382 



NA TURE 



[August 20, 1903 



that the Cvcadophvta — the most primitive of the seed- 

 plants— sprang from the fern stock. Thus the origin of 

 the great mass of cycadean forms which overspread the 

 world during the Mesozoic epoch is accounted for — they 

 were doubtless derived from the more primitive Cycad-ferns 

 of the preceding Palaeozoic age, and through them from 

 some early filicinean ancestry. The first divergence from 

 this original cryptogamic stock must have occurred very 

 far back ; the seeds of Lyginodendron and other Carbon- 

 iferous seeds referable to the Cycadofilices are, as we have 

 seen, already highly organised, and the stages of their 

 evolution from the cryptogamic sporangium are still to be 

 discovered. 



The origin of the seed-plants from the fern phylum will 

 probably prove to hold good for other groups besides the 

 Cycadophvta. The great Palaeozoic family Cordaitese com- 

 bines the' characters of Cycads and Coniferae, and at the 

 same time shares certain of those anatomical features which 

 first betrayed the true nature of the Cycadofilices. There 

 is thus a strong presumption that the Cycadophyta, the 

 Cordaitea, and the Coniferae themselves had a common 

 origin, or at least that they all sprang, directly or indirectly, 

 from the great plexus of modified ferns which played so 

 large a part in Palaeozoic vegetation. 



Hence, so far as the gymnospermous seed-plants are con- 

 cerned, we are led to the conclusion that they were derived, 

 at a very early period, from the fern stock. The following 

 up of the clue, which, as I believe, we have now grasped, 

 will afford a pursuit of the utmost interest and promise. 



But the other great problem — the origin of the angio- 

 spermous seed-plants, which are now supreme in the 

 vegetable world — is as yet untouched. And so, though real 

 progress has been made, it will be long before we can hope 

 for a complete answer to the question which we have had 

 before us. 



IRE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY. 



THE report of Dr. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., upon the work 

 of the Government Laboratory for the year ended 

 March 31, 1903, with appendices, has now been published, 

 and the following extracts from it are of interest. 



It appears from the report that the descriptions of imports 

 as given in merchants' entries are often erratic, and give^ 

 no clue whatever to the real nature of the goods. For' 

 example, crushed bones were entered as " semolina," 

 gingerbread as "paints," sodium peroxide as "fancy 

 goods," varnish as " iron goods," whilst " machinery " 

 and " razor strops " turned out to be tobacco fumigating 

 powder and sugar-coated pills respectively. 



Many preparations containing spirit are liable to duty 

 also in respect of other ingredients. Soaps, for example, 

 may contain cocoa-butter, spirit and sugar, the latter being 

 frequently used as a cheap substitute for glycerine. Black- 

 ing and polishes are examined for sugar or molasses ; con- 

 fectionery for sugar and chocolate ; and essences for dutiable 

 tariff articles, in addition to spirit, such as acetic and 

 butyric ether, used for flavouring purposes. 



During the year 1173 samples of beer, wort, and brewing 

 materials were tested for the presence of arsenic, the great 

 majority of which were either quite free from that im- 

 purity or contained only traces ; but in 44 instances the 

 amount was so notable that the brewers were informed in 

 the case of materials that they should not be used, and in 

 the case of wort or beer that it should not be sent into 

 consumption. The largest quantity of arsenious oxide 

 found was, in malt, i/5oth of a grain per pound, in 

 glucose, I /40th of a grain per pound, in wort, i/36th of 

 a grain per gallon, and in water-softening material, 7/ioths 

 of a grain per gallon. 



No imported sample of butter has been reported as 

 adulterated during the year. Boric acid preservative was 

 present in 98 per cent, of the samples of butter from 

 Australia and Belgium, 86 per cent, of the French samples, 

 78 per cent, of those from New Zealand, 77 per cent, of 

 the South American samples, 45 per cent, of those from 

 Holland, and 43 per cent, of the samples from the United 

 States. Sixteen per cent, of the Canadian samples con- 

 tained this preservative. There has been a decrease in 

 the proportion of samples containing boric preservative 

 NO. 1764, VOL. 6S] 



from 363 per cent, in 1902 to 33-5 per cent, in 1903, for 

 which the samples from Holland are chiefly responsible. 



