540 



NATURE 



[January 14, 19 15 



the scientific reality behind domestic happenings seen 

 daily but ignored. 



We have received a report of a bacteriological 

 examination of the milk supply of Montreal in 1913-14, 

 by Dr. F. C. Harrison and Messrs. A. Savage and 

 W. Sadler. A large number of analyses were carried 

 out on more than 1000 samples, and the averages 

 show that Montreal milk, both in summer and in 

 winter, is of very poor hygienic quality. Various 

 recommendations are made with the view of improv- 

 ing the supply. 



It is shown by Mr. E. Shaw, in the Victorian 

 Naturalist for November, 19 14, that two supposed 

 species of Australian cockroaches were founded in 

 1893 on females of a species named in 1869 from 

 males, and representing a genus apart from that to 

 which the two former were assigned. 



In the American Museum Journal for December, 

 1914, Mr. R. C. .Andrews records the history of the 

 magnificent collection of whales, porpoises, and 

 dolphins which has recently been brought together in 

 the American Museum, and in the acquisition of 

 which he himself has taken a very large share, having 

 visited whaling-stations in Vancouver, Alaska, Japan, 

 and various Pacific isles, as well as having harpooned 

 white whales during their annual rush up the St. 

 Lawrence. The descriptions of the capture and 

 flensing of the monsters are most vivid, while many 

 of the illustrations are of the greatest interest. 



The Report of the Marine Biological Station at 

 Port Erin for 1914 contains a summary of the in- 

 vestigations carried on at the station during the year. 

 Nearly nine million plaice eggs were dealt with in 

 the fish hatchery, of which number about eight million 

 were successfully hatched and the larvae liberated at 

 an early stage of development. Experiments in lobster 

 rearing were also carried on. Out of 24,500 eggs 

 placed in the hatching boxes, 1823 larvae were reared 

 to the fourth or " lobsterling " stage. The regular 

 collection of plankton from Port Erin Bay was con- 

 tinued. Biochemical researches on the nutrition and 

 inetabolism of marine animals were carried on by 

 Prof. B. Moore and other workers, and various bio- 

 logical researches were also undertaken. 



In revising the water-beetles of the group typified 

 by the genus Helophorus in the January Issue of the 

 Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (the first number of 

 the fifty-first volume and of a nominal third series). 

 Dr. D. Sharp takes occasion to express his objection to 

 the practice of prefixing the letter *' H " to deriva- 

 tives from Greek aspirated words, on the ground that 

 the Greeks did not indicate the aspirate by a letter, 

 and arranged the aspirated and silent vowels in a 

 single alphabetical series. To omit the " H " would, 

 however, destroy all clue to the origin of the words, 

 and in certain instances might lead to difficulty; as, 

 for example, if there were a derivative from opos, a 

 mountain, analogous to horizon, from opos, a 

 boundary. In another article Dr. J. Waterston 

 describes two new species of bird-lice (Mallophaga), 

 representing as many genera, from a Colombian 

 toucan. 



NO. 2359, VOL. 94] 



Tropical Life for December contains a well-illus- 

 trated supplement entitled " Panama and Prosperity," 

 with numerous illustrations of tropical products repro- 

 duced from excellent photographs. Coco-nut germina- 

 tion, the picking and curing of cacao, the sugar cane 

 Industry, lime-growing, and tobacco In Jamaica are 

 among the subjects Illustrated, and should prove of 

 value to those interested in tropical vegetation. 



In the Keiv Bulletin. No. 9, a new oil seed from 

 South America, Osteophleum platyspermum, Warb., 

 is described and figured, and an analysis given of 

 the kernel, which contained 552 per cent, of fat. 

 Other members of the Myrlstlcaceae are known to 

 yield yellowish fats containing a large proportion of 

 the glyceride of myristic acid. These seeds, could 

 they be Imported in sufficient quantity, would be 

 valuable for commercial purposes. 



The Report of the Botanic Station in the Virgin 

 Islands for 1913-14, just received, shows that In these 

 small islands, as in the larger islands under the 

 jurisdiction of the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 for the West Indies, important work is being done 

 in the improvement of the cultivated crops. The 

 cotton industry, in particular, Is well-fostered, and 

 the usefulness of the station Is shown by the large 

 demands received for coco-nuts, coffee plants, bay 

 plants, etc. Special attention Is being paid to the 

 coco-nut industry, and Its progress will be eagerly 

 watched, especially by those owning land in the 

 islands. 



The Annotated List of flowering Plants and Ferns 

 of Point Pelee, Ontario, forming Memoir 54 of the 

 Biological Series, Department of Mines, Canada, is a 

 useful compilation, since Mont Pelee lies on a direct 

 line of north and south bird migration. The object 

 of the paper is to throw light on bird migration and 

 also to add to the knowledge of the distribution of 

 the wild plants of Ontario and Michigan. 583 species 

 of plants were noted on the point. On Pelee Island, 

 a large island to the south in Lake Erie, the Kentucky 

 coffee tree and other plants reach their northern limit. 

 It is unfortunate that Mr. Dodge does not summatise 

 his results or draw any conclusions as to the dispersal 

 of the plants by migratory birds. 



The " Fern ledges " of St. John, New Brunswick, 

 form the subject of Memoir 41 of the Geological 

 Survey of Canada, by Dr. M. C. Stopes. These 

 deposits are now recognised as Carboniferous, though 

 formerly described as Devonian, and consist of alter- 

 nations of sandstones and shales, and it is in the 

 shales that the rich flora of debris occurs. The shales 

 contain impressions of Calamites, Cordaites, etc., and 

 the plants have been for the most part described by 

 Sir William Dawson. A new genus, Pteridospemio- 

 strobus Is described, the plant being allied to the 

 British Lagenostema, but the preservation is unfor- 

 funately very imperfect. The monograph is illustrated 

 by a fine series of plates and useful text figures. 



The annual report of the Philippine Weather Bureau 

 (parts I and 2), recently Issued under the direction of 

 the Rev. J. Algue, S.J., contains hourly observations 



