August, igo6.] 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



was inhabited, among other things, by fishes belonging to 

 the families LepidoxircnUla' (liuig-fishes), Pcuciliida-. 

 Characinida:, CichUda, and SiluriiJa; (cat-fishes), sank be- 

 neath the surface of the ocean, forcing the fauna in two 

 directions, towards Africa and towards South America, 

 and exterminating all typos not moved to the east or to th--^ 

 west. From these two rudiments have developed the 

 present diverse faunas of Africa and South America, each 

 reinforced by intrusions from the ocean and neighbouring 

 land-areas, and by autochthonous development within its 

 own border. . . . The connection between Africa and 

 South America existed before the origin of present genera, 

 and even before the origin of some of the present families 

 and sub-families, some time before the early Tertiary. 

 I'iicrc has never been any exchange between Africa and 

 .South America since that time." 



Papers Read, 



At the meeting of the Zoological Society, held on May 

 20, Messrs. Schwann ami Thomas furnished a paper on 

 Transvaal mammals ; Mr. F. F. Beddard contributed notes 

 on the vascular system of the Arizona poisonous lizard and 

 certain other reptiles, and likewise described the external 

 characters of a foetal giraffe ; while Dr. R. Broom gave 

 a description of a .South African fossil reptile. At the 

 closing meeting of the session, held on June 19, Sir C. 

 Klliot discussed the nudibranch molluscs of India and 

 Ceylon ; Mr. Rothschild described as new a zebra from 

 Rhodesia ; Drs. Brady and Chilton respectively contributed 

 papers on the freshwater crustaceans of New Zealand , 

 and Mr. Regan discussed the classification of sharks and 

 lays. 



.^^^^^^ 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



" Eolithic Man." 



To the Ediiors of " Knowikiioiv & Sc n:NTii»ic News." 



Sirs, — I am inclined to ask if we are justified in endorsing 

 M. Rutot'B conclusion that Eoliths represent a period of stagna- 

 tion in the practice of flint knapping? Hitherto the gradual 

 improvement in Eolithic implements has been one of our 

 mainstays in proving the authenticity of these forms, and the 

 abandonment of this position will go some way towards the 

 elimination of Eoliths as authentic records of pre-PaUeolithic 

 man. Neither can I follow M. Rutot's explanation of this 

 supposed stagnation. The flints of Tertiary deposits arc 

 chiefly pebbles of small size, hard and irregular of fracture, 

 and unsuited for the manufacture of iinplements ; it was only 

 during the post-Tertiary and more active denudation of the 

 chalk that the more suitable Hints were disinterred — hence in 

 Eolithic implements of the earliest types we have small forms 

 which might well have been manufactured from the small 

 fragments lying ready to hand. Before that more active 

 denudation the chalk was in a large measure covered by 

 Tertiary, and therefore unsuitable, dchris. If there was any- 

 thing in the nature of a stagnation — a very unsatisfactory 

 term in any evolutionary discussion— it was, I think, attri- 

 butable to slow development of intelligence on the part of 

 pre-Paloeolithic man. 



I would add that the photograph reproduced in your April 

 nnmlier, although excellent as an illustration, cannot be taken 

 as any argument against Eoliths. It is impossible to show by 

 photography tlie differences between the Mantes pseudo- 

 Eoliths and the genuine antiquities ; the two forms nuist be 

 closely studied side by side. At the same time, as I have before 

 maintained in your pages, these pseudo- Eoliths must be 

 eliminated from the argument, for they were produced by an 

 essentially artificial arrangement. 



It is only when an extensive series of implementsis exhibited 

 that the full evolutionary value of h^oliths can be properly 

 estimated. If these forms are merely natural, then there 

 should be an absolute identity of finish, but from the rudest 

 1-^olith to the finest Pahcolith there is a connecting sequence, 

 and there is no form at which it is possible to draw the line 

 between Eolithic, or "natural" forms, and I'ahcolilhic, or 

 artificial forms, and this impossibility confronts our opponents 



for solution. There are forms which may be termed either 

 late Eoliths or early PaLcoliths ; in which aspect the question 

 at issue is reduced to one of mere terms and not facts. 



J. Russell Lakkly. . 

 Buenos Aires, South America, 

 June, igo6. 



Sand Mist in China. 



To the Ediiors of " Knowledge & Scientific News." 



Sirs, — I reside in Central China, on the river Yangtsi, 

 1,000 miles from the sea. The district is hilly. At certain 

 times of the year, especially spring and summer, we are 

 visited occasionally with sand storms. These are not 

 blinding and thick like those met with in the North of 

 China. They .are sufllcient to obscure the vision of the 

 hills across the river, and to make everything like in a 

 mist. 



These storms generally come on with a strong wind from 

 the north-east, but the cessation of the wind does not mean 

 the settling of the sand. That continues to hang about for 

 d.-iys, till a heavy shower of rain settles it. 



■J'hat the sand or dust does not come from a local source 

 can be proved from the fact : 



That we have these storms when there are no sand- 

 banks in the neighbourhood uncovered. 



That the sand by the river is not fine enough to be 

 suspended in the air after the wind has ceased to blow. 



I write at this time to mention a pecciliar phenomenon 

 in ccjunection with the last storm we had, on April 8. 



On the .Sunday morning, the air was most wonderfully 

 clear, the hills, miles away, seemed near and distinct. By 

 I he afternoon a change came on, and a wind sprang up. 

 Tli.it evening, and the next day, the air was quite obscure 

 witli s.ind or dust. On Monday night we had some rain 

 and the sand was settled. As' I was walking down the 

 river-side on the next afternoon with a companion, we 

 .noted round the numerous rain pools which had partly 

 evaporated, a ring of pure sulphur. This was not only 

 in one small defined area, but as far as we walked and 

 wherever there were these partly dried-up pools. As my 

 companion was a doctor, his judgment could hardly be 

 wrong that the substance was sulphur. Never before in 

 my residence in this place have I noted such an occurrence. 



Now, the question is, where did the sand or dust come 

 from that had suspended with it so much sulphur? Could 

 il h.ive any connection with the recent eruption of Vesuvius? 



It would be interesting to know if any of your readers 

 nolcil anything of the same elsewhere, or can give any 

 cxplaiialion of this in Central China. 



I remain, yours truly, 



W'm. De.\ns. 



Church of England Mission, 

 Ichang, China. 



April 23, 1906. 



To Make Iron Grow. 



To the Ediiors t f " Knowledge & Scientific News." 

 SiKs, -In connection with Mr. Badgley's letter, it appears de- 

 sirable to point out that a " globular molecular theory " (what- 

 ever that may mean, for this is not clear from the letter) 

 inv()lv('s a contradiction of terms. A " molecule " in 

 ph\ sics has a certain definite meaning, and is characterised 

 by' certain definite properties, and the phenomenon in iron 

 is easily accounted for consistently with these properties, 

 'ihcre are plentv of treatises on physics from which your 

 readers can obtiiin information as to theories of the con- 

 stitution of matter, but any attempt to discuss even well- 

 known llieories in the limited space available in your 

 columns is likelv to be worse than useless. If Mr. Badglcy 

 believes he has 'discovered a new theory of matter, his best 

 course would be to treat the subject closely on the lines of 

 such standard treatises on the Kinetic Theory as those of 

 W'atson, Burbury, Jeans, or Osborne RoynoUls. The 

 method of exposition is all-important. ^ 



O. H. B. 



