October 26, 1893] 



NA TURE 



619 



cholera was in question, it now transpires that in every case 

 examined one or more of the ordinary proofs as to this have 

 been wanting, and Dr. Klein concludes that the outbreak is 

 not one of true cholera. 



After the ist of November the time of Central Europe, 

 which is employed in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Hungary, 

 Bosnia, and Servia, and is reckoned from the fifteenth degree 

 of longitude, will be adopted upon Italian railway-systems. 

 Railway time in Italy will therefore be exactly one hour in 

 advance of Greenwich time, and 50 min. 39 sees, in advance of 

 Paris mean time, the diflference of time between Greenwich and 

 Paris being 9 min. 21 sees. 



The passengers on board the North German Lloyd s.s. 

 Oldenhur", which left Genoa for the East on the 23rd inst., in- 

 clude Dr. W. Kiikenthal, Ritter Professor in the University of 

 Jena, who proceeds, under the auspices of the Senckenberg 

 Naturalists' Society, on a twelve months' zoological expedition 

 to the Moluccas. After a short sojourn in Java, he will make 

 Ternate his headquarters, exploring the surrounding islands, 

 and especially the island of Halmahera. We are informed that 

 Prof. Kiikenthal was the elected one of fifty zoologists who 

 sought the leadership of the expedition. The energy and en- 

 durance which he displayed in his recent investigations in the 

 Arctic Seas led to the accumulation of rich material, and they 

 justify an anticipation of good results from the present, less 

 tropical, journey. 



The exhibition arranged by the Deutsche Mathematiker- 

 Vereinigung at Munich, of models, drawings, apparatus, and 

 instruments used in pure and applied mathematics, was closed 

 on October 5. From a circular that has been issued by the 

 Association we learn that the exhibition was in every respect 

 successful. Owing to the support given by the Royal Bavarian 

 Government and the Ministry of the Interior, it was possible 

 to considerably extend the plans originally proposed. The 

 success of the undertaking was largely due to the kindness 

 of the many public bodies and private individuals who lent 

 apparatus, &c., and have participated in the work, often at a 

 pecuniary sacrifice. The committee of the Association desire 

 to express their thanks to exhibitors and others who have 

 supported them during the last two years. 



The following gentlemen have been nominated for election 

 on the council of the London Mathematical Society for the 

 session 1893-4 :— Mr. A. B. Kempe, F.R.S. (President); 

 Messrs. A. B. Basset, F.R.S. , E. B. Elliott, F.R.S., A. G. 

 Greenhill, F.R.S. (Vice-Presidents); Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S. 

 (Treasurer) ; Messrs. M. Jenkins and R. Tucker (Hon. Sees.). 

 Other members— Dr. Forsyth, F.R.S., Dr. Glaisher, F.R.S., 

 Dr. Hill, Dr. Hobson, F.R.S., Mr. Love, Major Macmahon, 

 F.R.S., Mr. J. J. Walker, F.R.S. The new nominees are 

 Lt.Col. J. R. Campbell and Lt.-Col. A. J. C. Cunningham, 

 R.E., in the place of Messrs. H. F. Baker and J. Hammond, who 

 retire. The annual general meeting (November 9) will be made 

 special for the consideration of the following resolution, which 

 will be moved by the council : " That the London Mathematical 

 Society be incorporated as a Limited Liability Company under 

 Section 23 of the Companies Act, 1867 ; and that the Council 

 be empowered to take the necessary steps to carry this resolu- 

 tion into effect." The presentation of the De Morgan medal, 

 awarded by the council in June last, will be made at the same 

 meeting, to Prof. Felix Klein, the medallist, who expect.-, to be 

 present to receive it in person. 



We have received the first part of the second half of vol. iii. of 

 Cohn's Kryptogatiien- Flora von SchUsiett, devoted to the fungi, 

 under the editorship of Dr. J. Schrceter. The present part 

 commences the description of the Ascomycetes, and is occupied 

 by a portion only of the first sub-order, the Discomycetes. 

