NATURE 



[January 3, 1895 



of his former pupiU, that the long and valuable services of 

 Prof. Martin to the University, and his brilliant contributions to 

 American physiology and biology, should be commemorated by 

 a memorial of some kind. After consultation with a number 

 of his friends, it has been decided that the most appropriate 

 form of memorial will be the publication in a handsame volume 

 of his scientific papers and addresses. It is hoped to raise a 

 fund among his friends sufficiently large to meet the cost of an 

 edition of about 300 copies. One copy will be sent to each 

 person or institution subscribing ten dollars, and, if desired, an 

 extra copy for every additional ten dollars subscribed. As the 

 work will be placed at once in the hands of the printer, it is 

 requested that subscriptions be sent promptly to Prof. W. H. 

 Howell, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. 



There are often hidden me.inings in the humorous answers 

 given by schoolboys in the examination room. From a 

 collection of such answers in the University CorrtsfouJent, we 

 cull a few authenticated specimens. " Parallel straight lines," 

 said one boy, " are those which meet at the far end of infinity." 

 And another sagely remarked that "Things which are 

 impossible are equal to one another." The boy who wrote 

 "A point i> that which will not appear any bigger, even if you 

 get a magnifying glass," would have no difficulty in under- 

 standing that a star, being but a lucid point, cannot be 

 magnified. Every examiner is familiar with the noncommittal 

 answers frequently received, and with which may be classified 

 the cautions statement that " Two straight lines cannot enclose 

 a space, unless they are crooked." But even these words of 

 wisdom are eclipsed by the definitions of kinetic and of 

 potential energy once received. " Kinetic energy," ran the 

 definitions, "is the power of doing work. Potential 

 energy ii the power of doing without work." This truth, 

 which has a monetary application, is well worth adding to 

 our contemporary's collection. 



A SWARM of bees in December is remarkable enough to be 

 put on record. According to a Long Sutton (Lincolnshire) 

 correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, a few days ago there 

 was a swarm of b:es on a farm at Spalding, Sutton Crosses. 



Though the present age is not very favourable to the de- 

 velopment of pure science, applied science nourishes like a green 

 bay tree. An instince of this growth is afforded by a note 

 from the Institution of Civil Engineers, with reference to the 

 present membership. The Institution, which was established 

 in January 181S, and incorporated by Royal Charier in June 

 1878, for the general advancement of Mechanical Science, now 

 consists of as many as 6660 members. 



IMMKDIATRLY following the recent very high barometric 

 pressure, which reached 30 '93 inches on the west coast of 

 Ireland on December 27, a large disturbance advanced over 

 the northern parts of our islands from the Atlantic, and during 

 the night of the 28lh, destructive gales from \V. and N.W. 

 were experienced over the whole country, accompanied by 

 snow, thunder, and lightning. In some districts the storms 

 lasted for •'cveral days, and were followed by sharp frosts, 

 generally. At Greenwich a wind pressure of 28 lb. on the 

 square foot was registered on Saturday morning, this pressure 

 being one pound less than in the severe storm of the previous 

 week. 



In Natiinviiienie/ia/ltich Wochen\ehrifl tot December 9, 

 Dr. C. Hess discusses the hailstorms of Switzerland for the 

 years 1883-1893, on the basis of the observations regularly 

 published by the Meteorological Office at Zurich. He finds 

 that hail is more frequent in the valleys than on the mountains, 

 the latter at timei transforming the hail into sleet, ur rain. 



NO. 1314. VOL. 51] 



Near marshes, and in the valleys of the lakes, hail occurs more 

 frequently than over woo led country, while the river valleys 

 which lie in the direction of the paths of the thunderstorms 

 favour the formation of h.iil. On passing over a cultivated 

 district or a hilly forest, there is, however, a tendency to a 

 decrease in the intensity, and, at times, an entire cessation of 

 the hailstorms. 



The prize offered by the Hon. Ralph .\bercromby for the 

 best essay on "Southerly Bursters" (NATttRE, vol. xlviii, p. 

 77> has been awarded by the Royal Society, N.S.W., to H. A. 

 Hunt, of the Sydney Observatory, and the paper has been pub- 

 lished in vol. xxviii. of the Jjurnal of the Society. The essay, 

 which extends to forty-seven large octavo pages, and is 

 illustrated by four photographic plates, contains a short note on 

 "bursters" in New South Wales and other colonies, and gives 

 tabular statements of all that have taken place at Sydney 

 between September 1S63 and March 1S94. These storms occur 

 very suddenly, and mostly between November and February ^ 

 a fresh north-e.isterly wind may change in ten minutes to a gale 

 from the south, doing much d.image to vessels that may be un- 

 prepared. The storms are always accompanied or preceded with 

 great electrical excitement, and cause a considerable drop in the 

 temperature. The wind velocity used to reach from 60 to So 

 miles an hour, and on one occasion attained the rate of over 150 

 miles in the hour, in a gust. Latterly, however, the wind 

 seldom exceeds 50 mile.*, and generally ranges between 20 and 

 40 miles an hour. This result possibly arises either from ob- 

 struction to atmospheric disturbance by increased number of 

 buildings, or from less absorption or radiation of heat, owing to 

 greater cultivation of the land. The average annual number of 

 storms is thirty-two. The investigation is the result of much 

 patient research, facilitated by reference to unpublished 

 documents to which access was allowed by the Government 

 Astronomer of the Sydney Observatory. 



We are informed that one of the points in the Report of the 

 Upsala meeting of the Inlernalional .Meteorological Committee, 

 contributed by Mr. Lawrence Rolch to the Aiiicricaii Meteorolog- 

 ical Jounial, and reprinted in Nature of December 20, is mis- 

 leading. It was stated that " aproposition of the Russian Ad- 

 miral Makaroff, on the necessity of an international convention 

 to arrange for the discussion of the data contained in ships' logs, 

 was not approved." This is erroneous, for we understand that 

 Admiral Makaroff did not ask the Committee to express an 

 opinion upon his scheme, so the subject was not discussed at all. 



The significant name " Pilhecanthropiis ereettis" is proposed 

 by Dr. Eug. Dubois.'of the Nethcrland-Indies Army Service, 

 for some fossil remains recently discovered in the andesitic tuffs 

 of Java, as indicating the former existence in that island of an 

 intermediate form between man and the anthropoid apes. The 

 bones, which consist of the upper part of a skull, a very perfect 

 femur, and an upper molar tooth, are elaborately described and 

 figured in a quarto memoir recently published at Batavia. 



Till, announcement that the Surinam water-toads, recently 

 received by the Zoological Society, have commenced lo show 

 the curious phenomena of their reproduction, in the Reptile 

 House, has created much interest amongst zoologists. There 

 can be no doubt that one of these living specimens now carries 

 a layer of ova placed in cells in the skin of its back, and that 

 about eighteen days after the deposition of the ova, young tad. 

 poles were visible in some of the cells. Thus the extraordinary 

 facts recorded by Madame Merian, concerning the reproduction 

 of this abnormal Batradiian in the latter part of Ihe last century, 

 and not, wc believe, subsequently noticed, have been already 

 partially verified. 



