514 
NATURE 
[APRIL I, 1897 
Griffiths’ “‘ Animal Kingdom,” London, 1827 (vol. iv. p. 411). 
The above-mentioned illustrations are reproduced in Dr. 
Nehring’s paper in Géobus, Bd, xxi. p. 85. 
THE Annalen der Hydrographie und maritimen Meteorologie 
or February, issued by the Deutsche Seewarte, contains a dis- 
cussion of the storms of the western part of the South Atlantic 
Ocean, by E. Knipping, based upon the observations of 252 
storms, mostly reported in the lozs of German vessels. In 
higher latitudes than 30° S. only storms of hurricane force (11 
and 12 of the Beaufort wind-scale), and in latitudes below 30° S. 
all storms of force 8 are included. The results show that no 
storm occurred to the east of 27° W. long. and north of 29° S. 
lat. The yearly distribution westward of 25° W. long. is very 
marked ; for one storm in summer there are five in winter, The 
months of November to March are free from storms below 30°S. 
lat. ; stormy trade-winds occur as far as 28° S., but only from 
April to October, and mostly with high and somewhat steady 
air-pressure. From 25° to 40° S. storms occur more frequently 
within a distance of 500 miles from the coast than beyond that 
area. In north-easterly storms the mean change of wind direc- 
tion over the whole district amounts to 8 or 10 points of the 
compass in a left-hand direction, while in south-westerly storms 
there is little or no change of direction. In north-west storms 
below 30° S. there is little or no change, while above that lati- 
tude it amounts to 4 or 6 points to the left. The mean duration 
increases with the latitude ; from 20° to 30°S. the north-easterly 
storms last twice as long, and from 30° to 4o° S. only half as 
long as storms from other directions. 
storms generally occurs with a rising barometer, z.e. after the 
time of the lowest reading, except in the case of easterly storms, 
when it occurs as frequently with a falling as with a rising 
barome ter. 
IN May 1895, Mr. W. E. Wilson read a preliminary paper 
before the Royal Society, in which he described the apparatus 
and results of his investigation of the effect of pressure in the 
surrounding gas on the temperature of the crater of an electric 
arc. It may be remembered that the chief aim of the research 
was to determine, if possible, whether the temperature of the 
crater in the positive carbon varies when the pressure in the 
surrounding gas is changed. Ina more recent investigation 
(Astrophysical Journal, vol. v. No. 2, p- 101), Messrs. Wilson 
and Fitzgerald give the results of further work on these points. 
These may be briefly summed up as follows :—That more 
evidence than they have obtained must be procured before they 
are able to affirm that either the temperature of the crater of the 
arc is raised or lowered by pressure. They, however, made 
some very concordant observations, which showed that the 
temperature was lowered with pressure, and in which at the time 
they could see no evidence of absorption by fog ; but then, at 
other times, there were undoubted cases of absorption. ‘‘ We 
certainly got no evidence that there is an appreciable increase of 
temperature.” The best observations, the authors further say, 
““were made with variations of pressure from 15 up to 100 
pounds per square inch, and there seems very little evidence of 
much change of radiation with this change of from 1 up to 
between 6 and 7 atmospheres.” 
REMARKING on these interesting researches of Mr. Wilson, 
M. Guillaume writes that they seem to have shown that the 
temperature of the crater in the positive carbon is not limited to 
the boiling of carbon. Referring to the early researches of MM. 
de Physique, vol. v. p. 453, 1896), M. Guillaume presented ‘to 
the Physical Society of France, on July 20, 1896, the essence of 
a theory of the are under pressure, based on the ‘‘ dissolution du 
carbone dans le gaz ambiant.’”” This idea seems to be in perfect 
NO. 1431, VOL. 55] 
The greatest force of the | 
harmony with the experiences of Violle, Wilson and Villard ; 
and the fact observed by Wilson and Fitzgerald, that they 
“found that whenever the pressure was suddenly reduced there 
was a fog formed in the box, which cut off the light enormously,” 
speaks well, as M. Guillaume says, for the accuracy of his 
theory. The temperature of carbon seems to be limited by the 
rapidity of the ‘‘dissolution” in the surrounding atmosphere, 
and ought to decrease when the pressure increases. 
Mr. Asa S. Kinney has made a number of experiments for 
the purpose of obtaining some definite knowledge as to the in- 
fluence of electricity upon plants, and his investigation forms 
the subject of Bzl/etin No. 43 of the Hatch Experiment Station 
of the Massachusetts College. The current employed was in 
some cases produced by four Leclanché cells, and in others by a 
Samson cell giving an electro-motive force of two and eighty- 
eight hundredth volts. An induction coil was used, so as to 
obtain a large variation in electro-motive force. The stimulation 
thus provided was applied to moistened seeds in glass jars, and 
upon filter papers. So far as the experiments go, they show that 
electricity exerts an appreciable influence upon the germination 
of seeds, the application of certain strengths of current to seeds 
for short periods of time apparently accelerating the processes of 
germination. Asa result of experiment, it was found that at 
the end of twenty-four hours over 30 per cent. more seeds were 
germinated in the treated lots than in the normal. The range 
in the strength of current which accelerated germination seems 
to be exceedingly limited. The minimum strength of current, 
which just perceptibly accelerated germination when an inter- 
rupted induced current was used, probably represented con- 
siderably less than one volt. The optimum strength of current, 
which showed the maximum growth of radicles and hypocotyls, 
was equal to about three volts where an interrupted induced 
current was used. The maximum current which the seed germ 
could withstand without being destroyed was not ascertained, 
but it probably represents a comparatively high voltage. Ar- 
rangements were made to send an hourly current through the 
germinating seeds and growing plants, and it was found that the 
electricity did not lose its effect, but acted as a constant stimula- 
tion to their growth and development. The seeds used were of 
white mustard, red clover, rape, and barley, and measurements 
were made of about three thousand roots, and nearly one thousand 
stems. 
Dr. W. A. Soca and Mr. H. Percy Browne have recently 
made some very important tests of the value of a certain fungus 
for destroying locusts by infecting them with it. The fungus is 
prepared by Dr. Edington, of the Bacteriological Institute, 
Grahamstown, and, judging from the experiments described in 
the Cape Agrzcultural Fournal, great benefits may be expected 
to be derived by using it to infect locust swarms. A few locusts 
are caught and treated with the fungus ; they are then set free, 
and inoculate other members of the swarm, with the result that 
in a few days the locusts die in large numbers. 
THE Summary Report for 1896 of the Geological Survey of 
Canada affords very interesting reading. The year has been 
marked by a notable development in mining, and by a remark- 
able discovery of corundum in a pegmatite in Ontario. The 
deep boring at Athabasca, described in the two last reports, has 
had to be abandoned after nearly 2000 feet of Cretaceous rocks 
had been sunk through, without the petroleum-beds being 
reached : the boring is not, however, a failure, as the knowledge 
gained will probably enable a successful boring to be made else- 
where. Mr. Chalmers, in Quebec province, finds evidence of 
extensive post-tertiary earth-movements in the many narrow 
lakes and uplifted shore-lines. In Nova Scotia, Prof. Bailey 
has successfully delimited the Devonian and Silurian formations, 
but has not been so fortunate with the supposed Cambrian (but 
