22 



NATURE 



[January 5, 1922 



trees as retaining walls to hold up the soil and keep 

 in the moisture, and that Mr. Mills's reference to 

 ignorance of the proper ceremonial as a reason alleged 

 for not adopting terrace cultivation throws an interest- 

 ing light upon the possibilities of the negative aspect 

 of the evidence with regard to this method of cul- 

 tivation. 



In an elaborate paper published in the Journal of 

 the Royal Institute of British Architects (third series, 

 vol. 28, No. 3, October, 192 1) Mr. Jay Hambridge 

 supplies " Further Evidence for Dynamic Symmetry 

 in Ancient Architecture." The paper, gives a careful 

 series of measurements of the Parthenon and other 

 Greek temples which are of permanent value. The 

 writer remarks : "The temple at Aegina is older than 

 the Parthenon, older than the Zeus building at 

 Olympia ; therefore the finding of a persistent dynamic 

 theme in the structure which is simply a variation of 

 the themes at Bassae, Olympia, and Athens suggests 

 that symmetry schemes had some sort of ritual signi- 

 ficance. And this is borne out by the record from 

 India. About the time of the erection of the Greek 

 temples of the best period, if not somewhat earlier, 

 there existed In India specific rules for sacrificial altar 

 construction. These have survived as the Sulvasutra, 

 or 'rules of the cord,' better, 'rules of the rope.' 

 Some authorities date the Sulvasutra about 800 B.C., 

 others place it at 600, 500, 400, and even 200 b.c. The 

 exact date Is immaterial, as the point of importance 

 for us Is that these rules describe in detail the con- 

 struction of the root rectangles which constitute the 

 base of classic Greek proportion." 



The year which has just closed will long be re- 

 membered for its shortage of rainfall over the British 

 Isles, as well as in many other parts of Europe. At 

 Greenwich Observatory, where records are available 

 for more than a hundred years, there is no previous 

 year since 1815 with so small an amount of rain. In 

 192 1 the total measurement for the twelve months 

 was 12-50 in., which compared with the average 

 2441 in. for the hundred years from 1816-1915 is 

 only 51 per cent, of the normal, and compared with the 

 normal for thirty-five years, 1881-1915, in use by the 

 Meteorological Office, viz. 2350 In., Is 53 per cent, of 

 the normal. Compared with the one hundred years' 

 normal, the rainfall In each month was less than 

 the average, but compared with the normal for thirty- 

 five years, January and September had slightly more 

 rain than the average. The month with least rain- 

 fall was February, with 0-12 in., followed by July 

 with 015 in. In the previous 106 years the year 

 of least rainfall was 1864 with 16-38 in., and 

 this is followed by 1847 with 17-61 in., and 1858 

 with 17-70 in. The rainfall for the eleven months to 

 the end of November was 68 per cent, of the average 

 In England and Wales, 94 per cent. In Scotland, and 

 86 per cent. In Ireland. At Tenterden, as representa- 

 tive of Kent, the rainfall for the eleven months lo 

 the end of November was 49 per cent, of the average ; 

 at Arundel, as representative of Sussex, 53 per cent., 

 and at Oxford 59 per cent. Notwithstanding the wild 

 NO. 2723, VOL. 109] 



and unsettled character of the weather at the close 

 of the year droughty conditions continued in the south 

 and south-east of England. 



The annual report of the Gresham's School, Holt, 

 Natural History Society for 1921 includes a useful list 

 of the flowering plants found in the neighbourhood of 

 Holt, Norfolk, the work of the botanical section, and 

 a preliminary list of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the 

 same district, compiled by the entomological section. 



In the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 

 (vol. 65, part 4), Prof. Champy and Mr. H. M. Carle- 

 ton discuss the shape of the nucleus and the various 

 mechanical causes, such as surface tension and the 

 pressure of cytoplasmic inclusions, by which it is. 

 determined. They come to the conclusion that the 

 amitotic division which occurs in certain highly 

 specialised nuclei results from the attainment by the 

 nucleus of a degree of differentiation that is incom- 

 patible with mitosis. 



To the few known cases of flagellate protozoa with 

 trichocysts another has been added by the observations 

 of Dr. W. Conrad, who has found trichocysts in 

 Reckertia sagittifera, n.g., n.sp., a colourless Chloro- 

 moradine found in an aquarium In the Botanic Garden 

 In Brussels (Bull. Acad. Roy. de Belglque, Classe des 

 Sciences, 1920, No. 11). The organism Is about 50 

 microns in length, and has two flagella, one directed 

 anteriorly and the other posteriorly. In addition to 

 swimming by means of the flagella, the organism can 

 creep by means of blunt pseudopodia, about six In 

 number, which serve also for the capture of food, such 

 as bacteria, flagellates, and algal zoospores. A layer 

 of slender, rod-like trichocysts In the ectoplasm gives 

 this region a fine and regular striation. Trichocysts 

 are not present In the pseudopodia. Close to the in- 

 sertion of the flagella are two lateral contractile 

 vacuoles which contract alternately and discharge their 

 contents Into a median apical vacuole. Food vacuoles, 

 similar In their reaction to neutral red to those of 

 Paramecium, are present in the endoplasm. The 

 nucleus Is of the vesicular type, and divides by 

 karyoklnesis ; cell division Is, as usual In flagellates, 

 longitudinal. 



The story of Lord Howe Island as told by Mr. 

 Allan R. McCuUoch in the Australian Museum Maga- 

 zine (vol. I, No. 2) is a sad one for the naturalist. 

 Situated three hundred miles to the east of Australia, 

 It was uninhabited by man when discovered In 1788, 

 and, having no Indigenous mammals or reptiles, was 

 the home of a vast and interesting bird population 

 which, ignorant of the murderous ways of man, 

 knew not how to protect itself from, his ravages. 

 One species, Notornis alba, unable to fly, quickly 

 became extinct, and, except for one skin in the 

 Vienna Museum and a few stray notes in journals, 

 nothing Is known of this interesting bird. The island 

 Is a dependency of New South Wales, and In 1879 was 

 declared a reserve In the hope that what then re- 

 mained of its fauna would be preserved. Success 

 seemed to have rewarded this excellent measure. 



