September 30, 1915J 



NATURE 



121 



Bay and round the shores of Fife. In all these cases 

 the birds were unable either to fly or dive, and hence 

 died of starvation. So far no explanation of this 

 floating oil has come to hand. Probably it escaped 

 from a torpedoed ship bearing a cargo of lubricating 

 oil. 



The current number of the Quarterly Journal of 

 Microscopical Science (vol. Ixi., part ii.), though con- 

 siderably diminished in size, contains some very 

 Interesting matter. Mr. E. S. Goodrich's article on 

 the chorda tympani and middle ear in reptiles, birds, 

 and mammals should be welcomed by all students of 

 comparative anatomy. In these days of embryological 

 hair-splitting it is refreshing to find that he is able 

 to give a whole-hearted adherence to the much debated 

 theory that the stapes and columella are derived from 

 the hyoid arch, while the incus and malleus correspond 

 to the quadrate and articular respectively. The atten- 

 tion of teachers may be directed to some extremely 

 useful diagrams contained in this memoir, especially 

 text-figure 2, showing the relations of the auditory 

 ossicles and associated structures in reptiles and 

 mammals. Another article in the same number, deal- 

 ing with the placenta of a lemur, is from the pen of 

 the brilliant Oxford embryologist. Dr. J. W. Jenkin- 

 son, whose recent death while fighting in the service 

 of his country is so deeply to be deplored. 



W. H. Brown and D. M. Mathews, in the Philippine 

 Journal of Science (vol. ix., Nos. 5 and 6, pp. 413-561), 

 give the results of an elaborate study of the Diptero- 

 carp forests of the Philippine Islands. At low eleva- 

 tions throughout the Indo-Malayan region, the Im- 

 portant forests, capable of yielding an extensive supply 

 of timber, are those in which the dominant trees belong 

 to the family Dipterocarpaceae. Forests of this class 

 occur in the Philippines from sea-level to 2500 ft. 

 elevation, and cover an area of 30,000 square miles. 

 Different types occur, the ecological and silvicultural 

 features of which are well described by the two 

 authors, who give numerous tables of the rates of 

 growth of the main species, and discuss at great 

 length the most suitable methods of utilising the 

 timber, which will ensure successful natural regenera- 

 tion on the felled areas. Artificial replanting appears 

 to be impracticable. The prevalent opinion that most 

 of the woods of the tropics are very hard and heavy, 

 and consequently only fit for ornamental uses, is not 

 supported by these investigations. On the contrary, 

 it is believed that enormous supplies of soft and light 

 timbers, just as suitable for building purposes as the 

 pine and spruce of northerly regions, will eventually 

 be procured from the tropical DIpterocarp forests, 

 which often consist of dense stands of a few species, 

 that may be logged at a small cost. An export trade 

 in such timber from the Philippine ports has lately 

 been rendered possible by the introduction of cheap 

 American machinery. 



The last issue (19 13-14) of the Bulletin Hydro- 

 £raphique, published in Copenhagen by the Con- 

 seil permanent international pour I'Exploration de 

 la Mer, contains physical observations taken, chiefly 

 in the North Sea, from July, 1913, to June, 1914. 

 The volume includes an admirable series of finelv 



NO. 2396, VOL. 96] 



executed maps illustrating salinities and currents, the 

 former in the North Atlantic as well as the North 

 Sea. The current observations are discussed at some 

 length, but the available data are still insufficient to 

 allow laws to be formulated with regard to mean 

 current conditions. Unfortunately, the war has inter- 

 rupted this international eff'ort, but it is to be hoped 

 it will be continued later. At most stations measure- 

 ments have been made at 10 metres' depth and near 

 to the bottom, and at fortnightly intervals for three 

 years. The tidal current seems to be least in the 

 Skagerak and the northern central part of the North 

 Sea, greater In the vicinity of the coasts and in the 

 eastern and western parts, and greatest in the 

 southern portion between the Channel and 53° N. 



In Naturen for July and August, 1915, C. F. 

 Kolderup discusses and illustrates the Devonian flora 

 of Vestland, between the Nordfjord and the Sogne- 

 fjord of Norway, on the basis of his researches from 

 1899 onwards, aided by material in the University 

 collections at Kristiania. The plant-remains confirm 

 the older suggestions as to the age of the sandstones 

 and conglomerates, and the presence of the Orcadian 

 Thursophyton milleri, which is probably a Lyco- 

 podiale, suggests a Middle Devonian horizon. 



Discussions of the anemographic observations re- 

 corded at Deesa from January, 1879, to December, 

 1904, and at Karachi from January, 1873, io 

 December, 1894, by W. A. Harwood, are given in 

 vol. xix. of the Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological 

 Department ; the discussions are numbered respectively 

 VII. and VIII, There is an Introduction by Dr. 

 G. T. Walker, and descriptions are given of the two 

 stations. The year at Deesa Is divided into three 

 seasons: the cool season, October to February; the 

 hot season, March to May; and the rainy or south- 

 west monsoon season, from June to September. As 

 each season has its characteristic winds, the data are 

 discussed under the three divisions. At Karachi the 

 year is divided into similar seasons, which embody 

 similar months to the discussion at Deesa. The 

 greatest air movement at Deesa corresponds to the 

 direction of maximum frequency throughout the year. 

 It is north-east in the cool season, and shifts round 

 through west during the hot season to south-west in 

 the rains. At Karachi the predominant movement 

 and the highest velocities are recorded from south- 

 westerly directions at all seasons. The hourly velo- 

 cities and co-ordinates of wind movement are given 

 for each month for each of the two stations, and 

 there are monthly wind-roses an4 other diagrams. 



We are glad to see that the war has not Interfered 

 with the publication of that very useful periodical, the 

 Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. In addi- 

 tion to the usual summary of current researches, the 

 August number (part iv., 1915) contains an interest- 

 ing article by Mr. Charles Singer on the " Dawn of 

 Microscopical Discovery," with, reproductions of some 

 microscopical drawings of early date and portraits of 

 some of the pioneers of microscopical science. Accord- 

 ing to the author, the pioneer period, with which his 

 article exclusively deals, terminated about the year 

 1660, and was succeeded by the classical period, in 



