August 17, 18S2] 



NATURE 



37i 



charts of the Atlantic Ocean, with an explanatory text, at 

 the cost of the respective institutions of Copenhagen and 

 Hamburg, and to recommend other institutions to contri- 

 bute materials for the work, if they can. 



(g) M. Tietgens, Chairman of the Great Northern 

 Telegraph Company, submitted to the Committee a plan 

 for a cable to connect Iceland and the Faroes with 

 Europe, the expense to be met by the receipts from 

 meteorological telegrams. The Committee, while recog- 

 nizing the very great importance which information 

 coming from Iceland and the Faroes must possess in 

 relation to the issue of storm warnings and forecasts 

 in Europe, felt that they were not in a position to express 

 an opinion on the practical execution of the project. 



(/;) The Sub-Committee nominated at Berne (MM. 

 Mascart and Wild) submitted specimens of their pro- 

 posed International Reduction Tables. It was resolved 

 to print a full page of each of these table;, with explana- 

 tions, and submit them to meteorologists for their opinion, 

 with the view of subsequently publishing the tables by 

 means of subscriptions from the different institutes. 



(/) M. van Rysselberghe' s proposal to communicate by 

 wire the indications of his instruments at out stations to 

 central offices was considered, and that gentleman was 

 requested to draw up and publish a detailed scheme for 

 its execution. 



(j) A Committee was nominated, consisting of M. de 

 Brito Capello, Rev. Clement Ley, and Prof. Hilde- 

 brandsson, to draw up a scheme of instructions for the 

 observations of "cirrus" clouds. 



(/') It was resolved that the prospects of the prepara- 

 tion of a general catalogue of Meteorological Bibliography 

 were not favourable to its execution, and that the only 

 action for the Committee to take was to invite the heads 

 of the different institutes to prepare catalogues of the 

 meteorological literature of their respective countries. 



The Members of the Committee were most hospitably 

 entertained during their stay in Copenhagen. They were 

 honoured with an invitation to dine with the King on the 

 5th inst. , and on the following day an excursion was 

 organised for them by the Marine Ministry to Friederichs- 

 borg and Elsinore, which was fortunately favoured with 

 fine weather. 



THE SMOKE ABATEMENT INSTITUTE 

 A T a meeting held at Grosvenor House, under the 

 **■ presidency of His Grace the Duke of Westminster, 

 K.G., on July 14, at which the Reports of the recent Ex- 

 hibitions in London and Manchester were presented, and 

 the medals distributed to successful exhibitors, the follow- 

 ing resolution was moved by Prof. Abel, C.B., F. R. S., 

 seconded by Mr. J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., and carried 

 unanimously : — 



" That it is desirable that the work thus far carried on 

 by the Smoke Abatement Committee be continued, and 

 for that purpose a Smo'-e Abatement Institute be formed." 



The chief objects of the proposed Association will be : — 



(a) To promote the abatement of coal smoke and other 

 noxious products of combustion in cities and other places, 

 in order to render the atmosphere as pure and as pervious 

 to sunlight as practicable. 



(b) To check the present serious waste of coal, and the 

 direct and indirect loss and damage accompanying the 

 over-production of smoke and noxious products of com- 

 bustion. 



Extended powers will be taken for carrying out the 

 objects of the Association by the following, among other 

 means, viz. : — 



1. By promoting and encouraging the better and more 

 economical use of coal and coal products, the selection 

 of suitable fuel, and the general improvement in pro- 

 ducing, applying, and using heat and light for domestic 

 and industrial purposes. 



2. By conducting tests of smoke-preventing apparatus 

 and fuels in manufacturing towns as well as in London. 



3. By reporting on tests, granting awards for approved 

 fuels, methods, or apparatus ; by lectures, printing, pub- 

 lishing, and circulating statistics and other information 

 for the guidance of local authorities, inventors, manufac- 

 turers, and others; and by giving instruction to workmen, 

 servants and others in the use of new appliance;, &c. 



The terms of membership are one guinea per annum, 

 or such larger sum as members may voluntarily choose to 

 contribute. No liability will be incurred by becoming a 

 member beyond a guarantee of one guinea, payable, if 

 required, in the event of the termination of the Associa- 

 tion ; and any member can withdraw from the Association 

 by giving notice of his wish to do so. 



THE COLOURS Of FLOWERS, AS ILLUS- 

 TRATED BY THE BRITISH FLORA* 

 IV. — Degeneration 

 HP HE cases already detailed lead us gradually up to the 

 -*■ consideration of those very degenerate flowers whose 

 structure has become completely debased, and especially 

 of those which have green perianths instead of coloured 

 corollas. As a rule, evolutionists have taken it for 

 granted that green flowers were the earliest of any, and 

 that from them the coloured types have been derived by 

 insect selection. But if the principles laid down so far 

 be correct, then it is obvious that, since all petals were 

 originally yellow, green petals must be degraded, or at 

 least altered types. Of course, the flowers of gymno- 

 sperms (in their blossoming stage) are mostly composed 

 of green scales or leaves ; and so it no doubt remains 

 true that all flowers are ultimately descended from green, 

 or greenish, ancestors. But if petals are by origin modi- 

 fied stamens, it will folio* that all corollas at least were 

 once coloured ; and we shall probably see reason in the 

 sequel to extend the principle to all perianths whatsoever. 

 Without insisting upon the rule too dogmatically, so as to 

 embrace every kind of angiosperm, we may, with some 

 confidence, assert that wherever a flower possesses a 

 rudiment of a perianth in any form, it is descenied from 

 coloured and entomophilous ancestors. 



The Composites are, perhaps, in some respects, the 

 very highest family of entomophilous flowers now existing 

 on the earth. Their very structure implies the long and 

 active co-operation of insect fertilisers. They could not 

 otherwise have acquired the tubular form, the united 

 corolla, the sheathed anthers, the compound heads of 

 many-clustered florets. That originally green flowers 

 could attain to this stage of development, and yet remain 

 green, is simply inconceivable. But the Composites con- 

 tain also some of the most degraded flower types in all 

 nature, Beginning with such forms as the common 

 groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), which has an inconspi:uous 

 yellow rayless head, specially adapted to self-fertilisation, 

 we go on to plants like the Artemisias, with small greenish 

 florets, which have taken, or are ta'cing, to wind-fertilisa- 

 tion. Still more degraded are the Anteiuiarias, Gnapha- 

 liums, and Filagos, whose mode of fertilisation is pro- 

 blematical. And at the very bottom of the scale we get 

 the little green Xanthium j so degenerate a form that its 

 connection with the other Composites can only be traced 

 by means of several intermediate exotics, in every stage 

 of progressive degradation. Such conclusive examples 

 clearly show us that green flowers may occur as products 

 of degradation even in the most advanced families. 



Adoxa moschatellina is another excellent specimen of 

 a green corollifloral blossom. This pretty little plant is 

 closely allied to the honeysuckles and ivies ; but it has 

 somehow acquired a light green corolla, in place of a 

 white or pink one. It is still entomophilous, and scantily 

 secretes honey, so that the reason of the change cannot be 



1 Continued from p. 350. 



