ir. Dew-Smith contribute a most interesting 

 paper on the effects of the constant current on the heart, 

 which is a continuation of the work they did on the 

 reaction of the snail's heart to electrical currents. Mr. 

 J. N. Langley has a paper on the action of pilocarpin on 

 the submaxillary gland of the dog. ' Mr. Gaskell reprints 

 one of his papers on the vaso-motor nerves of striated 

 muscles. Mr. F. JNI. Balfour contributes an important 

 section of his now published monograph on the develop- 

 ment of elasmobranch fishes, viz., the development of 

 their spinal nerves; as well as a paper on the spinal 

 nerves of amphioxus. Mr. Marshall follows with a paper 

 on the development of the nerves in birds. Mr. Bullar 

 has a paper, with plates, on the generative organs of 

 parasitic isopoda ; Mr. Bridge one on the cranial oste- 

 ology of Aniia calva, also admirably illustrated ; and ^Ir. 

 Sidney Vines a short communication on the digestive 

 ferment of nepenthes. 



The American Quarterly Microscopical Journaly contain- 

 ing the Transactions of the New York Microscopical 

 Society. Edited by Rom>Ti Hitchcock. Vol. I., No. i. 

 October. (New York : Hitchcock and Hall, 1878.) 

 Commencing, as this new journal does, on the lines of 

 our own Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, and 

 somewhat under the like auspices, we trust it may have 

 the same worthy career, and be equally well thought of. 

 The first number is beautifully printed on excellent paper, 

 and contains some eighty-two pages belonging to the 

 M^^ proper, while the Transactions of the New York 

 Microscopical Society extend to some sixteen pages more. 



The six plates, on their part, are good, but not up to the 

 same standard of execution as the letterpress, and fall a 

 good deal below those that generally appear in our own 

 microscopical journal. The chief contents of this part 

 are — i. On the Sting of the Honey Bee, by J. D. Hyatt. 

 Plates I. and II. 2. Description of some New Species 

 of Diatoms, by H. L. Smith. Plate III. 3. Observa- 

 tions on several Forms of Saprolegniacese, by F. B. 

 Hine. Plates IV. to VI. Only the first part of this 

 paper is given, and the list of works referred to 

 by the author is given at the end of the paper, 

 so perhaps it may be premature to suggest that English 

 writers on this subject are not altogether wanting, as he 

 would seem to think; but has he not Dr. Lindstedt's 

 Synopsis, and does not this refer to such ? 4. The Oil 

 Immersion Lenses of Zeiss compared with the Objectives 

 of Spencer and Sons, by H. L. Smith. 5. On the Micro- 

 scopical Examination of Fibers (fibres ?), by W. H. Seaman. 



6. Emigration in Passive Hyper aemia, by W. T. Belfield. 



7. On a New Device for Dark-field Illumination, by 

 W. Leighton. Among the shorter articles we may men- 

 tion one reprinted, with full acknowledgment, on the 

 Spore Formation in the Mesocarpeae, from our own. 

 columns, and an account of the National Microscopical 

 Congress held last August at Indianapolis, Indiana. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 



[ TTie Editor does not hold himself resfonsille for opinions expressed 

 by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, ^r 

 to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No 

 notice is taken of anonymous communications. 



\The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as 

 short as possible. Ihe pressure on his space is so great that it 

 is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of com- 

 munications containing interesting and novel /acts.} 



Locusts and Sun-Spots 



As the locust {(Edipoda mi^ratoria, or Acridium perigrinum?) 

 is a frequent and occasionally aggravating accompaniment of 

 drought and famine, it cannot but be interesting to notice that 

 periodical incursions of this insect into the temperate zone are 

 apparently regulated in some way by the terrestrial meteoro- 

 logical abnormalities which accompany the varying phases of the 

 sun-spots. 



Dr. F. G. Hahn, in his treatise " Ueber die Beziehungen der 

 Sonnenfleckenperiode zu meteorologischen Erscheinungen," 

 atfer remarking that locusts wiU probably only visit the tempe- 

 rate regions in great numbers during unusually hot and dry years 

 (on account of the brood), and abandon them again in wet and 

 cold years, shows, from a list furnished by Dr. W. Koppen, of 

 Hamburg, embracing the period 1800- 1862, that in Europe they 

 begin coming about the epoch of minimum sun-spot, paying 

 annual visits from thence up to the epoch of maximum sun-spot, 

 after which they disappear altogether until the next following 

 epoch of sun-spot minimum. . 



In the following table I give Dr. Hahn's dates for their visita- 

 tions in Emrope, with some additional ones on the authority of 

 M. Camille Flammarion, and Mr. Walford of the Statisrical 

 Society, which include other regions of the north temperate 

 zone. I also give the corresponding sun-spot epochs in each 

 case, according to Wolf. The capital letters in parentheses 

 attached to the dates, indicate the authorities respectively 

 alluded to above. 



Locusts. Sun-Spots. 



Date of Visitation in Temperate Zcne. Min. 



1613(F) i6io-8 



1690(F) 1689-5 



1 748 '-1749(F) 17450 



1800 annually up to 1806(H) , I798'3 



1811 „ „ 1816(H) i8io-6 



1820 „ „ 1829(H) } 18233 



1832(F) 1834(F) 1837 annually up to 1839(H) 1833-9 



1844 annually up to 1848(H) I 1843-5 



185s „ „ 1862(H) j 18560 



1866(F) 1868 (W) 1867-2 



1874 annually up to 1878 (W) I l877{?)- 



See Gentleman's Magazine for July, 1748, pp. 331 and 414. 



Max. 

 1615-0 

 1693-0 



f75o-3 



1804 -2 

 1816-4 

 1829-9 

 1837-2 

 1848-1 



i86o-i 

 1870-6 



