352 



NATURE 



[June 28, 19 17 



grams of picric acid in five hours. On the other hand, 

 the fish do not appear to be inconvenienced by 

 morphine, cantharidine, atropine, pilocarpine, hyoscy- 

 amine, scopolamine, or arsenical salts. Water in 

 which fish die in less than four hours should therefore 

 be considered, as dangerous. 



The Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural 

 History Society (vol. vi., No. ii) contains a number of 

 extremely interesting papers. Not the least of these 

 is that by Mr. R. L. Hargrer on the desiccation of 

 Africa. Reviewing the records on thio theme of 

 pioneers like Livingstone, Harris, and Selous, the 

 author adds much valuable matter of his own, cover- 

 ing a vast extent of country from Tanganyika south- 

 ward and westward. That the diminution of the chain 

 of the great lakes and the river systems feeding them 

 is proceeding at a most disconcerting rate there can 

 be no question, but the author makes no suggestion 

 as to the causes to which this shrinkage is due. 

 Natural history notes from British East Africa, by 

 Mr. A. Loveridge, afford one a vivid insight into the 

 wealth and variety of the fauna of this part of Africa, 

 for the habits and haunts of many of the smaller 

 creatures unnoticed by the big-game hunter are viva- 

 ciously described. 



Owing to the war the completion of the reports on 

 the collections of zoological and botanical specimens 

 obtained by the ill-fated British Antarctic ({Terra Nova) 

 Expedition, iqio, has been seriously delayed. Some 

 of them we have already noticed in these columns. 

 The trustees of the British Museum have now issued Dr. 

 W. T. Caiman's re{X)ft on the Crustacea, and two 

 reports on the marine and fresh-water Algae, and these 

 sustain the high standard of their predecessors. Four 

 very diverse groups of Crustacea are represented in 

 this collection, and of these two only, belonging re- 

 spectively to the Cumacea and the Phvllocardia, were 

 taken in Antarctic waters. Two species of Cumacea 

 new to science were taken off the extreme north of 

 New Zealand, and one new species of Stomatopod was 

 taken off the Brazilian coast. Of these Dr. Caiman 

 gives admirable descriptions and some very beautiful 

 figures. The marine Algae have been worked out bv Mr. 

 and Mrs. Antony Gepp, and the Melobesieae by Mme. 

 Paul Lemoine. Onlv two species of marine Algae were 

 taken in Antarctic waters, and these' are not new. The 

 only specimens of Melobesieae collected proved, on 

 examination, to represent two species new to science; 

 one of these was taken off New Zealand, the other off 

 Trinidad. Very beautiful figures of both are given. 

 All the fresh-water Algae collected were Antarctic. 

 Thev were entrusted to Prof. F. E. Fritsch for inves- 

 tigation, and proved to contain two new species. From 

 the material collected Prof. Fritsch has been enablpH 

 to describe the cell-division of Pleurococcus antarcticus, 

 which was hitherto unknown. 



The annual report for 1916 of the Horticulture 

 Branch of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries con- 

 tains, amongst other matters of interest, a summary 

 of the work accomplished in connection with the in- 

 vestigation and control of various plant diseases and 

 insect pests. Of the notifiable diseases a distinct im- 

 provement is recorded in the case of American goose- 

 berry mildew, but a much less satisfactory position 

 with regard to \yart disease of potatoes. The latter 

 disease has not only spread throughout areas known 

 previously to be infected, bat has also made a 

 sporadic appearance in several new places. Glamor- 

 gan, South Lancashire, and Durham are mentioned 

 as areas in which the disease is very prevalent. It is 

 gratifying to note, however, that in areas previously 

 notified as infected very satisfactory results have been 



NO. 2487, VOL. 99] 



obtained by the action of the Board in securing th« 

 use of resistant varieties. It is reported that 

 the long and elaborate inquiry into the para- 

 sitism of the large larch sawfly has been con- 

 cluded, but the results have not yet been tabulated. 

 With reference to plant diseases not caused by 

 scheduled pests, special mention is made of the " capsid 

 bug" disease of apples and apple mildew, both of 

 which have been the subject of investigation by the 

 officers of the branch. An interesting summary is also 

 given of the present position with regard to Isle of 

 Wight bee disease, the supervision of which is included 

 among the duties of the branch. The report this year 

 is not issued separately, but appears in the form of an 

 article in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture for 

 May. 



Memoir 92 of the Canadian Geological Survey, by 

 Mr. J. A. Dresser, indicates the excellent prospects of 

 water-power in the Lake St. John district, north of 

 the city of Quebec, and includes an opportune review, 

 by Prof. A. Stansfield, of the srnelting of iron-ores rich 

 in titanium. This article, with its references to recent 

 work, will be of service in mineral development else- 

 where, and possibly in Ireland. 



The Bulletin of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory 

 for January, 19 17, is of more than usual interest from 

 its record of experiments with Seeger cones enclosed 

 in iron pipes some 40 ft. long, which were thrust into 

 grottoes of glowing lava. It is shown that in a dis- 

 tance of 20 ft. the temperature may vary from 

 850° C. to 1150° C, and there is some indication that 

 the incandescent upper layers of the lava, emitting 

 gases, may be of higher temperature than the more 

 viscous mass below. 



Mr. J. C. H. MiNGAYE describes several meteorites 

 in the Records of the Greological Survey of New South 

 Wales, vol. ix., part iii., 19 16. The Government 

 printer may be congratulated on the beautiful coloured 

 plate showing the various types of olivine in the palla-, 

 site of Molong. Mr. Mingaye's detailed analyses of 

 two australites (obsidianites) in the same part serve tP 

 emphasise the difference between these bodies and 

 ordinary meteorites. 



Prof. C. Schuchert, in discussing the correlation of 

 strata on the basis of palaeogeography (Bull. Geol. 

 Soc. America, vol. xxvii., p. 491, 1916),' provides an 

 interesting series of maps showing the prevalent 

 conditions in the west of North America during suc- 

 cessive Mesozoic periods, and a still more valuable 

 conception of the relations of land and water in early 

 Permian time, in the form of a m^p of the world, on 

 which the areas are marked where evidences of Permo- 

 Carboniferous glaciation have been found. Teachers 

 of geology may like to enlarge this map into a 

 diagram. The author supports the theory of the per- 

 manence of oceanic and continental areas, which seems 

 to many geologists to be based partly on our ignor- 

 ance of what underlies the oceans, and partly on the 

 definition of oceanic water. 



In the Transactions of the Royal Society of South 

 Africa (vol. vi., part i.) Mr. S. H. Haughton, assis- 

 tant director. South African Museum, describes 

 ancient human remains found during the excavation 

 of a drain at Kolonies Plaats, Boskop, in the Potchef- 

 stroom district of the Transvaal, in 19 13. The re- 

 mains found consist of a large portion of a calvaria, i 

 the horizontal part of the left ramus of the mandible, 

 the major portion of a temporal bone, and some frag- 

 mentary limb-bones. The distinctive feature of the 



