November 12, 19 14] 



NATURE 



299 



independent "determiners for red"' are present in the 

 jjerm cells. This condition receives a reasonable ex- 

 planation if we assume that two chromosomes, belong- 

 ing' to different pairs, have each undergone the 

 change which leads to the production of red in the 

 glumes. 



It would take us too far to attempt to anahse the 

 various other types of mutations which are now 

 known to occur, but we may refer to one other case. 

 The origin of CE. mut. nanella cannot be explained 

 in the same way as that of tE. mut. nibricalyx, for 

 its hereditary' behaviour is different. Not onlv is 

 nanella recessive in comparison with nibricalyx, which 

 is dominant, but when we cross laniarckiana with 

 nanella we obtain both parent forms in F,, and both 

 afterwards breed true. If the behaviour were Men- 

 delian, the dwarfs should appear first in the F„. On 

 ; the other hand, ruhrinervis x nanella produces 

 [laniarckiana and riibrinerx'is only in the F,, and 

 nanella in the F,. The only explanation of this 

 behaviour that has been offered is de Vries's hvpo- 

 thesis of labile pangens. However we picture the 

 change from laniarckiana to nanella. it has happened 

 differently from the mutations previously mentioned, 

 iind de Vries's supposition that splitting in such cases 

 Occurs in F, or F-, according to whether the character 

 is present in the labile or stable condition is the only 

 hypothesis that meets the case. 



From the instances already mentioned it will be 

 seen that mutation is a multifarious process, and the 

 greatest need of the present time is the analvsis of 

 many individual cases through combined cvtological 

 and experimental study. Such analyses will lead to a 

 better understanding of the nature of germinal 

 changes and the way in which they contribute to 

 evolutionary progress. The study of inheritance, 

 Mendelian or otherwise, is useful and-.entertaining, 

 but behind it lies the question as to how and why 

 Mendelian and other differences arise. We have seen 

 that a bewildering variety of germinal changes occurs, 

 and their study opens a vast field of investigation 

 which has scarcely as yet been touched upon. When 

 we know more of the nature of germinal changes and 

 the laws and causes of their occurrence it should be 

 possible to apply the knowledge more directly to 

 problems of phylogeny. 



To me, the most significant distinction between 

 mutations and fluctuations, or germinal changes and 

 continuous variations, lies in the fact that the former 

 are inherited as wholes, though it may be only in a 

 fraction of the offspring ; while the latter are partially 

 inherited and are also more amenable to the environ- 

 inent. Darwin relied chiefly upon what we call con- 

 tinuous variations, because the complete inheritance 

 of "single variations" or mutations was then un- 

 known. It does not follow, however, that the latter 

 furnish the whole of the material for evolution, and 

 I am inclined to believe in a large borderland between 

 these two categories of variations, which is at present 

 unexplored. 



UNIVERSITY AXD EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The London County Council has arranged for a 

 series of five lectures entitled "The Natural History 

 of Some Common Animals," to be given at the Horni- 

 man Museum, Forest Hill, on Wednesday evenings, 

 at 8 p.m., commencing yesterday. The lectures will 

 i be illustrated by lantern slides and specimens ; each 



J will be complete in itself, and there will be no charge 



.! for admission. 



We have received from the University of Sydney a 

 /copy of an interesting publication entitled " Biblio- 



I XO. 2350, VOL. 94] 



graphical Record of the University of Sydney, 185 1- 

 1913." It is chiefly composed of lists of the publica- 

 tions of the members of the University staff, and of 

 its research scholars. The titles of original papers in 

 the various subjects of university study, and of 

 treatises and text-books published from time to time, 

 run to eighty-four closely printed pages, and form 

 excellent testimony to the ability and industry- of the 

 members of the University and to the value of their 

 contributions to our knowledge. 



We are informed that the 1914-15 session of Hong- 

 kong University commenced on September 14 with 

 a good entry of students; eight entered from the pro- 

 vince of Chihli and several from the Straits, Shanghai, 

 etc. Since the last session the staff has also increased, 

 the latest addition being Mr. W. Brown, a lecturer in 

 mechanical engineering. There are now seventy-six 

 students in the university studying engineering, and 

 the British staff in the engineering faculty consists of 

 the Taikoo professor, five lecturers and an electrician. 

 Numerous visitors are attracted by the magnificent 

 equipment presented by British manufacturers. 



A SUPPLEMENT to the original "Catalogue of Books 

 on the Useful Arts " in the central libraries of New- 

 castle-upon-Tyne, which was published in 1903, has 

 been prepared by Mr. Basil Anderton, the public 

 librarian, and issued by the Public Libraries Com- 

 mittee. The present catalogue covers the accessions 

 to the library during the years 1903-14 and includes 

 the titles of volumes in the lending libraries as well 

 as those in the central reference library. Dewev's 

 decimal classification is adopted, and the index will 

 guide readers straight to the group of books they 

 desire. Mr. Anderton and his staff mux be con- 

 gratulated not only upon the excellence and com- 

 pleteness of their catalogues, but also upon the com- 

 prehensive collection of technical literature which 

 they have been enabled to provide for the use of 

 students in their area. 



The issue of Science for October 23 conuiins the 

 following announcements of bequests and gifts in aid 

 of higher education in the United States. Phillips 

 Academy, Andover, Mass., receives a bequest of about 

 92,400/. under the will of the late Mr. Melville C. Day, 

 of New York, who died in Florence, Italv. This 

 amount is the residue of thp estate. At the termina- 

 tion of a life estate created for the benefit of a friend, 

 Phillips Academy will receive a further sum of about 

 9000/. The late Mr. F. W. Dohrmann, for a number of 

 years a regent of the University of California, has be- 

 queathed 1000/. as a loan fund, for loans to members 

 of the faculty- to tide them over times of illness or 

 other emergency. Miss Ellen B. Scripps has made a 

 gift of 7000Z. (in addition to 12,000/. previously sub- 

 scribed by herself) for a pier, pumping plant, and addi- 

 tional equipment for the Scripps Institution for Bio- 

 logical Research, at La Jolla, near San Diego, Cali- 

 fornia. For its maintenance she gives 2000/; yearly 

 to the University of California. 



A CERT.UN number of Belgian professors are now 

 assembled at Cambridge, as well as an increasing 

 number of students from Louvain, Liege, Ghent, and 

 Brussels. In view of the appeal issued by the Belgian 

 Government for volunteers, it has been decided in 

 consultation with the Belgian Government, that only 

 such students as are physically unfit for militan.- ser- 

 vice, or have been rejected for other reasons by the 

 Belgian authorities, and are in possession of a certifi- 

 cate to that effect, can be accepted by the Cambridge 

 hospitality and academic committees. It has proved 

 impossible for Louvain L'niversity to transfer its cor- 

 porate and official existence to Cambridge, and conse- 



