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NATURE 



[June 2, 1898 



predicting the weather of future years. The art of almanac pre- 

 paration, however, is in the free use of a system of general 

 terms which will apply just as well to a thunderstorm, a hurri- 

 cane, or an earthquake. The warning " look out for something 

 very unusual about this time," is a meteorological prediction of 

 this character. 



For the benefit of those who make a comparison between the 

 prophesies of the almanac-maker and the forecasts of the U.S. 

 Weather Bureau, Prof. Abbe delivers the following homily : — 

 In connection with meteorology in general, and especially 

 weather predictions, there is a popular tendency to make a mis- 

 taken use of the word " science." Knowledge is science as dis- 

 tinguished from the world of imagination, which is fiction. 

 Whatever is logical and true may be called scientific, but what- 

 ever is illogical or untrue is certainly not sci-entific. A map or a 

 survey that gives us an exact picture of the true location of every 

 spot on the earth's surface responds to scientific geography. A 

 catalogue of all the plants and animals on the earth or of the 

 stars in the sky constitutes a biological or an astronomical 

 survey, and is truly scientific. A series of maps of the weather 

 at 8 a.m. daily is a scientific meteorological work, and any pre- 

 dictions of the weather that can be logically deduced from these 

 maps is a scientific prediction. But a lot of predictions that are 

 said to be deduced in defiance of sound logic and with a very 

 imperfect knowledge of the laws of nature are fanciful fictions 

 and not scientific, because they are contrary to all sound 

 knowledge. 



It is well known that the Kea or Mountain Parrot of New 

 Zealand has acquired the habit of attacking sheep, and making 

 holes by means of its sharp and powerful beak in the backs 

 of these animals for the purpose of abstracting the kidney fat, 

 which appears to be esteemed as a luxurious diet. It is supposed 

 that this peculiar habit or instinct was developed by the bird 

 getting the fat from the skins of sheep that had been slaughtered ; 

 but this solution is not very satisfactory, as there appears nothing 

 to connect the fat on the skins of sheep with the live animals. 

 In a note published in the Zoologist (May i6), Mr. F. R. God- 

 frey, writing from Melbourne, offers the following solution of 

 the mystery, which seems to him to be simple and satisfactory, 

 and more rational than the sheep-skin theory. In the hilly 

 districts of the Middle Island of New Zealand there is a great 

 abundance of a white moss or lichen, which exactly resembles a 

 lump of white wool, at the roots of which are found small white 

 fatty substances, supposed by some to be the seeds of the plant, 

 and by others to be a grub or maggot which infest it, which 

 is the favourite food of the Kea. Probably the bird, misled by 

 this resemblance, commenced an exploration in sheep, and 

 this proving satisfactory, originated the new habit. In 

 a note to this suggestion, the editor points out that Mr. 

 Godfrey is in agreement with Mr. F. R. Chapman (New 

 Zealand y(7«;-«a/ of Science, 1891), who, describing a valley of 

 the Upper Waimakariri, Canterbury, says : " A very interesting 

 Raoulia, or vegetable sheep, was very plentiful on steep, rocky 

 places ; but I believe a finer species is found on Mount Torlesse. 

 ... It is said that the Keas tear them up with their powerful 

 beaks, and that these birds learnt to eat mutton through mis- 

 taking dead sheep for masses oi Raoulia." 



As the British Patent Law at present stands, foreign inventors 

 can obtain patents in this country without "working" their 

 invention, and they take the fullest advantage of this state of 

 affairs. To give an instance : in the five years from 1891 to 

 1895 no less than six hundred patents were granted to foreigners 

 for coal-tar products, not a single one of which is being worked 

 in this country. The object of Section 22 of the Patents, 

 Designs, and Trade Marks Act (1883) was to ensure the working 

 in the British Isles of inventions for which the privilege of 

 NO. 1492, VOL. 58] 



British registration has been granted, either by the patentee or 

 by others. In order to secure this object, the Section confers 

 upon the Board of Trade authority to order the granting of 

 licenses on equitable terms. Unfortunately, although the Act 

 has been in force for fifteen years, this authority has never been 

 used, because the prosecution of a petition for the exercise of 

 such authority involves what is practically a very costly legal 

 contest at the expense of the petitioner. Upon the invitation of 

 the Board of Trade, a petition has at last been carried through 

 with the approval of the Manchester Chamber of Comnterce. 

 The fact.s and issue of the prosecution of it are set forth in a 

 pamphlet prepared by the Chamber, and they need only be read 

 to understand that British trade and industry is seriously jxeju- 

 diced by the present unsatisfactory state of the Patent Law. In 

 France, if a patent is not worked within two years (and the 

 patentee has to prove that it is worked), the patent is revoked, 

 and is declared void. In Germany the law is similar, with thi.'i 

 exception— that the patentee, instead of two, has three years' 

 time within which to work his invention. What is wanted is a 

 short amending Act which will bring our Patent Law in con- 

 formity with those of Germany and France ; and it is with the 

 object of calling attention to the need of such a provision that 

 the Manchester Chamber of Commerce has placed the whole 

 facts before the public. 



A NUiMBER of examples of Abraxas gi-ossiilariata, in which 

 the markings of the fore-wings, which are usually of a oright 

 yellow, were of a deep dull ochreous colour, were exhibited at 

 a meeting of the South London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society at the end of last y eat {Proceedings iox 1897), 

 The specimens were sent by the Rev. J. Greene, of Clifton, 

 Bristol, who reared them from larvae found on the shrubs of 

 Euonymus, which appears to be their favourite food. During 

 the past six years Mr. Greene has bred a large number of these 

 insects under precisely the same conditions as regards food, 

 temperature, light and darkness. The insects were kept indoors 

 both as larvae and pupre, so wet and dry weather could ap- 

 parently have no effect upon them ; and they were all collected 

 within a two-mile radius, where there was no difference of 

 soil. And yet, under these uniform conditions, Mr. Greene 

 produced at least two hundred and fifty varieties. A remarkable 

 variation was noticed in the "contour" of the specimens — that 

 is, in the length, breadth, and curvature of the upper wings ; 

 but it is difficult to determine the causes which can produce such 

 a change in the form and shape of the wings. In Mr. Greene'e 

 opinion there is one, and one only method by which entomo- 

 logists may reasonably hope to ol>tain varieties, namely, by 

 " crossing " the imagines, dark with light, «S:c. He considers 

 this to be the true cause of the varieties of ^;-^.yj?</ar/a/a obtained 

 by him. 



The drinking habits of some butterflies and moths are briefly 

 described by Mr. J. W. Tutt in a paper published in the 

 Proceedings of the South London Entomological and Natural 

 History Society, 1897. A number of observat ons are cited 

 showing that the drinking of large quantities of water by certain 

 species is beyond question. Mr. Tutt concludes as follows : — 

 "That they drink infinitely more than is required by their tissues 

 under any possible conditions appears certain. Baron's note 

 (Nature, vol. xxviii. page 55, May 17, 1883) is sufficient 

 proof of this : whilst we have known Polyoimnatus danion to sit 

 for more than an hour motionless, except for the slight move- 

 ments of sucking up and discharging the moisture almost con- 

 tinuously. What this internal bath may really mean we cannot 

 even surmise. Another important factor as to this drinking 

 habit is a strange one ; the ' thirsty souls ' are, so far as my own 

 observation goes, and so far as De Niceville's and Bates' remarks 

 show, almost entirely males. Why is this drinking habit con- 



