78 



NA TURK 



[November iq, 1908 



about the umbilical veins, while the right and left lobes 

 grow along the course of the corresponding omphalo- 

 mesenteric veins. The origin of the hepatic fissures can- 

 not yet be satisfactorily explained. 



A piivTOGEOGRAniiCAL Study of the Bonin Islands is con- 

 tributed by Dr. .A. Hattori to the Journal (vol. xxiii., 

 art. 10) of the Royal College of Science, Tokyo. Although 

 the average monthly temperature seldom exceeds 27° C, 

 the vegetation is tropical in character, and shows close 

 affinities with the flora of Formosa. A considerable pro- 

 portion of Indian and Ceylonese plants, consisting largely 

 of coastal plants, suggests the importance of sea trans- 

 portation. A single endemic genus, Boninia (Rutacere), is 

 recorded, and thirty endemic species, or about 14 per cent, 

 of the total. The screw-pine, Pandanus bonincnsis, an 

 endemic species, thrives generally, and in one locality 

 forms a pure forest; the palms l.ivisfona chincnsis and 

 Ptycospcnna elegans are prominent, also the fern trees 

 Alsophila Bongardiatia and Cyathea spinulosa. 



An impressive volume, copiously supplied with illustra- 

 tions, has been compiled bv Dr. D. T. Macdougal, of the 

 Desert Botanical Laboratory connected with the Carnegie 

 Institution at Washington ; he discusses therein the 

 botanical features of the North American deserts. The 

 volume contains the essence of previously published reports 

 on deserts in Texas, Mexico, and California, and concludes 

 with some general remarks on deserts and desert plants. 

 On the subject of temperatures it is noted that in the soil 

 around the roots of plants temperatures were measured 

 up to 43° C, and the readings obtained by inserting the 

 bulbs of thermometers into Opuntia stems ranged from 

 27° C. to 43° C. Again, it was observed that on occasions 

 a difference of 20° C. existed between the temperature of 

 the air and soil surrounding the stem and root of the 

 same plant. These facts, it will be seen, do not harmonise 

 with generally accepted ideas. 



We have received early numbers of the new periodical 

 Archiv fur Zellforschung, edited by Dr. R. Goldschmidt, 

 intended, as the title implies, for the publication of original 

 communications on cytology. The first part, issued in 

 February, was inaugurated with a paper by Dr. R. Hcrt- 

 wig on modern problems of cell-science, in which he 

 discusses the function of the nucleus and the nature of 

 its influence. He elaborates his theory of a relation exist- 

 ing between the nucleus and the protoplasm, whereby the 

 phenomena of division and other changes in the cell are 

 regarded as a release of the tension set up by a departure 

 from the normal proportion. An important contribution 

 to the same subject is made by Dr. M. Popoflf, wherein 

 he details his experiments with Infusoria to obtain data 

 for worliing out the proportion mentioned. The tabulated 

 curves are of great interest, also the reasoning as to a 

 chemico-physical ultimate cause. Dr. G. Tischler com- 

 municates the results of cytological investigations with 

 sterile plant hybrids, but is unable to ofTer any explana- 

 tion of the determining influence. Other contributions 

 relate to the chromosomes, the formation of sperms in the 

 My.xinoideae, and Dr. Goldschmidt traces the chromatin 

 changes in the egg of Distomum laiiccolatum. 



Messrs. Gust.av Fischer, of Jena, have published a 

 very useful and interesting booklet, by Dr. P. Schatiloff, 

 explanatory of Ehrlich's " side-chain theory," and illus- 

 trated with several diagrams C" Die ehrlichsche Seilen- 

 kettentheorie," pp. 56, price 2 marks). 



In the Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psycliology 

 for October (xviii.. No. 4) Mr. Judson Herrick discusses 

 NO. 2038, VOL. 7y] 



the morphological subdivision of the brain, and suggests 

 a scheme of subdivision of the vertebrate nervous system 

 which he thinks might be tentatively adopted as a 

 terminology available for all vertebrates. 



The Journal of Hygiene for September (viii.. No. 4) 

 contains several important papers ; among others, Mr. 

 Currie discusses abnormal reactions to horse serum in the 

 serum treatment of cerebro-spinal fever, Dr. Green dis- 

 cusses immunity against vaccinia in animals and the in- 

 fluence of temperature on calf vaccine, and Mr. Watson 

 publishes a note on the variation of the rate of disinfection 

 with change in the concentration of the disinfectant. 



The Bio-Chewical Journal for October (iii.. No. 0) con- 

 tains a paper by Dr. Owen Williams on the micro- 

 chemical changes occurring in appendicitis. It would 

 appear that in the course of the changes in the intestinal 

 wall an abnormal condition with the formation of calcium 

 soaps is induced. The calcium soaps are absorbed with 

 difficulty, and tend to act as foreign bodies in the wall, 

 and at times as a concretion in the lumen, of the appendix. 



Rats and their parasites have assumed considerable 

 importance in the dissemination of plague, also in 

 trichinosis, and Mr. A. E. Shipley, F.R.S., in the Journal 

 of Economic Biology (iii.. No. 3, October) gives a long 

 list of the ecto- and endo-parasites which infest these 

 animals. 



In 1807 Dr. Francis Buchanan, author of the well-known 

 '.' Journey through Mysore," was appointed to make a com- 

 prehensive survey of Bengal. .After about 20,000/. had been 

 expended on the work it was discontinued, and a portion 

 of the MS.S., now in the India Office Library, was pub- 

 lished by Mr. M. Martin in 1838 under the title of 

 " Eastern India." Even admitting its obvious short- 

 comings, the book has been of much value to later writers. 

 Mr. H. MacPherson, Director of Land Records, Bengal, 

 has now issued a pamphlet entitled " The .Aboriginal Races 

 of the Sonthal Parganas : a Plea for the Reprint of the 

 Buchanan Manuscripts," in which he shows the value of 

 the collection. If the Government of Bengal finds itself 

 unable to re-print the collection in extenso, it may be hoped 

 that it will at least publish the portions which Mr. Martin 

 either abbreviated or omitted from his book. 



One of the most primitive methods of chartography is 

 that employed by the inhabitants of the Marshall Islands. 

 Mr. T. .-\. Joyce, in the October number of Man, describes 

 a chart of this class from the British Museum collection. 

 It consists of a framework of sticks, those which are 

 horizontal and vertical being intended as supports to the 

 map, while the diagonal and curved rods represent the 

 swells raised by the prevailing winds. At the intersections 

 of the rods shells are fixed to denote the islands of the 

 group. Comparison with a modern chart shows that the 

 position of each island with reference to its neighbours is 

 indicated with considerable accuracy. The distances from 

 island to island are not so correctly defined ; but this is a 

 matter of minor importance, because the winds in these 

 latitudes being constant at certain seasons the boat can 

 be steered by the swells alone, and its position with refer- 

 ence to the Islands can be determined by indications which 

 the practised eye draws from cross-swells and the like. 

 From the fact that the Ralic Archipelago is most accurately 

 charted, it would appear that the maker of this map was 

 a resident in one of the islands of this part of the group. 



In the October number of the Reliquary Mr. E. H. 

 Goddard discusses the objects of the Bronze age which 

 have been found in Wiltshire. It is remarkable that a 



