August 20, 1903] 



NATURE 



369 



Zoology. — There is promise of an interesting meet- 

 ing in Section D. The most important event will be 

 the open discussion on certain problems of fertilisa- 

 tion, in which it is anticipated that some prominent 

 botanists will take part. Several papers dealing with 

 the morphology of Coelenterata have been promised, 

 including one by Mr. Duerden on corals, and one on 

 the physiology of digestion in .Mcvonarians by Miss 

 Edith Pratt. Mr. Crossland has promised an address 

 on his dredging experiences in Zanzibar; Prof. 

 Mcintosh will read papers on a comparison of the 

 terrestrial and marine fauna and on variation in 

 Ophiocoma. Among other papers that will probably 

 l)rove to be of considerable interest, there is one, by 

 Mr. M. D. Hill, on the nuclear changes in the egg of 

 Alcyonium. The president's address will deal partly 

 with the question of the influence of the environment 

 in the production of variations. 



Engineering. — In this section, after the president's 

 address on Thursday, September lo, a paper bv Mr. 

 T. Clarkson on steam driven motor-cars will be dealt 

 with. Friday, September ii, will be mostlv devoted 

 to a discussion on the problem of modern street traflfic, 

 which will be opened by Colonel Crompton, R.E. If 

 time permit, other papers will be taken on Friday. On 

 '■^londay and Tuesday, September 14 and 15, the 

 1 lowing papers will be discussed : — Refuse de- 

 structors, by Mr. \V. F. Goodrich; natural gas in 

 Sussex, by Mr. R. Pearson ; water supply of south- 

 w est Lancashire, by Mr. T. Parry ; balancing of Man- 

 chester engines, by Prof. Perry ; balancing of alter- 

 nators, by Mr. B. Hopkinson ; gas engine explosions, 

 ''\- Mr. H. L. Wimperis; rainfall at Seathwaite, by 

 i )r. Mill; and (i) cast iron used for springs; (2) alloys 

 1st in water-cooled moulds; (3) effect of varving 

 -tresses on steel, by Captain H. R. Sankey. Several 

 other papers will also be taken, but the final arrange- 

 ments are not yet completed for these. 



Anthropology. — The address of the president. Prof. 

 j. Symington, F.R.S., will deal mainly with the signi- 

 ticance of variations in cranial form, and will discuss 

 the view recently revived by Prof. Schvvalbe that the 

 Neanderthal skull belongs to a distinct species of 

 Homo, not Homo sapiens. It will also consider the 

 relation between the external and internal form of the 

 cranial wall. Among the papers accepted in phvsical 

 anthropology are the following :— A study of the skulls 

 from Round Barrows, in Yorkshire, bv Dr. W. Wright ; 

 papers on skulls frorn the Malay Peninsula, by Mr. 

 N. Annandale; and on the physical character of the 

 Andamanese, by Dr. Garson ;' a note on Grattan's 

 craniometrical methods, by Prof. Svmington ; a paper 

 on the papillary ridges of the hand, bv Dr. E. J. 

 Eyatt; another, by Mr. D. MacRitchie, on a Mongo- 

 loid type in N.W. Europe; and important reports on 

 Dr. C. S. Myers's work on the rank and file of the 

 Egyptian Army, on Dr. W. H. R. Rivers's researches 

 among the Todas, and on Mr. Duckworth's investi- 

 gations among the ancient and modern populations 

 of Crete. The coinmittee on anthropometric methods 

 has a valuable report, and that on the teaching of 

 anthropology will probably report ad interim. 

 Archaeology is unusuallv well represented. Mr. 

 Arthur Evans, Mr. R. C.' Bosanquet, and Mr. J. L. 

 Myres offer reports on this vear's excavations in Crete; 

 Prof. Flinders Petrie and Mr. J. Garstang on recent 

 work in Egypt; Mr. G. Clinch on a megalith at 

 Coldrum, in Surrey, which illustrates certain points i 

 in Stonehenge; Mr. Annandale on stone implements | 

 from Iceland; Dr. C. S. Mvers on the ruins of Kharga j 

 in the Great Oasis ; Mr. T. Ashbv on Roman work at ' 

 Caerwent; and Mr. Garstang on Ribchester ; while ! 

 the usual report ort Silchester excavation rnay be 1 

 expected to lead to some discussion. Prof. R. S. , 

 NO. 1764, VOL. 68] 



Conway offers an analysis of ancient Italian place- 

 names, as illustrating the early languages. Prof. 

