84 



NATURE 



\_Nov. 30, 1 87 1 



pepsine ? "* as follows : — " Kulliker evwahnt zuerst das Vorkom- 

 men von zweierlei Zellen in den Pepsindnisen des Hundes." |0n 

 refening to Kolliker I find, " Bei Thieren sind,wie Todd-Bowman 

 zuerst beim Ilunde, iih und Donders bei vielen andein Saugern 

 j^ezeigt haljen, die Magendiiisen ubcrall dojipelter Art," tS:c. In 

 Todd and Bowman, published some years before this, the two 

 kinds of glands are figured (the drawings being better than those 

 of Kolliker), the difference between them in anatomical charac- 

 ters, the difference of the two parts of the gland, and the differ- 

 ence in the function discharged by tlie two kinds of cells of each 

 of the two kinds of glands, pointed out. Friedinger does not even 

 mention the names of the English observers. L. S. B, 



New Zealand Forest-Trees 



In your paper of Nov. 9 I observed a letter about New 

 Zealand Forest-Trees, signed by Mr. John R. Jackson of Kew. 



I\Ir. Jackson refers to several of the magnificent varieties 

 of forest trees belonging to the natural order of Conifera?, which 

 are widely distributed in New Zealand ; omitting, however, 

 some of the most common and most valuable, especially the 

 Kahikatea or "white pine "of the settlers. This tree affords 

 timber of a white colour, much like yellow deal in appearance 

 and quality, which is admirably adapted for use as weather- 

 board, flooring-boards, and scantling for all in-door work as well 

 as for ordinary furniture. It is most extensively used for all 

 those purposes. The " Totara " is particularly used for mak- 

 ing shingles, which form a good substitute for slates as a cover- 

 ing for roofs. 



The Rimu is used for such work as requires a more durable 

 wood, and for the making of superior furniture, the wood being 

 much harder and more difficult to work, than that of the 

 Kahikatea, while its beautiful colour renders it very suitable for 

 ordinary cabinet work. 



Varieties of the acacia, called Kowai by the natives, supply 

 timber which is specially adapted for the making of pales and 

 fencing, and which is as durable as Knglish oak ; and there are 

 many varieties of trees suitable for .ill purposes. 



It is, however, in reference to that which is mentioned as the 

 " Makia " that I think it worth while to trouble you, as I believe 

 that I may be able to suggest what the word so referred to really 

 is. I know of no tree or shrub so called, but Manuka, pronounced 

 Manooka, is the name of the tree from which thenaiives in 

 former times used to make all sorts of implements, especially the 

 spears, which formed at once the weapons and the sceptres of 

 the chiefs. That hardly deserves to be called a (orest-tree, as it 

 rarely attains any great size. 



It belongs, I believe, to the family of " Diosma," and its wood 

 is used to make axe-handles, ramrods for guns, iSrc. The leaves 

 have a pleasant aromatic odour, and an infusion of them forms 

 a passable substitute for tea, to which we were frequently glad 

 to resort in the early times of New Zealand settlements. The 

 fresh twigs form an elastic couch, \\ hich constituted our favourite 

 bed on explorirg parties and in temporary dwellings. 



Braintrce, Nov. 20 William Davison 



The Food of Plants 



Your reviewer takes exception to my empirical description of 

 carbonic acid in " Notes on the F'ood of Plants," p. 23. I readily 

 admit — and I should have thought it was unnecessary to do so — 

 that to describe carbonic acid as "carbon dio.xide combined with 

 water " is not strictly correct ; but I think it is much more likely 

 that I should have led my unscientific readers astray, had I ex- 

 plained, in more accurate language, the supposed composition of 

 this acid. Cuthbert C. Grundy 



The Germ Theory of Disease 

 In Nature, October 5, p. 450, Prof. Bastian, versus the 

 Germ Theory, says:— "Such germs when present would be 

 sure to go on increasing until they brought about the death of 

 their host." Now, is it not well known that the larv.-e of 

 'Jriiiniin spiralis become encysted in the muscles of the animal 

 infested by them, and are then perfectly harmless to their host, 

 the fever, sometimes with fatal results, being produced by the 



* Aus dem Ixiv. Bande der Sitzb. dcr k. Akad. dcr Wissensch. II. Ablh. 

