Ja3;uary 13, 19 1 6] 



NATURE 



557 



Ifects of alcohol. — Ruth J. Stocking : Variation and 

 jiheritance in abnormalities occurring after conjuga- 

 lion in Paramecium caudatttm. In. respect to the 

 abnormalities, while some lines are. constant in heredi- 

 tary character, in others hereditable variations do 

 ccur within the line, so that, by selection, it is pps- 

 ible to break the single stock into a number of stocks 

 uitTering hereditarily.^ — L. R. Cary : The influence pf 

 the marginal, sense organs on functional activity in 

 Cas^iopea zamachana. There is no direct relationship 

 between the extent of muscular activity and the rate 

 f regeneration. In the absence of the influence of the 

 <nse-organs regeneration can take place normally but 

 always at a decidedly lower rate.— A. R. Middleton : 

 Heritable variations and the results of selection in the 

 lission rate of Stylonychia pustulata. It is possible to 

 ;ive precise data as to the occurrence of heritable 

 ariations and their accumulation through selection; 

 iid this can scarcely fail to have influence on the con- 

 > ption of the genotype as a fixed thing. — H. Gushing : 

 :lereditary anchylosis of the proximal phalangeal joints 

 ^symphalangism). The character behaves as a simple 

 Mendelian dominant with equal chance among the off- 

 spring of affected individuals that it will be or will 

 not be inherited. — S. O. Mast : The relative stimulating 

 efficiency of spectral colours for the lower organisms. 

 The stimulation in all of the organisms studied depends 

 upon the wave-length of the light, and the stimulating 

 efficiency is very much higher in certain regions of 

 the spectrum than in others, but the regions differ in 

 certain organisms closely related in structure.— W. M. 

 Davis: The Mission Range, Montana. This range 

 seems unique in its systematic tripartite arrangement 

 of normally and glacially sculptured forms. — E. II. 

 Moore : Definition of limit in general integral analysis. 

 The definition is noteworthy in that it involves no 

 metric features of the r^inge t^ underlying the range 

 of definition of the function ¥ (a-). 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, November 24, 19 15. — Mr. A. G. 

 Hamilton, president, in the chair. — R. J. Tillyard : 

 Studies on Australian Neuroptera. No. I. — The wing- 

 venation of the Myrmelionidae. The tracheation of 

 the pupal wing was obtained by dissecting off the 

 wing-sheaths of the newly-formed pupa, and making 

 photomicrographs from them in water. The forewing 

 offers a very interesting condition, inasmuch as it is 

 found that the supposed main stem of the cubitus 

 (Cui) is really the lower branch of the media (Mo), 

 except for a small basal portion. For this compound 

 vein, the name cubito-median (Cu,4-Mj) is proposed. 

 The passage of Mj over to Cu, in the imago is marked 

 by a persistently oblique cross-vein, similar to that 

 marking the bridge in Odonata. In the hindwing, 

 the media is unbranched, and the venation follows the 

 tracheation exactly. The peculiar formation called 

 the " Banksian line " is also studied and explained, 

 and is contrasted with the "gradate series" of 

 Chrysopidae. Finally, the phylogenetic interpretation 

 of the results is shown to point to the descent of the 

 Myrmelionidae from ancestors similar to the present 

 Australian Nymphidae — a conclusion that can also be 

 arrived at by a study of other organs, larval forms, 

 and habits.— Miss A. A. Brewster : Observations on the 

 pollination of Darwinia fascicularis. Amongthe gent-ric 

 •characters of Darwinia, Mr. Bentham gives " Style 

 <'xserted, usually long, and more or less bearded to- 

 wards the end" (" Fl. Aust.," iii., 6). By the late 

 ^Ir. E. Haviland, the bearded portion was thus de- 

 ribed :— " Immediately below the stigma is a ring 

 :' stiff hair-like glands, which secrete an adhesive 

 lluid copiously" /Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. Wales, 1884, 

 p. 70) ; and pollination was ascribed to insect-agency. 

