420 



NATURE 



[August 29, 1895 



that the introduction of (jasteurised milk among the poor people 

 of New York, through the philanthropic efforts of Mr. Nathan 

 Straus, has done much to reduce the infant mortalit)- in that city 

 during the hot summer months. The practical side of the 

 <juestion has not been lost sight of by Dr. Russell, and the 

 results of his experiments on the efficient production and 

 distribution of pasteurised milk on a commercial scale are care- 

 fully brought together. The subject is one of great importance, 

 both from a hygienic as well as commercial point of \iew, 

 and we may surely hope that before long our dairy authorities 

 will take the matter up, and that we shall follow, though tardily, 

 the example already set us by our neighbours in France and 

 Germany, « here pasteurised milk may be purchased across the 

 .counter. 



The volume of "British Rainfall" for 1894, compiled by 

 Mr. G. J. S)Tnons and Mr. H. Sowerby Wallis, from observa- 

 tions made at more than three thousand stations in the British 

 Isles, has just been published. As in previous years, the volume 

 contains articles upon various branches of rainfall work, and 

 upon rainfalls of exceptional interesL 



Dr. Th. Woi.f has contributed to the Verhandlungeii der 

 Geseltschaft fiir Erdkunde :« Berlin (Bd. xxii. Nos. 4 and 5, 

 1895, pp. 246-265, pi. iii.) a detailed sketch of the Galapagos 

 Islands, describing their geolog)-, in some detail, with shorter 

 .accounts of the botany and zoolog}-. He denies that there are 

 any grounds for Dr. Baur's iheor)- that the islands were once 

 <:onnected with the mainland of South America. 



We have on our table the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 

 and Commercial Society of British Guiana, containing two 

 papers of scientific interest, viz. "Cane Cultivation in the 

 Straits Settlements," by Mr. Y. Campcn, and " A Journey to 

 the .Summit of Roraima." by Mr. J. J. Quelch ; also ihe Journal 

 of the Institute of Jamaica, which, though mostly taken up with 

 matters of historical interest, contains several notes on local 

 natural history topics, and a note on the discover)' of aboriginal 

 Indian remains in the Port Royal Mountains, already described 

 in these columns by Mr. J. E. Duerden (p. 173). 



The report of the Royal Prussian Meteorological Institute for 

 the year 1894 draws attention to two points : the completion of 

 the arrangements for magnetic observations at the Potsdam 

 ■Obser\ator)', and the conclusion of a number of balloon ascents 

 made during the year. The results of these ascents will be made 

 the subject of a s|>ecial investigation ; one of the l)alloons, sent 

 up with registering instruments only, reached an altitude of over 

 sixty thousand feet. The report shows that many important 

 publications have liccn issued, lioth officially, and in various 

 periodicals, by mcmlwrs of the staff; some of these papers have 

 hcen noticed in our columns. The laboratory experiments carried 

 on by the Institute arc of a high order, and have attracted the 

 attention of scientific men in various countries. 



The Royal Horticultural Society's /oi/vwrt/ for August has in 

 it several important (lapcrs. There is a re|>ort of the Primula 

 Conference, held a short time back with the idea of increasing 

 and improving the culture of the various species of Primula by 

 pr<icuring new plants from remote regions ; by practising the 

 mf«t successful methods of culture ; and by producing hybrids. 

 A pa|>cr on the botanical work done on the genus Primula since 

 the last conference in 1886 was contributed by Mr. J. G. 

 Baker, l-'.K.S., and thi.i is printed with one on the culture and 

 .cla.«(ificatinn of Primulas, by Mr. H. .Sclfc- Leonard , and another 

 on Ihc Auricula, by Mr. J. Douglas. Among the other pajiers 

 in Ihc foiirnal, we notice a long and very valuable description 

 ■of the plants and gardens of the Canary Isles, by Dr. Morris, 



NO. 1348, VOL. 52] 



C. M.G., and a paper on the culture of roses under glass, by 

 Mr. F. Cant. 



Dr. K. Sapper has supplemented his recent memoir, " Bemer- 

 kungen liber die raiimliche \'erteilung und morphologischen 

 Eigentiimlichkeiten der Vulkane Guatemalas" (Zcit. dcut.gcol. 

 Gcr., Bd. xlv. 1S93), by a further account of the topography of 

 some of the less-known volcanos. {Petermann s Milth. Bd. 

 xli. No. s, 1S95, pp. 105-109, pi. sn.) In spite of the fact 

 that the volcanos of Guatemala have been repeatedly examined 

 during the last half-century, and described in Dollfus and 

 Montserrat's classical work, many of them were almost unknown. 

 Dr. Sapper now describes the volcanos of Acalenango, 3950 m. , 

 which consists of five craters in line ; San Pedro, 3050m. , on whicli 

 no trace of recent volcanic action remains, for the mountain is 

 wooded to the summit, and the crater has been destroyed ; and a 

 group of western volcanos. He was anxious to explore the 

 previously unknown Lacandon, which if proved to be volcanic 

 would fill uj) a gap in the chain. He was unable to ascend the 

 mountain, but saw sufficient to render it almost certain that 

 Lacandon is a volcano of the first order. 



The Madras Government Museum is, to judge from the 

 Administration Report for the year 1894-95, a very progressive 

 institution. Mr. Edgar Thurston, the superintendent, appears 

 to be sparing no efforts to make the museum more valuable for 

 educational purposes, and for reference ip connection with 

 natural history, economic, and other subjects, and also more 

 attractive to the ordinary sight-seer. The increase in the 

 number of visitors to the museum during the year — ^from 311,112 

 to 368,282 — shows that his efforts are appreciated. We notice 

 with interest, that an entirely new departure was made, during 

 the year covered by the report, by the commencement of a 

 detailed anthropological survey of the races, cistes, and tribes 

 which inhabit Southern India. The Mailras Goverimient 

 express in the report their satisfaction that the survey has been 

 set on foot. Mr. Thurston has already collected sutlicient 

 evidence to make it clear that his investigation will prove of 

 great interest and value. 



When Mr. Alfred Daniell's "Text-Book of the Principles of 

 Physics" (Macmillan) appeared, eleven years ago, it was at once 

 hailed as an original work, and a decided acquisition to the 

 literature of physics. The third edition, which is now before 

 us, maintains the characteristics of the original issue. At the 

 time when the work w.is designed, it was possible for a medical 

 student to obtain the degre- of Doctor of Medicine without any 

 .adequate knowledge of physics. "That arrangement," Mr. 

 Daniell then wrote, "is self-evident ly opposed to common- 

 sense, and to the exigencies of physiological study anil of medical 

 practice ; such an anomaly cannot, it may be anticip.ated, endure 

 much longer. Before many years are over, it will be universally 

 acknowledged in practice, as it alre.idy is in theory, that Unnw - 

 ledge of natural philosophy is an essential part of the menlul 

 equipment of the medical student and of the properly-traimil 

 medical man." It is satisfactory to be able to record that .Mi. 

 Daniell's prognostication was fulfilled in 1892, when the new 

 regulations of the General Medical Council came into force, and 

 it is also gratifying to know that medicine is every day becoming 

 more truly scientific in its methods and objects. Mr. Daniell's 

 work is by no means only suited for a medical cla.ss-room ; it is 

 alike useful to all students of science. The leading principles of 

 physical science are set forth in the pages of the book in 

 language the precision and accuracy of which make the volume 

 welcome to all who study physics. 



We have received from the Deutsche Seewarle the first .sup- 

 plement to the princijial catalogue of its valuable library, which 

 now contains some seventeen thousand works relating to mcteoro- 



