.S4 



KNo\\Li;i)(,i:. 



P'ehkuakv. 1912. 



sliells, insect larvae, li/ards' eggs, and mniniiialian remains. 

 After a discussion of other possibilities the conclusion arrived 

 at by Handlirsch is that the bodies in(|uestioii are the nests of 

 a solitary wasp, allied to the common Euincnes pomiforinis. 

 but twice or thrice as larne. The walls of the nests are made 

 of clay with some grains of calcareous sand, and the charac- 

 teristic entrance is <|uite clear. 



TADI'OLKS IN SliA-WATER.— It has been usually 

 believed that amphibians have a natural antipathy to salt 

 water, but some observations which Mr. A. S, Pearse made 

 at Manila during last summer show that there are exceptions 

 to this generalisation. He quotes Dr. Gadow's words : " Com- 

 mon salt is poison to the .Amphibia ; even a solution of 1 per 

 cent, prevents the development of their larvae," and then 

 reports that he saw little frojjs of the genus Rana hopping 

 about on the flats of an cstero or tidal creek opening into 

 .Manila Bay. Two holes made by the crab Sesarma bidciis 

 were seen to be full of wriggling tadpoles newly hatched. 

 Samples of water from a pool with tadpoles on the edge of the 

 creek were analj-sed, and it was found that the tadpoles were 

 developing in slightly diluted sea-water, containing as high as 

 2-096 per cent, of sodium chloride. It seems, then, that both 

 tadpoles and frogs can stand much more than a grain of salt. 



HOW DO ANTS FIND THEIK WAV HOME? — F. 

 Santschi has made experiments bearing on this old problem. 

 In the case of some storing ants the pathway is " intention- 

 ally " marked by an odoriferous secretion from the worker. 

 The " scent " is followed by others, but it may be supplemented 

 by tactile data. In the case of hunting species, sight may be 

 of importance. It is probable that the eyes make some use of 

 ultra-violet rays. The observer's general conclusion is that 

 the sense of direction in ants is a complex phenomenon. 



depending on a combination of diverse extern.al stimuli appeal- 

 ing to smell, chemical sense, vision, touch, muscular sense, 

 and even hearing. The problem is simpler in some cases than 

 others, i'.^., when the trail is marked by a literal " scent." 



INTERESTING ADAPTAl ION IN A BURROWING 

 CRUSr.\CE.-\N. — A. S. Pearse describes the habits of 

 Thalassina aitoinala, an interesting Crustacean which is. 

 in some respects, like a link between the long-tailed Macrura 

 and the hermit-crabs. It is a common burrower on the edges 

 of the Philippine estuaries and makes holes not only in the 

 softer ground but in the hard clay of the grassy meadows. In 

 the latter the holes go down till they are below the water-level. 

 The animal seems to be able to live in poorly aerated water, 

 as Bate surmised long ago from his study of preserved 

 specimens. " Its habits," Pearse says. " are such that this 

 ability would often be of advantage. It possesses an adaptation 

 that is probably for this purpose, that is, the branchiostegites 

 (or gill-covers) are moveable on the dorsal portion of the 

 carapace by a sort of flexible hinge joint. An individual 

 placed in a dish will often move the sides of the carapace in 

 such a manner that it resembles a vertebrate gasping for 

 breath. Such movements would serve to clear the water 

 (|uickly from the branchial chamber." 



LIFE ON THE PL.^NETS-'-Life requires atmosphere, 

 and according to Professor Svante Arrhenius the only planets 

 in our system that have an atmosphere as we have are Mars 

 and Venus. But what a difference between the two ! For 

 whereas Venus is beginning to be tit to be a home of life, 

 recalling what the Earth was like very long ago. Mars has 

 almost quite lost what it once had. This, at least, is the view 

 taken by Arrhenius in his recent essay on " The Fate of the 

 Planets." 



.\ on CHS. 



.\GRICULTLKAL EDUCATION.— We are informed by 

 the Presidents of the Boards of .Agriculture and Education 

 that the responsibility for Farm Institutes, as well as for the 

 agricultural work of the Universities and Colleges, will be 

 transferred to the Board of Agriculture, and that this Board 

 shall be regarded as the Government Dep.artment concerned 

 with this branch of Educational Work for the purposes of 

 the Development Fund. 



A NATURE CALENDAR.— A calendar for hanging on the 

 wall, issued by Messrs. George Philip & Sons, contains some 

 interesting suggestions on each of the pages devoted to the 

 months with regard to what can be done in the garden and 

 what is going on in the plant and animal world, so that Nature 

 lovers may find more by looking at it than the mere days of 

 the week and their dates. The price is 6d. net. 



GOLD MEDAL OF THE RHODESIA SCIENTII U 

 ASSOCIATION. — The Rhodesia Scientific Association's gold 

 medal, recently offered for an original paper advancing the 

 knowledge of the transmission of any insect or arachnid-borne 

 disease affecting Rhodesia, has been awarded to Edward 

 Hindle, Ph.D., A.R.C.S.. F.L.S.. Magdalene College. 

 Cambridge, Beit Memorial Research Fellow, for his paper on 

 " The Transmission of Spirochaela Diittoiii." 



A NEW CHEMICAL MAGAZINE.— We extend a cordial 

 welcome to the new monthly journal which Messrs. J. and 

 A. Churchill have published under the title of The Chemical 

 World. Its aim is to present to those interested in the many 

 branches of Chemistry an account of progress in both theory 

 and practice, discussing such other matters as may be 

 expected to influence the future progress of this science. 

 The Chemical World is edited by Mr. W. P. Dreaper, 

 F.C.S., F.I.C. 



THE USE OF THE MICROSCOPE.— Two demonstrations 

 on the use of the microscope and its accessories will be given 

 at the South- Western Polytechnic Institute, on February 

 12th and 19th, by Mr. E. Senior, from six to seven o'clock in 



the evening. The matters touched upon will include, among 

 many others, illumination of opaque objects: the determina- 

 tion of the focal length of objectives: the influence of tube 

 lengths and thickness of cover glass on definition: and drawing 

 with the camera lucida. 



HOME MUSIC STUDY UNION.— This union has, for 

 several years, arranged annual courses of study to suit various 

 classes of music lovers, and it has also published special 

 articles in The Music Student, as well as te.xt books which 

 give information that could not otherwise be readily obtained. 

 Music circles exist in many towns, and there are now forty 

 centres connected with the Union, All information with regard 

 to it can be obtained from the Secretary, 12, York Buildings. 

 .Adelphi. London. 



PORT ERIN BIOLOGICAL ST.ATION.— The twenty- 

 fifth annual report of the Liverpool .Marine Biology 

 Committee has reached us. and as usual contains records of 

 much valuable work on the part of the staff and students. 

 Sixty of the latter occupied the work tables during the 

 year, and a description of the researches carried out is given. 

 The report also includes a list of subscribers, which though 

 a good one, ought to be very considerably extended. The 

 Honorary Director. Professor Herdman, F.R.S.. is to be con- 

 gratulated on the progress of his work. 



NOTICE OF REMOVAL. — The Electro-medical business 

 of Messrs. Newton and Company has increased so 

 greatly that it has been decided to form a private limited 

 liability company under the name of Newton and Wright. 

 Limited, which will carry it on at 72. Wigmore Street, W. 

 Mr. H. C. -Newton, the senior partner of Messrs. Newton 

 and Company, will become Chairman of the new company, 

 and Mr. R. S. Wright, the junior partner, will be Managing 

 Director. The whole of the shares will be held by the present 

 partners, together with some senior members of the staff, and 

 the persotiiic! of the department will remain entirely 

 unchanged. 



