284 



NA TURE 



[July 20, 1893 



" In concluding their Report the Council express their regret 

 that it has not been possible, during the past year, to continue 

 their former policy of adding to the permanent structures in the 

 gardens. There are still several buildings much wanted for 

 the better housing of certain parts of the collection, amongst 

 which may be specified the anthropoid apes and the struthious 

 birds, for which groups special accoir.niDdation is required. 

 But in both these cases, to carry out the plans efficiently, a 

 considerable expenditure would be necessary, and the margin 

 of receipts over expenses is at present too slender to render it 

 prudent to undertake the work. The Council look forward to 

 the time when the small remaining balance of the mortgage-debt 

 upon the Society's freehold house will be paid off, and when 

 there will be at any rate a better prospect of devoting the surplus 

 income to such purposes." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The following is the list of scholarships and prizes just 

 awarded at the Royal College of Science, London, with which 

 is incorporated the Royal School of Mines : — First year's 

 scholarships, Robert \V. Forsyth, George W. Walker, John 

 Thomas, Harry R. Prescott ; second year's scholarships, 

 Bernard E. Spencer, George S. West : " Edward Forbes " 

 medal and prize of books for biology, Henry Lacey ; "Mur- 

 chison " medal and prize of books for geology, Joseph B. 

 Morgan; " Tyndall " jirize of books, for physics (Course L), 

 George IX Dunkerley ; " De la Beche " medal for mining, 

 Samuel W. Price ; "Bessemer" medal and prize of books for 

 metallurgy, Allan Gibb ; "Frank Halton " prize of books for 

 chemistry, Robert E. Barnett. Prizes rif books given by ihe 

 Department of Science and Art : Mechanics. William H. 

 Pretty ; asironomical physics, William E. Tubbs, Willie 

 W'halley; ])ractical chemistry, Robert E. Barnett, Gerald G. 

 Quinn ; mining, Samuel W. Price ; principles of agriculture, 

 Roberts. Seton. 



Dr. Butler, Master of Trinity College, Dr. Hill, Master of 

 Downing College, Dr. Peile, Master of Christ's College, Dr. 

 Sidgwick, Knightbridge Professor, Dr. Jebb, Regius Professor 

 of Greek, Dr. J. Ward, Dr. Keynes, Mr. F. E. Kitchener, Mr. 

 R. T. Wiight, and Mr. A. Berry will represent Cambridge 

 University at a conference on the relations between the work of 

 the Universitie-i and the work of secondary education in Eng- 

 land, to be held at Oxford on October 10 and II, 1893. 



Mr. Henurick, of the Royal Agricultural College, Ciren- 

 cester, has been appointed lecturer and demonstrator in agricul- 

 tural chemistry by the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical 

 College. 



Prof. W. Garnett, M.A., D.C.L., Principal of the Durham 

 College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne, has been appointed 

 director and technical adviser to the Technical Education Board 

 of the London County Council. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



The most important papers in the Bolanical Gazette for 

 April and May ate an account of a newly-discovered fungus, 

 Phyllogasltr saccatiis, by Mr. R. Thaxttr, proposed as the type 

 of a new family, Pliyllogaltreic, characterised by the absence 

 of any volva or receptsicle differentiated as such in the mature 

 condition ; on the tendrils of Passiflora {(cnilca, by Mr. D. T. 

 McDougal, in which the author states that the tendrils of the 

 passionflower are sensitive to contact with one another, con- 

 trary to Darwin's expeiience with Bryonia and Echinocystis ; 

 on the limitation of the term "spore," by Prof. C. McMillan, 

 which does not seem to throw much light on the confusion at 

 present prevailing ; the commencement of a paper, by Mr. 

 G. F. Atkinson, on the biology of the organism which causes 

 the root-tubercles in the Leguminoscr ; and on the genus 

 Coralloyhha, by Mr. M. B. Thomas, who finds in the cells 

 of the cortical tissue hyphal threads which he regards as the 

 agent by means of which the jilant is able to derive nutri- 

 ment sapro))hytically fnni the decaying vegetable matter around 

 it. 



