14 
NATORE 
[| NOVEMBER I, 1906 
““EpisteE Earth in New Guinea’’ is the title of a com- 
munication by Mr. W. Meigen published in Briefe der 
Monatsberichte dey deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft 
(1905, pp. 557-564). The earth in question is found on the 
east side of New Mecklenburg, where it is associated with 
decomposed coral; its main constituents are oxides of silica 
and aluminium; there is a smaller quantity of ferric oxide 
and traces of other substances, including ammonia. 
Mineralogically, the earth is composed of kaolin, hydrar- 
gillite, and ferric oxide; it is a fatty clay of yellowish 
colour, not unpleasant to the taste, and composed of very 
small particles. It is used for medicinal purposes, and 
may well counteract the laxative effects of the fish diet of 
dwellers on the coast. The article mentions the more 
important previous contributions to the discussion of the 
question of edible earths, of which, however, but few 
analyses have been published. A recent paper was noticed 
in Nature of September 27 (p. 543); in vol. xxxiii. of the 
Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales was 
published the analysis of some kaolinite from Fiji. 
Tue Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital for October 
(xvii., No. 187), in addition to articles of medical interest, 
contains an account by Mr. D. I. Macht of Moses 
Maimonides, a celebrated Jewish philosopher of the thir- 
teenth century, who was physician to the Sultan Saladin 
and his successor, and the author of many religious, philo- 
sophical, and medical works. In his ‘‘ Ethics ’? a complete 
system of practical hygiene is given which would well com- 
pare with the most recent text-books on the subject; lack 
of exercise, over-eating, alcohol, and excess are summarised 
as the causes of most diseases. Dr. T. R. Boggs describes 
a simple method for the quantitative estimation of the 
proteids in milk. The diluted milk is precipitated with 
phosphotungstic acid in hydrochloric acid solution, and the 
volume of the precipitate is read off in an ordinary Esbach 
albuminometer tube as used in wine analysis. The method 
is accurate to within 0-3 per cent. to 0-7 per cent., accord- 
ing to controls made by Kjeldahl! determinations. 
As agriculture in the Virgin Islands is dependent upon 
small cultivators, progress is hampered by the want of 
capital. In the annual report for 1905-6 of the experiment 
station maintained at Tortola, the curator, Mr. Fishlock, 
hotes that the peasants are gradually realising the advant- 
age of planting such permanent crops as cacao, limes, and 
rubber. The department also fosters cotton cultivation by 
supplying seed, buying seed-cotton, and preparing the lint 
for market. 
Tuer July number of the Trinidad Bulletin contains the 
annual report for the past year, by Mr. J. H. Hart, on 
the Botanical Department. Seedling canes, rubber, and 
cacao form the largest items under plant distribution; 
there was also a considerable demand for young trees of 
Honduras mahogany, Mimusops globosa, 
balata, and Cedrela odorata, the West Indian cedar. With 
the view of popularising its cultivation, a large number of 
plants of Coffea robusta was given away. In a note on 
the nests of Trigona bees, it is observed that the peculiar 
trumpet-shaped entrance is connected with the danger to 
returning bees of being caught by a spider that lurks near 
the opening. 
TuE second number of the Memoirs of the Department 
of Agriculture in India is devoted to the subject of Indian 
wheat rusts. Three distinct species, Puccinia graminis, 
black rust, Puccinia glumarum, yellow rust, and Puccinia 
triticina, orange rust, are commonly found. It was 
observed in 1904 that the first was most rampant in Central 
NO. 1931, VOL. 75] 
that furnishes’ 
India, while the latter two predominated further north,. 
and therefore nearer the district where barberries are found. 
The authors, Mr. E. J. Butler and Mr. J. M. Hayman, 
have at present no explanation to offer for the origin of 
the disease year by year. The results obtained by inocu- 
lating barley with rust spores taken from wheat plants 
and vice versé show a considerable degree of specialisation, 
as very few of the inoculations succeeded. 
Tne superintendent of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 
mentions in his annual report for the year 1905-6 that a 
number of Tibetan and Bhutanese specimens, chiefly robes, 
brass ware, and religious objects, was added to the art 
and ethnological collections, also various agricultural in- 
struments from Assam. The report of laboratory work by 
Mr. D. Hooper contains, as usual, several interesting 
analyses. From the shoot of the common bamboo a food 
product is prepared, known in Assam as gass-tenga, that 
is eaten with rice; this contains an acid similar to aspartic 
acid that is probably derived from asparagin. Specimens 
of the bark of Picrasma javanica, used by the Karens as a 
febrifuge, yielded a bitter principle allied to quassiin. The 
analyses of latices from a number of different species of 
Ficus show that of those examined Ficus elastica alone 
furnishes rubber of commercial importance. 
ATTENTION is directed in the Journal of the Society of 
Arts (vol. liv., No. 2812) to the soda lakes of Mexico 
on the great desert south of Yuma. These vast lakes of 
crystals of carbonate of soda are within 3000 yards of 
the sea. They are the property of the Mexican Govern- 
ment, and it is believed that they may become sources of 
enormous income to the country. 
Tue British Commercial Agent in the United States 
reports that the plan of storing coal under water is being 
adopted at a new plant west of Chicago. Twelve large 
cement-lined pits have been constructed with a bottom of 
clay soil. Their storage capacity is 14,000 tons. A 12-inch 
water pipe opens to the pits near the top, so that the coal 
can be flooded when required. 
In the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxii., No. 1) Mr. 
Alfred Sang urges the practical value of industrial museums 
as exemplified by the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in 
Paris, and what was originally the Patent Office Museum 
at South Kensington. While satisfactory results must de- 
pend upon a board of management composed of experts in 
the various branches of science and of industry represented, 
the author gives examples of exhibits that would prove of 
special benefit to students. 
In the Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. clxii., 
No. 4) Prof. Alfred J. Henry, of the U.S. Weather Bureau, 
gives an account of weather forecasting by synoptic charts. 
The method is based on two well-established facts, the 
general eastward drift of the atmosphere in temperate 
latitudes in the northern hemisphere, and the close relation 
that subsists between the weather and the distribution of 
atmospheric pressure. Within recent years there has been 
an appreciable gain in the accuracy of the forecasts. The 
period covered by the forecasts has been extended from 
eight to forty-eight hours, and instead of forecasts ex- 
pressed in very general terms for large areas, definite fore- 
casts are now made for all the larger towns and for each 
of the States and territories. The most important gain 
however, is in the adaptation of the forecasts to the needs 
of special industries, the perfection of the system of flood 
warnings, and the general improvement in the warnings of 
severe storms and cold waves. 
