5io 



NA TURE 



[March 29, 1906 



of the veins of the hepatic and renal portal systems is the 

 same in turtles as in lizards and snakes, but there are 

 important differences. 



Si unci-: Bulletin No. 7 of the Brooklyn Institute con- 

 tains an account by Mr. C. Schaeffer of beetles new to 

 the United States, and also a description, by Dr. H. G. 

 Dyar, of new moths from Arizona. Among the latter use 

 is made of the generic name Janassa, usually applied to 

 a group of Palaeozoic fishes. The marine ostracod crus- 

 taceans of Vineyard Sound form the subject of a paper 

 by .Mr. J. A. Cushman in the Proceedings of the Boston 

 (U.S.A.) Society of Natural History, vol. xxxii., No. 10. 



The results of a study of the wing-structure of the 

 hymenopterous insects of the group Tenthredenoidea, pub- 

 lished in No. 1438 of the Proceedings oi the U.S. National 

 Museum, have enabled Mr. A. D. MacGillivray to demon- 

 strate the origin of the modern complex hymenopterous 

 wing from one of the simplest type. Throughout the line 

 of evolution all the modifications have tended to render 

 the «iny more effii ient as an organ of flight, this eflii ieni 5 

 being due to the arrangement of the veins in such a manner 

 as to stiffen the areas subjected to the greatest strain. 



Is the Verhandlungen of the German Zoological Society 

 for 1005 Prof. Simroth discusses the geographical distribu- 

 tion of land-shells, salamanders, and ganoid fishes, more 

 especially in connection with climatic changes due to pre- 

 cession of the equinoxes; while Dr. K. Guenther con- 

 tributes a review of theories and facts bearing on bird- 

 migration. Special interest attaches to an article by Dr. 

 O. Abel on the phylogenetic evolution of the cetacean dent- 

 ition and the systematic relations of the Physeteridae. Both 

 physeteroids and ziphioids are considered to have origin- 

 ated, independently, from squalodonts during the Miocene, 

 while the latter are connected with the true Eocene zeuglo- 

 donts by means of Microzeuglodon. If this phylogeny I"' 

 well founded, we may accept the descent of cetaceans from 

 creodont carnivores. 



Among the contents of part ii. of the third volume of 

 the quarterly issue of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 

 tions is a paper on the great whale-shark (Rhinodon 

 typicus), by Mr. B. A. Bean, in which figures are given 

 of the type specimen taken at the Cape in 182S, and of an 

 individual recently stranded mi the Florida coast. This 

 shark is stated to grow to a length of 60 feet, and is thus 

 the next largest animal to the biggest kinds of whales. Like 

 its relative the northern basking shark, it has a terminal 

 mouth and feeble dentition, and is quite harmless to man. 

 In a second article Mr. W. II. Osgood describes remains 

 of certain ancestral musk-oxen from Alaska anil other parts 

 of Arctic America, while in a third Mr. T. Gill furnishes 

 a very interesting account of the carp group. In the course 

 of a paper on Mexican land-shells. Dr. W. H. Dall de- 

 scribes a new genus, Hendersonia, remarkable for having 

 developed a multispiral discoid shell, with an upturned 

 mouth, quite unlike those ol its relatives. 



In the Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital for 

 February (xvii., No. 179) the biographical sketches of 

 medical worthies of former times, which have formed a 

 milked and interesting feature of recent issues, are con- 

 tinued, the subject of this month's sketch (by Dr. Walter 

 Steiner) being the Rev. Gershom Bulkeley, of Connecticut, 

 born about 1635, who, having served in the ministry, wis 

 obliged to resign owing to weakness of voice, and sub- 



sequently devoted himself to the practice of medicine. 

 Articles of medical interest, reports of societies, &c, com- 

 plete the number. 



In his presidential address to the Entomological Society 

 of London, Mr. F. Merrifield surveyed the results obtained 

 by other investigators and himself in studies of the in- 

 fluence of temperature and other conditions on insects. As 

 a result of artificial experiments, it has been found that 

 alteration of temperature on developing insects affects to 

 some extent the colouring of the adults. Apparently high 

 and low temperatures do respectively make the insects 

 tend to approximate in colouring to warmer temperate and 

 arctic types. 



The issue of the Philippine Journal of Science, the first 

 number of which (January) has reached us, is further proof 

 of the manner in which scientific research is being culti- 

 v.iti 1] by the American Government. The journal is well 

 printed on paper 10 inches by 7 inches, and contains several 

 excellent illustrations. The editors are Dr. Paul Freer 

 and Dr. Richard Strong and Mr. H. D. McCaskey, and 

 the contents of the present number are three articles on 

 the cocoa-nut palm and oil, by Dr. Freer, Mr. E. B. Cope- 

 land, and Mr. H. S. Walker respectively ; the occurrence 

 of Schistosoma japonicum vel. Cattoi (a parasite fluke) in 

 the Philippines ; and a study of some tropical ulcerations 

 of the skin, by Dr. Strung. 



Prof. Adami discusses in an interesting paper the ques- 

 tion of the transference of bovine tuberculosis to man 

 through milk (Amer. Medicine, ix., 1905, p. 683). He 

 holds that such conveyance is not so frequent as is generally 

 accepted (von Behring goes so far as to attribute most 

 human tuberculosis to the use of tuberculous milk in 

 infancy). Kitasato has recently published statistics of the 

 incidence of tuberculosis in Japan, which show that the 

 deaths from tuberculosis in Japan are just about in the 

 same proportion to the total deaths and to the total popula- 

 tion as are the deaths from this disease in European 

 countries; but primary intestinal tuberculosis in the young 

 (which has been attributed to the ingestion of tuberculous 

 milk) is rather more prevalent (30 per cent, of the total) 

 than in Europe and America (25 per cent.). The use 

 of cows' milk for feeding infants is unknown in Japan, and 

 Prof. Adami therefore holds that the facts gathered in 

 Japan show that intestinal tuberculosis, which is as fre- 

 quent there as in Europe, cannot be attributed to the 

 ingestion of infected cows' milk, and cannot therefore be 

 of bovine origin; and the inevitable conclusion is that if 

 intestinal tuberculosis is moderatelv frequent, and not of 

 bovine origin, then similarly a large proportion of European 

 intestinal tuberculosis is in all probability not due to 

 infection from milk. 



Two leaflets referring to British Fast Africa have been 

 received ; of these, leaflet No. 12 of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Nairobi, provides a list of forage plants with 

 their special characteristics, and leaflet No. 2, issued by 

 the Forest Department, deals with native trees. The list 

 of native trees, with vernacular names and uses, is accom- 

 panied by a few hints as to the selection of suitable species, 

 the collection of seeds, and the methods of planting. 



The Kew Bulletin for the year 1900 (Nos. 178-180) 

 reached us a few days ago ! The Bulletin, which has been 

 in abeyance since the volume for 1901 was completed — with 

 the exception of a part issued as No. 1, 1905 — was re- 

 inaugurated with a part recently published as No. 1, 

 1906. This number is devoted entirely to descriptions of 



NO. I9OO, VOL. 73] 



