Oct. 14, 1875J 



NATURE 



527 



ology of the peculiar extinct Columbine bird?, of which so many 

 separate bones have been obtained. 



Some interesting results were given by Mr. H. M, Taylor, 

 Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge, in a paper 

 " On the Relative Values of the Pieces at Chess," read before 

 the British Association at Bristol. He found by a mathema- 

 tical process that if .'a knight and king of different colours were 

 placed on a chessboard at random, the odds against the king 

 being in check were li to i ; if a bishop and a king, 31 to 5 ; if a 

 rook and a king, 7 to 2 ; and if a queen and a king, 23 to 13. If, 

 however, we consider only safe check {i.e. check in which the 

 king is unable to take the piece), the odds are respectively 1 1 to 

 I, 131 to 13, 5 to I, 107 to 37. From these numbers we can 

 obtain a fair theoretical [measure of the relative values of the 

 pieces. Thus, if we take as our measure the chance of safe check, 

 the values of the knight, bishop, rook, and queen are in the ratio 

 12, 13, 24, 37, while the^alues of these pieces in the same order 

 as given by Staunton are 3 '05, 3*50, 5 '48, and 9*94, the value 

 of the pawn being taken as unity. Mr. Taylor remarks that the 

 value of a pawn depends so much on the fact that it is possible 

 to convert it into a queen, that the method does not appear appli- 

 cable to it. 



Messrs. H, S. King and Co. v/ill publish, during the forth- 

 coming season, the following new volumes lof their International 

 Scientific Series : — " Animal Parasites and Messmates," by M. 

 Van Beneden, Professor of the University of Louvain, and Corre- 

 spondent of the Institute of France. It will contain eighty-three 

 illustrations. — "The Nature of Light," with a general account 

 of physical optics, by Dr. Eugene Lommel, Professor of Physics 

 in the University of Erlangen. This work will contain a table of 

 spectra in chromolithography and a large number of other illus- 

 trations. — "The Five Senses of Man," by Professor Bernstein, 

 of the University of Halle, — "Fermentations," by Professor 

 Schutzenberger, Director of the Chemical Laboratory at the 

 Sorbonne ; and a new edition of Dr. Hermann Vogel's " Chemi- 

 cal Effects of Light and Photography." 



Two nests of English Humble-bees were last week sent to 

 New Zealand by Mr. Frank Buckland, for the Canterbury Accli- 

 matisation Society. These insects are specially desired in New 

 Zealand for the purpose of fertilising the common clover ; the 

 proboscis of the common bee is not sufficiently long to reach 

 down to the pollen of the clover flower, while the humble-bee 

 is enabled to do so. In this way the insect is expected to do 

 great service to the agriculturist by largely extending the growth 

 of the clover. The bees were packed in their own nests in 

 two boxes, and will be under the charge of a member of the 

 New Zealand Council, who is provided with every necessary for 

 their welfare during the voyage. They are expected to arrive 

 about the middle of January — midsummer at the antipodes. 



The production of silk in South America is rapidly increasing 

 both in quantity and quality. At a local exhibition recently held 

 at Buenos Ayres, some samples, both raw and manufactured, 

 were shown, which compared favourably with the best silks of 

 Asia. The climate of Brazil seems to be especially well suited for 

 the cultivation of the silkworm, which feeds on the leaves of the 

 Palma christi, a plant which grows in abundance in the country. 

 The Government of Brazil is said to be contemplating offering 

 subsidies for the cultivation of silkworms in the country. 



Almost every day the French Journal Officicl publishes a list 

 of professorships created by the Government in the several acade- 

 mies, principally in the provinces, in order to enable them to sus- 

 tain any competition which may be eventually offered by the free 

 academies. The law of the liberty of instruction will benefit 

 unquestionably not only the [public at large, but also the official 

 universities, in raising a spirit of emulation. 



