March 26, igoS] 



NA TURE 



495 



Auckland Isles furnish numerous choice plants, notably 

 the species of the composite genus Pleurophyllum, Myosoiis 

 capitata, a Celmisia, and gentians. Characteristic plant 

 associations on the islands are the tussock-grasses, Poa 

 scoparia, Poa foliosa, and Danthonia bromoides, confined 

 to special localities determined chiefly by wind conditions. 



The preservation of plants so as to maintain their green 

 colour has been attempted in several ways. Prof. Trail 

 some years ago recommended the use of a solution of 

 acetate of copper in acetic acid, whereby compounds of 

 chlorophyll with copper are formed. He contributes a 

 note to the Kew BuUelin (No. 2) to point out the 

 advantage of using a boiling solution. In the same number 

 an article on Jequi^ manicoba refers to the occurrence in 

 north-east Brazil of rubber trees allied to Manihot 

 Glaziovii, the source of Ceara rubber. According to 

 German botanists, three other species, dichoioma, hepta- 

 pliylla, and piauhycnsis, should be distinguished ; they are 

 named after the regions in which they grow as Jequi^, 

 S. Francisco, and Piauhy manicobas ; all are considered 

 to be more valuable than Manihot Glaziovii. Determina- 

 tions of new plants are published as " Diagnoses Africanae, 

 XXI.," and " New Orchids, XXXI." The identification 

 and occurrence of different patchouli plants form the sub- 

 ject of another article, and Mr. A. D. Cotton discusses 

 the appearance in Great Britain of the alga Colpomenia 

 sinuosa, indigenous in the Mediterranean. 



The report of the Chief Inspector of Mines of Mysore 

 for the year 1905-6 (Madras, 1908) is devoted chiefly to 

 official data on the progress of the Kolar gold mines. A 

 decline in production is noticeable, due mainly to the 

 decline in grade of the ore milled. There was also notice- 

 able an increased death-rate from accidents in 1905, due 

 mainly to a serious underground fire at the Nundydroog 

 mine. The total value of gold bullion produced from the 

 commencement of mining operations in Mysore up to the 

 end of 1905 was 23,384,532/. 



The Geological Survey of Great Britain issued two 

 additional west-country memoirs at the close of 1907. Mr. 

 Clement Reid's " Geology of the Country around Meva- 

 gissey " (price 2s.) illustrates Sheet 353, which includes 

 also the gneissic islet of the Eddystone from Sheet 354. 

 This relic is probably part of an Archaean mass running 

 cast-north-east, which has governed the trend of the earth- 

 folds in the Mevagissey district. The memoir points out 

 how the Silurian rocks, coloured as " Grauwacke " in the 

 old map of 1839, have now been delineated in some detail ; 

 •but volunteers are asked for who will elucidate the difficul- 

 ties still remaining. Beautiful examples of shear-structure 

 in banded slates are given in the photographic plates. 

 The second memoir is by Mr. Usshcr, in explanation of 

 Sheet 348, on " The Geology of the Country around 

 Plymouth and Liskcard " (price 3^.), and forms a very 

 notable contribution to our knowledge of British 

 Devonian strata. Dr. Flett describes the numerous 

 volcanic and intrusive rocks occurring here on various 

 horizons. An unconformity is suggested between the 

 Lower and Middle Culm-measures, to account for the 

 occurrence of both series directly on Upper Devonian beds 

 in the northern portion of the map. Mr. Ussher believes 

 that the submerged valleys cut in the rock on the south 

 coast owe most of their depth to river-erosion during the 

 epoch of elevation that gave us the raised beach of the 

 district. When this beach, therefore, was being formed 

 at sea-level, these valleys ended in merely shallow tidal 

 inlets. This conclusion is, as Mr. Ussher points out, in 

 opposition to views put forward for similar phenomena in 



NO. r:oo4, vol yyl 



the south of Ireland. Mr. D. A. Macalister contributes a' 

 report on the mines and minerals of the district. The 

 colour-printed maps accompanying the memoirs above 

 mentioned are published at is. 6d. each, and include, as 

 usual, clear longitudinal sections of the country in the 

 margins. 



-According to a report in the Proceedings of the Phila- 

 delphia .\cademy for December, 1907, the glaciers of 

 .'Mberta and British Columbia are passing through a period 

 of shrinkage, which attained special development during 

 the year under review. The Asulka'n glacier, for example, 

 which for several years was stationary or slightly advancing, 

 showed a marked decrease during the past season. " Pre- 

 ceded by a cold and stormy winter and a summer with low 

 average of sunshine and low temperature, these conditions 

 point to an interesting series of changes which may ulti- 

 mately throw some light on the relation between weather 

 conditions and glacier change." 



The Scottish Oceanographic Laboratory at Edinburgh has- 

 recently issued, in the shape of a small pamphlet, an account 

 by Dr. J. Hjort, of Bergen, of some of the results of moderri 

 international oceanic research. The account, which is 

 translated from the Norwegian, deals firstly with the new 

 methods of current-measurement, and then with the life- 

 history and development of several of the commoner food- 

 fishes, such as haddock, herring, saith, cod, and plaice. 

 Diagrammatic illustrations are given of the form and size 

 of the scales of these fishes at different periods of existence, 

 and the means of thereby ascertaining the approximate age 

 of any individual fish. The ages of the plaice are illus- 

 trated, on the other hand, by diagrammatic sketches to scale 

 of four specimens at as many stages of existence. The 

 pamphlet should be of considerable value to all who are 

 connected with our fisheries. 



A DETAILED account by Mr. A. Schmauss of twenty-one 

 unmanned balloon ascents made in 1907 at Munich is 

 published in an excerpt paper from the regular meteor- 

 ological year-book of Bavaria. The experiments, which 

 were made with great care, show that in the lower air 

 strata the temperature gradient is subject to great oscilla- 

 tions, and that the greatest decrease of temperature with 

 height is found between 5 and 8 kilometres. Between 

 8 and u kilometres there is a transitional zone leading 

 to the upper isothermal layer or inversion. After this 

 stratum of increasing temperature follows another slowlv 

 augmenting decrease of temperature from about 14 kilo- 

 metres upwards. Between i and 5 kilometres the same 

 rate of decrease of temperature that exists at mountain 

 stations was found to hold good. 



In the U.S. Monthly Weather Revieiv for October, 1907, 

 Mr. H. H. Clayton (by permission of Prof. A. L. Rotch) 

 discusses the lagging of temperature changes at great 

 heights behind those at the earth's surface, and types of 

 pressure changes at different levels, as shown by the 

 records of sounding balloons liberated at St. Louis in 

 .April and May, 1906. The observations show that at all 

 heights above about i kilometre the temperature changes 

 occur later with increasing elevation ; at 10 kilometres 

 the maxima and minima are generally about twenty- 

 four hours later than on the ground. Only a few observa- 

 tions at 15 kilometres were available, but they appear to 

 show that the irregular ranges of temperature at that 

 height are much less than at sea-level. Referring to the 

 maxima and minima of pressure, it is found that at 

 10 kilometres the curve is almost the reverse of that at 

 sea-level ; at 15 kilometres it is somewhat similar to that 

 at 10 kilometres, but the ranges are much reduced. 



