i8o 



NATURE 



[December 26, 1901 



Un rn. a few months ago, Tahiii could be reached from the 

 United States only by a sailing schooner from San Francisco in 

 a voyage of six or seven weeks. The French Government has 

 now arranged for a steamship to leave San Francisco for Tahiti 

 every five weeks, and as the voyage only lasts about eleven 

 days, many travellers will probably take advantage of it. The 

 development of means of communication will, however, produce 

 decided changes in the ways and customs of the natives, and 

 this induced Dr. S. P. Langley to visit Tahiti by the first trip 

 of the new line. An interesting diary of the voyage and visit 

 kept by him is printed, with illustrations, in the December 

 number of the National Geographic Magazine. It will be 

 remembered that Dr. Langley described in Nature, of August 

 22 (vol. Ixiv. p. 397), the fire-walk ceremony witnessed by him 

 during his visit ; and his observations showed conclusively that 

 (.he alleged miraculous power of resisting fire possessed by the 

 performers has no foundation in (.ict. The success of the fire- 

 walk depends upon the low thermal conductivity of the stones 

 among which the fire is kindled, as Dr. Langley explained in 

 his letter to Nature, and describes in his diary. Other ordeals 

 by fire, which have been successfully undergone, such as the 

 burning fiery furnace in which Shadrach, Meshach and 

 Abednego stood unharmed could probably be explained by 

 reference to natural causes in a similar way, if sufficient 

 evidence were available. 



In a paper on "The Results of some Recent Researches in 

 Electricity," published by the Warrington Literary and Philo- 

 sophical Society, Mr. J. Reginald Ashworth has presented 

 a summary of the properties of different kinds of rays in the 

 following simple tabular form ; — 



Existence of Interference, Polar- \ 

 isation, Reflection, Refraction. / 

 Photographic Effect .. 

 Excite Phosphorescence 

 Render Air Conductive 

 Penetrate Opaque bodies ... 

 Undergo Deflection by Magnetism 

 Velocity relative to that of Light ... 



I i ^^ 

 « * 3 



o o X 



XXX 

 XXX 



XXX 



X X o 

 X o o 



4 I I 



In this table x denotes the existence and o the nonexistence 

 of the several properties, and Mr. Ashworth quotes authorities 

 for the statements as to the velocities of the lays. 



In a paper published in the Verhandlungen of the Natur- 

 forschenden Gesellschaft in Basle, Messrs. I'aul and Fritz 

 Sarasin suggest that the low temperature of a glacial period 

 may be due to the obscuration of the sun's rays caused by large 

 quantities of dust-particles suspended in the atmosphere. The 

 phenomena associated with the Krakatoa eruption are discussed, 

 and the widespread eft'ects of this single eruption compared with 

 what may be supposed to have been the result of volcanic 

 activity on the scale known to have prevailed at the end of the 

 Pliocene period. 



Prof. W. M. Davis contributes a paper to the November 

 number of La GJographie on the lessons of the Grand Canon 

 of Colorado. The conclusions arrived at by the author during 

 a recent visit to this region, and published in the Hulktin of 

 ihe Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, are 

 used to elucidate its development, beginning with the formation 

 of the massif of arc'.iioan rock which underlies it, and to show 

 that the cutting of the great gc rges is only the last, and by no 

 means the longest, stage of a varied history. Prof. Davis again 

 sets forth his view of the relations between geomorphology and 

 NO. 1678, VOL. 65] 



geology, and urges the importance of the former as a branch of 

 geography. 



JUDi.iNi; from the Schriflen for 1899, which has just reached 

 us, the Natural History Society of Danzig seems to be in a 

 flourishing condition, the number of papers in the volume before 

 us being very large. Many are of a purely local nature, and 

 some valuable contributions are made to the history of the 

 fauna and flora of the district. Herr E. H. Rubsaamen describes, 

 for instance, the insects and other arthropods obtained during 

 two journeys in the Tuchel forest made in i8g6 and 1897; 

 while Herr F. Braun discourses on the ornithology of the 

 Elbing range. Of wider interest is a paper, by Herr E. 

 Treptow, on the progress and results of mining throughout the 

 world during the nineteenth century. An elaborate table of the 

 gold-production of the diff^erent countries of the world during 

 the period in question is appended. 



In our last week's issue we noticed two papers from the 

 Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, of which we had then 

 received only some advance-sheets. The complete current issue 

 (vol. liii. part ii.) has now reached us. Among the more im- 

 portant papers is one by Mr. J. K. G. Rehn on the earwigs, 

 cockroaches, mantids and stick -insects collected by Dr. 

 Donaldson Smith in north-east Africa. Altogether 239 

 specimens of Orthoptera were collected, of which the grass- 

 hoppers, crickets and locusts are reserved for a second paper. 

 A considerable number of species are described as new. The 

 author has also some notes on that remarkable South .\merican 

 bat known as Cenlnrio sene.r, which is regarded as forming a 

 subfamily by itself. In addition to the one on Liu-Kiu 

 Clausilias referred to in our last issue, Mr. Pilsbry has several 

 papers on new molluscs from Japan and the surrounding seas, 

 in the first of which certain Liu-Kiu forms are also described. 

 They are illustrated by several plates. Dr. H. C. Chapman's 

 paper on the placenta and fcetus of the six-banded armadillo is 

 also worthy of note. To ichthyologists Mr. H. W. Fowler's 

 notes on type-specimens of fishes in the Academy's collection 

 will be of interest. 



Nu.MEROus surveying and drawing instruments — some of a 

 novel character — are mentioned and illustrated in the catalogue 

 just issued by Messrs. W. F. Stanley and Co. Students of 

 branches of engineering, architecture, and other subjects in 

 which exactness of observation and design are required, will 

 find that the catalogue contains many desirable instruments. 



Iv requires a philosophic spirit to read with patience and 

 profit Mr. Howard ColUns's " Epitome of the Synthetic Philo- 

 sophy of Herbert Spencer." Vet the fifth edition of this 

 summary of Mr. Spencer's completed and revised survey of the 

 universe has now been published by Messrs. Williams and 

 Norgate, thus showing that there are many students who find it 

 of service. Broadly speaking, the book may be described as a 

 collection of abstract propositions, the proofs of which will be 

 found in the ten volumes in which " The Synthetic Philosophy " 

 is elaborated. Mr. Collins manages to give the essence of this 

 work in his volume of nearly 700 pages. "Indeed," remarks 

 Mr. Spencer in a preface, " I have been somewhat surprised 

 that it has proved possible to put so much in so small a space 

 without sacrifice of intelligibility." 



The latest number of the Proceedings of the Society for 

 Psychical Research contains 650 pages, in which Prof. J. H. 

 Hyslop gives "A Further Record of Observations of Certain 

 Trance Phenomena," the medium being Mrs. Piper. It need 

 scarcely be said that many of the incidents and results described 

 appear trivial to investigators more familiar with the material 

 sciences than mediumistic performances. A special frame of 

 n-.ind is required even to consider the phenomena patiently. 



