6o 



NATURE 



[May 1 6, 1895 



for eiglity-four hours, resulting in the destruction of all fruit, 

 vegetables, cofl'ee, and tobacco. The sugar-canes were so ruined 

 as to Ik; unfit even for forage. The twelve parishes of the 

 district situate<l in the terra fria lost everything ; the maize had 

 not yet liecn plante<i, and would not be ripe till November or 

 December. At I'aianlla, the vanilla centre, it was snowing on 

 Kebruar)- 17, and the tem|)erature had fallen from 30° C. to 

 freezing |x>int. At Misantia snow fell all night, and many 

 fowls, animals, and cattle died from the cold. 



U.N HER the title, '• Illustrations of Darwinism, and other 

 I'apers,'' Sir Walter L. Buller, K. R.S., has sent us a reprint of 

 his presidential address to the Wellington Philosophical Society 

 in 1894. Its main subject-matter is a discussion of the various 

 w.iys in which the jieculiarities of structure, colour, distribution 

 and habits of New Zealand birds, serve to illustrate the theory 

 of Natural Selection, and often to afford ver)- strong arguments in 

 its favour. The address is ver)' clear and forcible, full of 

 interesting facts and .suggestive observations, and will be read 

 with interest by all naturalists. One or two points only call for 

 any critical obscnation. Sir W. Buller objects to the Apter)-x 

 being cla-sscd by Mr. Wallace as among "the lowest birds," 

 liecausc, he .says, it is really " an extremely specialised form." 

 But surely the Ratit;v are lower than the Carinat* ; and the 

 Aptcryx is specialised .so as to lie almost the least bird-like of 

 the katita-. If it is not to be clas-scd among the lowest existing 

 Urds, where are these to be found? Again, the statement that 

 the larger forms of animals have universally preceded the smaller 

 in geological time (p. loi), is only a half-truth, if so much, since 

 all these large fonns have been developed from smaller ones, as 

 shown in the case of the horse, as well as that of the early 

 marsupials of the Meszoic period. Even more open to objection 

 is the .statement (|). I02), that the Siberian mammoth " would 

 clearly liave required a growth of tropical luxuriance to satisfy 

 the wants of its ca|Kicious stomach"; and that its being found 

 by thoiLsamls emlK.-dded in ice or frozen soil implies "a 

 rcvolutionar)- change of climate." A sufficient answer to which 

 theor)' is the fact that leaves and cones of firs have been found 

 in the stomach, showing that it fed only a few degrees south of 

 the places where it is now embedded. 



A VAi.fAm.K addition to the various suggestions for the 

 measurement of geological time is made by Dr. G. K. Gilbert in 

 the fournal of Geoloiy (vol. iii. No. 2). He has been struck 

 with the regular, rhythmical cycles of sedimentation displayed 

 <iver an<l over .'\gain by the .shaly beds of the Cretaceous of 

 Colorado (Benton, Niobrara, and I'ierre groups). Such regularity, 

 he .suggests, can only be due to causal variations of a periodic 

 character, an<l <inly astronomical changes have the regularity 

 required. There seem to be only three astronomical cycles that 

 can Ijc reasonably appealed to for an explanation of rhythm in 

 sedimentation : the pcriwls of the earth's revolution around the 

 sun, of the preces.si<m of the c<iuinoxcs, and of the variation in 

 eccentricity of the earth's orbit. Dismissing the first as too short, 

 and the last as Iiki irregular, I'rof. Gilliert considers there are 

 three ways in which the second cycle might influence local 

 sctlimcntation : (I) l!y i)cri(Klic changes in winds, .ind there- 

 fore in marine currents ; (2) by alternate glaciation of the two 

 hcmi^pherci, re.iulting in (wriiMlic advance and reces.sion of coa-st- 

 linc<, and hence of sedimenlalion-lxnmdaries ; (3) alternation in 

 tcrrolrial climates of moist |>eri<Mls — when, through the abunil- 

 anccof veget.-il ion, chemical denudation would \k at a maximum, 

 and mechanical at a minimum and dry |>eriods, when the 

 reverse woulrl lie the case. Assuming the rhythm of seili- 

 mcnlation in the ca.sc consi«lcrc<l to coincide with the rhythm of 

 the CTiuinoncs, Dr. <;ill>erl estlmatas the time represented by the 

 Kcnlon, Nifibrar.i, anil I'ierre c|)f>chs as 20,000,000 years, or, 

 .allowing the numl<cr 2 as a factor of safety, lx:tween lo,ooo,OCX> 

 «nd 40,000,000 years. 



