February 27, 1902] 



NA TURE 



399 



deprived of their natural charms, it seems only right that their 

 features should be at once rendered permanent by means of 

 photography and kept as records for future generations. As 

 pointed out in the current number of the British Journal of 

 Photography (February 14), we have not necessarily to leave our 

 own country in search of such subterranean cavities, for we have 

 in Vorkshire, Derbyshire, Thanet and other parts of the country 

 grottoes which are well worth seeing and photographing. Why, 

 then, should not these British caves be treated in the same way 

 as has recently been done for the famous grotto of Han ? 

 This subterranean paradise, as it has been called, has lately 

 been photographed with great success and the pictures published 

 in a booklet entitled "The Wonders of the Grotto of Han." 

 In some cases, magnesium light was used as an illuminant, while 

 in others the electric light which adorns the principal galleries 

 of the cavern was sufficient. Even if it were impossible to get 

 sufficient light for such dark interiors by flash, the above- 

 mentioned journal suggests that there is no reason why a time 

 exposure should not be made, making use of a pyrotechnic 

 composition with magnesium or aluminium as its base. 



Messrs. W. M. Mordey and B. M. Jenkin, in their paper 

 on electrical traction on railways, which was read before the 

 Institution of Civil Engineers last week, dealt with the relative 

 merits of direct-current, alternate-current and composite systems. 

 The present time is opportune for such a paper, as the electrifica- 

 tion of some of the larger railways is being more or less seriously 

 discussed. In this country, as the recent Inner Circle arbitra- 

 tion showed, direct-current driving is favoured, the system being 

 generally a composite one, with generation of alternating current 

 at high voltage and conversion to direct-current at 500 volts at 

 substations. On the Continent, as the authors pointed out, 

 there is a tendency to work out the more difficult problems in 

 traction work by the use of three-phase alternating current for 

 both transmission and driving. After summing up the require- 

 ments that should be met by any general system of electrical 

 railway working, the authors concluded that the distribution 

 of power is best effected by single-phase alternating current. 

 The Ward Leonard system of utilising such current was then 

 discussed in detail ; by this the current is supplied to a 

 single-phase motor on the train which drives a dynamo, which 

 in turn drives the direct-current train motor. This method, 

 though it appears complex, is, they consider, the one best 

 satisfying all the conditions for a general electric traction 

 system. 



Mr. W. L. Sci.ater's illustrated notice of that remarkable 

 bird, the ground-hornbill (Bucorax cafer) of South Africa, 

 which appears in the February issue of the Zoologist, will be 

 read with interest by ornithologists. These birds, which are 

 generally seen in the open, live entirely on the ground, and 

 wander about in parties of five or six. It is believed that several 

 females lay in the same nest, which is situated in a hole high up 

 in the stem of a tree. 



To the Revue gt'nJrale des Sciences for September 15, Prof. 

 A. Forel contributes a long article on the psychic faculties of 

 insects. According to the author, these creatures are certainly 

 endowed with four senses, namely sight, smell, taste and touch, 

 the possession of hearing being doubtful. Some writers at- 

 tribute to them a " photodermatic" sense, but this is merely a 

 modification of touch. After describing the location of each 

 of these senses, the author proceeds to discuss the powers of 

 perception, volition and "sentiment" possessed by insects, 

 concluding with a comparison between their intellect and that 

 of man. 



The February number of the Zoologist contains Mr. T. 

 Southwell's account of sealing and whaling for the past year. 

 For the first time for an unknown period, no British whaler 

 NO. 1687, VOL. 65] 



visited the sea between Greenland and Spitzbergen. Davis 

 Strait, on the other hand, was visited by several vessels, and 

 whales were by no means scarce, although, owing to bad 

 weather, captures were not numerous and two whales were lost 

 after being killed. One whale with whalebone close on twelve 

 feet long was secured. The price of whalebone during the 

 season was 1450/. per ton, but it is now said that 2000/. is 

 being asked. The Newfoundland sealing was fairly successful, 

 and was remarkable for the early date at which the vessels 

 completed their cargoes. The Gulf sealing, on the contrary, 

 was a practical failure. 



An influential committee has been appointed to promote a 

 "nature-study" exhibition to be held in London about the 

 end of July. It is suggested that the exhibition should be open 

 to urban and rural elementary day schools, continuation schools, 

 higher-grade schools (boys and girls). Home Office schools, 

 secondary schools (boys and girls), and other institutions and 

 colleges, and that prizes or certificates should be offered in each 

 class for (i) The best collection of common dried plants, 

 injurious insects, &c., apparatus for class lessons, drawings made 

 in class of natural objects, home-made maps with a school as 

 centre, showing features of interest within a radius of two or 

 three miles of the school, note-books, natural history calendars, 

 plans of gardens, photographs, models in clay or plasticine of 

 natural objects, plants grown in boxes and pots, and rustic 

 carpentry. Schools would not be restricted to these exhibits, 

 nor would they be required to send all of them. Teachers 

 would use their own discretion in sending what they believe 

 will most fully illustrate their courses in "nature-study." 

 Specimens of rare plants would not be asked for, and the up- 

 rooting of any plant would be especially forbidden. (2) The 

 best individual exhibit of one pupil's work. (3) The best 

 scheme of instruction and descriptive account of work, methods, 

 &c. There should be no difficulty in obtaining the necessary 

 funds for such an excellent object. 



The discourse on " The Discovery of the Future," delivered 

 at the Royal Institution on January 24 by Mr. H. G. Wells, 

 and printed in our issue of February 6, has been published in 

 book form by Mr. T. Fisher Unwin. 



Mr. W. a. Shenstone's little book on " The Methods of 

 Glass Blowing" (Longmans, Green and Co.) is favourably known 

 to all who have cultivated the art for the purposes of construct- 

 ing physical and chemical apparatus and accessories. The prac- 

 tical hints on glass-blowing contained in the book are the result 

 of long practice at the blow- pipe, and experience of the require- 

 ments of laboratories. The fourth edition of the book, which 

 has just been published, contains a new chapter in which Mr. 

 Shenstone describes the methods of working silica in the oxy-gas 

 flame, a subject to which he has given particular attention. 



The presidential address delivered at the Philadelphia meet- 

 ing of the Chemical Society by Prof. F. W. Clarke appears in 

 a recent number of Science. The address deals with the de- 

 velopment of chemistry, and is an interesting discussion of the 

 progress and prospects of chemical science. Prof. Clarke con- 

 siders that the chief need of chemistry at the present time is 

 the better organisation of research. Whilst fully appreciating 

 the great work that is done by individuals working indepen- 

 dently in the field of science, he thinks that collaboration and 

 systematisation are urgently required. He maintains that either 

 by public expense or by private enterprise, laboratories for 

 research should be established in all civilised countries. L!y 

 conference between them, the work should be so adjusted as 

 to avoid repetition, each one reinforcing the others. Their 

 primary function should be to perform the drudgery of science, 

 to undertake the tedious, laborious, elaborate investigation 



