Marcu 17, 1904] 
NATORE 
in plura dirimi debet, tum nomen antea commune mane bit 
vulgatissimze et officinali plantae. 
It must be evident that when Fabricius removed Cimex 
lectularius from Cimex and placed it in a new genus 
Acanthia, he disregarded the rules of Linnzeus, and his 
classification in this instance was rejected by Latreille and 
by many later writers. What would be thought of a 
naturalist who proposed to remove the dog from the Linnzean 
genus Canis, and to retain that generic name for the hyena, 
which was included in the genus by Linnzus? According 
to Mr. Kirkaldy’s contention this is the nomenclature we 
should be bound to adopt by the ‘‘ rule of priority ’’ if the 
individual who proposed the absurdity happened to be the 
first to divide the original genus. 
Mr. Kirkaldy has not pointed out in what respect 
C. lectularius does not conform to the description of the 
genus Cimex as set forth by the founder. He probably 
refers to the mention of four wings amongst the generic 
characters, C. lectularius being apterous or nearly so. 
The objection is invalid in view of the facts already stated, 
and of the inclusion of the species in the genus by Linnzeus, 
who prominently recorded the absence of wings in this case. 
The subordinate question as to the type of Acanthia has 
been discussed ad nauseam. Anyone who feels interested 
in the matter will find a full history by Reuter in the Wiener 
Entomologische Zeitung, vol. i., 1882, p. 301. By an 
argument rather different from that above given, Reuter 
came to the same conclusion as to the type of Cimex. Mr. 
Kirkaldy’s last proposal, to use Clinocoris for C. lectularius, 
is a curious illustration of his method. Clinocoris was 
suggested in the ‘‘ Hemiptera Sueciz ’’ as a name to be sub- 
stituted for the Fabrician Acanthia, because ‘“‘ forsan 
convenientius judicabitur nomen Clinocoris.’’ But this sub- 
stitution of one name for another on the score of convenience 
is absolutely in defiance of the ‘‘ rule of priority.”’ 
W. T. B. 
Spawning of the Plaice. 
Tue plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in the open-air pond 
at the Port Erin Biological Station started spawning on 
March 3, and those at the Piel (Lancashire) Sea-Fish 
Hatchery (under cover) on March 1. This is about a week 
earlier than last year (March g). It would be interesting 
to know how this record compares with that of fish in the 
sea. At the time of writing I have no returns that will 
give the information for the Irish Sea, though I hope to 
know later. Probably the officials of the International 
Investigation will be able to speak of the condition in the 
North Sea, and those of the Plymouth Biological Station in 
regard to the English Channel. W. A. HERDMaAN. 
Liverpool, March 8. 
Preliminary Measurement of the Short Wave-lengths 
discovered by Schumann. 
For the past few years the writer has been engaged in 
an attempt to measure the short wave-lengths discovered 
by Dr. Victor Schumann, and very recently the attempt 
has proved successful. 
Working in an atmosphere of hydrogen with a concave 
grating ruled on speculum metal, an “‘ end-on’’ tube filled 
with hydrogen gives numerous lines below the aluminium 
group at 1854 Angstrém units. 
The shortest of these wave-lengths so far observed by the 
writer has a value 1206 Angstrom units. Thus the measur- 
able spectrum has been extended by 648 units. 
It is interesting to note that, contrary to expectation, 
speculum metal is able to reflect these very short wave- 
lengths to a considerable degree. 
The writer has in preparation a complete list of the new 
wave-lengths. He has also good hopes of still further ex- 
tending the spectrum. THEODORE LYMAN. 
Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, 
February 29. 
Women and Sanitary Science. 
In your issue of February 11 a reference was made to a 
recent report of the Subcommittee on Technical Instruction 
for Women appointed by the Technical Education Board 
of the London County Council, quoting one of the recom- 
NO. 1794, VOL. 69] 
465 
mendations of the committee that ‘‘ Classes be established 
for the training of women in hygiene and sanitation with a 
view to their taking up the occupation of sanitary, work- 
shop or public health inspectors, or of rent collectors.”’ 
May I urge in this connection the great importance of 
all training in hygiene and sanitation being thoroughly 
scientific in character and based upon practical teaching in 
chemistry, physics, physiology, and bacteriology ? 
‘“ Hygiene,”’ to quote Dr. T. M. Legge, H.M. Medical 
Inspector of Factories, ‘‘is not a science in itself, but is 
the meeting point where several exact sciences widely dis- 
tinct from each other meet and yield up that element they 
possess which can be of practical use in the prevention of 
disease and the preservation of health.” 
At every turn the inspector or health worker is brought 
face to face with facts which can only be appreciated in 
their true light by a person who has had some considerable 
scientific training, and the greater their scientific know- 
ledge the more enlightened and efficient will their work be. 
Bedford College in 1895 established a scientific course in 
hygiene for women. While amply providing for the 
necessary practical demonstrations in hygiene proper, we 
continue to attach great importance to laboratory work in 
chemistry, physics, physiology, and bacteriology, as we 
believe the latter to be essential to a thorough teaching of 
hygiene, and necessary if women are to have a first-hand 
knowledge of the subject and become intelligent and effective 
workers. ETHEL Hurvpatt. 
Bedford College for Women, York Place, Baker Street, W- 
Aérial Tubers on the Potato. 
I po not know whether the appearance of tubers on the 
stems of potatoes as well as underground is a frequent 
occurrence, but last season I noticed several plants pre- 
senting this appearance. One of the plants had a large 
number of underground tubers as well as those appearing 
above ground. The abnormal tubers were purple in colour ; 
each one had several ‘‘ eyes,’’ and one or two minute green 
leaves showed in each ‘“‘ eye.’’ The garden is a very stiff 
clay. The season was very wet as the potatoes were 
maturing; in fact, the ground was too soft to allow of 
digging at the proper time. My explanation is that the 
great quantity of water on the ground destroyed the balance 
between producing power in the leaves and storage power 
in the normal tubers, and that the surplus production de- 
posited itself in the stems, which at the selected spots 
became modified tubers. W. TRAYLEN. 
Guildford, Western Australia, January 28. 
Tue appearance of tubers on the haulm in the axils of 
the leaves is not uncommon, and as the bud and the tuber 
are homologous, the circumstance is only what might be 
expected. 
In this country it is generally considered that some 
injury to the subterranean part of the plant, as by the spade 
or fork, or perhaps by wire worm or other destructive in- 
sect, is the inducing cause of the production of aérial tubers. 
I am, however, not aware whether this has been demon- 
strably proved. M. T. M. 
March 8. 
THE CEYLON PEARL FISHERIES AND 
THEIR ADMINISTRATION.* 
VERY remarkable feature of the Ceylon pearl 
fisheries has been their uncertainty and inter- 
mittent character. Thus only thirty-six fisheries took 
place during the nineteenth century, or, put in another 
way, for just half a century the fishery banks lay 
barren. These blank years sometimes followed one 
another in dreary succession, as may be seen from the 
fact that for seventeen years—from 1837 to 1854—and 
again for nine years—from 1864 to 1873—practically no 
fishing was done. For a decade before the investi- 
gation embodied in this report was begun the beds lay 
1 “* Report to the Government of Ceylon on the Pearl Oyster Fisheries of 
the Gulf of Manaar.” By W. A. Herdman, D.Sc., F.R.S., &c. Part 
Pp. xii+307. (London: Royal Society, 1993.) 
