208 



NATURE 



[June 30, 1898 



sion in working an engine. None of these schemes have, how- 

 ever, so far been carried into practical effect. On one or more 

 tidal creeks in this country there have, however, existed water- 

 wheels for grinding corn worked by the tides. Across the 

 creek self-acting doors are placed which open to let the tide 

 flow up, and automatically close as soon as it begins to recede. 

 For several hours each tide there is thus afforded a supply 

 of water with sufficient head to work a water-wheel which 

 turns the machinery. Recently, at Los Angeles, an attempt 

 has been made to make use of the waves. At the end of a 

 pier 350 feet long, three floats were constructed acting on 

 hydraulic air compressors connected with storage tanks holding 

 water situated at different levels. By means of the compressed 

 air the water is driven from a lower into a higher tank, which 

 affords the head required to work a water motor. The waste 

 water from the motor flows back again into the lower tank, 

 to be again raised by the compressor. The varying effect of 

 the waves is compensated by this arrangement of air and water 

 pressure. The experiment is said to have proved sufficiently 

 satisfactory to warrant the extension of the system so as to 

 develop 200 horse-power. 



It is seldom that military operations afford much opportunity 

 for scientific research, but the Ashanti expedition of 1896 was 

 fortunately an exception. Upon the recommendation of Kew, 

 Surgeon-Captain H. A. Cummins accompanied the expedition 

 as a member of the medical staff, and he succeeded in bringing 

 back a collection of about two hundred species, including nine 

 which were new, and one new genus. A list of these plants, 

 with their geographical distribution and descriptions of the new 

 species, and notes on the physical and botanical characters of 

 the country traversed by Surgeon-Captain Cummins, appears in 

 the latest issue of the Kew Bulletin (Nos. 136-137). The 

 economic products of the region from Cape Coast Castle to 

 the Moinsi Hills, which are 150 miles inland, are numerous. 

 *' Plantains are largely grown, and form the principal food of the 

 inhabitants. Indian corn is extensively cultivated and grows 

 freely. Sugar-cane is grown in many of the villages. Pine- 

 apples are found all over the country in such a way as to lead 

 persons who have travelled far inland to believe them indi- 

 genous. Cola, rubber and gum trees grow plentifully in the 

 forest region, and are reported to be more numerous in the dis- 

 tricts around Kumassi." In addition to these plants, there are 

 many trees producing valuable wood in great quantity. The 

 country is unhealthy, but Surgeon-Captain Cummins states that 

 if a railway penetrated the forest zone, establishing a rapid 

 means of communication with the healthy mountainous interior, 

 trade in the vegetable and mineral products of the country could 

 be carried on without the present limitations. 



Another interesting article in the Kew Bulletin is a brief 

 account of the principal botanical museums in Belgium and 

 Holland, by Mr. J. M. Hillier, assistant in the museums of 

 the Royal Gardens. A noteworthy preservative solution, con- 

 sisting of alcohol with the addition of two per cent, of hydro- 

 chloric acid, was found in use at the University Botanic Garden, 

 Ghent. The object to be preserved is placed in this solution for 

 a few weeks according to discretion, after which it is put into 

 methylated spirit for permanent preservation. In the Com- 

 mercial Museum at Brussels scientific names are not as a rule 

 attached to the products, but useful details are given on the 

 labels with regard to prices, &c. Mr. Hillier describes Prof. 

 Errera's process for preserving flowers and other objects in 

 their natural colours. " The specimen to be preserved is placed 

 in a conical- shaped paper bag, the narrow diameter resting in 

 the mouth of a glass jar. The bag is carefully filled up with 

 finely sifted sand, after which the jar, together with its contents, 

 is kept at a warm even temperature for two or three weeks, at 

 NO. 1496, VOL. 58] 



the expiration of which time the sand is carefully removed and 

 the dried specimen placed in a stoppered jar. The stopper 

 must be hollow and filled with unslaked lime, the latter being 

 kept in position by a thin piece of leather tied over the portion 

 of the stopper which is inserted into the mouth of the jar. The 

 lime absorbs all moisture, and so preserves the specimen from 

 deterioration by damp." 



Mr. Frank Finn, Deputy Superintendent of the Indian 

 Museum, contributes a number of interesting notes on natural 

 history to the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 

 Much remains to be done in the observation of living birds, 

 even when these belong to quite common and well-known 

 species. Mr. Finn's notes on peculiarities of attitude, &c., of 

 various birds are, therefore, very useful contributions to ornitho- 

 logy. In a note on the position of the feet of the " Picarian" 

 birds and of parrots in flight, he concludes from his experiences 

 that "supposing the same habit of carrying the feet to run 

 through a family, the forward position of the feet in flight 

 probably characterises hoopoes, woodpeckers, and barbets, 

 and the backward one certainly obtains among kingfishers,, 

 rollers, hornbills, cuckoos, and parrots." In other notes Mr. 

 Finn describes various species of Grebes, with especial reference 

 to the power of walking and digestion possessed by these birds ; 

 brings forward an instance which confirms the common belief 

 in India that the whip-snake has a propensity for deliberately 

 striking at the eye ; and shows that the Indian Gossander 

 can walk like other ducks, and does so in the same attitude. 

 Such notes as these, on imperfectly known points in the habits 

 and economy of birds, are of distinct service to students of 

 avian classification. 



Messrs. W. Wesley and Son, Essex Street, Strand, have 

 issued a Catalogue (No. 131) of works on gardening in all its 

 branches, reaching to 714 publications. 



We have received the reports, for 1896 and 1897, of the 

 Botanical Department of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, by Mr. J. C. Arthur, State botanist, including an 

 account of experiments on the cultivation of various agricultural 

 crops and garden flowers. 



From the Government Laboratory, Antigua, we have 

 received a report of the results obtained on the Experimental 

 Fields, at Skerrett's School, 1897. It refers almost entirely to 

 the cultivation of the sugar-cane, especially to the relative 

 values of different varieties, and to the diseases to which the 

 cane is subject, and the remedies for them. 



Messrs. Sealy, Bryers, and Walker, of Dublin, an- 

 nounce for early publication Mr. H. Chichester Hart's " Flora 

 of Co. Donegal, with Introduction on Topography, Geology, 

 Geographical Distribution, &c., and Appendices on Plant 

 Names and Plant Lore and Climate." 



The Department of Agriculture, Victoria, has issued a 

 brochure of additions to the fungi on the vine in Australia, by 

 Mr. D. Mc Alpine, Government Vegetable Pathologist, assisted 

 by Mr. G. H. Robinson. It includes a very full account of 

 twenty-three species, fourteen of which are parasitic and nine 

 saprophytic fungi, ten of them being new to science. The report 

 is very copiously illustrated. 



In Bulletin No. i of the Geological Survey of Western 

 Australia, Mr. A. Gibb Maitland, Government Geologist, gives 

 a bibliography of the works, papers, reports, and maps bearing 

 upon the geology, mineralogy, mining, and palaeontology of 

 the Colony. The publications are arranged in alphabetical 

 order under authors' names. 



