September 24, 1903] 



NATURE 



517 



rapidity and manner of descent. The second competition 

 is also for kites, and is organised with a view of ascertain- 

 ing the best and safest form of aeroplane for man-lifting 

 kites and dynamic flying machines. The third competition 

 is for parachutes. 



In the Atti della Fondazione Scientifica Cagnola (vol. 

 xviii.), Prof. Grassi gives an excellent survey of our present 

 iknowledge of malaria. He describes fully its epidemiology 

 and prophylaxis, and the morphology and development of 

 the malaria parasite. In the latter connection he intro- 

 duces some new terms. The asexual parasites producing 

 the febrile attacks are named " monogonia," the develop- 

 mental forms in the mosquito " amphigonia," while the 

 recurrent attacks of fever which occur at long intervals 

 after infection are regarded as being due to parthenogenetic 

 parasites, which develop from the non-flagellating (female) 

 sexual cells, or gametocytes. 



The first volume of reports of the Sleeping Sickness 

 Commission of the Royal Society has just been issued. 

 In report No. i Dr. Aldo Castellani describes his discovery 

 of the presence of a trypanosoma in this disease (see 

 Natcre, Ixviii., p. 116). Report No. 2 is a " progress re- 

 port " by Lieut. -Colonel Bruce, F.R.S., and Dr. Nabarro, 

 who have continued the work of Dr. Castellani, and they 

 confirm his discovery of the presence of a trypanosoma in 

 the cerebro-spinal fluid of sleeping-sickness. In every one 

 of forty cases examined the trypanosome was found, even 

 in the early stages. In fifteen cases of other diseases the 

 trypanosome was not observed, so that the parasite is not 

 present in the cerebro-spinal fluid of the general population. 

 In the blood also of sleeping-sickness the trypanosome is 

 practically always to be met with. In six individuals 

 suffering from fever, but presenting no symptoms of sleep- 

 ing-sickness, trypanosomes were also detected in the blood 

 but not in the cerebro-spinal fluid. The question arises 

 whether the trypanosome found in the blood of these six 

 cases was the same species as that present in sleeping- 

 sickness. Morphologically there are certain differences 

 between the two, but the results of inoculation experiments 

 are up to the present indefinite. The distribution of sleep- 

 ing-sickness in Uganda is striking, the disease occurring 

 only in a belt of country fifteen miles wide on the northern 

 shores of the Victoria Nyanza. In this district a tsetse fly 

 (identified as Glossitia palpalis by Mr. Austen, of the British 

 Museum) was observed to be very abundant, and the ques- 

 tion is raised whether this fly conveys the infection in 

 sleeping-sickness, just as one does in the tsetse disease 

 of horses, &c., which is also due to a species of trypanosoma. 

 Flies, freshly caught, were allowed to bite a monkey, and 

 in five days trypanosomes were found in its blood, showing 

 that the flies do convey trypanosome infection, though 

 whether the sleeping-sickness species it is not yet possible 

 to say. The report concludes with the clinical histories of 

 a number of cases of the disease, and is illustrated with ten 

 plates. 



We have recently received meteorological " Yearbooks " 

 (i) from Dr. H. Hergesell, director of the service of Alsace- 

 Lorraine, containing hourly observations for Strassburg 

 and summaries at various other stations, for the year iSqq ; 

 and (2) from Dr. P. Berghaus, containing hourly observ- 

 ations for Bremen, and rainfall statistics at a few stations. 

 The observations and results of both " Yearbooks " are 

 carefully prepared according to the uniform system adopted 

 for all the States of the German Empire. 



Dr. G. Hellmann has published a rain chart of the 

 Prussian provinces of Hessen-Nassau and Rheinland, in- 

 NO. 1769, VOL. 68] 



eluding HohenzoUern and Oberhessen, together with a dis- 

 cussion of the rainfall statistics for the last ten years. This 

 work is the eighth of the valuable series prepared by him 

 at the request of the Berlin Meteorological Department, to 

 which we have before referred in our columns. The tables 

 contain mean annual values of rainfall, monthly percent- 

 ages of those values, the greatest falls in short periods, and 

 other useful information. 



In a paper read before the Royal Society of New South 

 Wales, Mr. H. C. Russell clearly disproves a somewhat 

 common belief that a wet season in England is followed by 

 a wet season in Australia. A diagram illustrating the 

 paper shows that, although sometimes heavy rains in 

 England will be followed next year by heavy rains in 

 Australia, they seldom do so. Mr. Russell finds that, from 

 1880 to 1885, and from 1894 ^o 1901, for instance, rain was 

 abundant in England, while Australia was suffering a severe 

 drought. 



A PAPER read before the South Staffordshire and East 

 Worcestershire Institute of Mining Engineers by Mr. F. G. 

 Meachem deals with underground temperatures. The mean 

 increase in temperature, deduced from the summary of the 

 results collected by the British Association committee and 

 published in 1882, was 1° F. for a descent of 64 feet. Since 

 1882 other important observations have been made, from 

 which it appears that the highest rock-temperature obtained 

 at a depth of 4580 feet (Calumet and Hecla Copper-mines, 

 Lake Superior) is 79° F., the temperature at a depth of 105 

 feet being 59° F. The difference of temperature in the 

 column of 4475 feet of rock was 20° F., averaging 1° F. 

 for every 224 feet. The average annual temperature of the 

 air where the observations were made is 48° F., and that 

 of the air at the bottom of the shaft is 72° F. The mean 

 increase obtained by the observations of Mr. H. A. Wheeler 

 at other mines in the Lake Superior district in 1886 was, 

 however, 1° F. in ioo-8 feet. Mr. Meachem has made 

 various temperature-tests at Hamstead Colliery extending 

 over several years, and all observations show an increase 

 of temperature in undisturbed strata of 1° F. for every no 

 feet of descent beyond 65 feet from the surface. It has been 

 found that the temperature of the undisturbed strata at 

 the pit bottom, 1950 feet below the surface, is 66° F. This 

 was ascertained by inserting a maximum and minimum 

 thermometer, protected by a metal case, into a bore-hole 

 driven 10 feet into freshly-cut coal. The hole was closed 

 with clay and left for various periods from one to fourteen 

 days. Repeated observations led to the result stated. It 

 is concluded that by sinking larger shafts and introducing 

 more efficient ventilating machinery, miners will be able 

 to do as much work at a depth of 3000 feet as is now done 

 at a depth of 1000 feet, and that mining engineers will 

 be able to reach any depth at which coal is likely to be 

 found in this country and work the same. 



We have received the second fasciculus (with plates 13-24) 

 of Dr. E. A. Goeldi's " Album of the Birds of Amazonia " 

 (Album de Aves Amazonicas), in course of publication by 

 the Museum Goeldi, at Para. The plates of this part, 

 which, like their predecessors, are coloured, include selected 

 representatives of the Cotingida;, Psittacidae, Ccerebidse, 

 Picida;, Formicariidre, Cuculidae, Dendrocolaptidae, 

 Cracidae, &c., and likewise depict those extremely character- 

 istic South American birds, the trumpeter, serlema, horned 

 screamer, ruddy tinamu, and rhea. The latter bird, it may 

 be mentioned, is commonly known by Europeans in Brazil 

 as the emeu (ema), while it may also be noticed that the 

 native name anhuma might conveniently be adopted in 

 ornithological literature for the screamers. The plates 



