268 



NA TURE 



[July iy, 1884 



extreme importance to societies interested in the distribution of 

 their publications, and in the receipt of publications from kindred 

 bodies. Although I am connected with a small society which 

 has hitherto only enjoyed an ephemeral existence, I trust that a 

 brief account of my experience in the distribution of publications 

 may have a little value. Early in 1883 more than 250 copies of 

 our publications were distributed amongst the leading societies 

 and libraries throughout the world. On my exchange list I now 

 have 271 names ; I also send to about 100 members of the 

 Society. A few copies of our publications have been sent to 

 persons who have made seismology a specialty. With each 

 volume there was inclosed a printed form to be filled up and re- 

 turned, both as a receipt and as a statement of other volumes 

 which might be required. The institutions to which volumes 

 were sent were as far as possible selected as having an interest 

 in scientific investigations. Especial care was taken to forward 

 volumes to institutions established in earthquake-shaken or 

 volcanic regions, as for instance to many parts of South America, 

 New Zealand, Central Siberia, Iceland, &c. 



In many cases our receipts were returned. In others societies 

 returned their own special forms. A few societies sent us their 

 publications in return. One society very kindly made a collec- 

 tion of earthquake literature for us. Several others made 

 special applications for particular volumes to complete the series 

 of our publications. /« about half the cases, however, I find 

 that no notice whatever was taken of our gift. 



For example — 



For 34 volu 



itutions in England 17 receipts 

 ,, Germany 22 , 



the United States 31 , 



&c, &c, &c. 



One result has been that our distribution list has been reduced. 

 In one or two instances, where I know that earthquake litera- 

 ture cannot fail to be acceptable, the omission to send acknow- 

 ledgment has been overlooked, and I continue to post our pub- 

 lications. 



No doubt many societies publish lists of presents. These 

 may be useful to the members of such societies ; but they are 

 valueless to donors who are not favoured with such publications. 



The fact which is most to be regretted is that these omissions 

 have resulted in many libraries not being an courant with the 

 latest information. 



Now supposing that the publications in question have any value 

 whatever, it is natural to seek a cause for this state of affairs. 



In many instances the omissions may be due to negligence, 

 whilst in others they may be due to institutions having failed 

 to establish a system for their correspondence. 



From my own communications with various societies it is 

 evident that many of them neither possess forms for routine cor- 

 respondence nor have they the means for facilitating reference 

 to ordinary or extraordinary correspondence. Sheets of plain 

 notepaper, envelopes, pens, ink, and a few postcards constitute 

 the business equipment. 



Those societies which possess forms for the acknowledgement 

 of presents, &c. , often sacrifice fivepence for the postage of an 

 elaborate document where a wrapper or a three-halfpenny post- 

 card, although wanting in formality, would attain the same 

 result. Although learned societies are not institutions where 

 business is a specialty, many of them might possibly derive 

 benefit by the adoption of more business-like methods. At 

 present it would appear that there are many institutions which 

 are as equally indifferent to the circulation of their own publica- 

 tions as they are to receive those of others. 

 John Milne, 

 Hon. Sec. of the Seismological Society of Japan 



Tokio, June 7 



Suicide of Snakes 

 The letter of Edward F. Hardman in Nature (vol. xxix. 

 p. 452), with reference to the suicide of black snakes, recalls an 

 incident which I once witnessed ; I was quite small, but my 

 memory of the strange occurrence is very clear and distinct. It 

 was in the State of Illinois, when at that early day a short, thick 

 variety of rattlesnake was very numerous, so much so that the 

 State acquired an unenviable reputation in the older parts of the 

 Union. Farmers in " breaking prairie," as the first ploughing 

 of the prairie sod was called, would kill them by dozens in the 

 course of a single summer. They were very venomous, but 

 owing to their sluggish nature and their rattle, which was always 



sounded before an attack, but few persons were bitten by them. 

 Moreover, there was little danger of death if proper remedies 

 were applied at once. 



