January 8, 



19^3] 



NA TURE 



219 



a very general opinion here, even though we knew that 

 in France especially the development of the submarine 

 and submersible was being very seriously pursued, and 

 that the trials excited the enthusiasm of the public. 



Xow, however, that we know that our Government is 

 quietly making its own experiments with submersibles 

 built in this country, and that we have an introduction 

 and a chapter in the book under review written by men 

 of such repute as Sir Edmund Fremantle and Sir Edward 

 Reed, in which the writers show that they are fully alive 

 to the progress and to the great possibilities as well as 

 to the present limitations of this new weapon, we can no 

 longer affect to despise the armed and diving boat, but 

 must at least prove, using the best skill we possess, what 

 is possible both in the way of offence by and of defence 

 against so terrible a weapon. Sir Edward Reed, after 

 referring to the difference in density of the two media 

 water and air, goes on as follows : — 



" But it is in the face of this initial and enormous 

 difficulty that the aeronauts of to-day have apparently 

 persuaded themselves that they can successfully float 

 their balloon-ship in mid-air and propel it, not only 

 against the rapid tides of the air in which it floats, but 

 also drive it at a good additional speed. When men 

 are to be found capable of committing their fortunes, and 

 even their lives, to navigation of this kind, it is not sur- 

 prising to find that the far easier problem of navigating 

 the seas beneath the surface has won the attention and 

 the effort of enterprising men. They certainly have 

 chosen, if the humbler, also the more promising and 

 practical field of operation. I doubt not that they have 

 likewise chosen the more fruitful field." 



Passing over a long but interesting chapter on the 

 morality of submarine warfare, we come to one on the 

 mechanism of the submarine which perhaps more than 

 any deals with the numerous scieiitific problems that 

 arise. One of the troubles of the immersed ship 

 which is not felt on the surface is the terrible effect 

 of a small change in the position of the centre of 

 gravity. For instance : — 



" The Nordenfelt boats were certainly not successful 

 in discharging torpedoes, for as a general rule they as 

 nearly as possible stood up vertically on their tails and 

 proceeded to plunge to the bottom stern first on these 

 occasions." 



By allowing the torpedo tube to fill with water immedi- 

 ately after the discharge, this difficulty is reduced, but it 

 is almost wholly removed by the invention of Mr. 

 Drzewiecki, who has contrived a clamp to hold a torpedo 

 securely outside the boat, by which it can be turned in 

 any direction from the inside and then be liberated by 

 the pressure of the moving water. As the torpedo has a 

 density nearly that of water, its liberation does not affect 

 the stability of the ship. It has been tried with success 

 at Cherbourg. 



Even though the mechanical problems are perfectly 

 solved of the different stabilities, of propulsion, of air 

 maintenance, of torpedo discharge and of rising and of 

 plunging, but not below the fatal depth, there remains 

 the horrible fact that under water a ship is blind. When 

 at the surface or awash, the bearings of the enemy may 

 be taken from the cupola, and after plunging, the com- 

 pass or the gyroscope alone remain to give the sense of 

 direction ; but a compass is not at its best in such a 

 NO. 1732, VOL. 67] 



position. Various optical tubes and telescopic periscopes 

 are used to get some sort of view when the ship is not far 

 from the surface, but to what extent successfully it is 

 difficult to discover. At any rate, it is satisfactory to 

 know that in this country the problem has been attacked 

 by so able an optical engineer as Sir Howard Grubb. 



One of the most disturbing chapters is that on the 

 antidote to submarines. Information as to what has 

 been done quietly in this country as elsewhere is, of 

 course, difficult to obtain, but even though a charge of 

 high explosion fired in the water may damage or destroy 

 a submarine that is near enough, it is impossible to feel 

 that there is any reasonably sure method of defence 

 against this insidious weapon, always on the supposition, 

 of course, that the mechanical and optical problems 

 referred to are solved in even a fairly satisfactory way. 



C. V. B. 



WOLLEYS COLLECTION OF BIRDS' EGGS. 



Ootheca Wolleyana. An Illustrated Catalogue of the 

 Collection of Birds' Eggs formed by the late John 

 Wolley, jun., M.A., F.Z.S. Edited from the Original 

 Notes by Alfred Newton. Part ii., Picariae — Passeres. 

 (London : R. H. Porter, 1902.) 



TO European oologists, the name of John Wolley 

 is both well known and held in great esteem, for 

 not only was he one of our soundest and best ornith- 

 ologists, especially in the field, but also was one of the 

 first egg collectors who fully realised the extreme im- 

 portance of securing the identification of the parent 

 bird, of carefully, and if possible indelibly, marking 

 each egg when taken, so as to avoid all risk of error, 

 and of procuring and noting down the fullest possible 

 information respecting each clutch, as well as of collect- 

 ing a series of specimens to show all the variety of colour, 

 size and shape to which eggs of the same species are 

 subject. Collectors will therefore gladly welcome the 

 present part, which completes the first volume of the 

 " Ootheca Wolleyana." 



The first part was published so far back as 1S64, but 

 the present part, completing the volume, has been retarded 

 from various causes, though this somewhat long delay 

 cannot be regretted when one realises, from a perusal of 

 the work, how carefully the editor has brought the work 

 up to date. 



Wolley commenced the study of natural history at a 

 very early age, and after occupying himself with botany, 

 entomology and the habits of animals generally, he 

 gradually began to pay special attention to oology, until 

 after a trip to Spain in 1S45 and a vislt t0 Morocco, 

 where he discovered M. Favier, who afterwards became 

 so well known to ornithologists, he devoted himself chiefly 

 to that branch of science. After his return to England, 

 he several times visited Scotland in order to study birds 

 in the field, especially the rarer species at their breeding 

 places. In 1850, he made an excursion to the Faroes, 

 which had never before been visited by any English 

 naturalist, communicating an account of the ornithology 

 to the British Association. In 1853, he began the work 

 with which his name will always be associated, the 

 investigation of the ornithology of Lapland, of which no 



