Dec. 28, 1882] 
- NATURE 
212 
amount in the wholesome waters of Class I., but almost uni- 
versally present, and often in large quantity, in the pernicious 
water of Class II. They are very variable as to presence and 
amount in the doubtful waters of Class III. This result is 
worthy of special attention in view of the different opinions 
which have been expressed (by Wanklyn, Angus Smith, Frank- 
land, Griess, Ekin, Haines, &c.) as to the sanitary conditions of 
nitrites and nitrates in water. 
Among the artificially polluted waters were a number of 
samples of such general character as to be under the gravest 
suspicion on sanitary grounds (suspicion corroborated in sundry 
cases by biological tests), in which, nevertheless, nitrites and 
nitrates were not found; but these waters had an extraordinarily 
large amount of organic matter, generally accompanied by very 
large amounts of ammonia. 
Looking at the results for Classes I. and II., and bearing in 
mind the conclusions reached by Miiller, Schloesing, and Muntz, 
Storer, Warrington, and others, as to the process of nitrification 
being due to presence of an organised ferment or ferments of 
bacterial character, ‘‘the idea suggests itself whether the noxicus 
character of waters containing largely nitrates and nitrites— 
themselves presumed to be harmless—and but very little organic 
matter—which ought to be present, of some sort, to support the 
‘previous contamination view—may not be in reality due to the 
presence of a special nitrifying ferment, itself to be classed among 
the lower organisms capable of propasating disease.’” 
Two points are noted as requiring caution in regard to the 
above conclusions: first, the samples may have undergone some 
chemical change in the interval from their collection to their 
reaching the analysts (but such changes could hardly have been 
great); secondly, it was necessary to take exaggerated instances 
of mischief; and the organic impurities present in the waters 
concerned may not be the same as those which would produce 
slighter, but, in time, serious ill effects. Slighter forms of 
disease, really attributable to drinking water, may perhaps be 
numerous, and possibly of various types, but generally the diffi- 
culty will be too great of securing, in view of the many factors 
concerned, any satisfactory evidence as to their cauce. 
In regard to determinations of chlorine, the results are in 
many cases of water from shallow wells, significant enough of 
contamination by fluid animal excreta. The amount of chlorine 
in the case of several wells near the sea, shows the need of thought 
as to the natural source of a water in drawing conclusions from 
the presence of chlorides. Even where chlorine has come in 
with organic matter, this impropriety in too hastily deciding, 
as is sometimes done, that a small quantity indicates vegetable, 
and a large quantity animal contamination is illustrated by 
several cases. 
Prof. Martin and Dr. Hartwell were asked to independently 
mark waters as ‘‘dangerous”’ and ‘‘ suspicious” on the basis of 
the biological observations. The results, as summarised in a 
table, prove that these methods will not afford the means of 
deciding between a wholesome and an unwholesome natural 
water. Several of the waters believed to be fairly wholesome, 
and certainly in use on a large scale, are marked ‘‘suspi- 
cious,” while not one of the waters believed to have proved 
themselves pernicious when used by man, are set down as 
“dangerous.” In many cases the waters which affected rabbits 
most, contained very Javge amounts of organic matter, so large 
as to probably invalidate comparison with natural waters or with 
the much more dilute specimens of prepared water. On the 
other hand, with three strengths of a solution of organic mate- 
rial, it was not the strongest that produced the most marked 
effects. The pernicious character of waters containing relatively 
but very little organic matter, seemed to be proved by several 
cases; probably supporting the idea that it is not mainly the 
amount of organic matter, bnt the presence and nature of low 
organisms that render drinking-water unwholesome. Much 
difficulty in interpretation of the biological results seems to have 
arisen from too great differences of absolute strength in the 
solutions of organic matter used. 
SCIENCE AT KHARKOFF) 
THE Society of Naturalists at the Kharkoff University is one 
of those which were founded a :few years ago for the 
advancement of the natural sciences generally, and especially 
* Trudy Obshestva Estestvoispytatelet pri Kharkouskom Universitete 
(Transactions of the Society of Naturalists at the Kharkoff University), 
vol. xv. 1882. 
