Marcu 7, 1907] NATURE 447 
only point out that light, especially direct sunlight, is Unprr be title ‘‘ Erinnerungen an Johannes Wisli- 
always very destructive to the colours of butterflies (though cenus,’’ Dr. W. Sonne has published (Leipzig: W. Engel- 
some colours fade more quickly than others), and though 
they will preserve their colours fairly well for centuries 
if kept from the light, we should strongly recommend any 
person who values specimens of butterflies to keep them 
carefully covered, except when actually undergoing in- 
spection. 
We have before us copies of the reports of the U.S. 
National Washington, for the years ending 
June 30, 1905, and June 30, 1906. These reports are for 
the future to be restricted to accounts of the administrative 
operations of the museum. The interesting and well- 
illustrated papers based on the collections of the museum, 
which in past years have appeared in the appendix to the 
reports, are for the future to be published in other series. 
The report for the year ending June 30, 1906, shows that 
the total number of accessions received by the museum 
during that year was 1516, comprising 257,605 specimens, 
of which 8232 were assigned to the department of anthro- 
pology, 227,633 to the department of biology, and 21,740 
to the department of geology. In ethnology, large 
accessions were received from Arizona and New Mexico, 
the Philippine Islands, and Malaysia. The collections in 
physical anthropology were mainly enriched by material 
from Malaysia and from ancient Indian ruins and mounds 
in the western parts of the United States. The most 
important addition to the biological department was the 
collection of 75,000 American Lepidoptera given by Mr. 
William Schaus, and, besides these, 33,000 insect speci- 
mens were received through the U.S. Department of Agri- 
culture. In view of annual additions such as these, it is 
not surprising to learn that ‘“‘ year by year the exhibition 
cases have been brought closer and closer together, and 
great spaces have been shut off from the public view to 
permit of the shelter of thousands of mew accessions.” 
Fortunately, the new building for the museum is making 
satisfactory progress, and its completion will make it 
possible to reveal to visitors the wealth of scientific material 
which has been amassed in recent years. 
Tue untrustworthiness of the underground conduit 
system for tramways when confronted with a heavy snow- 
fall is once more brought to our notice in the reply of 
the manager of the Grand Berlin Tramways Company to 
the criticisms passed upon the recent breakdown of the 
few underground conduit lines in Berlin. Assertions were 
made that with the same system other towns on the 
Continent were free from interruption to their tramways 
during the recent fall of snow, but the manager in his 
reply clearly shows that, with the exception of Vienna, all 
the leading towns on the Continent in which the under- 
ground conduit system is employed were in a similar plight, 
and in Budapest the tramways were completely stopped 
for several days. The report of the Brussels Tramway 
Company also states that their troubles during the snowy 
period were due to the underground conductors, and that 
the working of the lines could not be carried out with 
a repetition of similar events, in spite of the fact that a 
large reserve plant was available. Vienna is almost an 
ideal city for conduit work, and has nothing like the 
traffic of Berlin, and is not, therefore, a fair comparison 
of everyday working conditions such as we have in 
London. We have before pointed out in Nature the diffi- 
culties attendant on the working of the underground con- 
duit system directly any unusual weather sets in, and the 
above reports fully bear out the contention that the under- 
ground conduit system is mot so perfect as some of its 
disciples would have us believe. 
NO. 1949, VOL. 75]| 
Museum, 
mann, pp. 36, price 1.20 marks) a number of personal 
recollections of Wislicenus during the years 1876-1881, 
when, at the height of his activity, he was filling the 
chair of professor of chemistry at Wurzburg. It was 
during this period that his work on ethyl acetoacetate 
was published, partly in collaboration with Conrad and 
1880 he was associated with Hantzsch, who 
succeeded him both at Wirzburg and Leipzig. The 
“ Erinnerungen ’’ are of value as throwing light on the 
inspiring personality of Wislicenus, and may be regarded 
as supplementing the more complete accounts recently 
given of Wislicenus’s work by Prof. Beckmann and Prof. 
W. H. Perkin, jun. 
Mucnu confusion the present time from the 
lack of understanding, either here or abroad, as to the 
exact sense in which the various names applied to proteins 
others. In 
arises at 
and their derivatives shall be used. Difficulty is created 
by the use of a term in different senses, as well as 
ambiguity of meaning in some cases. The Chemical 
Society has for some time had this matter of nomenclature 
under consideration, and has just issued a series of re- 
commendations in its Proceedings (vol. xxiii., No. 321). 
The first two recommendations are :—(1) The word proteid 
—which is used in different senses in this country and in 
Germany—should be abolished. (2) The word protein is 
recommended as the general name of the whole group of 
substances under consideration. It is at present so used 
both in America and Germany. It admits readily of the 
use of such derived words as protease and proteose. If 
used at all, the term albuminoid should be regarded as a 
synonym of protein. 
Messrs. Crosspy Lockwoop anp Son have published a 
second edition of Mr. George Clapperton’s ‘‘ Practical 
Paper-making.’’ The work has been carefully revised and 
enlarged by twenty pages, so as to bring the information 
up to date. 
Messrs. MacmiLttan and Co., Lyrp., have _ issued 
separately certain parts of ‘‘ An Introduction to Practical 
Geography,’’ by Mr. A. T. Simmons and Mr. Hugh 
Richardson, which was reviewed in our issue for May 10, 
1906 (vol. Ixxiv., p. 27). Section i., maps; section ii., 
the globe; and section iii., climate, may be obtained in 
small volumes bound in limp cloth, and the price of 
each is 1s. 
Tue Bulletins of Miscellaneous Information issued 
during 1906 from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have 
been bound together in a single volume, the price of which 
is 4s. The work can be obtained in London from Messrs. 
Wyman and Sons, Ltd., or through any bookseller. 
Reference has been made to separate bulletins from time 
to time in these columns, and botanical readers of NATURE 
are familiar with the general character of the publication. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 
PERTURBATIONS OF Hattey’s Comet.—From an _ investi- 
gation of the Jupiter perturbations of Halley’s comet, 
Messrs. Cowell and Crommelin find that the perihelion 
passage of that comet will probably occur about a fort- 
night earlier than the date given by Pontécoulant, that is, 
in the first half of May, 1910. What is more important, 
they also find that Pontécoulant’s perturbations were about 
ten times too great, and consequently the perihelion dis- 
tance will be appreciably the same (0-59) as at the last 
return, instead of being shifted some nine million miles 
nearer to the earth as found by the French investigator 
(Monthly Notices, vol. Ixvii-, No. 3, January). 
