September io, 1914] 



NATURE 



Z7 



specialised type than does the single one of lizards. 

 And when once the matter is put before us in this 

 straightforward manner, we can scarcely refrain from 

 wondering why we never thought of it before. Araeo- 

 scelis, in which there is certainly but a single arcade, 

 is regarded by the author as the typical representative 

 of a group — Araeoscelidia — which shall include the 

 European Permian genera, Protorosaurus and Kadalio- 

 saurus, and the position of which should be next the 

 Squamata (lizards and snakes). Ichthyosaurs, which 

 never possessed a lower temporal vacuity, and are 

 evidently a primitive group, are not improbably more 

 or less nearly related to the Araeoscelida. Palaeo- 

 hatteria, on the other hand, which has long been 

 associated with the European representatives of the 

 last-named group, is in every essential character near 

 akin to the Pelycosauria, in which it should typify a 

 special family. 



Mr. James Ritchie, of the Royal Scottish Museum, 

 has published a short but interesting paper on the 

 fauna of a deep coal-pit in Midlothian. None of the 

 animals show any indication of bleaching or blindness, 

 and it is evident that all must have been artificially 

 introduced, to a great extent, with the timber used 

 as props. The only springtail in the list is Tornocerus 

 minor, a species that happens to be constantly found 

 in caves, but none of the characteristic white, blind 

 cave-insects of the order Collembola were discovered 

 in the coal-pit. 



The valuable series of "L.M.B.C. Memoirs" pub- 

 lished by the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee 

 has reached No. xxii., in which Mr. Herbert C. 

 Chadwick, of the Port Erin station, describes the 

 Echinoderm larvae taken by tow-netting in the neigh- 

 bouring waters. Most of the larvae described are 

 ophiuroid or echinoid plutei, the young stages of 

 asteroids and holothuioids being unexpectedly scarce. 

 The memoir is illustrated with nine plates of excellent 

 structural figures. 



Dr. G. K. Gilbert, with the aid of Mr. E. C. 

 Murphy, has made a characteristically thoughtful 

 study of "The Transportation of Debris by Running 

 Water" (U.S. Geol. Survey, Professional Paper 86, 

 1914). Working with an experimental trough some 

 30 ft. in length, which could be adjusted at various 

 slopes, and another trough, 150 ft. in length, which 

 was kept horizontal, measurements were made of 

 the quantity of material of known grade carried for- 

 ward by traction on a bed built up of similar grains 

 and moulded by the flow. Such a bed represents the 

 conditions that occur in nature, and "the material 

 of the load is derived from and returned to the bed," 

 in contrast with movement in "flume transportation," 

 where the artificial channel has a rigid floor. "Salta- 

 tion," where a particle is caught in an ascending 

 swirl and shot forward for a time freely above the 

 bed, plays an important part in transportation ; and 

 a particle "in suspension" may be regarded as 

 making a very long leap of this kind. The present 

 work, which does full justice to the complex pheno- 

 mena, is concerned with traction and not with sus- 

 pension. 



NO. 2341, VOL. 94] 



Details of severe shocks in the earthquake belt 

 extending from Sumatra to New Guinea and the 

 Carolines are published (in Japanese) in the Journal of 

 the Meteorological Society of Japan for July, 19 14. 

 Two such earthquakes have occurred so far this year, 

 details of which were recorded at the Osaka Seismo- 

 logical Observatory as follows : — (i) April 12, at 

 ih. 39m. 41s. a.m. ; preliminary tremor lasting 

 7m. 22s., principal shock, 6m. os. ; maximum ampli- 

 tude, E.-W. movement at ih. S7m. 5s., 632 microns, 

 period 20-25. ; S.-N. movement at ih. 58m. is., 747 

 microns, period 2i-6s. ; total duration of shock, E.-W, 

 2h. iim., S.-N. 2h. 14m.; located near Gilbert 

 Island, east of New Guinea. (2) May 26, at iih. 29m. 

 56s. p.m. ; preliminary tremor lasting 5m. 53s., prin- 

 cipal shock, 3m-. 4s. ; maximum amplitude, E.-W. 

 movement at iih. 47m. 8s., 2187 microns, period 230s.; 

 S.-N. movement at iih. 50m. 41s., 4305 microns, 

 period 2o-8s. ; total duration of shock, E.-W., 3h. 29m., 

 S.-N., 3h. 33m. ; located near Celebes. Nine earth- 

 quakes of a similar or greater magnitude than the 

 latter, it is noted, have occurred in the same region 

 since 1907, the intervals separating them showing a 

 gradual diminution in length. 



In the last report of the Meteorological Committee 

 mention was made of the increase in the sale of the 

 Daily Weather Report, which is due largely to sub- 

 scriptions from schools; for some years past back 

 copies have been supplied for educational purposes 

 at the cost of postage. A notable case of the use 

 that may be made of these charts and other Meteoro- 

 logical Office publications is explained by Mr. W. E. 

 Whitehouse, assistant lecturer in physical geography 

 at Aberystwyth University College, in a pamphlet 

 entitled " Suggestions for a Course in Climatology 

 in Correlation with Geography," by means of which 

 "a vital section" of the latter can be more system- 

 atically treated. The large number of questions for 

 pupils cover most of the ground included under 

 modern meteorology, and a student who could satis- 

 factorily reply to the majority of them might claim 

 to be well equipped in meteorological science. A 

 useful bibliography has also been prepared in graded 

 sections for the use of teachers and others. The 

 pamphlet is prefaced by a very interesting intro- 

 duction by Dr. Shaw; while fully recognising the 

 practical and educational utility of the suggestions, 

 he thinks (as we do) that the author is "very liberal 

 in his interpretation of the scope of the science of 

 climatology." 



In connection with the Canadian National Exhibi 

 tion which has been opened at Toronto, the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture for the West Indies has 

 issued an illustrated handbook under the title, "The 

 West Indies in Canada," showing the main features 

 of the industrial and trade relations of the West 

 Indies, the nature of recent agricultural developments, 

 and a description of the principal products of the 

 islands. From this handbook it appears that Citrus 

 planting is being rapidly extended in British Guiana 

 and St. Lucia, tea is being planted in Jamaica, and 

 cigars are now exported from Jamaica in considerable 

 quantity. An interesting minor product is papaw, a 



