February io, 192 i] 



NATURE 



775 



they were specially typical of the Mousterian culture, 

 but for reasons connected with the localities of the 

 finds, stratigraphy, and patinalion. Also included in 

 the group were two forms not occurring in Europe, 

 namely, "crescents" and a heavy drawing-tool, 

 for which the name "tortoise point" was proposed. 

 Forms transitional to Capsian, or Capsian, were 

 notched (lakes, end-scrapers, hollow end-scrapers, 

 nose end-scrapers, end-borers, and asymmetric end- 

 borers. From the morphological point of view the 

 river-drift types were unmistakable, while the Mous- 

 terian types, so far as the borers, scrapers, and 

 points were concerned, could be paralleled precisely 

 from European forms, while the non-European forms 

 could either be derived froni well-known types or were 

 produced by an identical process. .V certain number 

 of implements could not readily be referred to 

 Chellcan, Acheulean, or Mousterian technique, and, 

 although they might be classed in Europe as 

 .■\urignacian of a coarse type. Prof. Seligman was 

 inclined to regard them as highly developed Mous- 

 terian modified by Capsian influence from the north. 



The great majority of the implements from the 

 Thebaid present a more or less lustrous surface of 

 various shades of reddish-brown. Specimens of 

 different shades of dull white occur, but only in 

 wadies and "wash-outs." This marked difference in 

 coloration was undoubtedly due to the fact that the 

 white specimens had only comparatively recently been 

 weathered out of the gravels forming the banks of 

 the wadies. 



In reference to the stratigraphical evidence for the 

 age of these implements, Prof. Seligman gave a 

 detailed account of the geological character of the 

 area in which they were found. Implements of a 

 highly developed Mousterian type, without the charac- 



teristic brown patina of the pala^oliths which have 

 been exposed to weathering, have been found m situ 

 in undisturbed gravels of Pleistocene age. 



An interesting discussion followed the reading of 

 the paper, in which several points of importance were 

 touched upon. Mr. Reginald Smith argued that 

 while patination was an indication of great age, 

 absence of patination did not indicate the reverse ; 

 the oklest types of French cave implements showed 

 no patination. He also asked if Prof. Seligman had 

 been able to correlate relative antiquity of type and 

 shade of patination. In reference to the geological 

 data, he was of the opinion that further evi- 

 dence was required to establish the Mousterian 

 character of some of the implements, especially in 

 the case of those not collected by Prof. Seligman 

 himself. Mr. M. Burkett briefly reviewed recent 

 French work on this subject, and cited the results of 

 a correlation of type and patina which had recently 

 been made by the Abb6 Breuil in a series from 

 Tebessa (Southern .Algeria). Mr. H. Peake pointed 

 out that the Mousterian industry appeared to have 

 developed further in Africa than in Europe, where 

 its development had been interrupted by the 

 Aurignacian type, and he suggested that this might 

 be due to more favourable climatic conditions on 

 the former continent. It had been stated that 

 no Solutrian culture was found in .Africa, but 

 in this case it was difficult to account for the re- 

 •semblance between certain Saharian and the Solu- 

 trian implements. Prof. Fleure said that Prof. Selig- 

 man 's evidence pointed to a continuous development 

 from Mousterian to Capsian ; geographical conditions 

 suggested that at this period there was a great 

 difference between the climates of .Africa and 

 Europe. 



Tides in Small S:a>. 



"^'WO important papers on the tides in small seas 

 * have recently been published by the Vienna 

 Akademie der VVissenschaften. The first, in Bd. 96 

 of the Denkschriftcn, is the latest of a series of re- 

 searches by K. Slerneck, jun., on the tides of the 

 Adriatic; the second, in Bd. 129 of the Sitzungs- 

 berichte, is the sixth part of A. Defant's researches 

 on tides in " Mittel- und Randmeeren, in Bucht«n 

 und Kanalen," and concerns the tides of the Irish 

 Sea. Both investigations are applications of hydro- 

 dynamical principles, assuming from observation just 

 sufficient to give or replace the "boundary conditions" 

 where the sea communicates with the larger body of 

 water. Both treatments depend on the elongated 

 nature of the sea in question and utilise charts of 

 soundings after the manner initiated bv Chrystal for 

 the longitudinal seiches of lakes. Dcfant makes 

 separate applications to the Bristol Channel, Liver- 

 il Bay, and Solway Firth. In each rase the 

 limed type of motion may be regarded as a longi- 

 tudinal oscillation sustained by the fides outside, 

 together with a transverse gradient maintained by the 

 longitudinal current in virtue of the earth's rotation. 



Sterneck considers separately the four chief semi- 

 diurnal and the three chief diurnal harmonic con- 

 stituents ; Defant considers mainly the semi-diurnal 

 spring tides. In each case the agreement with 

 observation is remarkable. That for the Irish Sea 

 is not so close as that for the Adriatic, but this is 

 to be expected when the deviations from a can.il of 

 slowly varying section and the ratio of tidal range 

 j to water-depth are taken into account. Friction is 

 neglected altogether by Sterneck for the .Adriatic, 

 but is an important element in Defant's explanation 

 of the Irish .Sea tides, in which the amount is of the 

 same order as that used by G. I. Taylor. The 

 negligible importance of friction in the .Adriatic may 

 be ascribed to its greater depth and much smaller 

 currents as compared with the Irish Sea. Sterneck 

 calculates the longest free period of the Adriatic to 

 be about 23 hours as against the 16 hours of previous 

 calculations by the " Slorian " formula. The larger 

 number agrees well with the obse^^•ed seiches, and 

 shows the possible error of rough methods. Defant 

 estimates the longest free period of the Irish Sea to 

 be about iS hours. J. P. 



Paris Academy of Sciences : Loutreuii Foundation. 



T^ EQLE.'5lS for Kcnnts to the amount of 210,600 1 I. Grantx to E.ilabliihment.t named h\ the Founder. 



i^ francs were received bv the Academy. Six of | (i) National Veterinarv School of Alfort : 8000 



these were refused on the ground that they were i francs for the construction of a special room for re- 



Dresented by persons belonging to universities already | searches relating to the therapeutics of cutaneous and 



receipt of funds from M. loutreuii. A total sum i respiratory diseases. 



i.-»i,20<) francs is allw.ited by the council of the I (2) National Veterinary School of Lyons: 3200 



l.undation to the following: fruns to Fr.-ini.<>i^ Mai'gnon. for the purchase of 

 N'O. 2676, VOL. 106] 