 Ridgeway has a paper on the origin of jewellery, and 

 Mr. E. Lovett on the origin of the brooch. General 

 ethnography (with the exception of Dr. Rivers's work 

 on the Todas), and folklore and comparative religion 

 (apart from Mr. W. Crookes's paper on Islam in 

 modern India) are as yet poorly represented, but this 

 defect will probably be made good before long. 



Botany. — In the botanical section the address of the 

 president will deal with the nature and geographical 

 distribution of floras subsequent to the Coal period; 

 the gradual progress of vegetation from the Lower 

 Carboniferous period through the Coal age up to the 

 Lower Cretaceous formations will be discussed, greater 

 prominence being given to the Mesozoic floras. Miss 

 Ethel Sargant will open a discussion on the evolution 

 of the Monocotyledons, and Prof. J. B. Farmer will 

 give a semi-popular lecture on Epiphytes. Mr. \V. 

 Bateson will give an account of the new discoveries 

 in heredity. Miss E. R. Saunders will describe the 

 results of some cross-breeding experiments with 

 plants, and Mr. C. C. Hurst will describe some recent 

 experiments on the hybridisation of orchids. Other 

 papers will include an account of important recent 

 advances in our knowledge of algae, by Messrs. 

 Tansley and Blackman ; the sandhill and saltmarsh 

 vegetation of Southport, by Dr. Otto V. Darbishire ; 

 on the seedlings of some grasses, by Miss Sargant 

 and Miss Robertson ; on willow canker, by Prof. T. 

 Johnson ; and on some experiments with the staminal 

 hairs of Tradescantia, by Mr. Harold Wager. It is 

 expected that a number of foreign botanists will be 

 present at the meeting. 



Educational Science. — The organising committee of 

 this section has decided to continue the procedure 

 adopted at previous, meetings, namely, to confine the 

 discussions to a few broad subjects. It is proposed 

 to devote two days (September 10 and 11) to an 

 organised discussion of school curricula, based on a 

 series of short papers contributed bv Prof. John Adams, 

 Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., Miss S. A. Burstall, 

 Mr. G. F. Daniell, Mr. W. E. Fletcher, Mr. T. E. 

 Page, Mr. J. L. Paton, and Prof. Michael E. Sadler. A 

 joint meeting with the Geographical Section will be 

 held to discuss the "Teaching of Geography." The 

 discussion will be opened by Mr. H. J. Mackinder, 

 and he will be followed by several gentlemen who 

 have devoted special attention to this important branch 

 of school work. In addition to these subjects, there 

 will also be discussions on the reports of committees 

 on : — (a) " The Conditions of Health Essential to the 

 Carrying on of the Work of Instruction in Schools "; 

 (h) " The Teaching of Natural Science in Elementary 

 Schools "; (r) " The Influence Exercised by Universi- 

 ties and Examining Bodies on Secondary School 

 Curricula, and also of the Schools on Universit>' 1 

 Requirements"; (d) "The Teaching of Botany in 

 Schools." 



A'.4T/r£:S AND CUSTOMS OF CHUTIA 

 NAGPORE.^ 

 T^HIS bright and picturesque book, which should 

 ^ be widely read, gives in its text and illustrations 

 a vivid picture of the eastern side of Chota, called by 

 the natives Chutia Nagpore, the motherland (Chut) of 

 the Nagas, who were Naga-Kushikas, sons of the 

 Naga Cobra and the tortoise. But I hope that its 

 interesting description of the country, its inhabitants 

 and their festivals, and its glimpses into the traditional 

 history of the past, especially those given in chap. v. 

 of the Santal birth legends, are only a prelude to works 



' " Chota NagPore : a little known Province of the Empire." By F. B. 

 Bradley Birt. Pp. xiv+310. (London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1903.) 

 Price 12S. 6d. net. 



