April 2^, 1889] 



NATURE 



61 



them to have their origin in the mountainous regions of Hodna. 

 Fortunately the exact moment of their appearance may be pre- 

 dicted, and steps can be taken to destroy them. With this 

 object M. Kiinckel has made charts of the localities where they 

 laid their eggs last autumn, and has arranged a methodical 

 system of campaign. The destruction of eggs is an uncertain 

 and expensive process, he thinks, whereas one man can destroy 

 a million young insects in a day. 



A Chinese native paper published recently a collection of 

 some zoological myths of that country, a few of which are 

 worth noting. In Shan-si there is a bird, which can divest 

 itself of its featheis and become a woman. At Twan-sin-chow 

 dwe'.ls the Wan-mu Niao (mother of mosquitoes), a fish-eating 

 tiird, from whose mouth issue swarms of mosquitoes when it 

 cries. Yung-chow has its stone-swallow, which flies during 

 wind and rain, and in fine weather turns to stone again. Another 

 bird when killed gives much oil to the hunter, and when the 

 skin is thrown into the water it becomes a living bird again. 

 With regard to animals, few are so useful as the "Jih-kih" ox, 

 found in Kansuh, from which large pieces of flesh are cut for 

 meat and grow again in a single day. The merman of the 

 Southern Seas can weave a kind of silky fabric which keeps a 

 house cool in summer if hung up in one of the rooms. The 

 tears of this merman are pearls. A large hermit-crab is attended 

 by a little shrimp which lives in the stomach of its master ; if 

 the shrimp is successful in its depredations the crab flourishes, 

 but the latter dies if the shrimp does not return from his daily 

 excursions. The " Ho-lo " is a fish having one head and ten 

 bodies. The myths about snakes are the strangest of all. Thus 

 the square snake of Kwangsi has the power of throwing an inky 

 fluid when attacked, which kills its assailants at once. Another 

 .snake can divide itself up into twelve pieces, and each piece if 

 touched by a man will instantly generate a head and fangs at 

 each end. The calling snake asks a traveller " Where are you 

 from, and whither are you bound?" If he answers, the snake 

 follows him for miles, and entering the hotel where he is sleep- 

 ing, raises a fearful stench. The hotel-proprietor, however, 

 guards against this by putting a centipede in a box under the 

 pillow, and when the snake gives forth the evil odour, the centi- 

 pede is let out, and, flying at the snake, instantly kills him with | 

 a bite. The fat of this snake, which grows to a great size, ! 

 makes oil for lamps and produces a flame which cannot be blown I 

 out. In Burmah and Cochin- China is a snake which has, in the ! 

 female sex, a face like a pretty girl, with two feet growing under j 

 the neck, each with five fingers, exactly like the fingers of a 

 human hand. The male is green in colour, and has a long 

 beard ; it will kill a tiger, but a fox is more than a match for it. 



A SERIES of regulations with regard to patents and designs 

 has just been issued in Japan. All inventors, whose discoveries 1 

 are beneficial or are calculated to improve existing processes of I 

 manufacture, may apply for letters patent. No patents, how- i 

 ever, will be granted in the case of articles of food or drink, or | 

 in case of medicines. Inventors who do not receive letters j 

 patent are powerless to sue in respect of piracy of their inven- 

 tions. In order to register an invention, application must be ; 

 made to the Patents Bureau, and if the officials are satisfied as 

 to the genuineness of the invention, it is registered, on certain 

 forms being complied with and certain fees paid. A curious 

 omission occurs in the regulations, but it is not plain whether it 

 is intentional or not. Nothing whatever is said as to the rights 

 of a foreigner to patent an invention, but it is presumed that he 

 will not be able to do so. Nor has any provision been made for 

 advertising applications for letters patent. The Patents Bureau 

 is to be the sole judge of all cases submitted to it, and from 

 its decision there is no appeal ; but, in certain cases, two 

 judges sit with the Bureau and assist in deciding whether a 



patent should be granted or not. The duration of a patent is to 

 be five, ten, or fifteen years, according to the amount paid in 

 fees. The patent, of course, passes by assignment inter vivos, 

 or to the patentee's heir, but nothing is provided for the cases of 

 bankruptcy or marriage. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a Macaque Monkey {Macacus cynomolgus 6) 

 from India, presented by Miss Caroline Newton ; a Leopard 

 {Felis fardtts (?), a Lesser Koodoo {?>trepsiceros imberlns $) 

