582 



NATURE 



[October 13, 1904 



In its September issue, the Field Naturalists' Quarterly 

 publishes the first two of a series of plates (reproduced from 

 photog-raphs) illustrative of the development of the frog. 

 Among the other contents, we may allude to an illustrated 

 article by Miss O. Hill un the acquisition of a portion of 

 Ullswater for the nation, and to the fifth part of Mr. J. L. 

 Kershaw's " The Naturalist in China," which is illustrated 

 with exquisite portraits of the " rainbird " and the Chinese 

 francolin. 



The South-Eastcni Naturalisl for the current year con- 

 tains Mr. F. W. Rudler's presidential address to the South- 

 Eastern Union of Scientific Societies, in which, after allusion 

 to several points connected with the geology of the district, 

 reference is made to the future of these and similar bodies. 

 Now that many local societies have been relieved of the 

 custody and up-keep of their museums by the county 

 councils, it has been suggested that their work is practically 

 over, and that they should prepare for winding-up their 

 affairs. With this the president does not agree, pointing out 

 that local societies have plenty to do in cataloguing the 

 natural history and archasological products of their respective 

 districts, to say nothing of recording the meteorology. The 

 volume includes notes on the Lepidoptera of mid-Kent by 

 Captain Savile Reid, and a list of localities for uncommon 

 plants by Mr. W. H. Griffin. 



Parts ii. and iii. of the thirty-second volume of Gegen- 

 baur's " Morphologisches Jahrbuch " contain several im- 

 portant papers on vertebrate morphology. In the first of 

 these Dr. K. Kjellberg reopens the question of the homology 

 of the various elements in the articular region of the jaw 

 of mammals and sauropsidans, devoting special attention to 

 the meniscus of cartilage found between the mandibular 

 condyle and the glenoid cavity of the squamosal in many 

 mammals. The author considers that the quadrate of 

 sauropsidans represents the incus of mammals, and the 

 articular of the former the malleus of the latter. The 

 mammalian meniscus is, on the other hand, to a great 

 degree a new element, since it is formed by the cutting off 

 of the upper part of the external pterygoid muscle as it 

 passes between the jaw-articulation to the malleus (its con- 

 nection in the Sauropsida being with the articular). In 

 another article Dr. A. Schumann points out the curious 

 parallelism between the osteology of the hind-leg of the 

 jerboa and that of birds. In a third Prof. H. Dexler describes 

 the histology of the central nervous system of ungulates, 

 while in a fourth Messrs. Fleischmann and Blendiger discuss 

 the cribriform bones of the nasal cavity of mammals. A fifth 

 article, by Dr. U. Bohi, is devoted to the study of the 

 visceral cavity and genital appendages of the salmon. 



Ix the third part of vol. Ixxvii. of the Zeitschrift fur 

 wissenschaftliche Zoologic Mr. L. Freund describes in detail 

 the osteology of the flippers of the dugong as displayed in 

 " sciograph " pictures, of which several are reproduced in 

 the plates accompanying the article. It has long been 

 known that the carpus of the adult consists of three large 

 bones. Of the two in the first row, the one is now shown 

 to consist of the fused radiale and intermedium, and the 

 other of the ulnare plus the pisiform and the fifth carpale, 

 the distal bone being composed of the four inner carpalia. 

 In the manati the reduction of the carpus has been carried 

 to a less extent, the radiale being in some instances distinci 

 from the intermedium, while in other cases in which these 

 two bones are fused the four4nner carpalia remain separate. 

 Studies in the oligochai'te worms by Mr. A. Ditlevsen,' and 

 mvestigations into the development of the eye of the bee 

 by .Mr. O. Dickel, complete the contents of this number. 

 NO. 1824, VOL. 70] 



In the fourth and concluding number of the same volume 

 special reference may be made to a richly illustrated article 

 by Dr. E. .Mascha on the minute structure and development 

 of the flight-feathers of birds. It is specially noteworthy 

 that cells of two types are found in the medulla of the 

 quills, those of one type being very common, while those 

 of the second occur in the owls and the nightjars — a feature 

 confirming the alliance of these two groups. Elaborate 

 diagrams of the different types of feather-structure character- 

 istic of various groups illustrate the memoir. 



.'\ PRICE list of botanical apparatus has been recently re- 

 ceived from Messrs. Gallenkamp, Sun Street. Finsbury 

 Square. The apparatus required for plant physiology is a 

 special feature, and the various pieces have been prepared 

 in accordance with Detmer's practical book. A particularly 

 useful item is a standard barometer which is priced at 

 jil. ys. 6d., working on the Fortin principle. 



The latest number of the Records of the Botanical Survey 

 of India, vol. iii.. No. i, contains an account by Captain 

 .A. T. Gage of the vegetation of the district of Minbu, in 

 L'pper Burma. The district shows three distinct regions, 

 a mountainous zone of the -Arracan Yomahs and parallel 

 ridges, an alluvial belt fringing the Irawaddy, most of 

 which is under cultivation, and an intermediate desert zone, 

 which lies between the two former. The systematic census 

 is confined to the plants collected on an expedition which 

 only extended over one month. .A list of econnniic and 

 medicinal plants is appended. 



The exact nature and purpose of the spines which 

 bristle on the surface of so many Cactaceas and similar 

 .xerophytes must have puzzled many observers and have not 

 been satisfactorily determined. Dr. Darbishire takes up 

 this subject in the Annals of Botany (July), and bases his 

 views on an investigation of Mamillaria elongata. His 

 conclusions do not coincide with previous explanations, but 

 he gives reasons for maintaining that the tubercle, from 

 which the spines arise, represents a leaf base, and possibly 

 also a part of the stem, while the spines are modified portions 

 of the leaf-blade, and act as a paraheliode or screen against 

 excess of sunlight. 



We have received from the Deutsche Seewarte the results 

 of meteorological observations made at selected stations for 

 the lustrum 1896-1900, and for the twenty-five years 1S76- 

 igoo. The results for each lustrum, from 1876 to 1895, 

 have been previously published ; the present volume differs 

 from those which have already appeared by giving the dates 

 on which the extreme values were observed. A table has 

 also been added showing the average number of days in 

 each month, and for each station, on which the rainfall has 

 exceeded 02 mm. (0008 inch). The work is a valuable 

 contribution to the climatology of the German Empire. 



At the jubilee meeting of the Central Meteorological 

 Office of Vienna on October 26, igoi, the Minister of Public 

 Instruction promised that the meteorological results of the 

 previous fifty years should be published in a monumental 

 work, giving an exhaustive representation of the climate 

 of the various parts of the .\ustrian Empire. The first 

 portion, dealing with the climatology of Lower .Austria, 

 has been published by the \ienna Meteorological Office, 

 and has been prepared by Hofrath Dr. Hann, formerly 

 director of the Austrian .Meteorological Service, to 

 serve as a pattern for the future discussion, on 

 a uniform plan, of the meteorology of the fifteen other 

 provinces. It is obvious that such a gigantic work would 

 be beyond the powers of any one individual, and it is also 

 desirable that the discussions relating to various districts 



