350 



NATURE 



[February 13, 1902 



steam traction is staled to be 28 "pfg. In the light of these 

 trials the use of accumulator traction on short branch lines of 

 railway, is considered to be practicable and economical. 



PrOK. IIoi.BORN, of the Reichsanstalt, Berlin, has designed 

 a new form of electric resistance laboratory furnace, which per- 

 mits temperatures up to 1500°C. to be attained with ease by 

 use of the ordinary liovolt electric supply. These furnaces 

 are made in two forms, the first being adapted for heating 

 crucibles and the second for heating tubes 44 cm. in length. 

 Both forms of furnace are alike in principle, the electric current 

 being conducted through a resistance coil of platinum or nickel 

 wire, wound round a thin porcelain tube or cylinder. The 

 crucible or substance to be heated is placed within this latter, 

 and the space between the outer side of the coil and the con- 

 taining vessel is packed with asbestos or powdered quartz. 

 Using nickel, the temperature of the furnace cannot be raised 

 above 1000" C. without damage to the coil, but with platinum 

 it is possible to attain a temperature of 1500' C. with a current 

 of 14 amperes and 1 10 volts. It is necessary in the use of 

 these furnaces to include a resistance in the circuit and to use 

 only one-half of the maximum current when the heating is first 

 commenced. The use of exterior resistance enables the 

 temperature of the furnace to be regulated with ease, within 

 somewhat narrow limits. Further advantages claimed for 

 these furnaces are — that the separate portions are replaceable 

 when worn out, that the heating spirals can be easily removed 

 and changed to suit the special temperatures required, and 

 that with the tube form of furnace, the heating of the substance 

 can be carried on in the absence of air and in the presence of 

 any desired gas or gaseous mixture. It would be interesting to 

 know whether any attempts have been made to apply electrical 

 resistance heating, to organic combustion work. The visual type 

 of gas-heated combustion furnace is capable of improvement, 

 and the substitution of electricity lor gas would bring with it 

 some notable advantages. In localities where the day supply 

 of electricity is at reduced rates, this application is worthy of 

 attention. 



The climate and artesian waters of Australia form the 

 subject of an essay by Mr. J. P. Thomson (Queensland 

 Geographical Journal., vol. xvii. No. 2, 1902). T(ie author 

 maintains that the great central basin of Australia, as well as 

 certain valleys within the area, are hemmed in by ancient crystal- 

 line, Palajozoic and Mesozoic rocks of an impervious character ; 

 and that during the Cretaceous period the valleys were filled up 

 and the level of the central basin raised by detritus from the 

 adjacent mountain ranges. Thus extensive beds of sand and 

 gravel were spread out, and these were followed by a deposition 

 over the central area of fine clays and shales. The clays to a 

 certain extent seal up the water which is held in the Cretaceous 

 sands and gravels, and thereby a good source of artesian water 

 is provided. Since his paper was printed, Mr. Thomson an- 

 nounces (Brisbane Telegraph, December 28, 1901) that the 

 existence of an abundant supply of good drinking water has 

 been proved at a depth of 30 feet in the Kucia district north 

 of the Great Australian Bight. This discovery indicates that 

 inland settlements may be feasible in tracts which furnish good 

 indigenous bush feed for cattle, but have hitherto been regarded 

 as drought-stricken. 



We have received a copy of a paper by Mr. I'. Frandsen, 

 published in the Proieeiiings of the .-Vnierican .Academy (vol. 

 xxxvii. No. S), on the effects of directive stimuli on slugs. 

 It appears that, as the result of previous experiments, it has 

 been stated that when slugs are placed on an inclined plane of 

 glass, some move in an upward and others^in a downward 

 airection. One of the objects of the author's iiivestigations was 

 NO. 1685, VOL. 65] 



to test the tfuth of this statement,' and, if true, to find a rfcason 

 for the diversity of habit. 



In his presidential address to the Edinburgh Field Naturalists' 

 and Microscopical Society, which appears in the Transactions 

 for 1901, Mr. W. C. Crawford gives an interesting account of the 

 ant-colonies shown in the Paris^ Exhibition, and suggests that 

 similar exhibits might with advantage be introduced into this 

 country. In the same volume, Mr. T. .Speedy gives some in- 

 teresting notes on the life-history of the badger, while Mr. 

 A. A. Pinkerton discourses on the habits of the mole. In 

 the course of his paper the former gentleman states that it is 

 a common belief that young badgers do not suckle till a con- 

 siderable time after birth. 



Special interest is attached to Mr. R. (Juick's paper on 

 " Human Bone Instruments " in The Reliquary and Illuslrated 

 Archaeologist (vol. viii. January, 1902, p. 28), as the figures 

 which illustrate it are from specimens in the Ilorniman Museum. 

 It will be in the memory of our readers that this really remark- 

 able museum was given last year by Mr. Frederick John Horni- 

 man, M.P., to the London County Council to be freely open to 

 the public. In Mr. <Juick's somewhat discursive paper an in- 

 teresting series of three Tibetan drums is figured ; the first is 

 made of two human calvaria fastened back to back so as to form 

 a sort of hourglass-shaped instrument, two knotted strings 

 constituting the clappers. Another specimen is a brass model 

 of two calvaria, and the third is a wooden one yet more 

 conventionalised. Trumpets made from the thighbones of lamas 

 and a lama's skull cap used as a drinking vessel are also 

 illustrated. 



A COOD deal of untrustworthy theorising has been applied 

 to textile markings found on the pottery of primitive, pepples ; 

 Mr. W. H. Holmes has a careful, discriminating paper on this 

 subject in the American Anthropologist (iii. 1901, p. 397). 

 He finds pottery so marked can be divided into five classes : 



(1) Impressions from the surface of rigid forms, such as baskets ; 



(2) Impressions of fabrics of a pliable nature, sucji as cloths 

 and nets ; (3) Impressions from woven textures used over the 

 hand or over .some suitable modelling implement ; ^4) Im- 

 pressions of cords wrapped a,bout. modelling paddles or rocking 

 tools; (5) Impressions of bits of cords or other textile units, 

 singly or in groups, applied for ornament only and so ar- 

 ranged as to giy^ textile-like patterns. In addition we have 

 a large class of impressions and markings in which textile 

 effects are mechanically imitated. Those who are interested 

 in our owp prehistoric .pottery should study Mr. Holmes' 

 paper. 



A NEW volume of The Geographical Journal, containing the 

 numbers published in the latter half of last year, has been 

 received. .Among the papers in the volume we notice the 

 following as of wide interest : — Sand. waves in tidal currents, 

 by Ur. V'aughan Cornish ; tne Antarctic voyage of the Belgica 

 during the years 1S97, 189S and 1899, by Mr. H. -ArCjtowski ; 

 the anthropogeography of .Argentina, by Dr. F. P. Moreno ; 

 the National Antarctic Expedition ; and the lake-level of the 

 Victoria Nyanza, by Mr. E. G. Ravenstein. There are in 

 addition a number of p.ipers on explorations, accompanied by 

 maps, and the usual monthly record of progress in the knowledge 

 of geography. 



Messrs. Sanuek.s and Ckowhi-rst have sent us for 

 examination a number of brilliant lantern slides of birds and 

 other zoological subjects. Photography has been a helpful hand- 

 maid to many branches of science, but none of its performances 

 are more widely appreciated than those in the field of natural 

 history. Drawings of animals may have artistic merit, but they 

 do not inspire the feeling of life which is conveyed by good 



