Sei'tembek I, 1 910] 



NATURE 



•-lisplay a more or less distinctly tricuspid character, as 

 was suggested by Mr. True would prove to be the case. 

 In certain respects the white whale is known to be a 

 primitive type, and this is now further emphasised by its 

 tooth-structure. The teeth of the species are, however, in- 

 some ways distinctly specialised, so that they could not 

 have given rise to those of typical dolphins. Consequently, 

 the author is of opinion that the. white whale should be 

 separated from the Delphinidas as a distinct family 

 <Delphinapteridre), and also that each of these families 

 should be regarded as divergent branches from a common 

 ancestral type. 



We have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the 

 report of the Otago University Museum for iqog-io, which 

 is illustrated with a view of the building showing the new 

 wing built for the reception of the library and pictures 

 r.'cently presented by Dr. Hocken. 



The natural features of the .Australian Grampians, a 

 mountain range accessible from Stawell, in Victoria, forms 

 the subject of a note by Mr. A. G. Campbell in the 

 Victorian Naturalist {vol. .x.wii.,' No. 2). The sandstone 

 hills are the habitat of several rare plants, including the 

 singular little Candollca sobolifera ; here, too, the native 

 heath, Epacris impressa, luxuriates in a magnificent and 

 long-flowen'n'g season. The cliff faces are veritable rock- 

 gardens of Epacrids and GreviUeas, while the foot-slopes 

 are favourable to the growth of orchids. Caleya major 

 and C. minor are two rare orchids found by the author. 



The two " Master's lectures " on the adaptation ot the 

 plant to the plant, delivered by Mr. \. D. Hall before 

 the Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society, are pub- 

 lished in the journal of the society (vol. xxxvi., part i.). 

 Perhaps the most instructive lessons are based on the 

 reading of crop-distribution maps, from which the author 

 "deduces the primary importance of the mechanical com- 

 position of the soil. Following these articles, the journal 

 contains, amongst the contributions, a paper by Mr. C. C. 

 Hurst on the application of Mendel's laws of heredity to 

 liorticulture, an account by Miss E. Armitage of cultiva- 

 tion by the peasants in Madeira, and notes on insect 

 pests in the West Indies by Mr. R. Newstead. Mr. Hurst 

 quotes from recent experiments by Cambridge workers in 

 connection with the elucidation of the complicated colours 

 of the snapdragon and variation in sweet peas, and dis- 

 cusses the origin of " albino " orchids, which can be 

 i?xplained upon the assumption of two complementary 

 colour factors. 



Bulletin 419 of the United States Geological Survey 

 contains a collection of analyses of rocks and minerals 

 made in the laboratory of the Survey during the years 

 1S80-1908. It is compiled by Dr. F. W. Clarke, chief 

 chemist, who has also furnished an interesting introduc- 

 tion. This is the third collection issued by the U.S. 

 Geological Survey, and will be of great use to petrologists 

 in general. The analyses are 2420 in number, half of 

 these belonging to igneous and crystalline rocks, and in 

 all the later ones a large number of constituents are 

 separately estimated. The analyses not included in the last 

 edition (Bulletin 228) are mostly those of igneous rocks 

 from the western States, and there are also numerous 

 analyses of minerals isolated from crystalline • rocks. .An 

 innovation which we regret is the use of a smaller type, 

 presumably with the object of saving space. 



The summary of the, weather issued by the Meteoro- 

 logical Ofiice for the week ending .August 27 shows that 

 the rainfall for the pr-riod was exceptionally heavy in nearly 

 NO. 2 13 I, VOL. 84] 



all parts of the country. Falls of an inch or more within 

 twenty-four hours are noted as having occurred over a wide 

 area : on August 23 in various parts of England and Wales, 

 on August 25 in Scotland and at Waterford, and on August 

 26 at Stonyhurs.t. The largest measurements were 

 2-38 inches at Crieff on August 24 and 1-69 inches on 

 .August 25, 2-2 inches at Stornoway and 1-60 inches at 

 Stonyhurst on August 26. At Crieff the total for the week 

 was 5-89 inches, the three days, Tuesday to Thursday, 

 giving 5-19 inches, of which 3-50 inches fell in twenty- 

 three hours. The succeeding days were also very wet in 

 many parts of the country, and at Bath the aggregate for 

 the two days, August 28 and 29, amounted to 2-57 inches, 

 which is nearly equal to the average aggregate fall for 

 August. 



The report of the .Meteorological Committee for the year 

 ended .March 31 shows that the business of the year 

 was e.xceptionally important. Arrangements for new 

 premises at South Kensington claimed much attention; 

 these will include space for a museum and better accommo- 

 dation for the library, which now contains some 21,500 

 books and pamphlets, and is rapidly increasing, in addition 

 to which space is required for a very large number of 

 valuable documents from ships and land stations. The 

 negotiations relating to the control of the observatories at 

 Kew and Eskdalemuir resulted in making the committee 

 responsible for the whole of the work, except the verifica- 

 tion of instruments, aided by the scientific advice of a 

 committee appointed by the Royal Society (see Nature, 

 June 23). Important changes have been made in some of 

 the periodical publications of the office, e.g. the daily 

 weather report includes important telegrams from Funchal, 

 -Madeira, and for the new year the ordinary forecasts for 

 twenty-four hours have been extended when conditions are 

 regarded as favourable. Weekly editions of the monthly 

 North Atlantic charts are now issued showing the weather 

 conditions over that ocean up to the day prior to that of 

 publication. The director points out that these promise to 

 be of considerable use to the forecast branch of the office. 

 Wireless reports from the Royal Navy ar« found to be of much 

 value, and those from the Atlantic liners have improved; 

 in the course of the year, 4388 reports were received from 

 the latter, and 42 per cent, arrived within twenty-four 

 hours of the time of observation. The percentage of 

 success (complete and partial) of the forecasts issued at 

 Sh. 30m. p.m. for the whole of the British Islands in 1909 

 was 93, the highest on record, but the percentage of com- 

 plete success, although higher than the mean for the last 

 ten years, was lower than in 1906 ; the success or other- 

 wise depends to some extent on the character of the 

 weather, as shown more particularly by the harvest fore- 

 casts. Investigation of the upper air was actively con- 

 tinued, and the results were published, as before, in the 

 Weekly Weather Report. 



A.\ editorial note in the August number of the Illumin- 

 ating Engineer of New York directs attention to the 

 movement now on foot to educate the employees of 

 .American lighting companies through the medium of the 

 American Gas Institute and the National Commercial 

 Gas Association, in much the same way as some of the 

 larger electrical firms have afforded facilities to their 

 employees. According to the editor, it is felt that the 

 time ta sneer at " book larnin' " is now past, and the 



self-made " practical man, while continuing " to worship 

 his maker," must do it " secretly in his closet." On the 

 other hand, when the college-trained man thinks he 

 " knows it all," he " has no further mission in this world. 



