oo3 



NATUKI-: 



[January 6, 192 1 



is greatly swollen, stretches far forward, and is ex- 

 tended backwards only with difficulty. This beetle, 

 previously referred by Dr. E. Warren to the South 

 American genus C'orotoca, has now been more closely 

 investigated by him, and is redescribed as Paracoro- 

 toca akermani (.Xnn. Natal Mus., vol. iv., pp. 297- 

 366, pis. xvi-,\xi, November, 1920). Dr. Warren 

 finds that, structurally, it is closer to the .Malayan 

 Termitoptochus, and infers that the resemblances to 

 Corotoca and other termitophilous beetles are due to 

 the similarity of their environment. Paracorotoca 

 has been found only in nests of the common Eutermes 

 (E. trinerviformis) of Natal, and is very rare. The 

 inflated abdomen is almost filled with the greatly 

 overgrown sexual organs. The ova are relatively 

 huge, and this is probablv connected with the vivi- 

 parous prfxluction of large larvs. No simifar need 

 exists for the large size of the male organs, and it 

 may be supposed that the stimulus for their growth 

 has been transmitted to the male from the female. 

 How far the termites feed the beetles and in what 

 way the beetles repay the hospitality are questions 

 not yet settled. One curious observation has been 

 made : when termites are alarmed thev vibrate 

 their bodies in a characteristic manner, and the beetle 

 does the same. Dr. Warren compares the habit in 

 the termites to the trembling with rage or fear 

 in mammals, and suggests that the intimate associa- 

 tion of the beetle with the termites has produced in 

 it a similar nerve-tone. 



The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture for 

 October and November, 1920, contains an interesting 

 account of the work of the new Plant Breeding In- 

 stitution at .\berystwyth by the director. Prof. R. G. 

 Stapledon. In addition to the laboratories, which are 

 now completed, there is a drying-room and a gar- 

 deners' room designed for the threshing and cleaning 

 of small lots of seeds. The land attached to the 

 station includes 4 acres of garden-ground, a 13-acre 

 field of arable land for larger trials, and an adjoining 

 farm of 92 acres. One of the chief problems taken up 

 is that of the improvement of herbage plants for 

 the grassland areas of Wales and the West of Eng- 

 land. Of the numerous grasses and legumes being 

 tried the following already show promise : Phalaris 

 nodosa, a rich pasture grass from South Africa; Dian- 

 thonia pilosa, from New Zealand; Eragrostis abys- 

 sinica, which produces hay in portions of Natal and 

 the Transvaal ; Trifolium subterraneum ; and the 

 hairv vetch, Vicia villosa. Local indigenous grasses 

 are also being brought into cultivation with the view 

 of improving strains which are alreadv adapted to 

 the conditions. Cocksfoot grass from various coun- 

 tries was grown, and the indigenous plants were 

 found to show greater developfnent and to have the 

 advantage of being later. Experiments are also being 

 taken up with cereals, particularly oats, for high 

 elevations and high rainfall. 



The possibility of recognising shoals and channels 

 from a photographic print and of determining in 

 some measure the shape of submerged land-forms j 

 opens a new avenue of approach to the study of sub- 

 marine geography by the use of aerial photography 

 NO. 2671, VOL. 106] 



The subject is discussed by Dr. \V. T. Lee in an 

 article in the Geographical Review for November 

 (vol. X., No. 5). A number of finely reproduced photo- 

 graphs by the .Air Service of the United States Army 

 illustrate the extent to which the camera succeeds in 

 recording submarine features. Experience seems to 

 show that the best results are likely to be obtained 

 early in the morning or late in the afternoon under 

 an evenly illuminated sky. Either an entirely overcast 

 or a uniformly clear sky is more favourable than a 

 partly clouded sky. Waves appear to have little effect 

 on the visibility of submarine relief, but bv the dif- 

 fusion of reflected light they can at times destroy thi- 

 effect of the detail on the photographic plate. More 

 research, however, is necessary in order to decide the 

 best conditions for determining clear detail. 



The recurrent subject of the growth of flint is 

 revived by Mr. C. Carus-Wilson in a letter to the 

 Geological Magazine for October, where a case is 

 quoted (%f the inclusion In flint of wood bored by 

 Teredo. The problems that this specimen justly raise 

 in Mr. Carus-Wilson's mind could probablv be set at 

 rest, as in other cases referred to, by thin sections 

 cut from the encasing flint, and it is to be hoped that 

 the matter will be pursued further. 



Mr. .S. S. Blckman's work on "Type .Xmmonites," 

 finely illustrated by photographs of actual specimens, 

 has reached its twenty-third part, and is already a 

 monument to the painstaking devotion of its author. 

 We fear that questions from other workers as to 

 generic subtleties must make serious inroads on Mr. 

 Buckman's time, since we cannot now think of British 

 ammonites without him. The work is published for 

 the author by Messrs. W. Wesley and Son, Essex 

 Street, London, W.C.2. 



T.^m.KS of frequencies of surface-wind directions and 

 cloud amounts at Metz, Mulhausen, Karlsruhe, and 

 FrSnkfort by Capt. D. Brunt have been published by 

 the Meteorological Office as Professional Notes 

 No. 14. The tables are similar to those given 

 previously for Richmond and Greenwich. They are 

 based on the observations from the German Daily 

 Weather Reports for ten years, 1900-10, excluding 

 1906. The results are said to differ widely from 

 those for Richmond, where the number of clear skies 

 in the summer is much greater in the evening than 

 in the morning, but the tables in the present publica- 

 tion show only a verv slight clearing in the evening 

 in the summer, and in July the evenings are cloudier 

 than the mornings. For the towns dealt with, the 

 most frequent wind directions are north-east and 

 south-west. North-east winds divide into two groups, 

 with clear and overcast skies respectively, and in the 

 summer they give more clear skies in the evening 

 than in the morning, the cloudiness of the weather 

 being apparently controlled by the different weather 

 tvf>es. South-west and west winds are said usually 

 to be associated with the passage of depressions 

 across the British Isles, tending to give overcast skies, 

 especially during the morning. They are associated 

 with a greater frequency of clear skies in the even- 

 ing during the months of September and October. 

 Pilot-balloon results show that at .Mx-Ia-Chapelle 



