SEPTEMBER 25, 1913 | 
The popular scientific lectures have been given 
in many of the larger German towns, and in 1903 
the society was invited by the Russian Govern- 
ment to conduct.a series in St. Petersburg. Urania 
took part in the organisation of the German edu- 
cational section at the Brussels Exhibition of 
1909, and was granted a premier award by the 
Commissioners of the exhibition. With the advent 
of the kinematograph the popularity of the institu- 
tion is still further ensured, and at the present 
time great interest is being displayed in the ex- 
hibitions in the domain of hygiene and the iaws 
Magnetism and electricity gallery of the Urania Society, Berlin, 
of health. Urania is undoubtedly fulfilling the 
wishes of its founders and has become an estab- 
lished factor in the educational life of Germany. 
THE FAUNA OF THE SANDWICH 
ISLANDS.1 
ey 1890 a Joint Committee of the Royal Society 
and of the British Association was formed 
“to report on the present state of our knowledge 
of the Sandwich Islands,” and it at once entered 
into relationship with the Trustees of the Bernice 
P. Bishop Museum at Honolulu. It wisely decided 
to restrict its investigations to the land fauna, and 
it recently issued the last part of its “Fauna 
Hawaiiensis.” Its chairmen have been Sir W. H. 
Flower, Prof. Alfred Newton, and Dr. F. D. God- 
man, while Dr. D. Sharp and Prof. S. J. Hickson 
have respectively been secretary: and treasurer 
during the twenty-three years of its existence. 
A number of the greatest authorities collaborate 
in the production of the “Fauna,” which through- 
out has the high standard usually associated with 
1 “ Fauna Hawaiiensis; or, the Zoology of the Sandwich (Hawaiian) 
Rareaiiod by the Royal Society of London for Promoting Natural Know- 
ledge and the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and 
carried on with the assistance of those Bodies and of the Trustees of the 
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum at Honolulu. In three volumes. Edited 
by David Sharp, F.R.S. (Cambridge University Press.) 
NO. 2291, VOL. 92] 
NATURE 
| 
| which to feed. 
IOI 
the name of Dr. Sharp. Dr. R. C. L. Perkins 
was the collector and naturalist, and in both lines 
he is pre-eminent. 
Hawaiia has about the area of Yorkshire, and 
consists of eight main islands, of which the fauna 
of six has been collected. California is their 
nearest continental land, being 2100 miles distant, 
while Samoa and Fiji are 30°—40° S. and Tahiti 
is still further away, intervening islands being 
mostly of coral-reef origin. These groups are not 
sufficiently well-known to make a comparison with 
their fauna of much value, but Fiji is usually 
regarded as continental. 
The islands of Hawaiia 
are of volcanic origin 
and vary up to 14,000 
feet in height. They 
present great diversities 
of climate, some coastal 
parts subtropical, the 
mountain summits snow- 
capped in winter, some 
parts relatively dry, even © 
parched up, and others 
with more than 200 inches 
of rain. Probably all was 
at one time covered with 
forest, relatively tropical 
by the coasts, dense rain- 
forest above, more open 
on the much drier higher 
slopes. Most of the 
lower forest has long 
been cleared away, but 
parts of the rain-forest 
persist as well as great © 
stretches of the higher 
woods. 
The fauna may be said to be a function of the 
flora, and this flora has only 860 known species, 
of which 653 are endemic with 40 endemic genera, 
the rest being introduced weeds or common 
littoral forms. Geographically this flora must take 
precedence, for the first animals must not only 
be able to land, but to find suitable vegetation on 
These animals must flourish or 
carnivorous beasts will never become regular 
components of the fauna. Again, most immi- 
grants to oceanic islands must be supposed to be 
best adapted to the conditions of the low country, 
where later man’s ravages by axe and fire will 
be most felt. In any case most of those that 
| survive the passage will be unproductive, since, 
| many generations. 
even if they do find suitable climate and food, few 
indeed will find mates. 
For a small insect to become widespread round 
the coast of one of these islands would take 
A still longer time would be 
| required to take each step up the mountains, 
| because either each step would mean the adapta- 
tion of the needs of the animal to fresh environ- 
| ments, resulting later in the production of new 
Being Results of the Explorations instituted by the Joint Committee | 
forms, or each step would be taken as the result 
of some yariant of its physical organisation result- 
ing in anew need. Each beast in each step must 
take a mate with him, and the time required for 
