October 6, 19 lo] 



NATURE 



437 



in the same publication for 1881. The new Hst, which 

 is printed separately in pamphlet form, and can be 

 obtained in London of Messrs. H. Sotheran and Co., con- 

 tains notes on the distribution of the various groups. 



The European hedgehog has been hitherto considered 

 to differ from other species of its genus in the peculiar 

 form and single root of the third upper incisor and upper 

 canine, while it has also been supposed to be characterised 

 by the constant presence and relatively large size of the 

 second upper premolar. From an examination of a large 

 number of specimens, Mr. E. HoUis {Zoologist for Sep- 

 tember) finds, however, that two of these characters are 

 by no means constant. Thus, out of eleven British 

 examples, in only one case was the upper canine single- 

 rooted, while in si.\ instances it was double-rooted, and 

 in the remaining four in a kind of intermediate condi- 

 tion. In the same series the second upper premolar was 

 absent in three instances, rudimentary in one case, and 

 normal in the remainder. From this it is inferred that 

 Erinaceiis europaeus is in a state of unstable equilibrium 

 in regard to the latter tooth, thereby resembling the 

 Asiatic E. micropus and E. pictus. Somewhat similar 

 variations were observed in the collection of skulls of the 

 European species in the British Museum, but in no instance 

 was the third upper incisor observed to be double-rooted. 

 .\ single root to this incisor may therefore still be character- 

 istic of E, europaeus. 



The fourth part of the Flora of Glamorgan, dealing 

 with the division Incomplete of the Dicotyledons, has 

 been recently published. The flora is being prepared under 

 the editorship of Prof. A. H. Trow by a committee, for 

 whom Dr. and Miss Vachell act as secretaries. It is noted 

 that several critical and polymorphic species require more 

 detailed observation and study. 



A SECOND report on the Hymeniales of Connecticut, con- 

 stituting Bulletin No. 15 of the State of Connecticut 

 Geological and Natural History Survey, requires to be 

 taken in conjunction with the preliminary report pub- 

 lished as Bulletin No. 3, in which the keys to the genera 

 were given. Analytical keys for the species are supplied 

 in the present bulletin, and are accompanied by excellent 

 illustrations of selected types. Prof. A. E. White, who is 

 responsible for both reports, also provides a good account 

 of some edible species of Agaricaceae ; most of the species 

 are similar to those recommended by British fungologists, 

 but the author is bolder than some authorities in recom- 

 mending Lactarius piperatus and CanthareUiis aiirantiaciis. 



The plant formations of East Bolivia, which were briefly 

 outlined and illustrated by Dr. Th. Herzog in a number 

 of the Vegetationshilder, are described at greater length 

 in Engler's Botanische Jahrbiicher (vol. xliv., part iii.). 

 A well-defined formation is that of the Pantanales, 

 developed near Carumba, in the extreme south-east, which 

 is a fertile virgin forest, consisting largely of deciduous 

 trees with a wealth of lianes. Fipiadenia macrocarpa is 

 a dominant tree, valued for its timber and astringent bark ; 

 Tecoma Ipe is another magnificent tree, yielding a durable 

 timber, and Calcophyllum multiflorum is also character- 

 istic of the formation. The lianes include Urvillea laevis, 

 Bignonia unguis cati, and species of Serjania. The author 

 presents a graphic description of the magnificent palm, 

 Orhignya phalerata, Phy^ocalymma scaberrima (Lythracca;), 

 and various species of Tecoma, that inhabit the highlands 

 of Velasco, and extols the beauty of the flowering shrubs 

 found on the Cordilleras. 



NO. 2136, VOL. 84] 



Dr. Felix Oswald, so well known for his geological 

 map and description of Armenia, has published an account 

 of the tectonic development of the Armenian highlands in 

 Petermaiin's Mitteilungen for 1910 (pp. 8, "70, and 126). 

 The movements that affected the pre-Devonian rocks are 

 obscured by the potency of the Hercynian and Alpine 

 movements. The Alpine uplift was foreshadowed in 

 .Armenia by considerable folding in Upper Eocene times, 

 but the resulting land-surface was reduced almost to a 

 peneplain before the great transgression of the Miocene 

 sea. This sea even spread over land that had remained 

 unsubmerged since the opening' of the Mesozoic era. Its 

 invasion, however, was soon checked, since in the Upper 

 Miocene epoch the .Alpine folding set in, accompanied by 

 great intrusions of ultrabasic rocks. This folding con- 

 tinued long enough to involve the Sarmatian deposits on 

 the south flank of the Caucasian chain. Dr. Oswald, 

 with the aid of a map, explains the grouping of the 

 main lines of folding, and discusses the breaking up of 

 the highlands into elevated plateaus and regions of de- 

 pression. He regards the volcanic phenomena as mani- 

 fested along planes of fracture. When these, in Upper 

 Miocene times, reached down to the ultrabasic regions, 

 peridotites rose among the folded rocks. Regions of 

 decreasing basicity have since been drawn on, and only 

 the higher zones are now penetrated, as is evidenced by 

 the recent rhyolitic lavas of the crater of Nimrud. 



.An interesting lecture on "Vegetation and Rainfall," 

 recently delivered at Perth, Western .iVustralia, by Dr. A. 

 Morrison, is reported in the West Australian of August 4. 

 The author does not deal specially with the distribution 

 of rainfall in the colony, but with the importance of a 

 plentiful water supply and the warmth of the sun on 

 vegetation generally, and on the influence of the latter in 

 preserving the moisture of the soil. On hill-sides, with- 

 out the protection of vegetation, the natural streams 

 become choked with debris, causing floods and devastation 

 in the country below, but vegetation gives time for water 

 to percolate the soil without displacing it. The cosmic 

 causes of rainfall must be carefully distinguished from 

 local causes, which only modify the precipitation brought 

 from distant parts. Irrigation during the dry season 

 would do much in maintaining the desired moist condition 

 of air and soil, and the plantation of trees would help 

 to make it permanent ; but when the settler has cleared 

 the bush for cultivation he sometimes finds that a heavy 

 fall of rain will run off the surface without having time 

 to sink into the ground. The author considers that a 

 large proportion of the country in Western Australia 

 should be left in its original state, clothed with forests. 



We have received a separate copy of Prof. L. Palazzo 's 

 paper on his magnetic survey of Sardinia, which appeared 

 last year in Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric 

 Electricity. While the eastern side of the island appears 

 to be normal, the western shows great abnormalities 

 which are not due to surface rocks. While the equal 

 vertical force lines run nearly east and west across the 

 island, the equal horizontal force lines, which have the 

 general direction north-east to south-west, are disturbed 

 at points near the middle and north end of the west 

 coast. The isogonic and isoclinic lines sliow irregularities 

 near the same points. The annual secular changes are : — 

 in west declination, — 4-6',' in inclination, —1-5'; in Iiori- 

 zontal force, -(- 0-00020 dyne per unit pole. 



The South African Journal of Science for June contains 

 an important paper by Dr. D. M. Tomory on modern 

 methods of water purification. The Modder River water. 



