566 
NATURE 
[APRIL 14, 1904 
mentions in the preface, the rind fungus caused the damage 
to the canes in 1895, but this was overcome by the introduc- 
tion of a resistant variety. The root disease caused even 
greater disaster last year, and as so far no variety has been 
obtained which is resistant to its attack, the planter has to 
adopt more laborious and continuous measures of dealing 
with it. 
JupeinG from the fact of its having reached a third edition, 
Dr. Hoyle’s ‘‘ Handy Guide ’’ to the Manchester Museum 
appears to be highly appreciated by the class of visitors for 
which it is intended. 
Dr. R. W. SnuFELptT, in the January number of the 
American Naturalist, discusses the osteology and systematic 
position of the grebes and divers (Pygopodes). The author 
maintains his former opinion as to the probability of these 
birds being the descendants of toothed divers more or less 
closely allied to the American Cretaceous Hesperornis, the 
grebes exhibiting the most marked traces of this relation- 
ship. As the flightless Hesperornithidae themselves are 
doubtless the descendants of flying types, so, in the author’s 
opinion, our modern grebes and loons may, if they survive 
long enough, become in the course of ages modified into 
forms incapable of flight. 
Tue biological articles in the January number of the 
Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 
include an account of new Malayan plants by Mr. H. N. 
Ridley, a list of Bornean butterflies by Mr. R. Shelford, 
the description of certain Hymenoptera in the Raffles 
Museum at Singapore by Mr. P. Cameron, and notes by 
Mr. G. B. Cerruti on the Sakais of Batang Padang, Perak. 
Although it may be doubtful whether the forest aborigines 
whom the Malays designate Sakai are really true Negritos, 
Mr. Cerruti’s essay demonstrates that they are certainly 
of a very low grade, being destitute of either written records 
or of signs to represent language. 
In the American Naturalist Mr. R. S. Lull continues the 
“symposium ’’ on the adaptive modifications of mammals, 
taking for his text those induced by the exigencies of a 
cursorial mode of existence. Naturally the greatest modifi- 
cations occur in the limbs, but correlated with this is also 
an elongation of the head and neck in long-legged types. 
Adaptation for speed is further exhibited in the moulding 
of the shape of the body so as to present the minimum 
amount of resistance to the air, as well as in increase in 
heart and lung capacity to meet the extra expenditure of 
energy. Finally, in the jumping forms we meet with an 
increase in the length and weight of the tail, which has to 
act as a counterpoise. As regards the feet, a reduction in 
the number of digits is a frequent feature, more especially 
among the hoofed forms, where the culmination in this 
respect is attained by the existing members of the horse 
tribe and certain representatives of the extinct South 
American Proterotheriida, both of which are monodactyle. 
ACCORDING to the report of the Marine Biological Associ- 
ation of the West of Scotland for the past year, which is 
illustrated with a portrait of Sir John Murray, the station 
at Milford has undergone considerable enlargement and 
extension through the liberality of Mr. J. Coats, jun. Not- 
withstanding the building operations, which commenced in 
May last, the work of nearly all the departments shows an 
excellent record for the year. It is satisfactory to learn that 
Sir John Murray, who has filled the office of president for 
the last three years, has offered three prizes of 5o0l. each 
for papers on that number of subjects connected with the 
work of the association. The prizes are given in memory 
NO. 1798, VoL. 69] 
of the late Mr. F. P. Pullar, who was long associated with 
Sir John in the bathymetrical survey of the Scottish lochs, 
and who lost his life in an ice accident in February, 1go1. 
‘“ These prizes are open for competition to investigators 
from any part of the world who conduct observations in the 
several subjects at the Millport Marine Station, and who 
produce at any time before January 1, 1905, papers which, 
in the opinion of a committee of three scientific men, to be 
nominated by the Association and by Sir John Murray, shall 
be deemed to be of sufficient value to merit publication.” 
Pror. Lors, whose work on artificial parthenogenesis is 
well known, has recently succeeded in causing the fertilisa- 
tion of the egg of the sea-urchin by the sperm of the star- 
fish. This interesting result has been brought about by 
altering the constitution of the sea-water, preparing an 
artificial sea-water (NaCl 100, KCl 2-2, MgCl, 7-8, 
MgSO, 3-8, CaCl, 2 in half gram-molecular solution), and 
rendering it slightly allcaline with caustic soda (0-3-04 c.c. 
of deci-normal NaOH per 100 c.c. of the solution). In this 
some 50-80 per cent. of the sea-urchin (S. purpuratus and 
S. franciscanus) eggs may be fertilised in a short time by 
the addition of living sperm of a starfish (A. ochracea). The 
eggs form a membrane of fertilisation, and at the proper 
time segment and develop into swimming larve. The ulti- 
mate development of these hybrid larve has yet to be 
observed (University of California Publications, Physiology, 
vol. i., No. 6, 1903). 
Tue problem of the further development of Halteridium, 
a blood parasite of birds, and its definitive host has until 
now remained unsolved. Schaudinn has recently published 
an exhaustive paper on the cycle of development of a 
Halteridium of the little owl (Athene noctua). He traces 
the further development of the parasite in the middle in- 
testine of the common gnat, Culex pipiens, and finds that 
in this insect it becomes a well defined flagellated organism 
or trypanosoma. The male and female gametes conjugate 
in the mosquito, and certain of these cells develop into 
asexual trypanosomes, others into thick trypanosomes having 
female characters, and others into small slender trypano- 
somes having male characters. The parasites congregate 
in the poison-gland of the insect, whence they are injected 
into a fresh host when it bites. The trypanosome forms 
then attack the red blood cells, enter these, and lose 
their flagella, becoming the intra-corpuscular Halteridium 
forms once more. Schaudinn re-names the parasite 
Trypanosoma noctuae (Arbeit. aus d. kaiserl. Gesund- 
heitsamte, xx., Heft 3). 
Ir is quite clear from the report of the council and 
proceedings of the Hampstead Scientific Society for the year 
1903—a copy of which has been received—that the associa- 
tion is doing good and useful work, particularly at meetings 
of sections, of which there are three—astronomical, natural 
history, and photographic. The number of members now 
stands at 315, a total increase of 29 members since the last 
report. 
Tue first part of ‘‘A Technological and Scientific 
Dictionary,’ edited by Messrs. G. F. Goodchild and C. F. 
Tweney, and published by Messrs. George Newnes, Ltd., 
has been received. It consists of 64 pages, and contains 
articles, definitions, and terms of science and technology 
in subjects the names of which begin with letters from 
A-B(ow). The dictionary is to be completed in fifteen parts, 
and each part costs a shilling net. 
Messrs. Harry W. Cox, Ltp., have sent us a copy of a 
new illustrated catalogue of their induction coils, inter- 
