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NATURE 



July 27, 19 16 



form a link between British and American physio- 

 logists and their colleagues in France, Russia, Italy, 

 Scandinavia, and Holland. The abstracts are issued 

 by the Physiological Society of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, under the able editorship of Prof. W. D. 

 Halliburton, and with the co-operation of the American 

 Physiological Society ; associated with the editor are 

 many of the most eminent physiologists in this and 

 other countries. The publication is issued monthly, 

 and although, up to the present, only four numbers 

 have appeared, there is no doubt as to its value for 

 purely physiological workers. Indeed, its success 

 appears to be assured, not merely from a scientific 

 point of view, but also as regards its wider purpose 

 of more closely uniting physiologists in the allied and 

 neutral countries. 



Mention has already been made in these columns 

 of the very useful and comprehensive survey of the 

 phenomena of light production by animals which 

 Mr. Ulric Dahlgren is publishing in the Journal of 

 the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania. In the May 

 and June numbers he proceeds with his task, survey- 

 ing now the marine worms and the Crustacea. The 

 author makes no claim to originality in regard to 

 this work, but he has added materially to our know- 

 ledge of the histological structure of these light- 

 producing tissues. Particular attention is directed to 

 the difficulty of finding any satisfactory interpretation 

 as to the significance of the extraordinary luminosity 

 of Chaetopterus, one of the most luminous of living 

 animals, but which, like the mollusc Pholas, endowed 

 with like powers, lives in a burrow on the sea-floor. 

 In some of the Crustacea a luminous discharge is 

 made which seems to serve, like the ink of the 

 cuttle-fish, as a means of escape from enemies. 



That the maple aphis {Chaitophorus aceris) gives 

 rise to dimorphic larvae, the one normal, the other 

 having a tessellated carapace, and the abdomen, 

 anterior border of the head, and the limbs fringed 

 with small leaf-like expansions, has long been known. 

 When first discovered, however, this curiously modi- 

 fied type was regarded as representing a distinct 

 species. In the Proceedings of the South London 

 Entomological and Natural History Society, 1915-16. 

 Mr. E. J. Bunnett reviews the work of earlier ob- 

 servers, and adds some valuable observations- of his 

 own, based on specimens bred from two black 

 apterous females during June, 19 14. In the course of 

 his investigations he was further enabled to show 

 that this " pseudomorphic," or periphyllous, form is 

 produced also by the winged black form. An admirable 

 figure of this most puzzling larva compared with the 

 normal form adds immensely to the value of this con- 

 tribution. 



No. 3 of vol. iii., series ii., Fislicry Investiga- 

 tions, Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, has just 

 ;been published. It is an analysis and review of the 

 English plaice-marking experiments carried out in 

 -the North Sea since 1903. In the course of this work 

 more than 17,000 living plaice were marked and 

 liberated. The objects of the investigation were 

 mainly the detection of migrations and of their 

 causes, an estimate of the rate of growth of the fish 

 In different seasons and areas, and an estimate of 

 the actual effect of fishing upon the North Sea plaice 

 population. In spite of the large mass of material 

 dealt with, it has not been possible to attain to very 

 definite conclusions with regard to these questions. 

 The movements of plaice in the North Sea are rather 

 of the nature of general dispersions than of move- 

 ments along definite paths, correlated with seasonal 

 conditions. Growth, too, is remarkably variable. 

 An important and interesting result apparent from 



NO. 2439, VOL. 97] 



the experiments is the practicability of carrying out 

 " transplantation " on a very large scale with valuable 

 commercial results. In such areas as that of the 

 Dogger Bank growth is much more rapid than in the 

 coastal areas, and removal of small fish from the 

 latter to the former grounds would be an economically 

 valuable proceeding if possible on an international 

 scale. 



In the National Geographic Magazine for May Mr. 

 Hiram Bingham, director of the expedition sent to 

 Peru in 1915 by the National Geographic Society and 

 Yale University, gives an account of the operations. 

 Its main object was to secure information about 

 the inhabitants of the wonderful city of Machu Picchu, 

 which was discovered during the exploration of 191 1. 

 Several ancient Inca trails leading to the city were 

 examined, and it was ascertained that Machu Picchu 

 was the centre of a densely populated region, the 

 inhabitants of which possessed a highly organised 

 civilisation. Amongst other discoveries, a consider- 

 able number of trepanned skulls were found. It is 

 remarkable that a people capable of constructing these 

 fine megalithic buildings, and whose skill in engineer- 

 ing, pottery, and textiles was of a high order, should 

 not have succeeded in inventing an alphabet or even 

 some form of hieroglyphic writing similar to that 

 which existed in Mexico and Central America. The 

 report is illustrated by an excellent collection of photo- 

 graphs. 



We have received the report of the Survey of India 

 for 1914-15, which shows considerable progress despite 

 the shortage of staff. Of the i-in. map 154 sheets were 

 published during the year, of the " degree " sheets 

 seven, and of the " one-millionth " map five sheets. 

 A preliminary edition of the map of Tibet, on a scale 

 of I to 2,000,000, has been published. The Govern- 

 ment of India has sanctioned the publication of a new 

 " half-inch " map of India, which is to be compiled 

 from available sources. One sheet has, so far, ap- 

 peared, but several new sheets should be ready shortly. 

 In addition to this work, a great deal of topographical 

 survey was done during the year. Quicker progress 

 in survey work can be expected in future years, as 

 it has been decided to reduce the scale for certain 

 sparsely populated areas. About half of the 600,000 

 square miles that remain are to be surveyed for a half- 

 inch or smaller scale. 



Communications No. 147 and 148 from the Univer- 

 sity of Leyden contain new data obtained by Prof. 

 Onnes and his pupils with regard to the behaviour 

 of oxygen, nitrogen, neon, and helium at low tem- 

 peratures. For helium the vapour pressure varies 

 with absolute temperature as follows : — ^At 1-48° 

 /> = o-42; 3-52°, 36; 4-20°, 75-8; 4-9°, 133; 5" 16°, 167 cm. 

 of mercury. For neon the isothermals at 20° C, 

 0°, -183°, -200°, -208°, -213°, and -2x7-5° are 

 given, and liquid neon is shown to provide a much- 

 needed constant temperature bath in the gap between 

 55° absolute, which is furnished by liquid oxygen, and 

 20° absolute, for which liquid hydrogen is available. 

 The behaviour of neon corresponds closely with that 

 of argon. The previous vapour pressure tables of 

 oxygen and nitrogen are corrected according to th€ 

 most recent comparisons of the platinum with the 

 hydrogen thermometer, and for oxygen vapour pres- 

 sures are given from 90-2° absolute when the pres- 

 sure is 767 cm., down to 574° when it is 027 cm. 

 For nitrogen vapour pressures are given from 80-5^ 

 when p =108-6, down to 57°, at which it is 2-2 cm. 

 of mercury. 



Mr. a. B. Dobrowoi.ski has recently contributed tc 

 , the Arkiv for Kemi, Miner alogi och Geologi (vol vi., 