A PROFESSOR of the Academy of Grenoble, M. Violle, made 

 several balloon ascents in the Alps last summer in order to 

 measure the degree of heat generated by the sun, and conse- 

 quently the temperature emanating from that body. It is said by 

 the Liberti that M. Violle is quite opposed to the idea that the 

 degree of temperature is immense ; he says that it is not much 

 hotter than temperatures produced in the laboratories. Details 

 will shortly be published in the Comptes Rendus. 



The Geographical Magazine for October 'contains a detailed 

 account of the voyage of the Arctic Expedition from Portsmouth 

 to Waigat, and of the work of the Valorous. A map of part of 

 the North Atlantic showing the tracks of the three ships accom- 

 panies the paper, the sea being tinted according to depth. There 

 is also a section of the Atlantic showing the soundings of the 

 Valorous, and a plan of the harbour of Holsteinberg, off which 

 the ship grounded. 



The Times and other London papers of Tuesday contain 

 letters from members of the Pandora Arctic Expedition, under 

 Capt. Young. The expedition reached Disco on August 7, and 

 all was going well, though on the way out squalls and contrary 

 winds had been met with. Capt. Young was to leave Disco on 

 the loth. 



Prof. Ed. Morren has published a small biography of 

 Charles de I'Escluse, commonly known as Clusius, after whom a 

 small order of plants was named by Lindley. Born in 1526 and 

 dying in 1609, he was for sixteen years Professor of Botany at 

 the University of Liege. His works are comprised in two folio 

 volumes — " Rariorum Plantarum Historia," and " Exoticorum 

 Libri Decern," and he was one of the pre-Linnean naturalists 

 who attempted a classification of plants founded on artificial 

 characters. 



The first part has just been published of the long- announced 

 "Medicinal Plants," by Messrs. Bentley and Trimen. Each 

 part is to contain eight coloured plates of plants included in the 

 Pharmacopoeia of Britain, India, or the United States, together 

 with letterpress comprising a full description of the plant, its 

 nomenclature, geographical distribution, &c., and an account of 

 its properties and uses. 



In a recent number 'of the Transactions of the Academy of 

 Science of St, Louis, Mr. Charles Riley describes the curious 

 habits of two insects which occur alive in [the pitchers of Sarra- 

 cenia variolaris. The first is [a small moth (Xanthoptera semi- 

 crocea), whichllays its eggs within the pitcher. The young cater- 

 pillars there weave a gossamer-like web and feed on the cellular 

 tissue of the leaf. The putrid remains of insects previously cap- 

 tured, which have perished, are covered over by the excrements 

 of these caterpillars. The second is a dipterous insect {SarcO' 

 phaga sarraceniic). The mature fly is stated to drop a number of 

 the larvse into the pitcher, where they feed on the decaying remains 

 of other insects, and finally burrow through the bottom of the 

 pitcher into the ground, where they undergo their transforma- 

 tions. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens'during the 

 past week include a Campbell's Monkey {Cercopiihecus campbelli) 

 from W. Africa, presented by Miss A. J. Brown ; a Brown Bear 

 (Ursus arctos) from Russia, presented by Mr. A. Vale ; two 

 Vervet Monkeys {Cercopithecus lalandii) from S. Africa, pre- 

 sented by Mr. Abbett ; two Grey-breasted Parrakeets (Bolbo- 

 rhynchus vionachus) from Monte Video, presented by Miss 

 Maiden ; a Peewit ( Vanellus cristatus), European, presented by 

 Dr. William Brewer ; a Brown Bear {Ursus arctos) from Russia, 

 two Argus Pheasants {Argus giganteus) from Malacca, an Alli- 

 gator {Alligator mississippiensii) from the Mississippi, a Common 

 Snake ( Tropidonoius nairix) from South Tyrol, deposited ; two 

 Graceful Ground Doves {Geoptlia cunuita) from Austraha, re- 

 ceived in exchange ; a Scolopaceous Rail {Aravius scolopaccus) 

 from S. America, purchasei 



