July 12, 1894] 



NA TURE 



25: 



terest just now amongst bacteriologists — the existence of sub- 

 varieties of microbes of specific species. We have frequently 

 referred in these notes, directly and indirectly, to the poly- 

 I morphism exhibited by one and the same varietyof micro-organism 

 whensubmitted todifferentcondilionsofenvironment, &c., whilst 

 Prof. Percy Frankland has repeatedly shown how the power of 

 fermenting various solutions may not only be imparted to par- 

 ticular microbes by suitable training, but also removed from them. 

 M. Fere has recently shown that there exist many sub-varieties 

 I of the bacillus coli conwiunis, and Dr. Sanarelli has demin- 

 I strated the same in a series of investigations, conducted under 

 Prof. Metchnikofif, for the typhoid bacillus, whilst the list of 

 pseudo and other cholera vibrios is fast becoming unmanage- 

 able. The desirability of a due recognition of the fickleness of 

 microbes to prescribed forms, &c., in the diagnosis of disease, 

 wiiere the bacteriological evidence is regarded of first import- 

 ance, is obvious to all ; whilst at the same time it is but one of 

 the difficulties which a larger horizon has placed in the path of 

 the bewildered bacteriologist. The other microbial notes are 

 mainly on subjects already reviewed in these columns, whilst 

 the medical articles are too technical to admit of reference here. 



An interesting account of hereditary malformation of the 

 hands and feet is contributed by Drs. \V. Ramsay Smith and 

 J. Stewart Norwell to the Brilish Medical 'Jotirnal. In the 

 subjects examined, the malfonnations in the hands affected the 

 middle and ring fingers. These fingers were webbed to the 

 tips, and the bones were disposed in an extraordinary manner. 

 i For instance, on the left hand the tip of the middle finger looked 

 as if it were twisted in front of the ring finger, while the nails, 

 which in the right hand were in the same pUne, formed in the 

 left a well-marked angle with one another. Each foot of the 

 subjects had six toes. The second and third toes were webbed 

 almost to the first interphalangeal joints, and the first and sixth 

 toes up to the nail, while the fourth toe was comparatively free. 

 It is not so much the striking abnormalities that are interesting, 

 however, as the persistency and consistency with which the mal- 

 formation has affected several generations. Taking back the 

 history of the case as far as they could investigate it, the authors 

 found that twenty-one out of twenty-eight of the family were 

 malformed. An important point in this record is that mal- 

 formation of the hands was always associated with malformation 

 of the feet. In no instance was there a malformation of the 

 hands alone or of the feet alone ; and the malformation, as far 

 as could be ascertained, showed very little variation. Another 

 point is that it seemed to go very much in the female line. It is 

 also remaikable that the wife of one of the subjects had been 

 mairied previously, and had borne three children by her first 

 husband, nevertheless all the children of the second husband 

 inherited the malformation possessed by him. 



Messrs. Blackie and Son have published the third part 

 of Prof. F. W. Oliver's translation of Prof. Kerner's "Natural 

 History of Plants." 



Messrs. \Vii.i.ia>[s a.nd Norgate have issued a list of new 

 scientific works published in German, French, and other 

 foreign languages. The list is No. 59 of their scientilic series 

 of foreign book circulars. 



We have received an advance copy of the eleventh annual | 

 report presented to the Chemical Section of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, by the Committee 

 on indexing chemical literature. The report consists of a 

 descrip'.ive list of bibliographies published during last year. 



Some very interesting reminiscences of the late Rev. Leonard 

 Blomefield, together with a portrait of him, are given by Mr. 

 H. H. Winwood in the J'roiecitinj;! of the Bath Natural History 



NO. 1289, VOL. 50] 



and Antiquarian Field Club (vol. iii. No. I). Mr. Blomefield 

 was the founder of the Club, in 1855, and took the warmest 

 interest in its work up to the time of his death in September 

 last. 



Part ii. of volume Ivii. of ihe/ounial of the Royal Statistical 

 Society has just been published. Mr. Charles Booth's paper, 

 " Statistics of Pauperism in Old Age," and the discussion on it, 

 as submitted at the meeting of the Society in March, is con- 

 tained in this number. The paper forms the first part of a 

 volume since published by Messrs. Macmillan. Two other 

 papers are included in the youyiial, v'u. " Conditions and 

 Prospects of Popular Education in India," by Mr. J. A. Baines, 

 and "Modes of Census-Taking in the British Dominions," by 

 Mr. R. H. Hooker. 



We stated some time ago that the United States Hydro- 

 graphic Office was collecting information with the view of 

 publishing a monthly Pilot Chart of the North Pacific Ocean. 

 The first chart, for the month of July, has now been issued, and 

 contains, among other useful information, data showing the 

 calms and prevailing winds, the currents, and mean isobars 

 drawn for Greenwich noon, for that month. The chart is at 

 present far from complete, because of the limited number of 

 observations in unfrequented portions of the ocean ; nevertheless 

 it is a good beginning, and no doubt the appeal made to 

 observers to co-operate in the work will eventually enable the 

 hydrographer to fill in the details where they are now wanting. 



Every student of physics knows Deschanel's " Natural Philo- 

 sophy," by Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S. For many years this 

 treatise, and that by Ganot, have been the standard works for 

 classes in elementary physics, and the thirteenth edition, just 

 published by Messrs. Blackie and Son, will enable this position 

 to be maintained for some time to come. It is well known that 

 the work is not merely a translation ; in fact, Deschanel's " Traitt 

 de Physique " only forms a basis upon which Prof Everett 

 has constructed an invaluable text-book. So many are the addi- 

 tions to the new edition that three pages of the volume are taken 

 up with the enumeration of them. The work has been entirely 

 recast, much of the old matter has been rearranged, and new 

 matter has been largely introduced. Part II. contains a new 

 chapter on Thermodynauic-i, in which free use is made of the 

 methods of the Differential Calculus. An explanation of en- 

 tropy, Dewar's experiments, and Van der Waal's theory with 

 respect to the departure of gases from Boyle's law, are among the 

 many additions to this part. Two new chapters have been added 

 to Part III. (Electricity and Magnetism), and much of the 

 antiquated matter has been omitted. Very extensive changes 

 have also been made in the optical portion of Part IV., and a 

 new chapter has been introduced dealing with systems of co- 

 axal lenses. These judicious revisions and expansions have 

 resulted in the production of a work which bears the same 

 relation to physics of to-day that the original treatise did to the 

 state of physical knowledge at the time of publication. The 

 work may, therefore, be expected to be just as successful in the 

 future as it has been in the past. 



The nature of the explosive decomposition of the ammo- 

 nium and mercuiy salts of diazoimide, N.)H, forms the subject 

 of a communication to the Aiiiiales >ic Chimie el Je Physique, 

 by MM. Berthelot and Vieille. The ammonium salt, NjNHi, 

 was obtained in large, brilliant, transparent crystals by the 

 method of Curtius, the action of ammonia upon diazohip- 

 puramide suspended in alcohol and recrystallisation from water. 

 The crystals may be handled without much danger of explosion 

 if due care is taken. They sublime at the ordinary temperature 

 in vacuo. The pressure produced during their e.xplosion has 

 been determined in a small steel cylinder provided with piston 

 and registering apparatus ; a similar cylinder of copper was 



