September 3, 1891] 



NATURE 



437 



meteorologists who publish their results. Prof. W. von Bezold 

 gives an interesting summary of his paper on the theory of 

 cyclones, which he laid before the Berlin Academy in December 

 last, and in which he treated of the more recent views regarding 

 the laws of atmospheric circulation ; he also refers to variou-s 

 points which have to be dealt with for the further advancement 

 of the science. 



M. Lancaster has recently indicated in Cicl ct Tcrre the 

 divergences frjm normal temperature in Europe in the five 

 years 18S6-90. It appears (and is shown in a map) that the 

 centre of the "island of cold" lies over the north of France, 

 the south of Belgium, and the most western parts of Germany. 

 From this centre the cold decreases pretty regularly outwards 

 on all sides to a nearly circular line of nil divergence, which, 

 embracing the whole of Great Britain, crosses the south of 

 Sweden, then goes along the German- Russian frontier, through 

 Hungary, the south of Italy, the north of Africa, and across 

 Spain. Throughout this inclosed region abnormally low tem- 

 peratures have prevailed. Siberia, too, shows thermal depres- 

 sion, which M. Lancaster thinks may be connected with that in 

 Western Europe. 



Sr. H. MoRiZE, astronomer at the Observatory of Rio de 

 Janeiro, has just published a "Sketch of the Climatology of 

 Brazil," which will be welcome to meteorologists, as hitherto 

 systematic observations have only been published for a very few 

 points of that immense country, covering 39° of latitude. The 

 present sketch has been drawn up mainly from the observations of 

 travellers and private observers. We can only extract a few 

 brief notes. Thunderstorms are very frequent all along the coast, 

 and are mostly harmless ; regular cyclones are very rare — the 

 most dangerous winds are the pamperos, which blow from the 

 south-west, and have been fully described by the late Ad niral 

 Fitz-Roy, and a still more rare and dangerous wind which blows 

 from the south-east. As regards temperature, the author has 

 divided the country into three zones, and some valuable data are 

 given for various localities. Parts of the country are subject to 

 prolonged drought ; it is said that at Pernambuco no rain fell 

 during the whole year 1792, and a third of the population died 

 fron its effects ; droughts have recurred during the present 

 century with some regularity, the last being in the year 1888-89. 

 The most complete series of observations is that for Rio de 

 Janeiro, which dates from 1781, with occasional interruptions. 

 The highest shade temperature was 99° "5 in November 1883, 

 and the lowest 5o'4 in September 1882. There are also good 

 series of observations for Rio Grande do Sul and Sao-Paulo. 



One of the most important contributions made of late years to 

 our knowledge of the embryology of flowering plants is to be 

 found in a paper by a lady, Mdlle. C. Sokolowa, in the Bulletin 

 of the Imperial S )ciety of Naturalists of Moscow. It relates 

 especially to the formitioi of the endosperm within the embryo- 

 sac of Gymno5p^rm>, the particulars of which are described in 

 great detail. The process is somewhat intermediate between 

 that of ordinary cell-division and that known as free cell-forma- 

 tion. It is a group of short cells belonging to the parietal layer 

 of this endosperm that ultimately develop into the corpuscles or 

 secondary embryo-sacs, the homologues of the archegones of 

 Vascular Cryptogams. In the tendency displayed by Pinus and 

 Cephalotaxus towards the early differentiation of these cells, 

 Mdlle. Sokolowa sees the foreshadowing of the process which is 

 universal in Angiosperms, the formation of the embryonic 

 v.sicles before that of the endosperm. Ephedra exhibits a still 

 closer approximation in this respect to Angiosperms than to the 

 Conifers. In the same number of the Bulletin is an interesting 

 and important paper by Prof. G )roschankin on the "Structure 

 and Reproduction of Chlamydomonas." The former paper is 

 written in French, the latter in German. 

 NO. I 140, VOL. 44] 



The survey of the cafion of the Colorado has now been com- 

 pleted, and Mr. R. B, Stanton has given a full account of it in 

 the American Enirineering Nnos. In spite of the great depths 

 of the canon and the cliffs of sandstone, marble, and granite 

 composing it, a railway can in his opinion be built through it 

 without much tunnelling, thus opening up some of the grandest 

 scenery of the world. In many places the caiion expands into 

 wide valleys, and even where it narrows there are terraces along 

 the sides like the "parallel roads" of Glen Roy in Scotland, 

 which seem designed by nature for track and rail. The tribu- 

 taries which enter the caiion laterally are as a rule small, and can 

 be easily bridged. The distance of 1019 miles through the 

 canon district will only comprise 20 miles of tunnelling and 99 

 milcS of granite cutting. 



At the meeting of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 

 on June 24, Mr. C. Darley exhibited some very large examples 

 of the shells of the mud oyster ( Ostnra edulis, var. angasi) ob- 

 tained during dredging operations in Rozelle Bay, Sydney Har- 

 bour. They occur in great numbers at a depth of 10 to 12 feet 

 below low water- mark beneath a layer of black mud 3 to 4 feet 

 thick, and are much larger than specimens now to be found 

 living in the harbour. The two valves of one pair weigh 

 3 pounds 1 2 ounces, and measure about 8x6 inches. 



In Nature Notes for August Mr. R. T. Lewis, on the 

 authority of a correspondent in whose trustworthiness he has 

 entire confidence, gives a curious account of the appreciation 

 wiih which the song of the Cicada is heard by insects other 

 than those of its own genus. The correspondent has frequently 

 observed in Natal that when the Cicada is singing at its loudest, 

 in the hottest portion of the day, it is attended by a number of 

 other insects with lovely, gauze-like, iridescent wings, whose 

 demeanour has left no doubt on his mind that the music is the 

 attraction. The Cicada, when singing, usually stations itself 

 upon the trunk of a tree with its head uppermost, and the in- 

 sects in question, to the number sometimes of fifteen or sixteen, 

 foim themselves into a rough semicircle at a short distance around 

 its head. During a performance one of the insects was observed 

 occasionally to approach the Cicada and to touch it upon its 

 front leg or antennae, which proceeding was resented by a 

 vigorous stroke of the foot by the Cicada, without, however, 

 any cessation of its song. The insects composing the audience 

 are extremely active; and so wary that they take flight at the 

 least alarm on the too near approach of any intruder. Some of 

 them, however, have been captured ; and on examination these 

 " proved to belong to the same family as that most beautiful of 

 British insects — the lace-wing fly, which, indeed, they closely 

 resemble except as to size, their measurement across the ex- 

 panded wings being a little over two inches ; they have since 

 been identified by Mr. Kirby at the British Museum as Notho- 

 chrysa gigantea. " 



According to a telegram through Dalziel's agency from 

 Vancouver, the Canadian Pacific steamer yapan, which arrived 

 therefrom Hong Kong and Yokohama on August 30, has reported 

 a terrific typhoon at Kobe on the i6th inst. All the steamers 

 in the harbour dragged their anchors, and many native boats 

 were cast ashore and their crews were drowned. A German 

 steamship was driven ashore and eight of the crew were drowned, 

 and an Indian barque Singlas was wrecked, and all on board 

 were lost. Her Majesty's gunboat Tweed sank. Altogether 

 among natives and foreigners it is believed that 250 lives were 

 lost. The wind did much damage inshore. In one coast town 

 forty- five persons were killed by falling houses. 



The Science and Art Department has issued its Directory 

 (revised to June 1891), with regulations for establishing and con- 

 ducting science ar.d art schools and classes. 



