DECEMBER 14, 1916] 
normal éggs. At least 65 per cent. of those studied 
“were initiated by an abnormal small yolk or by a 
part of a normal yolk.’’ About a third of the shells 
proved yolkless; such “eggs”? may be’ formed through 
“the stimulation of an active duct by some particle 
. 
which is not yolk.” 
Tue American Museuiis Journal for October con- 
tains an exceedingly interesting article on the common 
mussel (Mytilus edulis), primarily intended to awaken 
the American public to the fact that in this mollusc 
they have a source of most nutritious food, which 
has the further advantage of being practically in- 
exhaustible, vast beds extending along much of the 
Atlantic seaboard. In his general survey of the life- 
history of this mollusc, the author, Mr. Irving Field, 
points out that the ill-effects of overcrowding are at 
least mitigated by the power of migration which, to a 
limited extent, even the adults possess in the sucker- 
like action of the foot. This activity is much more 
marked in young specimens, which, timed over a 
measured course, have attained a speed of one inch 
per minute. At this stage they can creep with ease 
up the vertical faces of piles and rocks. Further, they 
have been observed, like pond-snails, to creep along 
under the surface-film of still water. The almost in- 
credible fecundity of this mollusc, and the number of 
its enemies, which is surprising, are also fully enlarged 
upon. 
Tue forty-ninth annual report of the Fisheries 
Branch of the Canadian Naval Service, published 
this year, deals mostly with statistics of the fishery 
industries of the Dominion and with reports of sur- 
veys and inspections. One appendix gives an account 
of the rather extensive operations of the fish hatcheries 
in relation to the fresh-water fishes of the great lakes 
and rivers, Other appendices deal very briefly with 
the work of the biological stations at St. Andrews, in 
New Brunswick, and at Departure Bay, in British 
Columbia. Preliminary notices are made of some 
highly interesting investigations on the processes in- 
volved in the operations of fish-curing, and on the 
biochemistry of the extractives of cured fish and the 
organic fluids of various fresh fishes and other marine 
animals. Other fishery investigations are in progress, 
and their publication will be a matter of much interest. 
Tue observations on the sound of gun-firing in the 
south-eastern counties of England are collected and 
analysed in an interesting paper by Messrs. M. Christy 
and W. Marriott (Quart. Journ. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 
vol xlii., October, 1916, pp. 267-88). Mr. Christy’s 
observations were made at Chignal St. James, near 
Chelmsford, which is about 125 miles from Ypres and 
155 miles from Albert. The sounds which are attri- 
‘buted to firing in the neighbourhood of Ypres con- 
sisted of a rapid succession of dull thuds, almost 
more felt than heard. Those heard on June 24 last 
and afterwards, from the valley of the Somme, were 
more intense and so rapid that they formed a flutter- 
ing rumble. The sounds have been recordéd from 
nearly the whole of Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, 
and from parts of the adjoining counties. The firing 
near Ypres was heard at Elmdon, in north-west Essex 
(about 151 miles), and that in the Somme Valley near 
Winchester and Ringwood, in Hampshire (about 200 
miles), and at Wendling, in Norfolk (about 220 miles). 
Mr. Christy’s observations show that the sounds were 
heard more readily the greater the elevation; in 
valleys they were seldom noticed. Their audibility 
also varies with the season. In the spring and 
summer they were heard nearly every day, in the early 
autumn very rarely, and never in the winter «months. 
The meteorological conditions that favour the trans- 
mission of the sound are discussed by Mr. Marriott. 
NO. 2459, VOL. 98] » 
NATURE 
297 
He finds that the sounds were heard most frequently 
on days when there was a light or moderate breeze 
from between north and east, and when the sky was 
cloudy or overcast. 
Tue climate of Hongkong has recently been dis- 
cussed by Mr. T. F. Claxton, director of the Royal 
Observatory, Hongkong. The observatory is not on 
the island, but is situated near the centre of Kow- 
loon, a small peninsula in South China, separated 
from Hongkong by a harbour from one to three miles 
wide. Mean monthly diurnal inequalities are given 
of the principal meteorological elements, and the times 
of day at which different temperatures and wind velo- 
cities will occur on the average throughout the year. 
Numerous plates are given showing diurnal ranges of 
barometer, temperature, rain, cloud, and sunshine, 
and vector diagrams of wind are also given. At the 
commencement of the discussion five-day means are 
given of the principal meteorological elements through- 
out the year for the period of thirty years, 1884-1913; 
these values are also given graphically. The four 
seasons of the year are shown to be well marked in 
Hongkong. A comparatively cold, dry winter lasts 
from the beginning of December to the middle of 
March, followed by a damp, misty spring until May, 
and a hot summer from June to September, with 
occasional heavy rain from typhoons which pass 
mostly to the north and north-west of the observa- 
tory. The autumn is usually dry and pleasant. The 
typhoons are discussed, and especially their influence 
on the weather at Hongkong and on the basing of 
weather forecasts from their bearing and distance. 
Special attention is also given to the effect of varia- 
tions in the solar activity on the meteorological 
elements. Greater details would be welcomed on 
some points; for instance, it is scarcely possible to 
obtain the recognised reduced barometer readings. 
The building of the observatory is said to be 103 ft. 
above sea-level, but the height of the barometer is not 
given, and clearly most of the readings are uncor- 
rected for height. No mention is made of the correc- 
tion for gravity. 
Tue Canadian Arctic Expedition under Mr. V. 
Stefansson is still at work, and only brief accounts 
of its progress have so far appeared in the Press. 
Some further details of the work of the expedition 
up to the autumn of 1915 now appear in the report of 
the Department of the Naval Service of Canada for 
the year ending March 31, 1916. Last year’s issue 
of this publication contained the story of the drift and 
loss of the Karluk and the subsequent rescue of the 
greater part of her crew. The present volume has’ 
better news. In the summer of 1915 Mr. Stefansson, 
with three companions, explored and charted the west 
coast of “Prince Patrick Island. At Cape McClintock 
they found one of McClintock’s records from 1853. 
In 78° N. lat. 117° W. long. new land was sighted 
to the north. They deached this land and explored 
some miles of its coast-line, but the weather was 
unfavourable. However, there can be no doubt that 
this new island in Gustav Adolf Sea is one of consider- 
able size. It seems to be connected with Prince 
Patrick Island by a chain of small islands or reefs. 
A further result of the expedition’s work is the cer- 
tainty of the absence of land in the Beaufort Sea, 
north of the Mackenzie River and west of Banks 
Land. The continental shelf extends fifty miles be- 
yond Alaska and Banks Land, where the water rapidly 
deepens to more than 1300 fathoms. é 
Very little attention seems to have been paid to the 
question of the mobility of iron in plants, probably be- 
cause this element has ordinarily been considered of 
minor interest in plant nutrition. Pfeffer states that 
