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NATURE 



[December 2, 1915. 



of flagellates and small or large ciliates may be 

 employed as necessary in attacking the difficult 

 problems in soil protozoology that await solution. 

 An attempt to prepare, by similar means, cultures of 

 protozoa free from bacteria was unsuccessful, as only 

 90 per cent, of the bacteria could be removed. It 

 appears unlikely that a complete separation could be 

 effected by this method. 



We are indebted to Mr. Otto Klotz, of the seismo- 

 logical observatory of Ottawa, for a copy of the seismo- 

 gram of the remarkable earthquake of September 6-7. 

 The record was obtained by means of a Bosch photo- 

 seismograph. Mr. Klotz estimates that the epicentre 

 was 3750 kilometres from Ottawa, in lat. 14° 14' N., 

 long. 90° 30' W., that is, beneath the Pacific, a short 

 distance from the coast of Guatemala. 



Survey work in New Zealand was seriously curtailed 

 last year owing to decrease in staff due to many 

 enlistments. The triangulation made slow progress, 

 and other survey operations suffered, though in a less 

 degree. The report on the survey operations for the 

 year 1914-15 (Wellington, 1915) mentions the comple- 

 tion of maps of New Zealand on scales of an inch 

 to ten miles, and one to a million, and annouces their 

 publication at an early date. 



In an article on the underground waters of Australia 

 in the Scientific Australian (vol. xxi.. No. i, September, 

 1915) Mr. T. Parker directs attention to the diminished 

 flow of water in many of the artesian wells of New 

 South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. An 

 interstate conference which considered the matter 

 heard a good deal of conflicting evidence, but came 

 to the conclusion that the decrease was mainly due 

 to a reduction in the supply of underground water. 

 The- opinion is held, however, that it may be due 

 to corrosion causing defective casings in the wells, and 

 by shocks causing breakages and leakage. Mr. 

 Parker advocates a new investigation and a systematic 

 survey of the wells. He hints that several of the 

 States will shortly undertake this. 



Recent political events lend exceptional interest to 

 the three illustrated articles which form the contents 

 of the National Geographic Magazine for October 

 (Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society). 

 Mr. George Higgins Moses, formerly United States 

 Minister to Greece, contributes an article on "Greece 

 of To-day," containing photographs both of Greek 

 people and of historic remains. Under the author- 

 ship of "Hester Donaldson Jenkins," we have an 

 article on Armenia and the Armenians. The illus- 

 trations in this case mainly depict the features of 

 different types of the Armenian race ; in addition, 

 there is a beautiful frontispiece of Mount Ararat, 

 evidently printed by an efficient differential method. 

 The writer of this article contributed a previous 

 article to the same magazine in April last under the 

 title "Bulgaria and its Women." Lastly, we have 

 Mr. James Howard Gore's article on " Roumania the 

 Pivotal State," describing the effects on that nation 

 of Roman envy, Goth and Hun invaders, and show- 

 ing pictures of its modern towns. In the concluding 

 sentences the author says: — "Just now a greater 

 NO. 2405, VOL. 96] 



conflict is raging, and the aid of Roumania is eagerly 

 sought. Is she a pivotal State? If so, which way 

 will she turn and what will be her reward?" 



We have received from the Carnegie Institution of 

 Washington a classified list of its publications. The 

 list is worth examination as an example of careful 

 bibliography. It begins with a numbered list of the 

 publications, giving the bibliographic details. This is 

 followed by a catalogue of the same works 

 classified according to subject-matter. Short accounts 

 giving a clear idea of the argument of each of the 

 publications form a special feature. These risum6s 

 appear to have been written by the authors of the 

 books catalogued, and are in many cases in themselves 

 quite interesting. The title often gives a very in- 

 adequate idea of the contents of a book or paper, and 

 it is therefore much to be desired that authors should 

 make a practice of giving a short argument or abstract 

 as a preface to their longer papers. An alphabetical 

 list of authors' names, including the names of col- 

 laborators, forms a useful appendix. In addition to 

 the well-known "Index Medicus," which has now 

 reached its fourteenth annual issue, there are in the 

 catalogue more than 200 books and pamphlets dealing 

 for the most part with scientific questions. These have 

 all been published during the last ten years. Most of 

 the physical and biological sciences are represented. 

 Included in the list are collections of zoological papers 

 from the Tortugas Laboratory of the Carnegie Insti- 

 tution and from the department of marine biology of 

 the institution. The admirable way in which the 

 list has been drawn up makes it possible to realise 

 how much the Carnegie Institution has done, and is 

 doing, for science. 



The September number of Terrestrial Magnetism 

 and Atmospheric Electricity contains the first part of 

 an article by Dr. W. F. G. Swann on the origin and 

 maintenance of the earth's electric charge. After a 

 short account of the leading facts of atmospheric elec- 

 tricity — the increase of electrical potential with alti- 

 tude, the negative charge on the earth's surface, the 

 positive charge of the atmosphere — Dr. Swann shows 

 how difficult it is to account for the maintenance of 

 these conditions, and how inadequate are the theories 

 which have been 'put forward to explain them. Electro- 

 dynamical theories give forces too small ; the emission 

 of electric charges by the sun fails to account for the 

 phenomena at night; the rain precipitation theory is 

 not supported by measurements ; the mobility theory 

 has been shown to postulate a property of the negative 

 ions they do not possess; and the theory that ionised 

 air from cavities in the earth's crust is responsible for 

 the principal phenomena fails to account for the ob- 

 servations made over the ocean. It is to be hoped 

 that the second part of Dr. Swann 's article will pro- 

 vide some more satisfactory explanation of these 

 puzzling phenomena. 



Technological Paper No. 53 of the United States 

 Bureau of Standards contains an account of an inves- 

 tigation of fusible tin boiler plugs. Such plugs are 

 fitted to the top of the boiler furnace and are normally 

 surrounded by water. Should the water level in the 



