54 



NATURE 



[September 20, 191 7 



garded, by all who believe the Darwinian factor to be 

 operative in organic evolution, as transmissible. In a 

 later number of the American Naturalist (vol. li., 

 pp. 250-56) Dr. W. H. Longley has criticised Dr. 

 Pearl's argument, expressing the opinion that "neither 

 genetic research nor studies upon elimination closely 

 limit the possibility that selection has played a very 

 important part in evolution. . . . Recent field studies 

 demonstrate novel facts of common occurrence which 

 must apparently be ascribed to the action of this 

 factor." , G. H. C. 



TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM. 



ON the occasion of the centennial celebration of the 

 United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, held 

 in April, 1916, Dr. L. A. Bauer delivered an address 

 on the work done by the Survey 'in terrestrial mag- 

 netism, which has now been separately published. Dr. 

 Bauer was himself in charge of the magnetic work 

 of the Survey from 1899 to 1906, and was largely re- 

 sponsible for its greatly increased activity durmg the 

 present century. Up to the end of 1915 the Survey 

 had made magnetic observations at 5500 land stations, 

 and its ships had taken many observations at sea, 

 while five magnetic observatories were in constant 

 operation. Magnetic charts of much increased accu- 

 racy had been published for the United States, and a 

 reduced copy of the chart for 1915 is included in the 

 publication. Dr. Bauer advocates the erection of a 

 new magnetic observatory in the Panama zone, and 

 the uninterrupted maintenance of the existing observa- 

 tories for a number of years. He expresses some in- 

 teresting opinions as to the relative importance of 

 theory and observation, which, coming from a man 

 of his great experience, deserve careful consideration. 

 "All experience," he says, "tends to show that, instead 

 of looking upon the establishment of a theory as the 

 goal of an investigation, it should ever be regarded 

 merely as a means to the goal, the advancement of 

 human knowledge." He speaks with feeling of the 

 "uselessness of empirical formulae for the purposes of 

 prediction " (of secular change), and his final advice to 

 the superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey is 

 "continued, unceasing, and intelligent observation." 



The annual report of the director of the Department 

 of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution 

 of Washington for the year 1916 extends to fifty pages. 

 It mentions that vol. iii. of the researches of the de- 

 partment is nearly ready, and that it will contain the 

 final results of the ocean magnetic work from 1905 

 to 1914, and preliminary results of a recent cruise of 

 the survey ship Carnegie, extending from March, 1915, 

 to September, iqi6. The present publication gives a 

 good many details of this cruise. The Carnegie sailed 

 in the first instance from Alaska to New Zealand, then 

 circumnavigated the south polar regions, the track 

 lying mainly between 50° S. and 60° S., and finally 

 returned from New Zealand to San Francisco. Tables 

 give full particulars of the errors observed in the 

 British, German, and Amferican charts on the several 

 journeys. In most areas the errors are less than 1°, 

 but in several they are considerablv larger. The 

 largest errors were observed near 59° S., 110° E. They 

 were as large as 10°, or even 12°, in the British and 

 •American charts, and still larger in the German. The 

 land work done in the year includes observations in 

 South Africa, South America, China, and Australasia. 

 The department has taken steps for the erection of a 

 magnetic observatory about 100 miles north of Perth, 

 Western Australia. At the end of the report is a 

 series of abstracts of recent scientific publications by 

 the staff of the department, including several dealing 

 with atmospheric electricity. 



NO. 2499, VOL. 100] 



AMERICAN FOSSIL VERTEBRATE 

 ANIMALS. 



A PAUSE in the discovery of strange new forms 

 of extinct vertebrate animals in North America 

 has atlorded an opportunity for obtaining more exact 

 knowledge of some species hitherto known only by 

 fragments. It has also given time for a more careful 

 consideration of the habits and affinities of several 

 problematical types which have previously been only 

 hastily discussed. The American Museum of Natural 

 History, New York, has been especially active in 

 turthering such research, and has lately published in 

 its Bulletin four papers of more than usual interest. 



It has long been known that at the beginning of 

 the Tertiary period there were very large and stout 

 running birds both in Europe and in America. The 

 greater part of a skeleton of a new species of 

 Diatryma, which was found last year in the Lower 

 Eocene of Wyoming, shows for the first time the true 

 nature of. one of these birds. The remains, as usual, 

 are not sufficiently well preserved to exhibit all the 

 features that are needed for an exact systematic de- 

 termination ; but, according to the studies of Messrs. 

 Matthew and Granger, Diatryma is now proved to be 

 more closely related to the South American crane-like 

 bird, Cariama, than to any other known form. It 

 can no longer be associated with the ratite birds, 

 with which the first fragments were compared. The 

 new species, Diatryma steini, must have been about 

 7 ft. high when standing, with a short and massive 

 neck and an enormous head having a high compressed 

 beak. It would, indeed, present much the appearance 

 of the well-known Phororhachos from the later Ter- 

 tiary formations of the Argentine Republic, which is 

 also' generally compared with Cariama. The discovery 

 of such a bird in the oldest deposits of the Tertiary 

 period shows how early must have been the differ- 

 entiation of the birds into the groups which are 

 familiar at the present day. 



Of the Dinosaurian reptiles with hind limbs nearly 

 like those of running birds, much has been learned 

 by the discovery of nearly complete skeletons in the 

 Upper Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. Prof. H. F. 

 Osborn therefore takes advantage of the opportunity 

 of discussing these in connection with the skeletons 

 of Ornitholestes from the Upper Jurassic of Wyoming, 

 and of Tyrannosaurus from the Upper Cretaceous of 

 Montana. He also publishes many beautiful draw- 

 ings of osteological details. The forms previously 

 known were obviously grasping fiesh-eaters ; but the 

 new Struthiomimus has a small toothless skull shaped 

 much like that of an ostrich. Prof. Osborn, indeed, 

 thinks it most probable that this strange reptile 

 had the same mode of life and habits as an ostrich. 



Equally great diversity is being met with among 

 the armoured and horned dinosaurs from the Upper 

 Cretaceous of Alberta, but all the remains hitherto 

 described are more or less fragmentary. A nearly 

 complete skeleton of Monoclonius, now made known 

 by Mr. Barnum Brown, is therefore of great interest 

 and value. Compared with the hypothetical restora- 

 tions of Triceratops, the body is shorter and deeper 

 in the posterior dorsal region, while the feet are 

 more digitigrade with toes turning outwards, the 

 axis of the manus being through the second (iifiit, 

 that of the pes being between the second and, 

 digits. There is no bony exoskeleton, but th^ 

 dermis is hardened into low, polygonal tuberi 

 which do not overlap. 



The gigantic herbivorous dinosaurs such as Diplo- 

 docus present as manv difficulties in nomenclature 

 as whales, and Prof. Osborn, with the help of Mr. 

 Charles C. Mook, is now attempting to decide which 

 characters can best be used for the recognition of 



