268 



NA TURE 



[January i8, 1900 



near relationship to the Racoons, especially the Kin- 

 kajou : and his opinions were more than borne out by 

 the contemporary investigations of Sir W. H. Flower 

 into its internal anatomy. The public, too, will be much 

 interested to learn that Bartlett was a firm believer in 

 the existence of a "sea-serpent," although whether they 

 will be inclined to share his opinion that there are rep- 

 tiles that can live for months at a time at the bottom of 

 the ocean without coming up to breathe may be ques- 

 tioned. 



But much as these and many other portions of the 

 book may interest and attract the general reader (not to 

 mention the scientific naturalist), there are other parts 

 for which such commendation can scarcely be claimed. 

 We have, for instance, several descriptions of species, 

 such as that of the white-whiskered Lemur {L. leuco- 

 mystax) on p. 22, and Monteiro's Galago (G. monteiti) 

 on p. 24, which can be of no possible interest to any one 

 but a specialist, especially in the absence of figures. 

 But this is not all, as the aforesaid Lemur is now regarded 

 by qualified naturalists merely as the female of {L- 

 macaco), and its retention as a species is consequently 

 a mere misleading of the public. 



If this were the sole instance of a want of efficient 

 editorship it might, indeed, well have been passed over 

 in silence, but unfortunately it is only one among many. 

 For instance, on the very first page of the volume we 

 have a repetition of the old story that the Apes seen by 

 Hanno, the Carthaginian, were Gorillas (in the modern 

 sense of that term), whereas it has been shown over and 

 over again that such could not have been the case ; Mr, 

 Winwood Reade believing the creatures to have been 

 Baboons, while Sir Harry Johnstone thinks they were 

 more probably Chimpanzees. Neither is it a true 

 statement that the skull of the Gorilla obtained by Dr. 

 Savage at the Gaboon was ever sent to Owen, who only 

 received sketches of the same ; the specimen itself 

 having apparently gone to America. It is quite true 

 that these statements were made by the author of 

 the papers which constitute this volume, but it was for 

 the editor to have made the necessary amendments. 



Then, again, we have to deplore a lack of efficient 

 editorship in the manner in which the different sections 

 of the book are introduced, or rather not introduced. 

 For example, who would guess that the dissertation on 

 hybrid bovine animals, commencing on p. 71, is repro- 

 duced, with the exception of the opening sentence, word 

 for word from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 for 1884 ? And if the quotation is not acknowledged as 

 such by the usual marks in this place, why are such 

 marks introduced in another equally long quotation from 

 the same serial on p. 6? Neither is there any indication 

 to show that the portrait of the Chimpanzee " Sally " on 

 p. 7, as well as the picture of hybrid Cattle on p. 70, are 

 copied from plates in the Zoological Society's Proceed- 

 ings. And very indifferent copies at that, the reader 

 will probably add ! Indeed, the illustrations generally 

 are far from being a strong point of the book, while, like 

 the regiments in the British army, there are too few of 

 them. 



Neither can we avoid saying that the nomenclature is 

 hopelessly out of date ; this being sufficiently apparent 

 NO. 1577, VOL. 61] 



when we mention that Troglodytes is given as the generic 

 name of the Chimpanzee and Gorilla, Ceriornis for the 

 Tragopan, and Felis for the Hunting Leopard or Chita ! 

 If popular writers will not keep somewhat in touch with 

 the systematic work of the day, it is their fault if they 

 are treated with contempt by professional naturalists. 



In spite of the errors and imperfections to which we 

 have called attention, we, as already said, fully recognise 

 the large amount of interesting matter in the volume 

 before us ; and if our readers desire a really amusing 

 story, we may refer them to the adventure of Mr. and 

 Mrs. Jamrach with the Lions. At the same time, we 

 think that the editor would have been much better 

 advised had he reduced the present volume and its 

 companion to the limits now occupied by one of them. 



R. L. 



ELECTRICAL OSCILLATIONS. 

 Recherches Experimentales stir les Oscillations Elec- 

 triques. Par A. Turpain. Pp.154. (Paris: Librairie 

 Scientifique, A. Hermann, 1899.) 



THE classical researches of Hertz on electromagnetic 

 waves have opened up a new field of experimental 

 research, which has already yielded a rich harvest of 

 results. As regards the literature of the subject, we have, 

 besides Hertz's original papers, two or three other works 

 dealing with the theory and phenomena of electro- 

 magnetic waves. Dr. Lodge's little book contains a 

 general and easily intelligible sketch of the whole subject. 

 In Prof J. J. Thomson's "Recent Researches" we have 

 an elaborate exposition of theory, along with an account 

 of the experimental development of the subject down to 

 the date of publication. Poincar^'s " Oscillations 6lec- 

 triques" is probably the best-known Continental work on 

 electromagnetic waves. 



The work before us is one which does not trench on the 

 ground already covered by the above-named treatises. It 

 is a record of original researches, some of which have 

 already appeared in various scientific periodicals. The 

 scope of these researches is limited to the propagation of 

 waves along conductors. 



After a brief introduction, the author gives us ir> 

 Chapter i. a full and clearly illustrated description of the 

 experimental arrangements used by him, including the 

 various forms of oscillators, resonators and their micro- 

 meters, and methods of concentrating the electromagnetic 

 field between wires or plates. 



Chapter ii. deals with the methods of measurement. 

 Besides the classical method of determining the sparking 

 distance by means of a micrometer observed either with 

 the naked eye or by the aid of a lens, the author used a 

 resonator with an additional air-gap which was bridged 

 by a battery and telephone receiver. Every time sparks 

 passed across the micrometer-gap, the circuit of the 

 battery and telephone was completed. This method of 

 investigation — which, however, requires very careful 

 adjustment — the author found less fatiguing than that in 

 which the eye is unduly strained in trying to detect the 

 presence of minute sparks. 



Chapter iii. describes the methods adopted for adjusting- 

 the length of the wires so as to get a sharp division into 

 nodal and ventral segments. This is followed by an 



