3^ 



NATURE 



[November 14, 1895 



lessly driven— through the machine. Dr. E, J. McWeeney 

 contributes an illustrated paper on Phoma Betce (Frank), a 

 fungus that injures mangel. A lengthy paper on village water 

 supplies deals with a subject of increasing importance in rural 

 districts. In the statistical section of the journal it is stated 

 tliat the wheat crop in Great Britain has this year suffered an 

 unprecedented diminution to the extent of over half a million 

 acres, or 26'5 per cent., and a table is given to show that the 

 wheat area diminished in every county in England, without 

 exception, the greatest decrease being one of 40,890 acres in 

 Lincolnshire. 



The papillary ridges on the hands and feet of monkeys 

 and men form tlie subject of a paper received from Dr. D. 

 Hepburn, and communicated by him to the Royal Dublin 

 Society, from the Transactions of which (vol. v. series ii., 1895) 

 it has been taken. Galton has shown that the great variety in the 

 designs of the patterns among human finger-prints admit of clas- 

 sification under a small number of primary forms. It seemed 

 probable, therefore, that among monkeys the primary forms of 

 the patterns of human finger-prints might be found in conditions 

 sufficiently simple to afford a key to the production of the more 

 elaborate human patterns. With the idea of throwing light 

 upon this point. Dr. Hepburn has prepared and examined a 

 considerable number of impressions from the hands and feet of 

 living Primates. In the chimpanzee and orang-utan, patterns 

 were found similar to those commonly seen in man, whereas 

 among lower monkeys the patterns approximated more closely 

 to those found in the palm or sole. The conclusions arrived at 

 are as follows: (i) The papillary ridges and their intervening 

 furrows are adjuncts to the prehensile function and power of the 

 hands and feet as well as arrangements associated with increased 

 sensibility and discrimination of the sense of touch. (2) The 

 eminences on which papillary ridges form designs or patterns are 

 specially developed areas raised above the general level of 

 surrounding parts. They are also special developments in 

 relation to the prehensile function. This accounts for their 

 constancy in the hands and feet of animals which have these 

 organs modified for prehension. (3) The " design " which 

 covers each of these eminences has its character determined by 

 the position, shape, and dimensions of the particular eminence. 



An improved calorimeter, for the application of the method 

 of mixtures in determining specific heats, is described by Mr. 

 F. A. Waterman in the current number of the Philosophical 

 Magazine. Mr. Hesehus's ingenious suggestion is acted upon, 

 to maintain the calorimeter, after the introduction of the heated 

 body, at a constant temperature by means of cold water, instead 

 of measuring the rise of temperature of the calorimeter. This 

 arrangement gets rid of the radiation error, and eliminates the 

 " water equivalent" of the vessel. By dropping the cold water 

 in, stirring is also made unnecessary. The method has been 

 placed by Mr. Waterman upon a footing of equality at least 

 with other methods, but his success may be partly due to other 

 improvements. The body experimented upon is heated by a 

 coil of wire conveying a current, and surrounded by ice. The 

 initial temperature of the body may thus be regulated by simply 

 maintaining the current at a certain strength, and this tempera- 

 ture can be kept constant for five or six hours together to within 

 o"*! C. The body is then plunged into a silver calorimeter 

 surrounded by the bulb of a delicate air thermometer indicating 

 a difference of temperature of o°'oi C. The cold water is con- 

 tained in a copper vessel having the shape of an inverted cone 

 surrounded by ice. In this manner the ice cannot melt away 

 and leave a free space round the vessel. The water-dropping 

 arrangement and the electric heater are mounted on vertical 

 axes in such a manner that they can be quickly swung into 

 position just over the calorimeter. After the heated solid or 

 NO. 1359, VOL. 53] 



liquid has been dropped in, the water-dropper is set to work, at 

 first rapidly, and then slowly until the body has assumed the 

 original temperature of the calorimeter. For bodies of the same 

 weight and the same initial temperature, the specific heat is then 

 simply measured by the amount of ice-cold water necessary to 

 cool them to the temperature of the room. 



A VKRV useful summary of the results so far obtained by the 

 new treatment of diphtheria with antitoxin has just been issued 

 in pamphlet form by Dr. Welch, Professor of Patholc^y in 

 the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. It is reprinted from 

 the Transactions of the Association of American Physicians, 

 and is an expansion of an address recently delivered by the 

 author before the Association. Statistics have been carefully 

 collected from all parts of the world, and the reduction in the 

 case mortality for diphtheria by serum treatment is brought out in 

 a very striking manner. Perhaps the best testimonial to the 

 efficacy of the new treatment is furnished by the experience of . 

 Baginsky and others, who record the results obtained during an 

 involuntary pause in the serum treatment caused by failure in 

 the supply of serum. Thus Baginsky states that between March 

 1894 and March 1895, 5^5 children were treated with anti- 

 toxin with a fatality of 15 '6 per cent. During the period when 

 the supply of serum was exhausted, 126 children were treated 

 without antitoxin with a fatality of 48*4 per cent. Similarly, , 

 Korte noted a rise in fatality from 33 "i per cent, during the 

 serum period to 53 "8 when no serum was procurable, and during 

 an epidemic of diphtheria at Trieste the fatality rose from 18 "7 

 per cent, to 50 per cent, when the supply of serum failed. The 

 Deutsche medicinische Wochenschrift has instituted a collective 

 investigation of all the cases of diphtheria treated with serum, ■ 

 and the second provisional report was published last August* 

 Such statistics should prove of inestimable value in assisting the 

 formation of a correct official judgment of the therapeutic value 

 of the antitoxin ; meanwhile. Dr. Welch states that " the study 

 so far of the results of the treatment of over seven thousand cases- 

 of diphtheria by antitoxin demonstrates beyond all reasonable 

 doubt that anti- diphtheritic serum is a specific curative agent for 

 diphtheria surpassing in its efficacy all other known methods of 

 treatment for this disease," whilst " the essential harmlessness 

 of the serum has been demonstrated by over a hundred thousand 

 injections." 



The second part of the new ethnological journal, Ethnoligsches- 

 Notizblatt, has just appeared. Amongst other articles may be , 

 noted a short paper on two old carved canoe prows from 

 New Zealand, by Dr. von Luschan, illustrated by a photo- 

 graphic plate. Prof. Grlinwedel writes on representations of 

 Gautama from Upper Birmah and other Indian notes. Dr. 

 F. W. K. MUller describes a Japanese picture of the World- 

 Mountain Meru. Some antique clay tablets from Guatemala 

 are described and illustrated by Dr. E. Seler. Prof W. Grube 

 gives a list of the Chinese gods of the lower classes in Amoy. 

 Some of the specimens collected by Count von Gotzen, during 

 his rapid journey across Africa, are described by Dr. Weule ; the 

 Count gave the whole of his valuable collection to the Berlin 

 Museum. Under the title of " Anthropological Anniversary " in 

 reference to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Berlin Anthro- 

 pological Society, Prof. Bastian gives an eminently character- 

 istic review of anthropological research from his own point 

 of view ; he also has a notice on three quipus collected by Dr. 

 Uhle : these are figured. The last half of the journal is- 

 occupied with notes and reviews of recent anthropological 

 literature, most of which are signed, and to which Prof. Bastian 

 largely contributes. While dealing with ethnographical matters- 

 in a way common to other similar journals, the editorial ■ 

 committee is evidently paying special attention to the philo- 

 sophical aspects of anthropology, apparently under the guidance 