I was one day following one of the large breaking ploughs 

 common at that time. It was drawn by five or six yoke of oxen, 

 and there were two men to manage the plough and the team. 

 As we were going along, one of the men discovered a rattle- 

 snake, as I remember about twelve or fourteen inches in length. 

 They rarely exceeded eighteen or twenty inches, so that this one 

 was probably about two-thirds grown. The man who first saw 

 it was about to kill it, when the other proposed to see if it could 

 be made to bite itself, which it was commonly reported the rattle- 

 snake would do if angered and prevented from escaping. Ac- 

 cordingly they poked the snake over into the ploughed ground, 

 and then began teasing it with their long whips. Escape was 

 impossible, and the snake soon became frantic at its ineffectual 

 attempts either to injure its assailants or to get away from them. 

 At last it turned upon itself and struck its fangs into its own 

 body, about the middle. 



The poison seemed to take effect instantly. The fangs were 

 not withdrawn at all, and if not perfectly dead within less than 

 five minutes, it at least showed no signs of life. That it should 

 die so quickly will not seem strange if it is borne in mind that the 

 same bite would have killed a full-grown man in a few hours' 

 time. 



The men watched it long enough to be sure that it would not 

 be likely to move away, and then went on with their work. I 

 trudged around with them for an hour or more, and every time 

 we came where the snake was I stopped and looked at it, but it 

 never moved again. In this case I do not remember that the 

 snake had been injured at all. I have often heard of rattlesnakes 

 biting themselves under such circumstances, but this was the 

 only case that ever came under my observation. 



Ongole, India, June 17 W. R. Manley 



Sky Glows 



As we appear to be having a return of the gorgeous sunset 

 phenomena with which we were favoured towards the end of last 

 year, a brief mention of two of the most brilliant displays that I 

 have recently had the good fortune to observe may be of suffi- 

 cient interest to place upon record in the pages of Nature, 

 The " after-glow," though very brilliant, has not of course 

 attracted the attention it would have clone, on account of the 

 twilight ; if it had not been for that circumstance, I think the 

 recent displays of the phenomena would have been quite as 

 gorgeous as those of last year. It would certainly have been so 

 in the case of the "after-glow " on June 22 ; the "glow" on 

 that evening at nine o'clock reached an altitude of 45 , and 

 extended from the north to the west-north-west point of the 

 horizon. For an altitude of about 20° the glow was of a beauti- 

 ful crimson tint ; above that altitude it was of a pale pink fading 

 away gradually towards the edge to a pale orange. On that 

 evening the reddish glow was not confined to that part of the 

 horizon where the sun had gone down, but extended over the 

 entire sky from the west to the east, the whole celestial vault, 

 which was quite free from clouds, appearing to be slightly tinged 

 with red. So conspicuous was this redness of the sky that a 

 lady friend remarked — before her attention had been called to it 

 — " How red all the sky is." 



On the 7th inst. the "glow" equalled in brilliancy, though 

 not in extent, the display above described. At Sh. 45m. p.m. 

 it reached an altitude of about 30°, and extended from the west- 

 south-west to the north-north-west point of the horizon. The 

 redness of the whole sky, which was so noticeable on the former 

 occasion, was wanting on this. On both occasions the "glow" 

 was not visible for more than an hour and a quarter after sunset. 



Dalston, E., July :2 B. J. Hopkins 



Many of your correspondents have referred to the " remark- 

 able appearances of the sky " at sunrise and sunset last year, but 

 I have not observed any reference to the following : — On the 

 morning of November 30 I was on my way from Basle to Calais 

 by the St. Gothard mail train, and observed the whole eastern 

 sky become lit up as though there were a splendid sunrise ; the 

 larger print of a newspaper was easily readable at the carriage 

 window. On referring to our watches we found it was 5 o'clock 

 by Basle time. During the next half-hour every trace of the 

 phenomenon gradually vanished. Frank Petrie 



July 1 1 



