January 9, 1908] 



NA TURE 



231 



Among the articles in Schrifteii naturfor. Gcs., Danzig, 

 vol. xii., part i., attention may be directed to one by Dr. 

 A. Wallenberg on the anatomy and physiology of the 

 central nervous system of man. The paper, of which only 

 the first portion is now published, is based on an address 

 delivered before the society so long ago as i88S, and has 

 been presented to the public by request. It deals specially 

 with modern methods of brain-research and their result, 

 and is illustrated by several diagrams, coloured or other- 

 wise, displaying in a remarkably clear manner the com- 

 plicated system of " telegraphy " by which coordinated 

 movements of the body are brought about. 



In his presidential address to the Indiana Academy of 

 Science, as reported in the Proceedings of that body for 

 1906, Dr. Robert Hessler states that both malaria and 

 tuberculosis seem to have made their appearance in the 

 country since its colonisation by the white man. The 

 advent of malaria is attributed to the felling of the forests, 

 and the consequent periodical drying-up of the smaller 

 rivers, and the destruction of fish, accompanied by an 

 enormous increase in the numbers of mosquitoes. This 

 disease rapidly attained its maximum, but, under preventive 

 measures, as speedily declined, and has now been elimin- 

 ated from large cities, and to a great extent from their 

 suburbs. Tuberculosis, on the other hand, which is 

 essentially a disease of civilisation, has been steadily on 

 the increase ever since its introduction, and shows no signs 

 of having yet attained its maximum. 



The report on agriculture in the Virgin Islands for 

 1906-7 refers mainly to the work done at the experiment 

 station at Tortola under Mr. C. W. Fishlock. Although 

 formerly cotton provided a valuable crop, the cultivation 

 had to be re-introduced by the Imperial Department of 

 -Agriculture in 1903 ; since that time the industry has 

 advanced, and is now remunerative ; about one-third of the 

 quantity grown is Sea Island cotton. It has also been 

 demonstrated that many parts of the island are suitable 

 for cacao cultivation. A series of illustrations of the 

 experiment station add to the interest of the report. 



In the Geological Magazine (June and November, 1907) 

 Prof. A. C. Seward publishes descriptions of fossil plants 

 from Egypt and South Africa. Of three Egyptian speci- 

 mens, only one, a new species of Clathropteris, is suffici- 

 ently well preserved to be named ; it furnishes some 

 evidence that the beds from which it was collected were 

 of Rhaetic or Lower Jurassic age. The material from 

 South Africa yielded a Phyllotheca and an Osmundiles, 

 both made types of new species, a Lepidodendron 

 impression, and a Bucklandia stem. The Osmundites 

 stem and the Lepidodendron both show interesting morpho- 

 logical features, while the Bucklandia is the first record 

 of a Cycadean stem from plant beds of the Uitenhage 

 series. 



Owing to the character of the leaves and the intervals 

 that elapse between the flowering periods, the classifica- 

 tion of the genus Agave is a difficult matter ; also the 

 existing nomenclature is so uncertain that it becomes 

 necessary to study the species in their native habitats. 

 Two papers on Agave and the allied genus Furcraea are 

 published in the eighteenth annual report of the Missouri 

 Botanical Garden. In the former. Prof. W. Trelease dis- 

 cusses the three species macroacantha, pugioniformis, and 

 A'(ir;,'iHs/;ii, belonging to the group of Euagaves. The 

 second species is merged in macroacantha, for which the 

 author gives a diagnosis and illustrations showing the 

 plant in its natural environment. Similarly the speries 



NO. 1993. VOL. 77] 



Karwinskii, that produces a trunk about 10 feet high 

 closely set with leaves, is described. The article on 

 Furcrjea, contributed by Mr. J. R. Drummond, furnishes 

 an epitome of the literature of the genus, with a synopsis 

 of known species. 



In connection with the bicentenary of the birth of Euler, 

 the great Swiss mathematician. Engineering of December 

 27, 1907, gives an account of his life, work, and character. 



With the object of helping prospectors, the Geological 

 Survey of Western Australia has compiled a Bulletin 

 (No. 30) giving particulars of the distribution and occur- 

 rence of the ores of metals other than gold. The Bulletin, 

 which covers 129 pages, has been written by Mr. E. S. 

 Simpson and Mr. C. G. Gibson, and contains details of 

 the occurrence in Western Australia of ores of copper, 

 tin, lead, zinc, antimony, bismuth, iron, nickel, cobalt, 

 manganese, aluminium, tantalum, tungsten, and molyb- 

 denum. 



In the Engineering Magazine (vol. xxxiv.. No. 3) Dr. 

 A. Gradenwitz gives an illustrated description of the Royal 

 Bavarian Workmen's Museum at Munich. It is one of the 

 most important museums devoted to industrial hygiene in 

 Germany, where the cause of industrial betterment has 

 been largely furthered by such institutions. The museum 

 is intended to further any efforts made in the field of 

 workmen's protection, while affordmg a comprehensive- 

 view of present achievements in the prevention of accidents, 

 in industrial hygiene, sanitary habitation, and alimenta- 

 tion. 



At a meeting of the Association of Water Engineers on 

 December 14, 1907, an interesting paper was presented 

 by Mr. W. R. Baldwin-Wiseman on the influence of the 

 thickness of the pipe wall on the rate of discharge of 

 water from minute orifices piercing the pipe. The results 

 of the experiments described show that, although the 

 diameters of the orifice may vary considerably, yet for a 

 similar ratio of the thickness of the wall to the diameter 

 of the orifice, the coefficients of discharge are approxi- 

 mately the same at the pressures recorded of 60 lb., 40 lb., 

 and 20 lb. per square inch, and that the coefficients of 

 discharge are in general higher for large values of the 

 ratio of thickness to diameter than for small values of 

 that ratio. 



.\n elaborate memoir of considerable economic interest, 

 by Mr. Mauric Alfassa, is published in the Bulletin de la 

 Societe d' Encouragement (vol. cix., No. 9). It deals with 

 the reduction of the working day to eight hours, and 

 records the experience of the French Government establish- 

 ments and of works in other countries. The author con- 

 siders that the eight hours' day is practically realisable in 

 all cases. In the cases where the reduction has not been 

 made, it is possible, as is shown by English experience, 

 particularly at the works of Messrs. Mather and Piatt, 

 sensibly to abridge the working hours, maintaining at the 

 same time the production and the cost of production, the 

 increase in certain departments being compensated by 

 savings effected in others. 



To the worker in pure science who finds difficulty in 

 following the progress of applied science, the annual 

 retrospects published in the technical journals are of special 

 value. The most complete record of engineering progress 

 is contained in the Engineer of January 3. The achieve- 

 ments in 1907 in the various branches of engineering prac- 

 tice are ably summarised, and illustrations are given of 

 the most noteworthy works. A report on shipbuilding in 



