Feb., 1905 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



39 



The Breeding of the Knot. 



The Ihis for January contains a short but interesting account 

 of the' discovery of the hitherto unknown eggs of the Knot 

 {Trini^a canutus). A uest of this species, containing four eggs, 

 was found on June 17, iSgS, in the Island of Hriscy, to the 

 north of Iceland. The bird was breeding with several pairs of 

 rr»;,;'i; inaritiDia — the Purple Sandpiper — and was kept under 

 close observation for some time before the eggs were taken. 

 It was not killed, as the collector hoped to have the good for- 

 tune to obtain a second clutch. 



The eggs are described as " quite like very large eggs of the 

 Dunlin (Tyin:^a nlpiiui), of the closely-spotted type, and cannot 

 be confounded with any others of the same size." 

 * * * 



The Pacific Eider at Scarborough. 



An adult male of the Pacific Eider, Soiiuiti-riii \''iui;rd was 

 killed during December at Scarborough. This is the first 

 authentic instance of the occurrence of this bird in Great 

 Britain. Closely resembling our common Eider, S. luolisaiiua, 

 it may be distinguished therefrom by the V-shaped mark on 

 the throat, and the bright orange colour of the bill. 



The Pacific Eider is found in great numbers in North-Wes- 

 tern America and North-Eastcrn Asia. 



Peregrins Falcon in Essex. 



.'\ fine female of this Falcon {P'liUa pi'i-txi'inus) was killed at 

 Tambridge, l^ssex, during the first week of January. It is a 

 pity that these handsome and rapidly-vanishing birds cannot be 

 protected more completely. 



PHYSICAL. 



More Failures with N-Ra-y Experiments. 



MM. Chanox and Perrigot have been attempting to repeat 

 an experiment made by M. Bordier, who showed that N-rays 

 emitted by tempered steel could apparently be detected by 

 photography. The former, however, found that equal sized 

 pieces of .steel and of lead, placed on exactly similar screens, 

 and exposed for various periods, never gave different halos, as 

 described bv M. Bordier. 



» * * 



Solid Electrolytes for Accumulators. 



The usual acidul.ited liquids employed in accumulators have 

 many disadvantages, especially when the cells are carried m 

 motor vehicles or in other circumstances where they may be 

 subjected to much shaking and vibration. The liquids are 

 liable to be spilt or to penetrate through stoppers and corrode 

 the terminals or wires and cause other annoyances. For 

 this reason they have sometimes been replaced by pastes or 

 jellies. 



M. Schoop, who has lately been experimenting in this line 

 in France, gives the following preparation as one very suitable 

 for the purpose. 



1. A solution of sulphuric acid in distilled water, having a 

 specific gravity of I'zz. 



2. A solution of silicate of soda, free from chloride, in dis- 

 tilled water, with a density of i'20. 



3. A " bouillon " obtained by boiling for two hours in an 

 enamelled receptacle one kilogramme of asbestos card with 

 two litres of water acidulated with 10 per cent, of sulphuric 

 acid. The cardboard disintegrates and is washed over a filter 

 with distilled water, and is then squeezed as dry as possible 

 by hand so as not to retain more than one-third its weight of 

 water. Take iS litres of the acid solution No. i, add 450 

 grammes of the wet asbestos fibre, and thoroughly mix in a 

 glass or ebonite vessel. Rapidly pour in 4J litres of the 

 solution No. 2, and stir until it assumes an oily appearance. 

 Then pour the composition into the accumulator, the plates 

 having been moistened with acidulated wafer, and leave for 

 24 hours to settle. The liquid gradually thickens, and finally 

 becomes a solid jelly. 



ZOOLOGICAL 



By K. Lvi 



The Position of the King Crab. 



According to Professor E. Ray Lanke.ster, who has been 

 lately discussing its affinities and systematic position, the 

 King Crab (Liniulus) of the Moluccas is a misnamed creature ; 

 for, in spite of its somewhat crab-like shell, it is not a crab at 

 all, but rather a near relative of the scorpions, which are first 

 cousins of the spiders, and are consequently included in the 

 class Arachnida — a group of equal rank with the Crustacea, or 

 crabs, lobsters, &c. The extinct trilobites, which have also 

 been classed as crustaceans, are likewise included by the 

 same authority in the Arachnida, of which, however, they form 

 a brigade of equal rank with the one comprising all the other 

 members of the class. 



* * * 



The Coloration of Animals. 



In a paper on coloration in mammals and birds, by Mr. J. L. 

 Bonliotc, recently published in the Journal of the Linnean 

 Society, the author suggests that colour in the members of 

 these groups is primarily due to activity of nutrition and 

 function, or, in other words, "vigour"; and consequently that 

 where conditions are favourable to a high state of vigour in 

 animals, there the majority of species will be brightly coloured, 

 and, of course, vice versa. Vigour he believes to be dependent 

 on two chief causes, namely, climate (which is taken to include 

 both temperature and food) and the rise and fall of sexual 

 activity. In polar regions, where the two causes operate 

 together, the changes are violent; in the tropics, on the other 

 hand, the eft'ect of climate is practically nil, and changes in 

 colour are consequently due in the main to sexual causes. 

 The occurrence of dark-coloured animals, like the musk-ox, in 

 arctic climates is explained by special specific vigour. The 

 "bleaching" of the hair of mammals and the feathers of birds 

 is regarded as an active process, and not merely the effect of 

 " weathering." 



Natural selection and protective coloration take, in the 

 author's opinion, a secondary position, because, although un- 

 doubtedly important factors, they are only able to make use 

 of such colours or to modify such markings as have been pro- 

 duced bv vigour. 



* * * 



Papers R^ead. 



The most important event at the meeting of ihe Linnean 

 Society, held on December i, 1904, was a discourse by Pro- 

 fessor S. H. Vines on proteid digestion in animals and plants. 

 At the meeting of the same Society on Decemlier 15, Mr. 

 C. C. Hurst communicated notes on heredity in rabbits, based 

 on crosses between a Belgian "hare" and an albino Angora; 

 and on January uj Dr. W. G. Ridewood read a paper on the 

 osteology of the skull in the bony fishes of tlie families Ost:o- 

 glossidcp, rantodontidiV, and Pliractohcmidcc. At the meeting of 

 Ihe Zoological Society on December 13, Mr. O. Thomas ex- 

 hibited skins of a gazelle from Palestine, which he regarded as 

 indicating a new species. The important feature of the meet- 

 ing was, however, the exhibition by Mr. Rothschild of a large 

 series of mounted skins, skeletons, and skulls, illustrative of a 

 paper on the man-like apes, in the course of which the author 

 described the gorilla of the South Cameruns and the white- 

 faced chimpanzi of the Gabun as new. Dr. Ridewood con- 

 tributed a paper on the skulls of the herring-like fishes, Pro- 

 fessor Minchin discussed the British sponges of the genus Lt-»ro- 

 snleiiia, Mr. Blanford described a number of land-shells of the 

 genus Macrochlamys and allied types, and a communication 

 from Mr. M. Jacobv was read containing descriptions of beetles 

 of the family Halficidu from South and Central America. At 

 the meeting of the same Society held on January 17, Mr. W. !•'. 

 Lanchester contributed three papers dealing with annelids 

 and other invertebrates from the Malay Peninsula and 

 Zanzibar ; Mr. A. D. Jenner discussed the minute teeth on the 

 palate and gullet of sharks and rays; and Mr. Beddard read 

 one paper on the anatomy of the Australian frilled lizard 

 (Chlamydosaurus) and its allies, and a second on the brain of 

 the black ape [Cynopithccusniger) of Celebes. 



