January 28, 1904] 
NATURE 
297 
or July weather the number of small creatures harbouring 
in such a position as, say, a patch of rank herbage near 
water is truly astonishing. During the last ten years I 
have often visited such positions in heavy rain, and I am 
convinced that great mortality is caused, but I have not 
been able to satisfy myself whether this is due to drowning, 
burial in the soil, the impact of falling drops, or to some 
other cause or combination of causes. 
Over an area not subject to violent meteorological fluctu- 
ations, the fauna will assume a condition of equilibrium. 
Any sudden and wide departure from the mean conditions 
for the particular season of the year will have an immediate 
and profound effect. I venture to write, therefore, in the 
hope that someone will pay special attention to the effects 
of such periods of abnormal rainfall as we have had during 
the last few months. The subject does not appear to have 
received the attention it merits, and the inquiry might 
profitably be extended so as to cover other meteorological 
effects. W. Ruskin BUTTERFIELD. 
4 Stanhope Place, St. Leonards-on-Sea, January 17. 
Subjective Images, 
Tue letter on the above subject (p. 271) reminds me of 
one that I sent to Nature in 1871 (vol. iv. p. 122) describing 
a phenomenon complementary to that observed by Mer. 
Molloy. I was induced to write it in consequence of a 
communication by Mr. T. Ward (Nature, vol. iv. p. 68), 
who observed that the white chalk lines on a blackboard 
appeared to be blue when the sun was shining on his eyes ; 
I noticed that the printing in a book looked bright red 
when I was walking on a chalk road, the book being shaded 
by an umbrella. 
There appears to be a connection between the three 
phenomena, but I will not venture to suggest an explan- 
ation; possibly the persistence of colours may be different 
in different eyes. Herbert McLeop. 
January 23. 
IN response to Dr. Molloy’s appeal, I may mention that 
a correspondent of Work having asked the reason for the 
colours in Benham’s artificial spectrum top, I made, in the 
number fer April 6, 1895, a suggestion which is practically 
the same as his explanation. This was that the optic nerves 
which according to the Young-Helmholtz theory produce 
the sensation of violet, are the most easily excited of the 
three sets, and that those producing the sensation of green, 
having the greatest inertia, are least easily excited and re- 
tain the impression for a longer time than the other two. 
In the number of the same journal for January 11, 1896, 
other phenomena were cited which might be explained by 
the same hypothesis. ALEX. THURBURN. | 
Keith. 
Ir seems probable that the effect mentioned by Dr. Gerald 
Molloy in your issue of January 21 is the same effect—pro- 
duced in a different way—as that I spoke of in my letter 
published in Nature of January 14. 
In the instance he mentions we have black letters on a 
white marble slab, viewed by eyes in a partially dazzled state 
from the effect of strong sunlight. In the case to which 
I directed attention, these conditions are almost reproduced, 
viz. the blackened silver bromide on a white porcelain dish 
under a dazzling red light. Before the developing solution 
is added, the bromide under the red light appears as a grey 
powder in a white dish, but on adding the developing solu- 
tion it is blackened, and when the liquid is poured off the 
change from black to bright green may be conveniently 
observed. The angle at which the dish is viewed seems not 
to be without influence on the brightness of the colour. 
Under the best conditions the bromide has the appearance 
of masses of uncut emeralds. T. A. VAUGHTON. 
Ley Hill House, Sutton Coldfield, January 23. 
Abysmal Deposits. 
_I BELIEVE there is some difficulty in accounting for the 
difference in the distribution of living Foraminifera at the 
surface of the sea and of deposits of their skeletons at the 
bottom. As is well known, the abysmal deposits contain 
NO. 1787, VOL. 69] 
no Foraminifera, while the much vaster pelagic deposits 
consist chiefly of them. The difference in depth has 
suggested that in the case of the pelagic deposits the free 
carbonic acid in the water has not had time to dissolve the 
sinking skeleton, while it has had time before a skeleton 
can reach the greater depths occupied by the abysmal de- 
posits. But surely if this were the whole truth some effect 
would have been produced by the time the skeleton had 
sunk 2000 or 2500 fathoms or even less, so that it ought 
to be impossible to find, as we do, perfect skeletons in the 
globigerina ooze. 
I wish to suggest a theory which is new, so far as I 
know, viz. that solution does occur, but does not begin 
until the organic matter protecting the carbonate of lime 
has all putrefied away. Hence the solution may be begun 
and ended in the excess of depth which the abysmal parts 
of the ocean-bed have over the pelagic parts. 
H. Rosson. 
29 Hurlbutt Street, Newington Butts, S.E. 
Spelling Reform. 
In your review of Dr. Joseph Bowden’s ‘‘ Elements of 
the Theory of Integers,’’ there is included a severe con- 
demnation of the very moderate instalment of spelling re- 
form which the author appears to have introduced into his 
work. A discussion on the general question of spelling 
reform would, of course, not be suitable to your pages, and 
I therefore confine myself to making a respectful remon- 
strance against your reviewer’s sweeping condemnation of 
what I conjecture to be an attempt to remedy a few of the 
glaring inconsistencies and anomalies of the current English 
spelling. Other languages have, from time to time, re- 
formed their spelling so as to bring it more into harmony 
with the pronunciation, and this has been the case in our 
own time with German. It can scarcely be doubted that, 
sooner or later, the same will be the case with English. 
In that event the spellings you quote will certainly be 
adopted, with the exception of “‘ fixd,”” which will, of 
course, be spelt fixt. ie 1845 Sis 
Edinburgh, January 15. 
May I point out that Dr. Bowden’s book purports to deal 
with the ‘‘ Elements of the Theory of Integers,’’ and not 
with questions of spelling reform? Neither on the title-page 
nor in the preface does the author make any claim to 
address his work to those members of the community who 
prefer to have their thoughts expressed in a written 
language differing from that of their fellow beings. Fail- 
ing any such indication, it must be assumed that the work 
is intended to be read and criticised by English speaking 
and English writing readers of the present day, to whom 
the author’s spelling of the words in question must appear 
to be grossly incorrect. I quite agree with T. B. S. that 
‘4 discussion of the general question of spelling reform,”’ 
as exemplified by the modern German equivalent of red, 
would ‘“‘ not be suitable to your pages.”’ 
THE REVIEWER. 
RESEARCHES RELATING TO RADIUM. 
sip te year just passed has witnessed a widespread 
interest among all classes of people in Mme. 
Curie’s discovery of radium, and attention has been 
generally directed to the nature of the new property 
of matter which it exhibits to such a surprising 
degree. The far-reaching consequences of M. 
Becquerel’s discovery of radio-activity for the element 
uranium on our ideas with regard to the relations 
between energy and matter, although they have been 
long recognised by those immediately connected with 
the development of the subject, are now universally 
admitted. The million-fold more powerful radium 
appeals to the practical as well as to the academic 
imagination, and the problems raised by the new 
property have been brought into universal prominence. 
Owing to the excellent work of Giesel in improving 
the methods of extracting the new element from its 