NO. 1333, VOL. 52] 



We have received the Supplement to the Calendar of the 

 Royal University of Ireland for 1895, containing e.vaminalion 

 papers set last yeax. 



So little attention is generally paid in public libraries to the 

 wants of students of science, that we are glad to give 

 a word of praise to -a catalogue of btioks on mathematics, 

 mathematical physics, engineering and architecture, contained in 

 the two public libraries at Halifax. The list has been compiled 

 by the librarian, Mr. J. Whitcley, and it should be found a 

 useful guide to the scientific literature in the two libraries. 



The Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 

 (vol. vi. ) has been received. Among the articles in the volume, 

 we notice one " On the Birds of the Island of Trinidad, " by K. 

 M. Chapman; "On the Seasonal Change of Colour in the 

 Varjing Hare (Lepus Americanus) " by J. .\. .\llcn ; " I'ossil 

 Mammals of the Lower Miocene White River Beds,'' by H. F. 

 Osbom and J. L. Wortman. There are also papers on 

 North American Orthoptera and Moths, by W. Beutenmiiller ; 

 on some North .American Mammals, by J. \. .Mien, and by F. 

 M. Chapman ; and on new forms of marine alg;v from the Trenton 

 limestone ; by R. P. \\'hitfield. 



The authorities of the Royal Clardens, Kew, publish a 

 " Hand-list of Ferns and Fern-allies cultivated in the Gardens." 

 This remarkably rich collection consists of 802 species and varieties 

 of ferns, and 48 of fern-allies and natives of this country ; 

 besides no less than 5S6 varieties of British ferns. This latter 

 collection is due to the bequest of Mr. W. C. Carlxmell, who 

 left it to the Gardens. It consists of 4261 specimens, found by 

 him at Rhiew C;vstel, Usk, .Monmouthshire. The rest of the 

 collection owes its completeness largely to the zeal and assiduity 

 of the late Mr. John Smith, curator of the Gardens from 1S41 

 to 1863. 



The text of a series of six Lowell lectures, by I'rof. Gantano 

 Lanza, on "Engineering Practice and Education," which has been 

 appearing in the /w/rKa/ of the Franklin Institute since May 1894, 

 is now concluded. Some interesting examples are given of the 

 engineering works of the world, and the functions of the engineer 

 are pa.ssed in review. Prof. I^nza holds sound ideas as to the 

 education of an engineer. "There are two things," he s.iys, 

 " which are alisolutely necessary to make a successful engineer : 

 first, a knowledge of scientific principles and of the experience 

 of the i>a.st ; and .second, his own exi>erience. . . . The two 

 fundamental sciences uixm which the scientific principles of 

 engineering are cs|>eeially dependent are mathematics and physics, 

 and no proper course in engineering can be arranged without 

 insisting upon these as fundamentals." He shares the general 

 opinion that the education of the engineer shoulil include some 

 knowledge of the differential and integral calculus, if not of 

 higher mathematics. 



We have often found occasion to express satisl;\ctii>n at the 

 work carried on by many local scientific societies. Labourers in 

 the field of .science are not w£inting, but their work frequently 

 needs <lirecli<m. Wisely organised, the multitude of willing 

 amateur observers can greatly assist the growth of natural 

 knowledge. .\ programme just received from the Yorkshire 

 Naturalist.s" Union, showing the excursiims, meetings, and 

 committees of research for 1895, is a suflicient proof that the 

 operations of the Uni<m are conducted with definite objects in 

 view. There is a boulder committee, apiKiinted to collect 

 informali<m .as to the distribution of erratic blocks in the county 

 of \'ork ; a committee to observe the present changes and past 

 condition of the sea-coast, in order to determine the rate of 

 erosion ; a fossil flora committee, whic'i aims |)articularly at 

 determining the vertical range of the genera and species of the 

 various formations ; a geological photographs committee ; a 



