252 



NA TURE 



[July 14, 1898 



opportunity for asserting itself— now divining the explan- 

 ation of some puzzle, now losing itself in fanciful flights. 

 Among his other papers of this category, I may mention, 

 as more widely known, " Konnen aus Bastarden Arten 

 werden ? " and " Parthenogenesis einer angiospermen 

 Pflanze" (1876). The latter referred to Antennaria 

 alpina, and the correctness of the construction he put on 

 the facts observed has been doubted for a long time ; but 

 a paper by Dr. Juel, of Upsala, published just a week 

 previous to Kerner's death, must have given him great 

 satisfaction if it reached him, as the author confirmed 

 fully the disputed points by independent observation and 

 careful microscopical investigation. Among his papers 

 concerning systematic botany may be mentioned one 

 under the title, " Abhangigkeit der Pflanzengestalt von 

 Klima und Boden" (1868), which contains a valuable and 

 highly philosophical essay on the section Tubocytisus of 

 Cytisus ; further, his "Monographia Pulmonariarum " 

 ( 1 878), and a very great number of critical notes, which are 

 scattered through his " Vegetations- Verhaltnisse des 

 mittleren und ostlichen Ungarns und angrenzenden 

 Siebenbiirgens" which, began in i867,run through thirteen 

 volumes of the Oesierreichische Botanische Zeitschrift, 

 however, without having been completed. Numerous 

 similar notes are also contained in the " Schedae ad 

 Floram Exsiccatam Austro-Hungaricam," a beautifully 

 prepared collection of Austrian and Hungarian plants, 

 the issue of which proceeded to Century xxii. In his 

 investigations into subjects of systematic botany, Kerner 

 hardly ever ventured beyond the boundaries of his special 

 domain, i.e. Austria-Hungary and the adjoining districts. 

 This, perhaps, was partly the cause of his strong tendency 

 towards " Jordanism," or the excessive subdivision into 

 species, of his occasional one-sidedness, such as is often 

 found in strictly local botanists, and of the almost com- 

 plete absence of any attempt at dealing with groups of a 

 higher order and from a broad standpoint. The only 

 time he tried a problem of this category, namely in the 

 chapter on the " Stamme des Pflanzenreiches," or the 

 phyla of the vegetable kingdom, in his " Pflanzenleben,'' 

 he was rather unfortunate, and he wisely omitted it in the 

 second edition. 



His great work, "Pflanzenleben," well known to the 

 English pubhc from the translation by Prof. F. W. 

 Oliver ("The Natural History of Plants") was in many 

 respects the crowning result of his life-long labours. 

 When he undertook to write the book, which was to be 

 one of a series of popular treatises on natural history, 

 published by the Bibliographische Institut of Leipzig, 

 his plan was to incorporate all his own experiences and 

 observations, many of which were only laid down in 

 rough notes, to assimilate those of other authors, and to 

 produce a standard work which would treat homo- 

 geneously all the various phases of plant-life. It was a 

 tremendous task, and must have heavily taxed his con- 

 stitution, which was not over-strong, although he was 

 scarcely yet past the prime of life when he commenced 

 it. The work is known for its lucid, nearly always 

 fascinating and often classic style, its beautiful illus- 

 trations, few of which are not original, its fulness of 

 suggestive matter, its occasional quaint mixture of truth 

 and fiction — of course, unconscious fiction — and its in- 

 dependent conception, and little need be said about it in 

 this place. It is the very embodiment of the genius 

 of its author, and it reflects equally well his strong and 

 his weak points. Measured by it, Kerner might appro- 

 priately be called the poet-botanist. 



Kerner was an excellent lecturer, who raised the sub- 

 ject of his lecture high above the ordinary level by 

 enlivening the purely morphological and otherwise dry 

 details by constant references to the relations which 

 exist between form and function, and also by his bold 

 and highly artistic draughtsmanship. He was a man 

 of refined culture, but naturally nervous ; he came not 



NO. 1498, VOL. 58] 



rarely into collision with others, from the effects of 

 which he, no doubt, ultimately suffered most. Many of 

 his smaller papers are so scattered or buried in all but 

 inaccessible periodicals, and even daily papers, that a 

 careful selection and reissue of those amongst them 

 which are really valuable is very desirable. 



Otto Staff. 



NOTES. 



The Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits 

 arrived at Thursday Island on April 22. The Hon. John 

 Douglas, C.M.G., the Government Resident, did all in his 

 power personally and officially to advance the aims of the 

 expedition, as did also the other Government officials and many 

 others. The Hon. C. T. J. Byrnes, Chief Secretary, sent a 

 cordial telegram of welcome and offers of assistance on behalf of 

 the Government. After a week's delay a start was made for 

 Murray Island, and owing to unfavourable weather it took 

 another week to traverse the hundred and twenty miles 

 between the two islands. The Murray Islanders gave Dr. 

 Haddon a very cordial reception ; they appear to understand 

 the main objects of the expedition, and many of them are 

 assisting in various ways. A deserted mission-house is occupied 

 as a dwelling, and it has been converted into a temporary 

 anthropological and psychological laboratory, photographic 

 studio, surgery and dispensary. All the members of the 

 expedition are in good health, and work has commenced in 

 earnest. 



The French Societe d' Encouragement has awarded the grand 

 prize of 12,000 francs to M. Moissan for his numerous researches 

 in chemistry ; the prize of 2000 francs for the experimental study 

 of the properties of metals and alloys to M. C. E. Guillaume ; the 

 prize of 1000 francs for an investigation of albuminoids to M. 

 Fleurent ; a prize of 2000 francs to M. Cord for his work on the 

 agriculture and geology of the soils in the department of Lozere ; 

 an encotirageineiit of 500 francs to M. Capredon for his work on 

 metallurgical chemistry ; of 500 francs to M. A. Bigot for his 

 work on enamels ; of 1000 francs to M. Pages for his work on 

 the agriculture of the Cantal Department ; and 500 francs to 

 M. Mazel for his work on the agriculture of the Vivarais 

 district. 



The Committee appointed in 1895 to examine and report 

 upon the various monographs submitted in competition for the 

 Loubat prizes to be awarded in 1898 have issued their report 

 to President Low, of Columbia University. The monographs 

 that were formally submitted for examination were the produc- 

 tions of eight different authors ; of these the committee consider 

 as being the most meritorious, and as most fully complying with 

 the conditions prescribed for the competition, the treatise on 

 " Stone Implements of the Potomac Chesapeake Tide-water 

 Provinces," by Mr. William Henry Holmes, Curator of the 

 Department of Anthropology in the National Museum at 

 Washington, and to this author therefore the committee recom- 

 mend the awarding of the first prize, value 1000 dollars. In the 

 opinion of the committee the second prize, value 400 dollars, 

 should be given to Dr. Franz Boas, of the Metropolitan 

 Museum of Natural History of New York City, for his mono- 

 graph entitled "The Social Organisation and Secret Societies 

 of the Kwakiutl Indians." Special mention is also made in 

 the report to a work by Mr. Alfred P. Maudslay, of London, 

 dealing with the archaeology of Central America. This work 

 was not submitted for competition, and is not yet in a complete 

 state, but its great merit is such as to be considered worthy of 

 special mention by the committee. 