 Oct.-Heft. Jahrg. 1871. 



migration of the p.arasites from the alimentary canal through the 

 tissues to their favourite muscles. 



Is it necessary, for the support of the germ theory, that the 

 organism must be found in the Mood ? 



George Da\vs->n 



Balbriggan, Ireland, Nov. 20 



The Origin of Species 



Some mouths since a letter appeared in Nature, asking the 

 author of the article on "The Origin of .Species," published in 

 the North British Rei'iai\ 1S67, to explain the following p.assage 

 which occurs in the article : — " A million creatures are born ; 

 ten tliousand survive to produce oflsprlng. One of the million 

 has twice as good a chance as any other of surviving, but the 

 chances zxt fifty to one against the gifted individuals being one 

 of the /;;/«</> (i/ .survivors." There is an error in this passage ; 

 the word " hundred " should be altered to "ten thousand." I 

 jiresume that with this correction the writer of the letter will 

 have nu difficulty in following the argument. I am much obUged 

 to him for drawing my attention to the slip. 



The Author of the .Article 



NEW VOLCANO IN THE PHILIPPINES 



'T^HE island of Camiguin is situated to the north of 

 J- Mindanao, at some six or eight miles from the 

 coast, is only a few miles in circuinference, and consists 

 principally of high land. On the slopes and in the valleys 

 is grown a large quantity of one of the most important 

 staples of the Archipelago, the well-known Manila Hemp 

 — the fibre of the Miisa textilis. 



On the first of May, 1871, after a series of violent 

 earthquakes, a volcano burst out in a valley near the sea. 

 The earth is said to have swelled, cracked, and then opened, 

 ejecting large quantities of stones, sand, and ashes, but no 

 liquid lava. The mischief done by the eruption was 

 hmited to a small area of two or three miles in extent, 

 and the loss of life did not exceed eighty or ninety per- 

 sons, who might have escaped if they had been less 

 anxious to save their little property. 



As the eruption and volcanic disturbances continued for 

 some time, the alarmed natives abandoned the island in 

 great numbers, and took refuge in the neighbouring islands 

 of Mindanao, Bohol, &c., from which, after some weeks, 

 the eruption having subsided, most of them returned. 

 During the month of June the volcano ejected smoke and 

 scoria, which latter are said to have been slowly pushed 

 up as it were out of the crater, sliding down the sides over 

 an underlying mass of fine grey ashes which were thrown 

 out in the first instance ; and a feeble action has continued 

 by the latest accounts (August). 



The eruption, instead of bursting from the top or sides 

 of the higher hills, occurred in a valley between two spurs 

 of high land near the sea and in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of one of the principal villages, which the inha- 

 bitants abandoned, and do not seem disposed to re- 

 occupy, though the damage done there was trifling. 



As is usual here, the stories circulated were of the most 

 exaggerated kind, and it is only by sifting and comparing 

 the accounts of reliable eye-witnesses that I have been 

 able to write an account at all worthy of attention. The 

 observations made by two intelligent persons, who visited 

 the island expressly for the purpose, have furnished the 

 materials for this memorandum. The accounts as to the 

 height of the cone are mere guesses — from 300 to 1,500 

 feet. H.M. surveying steamer Nassau, Captain Chimmo, 

 is said to have visited the island in June, and we may 

 therefore hope for a careful and scientific account of this 

 phenomenon. 



The present year has been remarkable for the extent 

 and frequency of earthquakes over the whole of the Archi- 

 pelago, though, with the exception of the case of Camiguin, 

 they were not followed by any very serious consequences. 



Manila, Sept. 25 Wm. W. Wood 