 Malindi, East Africa, two White-crested Touracous {Corythaix 

 albocristala) from South Africa, presented by Mr. G. S» 

 Mackenzie ; a Common Squirrel {Sciurus vulgaris) British, 

 presented by Mrs. Arthur Faulkner; an Indian Wolf [Canis 

 pallidus) from Afghanistan, five Chaplain Crows {Corvui capel- 

 lanus), an Indian Python {Python molurus) from Fao, Persian 

 Gulf, presented by Mr. B. T. Ffinch, C.M.Z.S. ; two Slender- 

 billed Cockatoos (Cacattta tcmdrostris) from Australia, presented 

 respectively by Mr. Walter Bird and Mrs. Hunt ; an Eagle 

 {Aquila sp. inc. ) from Foochow, China, presented by Messrs. J. 

 de la Touche and George Siemosen ; two Alligators {Alligator 

 mississippiensis) from Florida, deposited ; a Wanderoo Monkey 

 Macacus silemis ? ) from the Malabar Coast of India, an Indian 

 White Crane {Grus leucogeranos), six Rose-coloured Pastors 

 {Pastor roseus) from India, three Elliot's Pheasants {Phasianns 

 ellioti (5 9 9), thre A mherst's Pheasants ( Thatimalea amherslicv 

 (J ? 9 ) from China, two Swinhoe's Pheasants {Euplocamus 

 stvinhoii <J 9 ) from Formosa, two Vulturine Guinea Fowls 

 {Nnmida vulturina S 9 ) from East Africa, two Crested 

 Screamers {C/iauna chavaria) from Buenos Ay res, two Pochards 

 {Fuligtda ferina 6 i), European, purchased ; two Viscachas 

 {Lagostomus trichodactylus), a Vulpine Phalanger {Phalangista 

 vulpina i ), born in the Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Constitution of Celestial Space. — M. G. A. Him 

 has recently published an able and interesting work, entitled 

 "Constitution de I'Espace Celeste," in which he inquires intO' 

 the nature of the medium or agent which establishes and carries 

 on the relationships of the celestial bodies. For all of these, from 

 the most enormous sun to the most infinitesimal meteorite, are ia 

 constant relationship to each other, continually attracting each 

 other, continually radiating and receiving light and heat. Newton 

 long ago regarded it as the greatest of absurdities to imagine 

 " that one body might act upon another at a distance, through a 

 vacuum, without the mediation of anything else, by and through 

 whidh their action and force may be conveyed from one to- 

 another. Gravity," he added, " must be caused by an agent 

 acting constantly according to certain laws ; but whether this 

 agent be material or immaterial, I have left to the consideration 

 of my readers." 



This question, left unsolved by Newton, Hirn answers as 

 follows :— "The thorough analysis of the most diverse facts re- 

 vealed to us by science to-day allows us to reply to the first 

 question by the most absolute negation. That which fills space 

 and which establishes relations between the celestial bodies is 

 not diffuse matter." 



That "ponderable matter in the state of a diffuse gas " does 

 not fill interplanetary and interstellar space M. Hirn seeks to- 

 prove by inquiring what effect such a medium would have on the 

 various members of the solar system, and particularly upon their 

 movements. Many of his conclusions are exceedingly striking,, 

 and if accepted certainly prove his main proposition given above. 

 Perhaps the most remarkable is that relating to the secular ac- 

 celeration of the moon. To explain a secular acceleration of 

 o"5 in the mean motion of the moon it would be sufficient 

 if I kilogramme of gas were distributed over 975,000 cubic 

 kilometres of space ; a rarefaction one million times greater 

 than that of a Crookes vacuum of the millionth of an atmo- 

 sphere. But the effect of the shock of the particles of this 

 rarefied gas against a body like the moon as it moved forward 

 in its orbit would be to raise the gas to a temperature of 



