June 9, 1904] 



NA TURE 



139 



interesting- paper on the Pali and Sanslirit texts by Prof. 

 T. W. Rhys Davids. Judging from the other articles, this 

 new journal should pcrlorin a useful service in clearly point- 

 ing out the true nature of Buddhism. In common with 

 other religions, Buddhism has many extraneous local beliefs 

 and practises grafted upon it from which it requires to be 

 pruned. The foreigner too often does not distinguish 

 between these two elements, and from this point of view- 

 alone the review will perform a useful task. 



The brilliant work done by Prof. G. Elliot Smith on the 

 mammalian brain is acknowledged by all anatomists, and 

 they will eagerly look forward to the memoir (which is 

 based on the examination of more than 400 human brains, 

 and of an almost equallv large series of simian cerebral 

 hemispheres) that is shortly to be published as vol. ii. of 

 the ■' Records of the Egyptian Government School of 

 Medicine." A summary of the main conclusions is published 

 in the Anaioynischcn Anzeiger, Band xxiv. p. 436. The 

 most striking result of this investigation is the demon- 

 stration of the fact that the sulci called " calcarine " in 

 most human and all simian brains respectively are not 

 strictly homologous. The so-called " calcarine fissure " of 

 the apes is a complete involution of the whole mesial part 

 of the area striata, fossa striata occipitalis, whereas the 

 similarly named furrow in the human brain consists in most 

 cases of anterior and posterior parts which are genetically 

 distinct, the anterior part being the anterior limiting sulcus 

 of the mesial area striata, sulcus prasstriatus, and the 

 posterior part a mere depression in (not a complete infold- 

 ing of) the mesial area striata, sulcus intrastriatus. 



Those interested in human craniology are aware that 

 Prof. Sergi, of Rome, has inveighed against the cephalic 

 index, and has introduced a new nomenclature for describ- 

 ing skulls by inspection. Several English anthropologists 

 recognise that the cephalic index has its uses and abuses, 

 but there is an indefiniteness about Prof. Sergi 's nomen- 

 clature, which besides is somewhat complicated, that 

 prevents them from adopting the latter to the exclusion of 

 the former method. As a matter of fact, they employ both 

 systems, but only make use of the simpler terms introduced 

 by the Italian anatomist. Dr. F. Frassetto has now applied 

 Prof. Sergi 's method to the anthropoid apes, and the follow- 

 ing are his main conclusions. The skull of the adult 

 chimpanzee is byrsoides rotundus, the less fully grown 

 skull is byrsoides cuneatus ; there is progressive reduction 

 in the cephalic index, 88 to 70. The skull of the adult 

 gorilla is byTSoides asciformis, while that of the young is 

 ■ellipsoides cuneatus; there is a similar reduction in the 

 cephalic ind«x during growth, and the average breadth is 

 less. On the whole the skull of the orang-utan is sphferoides 

 and platycephalus ; the cephalic index varies from 91 to 75. 

 Thus the Asiatic anthropoid tends to preserve the primitive 

 brachycephaly, while the African forms, especially the 

 gorilla, become dolichocephalic. The author directs atten- 

 tion to the essential brachycephaly of Asiatic man and the 

 dolichocephaly of African man. Pithecanthropus, however, 

 which he describes as byrsoides asciformis, " is a fossil form 

 of African anthropoid found in Asia." This short but 

 sug'eestive paper will be found in the tenth anniversary 

 volume of the ktli della Societd Romana di Anthropologia 

 <Rc.me, 1904.) A. C. H. 



INTERNATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY.' 

 "T^HIS first instalment of the observations of the inter- 

 national scheme of deep-sea investigation proves con- 

 clusively the unique value of the undertaking, launched 

 amid many difficulties, both for the advancement of the purely 

 scientific interests of marine zoology and meteorology, and 

 for their practical applications to matters of fisheries and 

 weather forecasting. It contains the numerical results of 

 the observations made during August, 1903, by ships sent 

 out specially by no less than ten countries — Belgium, 

 Germany, Denmark, England, Finland, Holland, Norway, 

 Russia, Sweden, and Scotland. The classification is that 

 01 the council, and we may ignore any question as to the 

 international relations of Sweden and Norway, Finland and 



1 "Conseil permanent international pour I'Exploration de la Mer." 

