182 



XATURE 



[December 25, 1902 



performed by himself and others on radio-activity, and of the 

 thecries which have been based upon them. The final con- 

 clusion at which he arrives is that kathode rays, X-rays and all 

 the various phenomena of radio-activity appear to be particular 

 aspects of a new form of energy which is as common in nature 

 as electricity or heat, and the closer study of which may reveal 

 to us a connecting link between matter and energy. 



We have received a copy of vol. xvi. of the Journal of the 

 College of Science of the Imperial University of Tokyo, which 

 contains a number of interesting contributes on electrical 

 subjects. The first of these, from the pen of Mr. V. Homma, 

 discusses some of the observa'ions on atmospheric electricity 

 made at the Central Meteorological Observatory of Japan, 

 dealing more especially with the effects of wind, fog, rain and 

 snow on the atmospheric potential. The remaining papers, six 

 in number, are contributed by Prof. Nagaoka, Mr. K. Honda 

 and others, and all deal with magnetostriction and other allied 

 phenomena in ferromagnetic substances. Those interested in 

 the subject may be referred to these papers as containing the 

 records of much valuable experimental work. 



Referring in these columns a few weeks ago to the manu- 

 facture of apparatus from vitreous silica, the hope was expressed 

 that our manufacturers at home were not going to be left behind 

 in the application of this art. We have since learnt that Messrs. 

 Baird and Tatlock have been manufacturing silica vessels by 

 Mr. Shenstone's process for the past eighteen months and are 

 prepared to make a variety of apparatus to specification. 



The Palis correspondent of the Times states that an auto- 

 mobile system is to be tried on the lines of the Paris-Lyons- 

 Marseilles Railway. The trial trip is to be made by three 

 cars next June from Paris to Dijon, and it is hoped to cover the 

 300 kilometres in a little more than three hours, or at an average 

 rate of about sixty miles an hour. Each car is to be of the same 

 size as an ordinary corridor carriage and capable of seating 

 forty passengers; the petroleum engine is at the front of the 

 car. The cars are to be built by Messrs. Gardner and Serpollet 

 and will have the same weight as a corridor carriage. At present 

 it is only intended to try the system for passenger traffic, but if 

 it is successful it will doubtless be widely extended. It is also 

 announced that a similar system is to be tried on the North- 

 Eastern Railway between Hartlepool and West Hartlepool, 

 where there is keen competition between the railway and the 

 tramway. These cars are to carry a petrol engine driving a 

 dynamo which will generate electric current for the actual 

 driving motors. 



A BRIEF description of the laboratories recently fitted up for 

 electrochemical analysis at the Chemical Institute at Nancy is 

 given by M. Arth, director of the Institute, in 1' ' J'.clairage 

 Electrique for December 13. There are two rooms, one of 

 which serves as a balance and apparatus room, the other contain- 

 ing the working benches. The laboratory proper is fitted up 

 with two double tables each capable of accommodating eight 

 students and a single table having room for two more. Each 

 student has at his disposal two sets of leads, which can be con- 

 nected to a supply of suitable voltage, a rheostat, an.d terminals 

 by means of which an ammeter and voltmeter can be put in 

 circuit. There is one ammeter and voltmeter provided between 

 the four students working at the same side of the table, so that 

 they have to make their measurements in turn, but these are so 

 connected that the measurements can be made without interrupt- 

 ing the circuit. Extra terminals are, however, provided, by means 

 of which additional apparatus can be connected in circuit. The 

 circuits are purposely so arranged that the operations are not 

 made too automatic, but the student has to understand what he 



NO. I73O, VOL. 67] 



is doing each time he makes a connection or a measurement. A 

 full set of platinum electrodes, dishes, &c, completes the equip- 

 ment. 



The river terraces in New England form the subject of an 

 essay by Prof. W. M. Davis (Bulletin Museum Comp. Zool. , 

 Harvard College, vol. xxxviii.). He discusses the formation of 

 terraces in valleys occupied by drift, and urges the importance 

 of studying them in plan as well as in section. He points 

 out that they may be accounted for, firstly, by the behaviour 

 of a meandering and swinging stream, slowly degrading 

 the valley deposits ; and, secondly, by the control exerted here 

 and there over the lateral swinging of the stream through the 

 opening up of previously buried rock-ledges. The effects of up- 

 lift on the formation of terraces and rock-platforms are duly 

 considered. 



A memoir on the geology of Lower Strathspey, by Mr. 

 L W. Hinxman and Mr. J. S Grant Wilson, has been issued 

 by the Geological Survey. The region described, which is in 

 the counties of Elgin and Banff, is formed mainly of igneous 

 and metamorphic rocks with a considerable area of Old Red 

 Sandstone. The metamorphic rocks include granulitic schistose 

 rocks of the Central Highland or Moine schist type, and various 

 quartzites, schists and limestones with associated igneous rocks, 

 j grouped as the Banffshire series. Tj this series the foliated 

 granites belong, while of later date is the great granite mass of 

 Ben Rinnes and the Convals, which forms the dominant feature 

 of the district. The petrography is dealt with by Dr. Flett. 

 Two divisions of Old Red Sandstone are noted, the Middle or 

 Orcadian and the Upper, and between these there is uncon- 

 formity, as the Upper Old Red Sandstone rests on the basal 

 conglomerates of the Orcadian series and extends on to the 

 crystalline schists. Dr. Traquair contributes an interesting note 

 on the general distribution of fishes in the Old Red Sandstone, 

 observing that there are " three distinct fish-faun:e," while Mr. 

 Kidston, in a note on the fossil plants, remarks that they also 

 show a clearly defined threefold division of this formation. 

 Glacial drifts extend over much of the ground, with the 

 exception of the higher hill tops, and they present many features 

 of interest. 



A SUPPLEMENTARY list of lantern slides, recently issued by 

 Messrs. Newton and Co., contains particulars of many slides of 

 scientific interest. Among the subjects of slides suitable for 

 science lectures or lessons are British reptiles and other animals, 

 photographed from life by Mr. D. English ; butterflies and 

 moths ; trees and "plants ; photographs of ripples on mercury 

 and water, by Dr. J. H. Vincent ; sound waves, by Prof. R. W. 

 Wood ; and photomicrographs by Dr. Spitta to illustrate the 

 morphology of the malarial parasite. 



In the November number of the Ficla Naturalist' s Quar- 

 terly, Dr. G. Leighton reopens the question of adders 

 swallowing their young. Although he is unable to cite any 

 definite instance of the occurrence of the phenomenon, he shows 

 that some of the objections which have been urged against it are 

 based on a misinterpretation of anatomical facts, and demon- 

 strates that there is nothing inherently impossible in its taking 

 place. As the gullet of an adder is perfectly capable of contain- 

 ing the body of a field-mouse, and as frogs are known to live 

 for a considerable time after being swallowed by snakes, there is 

 no reason why young adders should not be swallowed by their 

 parent without being killed. The question remains, however, 

 to be proved by positive evidence. " Of the possibility of the 

 phenomenon," writes the author, " we have not the slightest 

 doubt, of the probability of it we have considerable doubt." 



We have received from the publisher, Herr G. Fischer, of 

 Jena, an interesting pamphlet by Prof. Max Weber, of Amster- 

 dam, entitled "The Indo> Australian Archipelago and the 



