July 7, 1904] 



NATURE 



229 



tribution by the Rev. F. H. Jackson, of H.M.S. Irresistible, 

 to the Edinburgh Transactions (xli., i), and deals with 

 generalisations of certain expansions in terms of Bessel 

 functions. 



In the Atli (.x.xxvi., 2) of the College of Engineers 

 of Milan, Dr. G. Finzi and Dr. Nicola Soldati describe 

 some interesting experiments on the resistance of bodies 

 moving through air, which should have an important 

 application to the problem of aerial navigation. The chief 

 point of interest consists in the application of the so-called 

 " manometric " method as opposed to the ordinary "dynamo- 

 metric " method, whereby the present writers have deter- 

 mined the pressure at different points of planes, aerocurves, 

 cylinders and spheres, instead of merely measuring the 

 intensity of the resultant thrusts. For determinations of 

 the variations in the position of the line of action and centre 

 of pressure, such calculations should be of great value, and 

 it is largely in these determinations that the solution of 

 every problem in aerial navigation must lie. A gold medal 

 has been awarded to the authors. 



The March number of the "iilemoires of the Physical and 

 Natural History Society of Geneva contains a general report 

 of the work of the society for 1903 drawn up by the presi- 

 dent, M. Paul van Berchem. The society has completed 

 a new agreement with the municipal authorities, superseding 

 the old agreement of 1855, which will afford the members 

 additional facilities for the use of the town library, in which 

 the publications of the society are deposited. Obituary 

 notices are given of M. Alphonse Pictet, the traveller ; of M. 

 Th^odor von Heldreich, the botanist; and of M. Thtedore 

 de Saussure. Profs. Ren^ Blondlot (Nancy) and Walther 

 Spring (Lifege) have been elected honorary members, and 

 the Mimoires include an important paper by Marc Micheli 

 on the Leguminosae collected in the Mexican States by 

 Eugene Langlass^. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt of three fasciculi 

 (Nos. 1376-8) of the Proceedings of the U.S. National 

 Museum. In the first of these Mr. H. G. Dyar catalogues 

 the Lepidoptera of the Kootenai district of British Columbia, 

 while in the second Messrs. Jordan and Snyder publish notes 

 on fishes collected in Oahu and Laysan Islands, of the 

 Hawaii group, with descriptions of new species. 



In the Atlantic Monthly for June, Mr. T. C. Smith re- 

 cords the results of his efforts to reproduce in musical nota- 

 tion the song of the various local phases of the American 

 bird commonly known as the wood-thrush. The score will 

 not enable the musician to reproduce the actual timbre of 

 the song, all that it attempts being to symbolise roughly 

 the tones of the musical scale to which the notes of the 

 bird appro.ximate. 



The Hon. Walter Rothschild has presented to the British 

 (Natural History) Museum a female of the basking shark 

 (Cetorhinus, or Sclaclic, maximus) from Bergen, which has 

 been set up by Messrs. Brazenor Brothers, of Brighton, and 

 measures 265 feet in length. The new specimen has re- 

 placed the male which has for some years been exhibited 

 in the fish gallery, and is now somewhat the worse for 

 wear. The male measures 28 feet, and is mounted with 

 the mouth open, while Mr. Rothschild's specimen is shown 

 with the jaws closed. 



The Field-Naturalists' Quarterly for June is a good 

 number, containing interesting articles on British social 

 wasps, protective coloration in plumage, and on the means 

 of recognising our commoner birds. Mr. Aflalo also con- 

 tributes a paper on south coast museums, which, if a little 

 NO. I 8 10, VOL. 70] 



wide of the scope of the journal, conveys some useful in- 

 formation on their contents. The editor takes occasion to 

 urge that in future the British Association should assign 

 either a day in each of the sections devoted to subjects in 

 which the field-naturalist is interested, or a special section 

 to field natural history. 



Birmingham University has issued an exhaustive report, 

 by Mr. W. E. CoUinge, on the " big-bud " disease which 

 of late years has played such havoc among black-currant 

 bushes in this country. The disease is produced by the 

 black-currant gall-mite {Eriophyes ribis), the larvae of which 

 display unrivalled powers of spreading themselves over 

 plantations. Although some success has attended the use 

 of soap and sulphur spray, the author is of opinion that 

 growers must rely largely on the aid of natural enemies of 

 the pest, or on root and branch extermination of the affected 

 bushes. 



The Zoologist for June contains an interesting paper by 

 Mr. J. H. Gurney on birds and bird-migration in Norfolk 

 and the east coast generally in 1903. .'\s regards migration, 

 it is pointed out that the prevalence of east winds is an 

 'mportant factor in producing an influx of visitors to this 

 country, and also that while birds may leave Norway with 

 a favourable wind en route for England, they are often 

 driven from their course by encountering contrary breezes 

 as they cross the North Sea. A notable incursion of wax- 

 wings during the year affords occasion for the remark that 

 these birds do not visit England on account of excessive 

 cold, but come under the category of late occasional 

 migrants. Other rarities include a young sea-eagle, a 

 flock of Nyroca ducks, half a dozen spoonbills, an avocet, 

 and a blue water-hen. Spoonbills have made their appear- 

 ance on the east coast continuously since 1897, and hopes 

 are now entertained that they may once more breed in this 

 country. To the same journal Mr. G. Renshaw contributes 

 notes on the Amsterdam Zoological Gardens, in the course 

 of which he repeats his mis-statement that the mounted 

 quagga in the museum came from Knowsley. 



In the report for 1903, the trustees of the South -African 

 Museum take occasion to direct attention to the apathy 

 displayed by the wealthy residents of South Africa to the 

 institution under their charge, thereby presenting a re- 

 grettable contrast to their fellow millionaires in the United 

 States. During the last twenty years all that the museum 

 has received in the way of bequest and donation is the 

 paltry sum of 295L, of which lool. was given by an Indian 

 gentleman. So far as its limited means permit, the museum 

 appears to be making steady progress. — During the past 

 year, according to the report, the attention of the staff of 

 the Horniman .Museum was largely directed to the develop- 

 ment of the aquaria and vivaria which form such an 

 attractive feature of that institution. A large number of 

 British marine, land, and fresh-water animals have been 

 from time to time on show during the year in the tanks 

 and cases. Dr. Haddon's series of lectures appears to have 

 been fairly well attended. — In the report of the Marlborough 

 College Natural History Society, the secretary has to deplore 

 the disastrous effect of the wet summer of 1903 on collect- 

 ing and field-work generally, which has made itself felt 

 in a decline of membership. The one compensation was 

 the abundance of land molluscs, which was taken advantage 

 of to compile a list of the local fauna. In other respects the 

 society continues to flourish. 



In Nature of February 11 (p. 349) we gave some par- 

 ticulars of the great rock-slide which occurred last year at 

 Frank, in .\lberta Territory, Canada. A full and interest- 



