400 



NA TURE 



[February 27, 190S 



A DKTAiLED description of the geology and mineral re- 

 sources of Lawlers, Sir Samuel, and Darlot (East Murchi- 

 son goklfield), Mount Ida (North Coolgardie goldfield), 

 and a portion of the Mount Margaret goldfield is given 

 by Mr. C. G. Gibson in Bulletin No. 28 of the Geological 

 Survey of Western Australia. The report, which covers 

 seventy-three pages, and is accompanied by three large 

 folding maps and five mining plans, shows that rocks of 

 the district comprise granites and greenstones, the payable 

 gold quartz veins occurring in the latter. The granites are 

 seen almost everywhere to be intrusive into the green- 

 stones. The quartz veins appear to be of later origin than 

 the granite, and in most cases they occur at no great 

 distance from its junction with the basic rocks. The 

 district under review had returned, up to the end of 1906, 

 581,104-61 ounces of gold. 



The Records of the Geological Survey of India (vol. 

 xxxvi., part ii.) contain the report on the mineral produc- 

 tion of India during 1906 compiled by Mr. T. H. Holland, 

 F.R.S. Compared with the previous year, there was an 

 increase of 10-9 per cent, in the value of the total produc- 

 tion. The production included 581,545 ounces of gold, 

 9,783,250 tons of coal, 140,553,122 gallons of petroleum, 

 495.73° 'O"^^ °f manganese ore, and smaller quantities of 

 salt, saltpetre, mica, ruby, sapphire, jadestone, graphite, 

 iron ore, tin ore, chromite, diamonds, magnesite, and 

 amber. In the same issue Mr. E. W. Vredenburg describes 

 the ammonites of the Bagh beds, and there are several 

 interesting brief miscellaneous notes. Amongst these there 

 is a description of the occurrence of wavellite, which has 

 apparently not been previously recorded from India, in the 

 Singhbhum district, Bengal. 



Dr. Gustav Braun, of the Geographische Institut, 

 University of Greifswald, announces that he is anxious to 

 collect information as to " Bodenbewegungen," which he 

 defines as movements taking place on restricted areas of 

 the earth's surface as the result of gravitation {Jahres- 

 bericht der geographischen Gesell. zu Greifswald, 1908). 

 He does not propose to include mountain-folding, though 

 this might attract Herr E. Reyer and Dr. Ampferer, to 

 name no others ; but he seeks cooperation from those who 

 have the opportunity of observing slow or sudden move- 

 ments of the soil, landslides and rock-falls, flows of peat, 

 and all kindred superficial phenomena. The results of 

 human operations are to be included. Dr. Braun issues 

 forms to those who can assist him, on which exact details 

 of each case studied can be entered, and he is even willing 

 to collect extracts from newspapers. Surely he cannot be 

 acquainted with the reckless treatment of natural pheno- 

 mena by the popular American and English Press. Yet 

 his circulars will probably bring to his notice certain care- 

 fully studied examples of rock-creep, bog-sliding, and so 

 forth, which will afford material for comparison with those 

 f_-xamined bv himself. 



In part i. of Aus dem Archiv der deiitschen Seeivarte 

 for 1907, Mr. A. Paulus discusses the duration of the 

 passages of German sailing vessels in 1893— 1904. This 

 laborious investigation, which should be of practical utility 

 as well as interesting from a general point of view, deals 

 with the three large oceans (the outward and homeward 

 voyages being separately discussed), and shows the average 

 duration and the times of the longest and shortest passages 

 in the period mentioned. The tables also give the duration 

 of the shortest passages from about 1S70, including the 

 results obtained from a somewhat similar discussion ^jy 

 Dr. Schott prior to 1893, and observations from other 

 sources. From the latter it is seen that a fair number 



NO. 2000. VOL. yy~\ 



of the shortest voyages has occurred in the more recent 

 period, and this result, we think, may be reasonably 

 ascribed to the dissemination of useful information in 

 American, English, and German charts. We note thiit 

 Mr. Paulus is able to say that there are only a few German 

 sailing vessels which do not keep a meteorological log for 

 the Seewarte. 



The hydrographical researches carried on in connection 

 with the international fishery investigations continue to 

 lead to the issue of a number of useful monographs and 

 reports. Amongst those now before us are the current 

 issues of the Bulletin des Resultats acquis pendant les 

 Croisieres periodiqiie, which has recently been enlarged in 

 scope, with great advantage, to include observations 

 taken during three-monthly periods, as well as those taken 

 on the regular quarterly cruises. The number of charts 

 and sections illustrating the results arrived at has also 

 been increased. In Publications de Circonstance, No. 40, 

 issued by the International Council, Mr. Johan Gehrke 

 discusses the mean velocity of the Atlantic currents running 

 north of Scotland and through the English Channel. 

 These two currents constitute the sources of supply of 

 .\tlantic water to the North Sea. Mr. Gehrke calculates 

 that the whole water volume that yearly passes round the 

 north of Scotland (within certain defined limits) is about 

 61,000 cubic kilometres, and has a mean salinity of 

 35-15 °/o„, whilst the annual water supply to the North 

 Sea through Dover Straits is 2036 cubic kilometres, and 

 its mean salinity 35-07 °/„„. In Publications de Circon- 

 stance, No. 38, Mr. Martin Knudsen points out that 

 in certain areas the determination of the salinity of the 

 surface water may be of very great service to the navigator 

 in helping him to fix the position of his vessel at sea. 



A NOTE on certain Maori carved burial-chesls, by Mr. 

 T. F. Cheeseman, is published in the Transactions of the 

 New Zealand Institute, vol. xxxix. Although it had been 

 recorded that manoa trees, Dacrydiuni colensoi, were 

 reserved by the Maoris for making coffins, there is little 

 or no information regarding such coffins in which the bones 

 were placed. The burial-chests recently discovered, and 

 now stored in the Auckland Museum, are carved into the 

 rough similitude of a human figure, except two of a 

 different shape. So far as evidence is forthcoming, they 

 may be two hundred years old. 



To the January number of the Journal of the Gypsy 

 Lore Society Mr. A. B. Sinclair contributes an article on 

 the Oriental Gypsies. His view that there are no Indian 

 Gypsies, that the recent find of Oriental books at Turfan, 

 with other evidence, shows that the civilisation and 

 phonetics we have been wont to consider special to India 

 flourished at one time north of the Himalaya, and that 

 therefore there is no need to seek the origin of the Romani 

 speech in India, is startling, and not likely to be accepted 

 without further proof than that furnished in the present 

 article. The revived society, which has its headquarters 

 at 6 Hope Place, Liverpool, deserves the support of all 

 who are interested in this remarkable race. 



Two papers, one by Mr. Edgar Buckingham in the 

 Bulletin of the Bureau of Standards (U.S.A.), iii., 2, 

 and another by Mr. J. D. Hamilton Dickson in the 

 Philosophical Magazine for January, show that there is 

 still material for discussion in the already much dis- 

 cussed " Joule-Kelvin " experiments on the determina- 

 tion of absolute temperature by the flow of gases through 

 a porous plug. Mr. Buckingham introduces the subject 

 with a short discussion of the fundamental equation, 