Among articles submitted by manufacturers to the 

 Government Laboratory was a filter which was required to 

 deliver a sterile filtrate, but on examination was found to 

 permit the passage of unfiltered water into the reservoir 

 to which only filtered water was supposed to gain access. 

 This is a danger to which insufificient attention appears 

 to be paid by both manufacturers and users of filters. The 

 inefficiency of many of the old filters was long since estab- 

 lished, and as a result improvement was effected in the 

 filtering substance, so as to secure that the water passing 

 through should be free from all micro-organisms. In con- 

 sequence of the precautions necessary where biological 

 investigations are made, it is to be feared that in some 

 instances, when testing the sterility of the filtrate, _ the 

 filtering cylinders, cones, or candles, have been examined 

 apart from the filter cases in which they are ordinarily 

 fixed, and no subsequent test has been made of the filter 

 as a whole, with its parts fitted together as in common use. 

 Where this is so it is, of course, possible that though the 

 filtering cylinder itself may be entirely satisfactory, its 

 whole value may be destroyed by a faulty connection. 



Among work undertaken for the Home Oflice was 

 an investigation of the character of the products of corn- 

 bustion in gas and oil stoves. It was desired to ascertain 

 whether along with the main products of complete com- 

 bustion there was an appreciable production of carbon mon- 

 oxide and acetylene. Five of the best knowa stoves — three 

 gas and two oil — were experimented with, and, as a result, 

 it was found after the stoves had been alight for some time 

 (i) that no acetylene was produced by any of the stoves, 

 and (2) that a small amount of carbon monoxide was a 

 regular constituent of the products of combustion of all 

 the stoves, the actual quantity per hour's combustion 

 being, for the gas stoves 00024, 0-0048 and o 0480 cubic 

 foot, and for the oil stoves 0023 and 0032 cubic foot. 



Of the gas stoves, the first two results quoted were from 

 stoves of different type, the first being of the argand class 

 and burning with a luminous flame, whilst in the second 

 the burners were of the Bunsen type, and the flame im- 

 pinged on skeleton non-combustible fuel. The production 

 of carbon monoxide is greater in the oil stoves than in two 

 out of the three gas stoves, and it emphasises the necessity 

 of carrying off the products of combustion from every 

 class of stove by means of a flue, if possible, or, where 

 this actually cannot be attained, at least securing that, by 

 good ventilation, there shall be no chance of an accumula- 

 tion of these gaseous products. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The report has been issued of the commission appointed 

 to inquire into the steps to be taken to bring into existence 

 an institution which should form part of a teaching uni- 

 versity for the Transvaal, and which should provide the 

 highest training in the arts and sciences connected with 

 mining and other industries. The commission recom- 

 mends that, in establishing the proposed technical institute 

 to form an integral part of a teaching university, simul- 

 taneous steps should be taken to lay the foundations of the 

 university itself. Recommendations are made for the estab- 

 lishment of a permanent teaching institution and the 

 acquisition of a site within a convenient distance of 

 Johannesburg and Pretoria for a teaching university for the 

 Transvaal, and for any other parts of South Africa which 

 may wish to take part in the scheme. On this site should 

 also be, besides the school of mines, the proposed agri- 

 cultural school, the State laboratories for chemistry and 

 animal and vegetable pathology. At the outset the appoint- J 

 ment is recommended of a principal of the highest scientific 

 attainments and proved organising capacity, with a salary 

 of not less than 3000L a year. 



The Columbia University of New York has, by an agree- 

 ment with Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, undertaken to establish and 

 conduct a school of journalism. President Eliot, of 

 Harvard University, has proposed an outline for a practical ' 

 scheme which details the subjects appropriate to a course \ 



