July 29, 1897] 



NATURE 



305 



younger stages of the whiting. The appearance and diagnostic 

 characters of the various stages, which have frequently been 

 difficult to distinguish in the past, are described very fully, and 

 are illustrated by a series of figures. 



The Distribution of Pelagic Eggs. 

 Mr. A. T. Masternian furnishes a review of the work done by 

 the Garland in connection with the distribution of the pelagic 

 eggs of food fishes in the years 1890-96, with special reference 

 to the determination of the spawning areas and seasons of the 

 various species and the direction taken by the eggs after they 

 are shed. The observations made in the Firth of Forth and St. 

 Andrews Bay throughout the above period are brought together 

 and compared, lists being furnished of the principal species dealt 

 with. The more important conclusions drawn from the study 

 of the distribution of the pelagic eggs agree with those previously 

 derived from the investigations into the distribution of spawning 

 adults, namely, the season at which the various species spawn, 

 and the place -where the eggs are shed. It is shown that the 

 more valuable forms, such as the cod, haddock, plaice, coal-fish, 

 Uirbot and ling, spawn outside the three-mile limit, the floating 

 eggs appearing first at the seaward stations and being gradually 

 drifted in ; on the other hand, less important species, such as 

 the gurnard, flounder, and dabs, spawn within the limit as well 



-; beyond it, and the sprat spawns principally within the limits 



f the Firth of Forth. 



The Rearing of Larval and Post-Larval Plaice and 

 OTHER Flat-Fishes. 



In connection with the artificial propagation of the food fishes 

 a series of experiments were made by Mr. H. Dannevig in the 

 rearing of the young fishes derived from the artificially fecun- 

 dated eggs, which have yielded results of scientific interest. The 

 natural food of the early post-larval plaice has been determined, 

 and also the duration of the larval and post-larval periods. It 

 was found that the larvae from plaice eggs which were fertilised 

 on April 28 and hatched on May 10, took eight days to absorb 

 the yolk and enter on the post-larval stage, and other thirty-four 

 days, or forty-two days from the date of hatching, before they 

 settle permanently on the bottom as typical little flat-fishes. 

 The changes during their development are described and illus- 

 trated in a plate. 



Marine Diatoms. 



Mr. George Murray, F.R.S., Keeper of the Department of 

 Botany of the British Museum, conducted on board the Garland 

 during part of the year an investigation into the distribution and 

 reproduction of diatoms and minute floating vegetation found in 

 the sea, which form an important constituent of the food of 

 minute crustaceans and of fishes in their very early stages. In 

 the paper describing the results it is pointed out that during the 

 first months of the year there is a remarkable prevalence of 

 diatom life in the sea off" both the east and west coasts, the 

 quantity diminishing towards the end of March, and thereafter 

 remaining at a fairly constant minimum. The part taken by 

 these minute vegetable forms in furnishing food for Crustacea 

 and young fishes is described, as well as the reproductive pro- 

 cesses of the diatoms, respecting which the observations have 

 been of great scientific importance. ■ 



Prof. Cleve, of Upsala, Sweden, also contributes a paper to 

 the report, describing the characters and distribution of the 

 diatoms and minute plant-life collected by tow-nets in the 

 I'aroe-Shetland channel during the expedition of H.M.S. 

 Research to that region in August last year. The chief object 

 uf the inquiry was to determine, by comparison of the abundance 

 and distribution of minute floating organisms, the movements of 

 the water towards and from the North Sea. 



The Invertebrate Fauna. 

 Mr, Thomas Scott contributes to the report a paper describing 

 the invertebrate fauna, as well as the fishes, of Loch Fyne, and 

 furnishing lists of all the species which have been found in that 

 loch, together with notes of their distribution. An account is 

 also given of the parasites of the common copepod, Calanus 

 Jintnarchicus, which forms an important constituent of the food 

 of fishes. In another paper Mr. Scott gives the results of his 

 continued investigations on the invertebrate fauna of the inland 

 waters of Scotland, including that of several lochs in Cantyre, 

 Bute, and Forfarshire, as well as of Shetland, in the examination 

 of which he was assisted by Mr. Robert Duthie. Through these 



NO. 1448, VOL. 56] 



investigations some important additions have been made to the 

 fresh water fauna of Scotland. In a third paper the invertebrate 

 fauna, collected by tow-nets used on board H.M.S. Research in 

 the Faroe-Shetland Channel, in August, is described, notes 

 being furnished showing the distribution of the various species 

 obtained. 



