492 



NA TURE 



[March 27, 1879 



tcopic arc giving an exceptional brilliancy to the flame. He 

 reserved the question of cost in comparison with gas, and con- 

 fined himself to making a comparison between Wcrderman and 

 his competitors. M. Jamin has presented to the Academy of 

 Sciences a system of his own, which has been described in the 

 Comptes rcndus, and will be tried by the Jablochkofif Company. 

 Other systems are said to be preparing so that the partial failure 

 of bougies is giving rise to a renewed electric light agitation in 

 Paris. The members of the Municipal Council have determined 

 to give fair play to any rational experiments. 



As the result of the experiment of lighting the Holborn 

 Viaduct with the electric light it has been found that the cost is 

 seven and a half times that of gas, while the illuminating power 

 is seven times greater. It has been decided not to continue the 

 experiment. 



A VALUABLE contribution to the marine "zoology of the coast 

 of the United States is furnished by a paper by Prof. H. E. 

 Webster upon the chretopod annelids of the Virginia coast. 

 This contains the result of several years' observation on the coast 

 of Virginia by Prof. Webster, adding many new species to our 

 hitherto published lists. 



The death of Prof. Yamell, a much esteemed member of the 

 scientific corps of the United ^States Naval Obsers'atory, took 

 place in Washington on February 27, at the age of sixty-two. 

 The annual volumes of the Observatory contain a great many 

 important memoirs by Prof. YarnelJ, and lie had just completed 

 another at the time of his death. 



In the Report for 1878 of the " Observations of Injurious 

 Insects," which has been drawn up by Miss E. A. Ormerod 

 and her fellow-workers, and recently published (London : West, 

 Newman, and Co.), a good many facts interesting alike to the 

 agriculturist, entomologist, and meteorologist are recorded. The 

 thanks of all interested in the preservation of food-crops are due 

 to Miss Ormerod for her persistent efforts to promote a know- 

 ledge of, and a means to diminish the ravages caused by insect 

 pests, and to all those who have opportunities to assist, such 

 information if sent to Miss Ormerod, Dunster Lodge, Spring 

 Grove, Isle worth, will be sure to be utilised. For the guidance 

 of fresh observers the points required to be observed are pointed 

 out, those particularly wished for being as follows: "i. With 

 regard to weather ; a very few lines as to general state through 

 the year, such as any marked succession of warm or cold days, 

 of great rainfalls, or drought. 2. Any observations as to thg 

 spread of common crop-insects from common crop weeds. For 

 instance, with regard to observations of charlock and black- 

 thorn in connection with turnip fly and gooseberry caterpillar. 

 These two plants supply food or shelter for two insects that 

 certainly come under the head of ' pests.' Their presence is 

 either agriculturally bad or of little use, but they keep up the 

 supply of successive insect generations in safety, because little 

 noticed on these worthless growths. 3. Observations as to in- 

 fested farm stores and seeds might throw much light on the inter- 

 mittent appearance of some destructive insects. Thus the wheat" 

 midge Cecidomyia tritici is kept safe in the larval state during 

 winter in neglected chaff-heaps, and the red clover weevil may 

 be seen in legions creeping from the recently-stored clover. The 

 amount of loss from this insect has been observed for more than 

 eighty years, and still Apion apricajis is at work in the clover as 

 hard as ever." Miss Ormerod further points out that often the 

 larvae and pupce are both contained in the seeds, and conse- 

 quently sown with them, and she further remarks that we shall 

 probably find the key to great devastations in what were 

 originally small appearances. "Each note of information," we 

 are reminded, "even if incomplete in itself, will or may 

 probably join on to those of other observers, and thus the circum- 

 stances which give rise to insect ravage be gradually more and 



more clearly made out, till we may hope, if not entirely to chec^ 

 the evil, at least to mitigate it greatly." The special points of 

 interest in the report under consideration are : I. The spread of 

 the turnip fly in localities where charlock was most prevalent, 

 and attention is drawn to the desirability of eradicating, as far 

 as possible, this food-plant of the insect. 2. The effect of rain 

 or dew in diminishing the spread of the pest by reducing its 

 powers of locomotion ; and 3. The observations regarding the 

 destruction of insects by birds. One observer mentions that in 

 the neighbourhood of Plymouth migratory insectivorous birds 

 were very abundant, especially starlings, who congregated in such 

 enormous quantities that the flocks coming in from all quarters 

 to roost in the evenings so completely filled the roosting-trees as 

 to constitute quite a sight. The report altogether is one of much 

 value, and its circulation \\ill, we doubt not, create that interest 

 in the subject which the promoters desire. 



Miss E. A. Ormerod, who has done so much in the field of 

 economic entomology, has recently contributed a brief but in- 

 teresting paper, entitled "Notes on Economic Entomology," to 

 the Watford Natural History Society. This paper may well be 

 taken as a companion to the ' ' Notes of Observations of In- 

 jurious Insects" for 1878. 



The Chemist and Druggist gives the following account of an 

 experiment in opium-smoking, made by Dr. Miclucho Maclay 

 upon himself during his stay in Hong Kong : — The experiment 

 was made at the Chinese Club, where every convenience for 

 smoking opium is to be found. Dr. Clouth, of Hong Kong, 

 took the necessai7 observations, and his notes are recorded 

 below. These may be summarised as follows : — Herr Maclay 

 was in nonnal health, and had fasted eighteen hours before com- 

 mencing the experiment. He had never smoked tobacco. 

 Twenty-seven pipes, equivalent to 107 grains of the opium, used 

 by the Chinese, were smoked in two and three-quarter hours, at 

 tolerably regular intervals. The third removed the feeling of 

 hunger caused by his long fast, and his pulse rose from 72 to 80. 

 The fourth and fifth caused slight heaviness and desire for sleep, 

 but there \\"as no hesitation in giving correct answers, though he 

 could not guide himself about the room. After the seventh pipe 

 the pulse fell to 70. The twelfth pipe was followed by singing 

 in the ears, and after the thirteenth he laughed heartily, though 

 without any cause that he can remember. Questions asked at 

 this time were answered only after a pause, and not always cor- 

 rectly. He had for some time ceased to be conscious of his 

 actions. After the twenty-fifth pipe questions asked in a loud 

 tone were not answered. After the last pipe had been smoked 

 he remarked, " I do not hear well." Forty minutes later 

 there was a slight return of consciousness and he said, "I 

 am quite bewildered. May I smoke some more ? Is the man 

 with the pipe gone already? " Fifteen minutes later {4.55 P.M.) 

 he was able to go home, and then retired to bed. He 

 woke the next morning at 3 A.M., and made a hearty meal, after 

 his fast of thirty-three hours. During the next day he felt as if 

 he had bees in a great hollow in his head, as well as a slight 

 headache. The organs of locomotion were first affected, next 

 came sight and hearing, but Herr Maclay is very positive that 

 there were no dreams, hallucinations, or visions of any sort 

 whatever. 



It is well known from the equable temperature of the Fiji 

 Islands and the favourable nature of the soil of many parts that 

 the colony is well adapted to the cultivation of various useful 

 plants that require only to be introduced to thrive. These 

 matters have recently been discussed in a little pamphlet pub- 

 lished at Levuka, on the agricultural prospects of Fiji. That 

 the productive powers of these islands is very great is here fully 

 exemplified. It is shown that tropical produce of all kinds is 

 capable of being grown on an extensive scale, so that the resources 



