458 



KNOWLEDGE. 



XOXEMBLK, 1910. 



do not feed upon the sUin of the snnke. nor do they assist the 

 snake in any way ; on the contrary, their presence nuist have 

 seriously impeded the movements of the snake. Moreover, 

 they thrive equally well when attached to floating bottles and 

 drifting spars. So far as the snake is concerned they are 

 simply an incubus which cannot be shaken off. and the snake 

 is merely their facultative vehicle. These barnacles are 

 sedentary animals destitute of proper powers of locomotion, 

 although capable of securing their own nourishment, but they 

 have acquired a planozoic or passi\-ely vagrant habit, and they 

 must be kept on the move." Dr. Willey recalls the associa- 

 tion (described by .-Vlcockl between certain Hydroid polyps 

 iSfylactis iiiiiioi) and a small rock perch. Miiioiis incniiis. 

 He also notes that the barnacle Lcpas aiiscrifcra is 

 frequently accompanied by two Annelid worms of the family 

 .•\mphinomidae. 



LUNGLESS XEWT.— There is a newt {Triton or 

 Eiiprocfiis iiiDiifitiiKs) in Corsica which li\es under stones 

 in the dry beds of streams and dispenses with lungs. A 

 number of similar cases are known and there are two opinions 

 as to their respiration. Wilder's view is that the respiration 

 is essentiall}- cutaneous ; Camerano's view is that the bucco- 

 pharyngeal cavity, which may be very rich in blood-vessels, is 

 the main respiratory area. Obser\ations and experiments 

 have led Lapicque and Petetin to the conclusion that in the 

 Corsican newt the skin plays the essential role in the gaseous 

 exchange, and that the bucco-pharyngeal cavity, liighly 

 vascular as its walls are, and in spite of persistent pumping 

 movements, has only a secondary role, and is insufficient by 

 itself to keep the animal alive. 



.AN .\D.\PT.\TION TO LIFE .AT HIGH .ALTITLDES.— 

 It is a familiar fact that living at a high altitude puts a strain 

 on the heart, which has more work to do. In this connection 

 it is interesting to notice Strohl's recent comparison of 

 ptarmigan from high altitudes and willow grouse from the 

 plains. He found that in ptarmigan, even in the young bird, 

 the right ventricle of the heart is very distinctly stronger 

 than in the willow grouse, — a specific adaiitation to the 

 difference of habitat. 



.\l).\rT.\TIOXS HEFOKK HIRTH.— In an interesting 

 account of a large saw-fish 'Prist is ciispidiitus i, which was 



fifteen and a half feet long, Mr. T. Southwell notes that 

 twenty-three embryos were present in the oviducts. As each 

 of these was about fourteen inches long, including a toothed 

 rostrum of five inches, one naturally becomes curious as to 

 the relation of the weapon to the wall of the oviduct. Mr. 

 Southwell points out that, while the dentition on the rostrum 

 was quite apparent, it was "entirely covered by a transparent 

 cartilaginous tissue, which of necessity must disappear later." 

 This reminds one of similar adaptations before birth, such as 

 the finger-stool cushions which Dr. Agar has described over 

 the claws of some unborn Reptiles and Birds. 



MVRMECOPHILOUS PUPA.— H. Viehmeyer got from 

 Manila a number of Lepidopterous chrysalids. which were 

 discovered in the heart of the well known hanging earthen 

 nest of the ant Campoiiotns qiiadriscctus. When the nest 

 was broken the furious ants grouped themselves around the 

 chrysalids (which lay in special cells) as if to protect them. 

 .An examination of the chrysalids showed that the anxiety of 

 the ants was far from disinterested, so to speak. At the end 

 of the abdomen there is a chitinous crater into which opens a 

 secretory gland, apparently making a sort of honey-dew. 

 " \\'e have here undoubtedly the peculiar spectacle of a lepi- 

 dopterous pupa acting as a food purveyor to ants." . . . "It 

 would be very interesting to search further for the reciprocal 

 relationship of the symbionts on the spot, chieHy to fiiid out if 

 the butterflies, when emerging, are not possibly in need of 

 assistance from the ants, as well as to \erify the secretion l>y 

 actual observation." 



HORX-FEICDING L A R\' A E.— August Busck has 

 published two fine photographs of the horns (two feet long) of 

 a water-antelope iCohus sp.) much infested by the larvae of a 

 microlepidopteron. Tinea fastclla. which had burrowed in 

 the horn and formed numerous projecting tubes. The 

 specimen was picked up on the ground in British East .Africa 

 by the Smithsonian .African Expedition, under the direction of 

 Col. Theodore Roosevelt. The dark brown tubes, which occur 

 in thick bunches, are about a ([uarter of an inch in diameter and 

 half an inch to two and a half inches in length. They are made of 

 silk plus earth and chewed horn. They are " closed at their 

 outer end like the fingers of a glove and are connected at their 

 basal end with round holes leading into galleries in the horn, 

 where the larvae found their nourishment." 



KI-: VI i:\v.s. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



.4 First Book of Pliysictil Ccoi^rapliy. — B\- W. M.\cli;a\ 

 Caki;v. 4'-in. J^ 7-in. Pp. viii + 150. 57 figures. 



(Macmillan \ Cn.. Ltd. Price 1 net.) 



This little book is intended to pro\ ide a basis for general 

 geographv. by explaining the principles relating to land forms, 

 climate, vegetation, and so on, which control its physical 

 conditions. The requirements of such examinations as the 

 Oxford and Cambridge Locals, Londim University Junior 

 School, and the College of Preceptors have been specially 

 kept in view. Each chapter is headed by a few suggestions 

 as to practical exercises for pupils to work at before reading 

 the text. Following each chapter comes a series of questions 

 culled from the examinations of the above bodies. The first 

 five chapters are devoted to the morphological aspects of the 

 earth. Meteorology occupies the next eight chapters — a pro- 

 portion of space justified by the author on the ground that 

 observations on the weather are easily carried out, and form a 

 valuable training in the methods of science. Remaining 

 chapters deal with the sea, the structure and movements of 

 the earth, and the distribution of mankind. In general, the 

 book seems quite adequate to its purpose. The style is simple 

 and clear, the facts as a rule unimpeachable. We do not 



believe, however, that the tor-scenery of Devon and Cornwall 

 is due to sand-erosion (p. 10). The book can be recom- 

 mended to teachers who ha\e to train pupils for the above 

 examinations. 



GEOLOGY. 



Principles of CJuinica! Gcoloiiy. — By J. \'. lu.siDN, D.Sc, 

 F.G.S. 5i-in. A Si-in. 2^2 pages. 42 figures. 



iW'hittaker ,.^ Co. 5 - net.) 



-Apart from its own peculiar contributions, such as 

 stratigraphy, geology calls in the aid of many sciences in 

 unraselling the history of the earth. Geology has therefore 

 many boundaries with sister sciences. One of these boundaries 

 is dealt with in the book under review. Dr. Elsden undertakes 

 to indicate the main points of contact between recent chemical 

 and phvsical researches and the various problems of geological 

 chemistry. The title of the book connotes more, perhaps, than 

 its p.ages contain. Dr. Elsden deals almost exclusively with 

 the principle of equilibrium in relation to the formation of 

 minerals from solution, and especially to the conditions 

 obtaining in igneous magmas. Under the heading of 

 " Chemical Geology," we are accustomed to put a much wider 



