December 17, 190S] 



NA TURE 



The habits of crinoids form the subject of a suggestive 

 paper by Mr. A. H. Clark in the November number of 

 the American Naturalist. From the very nature of the 

 case, very little can be actually known with reg-ard to 

 these deep-sea organisms in the living condition, so that 

 we must depend largely upon inference in trying to ascer- 

 tain their nature. Their food consists, however, of minute 

 pelagic organisms and small crustaceans, and it is obvious 

 that, as a rule, the largest supply of this nutriment will 

 be obtained by those individuals which live in deep water, 

 as not only will they obtain what they can collect by 

 themselves, but they will also receive a rain of carcases 

 from the upper layers. .\s a corollary of this, it appears 

 that the size of these organisms depends upon the amount 

 of their food-supply, so that the largest individuals ought 

 to occur in the deepest water. On the other hand, where 

 streams of ice-cold water, as on the west coast of Green- 

 land, or still larger quantities of fresh water at a higher 

 temperature, as on some of the coasts of Cuba, Guade- 

 loupe, and Japan, flow into the ocean, they prove fatal 

 to minute organisms, and in such situations the greatly 

 increased food-supply renders it possible for crinoids to 

 nourish and attain a large size in comparatively shallow 

 water. Indeed, in some instances the individuals of 

 various species attain their maximum size in situations of 

 this nature. Crinoids present all colours except blue, and 

 it appears that the smaller stalked forms are invariably 

 yellow, which, as among parrots, may be the equivalent 

 of no colour at all. 



A REVISED second edition of the guide to Sowcrby's 

 models of British fungi on exhibition in the Natural 

 History Museum at South Kensington has recently been 

 issued. The publication, obtainable at a popular price, 

 provides a fairly ready means of identifying the common 

 larger Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes. The descriptions 

 in the new edition are still confined to the models, but 

 omitted genera are mentioned. The most observable 

 change is the division of species, formerly grouped under 

 Peziza, under the genera Otidia, Sarcoscypha, Macropodia, 

 Plectonia, and Peziza. A serviceable addition has been 

 furnished in the glossary. 



.\ DESCRIPTION', with maps, of the vertical distribution 

 of plants in the Balkan States is contributed by Prof. L. 

 .Adamovic to Petermann's ilittheilungen (vol. liv.. part 

 ix.). The horizons are broadly demarcated as lowland, 

 upland, montane, alpine, and subnival. The wheat fields 

 rise to an altitude of nearly 4000 feet, and about the same 

 elevation one reaches the limit of fruit trees, also of such 

 trees as the walnut, Cory/11,'! coturna, and the chestnut. 

 The hornbeam, poplar, and birch continue to the middle 

 of the montane region, where they give place to beech, 

 fir, and Scots pine. At the lower limit of the subalpine 

 region, about 6000 feet, woods are no longer formed, and 

 :il>ove this altitude the juniper and mountain pine are 

 iiduced to bushes. 



Of various plant diseases discussed by Mr. E. S. Salmon 



in his report on economic mycology for the year 1907-8, 



!siued from Wye Agricultural College, the .American 



ioseberry mildew, Sphaerolheca mors-uvae, and " warty " 



^easc or " black scab " of potatoes, caused by Chryso- 



: Idyctis cndobiotica, must be classed as extremely noxious 



[)-sts, and the apple scab, due to the fungus known as 



I itsicladium dendriticum or Venturia point, should be 



recognisable by all fruit-growers. With regard to the 



first-named, Mr. Salmon continues to urge the necessity 



for more drastic measures, and very rightly foresees in 



the potato scab another insidious pest that calls for | 



NO. 2042, VOL. 79] 



systematic and compulsory eradication. Apple scab is 

 fortunately less dangerous, being amenable to treatment, 

 but growers will be well advised to digest the advice given 

 regarding Bordeaux mixture for controlling this and other 

 fungal pests. 



Dr. H. Molisch describes in the Sitzungsberichte der 

 Kaiscrlichcn Akademie der Wissenschaften (Vienna, vol. 

 cxvii., part i.) some experiments upon forcing the resting 

 shoots of woody plants by soaking them in warm water. 

 Twigs of the hazel, bearing male catkins, placed for twelve 

 hours in a bath registering about 30° C. in mid-November, 

 and then removed to a warm house, were hastened into 

 flower in eight days. Flowers of Forsythia similarly treated 

 developed in a fortnight. Lilac, dog-wood, horse-chestnut, 

 and other shrubs or trees were also responsive to treat- 

 ment. The stimulus is only effectual at a certain period, 

 and appears to be distinctly localised. Staminate buds of 

 hazel could be forced in November, but twigs bearing 

 pistillate flowers could not be stimulated until December. 

 .As showing the localised nature of the effect, a photograph 

 of a hazel shoot is given where the branches on one side 

 that had been steeped are fully grown, while the branches 

 on the other side remain quite dormant. 



It is well known that the central regions of Australia 

 are too dry for successful cultivation without irrigation. 

 There exists a vast artesian basin, but unfortunately the 

 water obtained from the bores contains sodium carbonate, 

 and is thereby rendered so alkaline that it cannot be used 

 for irrigation purposes. A suggestion has been put for- 

 ward that nitric acid should be mixed with the irrigation 

 water in sufficient quantity to convert the carbonate into 

 nitrate, i.e. to change the injurious constituent into a 

 valuable fertiliser. The practical difficulties to be over- 

 come are very considerable, but a successful result would 

 be of incalculable benefit, and the scheme is being investi- 

 gated in the chemical laboratory of the Sydney Depart- 

 ment of -Agriculture. 



In the Memoirs of the Indian Meteorological Depart- 

 ment (vol. XX., part iv.) Mr. R. L. Jones discusses types 

 of weather in the south of the Madras Presidency. The 

 most important types, corresponding to the four seasons, 

 are : — (1) cold-weather type, late December to February ; 

 (2) hot-weather type, March to May ; (3) south-west mon- 

 soon type, June to early October ; (4) north-east monsoon 

 tvpe, October to December. Charts showing the Sh. a.m. 

 pressure distribution for each of these have been selected 

 from the published daily weather reports, and explanatory 

 notes are added to each. Abnormal conditions sometimes 

 occur ; the change, however, from one type to another 

 takes place gradually as the year advances. In order to 

 appreciate these, Mr. Jones deals with the normal and 

 the most abnormal weather types for each month. The 

 subject is important, and very interesting ; it has been a 

 favourite inquiry in various countries, e.g. Abercromby's 

 " Principles of Forecasting," published by the Meteor- 

 ological Council in 1S85, deals with the question 'in con- 

 siderable detail, so far as relates to the weather of the 

 British Islands. 



When we use force to move a body or impede move- 

 ment we are conscious of our effort exerted. Reasoning 

 from this human experience, Sir John Herschel suggested 

 in his " Outlines of Astronomy " that the movements of 

 falling bodies, or of any matter in space, are " the direct 

 or indirect result of a consciousness and a ivill existing 

 someuiherc, though beyond our power to trace, which 

 force we term gravity." Prof. Karl Pearson refers to this 

 animistic view in his " Grammar of Science," and Dr. 



