May 3, 1917] 



NATURE 



185 



There is no intention of "cramming too much science 

 into the schools," but a strong case can be made out 

 against the present cramming of classics, whether 

 considered as a means of mental development or a 

 preparation for life. The assumption that science is 

 a special study, to be taken up after the age of six- 

 teen or so, while what are called the "humanities," 

 but are chiefly dead languages and literature, are not 

 specialised, is a fallacy which advocates of literary 

 learning persist in believing, though it has been ex- 

 posed over and over again. 



It is possible that a perverted view of Darwinism 

 has been put forward in Germany in justification of 

 the doctrine of *' frightfulness," but naturalists as a 

 body must not be held responsible for this concep- 

 tion, which was, indeed, repudiated completely by 

 Huxley in his " Evolution and Ethics." The ancient 

 and modem histories studied in schools and colleges 

 are mainly concerned with wars and dynasties, and 

 it is to these "humanities" rather than to science 

 that we must look for the origin of the German mental 

 condition and the conduct of the present conflict. — 

 Ed., Nature. 



The Frequency of Snow in London. 



I THINK the number of days with snow in the early 

 months of 1917, as quoted in Mr. Harding's article 

 in Nature of April 19 according to the records of an 

 observer at VV'andsworth Common, is too low for the 

 metropolitan district generally, irtasmuch as I "have 

 recorded snowfall, chiefly at Hampstead, but partly 

 also at Kensington, on no fewer than fort>'-seven days 

 during the past winter, distributed as follows : 

 November, i ; December, 3 ; January, 20 ; February, 4 ; 

 March, 11; April, 8; out of which forty-three belong 

 to 19 17 — a figure nine in excess of that quoted by 

 Mr. Harding. I do not think the discrepancy is due 

 to Hampstead's height some three or four hundred 

 feet above the more central parts of London, inasmuch 

 as a difference of altitude of this small order tells 

 more effectively upon the length of time snow lies 

 on the ground than on its frequency of falling; but I 

 suggest it may arise from the omission of days of 

 very slight snowfall, of days with sleet, or, possibly, 

 even from a failure to recognise uncommon varieties 

 of snow. 



An interesting case of an unusual variety of snow, 

 which I heard superficial observers calling "sleet," 

 in spite of the fact that the precipitation was entirely 

 free from liquid drops, occurred during the week-end 

 of January 20-21, when there fell in London a con- 

 tinuous frozen drizzle composed of fine crystalline 

 particles, gradually whitening roofs and open- spaces 

 with a thin layer having the appearance of ordinary 

 snow. Now, if the physicaj criterion of rain is the 

 spherical drop of water, of hail the stone, pellet, or 

 granule of compact ice, and of snow the individually 

 formed crystal of ice, whether it falls alone, or stuck 

 together with others in large flakes, or broken up 

 by wind into powdery fragments, it is clear that the 

 precipitation of January 20-21 had the essential 

 character of snow, and was not a transition form 

 between snow and rain or between snow and hail. 



L. C. W. BONACINA. 



30 Parliament Hill, Hampstead, N.W.3., 

 April 28. 



Scarcity of Wasps in Kashmir in 1916. 



Reading the correspondence in Nature on the 

 scarcity of wasps in England, and the interesting 

 article by Prof. Carpyenter (Nature, January 25), sug- 

 gested to me that it might be worth while to record 



NO. 2479, VOL. 99] 



my experience in Srinagar, Kashmir, during the years 

 1915 and 1916, because of the curious analogy. 



During the autumn of 1915 two species of wasp 

 were observed, one of these somewhat resembling 

 Vespa vulgaris, and the other larger and more like a 

 hornet. These were both excessively abundant in and 

 around the house I occupied. The large suspended 

 nests of both species, covered with active workers, 

 were in almost every bush and shrub near the house 

 and attached to the walls of the house, and it w-as only 

 by repeated efforts that we could prevent the insects 

 starting new colonies on the ceilings of the rooms in 

 the house. 



The abnormally dry season in Kashmir beginning' 

 in May, 19 15, may have been specially favourable for 

 the development of these wasps, but if so it is not 

 easy to account for their subsequent scarcity. As in 

 England, the year 1916 was remarkable for the rare- 

 ness of wasps. The winter was mild and dry, and the 

 shortage of rain persisted through the spring. Scarcely 

 a single wasp of the smaller species was seen during 

 the summer and autumn following. The only nests of 

 the larger kind I saw were two very small ones 

 suspended from the woodwork of the spectro- 

 heliograph, where I could daily watch the process of 

 construction. This, however, was a most tedious 

 operation, for after several months the nests were no 

 larger than i^ in, or 2 in. in diameter — that is, about 

 a quarter the size attained in 1915 — and instead' of 

 swarms of active workers, only one or two rather 

 sluggish insects were seen on the nests. 



The apparent despondency of the wasps in 19 16 wais 

 in strong contrast with their energy during the 

 previous season. Yet, so far as human beings could 

 judge, the two seasons were equally inspiring as 

 regards clear blue skies and brilliant sun. 



Is it a mere coincidence that wasps of different 

 species were one year abundant, the next year scarce, 

 in such widely distant localities as England and 

 Kashmir? J. Evershed. 



The Observatory, Kodaikanal, South India, 

 March 14. 



Ceratonia Siliqua and the Carat Weight. 



It is usually stated that the carat weight of jewellers 

 and diamond merchants is derived from the hard seeds 

 of the locust tree, Ceratonia siliqua^ which were 

 anciently used as weights. Having had occasion to 

 obtain some of the beans, I weighed several of the 

 seeds to see what sort of error would be incurred if 

 they were used as weights. Out of fc>rty-four seeds, 

 four were shrivelled and obviously abnormal, weighing 

 from 0-037100-064 grm. each; the remaining fortj- seeds 

 varied from 0-120 to 0-268 grm. The average weight of 

 a seed was 0-2004 grm., with a f)robable variation of 

 ±00235. The median was 0207, and the modal 

 average 0-204. The variations were not well dis- 

 tributed. The old diamond carat, of which 151^ made 

 I oz. troy, would weigh 0-205 g™^- ; the clecimal carat 

 now in use is 0200 grm. It would appear, therefore, 

 that the carat weight could be recovered with some 

 approach to accuracy by weighing a number of seeds 

 of the locust bean. It is also evident that the use of 

 such seeds as weights must have given opportunities 

 for fraudulent dealing in the precious commodities 

 gauged by means of them, since deviations of from 

 30 to 40 per cent, from the average may occur. The 

 variations in weight due to varying humidity of the 

 air are not great; twenty-live seeds exposed to the air 

 of a room for twenty-three hours in rainy weather 

 gained 0-06 per cent, in weight, and after thirty-six 

 hours over sulphuric acid lost 1-71 per cent, in weight. 



J. H. Coste. 



Utopia, Teddington, April 23. 



