X. I TURE 



[November 23, 1905 



complex movements of arms and body give to the 

 bat held by the two hands a complex screw motion 

 which may approximately be described as a rotation 

 about an oblique axis outside the bat altogether, 

 Plate ii. of L. C. H. Palairet's series, showing his 

 second position, is a perfect illustration of the remarks 

 just made; with the attitude of body and arms as 

 given it would be impossible for the bat to have any 

 other position without an unnatural turn of the wrists. 



The effect of the true wrist-action is well described 

 in the later part of the book. It is as effective in 

 cricket as in golf, bringing into plav a rapid acceler- 

 ation just at the instant of impact. It is at the 

 foundation of all graceful batting. As Mr. Fry well 

 remarks, " wrist-work is the chief secret of a versatile, 

 neat and effective style." 



The book is full of a great variety of most interest- 

 ing and instructive points. Those among us whose 

 cricket is ;i memory will almost wish they were 

 twenty or thirty years younger if only for the chance 

 of testing the soundness of the teaching of Messrs. 

 Beldam and Fry's remarkable volume; while the 

 youthful devotee eager to improve himself in the most 

 attractive part of our national sport will git many 

 valuable hints from a careful perusal of its pages 

 and study of its pictures. C. G. K. 



NOTES. 



The council of the Royal Meteorological Societi has 

 awarded the Symons gold medal to Lieut.-General Sir 

 Richard Strachey, G.C.S.I., F.R.S., in recognition ol th 

 valuable work which lie lias done in connection with 

 meteorological science. The medal will be presented at the 

 annual general meeting nf the society en January 17, 

 1906. 



Ink suggestion made by Prof. Milne in our corre- 

 spondence columns this week, that .111 intercolonial meet- 

 ing of the British Association should be held in London, 

 is well worthy of consideration. Such a conference of 

 representatives of science in British dominions bevond the- 

 se. is and at home would strengthen the bond of union 

 existing between them, and do something to coordinate 

 the intellectual forces of our Empire. It is essential that 

 men of science widely separated from one another should 

 have opportunities of exchanging opinions upon investi- 

 gations and results in which they are interested; and the 

 advantages of such conventions are felt long after the 

 meetings have ended. It is probable that Prof. Milne's 

 proposal will meet with the approval of members of the 

 assoi iation engaged in scientific work. 



Members of the British Association who recently visited 

 the Victoria falls will be interested to learn that the small 

 herd of hippopotami that frequents the islands above the 

 Falls, and adds substantially to the attractions of the place, 

 has again become troublesome. Apparently the animals 

 have been irritated by the increasing traffic on the Zambesi ; 

 for a note in South Africa of November iS states that 

 several boats have been upset, causing one fatality and 

 several narrow escapes. "Hippo, from any sentimental 

 point of view," it is remarked, "are hardly the sort of 

 things to be preserved as pets on a portion of the river 

 where there is constant traffic, and it is to be hoped that 

 every effort will be made to exterminate them before more 

 serious accidents occur. . . . Those desirous of seeing the 

 hippo in their natural haunts should find some more 

 solitary spot where there is less danger to human life." 

 NO. 1882, VOL. 73] 



The Bntisli Medical Journal announces that the next 

 meeting of the German Society of Experimental Psychology 

 will be held at VVurzburg on April 10-13, 1906. Reports 

 will be presented on the following subjects : — (1) The rela- 

 tions between experimental phonetics and psychology (by 

 E. Krueger) ; (2) experimental aesthetics (by O. Kuelpe) ; 

 (3) the psychology of reading (by F. Schumann); and 

 psychiatry and individual psychology (by R. Sonimer). 



The account of the surveying work connected with the 

 construction of the Simplon Tunnel, in Nature of 

 November 9 (p. 30), may fie supplemented by the following 

 final results, which have just been ascertained and are de- 

 scribed in the Times of November 18 by Mr. Francis Fox. 

 The actual measurements are as follows : — The length of 

 the tunnel, which is 12! miles, proves to be greater by 

 31 inches. The levels of the two galleries' were within 

 33 inches of one another. As regards direction, the axis 

 of the tunnel, driven from the north end, deviated 

 4 1-3 inches towards tin west, whilst the line driven from 

 the south end deviated 3 2-3 inches towards the east; con- 

 sequently the greatest divergence from the true line was 

 4 1-;, inches, which is well within the calculated probable 

 error. 



A Times correspondent gives in the issue of November 20 

 a graphic description of the means taken to stamp out 

 yellow fever in Panama. The first cases of the disease 

 were concealed, and it was not until a serious epidemic 

 was in progress that President Roosevelt, on his own 

 initiative, Congress having refused to aid him, appointed 

 Judge Magoon to Panama as Resident Governor of the 

 canal /one with autocratit power. The prevalence of fever 

 was bad enough, but the demoralisation of public spirit 

 in the American colony was worse. Governor Magoon 

 found that, while some in utter panic were fleeing from 

 the isthmus as a plague-spot, others had fallen into a state 

 of cynical bravado. They professed contempt for the 

 nic squito theory of disease dissemination, and refused to 

 obey the preventive rules which had been formulated. 

 They took a boastful delight in exposing" themselves to 

 mosquito bites, and tore holes in the netting which had 

 been placed over the windows of the office buildings and 

 hotels. The Governor soon changed all this, expressed his 

 own fear of the disease, insisted that the evidence of the 

 transference of the disease by mosquitoes was overwhelm- 

 ing, and arranged for the fumigation of every building in 

 the city. Medical inspectors were also appointed who 

 daily examined every inhabitant. The effect of these 

 measures is shown by the figures of the incidence of the 

 disease: — in May there were 38 cases; in June 62 cases; 

 in July, after tin institution of these measures, 42 cases; 

 in August 2- cases; in September 6 cases; and since then 

 not a single case, although a reward of 50 dollars, gold, 

 has been offered for a notification. 



Mr. t'. O. Stevens, writing from Bradfield, Reading, 

 states that on Friday last, November 17, widespread 

 attention was attracted and curiosity aroused by sounds 

 as of heavy-gun practice and rifle firing that made them- 

 selves felt, as well as heard, in the neighbourhood for 

 miles around. They occurred, on and off, from about 

 11.30 a.m. until 4 p.m. 



To the Irish Fisheries Board we are indebted for a copy 

 of the first instalment of a list of the marine copepod 

 crustaceans of Ireland, by Mr. J. Pearson, published as 

 No. 3 of " Scientific Investigations " for 1904. The author 

 states that previous students have mainly confined their 

 investigations to the pelagic types, and that consequently 



