28 



NATURE 



[September 2, 1915 



time of vibration of some vibrator. — J. K. E. Halm: 

 Astronomical photometry. An account was given 

 of a method which claims to derive from 

 the measured diameters of the star discs on 

 a photographic plate the brightness or "mag- 

 nitude " of any star on a self-consistent basis. The 

 work is founded on the examination of the properties 

 of the photographic plate in the light of experiments 

 made by Abney and Kron. The results obtained for 

 the stars of the Cape astrographic zones demonstrate 

 a perfect agreement of the Cape system with the 

 Harvard photographic system. Comparisons between 

 the photographic and visual magnitudes lead to the 

 conclusion, also in agreement with the Harvard re- 

 sults, that the "colour" of the stars is a function of 

 their brightness, faint stars being slightly redder than 

 bright stars. This fact is tentatively attributed to the 

 existence of absorbing matter in space. The pheno- 

 menon is emphasised in the regions of the galaxy. It 

 is also found that, on the average, stars are actinic- 

 ally brighter in the Milky Way than in other regions. 

 — W. A. Jolly : The electromotive changes accompany- 

 ing activity in the mammalian ureter. — I. B. Pole 

 Evans : A new aloe from Swaziland. A new 

 species of aloe, found in Swaziland by Mr. 

 R. A. Davis in June, 1914, was described and 

 named Aloe suprafoliata. It may be recognised by 

 its distichous leaves, which are rigid, somewhat fleshy, 

 and patent or gracefully recurved. The flower spike 

 is slender; unbranched, and bears vrather loosely- 

 attached rose doree flowers. The plants are usually 

 found on the tops of quartzite kopjes, and have been 

 found at Stegi, Lebombo Range, and Forbes Reef. 

 Calcutta. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, August 4. — S. C. Mitra : 

 North Indian charms for securing immunity from the 

 virus of scorpion-sting. Charms which are popularly 

 supposed to render the user thereof either invulnerable 

 to the stings of scorpions or immune from their virus, 

 e.g. : — (i) By the repetition of certain passages of the 

 Koran ; (2) by performing the fire-walking ceremony 

 known as Dam maddr; and (3) by carrying about 

 one's person the medicinal plant known as the Chir- 

 chird (Achyranthes aspera). The author also described 

 the preparation and discussed the origin of a curious 

 cognate charm whereby a practitioner acquires the 

 power to cure scorpion stings, after rubbing with his 

 hands, while he is in a blindfolded state, the blossoms 

 of a mango tree. — I. H. Burkill : The Terai Forests 

 between the Gandak and the Tista. — Dr. N. Annandale : 

 The origin and distribution of the fauna of the Lake 

 Tiberias. The aquatic fauna of the Jordan river- 

 system, and in particular that of the Lake of Tiberias, 

 consists mainly of species belonging to Palaearctic 

 genera, and closely allied to, if not identical with, 

 forms from eastern Europe or from the Euphrates 

 Valley. There are, however, a certain number of 

 animals that are Ethiopian either in genus or species. 

 It is a remarkable fact that the distinctly Ethiopian 

 forms are all fish. There are a considerable number 

 of endemic species in the Lake of Tiberias, but none 

 of them are very highly specialised. The only endemic 

 genus is the sponge Cortispongilla. The presence of 

 African fish can only be explained by a former connec- 

 tion through the south of the system with the "Ery- 

 thraean River" of Gregory, which received a tributary 

 from Central Africa. The fish of African origin ail 

 belong to families and genera that are particularly 

 suited to survive unfavourable conditions. The view 

 is put forward that they have been able to survive 

 great changes of salinity in the water of different parts 

 of the Jordan system, while any African invertebrates 

 that may have made their way into it have perished, 

 with the possible exception of a few very widely dis- 

 NO. 2392, VOL. 96] 



tributed moUusca (such as Melania tuberculata) and 

 other forms that exist in tropical Asia as well as in 

 Africa. — S. C. Banerji : A botanical curio. A huge 

 epiphytic Ficus bengalensis, L., on a tall Borassiis 

 flabellifer, L., is to be found in the village Bara on 

 the way to Pathrole from Madhupur (Sonthal Par- 

 ganas). The two together appear to be a composite 

 tree. One-half of the height of the palm from the 

 ground, excepting a small portion at the base, is com- 

 pletely encased by the root of the fig. The persistence 

 of the epiphytism is interesting. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Canada. Department of Mines. Geological Sur- 

 vey. Memoir 69 : Coal Fields of British Columbia. 

 Compiled by D. B. Downing. Pp. iii + 350. (Ottawa : 

 Government Printing Bureau.) 



Identification of Common Carbon Compounds. By 

 J. N. Rakshit. Pp. iii^222. (Calcutta : CoZ/e^tau 

 Office.) 



Applied Immunology. By Drs. B. A. Thomas and 

 R. H. Ivy. Pp. XV + 359. (Philadelphia and London: 

 J. B. Lippincott Co.) i6s. net. 



British Rainfall, 1914. By Dr. H. R. Mill and 

 C. Salter. Pp. 448. (London : E. Stanford, Ltd.) 

 los. 



War Plants or Products of Intensive Kultur. By 

 C. H. L. Woodhouse. Pp. 24. (London : G. Rout- 

 ledge and Sons, Ltd.) 6d. net. 



The Hundred Best Animals. By L. Gask. Pp. 304. 

 (London : G G. Harrap and Co.) 75. 6d. net. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Examination of Hydrocarbon Oils i 



Electrical Engineering. By Prof. David Robertson 2 



The Limitations of Science. By <f 3 



Recent Electrical Books. By Dr. A. Russell .... 4 



Our Bookshelf ^ 



Letters to the Editor:— 



Destruction of Wasps.— A. H. Mitchell ... 6 



Allnntic Oceanic Currents.— Dr. MichaelC.Grabham 6 



The British Association Meeting in Manchester . . 7 



Art and Craft in Fishing, {^lllustratci.) 7 



The Testing of Chronometers 9 



Frederick Manson Bailey, C.M.G 10 



Notes " 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Absolute Stellar Motions 16 



The Solar Eclipse of April 17, 19 12 16 



Anomalous Dispersion in the Sun 16 



A Remarkable Group of Solar Spots 17 



A Catalogue of Star Clusters 17 



Indigo in India i? 



Researches on Phagocytosis. By Prof. H. J. 



Hamburger ... 19 



Ireland's Industrial Opportunities. ByJ. H. Reynolds 23 



Aeroplane Stability 24 



Mineral Industry of Canada 25 



Explosives 25 



The Bonaparte Fund for the Year 1915 25 



University and Educational Intelligence ... .26 



Societies and Academies 27 



Books Received 28 



Editorial and Ptihlishing Offices: 



MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd., 



ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C. 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

 Publishers 



Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address : Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number : Gerrard 8830. 



