Marcu 28, 1907] 
NATURE 
STZ. 
that the termites are concerned with these 
accumulations, has not received acceptance, and it has 
been suggested that they are due to natural exudation. 
Meantime, analysis has shown that the rubber is purer 
than the best ordinary latex, and thus the matter stands. 
On the subject of fire in teak forests, Mr. H. Rodger 
accompanied by illustrations representing 
discoverer, 
presents a note 
probable stages in the destruction of the teak trees. 
the first volume of the Philip- 
pine Journal of Science is appropriated to an enumeration 
of the Vhilippine gtasses. The author revised the 
lists of Blanco, IF. Villar, and other previous compilers 
to exclude doubtful species; he has also drawn up short 
keys for the identification of tribes, genera, and species. 
With regard to geographical distribution, one-fifth of the 
species is endemic, including the monotypic genus 
Garnotiella philippinensis; there is a pronounced affinity 
with the grasses of the Malayan and Indo-Malayan regions, 
and a fair sprinkling of Australian types. The determin- 
ation of the bamboos is uncertain, but the author records 
a new species of Gigantochloa. 
Tue filth supplement to 
has 
DiscussinG the mechanical development of the German 
iron industry in a copiously illustrated article in the 
Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxii., No. 6), Mr. J. H. 
Cuntz shows that the three important factors which now 
make for economy are by-product coking, the utilisation 
of furnace gases in the gas engine, and advanced practice 
in electric driving of winding and rolling-mill engines. 
Tue bridge at the Victoria Falls of the River Zambezi 
was described in detail by Mr. G. A. Hobson in a paper 
read before the Institution of Civil Engineers on March 19. 
Several types of bridges were considered, but the nature 
of the situation made it obvious that a _ two-hinged 
spandrel-braced arch was the one that most completely 
answered the requirements of the case. The bridge con- 
sists of three spans. The end span, on the left bank, is 
623 feet and the other 873 feet, while the central span 
is 500 feet between the centres of the bearings, with a 
rise of 90 feet. The entire bridge, with the exception of 
the main bearings, weighs 1500 tons. The engineering 
interest which attaches to the execution of this work is 
due in a large measure to the remoteness of the site. 
The question of erection was considered of primary import- 
ance, and every detail was devised to simplify the pro- 
cedure. 
Tue admirable work that is being done by the corps 
of mining engineers in investigating the mineral resources 
of Peru is clearly shown in the numbers of the Boletin 
of that body recently received. In No. 41 Mr. M. A. 
Denegri gives a report on the mineral production of Peru 
in 1905. The production included 75,338 tons of coal, 
49,700 tons of petroleum, and considerable quantities of 
gold, silver, copper, lead, bismuth, nickel, mercury, salt, 
and borates. Excellently reproduced photographs accom- 
panying the report indicate that in many cases the mines 
are well equipped. In No. 44 Mr. Carlos E. Velarde de- 
scribes the mineral district of Huancavelica. The copper 
and silver veins are of considerable importance, and the 
Santo Domingo colliery furnishes an ample supply of coal 
for steam raising, whilst coke for smelting purposes can 
be abundantly obtained from the coal of the Oyon collieries, 
thirty miles distant from Huancavelica. In No. 45 Mr. 
G. I. Adams deals at length with the water supply of the 
provinces of Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna. Lastly, in 
No. 46 Mr. F. M. Santolalla describes the mineral re- 
NO. 1952, VOL. 75| 
sources of the province of Santiago de Chuco. The dis- 
trict is one of the richest in Peru, and its mining industry 
has a great future in store when better means of trans- 
port are provided by the projected extension of the rail- 
way from Menocucho to Salpo. The deposits existing in 
the province may be divided into the metalliferous veins 
in eruptive rocks, veins in sedimentary rocks, and the coal 
seams of Callacuyan, Chasamuday, Llaray, Hospital, and 
Angasmarca, all of which form part of the same coalfield. 
Tue admirable paper on petrol motor-omnibuses, read 
by Mr. W. Beaumont before the Institution of 
Mechanical Engineers on March 15, forms a valuable 
contribution to the history of engineering, for there are 
few examples of rapid growth from the experimental stage 
to that of widespread practical importance so remark- 
able as that of the motor-omnibus. There is no example 
so instructive the adaptation of the 
high-speed, high-power, light-weight petrol prime-mover 
to the heavy work of the operation of the motor-omnibus 
en common roads. Barely four years have passed since 
the first petrol-propelled motor-omnibus may be said to 
have been regularly worked in public service in England, 
and within the last two years the number in London has 
increased from a few small vehicles to 795 in actual com- 
mission. ‘These are carrying about 185 million passengers 
per year, and run from go to 120 miles per day, or 30,000 
to 40,000 miles a year. There is great similarity in ex- 
ternal design, but in the details of the mechanism and 
in the arrangement of the underframes there are con- 
siderable differences, which are clearly described by Mr. 
Beaumont and elucidated by the numerous excellent draw- 
ings to scale accompanying his paper. No standardisation 
in motor-omnibus construction can be expected for some 
time. The extraordinary mileage has accumulated much 
experience in a short time, but it has been very costly ; 
and it must be admitted that, even with the finest material 
ever placed in the hands of the engineer, larger dimensions 
and greater surfaces are required to contend with the 
severe work of the present double-deck omnibus. Improve- 
ment may be looked for in the introduction of twenty- 
six-passenger in place of the present thirty-four-passenger 
vehicles. Then the weight of an omnibus may be materially 
reduced, and fuel and oil consumption and wear and tear 
also reduced, which, with a general observance of the 
legal speed-limit, will together add to the life and com- 
mercial efficiency of an omnibus. It is interesting to note 
that the cost of working a petrol motor-omnibus running 
roo miles per day for 280 days per year may now be 
put as 9-56d. per mile, including depreciation at 20 per 
cent., while the average receipts per motor-omnibus mile 
in London exceed 13d. 
WeE have received from Washington a copy of the 
annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
Institution for the year ending June 30, 1905, together 
with a report of Mr. Richard Rathbun, the then acting 
secretary of the institution, for the year ending on June 30 
last. Mr. Rathbun gives an account of the numerous 
activities of the institution during the year under review, 
and is able to record satisfactory progress. The general 
appendix of the regents’ report contains, as usual, an 
admirable selection of papers by men of science of many 
nationalities, designed to furnish brief accounts of. scientific 
discovery in particular directions. Among these papers we 
notice Sir William White’s Friday evening address to the 
Royal Institution, on submarine navigation; Mr. G. T. 
Beilby’s presidential address to the chemical section of the 
British Association at its South African meeting, on gold 
Worby 
in possibilities as 