for the study of the natural history of Russia in the provinces 
that surround University towns, and which have already rendered 
most valuable services in both these directions, The Kharkoff 
Society of Naturalists, which numbers 117 members, has already 
published fifteen volumes of their Transactions (Trudy), which 
contain many valuable papers. Of those in the earlier volumes we 
will only mention, in geology : The chemical researches of rocks 
and coal of the Dnieper basin, by A. S. Brio ; geological ex- 
plorations in the government of Kharkoff and in the Coal- 
measures of the Don, by A. W. Guroff ; and in the basins of the 
Dnieper and Kalmius, by M. F. Klemm ; the explorations of the 
Delta of the Dnieper, and microscopical analyses of the Dnieper 
granites and of the fossil trees of Southern Russia, by M. E. Krend= 
ovsky ; the very interesting researches into the formation and 
shapes of valleys in Southern Russia ; on the crystalline rocks of 
the Dnieper ; on black earth, on the Devonian formation of the 
Sosna and Tim river, and on the structure of the mountains of 
Taurida, by Prof. S. F. Levakovsky ; and on the hydrography 
of the Northern Donets river, by J. T, Morozoff. The attention 
of the Kharkoff zoologists was especially attracted during 
recent years to the obnoxious insects which destroyed the 
crops, and we find in the Zyansactions of the Society several 
papers devoted to the subject, such as a complete descrip- 
tion of the locusts and other insects inhabiting corn-fields, by 
P. W. Ivanoff; on the parasites of the locust and the corn- 
beetle, by P. T. Stepanoff ; and on obnoxious insects of the 
province of Kharkoff, by W. A. Yaroshevsky. The same 
author has published also nearly complete lists of the Hemiptera, 
Heteroptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera of the province of 
Kharkoff. Among many other contributions in zoology and 
physiology we notice physiological researches into the struc- 
ture of the eyes of birds, on the movements of protoplasm, on 
the air-sacs of birds, and on the mechanism of their breath- 
ing; on the movements of Uwio, and of Anguis fragilis (all 
with numerous plates), by R. F. Byeletzky ; on water-acarides, 
by M. E. Krendovsky ; on the Aythotrephes of the Sea of Azov, 
and on a new Polyphemida, by N. P. Pengo; on Infusoriz, 
Turbellarize, and Lepidoptera of the province of Kharkoff, by 
Madame S. M, Pereyaslavtreff; on the development of Nema- 
todes, and on macrobiotus macronyx, Duj., by the late G. M. 
Radkevitch ; and on the Aranez fauna of the province of 
Kharkoff, by W. W. Reinhard. There are but few papers on 
botany in the Zvamsactions. K. S. Gornitsky contributes a 
‘© Conspectus plantarum” of the Walki district of the province 
of Kharkoft; E. M. Delarme has two contributions on the 
anatomy of Coniferze and on the Kirkazon plants; N. F. Kran- 
sakoff publishes a list of plants of the neighbourhood of Taganrog, 
and Novocherkask ; and L. W. Reinhard, on the conjugation of 
zoospores, and on the Characeze of Middle and Southern Russia. 
All these papers are profusely illustrated, and sold each sepa- 
rately at very low prices. 
The recent (fifteenth) volume of the Zransactions (Trudy), con- 
tains the work done by the Society in 1881. M. Stepanoff 
contributes a paper on the very unsettled question as to the 
metamorphosis of Bombylides. He has found larve of Bom- 
bylides in cocoons of Stauronotus vastator, Stev.; they sup- 
port very well temperatures as low as —20° Cels., and can 
remain at life for more than one year. The opinion of M, 
Zetterstedt as to the larvee of Bombylides living also freely, non- 
parasitically, in the soil, seemed to be confirmed by M. Stepa- 
noff, who found them in the autumn and in the spring in the 
soil, but they might have already abandoned their former dwel- 
lings. M. Stepanoff gives also a complete description (with 
coloured drawings) of the larvae of Systoechaus leucophagus, Mg. 
—M. Kulchitzky contributes two papers; on the endings and 
ramifications of the motor nerves of the lower vertebrata (the 
author doubts that the motor nerves necessarily end in small 
lamellz under the sarcolemma, as it was observed by Herr 
Kiihne) ; and on the origin of the coloured globules of the blood 
of Mammalia; these last—the author says—arise, not out of 
protoplasm, but from globules of lymphoid elements which 
undergo a whole series of very complicated metamorphoses.— 
M. Yaroshevsky gives a list of 'Neuroptera and Hymenoptera of 
the province of Kharkoff. The Neuroptera of the close neigh- 
bourhoods of the Kharkoff city number no less than sixty-one 
species. The Hymenoptera number 400 species, of which 
no less than 235 are known in the neighbourhood of the 
Kharkoff city. The same author, in company with M. Soko- 
joff, contributes a paper on the state of larvze of the corn-beetle 
Anisoplia) during the winter. The recent ravages of the corn- 
pectle in Southern Russia had provoked new researches on this 