NO. 1238, VOL. 4S] 



In the lournal of Botany, for May and June, in addition to 

 the serial papers to which allusion has already been made, 

 Mr. \V. Phillips describes the rare fungus, Gyromilra gi^a^ : 

 Messrs. E. F. and W. R. Linton, in a paper on British hawk 

 weeds, add four more to the already too numerous British 

 species or subspecies of Hierar.itini, viz. H. gvaniticcbim. 

 clovemc, Boswelli, and stenophyes ; in an article on some marine 

 algje from New Zealand, Mr. R. J. Harvey Gibson describes 

 and figures a new seaweed, Rhodocortoit Parkeri. 



Meteorologische Zeitschrift, June. — On the climatic effect of 

 forests upon their neighbourhood, by E. Ebermayer. The dis- 

 cussion is based upon observations made in Austria since 1866, 

 and the results arrived at are that forests do exert an influence 

 on temperature and humidity, but not to the same extent as 

 mountains and large lakes. Within the forest the daytime is 

 naturally cooler and the nights warmer, while some of the eftects 

 are beneficial and others injurious to vegetation. The connec- 

 tion between forests and rainfall is not proved ; in any case 

 the effect on locul distribution of rainfall is quite subordinate. 

 — Earth temperatures at Hamburg, in the years 1886-91, by 

 W. J. van Bebber. Monthly and extreme values are given at 

 depths of half a metre, and for each metre up to five, to- 

 gether with the temperature of the air and of the surface of 

 the Elbe. The average extreme annual variation, at a depth 

 of 0"5 m. amounts to 30°'6 F., but at a depth of 5m. the variation 

 falls toS'l. At the former depth extreme temperatures of 

 66° and 30° occasionally occur, while at the latter de.ith 

 temperatures exceeding 52', or less than 39', are very seldom 

 recorded. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, June 15. — "On Megaladapis madagas- 

 caricinis. an extinct gigantic Lemuroid from Madagascar." 

 By C. J. l■or^yth Major, M.D., For. Corr. Zool. Sue. 

 (Communicated by Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., V.P.G.S., 

 &c.). 



It is now forty-two years since Isidore Geoffrey Ste. -Hilaire 

 announced to the French Academy of Science the discover}' of 

 gigantic eggs and a few bones of Aipyoriiis from superficial 

 deposits in the island of Madagascar, anticipating tha. a 

 rich fauna of extinct vertebrata would be speedily foith- 

 coming. 



Little has, however, been added to our knowledge siaice 

 1851 until the present time. In addition to the remains of a 

 Crocodile, two Chelonians, and a Hippopotamus, first dis- 

 covered by Grandidier, the number of distinct forms of 

 yEpyornis is now rapidly increasing, and promises to rival in 

 variety the New Zealand species of Dinornis, whilst the 

 disclosure of a rich mammalian fauna seems only waiting to 

 reward the carrying out of systematic exploration. 



Four collections of sub-fossil vertebrates, from various regions 

 of Madagascar, have recently been acquired by the British 

 Museum of Natural History. Amongst one of these, sent over 

 by Mr. J. T. Last (collector for Mr. Grose-Smith), is a some- 

 what imperfect skull of strange appearance obtained with 

 numerous fragmentary Chelonian, Crocodilian, Hippopotamus, 

 and /Epyornis-remains from a marsh at Ambolisatra on the 

 south-west coast of Madagascar. For this remarkable fossil 

 Dr. Major proposes the name oi Megaladapis madagascariensis, 

 and the establishment of a distinct family of the sub-order 

 Lemuroidea, of which Megaladapis appears to be a much- 

 specialised gigantic membei, being approximately three times 

 the size of the cranium of the largest existing Lemurid. 



The salient features of the skull are the enormous lateral 

 development of the anterior inter-orbital portion of the frontals, 

 extending over the small, thick-walled tubular orbits. The 

 post-orbital frontal region is comparatively narrow and elon- 

 gate, and separated by a slight contraction from the equally 

 narrow parietal region, bearing a thick and flattened sagittal 

 crest. The brain-case is low, short, and narrow, and placed 

 at a considerably higher level than the elongate facial portion. 

 Both the cranial and facial portion are somewhat bent up- 

 wards, the former posteriorly, the latter anteriorly. A striking 

 general character is the remarkable /(if/ywtou (thickening) of 

 the cranium. 



The author points out that, in its peculiar features, this skull 



