530 



NATURE 



[January 6, 191 6 



tiong to a knowledge of soil fertility. No. xiii., The 

 toxicity of soils. The formation of toxins, in a soil 

 free from vegetation, occurs most rapidly when the 

 temperature is near 28°, and the moisture-content is 

 one-fourth of the water-holding capacity. The soil- 

 extract is, as a rule, either nutritive or toxic, accord- 

 ing- to the volume of water, relative to the soil, used 

 in preparing- the extract. It is most nutritive when 

 the ratio of soil to water is i : 05, and most toxic 

 when it is I : I. A previous drying or chloroforming 

 of the soil causes the extract to be much more nutri- 

 tive than when the raw soil is used. The addition of 

 small quantities of dextrose to soil brings about a 

 more rapid production of toxin, while aeration of the 

 treated soil accelerates the formation and decay of the 

 toxin. — W. W. Froggatt : Notes on a coUection'of Aus- 

 tralian and other Myriapods. Notes on nine species 

 are offered; one of them from the New Hebrides, a 

 second from Queensland and the New Hebrides ; the 

 others, including Scolopendra morsitans, Linn., from 

 various Australian localities, chiefly in the western 

 portion of New South Wales. S. morsitans, originally 

 described from India, and with a wide distribution, is 

 the common centipede of the interior of Australia. — 

 H. W. Brolemann : Description of a new Myriapod 

 from New South Wales. A species of Schizoribautia 

 from Brewarrina and Nevertire, N.S.W., is described 

 as new. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



The Scientists' Reference Book and Diary, 1916. 

 (Manchester: J. Woolley, Sons, and Co., Ltd.) 2s. 



Dinosaurs, with Special Reference to the American 

 Museum Collections. By W. D. Matthew. Pp. 162. 

 (New York : American Museum of Natural History.) 



The Marine Biological Station at Port Erin (Isle 

 of Man), being the 29th Annual Report of the Liver- 

 pool Marine Biology Committee. Drawn up by Dr. 

 W. A, Herdman. Pp. 57. (Liverpool : C. Tinling 

 and Co., Ltd.) 



Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

 Vol. li., part ii. (No. 7). Studies on the Development 

 of the Horse. (1) The Development during the Third 

 Week. By Prof. J. Cossar Ewart. Pp. 287-329 + 

 plates ix-xviii. (Edinburgh : R, Grant and Son.) 7s. 



Hazell's Annual for the Year 1916. Edited by Dr. 

 T. A. Ingram. Pp. 528. (London : Hazell, Watson 

 and Viney, Ltd.) 35. 6d. net. 



Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society. 

 Vol. xviii. Bibliography of Yorkshire Geology (C. 

 Fox-Strangway's Memorial Volume.) By T. Shep- 

 pard. Pp. xxxvi + 629. (London and Hull : A. Brown 

 and Sons, Ltd.) 



Penrose's Annual. Vol. xxi. The Process Year 

 Book. Edited by W. Gamble. Pp. 112+plates. 

 (Bradford and London: Lund, Humphries and Co., 

 Ltd.) 55._ net. 



Algebraic Equations. 

 Second edition. Pp. 64. 

 sity Press.) 25. 6d. net. 



A First Course of Geometry. By Dr. C. Davison. 

 Pp. 89. ^ (Cambridge : At the University Press.) 

 IS. 6d. 



Exercises in Practical Physics. By Profs. A. 

 Schuster and C. H. Lees. Fourth edition. Revised. 

 Pp- x + 379. (Cambridge: At the Universitv Press.) 

 ys. net. 



Archaeological Excavation. By J. P. Droop. Pp. 

 X + 80. (Cambridge: At the University Press.) 45. 

 net. 



Collected Papers on Spectroscopy, with a Supple- 

 mentary Paper not Heretofore Published, and a Classi- 

 fied Index. By Prof. J. D. Liveing and Sir J. Dewar. 

 Pp. xv + 566. (Cambridge: At the Universitv Press.) 

 305. net. 



By Dr. G. B. Mathews. 

 (Cambridge : At the Univer- 



Euclid's Book on Divisions of Figures, with a 

 Restoration based on Woepcke's Text and on the 

 Practical Geometriae of Leonardo Pisano. By Prof. 

 R. C. Archibald. Pp. 88. (Cambridge: At the Uni- 

 versity Press.) 6s. net. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA y, January 6. 



Optical Society, at 8. — The Use of a Graticule inJBinoculars and Tele- 

 scopes : S. D. Chalmers. 



FRIDAY, January 7- 



Geologists' Association, at 7.30.— The Discovery and Excavation of a 



Large Specimen of EleJ>kas antiquus near Chatham : Dr. C. W. Andrews. 



MONDAY, January 10. 



Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.— The Adriatic Slavs and their 



Relation to the Future Overland Route to Constantinople : Sir A. Evans. 



TUESDAY, January ii. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 5.30. — The Electric Locomotive : 

 F. W. Carter. 



THURSDAY, January 13. 



Royal Society of Arts, at 4.30. — The Romance of Indian Surveys: Sir 

 T. H. Holdich. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— The Predetermination of 

 the Performance of Dynamo-electric Machinery : Prof. Miles Walker. 



Mathematical Society, at 5.30. — The Transition from Vapour to Liquid, 

 when the Range of the Molecular Attractions is Sensible : Sir J. Larmor. 

 — (i). A Note on the Uniform Convergence of the Fourier Series 

 Za„sinn9 ; (2) A Condition for the Validity of Taylor's Expansion : T. W. 

 Chaundy. 



FRIDAY, January 14. 



Royal Astronomical Society, at 5. 



Malacological Society, at 7. — "The Operculum of the Genus Bursa 

 (Ranella) : Rev. A. H. Cooke.— The Shells of the South African Species 

 of Lepiidae : E. A. Smith.— (1) A Volume of Plates Prepared by Rackett 

 for the Second Edition of Pulteney's "Dorsetshire Shells" in Hutchin's 

 ■'History of Dorset"; (2) Lovell Reeve's "Elements of Conchology," 

 with some Dates of Publication : A. Reynell. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Merit and Reward 503 



The British Coal-Tar Industry. By G. T. M. . . 504 



School Mathematics. By D. M 506 



The Northern Bantu. By Sir H. H. Johnston, 



G.C.M.G., K.C.B 507 



Our Bookshelf • 508 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Researches in Aeronautical Mathematics. — Prof. 



G. H. Bryan, F.R.S 509 



Belated Migrants. — Dr. Henry O. Forbes .... 510 



The Popularisation of Science. — F. Carrel .... 510 



The Export of Feeding Stuffs and Fertilisers . . . 510 



The Ceramic Industries. By Dr. J. W. Mellor . . 512 



Scientific Studies of Swine Fever 513 



Mineral Products of India. By H. L 514 



Prof. H. Debus, F.R.S. By T. E. T 515 



Notes 516 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Comet I9I5<; (Taylor) 521 



The Spectra of Wolf-Rayet Stars 521 



Photo-electric Photometry -521 



Some Possibly Connected Solar and Planetary Phe- 

 nomena 521 



Determination of Radial Velocities by Objective 



Prisms ... 521 



Radial Velocity of R Coronas Borealis 521 



Modern Systems of Independent Lighting and 



Heating. [Ilhisirated.) 522 



Researches on Sprue. By J. W. W. S 524 



Scientific Committees on National Problems ... 525 



University and Educational Intelligence 527 



Societies and Academies 528 



Books Received 530 



Diary of Societies 530 



Editorial and Publishing Offices : 



MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd., 



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



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

 Publishers 



NO. 



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Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address : Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number : Gerrard 8830. 



