628 



NATURE 



[October 27, 1898 



advance, giving more time for saving the lives of inhabitants 

 living behind the forest ; and, lastly, they prevent houses and 

 property from being washed away into the sea. Dr. Honda 

 gives a list of the trees which are best adapted for this purpose. — 

 In the same number of the Bulletin Dr. Diro Kitao, by the use 

 of the equations of elasticity, has endeavoured to reduce the 

 calculation of the shrinkage and swelling of wood to mathe- 

 matical principles. 



The interpretation of death among the lower organisms is 

 ably dealt with by Signor Angelo Andres in the Rendiconto 

 del R. Istituto Lomhardo, xxxi. 13. The author, after pointing 

 out the objections to Weismann's views, starts with the con- 

 ception that living organic matter does not in itself possess any 

 reason for dying, and that, on the other hand, this reason 

 pertains to single individuals ; in other words, that living matter 

 remains in itself immortal, and that only the modality of 

 the individual dies. An examination of the lowest forms 

 of algse leads Signor Andres to the conclusion that the first 

 indications of true death occur in the Diatomacese, in which the 

 process of subdivision leads to a gradual diminution in the size 

 of the frustules, as also in the Volvocinse, where the phenomenon 

 of death is still more marked. The cause of death, it would 

 appear, is to be sought in the differentiation which, by the 

 specialisation of structure and function, leads to the perfectioning, 

 both anatomically and physiologically, of different species. 



The Engineering Magazine for September contains an 

 article on the bacterial process of sewage purification, which is 

 at the present time attracting a considerable amount of attention ; 

 and is under investigation by a Commission appointed by the 

 Local Government Board. The purification of sewage is a 

 process of destruction of the organic matter by means of bacteria, 

 and finally of the bacteria themselves from inanition. These 

 bacteria are divided into two classes — aerobic, which require 

 oxygen for their growth, and do their work best when sewage 

 is exposed to the air ; and the anserobic, which do not require 

 oxygen for their growth, and do their work best in the dark. 

 The former process of purification has been in use in this 

 country for some years, having been first adopted by Mr. Bailey 

 Denton in the system known as intermittent filtration through 

 beds of earth. The latter system is of more recent origin, and 

 has only been prominently before the public since the septic 

 system was adopted by Mr. Cameron, the Borough Surveyor at 

 Exeter. Besides the works at Exeter, others are in operation at 

 Sutton and Yeovil, all of which are described and illustrated in 

 the article by Mr. Rudolph Hering. 



A SHORT account of the various steps that have been taken 

 in the acclimatisation of trout in South Africa is given by Mr. 

 J. D. F. Gilchrist in his report of 1897 on the sea and inland 

 fisheries of Cape Colony. So far back as 1884 Mr. Lachlan 

 Maclean began the experiment of trout acclimatisation in the 

 Colony by importing 20,000 ova ; and in spite of various 

 difficulties and failures he proved its practicability. His experi- 

 ments showed that the rearing of trout from imported eggs was 

 feasible, and it is due to his success that the rivers are now 

 being gradually stocked with valuable fish. The Cape Govern- 

 ment took up the subject in 1890, and about a year later a 

 hundred thousand trout ova were procured from Guildford, 

 Surrey, a large number of which were hatched successfully. 

 The work has since been carried on by the Cape Agricultural 

 Department, and has undergone a steady progressive develop- 

 ment. The trout turned into the rivers thrive exceedingly well, 

 and many of them attain a large size. 



Among other matters mentioned in the Report of the Marine 

 Biologist referred to in the foregoing note, are trawling experi- 

 ments performed with a view to introduce new and improved 



NO. 1 513, VOL. 58] 



methods of fishing. It has been demonstrated that there is an 

 excellent trawling ground rivalling the North Sea in productive- 

 ness, within easy reach of Cape Town. A satisfactory feature 

 of the work is the discovery that soles occur abundantly on the 

 fishing grounds, and can be readily got by trawling. As a 

 scientific result of the experiments it may be mentioned that six 

 different kinds of flat fish, one of which is new to science, have 

 been discovered. The subject of temperatures, currents, &c., 

 of the sea in relation to the scientific side of fishing investigations 

 is being taken up ; and Mr. Gilchrist announces that arrange- 

 ments have been made at about a dozen different places for 

 physical observations of this kind to be carried on. 



The latest number oi Janus, a journal which is open to con- 

 tributors from all parts of the world in divers tongues on subjects- 

 relating to the history of medicine and medical geography, 

 contains an interesting and well-written article on medical 

 archaeology dealing with the significance of the plant Silphium 

 and its therapeutic value amongst the ancients. Dr. Kronfeld 

 of Vienna is the writer, and he has illustrated his article by a 

 reproduction of the well-known dish of Arkesilas, now in the 

 "Cabinet des Medailles" of the National Library in Paris. 

 Graphic and very realistic scenes are depicted indicating the 

 immense store set by the ancient Greeks upon this remarkable 

 plant, whose habitat was located in Cyrene. Its applications- 

 seem to have been as diverse as they were valuable, and amongst 

 its numerous uses we find it treasured as furnishing the earliest 

 and most delicate of vegetables, also spice, whilst its therapeutic 

 reputation was almost as universal as that claimed for some of 

 our modern nostrums by their inventors ! Silphium has long 

 since disappeared from Cyrene, but Falconer has found in the 

 northern parts of Cashmere a plant which is regarded as being 

 very closely allied to its historic predecessor. 



The Geological Survey has just published a brief Supplement 

 to the Memoir on the Geology of Flint, Mold, and Ruthin, by- 

 Mr. A. Strahan. This Supplement contains records of borings 

 put down in the reclaimed portion of the estuary of the Dee ; 

 and these are of importance as proving the presence of Upper 

 Coal-measures, which do not appear at the surface and were 

 not previously known to exist in Flintshire or West Cheshire. 

 In this region the Middle Coal-measures are the productive 

 strata, and the new information shows that the Upper Coal- 

 measures may underlie much or all of the Cheshire Trials, and 

 would consequently have to be penetrated in winning the coal. 

 The price of the Supplement is zd. 



In \^& Journal of Applied Microscopy (Bausch and Lomb) for 

 August is a description of the Histological Laboratory of the 

 Harvard University at Washington, D.C. 



We have received part 4 of vol. xxv. of Engler's Botanische 

 fahrbikher, occupied chiefly by a continuation of Pfitzer's 

 review of the classification of Orchidese, and the commence- 

 ment of a systematic paper on the Monimiaceae by J. R. 

 Perkins. 



We have received the Reports of the Botanical Exchange 

 Club for 1896 and 1897, both bearing the date 1898, the latter 

 edited by Mr. G. Claridge Druce. They are both occupied by 

 a record of new British localities, and by remarks on " critical " 

 British species. The discovery is recorded of a new British 

 sedge, Carex chordorhiza. 



In the Revue Generale des Sciences for September, M. L. 

 Mangin has a short article on the sexuality of Fungi, in 

 which he shows the remarkable advance that has been made 

 during recent years in the discovery of sexual organs in various 

 classes of Fungi. Especial reference is made to the researches 

 of Harper on the Ascomycetes, of Dangeard on the same class 

 of Fungi, of Sappin-Trouffy on the Uredineae, and of Thaxter 

 on the Laboulbeniaceae. 



