MarcH 31, 1904 | 
NATURE 
519 
include such explorers as MM. Knipovitch and Lebedintseff, 
well known by their explorations of the White and the Black 
Seas. The chief aim of the expedition is the hydro- 
biological exploration of the Caspian Sea and the biology 
of the Caspian herring 
Tue Memoirs of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists 
(botanical section, vol. xxiii.) continue to bring out new 
fascicules of the valuable work, ‘* Flora Caucasica Critica,”’ 
by MM. N. Kuznetsoff, N. Busch, and A. Fomin. The 
descriptions of the species and varieties are given in Latin, 
as also all the indexes and the indications concerning the 
geographical areas of each species; but the remarks added 
to the above, sometimes extremely interesting, as also 
the introductory notes to each family, are in Russian. 
Tue identification of Mexican and Central American plants 
is receiving special attention from workers in the Gray 
Herbarium of Harvard University. Mr. J. R. Johnston has 
contributed to the Proceedings of the American Academy of 
Arts and Sciences a revision of the genus Flaveria, which 
belongs to the order Composite. This genus may be de- 
scribed as Mexican, but is not confined to the country. In 
a paper published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society 
of Natural History, Mr. B. L. Robinson also deals with 
plants collected in Mexico and Central America, and describes 
several new species, amongst others, for the genera Eupa- 
torium, Mikania and Mimosa. 
AmonGst the plants forwarded from British New Guinea 
by the Lieutenant-Governor to Mr. F. Bailey, the colonial 
botanist in Queensland, to be named by him, the more 
interesting are a species of Citrus which seems to be suit- 
able for a graft-stock; a euphorbiaceous plant, Baccaurea 
papuana, which, as in the case of other species of the genus, 
provides edible flowers and fruit; and Pongamia glabra, a 
leguminous plant, of which the leaves and seeds are known 
to possess therapeutic properties. The recent additions to 
the flora of Queensland made by Mr. Bailey have either been 
incorporated into his book direct or have appeared in the 
Qveensland Agricultural Journal, but a Bulletin was issued 
‘last year by the Department of Agriculture which contains 
a list of newly recorded fungi. 
WE are glad to see that Mr. Thompson, who has so long 
held the office of deputy superintendent and head-keeper in 
the Gardens of the Zoological Society, has been rewarded 
with the society’s silver medal in recognition of his con- 
spicuous success in the management of the animals under 
his charge. 
Nos. 4 and 5 of the first volume of the Physiological 
Publications of the University of California contain reports 
of two addresses—one by Prof. W. Ostwald on the relations 
of biology and the neighbouring sciences, and the other by 
Prof. J. Loeb on the limits of biological research—delivered 
at the dedication of the Rudolph Spreckel Physiological 
Laboratory in August last. 
JupcinG from its thirty-seventh report (for last year), that 
admirable institution, the Rugby School Natural History 
Society, continues to enjoy a flourishing career, and to be 
well supported by the members of the school. Among its 
contents is an illustrated paper by Mr. J. C. F. Fryer on 
British thrushes, admirable in general plan, but in which 
the author seems in certain instances to use the term 
“* genus ’’ where he means “‘ group.’’ 
Tue Naturalist for February contains a reproduction (from 
the Transactions of the Entomological Society) of one of 
Prof. Poulton’s beautiful and instructive plates illustrating 
NO. 1796, VOL. 69] 
the colour adaptations of caterpillars to their surroundings 
under artificial conditions. Among the contents of the 
March number of the same serial is a description, by Mr. 
C. T. Trechman, of flint implements of Neolithic age dis- 
covered on the coast of Durham. 
IN a note on the osteology of some berychoid fishes (the 
group typified by the members of the family Berychide, or 
slime-heads), published in the Proceedings of the U.S. 
National Museum (No. 1366), Mr. E. C. Starks directs atten- 
tion to a distinctive feature of the occipital region of the 
skull. In ordinary percoid fishes the basioccipital forms a 
concave surface with a deep pit in the centre, while the ex- 
occipitals are small and in most cases separate, and pre- 
sent flat oblique facets for the atlas vertebra. In the 
berychoids, on the other hand, the exoccipitals are large, 
extensively in contact in the middle line, and form with the 
basioccipital a regularly concave surface for the atlas. It 
may be added that in calling this surface a ‘* concave 
condyle,’’ the author utterly traverses the etymological 
significance of «évdvAos, which signifies a convex knuckle. 
WE have received from the secretary the abstract of a 
paper read at a meeting of the Society for Psychical Re- 
search on March 21 by Dr. Albert Wilson. It is interesting 
as containing an account of a patient who suffered at the 
age of 123 years from influenza, followed by meningitis, and 
in consequence developed a multiple personality. The case 
appears to be strictly analogous to similar cases already 
reported (e.g. James’s ‘‘ Psychology,” p. 383 sqq-), except 
that the ‘‘ personalities ’’ attained the unusual number ten. 
Such cases are usually hypnotic; in this instance Dr. Wilson 
lays stress on the dependence of the various states on the 
comparative activity of different cortical layers. Dr. Wilson 
suggests that the brain may be composed of “‘ districts, each 
district representing a personality or small ego’’; we agree 
with him that ‘‘ the whole subject requires more extended 
investigation,’’ and the case he describes is certainly an 
important datum. 
HaLr-voLuME vi. of the ‘ Natural History of Animals,”’ 
by Prof. J. R. Ainsworth-Davis, has now been published 
by the Gresham Publishing Company, of London. this 
part, of what is a very well illustrated publication, deals 
largely with animal development and animal life-histories. 
A NeW catalogue has been issued by Mr. Thomas D. 
Russell, of 78 Newgate Street, London, E.C., giving full 
particulars of collections to illustrate lectures and demon- 
strations in geology, physiography, and mineralogy, as well 
as of all material required by prospectors and mining 
engineers. The collections prepared to accompany instruc- 
tion from well-known text-books of these subjects of natural 
science should be a great convenience to teachers. 
Messrs. MAcMILLAN AND Co., Lrp., have published several 
separate parts of ‘“‘ A School Geometry,”’ by Messrs. Hall 
and Stevens, already reviewed in these columns. We have 
received the following volumes :—parts i.-iv., containing 
the substance of Euclid Books i.-iv., price 3s.; parts ili.— 
iv., containing the substance of Euclid Books ii. and iii., 
and part of Book iv., price 1s. 6d.; and parts iv.—v., con- 
taining the substance of Euclid Books ii., iii, 35-37, and 
Book vi., price 2s. 
WE have received a copy of the new edition of the full 
catalogue of general testing and scientific instruments 
manufactured by Messrs. Nalder Bros. and Co., of West- 
niinster. ‘This profusely illustrated volume should prove of 
real assistance to teachers of science responsible for the 
equipment of physical laboratories, and, as it is five years 
