338 



NA TURE 



\Atigust 23, 1877 



We have need, however, of more exact observations in 

 cyclones at different distances from the centres, as we 

 think it not improbable that the angle which the wind 

 makes with the direction of the centre may vary with the 

 distance from it as well as with the wind velocity. 



Dr. Meldrum has also found periods foV the frequency 

 of cyclones and for the amount of rainfall agreeing with 

 the decennial period of sunspots. It will be difficult, we 

 think, to obtain quite satisfactory results for the cyclones, 

 as the amount of evidence which will prove the existence 

 of one will vary with the individual judging. A gale with 

 a certain amount of veering or backing experienced by 

 some ships may belong to a cyclone or it may not, there 

 is no precise measure in many cases where there is not a 

 sufficiently wide distribution of ships. No measure, also, 

 is taken of the dimensions of the cylone or velocity 

 of the wind, which it would be desirable to include in 

 such an investigation. Some theorists insist that all 

 winds are cyclonic. In any case we are inclined to believe 

 that if such a decennial period exist it will be more accu- 

 rately determined by measurements of the wind velocity 

 for several years at fixed stations in different parts of the 

 world. The question of such a period for the rainfall will, 

 we have no doubt, receive ultimately a distinct answer 

 from the observations at such stations, many series of 

 which Dr. Meldrum has already collected and discussed 

 with results in favour of the existence of such a period. 



Meteorological results for 1874 and 1875 have also 

 been published, and these include a number of im- 

 portant tables relating especially to the climatology of 

 the Island. John Allan Broun 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



A Ncio London Flora; or, Handbook to the Botanical 

 Localities 0/ the Metropolitan Districts. By E. Ch. 

 de Crespigny, M.D. (London : Hardwicke and Bogue, 

 1877.) 



There are some local floras which have more than a 

 local value, from the interspersion of critical notes on the 

 species and sub-species by competent authorities. Of 

 this character are Leighton's " Flora of Shropshire," and 

 Bromfield's of the Isle of Wight. Others, of more modest 

 pretensions, aim only at supplying information of interest 

 to collectors or to those engaged in investigating the facts 

 connected with the geographical distribution of plants ; 

 and these possess the advantage that their moderate size 

 enables them to be used as pocket-companions. To this 

 latter category belongs the little volume we have now 

 before us, which strikes us as being a very good volume of 

 its kind. The greater part is occupied by a list of species 

 (alphabetical, so as to avoid the necessity of an index) of 

 Phanerogams and Cryptogams, with the general distribu- 

 tion or special habitats attached. The nomenclature is 

 that of the " London Catalogue of British Plants of 1874," 

 unencumbered by any disquisitions as to specific or 

 varietal distinctions, or the Innits of natural orders. Of 

 the 1,665 Phanerogams and Vascular Cryptogams included 

 in the " London Catalogue," no fewer than 1,250 are 

 found within the limits of the metropolitan flora. These 

 limits, as understood in Dr. de Crespigny's volume, are, 

 however, somewhat vague. They are stated to include 

 an " average thirty-mile radius," but the radius appears 

 to extend considerably further in some directions than in 

 others. Thus, while we find a reference to the well- 

 known localities for Hymenopliylliim tunbridi;euse near 

 Tunbridge Wells, and Osmuiuia regalis near Haslemere, 



there is none to that of Anemone Pulsatilla near Hitchen. 

 These irregularities are, however, no doubt partly due to 

 the direction of the author's individual researches, which 

 seem to have been carried out with great zeal and accu- 

 racy, and to have extended over many years. The rest 

 of the volume is occupied by a list of seventy- five locali- 

 ties, the scarcest and most interesting species of the 

 locality being included in each list, distinguishing those 

 which are authenticated by the author himself — by far 

 the larger number. We can confidently recommend this 

 volume to those interested in the flora of the metropolitan 

 district. 



Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa Indians. By 

 Washington Matthews. (Washington : Government 

 Printing-office, 1877). 

 The United States Geological and Geographical Survey 

 deserves the highest credit for publishing a work which 

 pedantic red-tapeism might have thoughtdid not belong to 

 its province, and Mr. Matthews deserves equal credit for 

 the care, thoroughness and scientific precision with which 

 he has compiled it. We hope that so good an example 

 will find many imitators. The Hidatsa (Hidacha), or 

 Minnetari Indians, are a branch of the Dakota family, 

 and now form one of the three tribes whose scanty relics 

 inhabit the permanent village at Fort Berthold. The two 

 other tribes are the Mandans and the Arickaris, and the 

 linguistic relations of the community form one of the 

 most interesting and important facts ever presented to the 

 notice of the philologist. " This trio of savage clans," 

 says Mr. Matthews, " although now living in the same 

 village, and having been next-door neighbours to one 

 another for more than a hundred years on terms of peace 

 and intimacy, and to a great extent intermarried, speak, 

 nevertheless, totally distinct languages, which show no per- 

 ceptible inclination to coalesce. The Mandan and Hi- 

 datsa languages are somewhat alike, and probably of a 

 very distant common origin ; but no resemblance has yet 

 been detected between either of these and the Arickaree. 

 Almost every member of each tribe understands the lan- 

 guages of the other tribes, yet he speaks his .own most 

 fluently ; so it is not an uncommon thing to hear adialogue . 

 carried on in two languages, one person, for instance, 

 questioning in Mandan, and the other answering back in 

 Grosventre (Hidatsa), and vice versA. Many of them 

 understand the Dakota, and use it as a means of inter- 

 communication, and all understand the sign-language." 

 It should be added, as another curious philological fact 

 that reduplication in verbs, which is a prominent feature 

 of the Dakota, occurs in only one instance in the closely- 

 allied Hidatsa. As in many other savage idioms, slight 

 differences exist between the language of the women and 

 of the men, the former tending to substitute r for d, and 

 the latter preferring / and n. But the ethnologist as well 

 as the philologist will find plenty of materials for study 

 and reflection. Polygamy is practised, and a man usually 

 marries his brother's widow, unless she object to the 

 arrangement. Elopement sometimes takes place, divorce 

 very rarely. " As with other western tribes, it is improper 

 for a man to hold a direct conversation with his mother- 

 in-law ; but this custom seems to be falling into disuse." 

 Males sometimes have four names, all containing the 

 same noun, but a different adjective, and the names are 

 afterwards solemnly changed once or even oftener. 

 Coloured beads and pendants are made of pounded glass 

 procured from the Europeans ; the process of making 

 them is very elaborate, and the antiquity of the art may 

 be gathered from the fact that triangular pendants were 

 used, " not as ornaments only, but as evidences of 

 betrothal, as long ago as the oldest men can remember." 

 Morally, the Hidatsa seem among the best of the 

 Indians ; they are described as industrious, honest, and 

 peaceable, with fine physiques, light complexions, and 

 great powers of endurance. 



