542 



NA TURE 



[April 6, 1905 



Dr. T. H. Montgomery, in the Proceedings of the 

 American Philosophical Society for the last quarter of 

 1904, runs a tilt at the generally accepted view as to the 

 morphological superiority of the male sex in animals. 

 Among invertebrates, he urges, it is always the male which 

 is of inferior size and development, while as regards verte- 

 brates, although the males have in many cases secured 

 superiority in the matter of bodily size and secondary 

 sexual characters, yet, as regards the generative organs 

 (notably the suppression in certain instances of one 

 ovary), the advantage, from the point of view of specialisa- 

 tion and development, is largely on the side of the female. 

 While admitting that different morphologists might esti- 

 mate the value of these characters differently, the author 

 is inclined to give the greatest morphological value to the 

 higher development of the reproductive organs. 



In discussing in the same issue the origin of the mark- 

 ings of organisms, the late Prof. Packard arrived at the 

 conclusion that these are dependent on the physical rather 

 than on the biological environment. The alleged instances 

 of " Miillerian " mimicry he explained, "for example, 

 by convergence due to the action of similar physical and 

 climatic causes, since he regarded the attacks of birds as a 

 negligible factor. Again, the frequent instances of colour 

 and pattern resemblance between different animals he 

 attributed to pigmentation caused by exposure to sun- 

 light and shade, due to the repetition of fundamental 

 colours. "To claim that Miillerian mimicry," he added, 

 " is due to the attacks of birds, is to overlook the fact of 

 the existence of stripes, bars, and spots on the wings of 

 palaeozoic insects which flourished before the appearance 

 of birds, and even of modern types of lizards." 



The Report on the third outbreak of plague at Sydney 

 in igo3 by Dr. Ashburton Thompson is interesting as 

 showing how an epizootic of plague among the rats pre- 

 ceded the two cases of human plague. From Julv 15, 1902, 

 to .A.pril 30, 1903, 31,075 rals were caught, of wliich 17,160 

 were examined and found to be free from plague. On 

 May 12 a rat was found on certain premises which on 

 examination proved to be infected with plague, and up to 

 August 15 14,671 rats and mice were caught, of which 

 III rats and 50 mice were ascertained to be infected with 

 plague. From then until December, 1903, 13,389 rats and 

 mice were captured of which none was infected. The two 

 human cases occurred on June 20 and July 4, i.e. during 

 the period when the epizootic existed among the rodents. 



The February number of Indian Public Health (i.. No. 7) 

 contains several papers of interest, notably one criticising 

 the plague policy of the Indian Government, in which it 

 is concluded that the only way to grapple with the plague 

 problem is the formation of a properly organised and 

 equipped permanent public health service for the country. 



In the course of a report on the characters and analyses 

 of sweet potatoes cultivated in Jamaica, Mr. H. H. 

 Cousins, writing in the West Indian Bulletin (vol. v.. 

 No. 3), records the fact that the process of cooking in- 

 creases the sugar content of sweet potatoes very consider- 

 ably. Further experiments are being undertaken to ascer- 

 tain the exact chemical nature of the change. A com- 

 parison of tubers freshly dug with others that had been 

 stored for some weeks indicated that during storage there 

 is also a development of sugars at the expense of other 

 substances in the tubers. 



Various kinds of citrus fruits, including oranges, pome- 

 Iocs, grapefruit, and more particularly lemons and limes, 

 NO. 1S49, VOL. 71] 



are liable to suffer from the ravages of a parasitic fungous, 

 Colletotrichum gloeosporioidcs, which attacks the leaves, 

 causes spot or canker on the fruit, or brings about 

 abscission of the inflorescence. The fungus has been re- 

 ported from various orange-growing countries, and on 

 account of its partiality for limes, planters in the West 

 Indies will do well to consult the account by Mr. P. H. 

 Rolfs which is published in the Bulletin, vol. iii., part ii., 

 of the Department of Agriculture, Jamaica. 



The publication of pamphlets dealing with the cultiva- 

 tion, varieties, and market requirements of well known 

 commercial plant products, as instituted by the director 

 of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, is a practical and 

 important phase in the development of economic botany. 

 In vol. ii., Nos. 23 and 25, of the Circulars of the gardens, 

 Mr. H. Wright takes up the subjects of ground nuts and 

 castor oil plants. The best quality of ground nuts, and 

 these can be grown in Ceylon, are bought for eating, but 

 the demand is limited ; on the other hand, the require- 

 ment of the nuts for oil-crushing, although the price is 

 less remunerative, is practically unlimited, and the cake 

 furnishes an excellent cattle food. In the castor seed trade 

 it does not appear that Ceylon will become a formidable 

 rival to India. 



The Cerro de Pasco silver mines are the most remark- 

 able in Peru, having been worked since the year 1630. At 

 the present day operations are chiefly confined to the re- 

 working of old slags and waste heaps. On March 21, 

 1902, a Government Commission was appointed to make 

 a survey of these mines, and the report of the commission 

 has now been published in the form of a Boletin issued 

 by the Peruvian Corps of Mining Engineers. Illustrations 

 and descriptions of the smelting works are given, and it 

 is noted that the output in 1903 amounted to 7213 tons of 

 matte containing 4071 tons of copper. It is curious that 

 these ancient silver mines should develop as copper mines 

 in depth. 



A NOTE in N..\Ti'RE for January 26 (p. 305) referred to 

 .Adelaide, in South Australia, and Coolgardie, Western 

 -Australia, as the places having the highest maximum 

 temperatures recorded in the British Empire. Mr. W. E. 

 Cooke, Government astronomer of Western Australia, writes 

 to say that Marble Bar, in the north-west division of that 

 State, is very much hotter than Coolgardie. The mean 

 of the daily maximum temperatures for January, 1905, was 

 I09°.8, and the highest reading I20°s. He adds that at 

 Jacobabad, in India, the average daily maximum tempera- 

 ture is iii°.6 in May, ii2°-7 in June, and io7°-8 in July, 

 and at Duem, in the Egyptian Soudan, the mean maximum 

 for March, 1902, was 114° 4, and the absolute maximum 



We have received from Mr. J. van Breda de Haan a 

 copy of a valuable series of meteorological observations 

 made during the year iqoi at the .State Botanical Gardens 

 at Buitenzorg, Java. The observations are made with the 

 view of explaining certain problems connected with vege- 

 table physiology, and consequently special attention is given 

 to air and underground temperature, humidity and sun- 

 shine, and more particularly to the intensity of rainfall 

 showers. Observations and monthly means are given for 

 several hours of each day, in addition to daily means. 



The Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological 

 Society for January last contains an interesting paper on 

 the decrease of fog in I.omlon during recent years. The 

 results are yivi'n for iminths and for so.Tsons for each of 



