December 17, 19 14] 



NATURE 



429 



Tate Regan in vol. i., No, i, " Zoology," published by 

 the British Museum (Natural Histor}'). Twelve of the 

 species are regarded as new to science, four of them 

 being new generic types. All but three of the twenty- 

 live species collected by the expedition belong to the 

 group Nototheniiformes, and the author gives a table 

 ■(p. 26) showing in detail the distribution of this typical 

 Antarctic group. Following the detailed descriptions 

 •of the fishes are two sections of a more general char- 

 acter, the first dealing with the distribution of Ant- 

 arctic and Subantarctic fishes, and the second with the 

 Antarctic continent during the Tertiary period. The 

 author's conclusion is that neither the fresh-water 

 fishes nor the marine fishes, whether Antarctic or 

 South Temperate, support the theory that Antarctica 

 has connected Australia with South America in Ter- 

 tiary times, nor does he consider that the distribution 

 ■of other groups of animals confirms such a view. 



The first part of a series of publications under the 

 :general title, " Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Land- und 

 Siisswasser-fauna Deutsch-Siidwestafrikas," which 

 was published in the spring of the present year, con- 

 tains some results of a scientific exf>edition to German 

 South-West Africa, conducted by Dr. W. Michaelsen, 

 of Hamburg, in 191 1. At the same time Dr. Michael- 

 ■sen publishes the first part of a series dealing with the 

 marine fauna not only of the German colony but also 

 •of the whole West African coast, under the title, 

 " Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Meeresfauna West- 

 afrikas," A general account of Dr. Michaelsen's 

 expedition, written by himself, is given in the former 

 ■of the two works, which also contains reports on the 

 Br\ozoa by Kraeplin, the Copepoda by van Douwe, 

 the Oligochaeta by Michaelsen, the Isoptera by 

 Sjostedt, and the Skorpiones and Solifugae by Krae- 

 pelin. In the volume on marine fauna the Hydrozoa 

 and Pennatulacea are described by Broch and the 

 ■Gephyrea by W. Fischer. Both publications are well 

 illustrated with text figures and plates, and will add 

 io the reputation as a scientific traveller which Dr. 

 Michaelsen has already established by his reports of 

 , his earlier journeys to the Straits of Magellan and to 

 Australia. 



The second part of vol. i. of the Journal of the 

 Natural History Society of Siam contains a series of 

 excellent papers and notes on the fauna of the country, 

 and is well illustrated. It opens with the description 

 of three new snakes, by Dr. G. A. Boulenger, and 

 also contains the second part of a paper on the snakes 

 of Bangkok, by Mr. Malcolm Smith, who, in a 

 separate note, records for the first time the occurrence 

 in Siam of that venomous species, the Indian crait 

 iBungarus candidus). The list of papers is completed 

 by one on the birds of Bangkok, by Mr. W. J. F. 

 Williamson, and a second, on those of the Raheng 

 district, by Mr. C. S. Barton. In a note on the 

 occurrence of an oily secretion in a wild ox during the 

 " must " season, Mr. K. G. Gairdner, if we may judge 

 from the figure he gives of its skull, appears to have 

 mistaken a tsaine, or bautin {Bos sondaiciis porteri], 

 for a gaur (B. gaurus). 



The probable effects of the war on horse- and cattle- 

 breeding in this country, and the measures that will 

 NO. 2355, VOL. 94] 



have to be taken at its close to replenish our stock of 

 horses, and at the same time to meet the great foreign 

 demand for pedigree-cattle of all kinds which is 

 likely to arise, loom large in the " Live Stock Journal 

 Almanac " for 1915. Among others who write on this 

 subject. Col. G. C. Ricardo is of opinion that in the 

 future Government ought to buy remounts as two- 

 year-olds, in order to help breeders. In another article 

 Messrs. Stratton and Thomas discuss the future of 

 cattle after the war, and point out the heavy drain 

 that will almost certainly take place in our pedigree- 

 stock when peace is proclaimed. Mr. Frank Webb 

 writes to much the same effect, and suggests that in 

 the not very distant future Russia will become a large 

 buyer. The general opinion seems, indeed, to be 

 that British and other pure bred stock will eventually 

 oust the mongrel breeds from the civilised world ; and, 

 in consequence, that the prospect for breeders will 

 ere long be of the brightest. In the matter of illus- 

 trations and in general get-uo the present issue fully 

 maintains the high reputation of this excellent 

 almanac, which is certainly a wonderful shilling's- 

 worth. 



The Bulletin Trimestriel, 1913, continues the sum- 

 mary of the plankton observations carried out by the 

 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 

 during the years 1902-08. In this third part of the 

 plankton Resume ten groups are dealt with, the more 

 lengthy articles concerning the Diatoms, the Radio- 

 laria, and the second part of the Peridinidae. In the 

 105 elates, most of which concern the Diatoms and 

 Peridinidae, the observed distribution of many impor- 

 tant species is charted for the four quarterly cruises, 

 distinctive symbols marking the different years of 

 observation. In the text, so far as possible, a uniform 

 method is preserved, the species of the several groups 

 being discussed in relation to the seasonal horizontal 

 and vertical range of occurrence in the different areas, 

 the hydrographic relationships, and other points con- 

 tributing to a fuller knowledge of the species and its 

 part in the marine bionomics of North European 

 waters. Much previous work has been incorporated, 

 and when the magnitude of these international investi- 

 gations is remembered, involving as they do the care- 

 ful study of many thousands of hauls, made at some 

 hundreds of stations more or less regularly visited 

 during these years, and extending from the Barents 

 Sea to the Bay of Biscay, the importance of this 

 valuable work to marine science may be justly 

 estimated. 



The annual report of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 just issued is a record of a busy and successful year. 

 The 19 1 4 show at Shrewsbury was especially notable 

 for the excellence of the exhibits, while the live-stock 

 entries were, with one exception, the largest on record. 

 Attention is directed to the cutting off of the supplies 

 of kainit and other potash salts owing to the war. 

 As no regular supply is to be obtained outside Ger- 

 many, the farmer and the manufacturer of artificial 

 manures are adversely affected. It is suggested that 

 the practice of kelp burning may be revived, while 

 Peruvian and other guanos may be used to supply the 

 necessary potash to a limited extent. The Woburn 



