514 
vol.12, No.3) introduces facts which cannot be explained 
on the ordinary Mendelian basis. The sweet pea 
Duke of Westminster sometimes has on the wings 
a larger or smaller patch of purplish pink. Such 
patched plants give normal, red, and patched off- 
spring in varying proportions. Certain branches of 
“ patched "’ plants are sometimes normal. The seeds 
from such normal branches show no constant genetic 
difference from the rest of the plant, nor was any 
evidence obtained that the normal, patched, and red 
flowers on a patched plant differed from one another 
genetically. There is no indication of genetic differ- 
entiation in the germplasm of different parts of the 
plant. Nevertheless, patched plants are not apparently 
all alike. As in striped Mirabilis, the pair of colour 
characters may behave either as a segregating 

NATURE 

Mendelian pair or form a mosaic. Thereis no sufficient 
explanation of this mosaic condition at the present 
time, but it represents a condition differing distinctly 
from ordinary Mendelian behaviour. 
[ApRIL 14, 1923 
In a second paper on the inheritance of characters 
in some of the many rice varieties, Mr. F. R. Parnell, 
with the assistance of Messrs. G. N. R. Ayyanger, 
K. Ramiah and C. R. S. Ayyangar (Mem. Dept. Agr. 
India, Botany, vol. xi. No. 8), deals with the colours 
of glumes and grain, also with dwarfing and with shape 
of grain. The dwarf variety ‘differs very markedly 
from the type, but behaves as a simple recessive. A 
result of economic importance is that the weight of 
the grain varies with the shape. The hereditary 
behaviour of a number of colour factors is analysed. 
Another genetic paper of economic value is a study of 
certain forms of cotton by Mr. Ram Prasad (Agric. 
Inst. Pusa. Bull. No. 137). Long fibre is considered 
to be a dominant character in cotton. Some evidence 
is obtained that long fibre is correlated with long 
stigma, plants with short lint having shorter styles. 
If this is the case it would enable roguing of undesirable 
plants producing short lint to take place much earlier 
than would otherwise be possible. 

Norway and Iceland: An Interesting Contrast. 
ORWAY has many interesting features to a 
visitor with scientific and technical tastes. 
The ubiquity of electricity generated from water- 
power has often been the subject of comment. The 
peculiar formation of the high tablelands, with lakes 
at heights of 1000-3000 feet, constantly renewed by 
water from the snows above, is favourable to hydro- 
electric supply. The potential value of the water- 
power of Norway has been assessed at 15,000,000 h.p., 
of which about one million is at present in use. 
The mountainous nature of the country has other 
interesting consequences. One curious result is that 
communication between valleys is often less easy in 
summer than in winter, when roads and passes become 
covered with deep snow and can be traversed by ski 
and sleigh. The nature of the country has developed 
isolated scattered communities with pastoral tastes 
and special local industries, such as the hand-woven 
fabrics for which Norway is famous. 
The climate has much in common with that of 
England. Bergen is notorious for its rainfall, and the 
humid atmosphere is doubtless responsible for the 
luxuriant growth ‘of trees, springing in masses out 
of the bare rock lining the fiords in a manner that 
seems to invite study by experts in forestry. The 
use of timber in Norway is universal. Buildings are 
almost invariably of wood, and the humbler cottages 
are roofed with turf, which seems to thrive in the 
moist atmosphere. In mountainous Norway grass 
is scarce. Hence the custom of sending cattle up 
to the mountain “‘ seters’’ in the summer, so that 
the grass at the level of the fiord can be stored in 
summer-time. This cut grass is hung up to dry on 
horizontal lengths of wire. Possibly British farmers 
could take a hint from this practice, as crops in this 
country are often spoiled by rain. 
Geologically the great tablelands of Norway, with 
their stretches of perpetual snow at relatively low 
level, and their vast glaciers (the largest in Europe 
with the exception of those in Iceland) are of great 
interest. It is a strange sight to find these great 
glaciers descending right down to the level of the 
fiord, as happens, for example, at Fjaerland. 
Iceland furnishes some interesting contrasts to 
Norway. The climate is more stable and less like 
that of Britain. Whereas in Norway trees are every- 
where, in Iceland there are practically none. Hence 

we find a new material for buildings of the better 
class—corrugated iron! Grass is also scarce, and | 
No. 2789, VOL. I1T| 
Iceland is one of the few countries where rabbits 
will not thrive. The scenery, though almost destitute 
of verdure, is not monotonous and has a charm of. 
its own. It consists mainly of alternations of rock, 
lava, and sand, with, on the lower slopes of mountains, 
stretches of moss. All vary remarkably in colour. 
Rocks are black, brown, purple, and occasionally bright 
red. Sand may have any tint from yellow to black. 
Amazing changes in colour, difficult to explain and 
offering an interesting study to the physicist, occur 
as the sun sets. A curious feature is the astonishing 
brilliancy of the setting sun, exceeding by far that 
usual in England. The pools of molten lava also 
afford a field for study. Their position is indicated 
by a sulphur-yellow crust, but the upper liquid 
contents are often. bright blue, changing to scarlet 
at a lower level. Hecla, by the way, although the 
mountain best known to English readers, is by no 
means the best example of volcanic action, and is a 
comparatively inconspicuous mountain. 
Ice and snow, usually not far distant in Norway, 
are universal on the higher mountains of Iceland, and 
the blanket of ice and snow creeping over the edges 
of precipices forms an important element in the 
general scheme of coloration. 
In one respect Iceland and Norway seem to be 
much alike—in the hospitality accorded to the 
English visitor. In Norway, especially when one 
leaves the beaten track, one is conscious of an atmo- 
sphere very different from that in many hotels in 
Europe. In Iceland, once he leaves the capital, the 
traveller finds practically no hotels, but he can rel 
on the generous hospitality of the districts visited. 
Ponies are the usual mode of conveyance. It is 
stated that the import of horses is forbidden, as the 
Icelandic Government desires to keep the strain of 
ponies pure. - f 
In Norway the present writer was impressed by 
the high general level of education. One could 
converse on equal terms with persons of all degrees, 
and learn facts of interest about the country. 
English is a compulsory language in the schools, 
and is often spoken with considerable facility. Even 
in Iceland, it appears, English is spoken more 
frequently than might be expected. Here again 
there is a high level of education, but owing to the 
remoteness of the island some strange conceptions — 
of England prevail. 
In Iceland, as in Norway, a variant of Danish is 
— 
