November i8, 1920] 



NATURE 



J/ / 



The Mechanics of Solidity. 



Thb subjoined table appiars to indicate that the 

 mechanical " hardness " of a solid is fairly closely 

 related to its thermal expansion cocfficieni. There 

 are exceptions like "invar," and for various reasons 

 attention should be directed more to the scope of the 

 relationship than to particular discordances between 

 the hardness figures. 



li may. perhaps, be inferred that engineers would 



• well advi<icd to fscrufinise "solidity" more closely. 



iid to make use of the simple physical constants of 



metal as criteria of quality in preference to deyelop. 



it« a chaos of complicated tests which bear as little 



l.-ilion to each other as they do to any practical 



rvice in which metals are employed. 



The Rrinell hardness measurements are taken from 



.1 paper by Prof. C. A. Edwards (Inst, of Metals, 



if)i8); the others from Landolt-B6rnstein'« tables. 



J. IVNES. 



Ti Edward's Road. Whitlev Bay, 



Northumberland, November 8. 



N'^. .?r>6i. v')f . 106'] 



The Protection of Animal and Bird Life in Australia. 



I AM directed by the Hon. the Minister of Industry, 

 who is the Minister controlling the .\nimal and Bird 

 Protection .Act in South .Australia, to say that his 

 attention has been directed to a note in Nature of 

 July I last, p. 558, in which the following quotation 

 from a report from Mr. C. M. Hoy, of the Smith- 

 sonian Institutic.;., appears: "There are very few- 

 game laws in .Australia, and no one gives any atten- 

 tion to the ones that are in order." The Minister 

 has communicated with the Smithsonian Institution, 

 expressing regret that Mr. Hoy should have made 

 such a statement, knowing, as he must, that so far 

 as it applies to South .Australia it is not correct that 

 "no one gives any attention" to the laws that are 

 in order. 



We have an Animal and Bird Protection Act with 

 verv wide powers, and every effort is being made to 

 carry out this law. We realise, of course, that in our 

 out-back areas, where the population is very sparse, 

 the law mav not always be observed. .At the 

 same time, however, a special check is kept on 

 persons dealing in skins and furs, and, generally, we 

 have every reason to believe that the laws relating 

 to the protection of animals and birds are fairly 

 observed. 



The verv fact that Mr. Hoy was unable to collect 

 a single protected animal or bird, or the nest or eggs 

 of the protected birds, without a permit signed by 

 the Minister of Industry, and that this permit was 

 distinctly limited, inasmuch as it was issued subject 

 to the condition that "no more than four examples 

 of each totally protected species of native animal or 

 bird are to l>e taken, excepting the common opossum, 

 of which twelve (72) mnv be taken. No specimen of 

 the Toolach wallaby (Macrohu<: Greyi) is to be t.aken 

 under any circumstances. Not more than twelve (12) 

 examples of partially protected birds and animals." 

 is ample evidence that Mr. Hoy knows that .iction 

 is being taken in South .Australia to conip'^l the 

 observance of these game laws. The Minister desires 

 me to add that he trusts in the circumstances vou 

 will give publicity to his nrotcst against Mr. Hoy's 

 statements. W. T.. SfMMF.Rs, 



Secretarv, Ministrv of Industry. 



.Adelaide, South Australia, September 21. 



New British Oligochzta. 



In revising my material and records of the Lum- 

 briculidae I find that two new species may now be 

 placed on our list of indigenous annelids. These are 

 RhyncheJtnis litnosella. Hotlm.. and Stylodrilu< 

 hcringianw:, Clap. Respecting the former Beddard 

 wrote in his "Monograph of the Order Oligocha'ta " 

 (189s, pp. 215-16): "I have seen a speciinen f. em 

 some part of England, but cannot give any details. 

 There is every probability that it is a native of this 

 country." It reached me some time ago from Ring- 

 wood, Hants. 



Stvlodrtlun heringianus was first found mar 

 Brougham, in Cumberland, in March* 191 1, but, being 

 immature, there was an element of doubt as to its 

 identity. In .April, and again in November, of_tl>e 

 same year I found it in two different localities 

 near ."Swadlincote, Derbyshire. Our British list of 

 Lumbriculidae, therefore, now numbers seven species 

 under four genera. These are l.unibrieulus varie- 

 gatus, O. F. M. ; TrichodriUit canlahrigensis, Bedd. ; 

 Stylndriliis Vridov:kyi, Benh. ; .*>. ^ahretae, Vcjd. ; 

 S. Hallissyi, .Southern ; S. heringianus. Clap. ; and 

 Rhvnrhehnis litnosella, Hoffm. 



Hii.DRRic Friend.' 

 ' .thay," Solihull. 



