240 



NATURE 



[May 23, 1918 



cadmium to give i per cent, in the brasses made' 

 with it, the influence of cadmium has not much indus- 

 trial importance.— ^G. Lincio : The stibnite and pyrites, 

 layer at Su Suergiu, Villasalto, Sardinia.- -S. 

 St'efanescu : A new method for the study of the 

 phylogeny of mastodons, stegodons, and elephants. — 

 H. Perrotin : The propagation of heat in the lower 

 layers of the atmosphere.— P. Lesage : Contributions 

 to the study of the germination of the spores of 

 mosses. — E. Bordage : Observations on the nuclei of 

 the trophocytes arising from the transformation of 

 striated muscular tissue in insects.^ — P. Reralinger : The 

 action of ether on rabies virus. The brain of a rabbit 

 infected with the virus, after 120 hours' immersion 

 in ether loses its pathogenic power. The brain readily 

 forms an emulsion with physiological water after this 

 treatment with ether, and this emulsion can be in- 

 jected in large doses into animals without any danger. 

 The immunity against rabies thus conferred appears 

 to be lasting. 



BOOKS 



An Enquiry into the 



RECEIVED. 



Analvtical Mechanism of the 

 Internal Ear. By Sir T. Wrightson. With an Ap- 

 pendix on the Anatomy of the Parts Concerned, by 

 Dr. A. Keith. Pp. xi + 254 + plates ix. (London: 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 125. 6d. net. 

 ' Tidal Lands : A Study of Shore Problems. By A. E. 

 Carey and Prof. F. W. Oliver. Pp.. xiv + 284. 

 (London : Blackie and Son, Ltd.) \2s. 6d. net. 



Applied Optics : The Computation of Optical 

 Systems. Being the " Handbuch der angewandten | 

 dptik" of Dr. A. Steinheil and Dr.E. Voit. Trans- 1 

 lated and edited by J. W. French. Vol. i. Pp. xvii + 

 170. (London: Blackie and Son, Ltd.) 125. 6d. net. | 



Astrographic Catalogue. Hyderabad Section.. ; 

 19000. Vol. i., Measures of Rectangular Co-ordinates | 

 and Diameters of 63,436 Star-Images on Plates with j 

 Centres in Dec. -170.. Pp. xliii+223. (Edin- ; 

 burgh: Neill and Co., Ltd.) 12 rupees or 165. net. 



Plant Physiology. By Prof. V. I. Palladin. 

 Authorised English translation. Edited by Prof. 

 B. E. Livingston. Pp. .xxv + 320. (Philadelphia: 

 P. Blakiston's Son and Co.) 



Flora of the Presidency of Madras. By J. S. 

 -Gamble. Part ii. (London : Adlard and Son and 

 West, Newman, Ltd.) 85. net. i 



The Neurotic Constitution. By Dr. .\. Adler. \ 

 Translated by Drs. B. Glueck and J. E. Lind. | 

 Pp. xxiii + 456. (London : Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd.) | 

 165. net. 



Library of Congress. Report of the Librarian of 

 Congress and Report of the Superintendent of the 

 Library Buildings and Grounds for the Fiscal Year 

 ending June 30, 1917. Pp. 223. (Washington : 

 Government Printing Office.) 



A Text-Book of Inorganic Chemistry. Edited by 

 Dr. J. Newton Friend. Vol. v., Carbon and its 

 Allies. By Dr. R. M. Caven. Pp. xxi + 468. 

 (London : C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) 15s. net. 



Guide to the Insects of Connecticut. Part iii., The 

 Hymenoptera or Wasp-like Insects of Connecticut. 

 Pp. 824. (Hartford, Conn.) 



Glossary and Notes on Vertebrate Palaeontology. 

 By Rev. S. A. Pelly. Pp. ix+113. (London: 

 Methuen and Co., Ltd.) 55. net. 



British Medicine in the War, 1914-1917. Pp.x+138. 

 (London : British Medical Association.) 25. 6d. 



L 'Evolution des Plantes. By Prof. N. Bernard. 

 Pp. xxxii + 314. (Paris: F. Alcan.) 3.50 francs. 



Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S. : Memorials 

 of his Life and Work. By Sir W. A. Tilden. 

 Pp. xvi + 311. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 

 los. net. 



01] 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, Mav 23. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — The Abode of Snow ; Its Appearance, Inhabi- 

 tants, and History : Sir Francis Younghiisband. 

 Institution of Elf.ctrical Ekginekrs, at 6. — Some Transient Pheno- 

 mena in Electrical Supply Systems : Prof. E. W. Marcbant. 

 FRIDAY, Mav 24. 

 RovAL Institution, atj.ao.— Internal Ballistics :Lt. -Col. A. G. Hadcock. 

 LiNNEAN Society, ai 3. — Anniversary Meeting, 



SATURDAY, May 25. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— Problems in Bird-Migration : Prof. C. j 

 Patten. 



MONDA Y, May 27. 

 Aristotelian Society, at 8. — The "Modes" of Spinoza and th 



" Monads" of Leibniz: Prof. G. Dawes Hicks. 

 Royal Geographical Society, at 5.30. — Anniversary Meeting. 



rUESDA Y, May 28. 

 Zoological Society, at 5.30.— A Case of Hermaphroditism in a Lizard, 

 Lacerta viridis : Noel Taylor. — Fresh-water Fish as Food : C. Tate 

 Regan. 

 Institution of Petroleum Technologists, at 8. — The Application of 

 Electrical Power to Oilfield Requirements : J. Wilfred Burford. 

 WEDNESDAY, May 29. 

 Royal Society of Arts, at 4.30. — Organic Chemistry in Relation to 

 Industry : Dr. M. O. Forster. 



THURSDAY, May 30. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — The Abode of Snow ; its Appearance, In- 

 habitants, and History : .Sir F. Younghusband. 

 Institution of Electrical En'gineers, at 6. — Annual General Meeting. 

 Royal Society op Arts, at 4.30.— The Cotton-mill Industry of India : 

 Hon. Sir Dinshaw E. Wacha. 



SATURDAY, June i. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— Problems in Bird-migration: Prof. C. J. 

 Patten. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Montessori Educational Methods. ByJ. A. G. . . 221 



Modern Industry ..... . . 222 



Ballistics 222 



Our Bookshelf 223 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Supposed " Fascination" of Birds by Snakes. — 



Prof. Edward B. PoultOD, F.R.S 223 



Scientific Tests for the Selection of Pilots for the 



Air Force. By Major Martin Flack 225 



The Zinc Ore Resources of the Empire ...... 226 



The Decline in the Birth-rate 227 



Sir Alexander Pedler, F.R.S. By W. A T 227 



Notes ■ . . . • 228 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Minor Planets . . 232 



Currents in the Upper Air 232 



Distance of the Orion Nebula 233 



Terrestrial Magnetic Oscillations. By Dr. C. Chree, 



F.R.S 233 



Globular Star Clusters. By Dr. A, C. D. Crommelin 233 



Frost in the United States 234 



Construction for an Approximate Quadrature of the 



Circle. By W. W. Rouse Ball 234 



Radiation and the Electron. {Ilhistrated.) By Prof. 



R. A. Millikan .... 234 



University and Educational Intelligence 237 



Societies and Academies 238 



Books Received 240 



Diary of Societies 240 



Editorial and '.Publishing Offices: 



MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd., 



ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

 Publishers. 



Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address : Piiusis, London. 

 Telephone Numhe'r : Gerrard 8830. 



NO. 2534, VOL. 



