422 



NATURE 



[August 31, 1893 



sities, where the Tprofessors are expected to do original vioxV, 

 leaving the teaching to instructors. The second meeting was 

 held in March, 1893, when the report of a com-nittee, recom- 

 mending the establishment of an endowment fund of 25,000 

 dollars for the purpose of encouraging original research, was 

 adopted. The fund is to be known as the " John Strong New- 

 berry Fund," and will be used for furthering researches in 

 geology, paliEontology, botany, and zoology. All information 

 relating to it or to the Alliance can be obtained from Dr. N. 

 L. Brilton, Columbia College, New York. 



The question as to whether amber was exported from the far 

 east to Europe is discussed by Herr A. B. Meyer in a paper 

 read before the Isis Society of Dresden. There seems to be 

 little doubt that some specimens now sold at Rangoon are of 

 Biltic origin, as proved by the amount of succinic acid con- 

 tained in them. But there are, on the other hand, many 

 authorities for the early derivation of amber from India and 

 especially Burma. There are four passages in Pliny giving 

 India as the native country of amber, and ancient Greek authors, 

 especially Sophocles, testify to its origin in eastein India. It 

 would be very strange if the Phoenicians, while shipping ivory, 

 peacock feathers, tin, jewels, and spices from " Ophir," had 

 left behind a highly valued, abundant, striking, and easily 

 transportable article like amber. A specimen of Burmite, as 

 the Indian amber is now usually called, from the Indian 

 Museum, Calcutta, gave 2 per cent, of succinic acid ; another 

 specimen, analysed by Dr. Helm, gave off none. The speci- 

 mens examined by the latter "had frequently embedded in 

 (hem small particles of decayed wood and bark," which recalls 

 a passage in Archelaos, who says that the Indian amber often 

 has pieces of pine baik adhering to it. The Indian origin of 

 much of the amber acquired by the Mediterranean nations in 

 ancient times appears, therefore, to be placed beyond doubt. It 

 is, indeed, probable that Baltic amber did not become a regular 

 article of commerce before the first century of the Christian 

 era. 



Whilst our knowledge concerning the behaviour of bacteria 

 in animal tissues is daily receiving fresh additions, but little is 

 known on the relatively unimpoitant although interesting 

 question of their deportment in vegetable tissues. Much un- 

 certainty exists as to whether bacteria are or are not normally 

 present in healthy vegetable tissues, but the most recent 

 investigations appear to show that they are absent, although 

 they may obtain easy access through minute abrasures, and 

 retain their vitality for a considerable lime, and in some cases 

 even multiply. This view i-i supported by Russell, who has 

 recently presented an interesting dissertation to the John 

 Hopkins University on " Bacteria in their Relation to Vegetable 

 Tissue." A large number of examinations were made of 

 healthy plant tissues, but in no case were bacteria isolated from 

 them, although in wounded tissues they were frequently found. 

 Ordinary saprophytic bacterial forms were inoculated into the 

 healthy tissues of various plants, and were identified after 

 several days, thus the B. hilais was found in large numbers in 

 the stem of a geranium after forty days from the date of its 

 introduction. Moreover, nearly as many bacilli were obtained 

 10 millimetres above the point as at the seat of inoculation, 

 1850 being found at the latter place, and 1764 above. In all 

 the experiments, although the distance at which bacteria were 

 found varied from 30-50 mm. above, in no case were they 

 identified at more than 2-3mm. below the point of inocula- 

 tion. Russell suggests that this upward distribution of the 

 germs may be due to food materials being more abundant in 

 the rapidly growing apex, whilst smaller resistance is offered to 

 their passage in the less developed cellulose walls than in the 

 more matured cell-membrane of the older tissue. Moreover, as 

 NO. 1244. VOL. 48] 



the bacteria were definitely located in the interior of the cells, 

 and no opening of any kind could be determined, he suggest! 

 that they have the power, by means of a ferment excreted, to 

 work their way from cell to cell without causing a permanent 

 rupture. 



The August number of the Journal of the Royal Horticullurai 

 Society contains several interesting papers, among which is 

 Prof. F. W. Oliver's second report on the effects of urban fog 

 upon cultivated plants. The report deals especially with the 

 physiological aspect of the question, the action of fog upon 

 plants, both by reduction of light and atmospheric impurities, 

 being described in detail. The Rev. G. Henslow gives the 

 results of experiments made with a view of determining the 

 effects of growing plants under glasses of various colours. His 

 observations show that during germination it is generally im- 

 material whether the seeds are subjected to light or not. In 

 the case of a variety of larkspur, however, light was found to 

 be positively injurious. No coloured light, or combination of 

 lights, which was not of the quality of pure colourless daylight, 

 gave such good results as ordinary daylight. A comparison 

 made between plants growing under ordinary window-glass and 

 in the open showed that the glass exercises a deletereous i;ffect, 

 due possibly to an excess of heat by which respiration is stimu- 

 lated and assimilation reduced. It is suggested that in order 

 to reduce "scorching" some means must be used which 

 reduces the heat rays without lessening the whole amount of 

 white light. 



We have received from Dr. P. Bergholz the results of the 

 meteorological observations at Bremen for the year 1892. This 

 station is one of considerable importance, both on account of 

 its outfit with self-recording instruments, and even with dupli- 

 cate recording instruments for some of the eleuients, so as to 

 avoid any possible gap in the continuity of the records, and also 

 on account of the long continuance of observations. The first 

 volume of this series, for the year 1890, contained the results of 

 observations taken since the year 1803, and we see from Dr. 

 Hellmann's Repcrtoriuni that observations were taken at Bre- 

 men as early as 1795. The work contains hourly rea'iings, 

 and, in addition, observations arranged for three hours daily, 

 in accordance with the international scheme, together with 

 curves showing the diurnal range for each month and far the 

 year ; it also comprises rainfall values for four other stations, and 

 phenological observations for eleven years ; the whole forming 

 a very complete and creditable compilation. 



In Wiedemann' s Annalen, No. 8, Herr W. Voigt gives a 

 further account of the progress of his attempt to determine th« 

 greatest possible number of physical constants of the sam« 

 pieces of metal subjected to the least mechanical manipula- 

 tion. The pieces were carefully cast and sawed into shapt 

 where necessary. It is not surprising that the constants thu» 

 obtained differ in many cases from those found in the case o( 

 drawn and rolled metals, but it seems that the object of dis- 

 covering the laws of the numerical relations between the various 

 constants render it highly desirable that the substances should 

 be investigated in what may be called their most natural state. 

 The constants recently dealt with are thermal dilatation, ther- 

 mal pressure, and specific heats at constant pressure and volume 

 respectively. The determination of the specific heat by the 

 method of mixtures has led to some ingenious contrivances for 

 minimising the errors which are apt to influence this somewhat 

 delicate operation. The outer vessel of the Neumann "cock" 

 for heating the body under examination was made movable 

 instead of the inner, thus enabling it to be refilled without re- 

 moving it from the stand. The loss of liquid due to the splash- 

 ing produced by the metal falling into the calorimeter was 

 avoided by throwing it into a metal cage just in contact with the 



