136 



NATURE 



[June 7, 1900 



two steel chambers, one for ascending and the other for de- 

 scending boats. These chambers are divided into two parts, 

 the upper one containing water to receive the boats, and pro- 

 vided with gates, as in the case of the Anderton lift ; and be- 

 neath this a second chamber containing compressed air on 

 which the lock-chamber floats. The air-chambers are so pro- 

 portioned that they automatically differentiate the air-pressure. 

 The water in the lock-chamber which contains the boat at the 

 upper level is so adjusted that its weight, with the boat it con- 

 contains, is 200 tons greater than that of the lower one. Each 

 of these locks weighs 1500 tons and contains 4500 tons of water, 

 the weight in motion, when the boats are ascending and de- 

 scending, exceeding 12,000 tons. The advantages claimed by 

 the use of compressed air are a saving in cost, safety in work- 

 ing, and great economy in water. The power for compressing 

 the air is furnished by a 36-inch turbine working a four-cylinder 

 pump. This also drives the dynamos which operate the gates 

 and light the lift. 



A RECENT report by Prof. Le Neve Foster upon the number 

 of persons employed, and the number of fatal accidents, in mines 

 and quarries in the United Kingdom, shows that in 1899 the 

 death-rate of the workers at mines under the Coal Mines Act, 

 taking underground and surface workers as a whole, was 1 •26, 

 whilst that of 1898 was i'28. At the mines under the Metal- 

 liferous Mines Act, the death-rate of the underground and 

 surface workers as a whole was l '59, a figure decidedly higher 

 than that of 1898, which was only -96. The inside workers in 

 quarries had a slightly smaller death-rate from accidents in 1899 

 than they had in the previous year. 



A RECENT consular report (No. 2418) on the trade of Corsica 

 states that of the few industries at present carried on, that of 

 extracting tannic acid from chestnut wood is now perhaps the 

 most flourishing in the island. This industry is carried on in 

 Bastia, which is the commercial centre of Corsica, by two large 

 factories which export together about 4000 tons of extract per 

 annum, in concentrated liquid form. To prepare this quantity 

 requires nearly 20,000 tons of wood of the sweet chestnut tree 

 yearly. The immense forests are equal to supplying the demand 

 for many years ; but this tree not being under the control of the 

 Administration of Woods and Forests its wholesale destruction 

 without compulsory replanting will, it is feared, in time not only 

 influence adversely the climate of large districts, but cause 

 much misery in those districts where chestnut flour forms the 

 staple food of the peasants. It is prepared from the dried fruit 

 of the sweet chestnut. 



According to the Acting British Consul at Samoa, rubber 

 has been introduced there, and is being grown by several of the 

 planters. It appears to thrive, and as far as can be seen the 

 soil is admirably adapted for the growth of this most valuable 

 product. 



We have received the ofiicial edition of the Fourth Annual 

 Report of the New York Zoological Society, the substance of 

 which is given in more popular form in a publication alluded to 

 a short time ago in our " Notes " column. 



The Marlborough College Natural History Society, in its 

 Report for 1899, sets an admirable example to institutions of this 

 nature in publishing a list of the Lepidoptera of the district, the 

 elaboration of which has been a work of years. It is by the 

 thorough working out of local faunas that provincial natural 

 history societies can alone properly justify their existence. 



Referring to a remark in the review of the " Vertebrate 

 Fauna of the Shetland Islands " in Nature of May 24 (p. 75), 

 NO. 1597, VOL. 62] 



Mr. Eagle Clarke writes to say that though he revised some of 

 the proofs, the revision of the Cetaceans was undertaken by Mr. 

 James Simpson, and that he did not revise either the MS. or the 

 proof relating to that order. '« Mr. Simpson, who had a special 

 knowledge of the group, has passed from among us, but I have 

 little doubt that his inclusion of the Narwhal in the Physeteridae 

 was the result of a mere slip." 



The Etitomologist for June contains the first instalment of the 

 translation of an article by Prof. Max Standfuss on experiments 

 in hybridisation, and on the influence of temperature on the 

 development of the Lepidoptera. As an instance of the line of 

 investigation followed, we may quote the case of the map- 

 butterfly ( Vanessa levana), in which the difference between 

 insects bred* from the summer and winter pupae is so great as to 

 have formerly led to the belief that they belonged to different 

 species. By placing the summer pupa: in an ice-house the 

 winter imago was produced ; but, on the other hand, it was 

 found much more difficult to change by warmth the winter pupae 

 into the summer imago. This led to the inference that the 

 winter form was the original one ; and this is confirmed by the 

 circumstance that the only near relatives of this insect are four 

 species from northern Asia. 



The second edition, revised and largely rewritten, of Dr. 

 Julius Wiesner's work, "Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzenreiches," is 

 in course of publication by the firm of W. Engelmann, Leipzig ; 

 and the second and third parts have just appeared. The work 

 will be completed in two volumes, and will probably be com- 

 pleted towards the end of this year. 



A NEW edition of Thompson's " Gardener's Assistant," which 

 has for many years been accepted as a trustworthy repository of 

 information on the science and art of jgardening in all its 

 branches, is in course of publication by the Gresham Publish- 

 ing Company. The work has been completely revised and 

 entirely remodelled under the direction and general editorship of 

 Mr. William Watson, of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and con- 

 tains contributions by many eminent horticulturists. The first j 

 volume has just been published. 



The first volume of a "Cyclopedia of American Horticul- 

 ture" — a work described as "comprising suggestions for culti- 

 vation of horticultural crops, and descriptions of the trade 

 species of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants, 

 together with geographical data and biographical sketches," has 

 just been published by Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. It is 

 edited by Prof. L. H. Bailey, whose fertility in the production 

 of excellent botanical books is really astonishing, assisted by 

 Mr. W. Miller. The present volume extends from A to D, 

 and contains 509 pages and 743 illustrations. The work will 

 be completed in four volumes. 



A complete and convenient cabinet of glass-blowing 

 apparatus and materials, arranged especially for students or 

 others using Mr. T. Bolas's book on " Glass Blowing," has been 

 put on the market by the Camera Construction Company. 

 Exercises in the manipulation of glass cultivate delicacy of 

 touch and perception, and are therefore excellent as manual 

 training for young people. In scientific work, and more 

 especially in physical and chemical sciences, the ability to work 

 glass is a very valuable accomplishment, and a cabinet which 

 provides a ready means of obtaining practice in this art is a 

 desirable possession for laboratories as well as private students. 



The question as to whether strontium and barium can replace 

 calcium in plants has been made the subject of inquiry by more 

 than one experimenter. The February number of the Bulletin 



