NA TURE 



[NOVEMULK 8, 1900 



mentioned one by Mr. T. Sheppard on prehistoric man in 

 Holderness. 



The publishers have sent us the third part of Dr. Otto 

 Fischer's elaborate treatise on the walk of man (" Der Gang des 

 Menschen"). This section of the work, which is illustrated 

 with seven plates, is devoted to a review of the scope of the 

 whole investigation, and a summary of the movements of the 

 lower limbs. 



In addition to a note by Mr. R. Hall on the change of 

 plumage in certain birds, the August issue of the Proceedings of 

 the Royal Society of Victoria (vol. xii. (n. s.), part I) contains 

 no less than seven papers dealing with various groups of the 

 invertebrate fauna of the colony. Two of these— on Isopod 

 freshwater crustaceans— are by Prof. O. A. Sayce, each contain- 

 ing the description of a new genus. In a paper on the earth- 

 worms of the colony, Prof. Baldwin Spencer has to record two 

 genera and a very large number of species as new to science. 



In the July issue of the Jotirnal of the Straits Branch of the 

 Royal Asiatic Society; Dr. R. Hanitsch gives an account of his 

 recent expedition to Mount KinaBalu, British North Borneo, 

 together with a summary of its zoological results. The 

 examination of many of the specimens acquired was undertaken 

 by specialists in England and Calcutta ; and among the 

 novelties are a new genus of freshwater fish and one of snakes, 

 as well as two other new species of reptiles and one of 

 batrachians, all these having been described by Mr. G. A. 

 Boulenger. The paper is illustrated by two excellent photo- 

 gravures of Bornean mountain scenery, as well as with two 

 plates of the new reptiles, batrachian and fish. A second paper 

 by Dr. Hanitsch deals with a flying frog of the genus 

 Rhacophorus ; and Mr. II. N. Ridley contributes a note on the 

 use of the slow loris in Malay medicine. 



With the commencement of the current volume of the 

 Botanical Gazette, Prof. J. C. Arthur has vacated the editorial 

 chair, which he has occupied since 1886. The responsible 

 editors are now Prof. John M, Coulter and Prof. Charles R. 

 Barnes. 



We have received a prospectus of the County School of 

 Horticulture, Chelmsford, established by the Essex County 

 Council, under the direction of Mr. David Houston and Mr. 

 Charles Wakely. Instruction is given in the various branches of 

 scientific horticulture, and certificates of proficiency are awarded. 

 The technical instruction committee offer free instruction, 

 • travelling allowance, and, at their discretion, board and lodging, 

 to fifteen pupils from the county of Essex, to be selected from 

 candidates who fulfil the necessary conditions. Scholarships 

 are also awarded, tenable for two years at the gardens of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, Chiswick, or other gardens 

 approved by the committee. 



Now that the new Imperial Agricultural Department is 

 settling down to steady work under Dr. Morris, the issue of 

 the series of publications intended to supply colonial cultivators 

 with the latest information on questions of interest to them is 

 becoming more regular. The fourth number of the West Indian 

 Bulletin, which has just reached us, is a double number, of 136 

 pages, in which Mr. Maxwell-Lefroy, the entomologist to the 

 Department, deals with ' ' Moth Borer in Sugar Cane " ; Prof. 

 d'Albuquerque and Mr. Bovell describe '* Sugar Cane Experi- 

 ments at Barbados" ; Mr. Scard describes " Some Experiences 

 with Seedling Cane in British Guiana " ; the Hon. Francis 

 Watts, " Tree Planting in Antigua " and " Care of Pastures in 

 Antigua"; and Mr. J. II. Hart, "Some Fungi of the Cacao 

 Tree." In addition to these contributions there are others on 

 NO. 1619, VOL. 63 1 



" Sugar Cane Experiments in Louisiana" ; "The Fixation of 

 Atmospheric Nitrogen by Leguminons Plants"; "Cacao In- 

 dustry in Grenada " ; " Agricultural Education in English Rural 

 Schools," also in French rural schools ; and " Fumigation of 

 Seeds and Plants." Some of the articles are siiitably illus- 

 trated. It is to be hoped that the planters and others in the 

 various islands are making a careful study of the valuable facts 

 thus brought to their notice by the Imperial authorities, and that 

 they are recognising the absolute necessity of introducing more 

 modern scientific methods into their systems of cultivation and 

 preparation of goods for market, otherwise they must inevitably 

 suff"er in the keen competition with those who adopt all the 

 latest discoveries of science to aid them in their calling. 



We have received from Prof. Francesco Porro, of Turin, a 

 reprint of a note communicated by him to the Giornale di 

 Matematica (Naples : B. Pellerano, February), containing a 

 simple exposition of the problem of the motion of a planet about 

 the sun. The paper is based on the method s adopted in Prof. 

 Porro's university lectures. 



The September number of the Physical Review contains a 

 photogravure frontispiece of the late Thomas Preston, of whom 

 " E. M." contributes a short biography. It also contains a 

 resume of our knowledge of Becquerel rays, by Mr. Oscar M. 

 Stewart. 



MM. J. B. BAiLLiiiRE ET FiLS, Paris, have just published a 

 " Catalogue general de Livres de Science " comprising the 

 titles of books on all branches of physical and natural science. 

 The catalogue contains more than five thousand titles, and 

 reference to its contents is made easy by a detailed index. 



Messrs. Robert Boyle and Son, Ltd., have issued a 

 catalogue of lantern slides for lectures on ventilation, which 

 they are prepared to lend, free of charge. The slides illustrate 

 chiefly the Boyle system of ventilation applied to buildings of 

 various kinds. 



An acetylene generator designed for use with optical lanterns, 

 is included in Messrs. Newton and Co.'s supplementary list of 

 lantern slides for the session 1900-1901. Among the new slides 

 are sets illustrating the methods and results of eclipse observa- 

 tions made by Sir Norman Lockyer's expeditions of 1896 and 

 1898, Prof. R. W. Wood's photographs of sound waves, and 

 Dr. J. L. Williams's photo-micrographic studies of the mor- 

 phology and pathology of enamel of teeth. 



A noteworthy characteristic of recent catalogues of many 

 scientific instrument makers is the cheapness and simplicity 

 of a large number of the instruments mentioned and illustrated. 

 The catalogue of electrical apparatus and accessories just issued 

 by Messrs. W. and J. George, Ltd. (late Messrs. F. E. Becker 

 and Co. ) is no exception to this commendable feature. For- 

 merly it took years for a good piece of apparatus to find its way 

 into an instrument maker's catalogue, but now the apparatus 

 often becomes available a few months after it has been shown at 

 a scientific society. We notice in the present catalogue, in addi- 

 tion to the usual instruments for lecture-rooms and laboratories, 

 Davidson and Headley's localisers for Rontgen ray work, 

 apparatus for Tesla's experiments with alternating currents of 

 high frequency, and for Hertz wave experiments and wireless 

 telegraphy. 



Mr. Thomas Murby has recently issued new editions of 

 three text-books of science published by him. Prof. Meldola's 

 book on " Inorganic Chemistry," which originally appeared 

 twenty years ago, has been brought more or less into line with 

 the present position of chemical science by Mr. J. Castell 



