56 



NA TURE 



[November 16, 1905 



wind was observed by a balloon up to a height of 

 1 1 kilometres. 



An is seen, these results con linn the accepted theory 

 of the trades and upper anti-trade in those parts of 

 the Atlantic explored by the Otaria (see chart of 

 route, Fit;', i), and prove that, contrary to the opinion 

 of Prof. Hergcsell, there exists a return current, or 

 anti-trade, with a well defined southerly component. 



We hope to give in a subsequent article the con- 

 clusions regarding temperature and humidity derived 

 from the kite-flights made on the Otaria. 

 Winds above the Atlantic, between latitudes n° and 



37 N., longitudes 15 and 26° XV., observed during the 



cruise of the S.Y. " Otaria" in 1905. 

 Punta Delgada — 



August 22 800 N.E. ... (4200) N.E. 



Madeira— 

 Aug. 16, 1800W.N.W.; II, 500N.W.&S.W. 1 ; (11,600) W.S.W. 



,, 17, 2900 N.E.; 4,200 N.W.&N.E.; (12,500) W.S.W. 



Trade Anti-Trade 



SOUTH AFRICAN ZOOLOGY AND 

 PALEONTOLOGY. 



H^HE recent visit of the British Association to 

 *■ South Africa affords a favourable opportunity 

 of directing attention to the zoological and palaeonto- 

 logical work now being carried on by the museum 

 at Cape Town under the able direction of Mr. W. L. 

 Sclater, more especially as exemplified in that excel- 

 lent serial publication entitled the " Annals of the 

 South African Museum." Of this serial, which com- 

 menced in 1898, three volumes have been completed, 

 and some seven parts of the fourth volume published 

 up to the end of July of the current year, making a 

 total of at least twenty-nine separate parts, each 

 devoted to a special subject. 



From the time that he took charge of the museum, 

 Mr. Sclater appears, indeed, to have determined to 

 devote all his energies towards increasing our know- 

 ledge of the fauna of South Africa. His mode of 

 accomplishing this praiseworthy object seems to be 

 threefold. In the first place, efforts have been made 

 to increase the collections in the museum at Cape 

 Town — both as regards the exhibition and the study 

 series — by all possible means, and thus to afford as 

 ample a basis as possible for the work of specialists, 

 and at the same time to awaken increased interest 



1 Mixed stratum of N.W. and S.W. winds. 

 NO. I 88 I, VOL. J$] 



on the part of the public in the museum itself. The 

 second part of the programme consists in the publi- 

 cation of monographs of such portions of the South 

 African fauna as are ripe for this mode of treatment. 

 As examples of work of this nature may be cited 

 the handsome volumes on the mammals and birds of 

 the country, published some few years since, and duly 

 noticed in our columns as they appeared. 



Work of the above nature consists to a great 

 extent in collating, revising, and adding to the 

 labours of earlier naturalists; but, in addition to this, 

 much of an altogether newer type has to be made 

 known to the scientific world in such a rich, and in 

 man} respects little-worked, field as that presented by 

 South Africa. And it is to work of this latter de- 

 scription that the " Annals of the South African 

 Museum " are mainly devoted. Fortunately, the 

 officers of the Geological Survey of Cape Colony have 

 availed themselves of this excellent means of publish- 

 ing the results of researches into the palaeontology 

 (both zoological and botanical) of this part of South 

 Africa, and the " Annals " accordingly promise to 

 afford within a few years a perfect mine of inform- 

 ation with regard to South African zoolog\ and 

 palaeontology. 



Although the description of more or less entirely new 

 work occupies much of the "Annals," monographs 

 of groups, or revised lists of groups already mono- 

 graphed, come within its purview. For example, the 

 moths of South Africa, which for many reasons could 

 not probably be monographed in separate volumes, 

 are in course of description by Sir George Hampson, 

 of the British Museum, and two parts of his mono- 

 graph have already appeared. Again, Mr. Sclater 

 has taken advantage of this mode of publication to 

 issue a revised list of South African birds, containing 

 such additions and corrections as have been made 

 since the issue of the volumes on this group in the 

 series devoted to separate monographs of the South 

 African fauna. 



To mention by name all the papers included in the 

 volumes of the " Annals " already published would 

 be altogether beyond the limits of available space, 

 and it must suffice, therefore, to refer to a few others. 

 In the palaeontological series, the first part of the 

 important account of the fossil floras of the Cape, by 

 Mr. A. C. Seward, of Cambridge, has already re- 

 ceived special notice in Nature. The molluscs and 

 brachiopods of the Bokkeveld beds respectively form 

 the subjects of two papers by Mr. F. R. C. Reed ; 

 and these and the trilobites. which are described in 

 another paper by Mr. P. Lake, serve to demonstrate 

 the Devonian age of the beds in question, and thus 

 point to a definite period when at least a part of 

 what is now South Africa was beneath the sea. The 

 affinity of the trilobites to South American types is 

 noteworthy. A fifth paper, by Mr. F. Chapman, is 

 devoted to the foraminifera and ostracods from 

 shallow water deposits of Lower Cretaceous age in 

 East Pondoland. In the zoological series, in addition 

 to those already mentioned, six papers by Mr. 

 Peringuey, assistant director of the museum, form 

 an important contribution to our knowledge of South 

 African beetles ; while in another part the Rev. O. . 

 Pickard-Cambridge has described a number of new 

 spiders, including three new generic types; and there 

 are many other papers of equal importance and 

 interest. 



In conclusion, we congratulate all those who have 

 done so much good which this serial has been the 

 means of communicating to the world, and trust that 

 financial considerations will not be allowed to interfere 

 with the continuation of such a valuable and 

 important publication. R. L. 



