84 



NATURE 



[XOVEMHEK 23, 1893 



Uschinsky, belonging in all probability to the proteid bodies, 

 and bearing much resemblance to ferments. 



Dr. UscHiNSicv has male a special study of the tetanus 

 bacillus when grown in this medium, and has examined in some 

 detail the nature of the toxic products thus elaborated. A more 

 satisfactory growth of this organism was procured by adding 

 from one to two per cent, of grape-sugar to the solution, and 

 ihe anaiirobic conditions necessary for its cultivation were 

 obt:iined by pouring liquid paraffin on the surface. The filtrate 

 of such tetanus culiures was about equal in virulence to that 

 derived from ordinary broth-cultivations of the bacillus. On the 

 other hand, the poisonous properties of the former were far 

 more easily removed than was the case with the broth-cultures, 

 being destroyed by preci]>itation with alcohol, and also fre- 

 quently by evaporation in vacuo at 33-36° C, this being 

 especially the case when the latter was carried out in the 

 piesence of light. By addiiion of strong alcohol a precipitate 

 was obtained, in which, besides salt, small quantities of 

 albuminous bodies were present, as indicated by Millon's re- 

 agent and the xanthoproteic reaction. This precipitate was, 

 however, without any toxic properiies. 



The second edition has been issued of a general guide to the 

 Manchester Museum, by Mr. W. G. Hoyle, Keeper of the 

 Museum. The book should be useful in directing attention to 

 the most impoitant specimens, and explaining their character. 

 Its value would be greatly incieased, however, by the addition 

 of an index. 



" k BiBLlOGRAPHYofVertebiate Embryology," by Mr. C. S. 

 Minot, has been published by the Boston Society of Natural His- 

 tory. 1 he titles are grouped into subjects, and the subjects are 

 alphabetically arranged, so there is no diffi.ulty in finding the 

 original source of any paper, the title of which is known. An 

 index of authors is also given to faciliiate reference. Biological 

 investigators will find the bibliography of great a«si-tance. 



The volume of selections from the philosophical and poetical 

 works of Miss Constance C. W. Naden, compiled by the Misse-; 

 E. and E. Hughes, and publisiied by Messrs. Bickers and S'ln, 

 is one of the daintiest that we have seen for some time. The 

 selections fiom her e>say on induction and deduction contain 

 some remaikably fine expressions, and many other parts of the 

 book are of great interest. 



Mr. p. Axderso.nt Graham's " All the Year with Nature" 

 (Smith, Elder, and Co. ) contains a number of reprints of articles 

 originally contributed to various magazines. The author has 

 a chatty siyle, and his heterogeneous collection will serve to 

 while away an hour or two. The connection of many of the 

 articles with the seasons is not very apparent, and some of the 

 statements are not scieniifically accurate, but, taken as a whole, 

 the book is well worth reading. 



Part I. of the sixth edition of Prof. Michael Foster's well- 

 known "Text-Book of Physiology" has been published by 

 Messrs. Macmillan and Co. It comprises the first book of the 

 original volume, and deals with the blood, the tissues of move- 

 ment, and the vascular mechanism. A number of important 

 modifications have been made in the section devoted to the 

 phenomena and mechanism of the heart-beat, but with this ex- 

 ception few changes have been introduced. Since the publica- 

 tion of the first edition, seventeen years ago. Prof. Foster's work 

 has been recognised to be the best of its kind, and the issue of a 

 new edition shows that it retains its position as a physiological 

 " classic." 



The fourth volume of Alembic Club Reprints, published by 

 Mr. W. V. Clay, Edinburgh, is bsfore u-. It deals with the 

 foundations of the molecular theory of gases, and comprises 



NO. 1256, VOL. 49] 



papers and extracts of papers by Dallon, Gay-Lussac, and 

 Avogadro. There is no better way of studying ihe development 

 of an idea than by reading such reprints as those issued under 

 the auspices of the Alembic Club, for they enable the student to 

 >ee the many difficulties that have to be overcome before a theory 

 crystallises into shape. We therefore v\elcome this last addition 

 to an excellent series of books. 



The Cambridge University Press has published the first 

 volume of the series of manuals of biological science edited by 

 Mr. Arthur E. Shipley. The book to which we refer is 

 " Elementary Paljeontology," by Mr. Henry Woods. In it 

 the author gives a concise account of invertebrate palaeontology, 

 chiefly considered from a strati.^raphical point of view. The 

 plan of the book is excellent, the zoological features of each 

 group being first described, then the genera of importance 

 geologically are classified, and with this knowledge the student 

 is able to understand the following section dealing with the dis- 

 tiibution of the group. Instead of giving archaic illustrations 

 of genera, Mr. Woods includes figures required to explain 

 structure and terminology. The student will benefit by this 

 change. Remarkable pictures of peri'ectly preserved fossils may 

 suit the popular mind, but the student must study fossils in 

 collections, and he needs more detailed instruction concerning 

 their characteristic-^. As an introduction to the study of 

 paljeontology, Mr. Woods' book is worthy of high praise. 



Notes from the Marine Biological Station, Plymouth. — The 

 past week has been one of the s'ormiest of the year. Work 

 outside the .Sound was quite impossible in our small boats, 

 and even within the harbour was attended with difficulties. 

 The captures included specimens of the Actinian Cylista 

 vidiiata, and of the D.)ridi<l£E Plalydoris pluitala, ALgints 

 puntiiliicens and the scarlet Rostanga cocdnea upon the red in- 

 crusting sponge on which it feeds From several hauls of 

 Antedon rosacea a small number of the Polychaite commensal 

 .'\fyzostoinuin were obtained. The dogfish in the aquarium 

 {Scylliiiin caltiliis and camcula) have begun to breed. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Mozambique Monkey {Cercopithecits 

 pygerylhrus, S) from East Africa, presented by Mr. Bayes ; a 

 Rhesus Monkey (Macacus rhesus, ? ) from India, presented by 



Mr. C. E. Morres ; two Jerboas {AUclaga jaculus) from 



Persia, presented by Capt. R. A. Ogilby, F.Z.S. ; a Tuatera 

 Lizard {Sphenodon piuutatiis) from New Zealand, presented by 

 Mr. Chas. Smith ; a Lion {Felis leo, 9 ) from West Africa, an 

 American HUon {Bison americanus, ?) from North America, 

 deposited ; a Cunning Bassaris {Bassaris astitla) from Mexico, 

 purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



Mechanical Theory of Comeis. — Prof. J. M. 

 Schaeberle, in the Astronomical Journal, No. 306, communi- 

 cates a '"preliminary note on a mechanical theory of comets," this 

 being "a stricily logical consequence of the mechanical theory 

 of the corona." The principles which serve as a basis may be 

 said very briefly to be the following. Any given solar eruption 

 gives rise to both prominences and streams. The ejective force 

 being the s mie, the mass of a given volume of coronal stream is 

 less than that of a prominence. As'.uming mean density of 

 coronal stream to be one-sevcnih of that of acctmipanying pro- 

 minence, the same explosive force which during the la~t eclipse 

 sent prominences to a height of 80,000 miles, will send coronal 

 matter forming the streams to an infinite distance. Coronal 

 streams extend far, then, into space. The densest portion 

 of the stream is located at the point of minimum 

 velocity, and the coronal streams visible in the last total 

 eclipse were, Prof Schaeberle says, according to his 

 photographs, apparently most dense in the higher regions, 



