136 NATURE 
[June 8, 1899 
were at least half a million antelopes in sight at once ; and from 
this it is inferred that the whole ‘‘trek” must have included 
millions, Of course, thousands of head fell to the rifles of the 
Boer and other hunters ; and a brisk trade sprang up in hides 
and meat. The writer of the paper infers that a migration on 
such a scale will never be seen again, for the reason that the 
Springbuck will be unable to recruit their numbers toa sufficient 
degree, 
WE are asked to announce that the second annual dinner 
of the Association of Old Students of the Central Technical 
College will be held on Thursday, July 6. 
THE Quarterly Fournal of Microscopical Science contains two 
papers by Mr. J. E. S. Moore, dealing with his researches on 
the Molluscs of the great African lakes, especially Tanganyika. 
In the first paper, which discusses the morphology of the two 
littoral forms Zanganyikta and Sfekéa, the most interesting 
relates to the ancestry of the terrestrial Cyclophorzdae. It is 
suggested that they trace their origin from some fresh-water 
derivative of the Tanganyika genus Purfurina, such as the 
cretaceous Pyrgulifera, which may represent a fresh-water non- 
halolimnic development of the type. The second paper deals 
with the truly halolimnic genera Wassofsis and Bythoceras. In 
regard to these and allied types, the author makes the 
following concluding observations. ‘‘ We have the wonderful 
similarity of the halolimnic shells now living in Tanganyika to 
those which have been left fossilised at the bottom of the old 
Jurassic seas; and, lastly, there are the morphological 
characters of the halolimnic animals themselves, whereby they 
become mentally depicted like nothing so much as the incom- 
pletely developed embryos of numerous living oceanic types.” 
A copy of volume x. of the Zyansactions of the American 
Pediatric Society, edited by Dr. Floyd M. Crandall, has been 
received. A number of papers and reports on infantile diseases 
are contained in the volume, one of the most important being 
a statement of the results of the Society’s collective investigation 
on infantile scurvy in North America. 
“* A Select Bibliography of Chemistry ” (1492-1892), by Prof. 
II. Carrington Bolton, was published in 1893. The first sup- 
plement of this volume, including words omitted in the previous 
volume, and bringing the literature of chemistry down to the 
close of the year 1897, has just been issued as No. 1170 of the 
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. The sections into 
which the titles are grouped are: bibliography, dictionaries, 
history, biography, chemistry (pure and applied), and period- 
icals, the titles being in each case arranged alphabetically 
according to authors. The section dealing with alchemy has 
been dropped. The number of titles in the original volume was 
12,031, and the number in the present volume is 5554, making 
a total of 17,585. Germany comes first in the number of 
additional titles, with a total of 1461. France follows with 
1085 titles, England with 972, and Russia with 581 titles. 
The next six countries in order of their number of con- 
tributions to chemical literature are: Iceland, 434 ; Sweden, 
196; Holland, 191; Denmark, 151 ; Portugal, 123 ; Bohemia, 
98. 
A COMMENDABLE characteristic of the report of the Marl- 
borough College Natural History Society is a collection of 
anthropometrical particulars referring to boys in the school, 
obtained by Mr. E. Meyrick. The measurements are a con- 
tinuation of records published last year. For each boy the 
information tabulated is his form, age, height, weight, size of 
chest expanded and contracted, and where possible the increase 
compared with last year’s measures. Information of this kind 
is of real service to students of physical anthropology. 
NO. 1545, VOL. 60] 
Among 
other noteworthy matters in the report is a list of 417 wild 
flowering plants observed by members of the botanical section, 
one member, Mr. F. E. Thompson, having obtained no less 
than 189, a worthy conclusion on his part to a series of botanical 
observations extending over thirty years. Appended to the 
usual meteorological statistics for every day of 1898 isa sum- 
mary of the meteorology of Marlborough for the ten years 
1889-1898. In addition, the report contains sectional reports, 
notes and observations, notes on lectures, and a variety of other 
information—all instructive and of interest as showing the 
development of the scientific spirit in a public school. 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Green Monkey (Cercopithecus callitrichus, 3 ) 
from West ‘Africa, presented by Dr. H. Strachan; a Rufous 
Tinamou (Riynchotus rufescens) from Brazil, presented by Mr. 
Henry Bell; a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo zspeéda) from Ire- 
land, presented by Mr. Ronald Edwards; two Jackdaws 
(Corvus monedula, white var.), European, presented by Mr. 
Eardley Wilmot B. Holt ; two Secretary Vultures (Serpentarzus 
reptilivorus) from South Africa, presented by Mr. J. E. 
Matcham ; two Green Turtles (Chelone mydas) from the Gulf of 
Manor, presented by Captain Geo. G. C. Stevenson; two 
Black-striped Wallabies (Macropus dorsalis, 9) from New 
South Wales, two Stonechats (Pratincola rubicola) from South 
of France, two Derbian Parrakeets (Pa/acornzs derbyana) from 
China (?), a South Albemarle Tortoise (Zestudo vicina) from 
South Albemarle Island, deposited; a Musk Duck (Aiz2ura 
Jobata) from Australia, three Barbary Turtle Doves (7zrtur 
visorius) from Africa, a Tuatera Lizard (Sphenodon punctatus) 
from New Zealand, purchased; two Collared Fruit Bats 
(Cynonycteris collarts), born in the Gardens. 
OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN, 
CoMET 1899 a (SWIFT).— 
Ephemeris for 12h. Berlin Mean Time. 
1899. R.A. Decl. Br. 
I fan = Si 1 
June 8 15 59 12 +46 18'1 o'88 
9 48 32 44 39°5 
TO 39 2 43 22 0°75 
II 30 32 41 27°2 
12 22 56 39.547 - 0°63 
13 16 5 38 254 
Ann OMS ces 36 593 =. 0°53 
Ths... TS. -4uoyeeuees 35 306 
TO" 2.) Tq Souzoumess BAe 3 0°45 
17 54 57 BS 153 
TS aarece SOnS Lamers 31 48°7 0°38 
TOs. Pye yf eo 39 39°77 
20’... 14°43) 4 5aeeet 20) 3354 0°32 
Being now almost two months past perihelion, the comet is 
rapidly becoming less conspicuous. During the week it will 
pass from Herculis into Bootis, its path being nearly parallel toa 
string of 4th mag. stars ¢ and x Herculis, u, 6 and € Bootis. 
THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH. 
ON Saturday last (June 3), the Astronomer Royal presented 
his Annual Report to the Board of Visitors of the Roya) 
Observatory, Greenwich. The weather was all that could be 
desired, and the large number of guests, numbering among 
them Prof. Cornu, was able to comfortably inspect the buildings 
and instruments, which had as usual been thrown open to view. 
The following is a brief 7észmé taken from the report :— 
Buildings. 
The new Observatory building, which has been in progress 
since 1891, was completed last March, by the addition of the 
east and west wings. This handsome building provides much 
needed accommodation for the Observatory staff, for the photo- 