 Jiulletin des Resultats acquis pendant les Courses periodiques. No. i, 

 Aofit, 1903. 



Russia, or England and Scotland, and congratulate our- 

 selves on the fact that so many nationalities have been found 

 to agree to meet on neutral territory and to engage in a 

 uniform scheme of scientific research, as of happy omen. 



The Bulletin is divided into four sections, A, B, C and D. 

 Section A consists of a table of observations of the con- 

 dition of the atmosphere as to its temperature and move- 

 ment, and of the condition of the surface water as to its 

 temperature and salinity. The distributions disclosed by 

 the data are shown graphically on two maps, one on a scale 

 of I : 18,000,000, which includes the whole area, the Baltic, 

 the North Sea, the North Atlantic and the Arctic, and 

 another, on a scale of i : 6,000,000, giving the North Sea, 

 the English Channel, and the Baltic entrance, in more 

 detail. The maps contain much that is of supreme interest, 

 but it is greatly to be regretted that advantage has not 

 been taken of the skill and enthusiasm of the commanders 

 and officers of ships crossing the Atlantic in lower latitudes 

 to extend the maps into the region in which the explanation 

 of facts they show is to be looked for. 



In Section B we find the observations of temperature 

 and salinity at various depths. The salinities are deter- 

 mined by chlorine titration of water sainples collected, and 

 from these and the observed temperatures the specific 

 gravities in situ have been computed. These tables profess 

 a high degree of accuracy — temperatures to hundredths of 

 a degree, salinities to two places of decimals, and specific 

 gravities, in some cases, to six places — but it seems hardly 

 necessary to inquire whether all the figures given are 

 significant or not, or, if they are, whether it is worth while 

 to trouble about the necessary refinements when observ- 

 ations taken fi-om ships, the positions of which are scarcely 

 known to within a mile or two, on any day during a month, 

 are lumped together as if they were absolutely siinultaneous. 

 For in the end we obtain a series of sections which is 

 absolutely invaluable. Discussion of these sections is im- 

 possible in the space available here, and in any case it will 

 be better delayed until further bulletins provide material 

 for comparison. We may, however, instance as of special 

 interest the sections across the Faeroe-Shetland Channel 

 furnished by the Scottish Fishery Board, and the parallel 

 section from Bergen to Iceland of the Danish and 

 Norwegian observations. We are now in possession of a 

 number of sections in this region for different years, and 

 the constant change in the relation of the northward and 

 southward moving streams is a phenomenon of ever- 

 increasing interest. 



Section C contains the results of gas analyses of a number 

 of the samples collected by the German, Dutch, and Danish 

 vessels. It is to be hoped that the other nationalities will 

 join in this very important part of the work. The last 

 section is devoted to tables showing the distribution of 

 plankton. 



It is worth noting that four of these bulletins will con- 

 stitute one volume, for which the subscription is one pound. 



H. N. D. 



NO. 1806, VOL. yo] 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



CAMBRIDGE. — Mr. Beck, master of Trinity Hall, has been 

 elected Vice-Chancellor for the ensuing academical year. 



Prof. Howard Marsh has been approved for the degree 

 ct Master of Surgery. 



The Vice-Chancellor has published to the Senate a resolu- 

 tion unanimously passed by the Association of Chambers of 

 Commerce of the United Kingdom supporting the recent 

 communication from the council of the Royal Society, and 

 urging that steps be taken to " ensure that a knowledge 

 of science is recognised in schools and elsewhere as an 

 essential part of general education." 



The special syndicate appointed for the purpose report 

 in favour of the university granting a diploma in mining 

 engineering to members of the university who have com- 

 pleted six terms' residence, and have pursued an approved 

 course of theoretical and practical study in the subject. 



Prof. Swing's Rede lecture, on the structure of metals, 

 will be delivered in the anatomy and physiology lecture 

 room on (une 11 at 11.30 a.m. 