 It is now shown, (i) that the hairs^ serve the purpose 



NO. 241 T, VOL. 96 I 



of entangling and storing the viscid pollen, which is 

 shed from the anthers . when the perianth opens to 

 allow yf the exit of the young, elongating style; (2) 

 that the flowers are pollinated by nectar-seeking birds ; 

 and (3) that the process is facilitated by the condition 

 that, in almost every cluster of flowers (6-12), there is 

 a distinct zone of mature, or almost mature, pistils, 

 representing about one-half of the cluster, while those 

 of the other half are in bud or in ^ome intermediate 

 stage of development; so that flowers of the same 

 cluster may offer elongated styles with stigmas ready 

 for pollination, as well as shorter st)'les with pollen- 

 masses ready for transfer. — R, Grelg-Smith : Contribu- 

 tions to our knowledge of soil-fertility. No. XIV. — 

 The stimulative action of traces of chloroform retained 

 by the soil. When a soil is treated with chloroform 

 and then exposed to the air, traces of the volatile 

 disinfectant are retained by the soil. These stimulate 

 the growth of bacteria in soil-extracts. The action of 

 volatile disinfectants upon the soil is, therefore, in 

 part due to the direct stimulation of the soil-bacteria 

 by traces retained by the soil. — E. W. Ferguson : Re- 

 vision of the Amycterides. Part IV. — Sclerorinus 

 (section ii.). Section ii. comprises four groups. 

 Group i. (sixteen species) is well represented in South 

 Australia, extending also to north-west Victoria, Cen- 

 tral Australia, and the Murchison district of Western 

 Australia. Group ii. (sev^n species) includes species 

 vi-hich occur along the highlands of Queensland and 

 New South Wales, and two which extend to Victoria, 

 Tasmania, and South Australia. Group iii. (five 

 species) is distributed over the southern tablelands of 

 New South Wales.. Group iv. (fifteen species) is 

 strongly represented in South Australia, with a few 

 species extending to Victoria, New South Wales, and 

 Queensland. Five species are described as new ; and 

 two, previously described, are regarded as anomalous, 

 and left ungrouped.— F. H. Taylor • Australian 

 Tabanidae. No. I. Eight species of Silvius (subfamily 

 Pangoninae) are described as new, increasing the total 

 number of described species to fourteen. Only two 

 of these are known to occur south of the tropic of 

 Capricorn. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Le Scuole lonica Pythagorica ed Eleata (i Pre- 

 aristotelici i). By A. Mieli. Pp. xvi + 503 (Firenze : 

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Bacon's Contour Atlas. Northern Wales Edition. 

 Pp. 41. East .A.nglia Edition. Pp. 41. South-West 

 England Edition. Pp. 41. (London : G. W. Bacon 

 and Co., Ltd.) Each 6d. net. 



The Cosmogony Actual : a Statement of Certain 

 Stresses in Stellar Physics. By A. R. Ward. Pp. 68. 

 (Sydney : W. Brooks and Co., Ltd.) 



The Prophecy concerning the Rosh Kelalah. By 

 A. R. Ward. Second edition. Pp. 58 (Sydney: 

 W. Brooks and Co., Ltd.) is. 6d. 



National Efficiency. A Series of Lectures delivered 

 by Prof. R. F. Irvine, M. Atkinson, Prof. W. H. 

 Moore, and Prof. W. A. Osborne, at the Victorian 

 Railways Institute in August-September, 1915. Pp. 

 56. (Victorian Railways Printing Branch.) 



Land and Marine Diesel Engiries. By Prof. I. G. 

 Supino. Translated by Eng.-Lieut.-Com. .\. G. 

 Bremner and J. Richardson. Pp. XV4-309. (London: 

 C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) 125. 6d. net. 



An Elementary Grammar of Colloquial French on 

 Phonetic Basis. By Prof. G. Bonnard. Pp. xii+i8o. 

 (Cambridge : W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd.) 3s. td. net. 



The Magic of Jewels and Charms. By Dr. G. F. 

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How to Make Low-Prcssure Transformers. Bv 