 NO. 1252, VOL. 48] 



The second part of vol. vi. of the Journal of the College of 

 Science of the Imperial University of Japan is entirely occupied 

 by an elaborate paper, by Prof. Sadahisa Matsuda, on the 

 anatomy of the Magnoliaceas. It is illustrated by four plates 

 exhibiting the excellence of work to which we are now accus- 

 tomed in the products of the Japanese press. 



Dk. R. a. Philippi contributes to the Verhandlungen oi \.\\e 

 German Scientific Society of Santiago in Chile two interesting 

 papers on the "Fauna and Flora of Chile and Argentinia." 

 With regard to the flora he points out that, notwithstanding the 

 wide difference between those of Chile and of Europe, the num- 

 ber of identical species is greater than Europe has in common 

 with South Africa or Australia ; while both the flora and fauna 

 of Chile differ in a very remarkable way from those of Argen- 

 tinia. Dr. Philippi argues from these facts that the mountain 

 range of the Cordilleras must have been formed before the de- 

 velopment of the fauna and flora of these countries. 



Among other excerpts from the Transactions of the Academy 

 of Science of St. Louis, vol. vi., that have recently been received , 

 the following are of interest: — "The Opening of the Buds of 

 Some Woody Plants," by Mr. A. S. Hitchcock. This paper 

 records observations made during the spring of 1892. In 

 "Flowers and Insects — LabiatEe" Mr. Charles Robertson 

 gives an account of the pollinators of various Labiates. Of the 

 twenty-three species described, nine have long-tongued bees 

 as their principal visitors, and eight show special adaptation to 

 bees in general. No species was found to be adapted to the 

 lower hymenoptera, though ten species were visited by them. 

 Diptera occurred as visitors of nineteen species, and butterflies 

 on all but five species. The ruby-throated humming-bird only, 

 y'lsileA Monartia,Bradliurniaiia,a.aiM.Jistulosa,a.nihse\.\es\ieTe 

 found only on the six least specialised flowers investigated. Mr. 

 J. Christian Bay has prepared the materials for a monograph on 

 Inuline, in the form of a list of papers on the subject, published 

 up to the end of 1890. 



Dr. Edmund Naumakn, the well-known writer on Japan 

 Geology, has just published an interesting paper in Peterinanns 

 Mettheilungen (Ergiinzungsheft, No. 108), under the title of 

 " Neue Beitriige zur Geologie und Geographic Japans." Three 

 coloured plates are given — plate i. the crater of Shiranesan and 

 views of Bandai, two volcanoes active within recent years ; plate 

 ii. a stereographic representation of the geology of Japan (scale 

 (i : 5,000,000) ; plate iii. the general contours of the' country 

 (scale I : 2,600,000). 



Japan is possibly one of the best illustrations of the value of 

 geological knowledge in throwing light and colour on the 

 geographical features of a country. Dr. Naumann, in his account 

 of the geological structure of the gre.it mountain chain, empha 

 sises the presence of a crystalline core throughout the whole 

 length of the islands, and against it the sedimentary deposits 

 may be said to have a zonal distribution. He proves that while 

 there was prepateozoic folding in these crystalline schists and 

 gneisses, the main period of mountain movement and the up- 

 heaval of the greater portion of Japan took place in early 

 Mesozoic times. The intrusions of the enormous granitic masses 

 are probably of late Mesozoic age, and since that time there have 

 been several periods of volcanic activity, constant recurrences 

 taking place along ancient lines of weakness. The result of 

 the particular processes of mountain-making in Japan on the 

 present configuration of its surface, and the correlation of the 

 rocks with the various types of landscape, are then briefly 

 described. 



The "Fossa magna " is an apt name given some years ago 

 by Dr. Naumann to that curious well-marked depression 

 between the north and south wings of the main island — a de 



