SEPTEMBER 238, 1899] 
NWA LURE 
537 
THE jumping-mice of the genus Zapus form the subject of 
part 15 of the ‘‘North American Fauna,” edited by Dr. 
Merriam. It is noteworthy that whereas Dr. Coues in 1877 re- 
cognised but a single representative of this genus, ranging over a 
large area in North America, Mr. Preble, the author of the 
present memoir, considers himself justified in distinguishing no 
less than twenty North American species and sub-species, in ad- 
dition to one Old World form recently described from Szechuan. 
The discovery of the Szechuan species adds one more link in 
the chain connecting the fauna of North-eastern Asia and North 
America; and when Manchuria and Mongolia are fully ex- 
plored, representatives of the genus may be looked for in those 
countries. 
ANOTHER important contribution to our knowledge of the 
North American mammal fauna is afforded by Dr. Allen’s revision 
of the squirrels inhabiting the area north of Mexico, published 
in the August number of the American Naturalist. The last 
revision was in 1877, when six species and seven sub-species 
were recognised ; Dr. Allen now admits ten species, witha large 
number of sub-species. With Mr. Nelson’s revision of the 
species inhabiting Mexico and Central America, the group is 
now placed on a satisfactory footing, except as regards South 
America. Interesting results have been obtained by both 
writers as regards the effects of temperature and humidity on 
the coloration of members of the group. ‘‘In the drier interior 
mountains,” for example, ‘‘certain sub-species of a group will 
be characterised by dull greyish upper-parts and white under- 
parts, while other sub-species of the same group inhabiting 
humid mountains near the coast will have nape and rump- 
patches sharply contrasting with the rest of the dorsal surface 
and bright ferruginous under-parts ; increased humidity within 
the tropics being usually accompanied by increased intensity of 
coloration.” This is zoology in its best sense. 
A NOTEWORTHY addition to the fauna of the Australasian region 
is afforded by the discovery of a representative of the genus 
Balanoglossus in the New Zealand seas, since it has hitherto 
been unknown in the southern hemisphere, as, indeed, was the 
entire group of the Hemichordata till Mr. T. P. Hill found a 
species of Ptychodera in 1893. The new Balanoglossus is de- 
scribed by Mr. Benham in the September number of the Quar‘. 
Journ. Microscopical Sctence, and presents all the characteristic 
features of the genus. We may remind our non-zoological 
readers that Baianoglossus includes worm-like animals which 
approximate to vertebrates in the possession of a notochordal 
tract.—The same journal contains an interesting paper by Mr. 
E. S. Goodrich, of Oxford, on the existence of a communication 
between the blood-vascular system and the ‘‘ccelom” in the 
common leech, 
YEr another communication in the journal above quoted can- 
not be passed over without notice, although, from the extremely 
technical nature of the subject, such mention must necessarily 
be brief. The paper in question, which has been awarded the 
Rolleston Memorial Prize for 1898, is one by Mr. R. Evans, 
on the structure and metamorphosis of the larva of the common 
freshwater sponge. The work, which occupied a large portion 
of the author’s time for a period of about eighteen months, was 
undertaken on the suggestion of Prof. Ray Lankester, and ap- 
pears to have been admirably carried out. Several types of 
free-swimming larve have been detected, and their mutual re- 
lationship determined. From the occurrence of so-called ‘‘collar- 
cells’ in sponges, and their early appearance in the free-swimming 
laryze, coupled with their absence in all the Metazoa, the author 
is inclined to believe that the Porifera (sponges) have no re- 
lationship with the former group, but are more probably derived 
independently from primitive flagellate organisms. 
NO. 1561, VOL. 60] 
IN their report for the year 1898 the Trustees of the 
Australian Museum, Sydney, deplore the insufficiency of the 
Government grant for purchase of specimens. It appears that 
in 1892, when the purchase grant was 1250/7, the Colony was 
passing through a period of financial depression, in consequence 
of which the vote was reduced in the following year to 200/ , 
this small amount having to suffice for the purchase of books as 
well as specimens. Although this amount has been slightly 
increased in the vote for 1898-99, the Trustees point out that it 
is altogether insufficient for the needs of the institution, so that 
many specimens are lost to the museum, while collecting has had 
to be suspended altogether. As the opportunity to acquire many 
of the ethnological specimens offered will never recur, it is to be 
hoped that Government, now that the finances of the Colony 
have taken such a decided turn for the better, may see their way 
to place the Trustees in a stronger position for carrying out the 
purposes for which the museum was founded. 
Mucu more satisfactory reading than the foregoing is Dr. 
E. Thurston’s report on the Madras Museum for 1898-99 As 
was fully stated in NATURE for May 26, 1898, the Director has 
been chiefly occupied in the investigation of the ethnology 
of the numerous native tribes of the Nilgiri and Anamalai 
Hills; the results of which are in course of publication in a 
series of valuable memoirs. Attention is directed in the report 
to the prospect of acquiring Mr. R. B. Foote’s well-known col- - 
lection of prehistoric Indian implements. _ It is also satisfactory 
to learn that the importance of fishery investigations is fully 
recognised by the Director. 
Messrs. HoLporn AND Day send usa reprint from /Vcede 
mann's Annalen dealing with their investigations on the air-ther- 
mometer at high temperatures, a subject to which attention has 
been drawn by the recent discussions on platinum-thermometry 
at the British Association. The authors give comparisons of 
the results obtained by using containing vessels of platinum, 
iridium and porcelain respectively in these observations. 
From Messrs. O. Lummer and E. Pringsheim we have 
received a copy of their paper on the partition of energy in the 
spectrum of a black body, published in the Verhandlungen on 
the German Physical Society (1). Experiments are described 
in which the radiations from an electrically heated cylinder 
were allowed to fall on a bolometer, and the energy tabulated 
for different temperatures and wave-lengths, the results being 
compared with those given by Paschen’s formula. 
In the course of a paper on Euclidian geometry, contributed 
to the Bulletin de la Classe des Sciences (Brussels), M. Charles 
Lagrange remarks that the condition necessary for introducing 
doubts in geometry, a condition without which no argument 
exists against the certainty of Euclidian space, would consist in. 
presenting two different admissible definitions of space. Up 
till now only one definition has been given; and this assumes. 
the existence of Euclidian space. The author considers tha 
the new geometry has in fact established the contrary of what 
it claimed ; it has attempted to throw doubts on the physical! 
reality of the Euclidian postulate, and it has only succeeded in 
confirming it. 
ENGLER AND PRANTL’S great work, Die natiirlichen Pflan~ 
senfamilien is now completed, as far as flowering plants are. 
concerned, by the publication of Nos. 184-5, completing 
Parts il.—v. 
Pror. D. G. FAIRCHILD, or the U.S. Department of Agri- 
culture, gives, in the Bolanzcal Gazette for August, an interesting: 
sketch or the general features of the flora of Venezuela, derived 
from his experience as botanist to the expedition fitted out by 