Physical Investigations. 



In addition to the regular determinations of the temperature 

 and density of the sea water at various stations by the Garland, 

 special physical investigations were made last year in the Faroe- 

 Shetland Channel and in Loch Fyne. By the courtesy of 

 Admiral Wharton, the Hydrographer to the Admiralty, a series -. 

 of temperature observations were taken in the former area by -^ 

 the officers of H.M.S. Research, under the command of Captain 

 Moore, and a large number of samples of water were secured 

 from various depths for the subsequent determination of the 

 density. Mr. H. N. Dickson has prepared a special paper on -^ 

 the subject, which is printed in the present report. The work 

 was undertaken with the view of forming part of the continued 

 hydrographic survey of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, 

 instituted as an international scheme, with Sweden, Denmark, 

 Norway, and Germany in 1893, and the observations made on 

 board H.M.S. Research form an important contribution to the 

 subject. The observations in Loch Fyne and the Firlh of 

 Clyde were made by Dr. H. R. Mill in April and September, 

 and are dealt with in another paper. They serve to confirm the 

 previous conclusions as to the circulation of the waters in 

 Loch Fyne. 



THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EMOTIONS} 



'T^HE respiratory movements have wide-reaching effects. They 

 not only lead to the flow of air to and from the lungs, but 

 they profoundly influence the circulation of the blood and 

 lymph ; they also affect the functions of the abdominal and 

 pelvic viscera by rhythmically compressing and dislocating them. 

 Now, these movements are liable to constant modification in 

 the physiological acts of talking, shouting, singing, laughing, 

 crying, sighing, and yawning (as also in the occasional and semi- 

 pathological acts of sneezing, coughing, vomiting, and hic- 

 coughing), and it therefore follows that these acts are more 

 far-reaching in their effects than would at first sight appear, and 

 hence are worthy of our careful study. This will the more 

 readily be granted when it is added that they affect the body, 

 not only by modifying the respiratory movements and thus 

 producing the eff"ects already mentioned, but by involving the 

 expenditure of a considerable amount of neuro-muscular energy, 

 and by inducing definite psychic phenomena which themselves 

 have their physical accompaniments. 



Seeing, then, how far-reaching are the effects of these several 

 acts, and remembering how large a part they play in normal 

 life, we may safely conclude that they influence the functions of 

 the body beneficially, and that an undue interference with them 

 is injurious. One is apt to forget how strong is the instinct to 

 shout and sing, laugh and cry. It is especially noticeable in the 

 savage and in the child. If these instincts are unduly repressed 

 in the child he is sure to suffer. Crying should certainly be re- 

 strained within limits, but there can be no doubt that it is pri- 

 marily physiological, not only favouring the proper expansion of 

 the lungs and accelerating the circulation, but deadening the 

 eff"ects of pain and relieving nerve tension (especially in woman). 

 Rosbach thinks it not improbable that many evils which mani- 

 fest themselves in later life, such as chlorosis, contracted chest, 

 and the phthisical habit, " may take their origin in the practice 

 of mothers to stop their infants from screaming by soothing them 

 to sleep in their arms or by stupefying rocking in the cradle." 

 (Von Ziemssen's " General Therapeutics," vol. iii. p. 

 581). It is well known that children show a strong in- 

 stinct to chatter and sing the first thing in the morning, and 

 it should be allowed full vent as far as is practicable. 

 The shouting which young people indulge in during their 

 play is quite remarkable and is manifestly physiological. 

 The same tendency to shout is observed in young adults, 

 especially among the poorer classes in holiday time. Though 

 from the physiological point of view justifiable, and even 



1 " The Therapeutical .Aspects of Talking, Shouting, Singing, Laughing, 

 Crying. Sighing, .ind Yawning." ' By Dr. Harry Campbell. (Abridged 

 from The Lancet, July 17.) 



