6t6 



NA TURE 



[April 30, 1903 



We regret to record the death of Mr. G. P. Bulman, 

 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, at the early age of twenty-six. He 

 contributed several papers on the marine Mollusca of 

 Northumberland to the reports issued from the Marine 

 Laboratory, Cullercoats. He also made some experimental 

 attempts to solve certain of the problems relating to 

 heredity. The results he obtained with regard to " hybrid 

 oochromy " were described in Nature, June 27, 1901 (p. 

 207). At the time of his death he was carrying on in the 

 gardens of the Durham College of Science an experiment 

 to test the much-discredited phenomenon, telegony — about 

 which he wrote in Natural Science, vol. xiv. 



Mr. F. J. M. PAGE, writing from the Chemical Labor- 

 atory, London Hospital, states that radium bromide seems 

 to have more penetrating power than the nitrate. Using 

 the bromide he observed a distinct luminosity on .1 zini 

 sulphide screen after the rays had passed through ten 

 post-cards and the card of the screen (in all 5 millimetres). 

 A diamond was found to be superior to zinc sulphide in 

 detecting these rays; thus, on covering the bromide with 

 a florin, no effect on the zinc sulphide could be seen, 

 whereas a diamond glowed perceptibly when placed on a 

 heap of five florins (8 5 mm.) over the radium salt. A 

 barium platinocyanide screen proved to afford a slightly 

 more delicate tot than the diamond. 



At the meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 

 on Friday, April 24, the president, Mr. J. H. Wickstee'd, 

 gave an address in which he traced briefly the development 

 of the uses of iron, and Prof. W. E. Dalby read a paper 

 on the education of engineers in America, Germany and 

 Switzerland. Mr. Wicksteed remarked that in the earliest 

 written records to which an accurate date can be fixed, 

 namely, in the fourth millennium B.C., pyramid lexU are 

 found which prove beyond question that iron was well 

 known in Egypt at that time, and that it was forged into 

 weapons, tools and instruments. After an obscure existence 

 of at least 3000 years, iron became historically famous. 

 The time of Homer, 880 B.C., was notable for the attention 

 that was given to iron. The iron of antiquity was made 

 direct from the ore, and was spongy malleable iron, which 

 could be made more or less steely ; and it was only as re- 

 ducing furnaces were enlarged and the blast increased thai 

 it came about within the last 400 years that cast-iron was 

 produced on a commercial scale. Up to that time, bronze 

 held the field for objects which could not be shaped by 

 hand-hammering. The best authorities give the date 1490- 

 1500 for the discovery of cast-iron, and it is remarkable that 

 this discovery exactly corresponds with the revival of 

 letters in England. From this time iron became as tract- 

 able as bronze, and the iron foundry was added to the forge. 



A large audience attended the meeting of the Royal 

 Geographical Society on Monday to hear papers by Captain 

 Sverdrup and Mr. P. Schei on four years' Arctic expli r- 

 ation and scientific observation in the Fram. From the 

 furthest point north to which the expedition advanced — 

 namely, Land's-lok, in about 8i° 40' north kit., and 

 long. 94 W. — they were unable to see land either 

 towards the north or towards the west, and some 

 new islands which were discovered would appear to form 

 the natural termination of the Polar archipelago north of 

 the American continent. Although Captain Sverdrup was 

 not prepared to assert that no land reallv existed north cr 

 west of the point he had indicated, he thought it extremely 

 unlikely that land yvould be discovered in those directions, 

 for as far as ever they were able to see there was nothing 

 l>ut sea covered with ice of the usual coarse Arctic character. 

 Captain Sverdrup said that in many parts of the newly- 



NO. 1748, VOL. 67] 



discovered lands there appeared to be an abundance of 

 animal life, especially musk-oxen and smaller game, such 

 as hares and ptarmigan, as well as foxes and wolves. Bears 

 also were numerous in parts. Almost everywhere remains 

 were discovered of Eskimo habitations. The scientific re- 

 sults of the expedition are very valuable. Meteorological 

 observations were taken every second hour, both in summer 

 and in winter ; records were also made of the temperature 

 of the sea and of the ice, as well as of the tidal water. 

 Magnetic observations were made at each of the several 

 winter quarters. The expedition brought home rich and 

 valuable materials for the study of the zoology, botany, 

 and geology of parts of the Arctic which had never befi n 

 been visited. The Fram reached Norway on September 12. 

 1902, after an absence of four and a quarter years. 



Symons's Meteorological Magazine for April contains 

 articles of exceptional interest relating to the rainfall of the 

 last winter, the shortage of water, and the storm of 

 February 26, by Prof. C. J. Joly, Astronomer Royal for 

 Ireland. We select for especial notice the table of rainfall 

 extremes at Camden Square for forty years, 1S58-97. The 

 average rainfall is 25.46 inches. The driest period is the 

 spring, the rainfall each month from February to May being 

 below two inches; in all other months the average fall ex- 

 ceeds two inches, the maximum, 2 71 inches, occurring in 

 October. The greatest monthly fall was 672 inches in 

 August, 1878, and the lowest 001 inch in February, 1891. 

 The greatest daily fall was 3-28 inches on June 23, 1878. 

 Rain falls, on an average, on 161S days in the year, the 

 extremes being from 106 to 204 days. 



fin: appendix to the reports of the British South Africa 

 Company on the administration of Rhodesia, for 1900 to 

 niiu, contains a meteorological report by Mr. George Duthie. 

 During the year ended March 31, 1902, or part of it, there 

 were in operation seven barometric stations (three in 

 Mashonaland and four in Matabeleland), three climatological 

 or thermometric stations (one in Mashonaland and two in 

 Matabeleland), and nine purely rainfall stations — making 

 nineteen rainfall stations in all (twelve in Mashonaland and 

 seven in Matabeleland). One barometric station and five 

 rainfall stations have been added during the year. Mr. 

 Duthie's report contains abstracts of the observations made 

 at the stations, and also summaries of observations made in 

 British Central Africa under the direction of Mr. McClounie. 



The fourth, and concluding, number of vol. iii. of the 

 lies/ Indian Bulletin contains two articles bv Mr. Maxwell- 

 Lefroy, late entomologist to the Agricultural Department. 

 The first forms the concluding portion, divided into thirteen 

 subjects, of a lengthy account of the scale insects of the 

 \\ ' si Indies. His second paper is on " Crude Oil and 

 Soap, a New General Insecticide." Kerosene is rather ex- 

 pensive in the West Indies, and so also is American 

 crude petroleum, so Mr. Maxwell-Lefroy was induced to 

 experiment with a crude oil mined in Barbados, and from 

 this and soap he has obtained an emulsion which is a 

 most valuable insecticide, from the very much increased 

 insecticidal properties of the heavy oil used. Mr. Francis 

 Walls has some notes on West Indian fodders, and there 

 is a report of an address by Dr. Morris on agricultural 

 efforts at Dominica. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt of a brochure on the 

 causes of weather and earthquakes, from Captain A. J. 

 Cooper, who is known to hold some rather unorthodox 

 views on the subject of tides and other phenomena. The 

 greater part of the pamphlet is occupied with comparisons 

 between the dates of storms and the configuration of the 



