5IO 



NATURE 



[August 23, 1917 



whether it is whole, skim, sweet, or sour milk. Many 

 persons have little or no tolerance for sweet milk, while 

 sour milk, or buttermilk, is well borne. On account 

 of the highly important known food substances which 

 are present, namely, fat, sugar, casein, lactalbumin, 

 and certain inorganic salts, and of the as yet poorly 

 understood vitamines, or accessories, milk has a most 

 stimulating influence on bodily growth and strength, 

 and is therefore an important factor in regulating and 

 preserving health. 



There is considerable need for an "ink" for the 

 skin for localisation marks. It should stain the skin 

 such a colour that it will show up against iodine, 

 be unaffected when rubbed with alcohol, ether, 

 acetone, etc., last for some days under a dress- 

 ing, and not damage or inflame the skin. 

 Capt. Finzi gives the following formula, which fulfils 

 all these requirements: — Acid, pyrogallic, i gram; 

 acetone, lo c.c. ; liquor ferri perchlor. fort., 2 c.c. ; sp. 

 vini meth., ad 20 c.c. The mixture keeps well, and 

 can be applied with a brush. The mark is brownish- 

 grey at first, but after a few hours becomes a brilliant 

 black {Archives of Radiology and Electrotherapy, 

 No. 204, July, p. 38). 



YVe have received a copy of the report on explora- 

 tions and field work of the Smithsonian Institution for 

 IQ16 (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. Ixvi., 

 No. 17). The volume contains short reports from about 

 thirty investigators in geology, zoology, botany, 

 archaeology, ethnology, and astrophysics in various 

 parts of the world, from the United States, Cuba, 

 and Venezuela to South Africa and Borneo. The 

 result of these investigations is to enrich the National 

 Museum with material for exhibition and research. 

 The outbreak of war practically cut off all the supply 

 of animals for the National Zoological Park, as the 

 trade was formerly almost wholly in German hands. 

 The New York, Philadelphia, and National Zoological 

 Parks sent a representative to South Africa, aided by 

 a grant from the Smithsonian Institution, and he was 

 successful in securing a certain number of ruminants, 

 birds, and reptiles, chiefly from the Zoological Gardens 

 at Pretoria. It should be noted that some of the 

 excellent photographs in this volume are of permanent 

 scientific value, although it claims to be only a sum- 

 mary of work done. 



A very concise and admirable summary of the 

 " Moults and Sequences of Plumages of the British 

 Waders," by Miss Annie Jackson, appears in British 

 Birds for August. This is apparently meant to serve 

 as art introduction to a detailed description of the 

 plumages of the several species on the British list, 

 which will prove a very useful piece of work, since it 

 will not only summarise what has already been written 

 on this theme, but also include much original work 

 by Miss Jackson. Only during recent years has 

 this subject b'een seriously investigated, the earlier 

 collectors caring for little but adult males in their 

 nuptial dress. Hence it is that none of the great col- 

 lections of skins examined in the course of the pre- 

 paration of this p^per contain skins of the oyster- 

 catcher, stone-curlew, greenshank, or red-necked 

 phalarope, showing the transition from the first winter 

 to the first summer plumage. But these are only 

 a few of many gaps in our knowledge of this matter 

 which have yet to be filled. 



In a lecture published in the May issue of the 

 Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Lord Dunraven 

 advocates the nationalisation of the marine and fresh- 

 water fisheries. He suggests that the State should 



NO. 2495, VOL. 99] 



take over these industries in the same way as it now 

 controls or works others of national importance. Such 

 Government acquisition, control, and development 

 would, he expects, result in the cheapening of fish as 

 food, and also in a very great increase of revenue, 

 since the State would acquire the original and inter- 

 mediate profits. The lines of development are sug- 

 gested. Methods of preservation of fish by cold stoi- 

 age, salt curing, canning, and analogous processc - 

 should be applied on a large scale, and means of dis- 

 tribution of fresh fish should be greatly extended. 

 Methods of '"scientific fertilisation of fish-culture" 

 should be practised on a very much broader basis than 

 has hitherto been attempted. In this way the author 

 hopes to see the fresh-water fisheries developed and 

 salmon cheapened again to its original price of ^d. 

 per lb. He advocates the removal of restrictions on 

 methods of fishing and the re-opening of many days 

 formerly closed to trawling, and generally urges the 

 adoption of many of the recommendations of the In- 

 shore Fisheries Committee of 19 13. 



M. JoHS. Schmidt contributes an interesting article 

 on the occurrence of the wild hop in Denmark to the 

 Comptes Rendus des travaiix dti Lahoratoire de Carls- 

 berg (1917, vol. ii., part 6). B) the distribution of 

 inquiry forms throughout the country a considerable 

 mass of information was collected, especially from 

 forest officials. This shows that the wild hop is com- 

 monest in Funen and most rare in West Jutland, but 

 is not found on several small islands. . The wild hop 

 propagates by seeding as well as by the vegetative 

 process. The seedlings grow slowly, do not flower the 

 first year, and probably but rarely in the second. 

 The flowering- time at one locality in North Zealand 

 was found to occur (1911-15) at the end of July or the 

 beginning of August, the male plants commencing to 

 flower somewhat earlier than the female. The hop has 

 not hitherto been found in prehistoric deposits in Den- 

 mark, and it is therefore uncertain whether it existed 

 there prior to human habitation. Generally the wild 

 hop is of small value for brewing purposes, as it con- 

 tains but little bitter resins. Some plants, however, 

 were obtained which contained as much as 14 per cent, 

 of this constituent. The same author has found that 

 although the quality of "aroma" is absent from the 

 male plant, it can nevertheless be transmitted to the 

 offspring througli the male parent. When an Amer- 

 ican male plant was crossed with a European female 

 plant the offspring plants gave hops which exhibited 

 t\pical "American" aroma. 



We have just received three recent parts of Bergens 

 Museums Aarbok, published in 1915 and 1916, One 

 of the most important articles Ts that by Prof. Nathorst 

 on some plant remains found in the Hornelen district, 

 at the mouth of Nordfjord. Since these contain 

 Thursophyton Milleri they appear to be contem- 

 poraneous with the Middle Old Red Sandstone. The 

 generic name Thursophyton is new. There are also 

 new genera : Broggeria, of very doubtful affinity, and 

 Hyenia, a probable precursor of Sphenophyllum. Both 

 as an introduction to this paper and as a separate 

 article Dr. C. F. Kolderup describes the geology of the 

 west coast district in which the plant-bearinj^ sand- 

 stones occur. He also reports on earthquakes in 

 Norway in 1913 and 19 14. Zoological articles comprise 

 a preliminary note on the pelagic Nemertines of the 

 German South Polar Expedition, 190 1-3, by Mr. 

 August Brinkmann, and a report on the Alcyonarian 

 and Madreporarian corals collected by the Fram an'' 

 the Michael Sais, and now in Bergen Museum, b 

 the late "Prof. Jungersen. Mr. N. J. F0yn contribute 

 a second report on the climate of Bergen. Volumetri 

 analyses made in the neighbouring seas are commum- 



