a ae 
SEPTEMBER 14, 1916] 
Institute, who divided them into three classes :— 
(1) Hammers with a simple groove round the middle 
like disease occurring 
for the retention of the withy which formed the 
NATURE 
handle; (2) tools which, besides this groove, had one | 
of their ends also grooved for the reception of a 
second withy, and thus were prevented from slipping 
when a blow was struck; (3) two implements which 
seemed to be wedges. Prof. Boyd Dawkins was 
inclined to believe that they were of pre-Roman 
age. Further examples of the same type were dis- 
covered a few years ago by Mr. F. S. Graves, who 
has contributed three specimens to the Hull Museum. 
They are made of glacier-borne erratics of igneous 
rock, carefully trimmed into shape. These interest- 
ing survivals of early mining are illustrated and 
described in No. 1o8 of the Hull Museum Publica- 
tions. 
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a typhus-fever- 
in limited areas in North 
America. So far no micro-organism has been definitely 
found associated with it. Wolbach now describes a 
bacterium having certain peculiar characters, which 
may be found in large numbers in the lesions char- 
acteristic of spotted fever in experimental animals. It 
is well stained with Giemsa’s stain, which is not 
usual with bacteria, possesses low specific gravity, as 
it is not thrown down by centrifuging, and cannot be 
cultivated (Journ. Med. Research, xxxiv., 1916, p. 121). 
Tue subject of the filterability of micro-organisms 
through a porcelain filter is one of considerable interest 
and importance. The pores of such a filter are so fine 
that particles passing through them are usually beyond 
the limit of microscopic vision, and the viruses of 
several diseases are known to be of this nature. The 
possibility of easily visible micro-organisms having a 
sub-microscopic filterable stage has also to be con- 
sidered. Wolbach shows that certain spiral organisms 
larger than many bacteria, viz. Spirochaeta duttoni 
of African tick fever, Sp. elusa, and Sp. biflexa, will 
pass through the pores of Berkefeld V, N, and W filters 
(Amer. Journ. Tropical Diseases and Prevent. Med., 
ii., February, 1915, p. 494). On the other hand, try- 
panosomes from cultures and from animal tissues are 
not filterable through bacteria-proof filters (Wolbach, 
Chapman, and Stevens, Journ. Med. Research, xxxiii., 
1915, Pp. 107). 
Tue fourteenth annual report of the Imperial Cancer 
Research Fund recently issued gives evidence of the 
effects of war-time conditions on the investigations. 
In spite of the depleted staff the essential organisation 
is being maintained, and a number of papers were 
published by the director and assistants. The studies 
of Dr. Tsurumi on heterologous tumour immunity 
constitute an attempt at biochemical analysis of new 
growths by testing the reactions to blood and tissue 
extracts of the sera of rabbits immunised against 
mouse and rat tumours. The hemolytic and agglu- 
tinating properties were found to correspond to the 
specific protein reactions of mouse and rat tissues. 
Complement fixation gave indications of common pro- 
perties in tumours of like histological types. A pre- 
liminary account was published of an interesting, 
guinea-pig tumour, a lipo-sarcoma. The relation of 
the mitochondria to the development of fat in the cells 
of this growth showed that this process is to be re- 
garded as a differentiation, and not as a fatty degenera- 
tion such as is common in the majority of rapidly 
growing neoplasms. Brief reference is made to un- 
published work by the director on the relation of the 
anti-ferment power of the blood, to the phenomena of 
NO. 2446, VoL. 98] 
39 
the Abderhalden reaction, and to an investigation by 
Dr. Cramer of the relation of the water content of 
transplantable carcinomata to rate of growth and 
other biological characters. 
Dr, F. H. Epcewortu publishes in the July issue 
of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science 
results ot his studies on the development and morpho- 
logy of the pharyngeal, laryngeal, and hypobranchial 
muscles of mammals. The paper is a continuation 
of one published in that journal during 1914. The 
author is to be congratulated on the completion of 
his task, which must have entailed an enormous 
amount of labour. 
Tue Transactions of the Royal Scottish Arbori- 
cultural Society for July, 1916, contain an article by 
James W. Munro on the insects attacking the common 
pine in Scotland, Their life-history, which he has 
studied for some years, is traced in connection with 
the mode of felling of the timber, which leaves the 
felled area covered with branches and stumps. Mr. 
D. E. Hutchins records as a sign of progress the 
recent appointment of Mr. Lane Poole, a competent 
forester trained at Nancy, as chief forest officer in 
Western Australia, This post had been left vacant for 
twelve years, though the forests of. this State are of 
great value, consisting mainly of karri and jarrah, 
two of the finest species of Eucalyptus. 
In British Birds for August Mr. J. H. Owen con- 
tinues his notes on the breeding habits of the sparrow- 
hawk. He describes now the behaviour of the male, 
which, it would seem, takes no part in the incubation 
of the eggs, though he feeds the female during both 
the laying and incubating periods. The food he brings 
her is never eaten at the nest, but on some tree at a 
little distance therefrom, to which she flies when 
called by her mate. Sometimes the transference of 
food takes place in mid-air, but as a rule it is brought 
to the tree. As the date of hatching approaches she 
shows less and less inclination to leave the nest, so 
that the last days of incubation are passed Tasting. 
The male never feeds the young, so that if the female 
is killed these must starve. He will bring food and 
leave it at the nest, but lacks the instinct to break 
up and distribute it among his offspring. The young, 
it would seem, are quite unable to feed themselves 
until they are three weeks old. 
AN interesting series of papers on muscle physiology 
appeared in the May number of the American Journal 
of Physiology by Prof. Frederic S. Lee and his col- 
leagues at Columbia University, New York. In the 
first place, it is shown that the diaphragm takes the 
leading position among the skeletal muscles, as regards 
its power of work, and its efficiency is correlated with 
its richness in glycogen. The effects of temperature 
and humidity were also examined in cats’ muscles. 
The cats were arranged in three series: (a) after 
exposure for six hours to 21° C. and 52 per cent. 
humidity ; (b) 24° C. and 70 per cent. humidity; and 
(c) 33° C. and go per cent. humidity. The muscles 
were excised, stimulated to exhaustion, and the total 
work measured. The following percentages express 
the duration of the working period: (a) 100, (b) 97, 
and (c) 89; and the total work was (a) 110, (b) 85, 
(c) 76. The total blood per kilogram of body-weight 
was decreased in the cats exposed to the higher tem- 
peratures and humidity, and their blood-sugar was 
reduced in quantity. We have here an objective 
illustration of the enfeebling effects of hot, moist 
climates, which are familiar as subjective experiences. 
Tue Bul. Imp. Acad. Sci. (Petrograd, March. 1915) 
contains an article by A. A. Richter and E. M 
