August 17, ign] 



NATURE 



22 



heap as a breeding centre, and that they may travel 

 as L40S yards from the place of liberation. 



Mr. E. E. Austin contributes the second memor- 

 andum on the species oi flies present at Postwick; 

 the great majority consisted of the common house-fly. 

 The part played by flies in the dispersal of the eggs 

 of parasitic worms is the subject of the third report, 

 bj Dr. William Nicoll. Many experiments were per- 

 formed, and it is shown that the ova of several worms 

 mav be conveyed by Hies, the ova in some cases being 

 ingested, in others merely sticking to the surface of 

 the bodv. Those adhering to the body are generally 

 got rid of within a short time, but when ingested they 

 mav remain for two days or more in the intestine. 

 The habit of flies of feeding in turn on excrementi- 

 tious material and on human foodstuffs obviously 

 suggests that house-flies may play a part in the dis- 

 semination of infection of parasitic worms. Dr. 

 Graham-Smith describes further observations on the 

 distribution of bacterial infections by house-flies and 

 blow-flies. It is definitely shown that both are capable 

 of infecting fluids, such as milk and syrup, on which 

 they feed and into which they fall. With house-flies 

 gross infection may be produced for at least three 

 days, and a smaller degree of infection for ten days 

 or more. Blow-flies may carry the infection longer — 

 up to three or four weeks. 



The reports, in addition to the observations re- 

 corded, contain summaries of previous work on the 

 subjects with which they deal, and form valuable 

 contributions. R. T. H. 



NOTES. 



Considerable progress lias now been made with the 

 arrangements in connection with the forthcoming" meeting 

 of the British Association at Portsmouth. Suitable meeting 

 rooms have been found for nearly all the sections within 

 about seven minutes' walk of the reception room. The 

 programme of entertainments and excursions promises to be 

 very attractive, and includes a naval display at Whale Island, 

 steamer trips and coach drives in the Isle of Wight and in 

 thi' South Downs, where visits will be made to Arundel 

 Eastle, Goodwood House, West Dean Park, and Parham 

 Park. The following corresponding members and foreign 

 representatives have announced their intention to attend the 

 meeting : — Prof. Cleveland Abbe, U.S. Weather Bureau, 

 Washington ; Prof. Carl Barus, Brown University, Provi- 

 dence R.I., U.S.A. ; M. A. Gobert, Brussels ; Prof. A. A. 

 Michelson, The University, Chicago, U.S.A. ; Prof. W. 

 Ostwald, Leipzig ; Prof. Otto Pettersson, Stockholm ; Prof. 

 F. W. Clarke, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington ; Prof. 

 W. J. Humphreys, Mount Weather, Va. ; Prof. H. 

 Freundlich, Leipzig; Prof. Albin Haller, Paris; Prof. E. J. 

 Cohen, Utrecht; Prof. R. Wegscheider, Vienna; Prof. 

 Hans von Euler, Stockholm ; Prof. P. Zeeman, Amster- 

 dam ; Prof. J. W. Spencer, Washington; Prof. Caullery, 

 Paris ; Dr. Johan Schmidt, Copenhagen ; Dr. P. P. E. 

 Hoek, Haarlem; Prof. H. Jungerson, Copenhagen; M. 

 Chas. Lallemand, Paris ; Dr. F. Graebner, Cologne ; Prof. 

 H. Webster, Nebraska ; Dr. A. Goldenweiser, Columbia 

 University, Missouri ; M. A. van Gennep, Seine ; Prof. N. 

 Zuntz. Berlin ; Prof. Behal, Paris ; Prof. H. J. Hamburger, 

 Groningen ; Prof. H. C. Cowles ; and Prof. A. A. Noyes. 



The drought and excessive temperature of the present 

 summer continues with great persistence, and if it had not 

 been for the rains which fell generally over the country 

 during the latter half of June, the season would have been 

 practically rainless. The dry weather has embraced nearly 

 the whole of England, although probably it has been most 

 pronounced in the Midland and south-eastern districts, 

 NO. 2 1 8l, VOL. 8/] 



where the aggregate rainfall so far for the summer is only 

 about 50 per cent, of the average. In Scotland and Ireland 

 occasional rains have fallen, as shallow disturbances have 

 skirted our northern and western coasts on their passage 

 from the Atlantic. At Greenwich the aggregate rainfall 

 since the commencement of July only amounts to 032 inch. 

 The absence of cloud has resulted in an abnormal amount 

 of sunshine, and the rays of the sun have been exception- 

 ally fierce, and on at least three occasions this summer the 

 black bulb thermometer at Greenwich has exceeded 161 . 

 In the south-east of England the duration of bright sunshine 

 for the first ten weeks of summer was 668 hours, which 

 is 184 hours more than the average. The shade tempera- 

 ture has exceeded 8o° at Greenwich on thirty days between 

 July i and August 14, and 90° has been exceeded on five 

 days. The shade temperature of 100° at Greenwich on 

 August 9 is the highest authenticated reading in London 

 since trustworthy records commenced in 1S41, and is 3 

 higher than any previous reading at Greenwich, the 

 previous record being 97-1° on July 15, 1SS1. There have 

 in all only been three days since 1S41 with the tempera- 

 ture above 95°; these were 96-6° on July 22, 1S6S ; 97-1° on 

 July 15, 1S81 ; and 95-1° on August 18, 1893. The tempera- 

 tures in other parts of London on August 9 were also a 

 record, and the same occurred in many parts of England. 

 A reading of 98 was recorded at Epsom and Canterbury, 

 and at Raunds in the Midlands, 97 at Hillington, and 

 96 at Marlborough, Fulbeck, and Lincoln. In France and 

 Germany the heat has also continued to be excessive. On 

 Tuesday, August 15, there was a cooler air generally over 

 England, and in London the highest temperature was 75 . 

 which is the lowest day maximum for a month. 



Mi;. C. E. Adams, of the Department of Lands, New 

 Zealand, has been appointed astronomical observer at 

 Wellington in succession to Mr. T. King, who has resigned. 



Mr. T. Southwell, scientific adviser to the Ceylon Com- 

 pany of Pearl Fishers, Ltd., and Inspector of Pearl Banks, 

 Colombo, has been appointed (by the India Office) Deputy 

 Director of Fisheries, Bengal. 



The council of the Royal Statistical Society of London 

 has awarded a Guy medal in gold to Mr. G. Udny Yule 

 " for his extraordinary services to statistical science, for 

 his valuable contributions to the Transactions of the 

 society, and for the special work done by him in the 

 interests of the society." 



The geological and archEeological collections made by the 

 late Rev. E. Maule Cole, all the objects of which are con- 

 nected with East Yorkshire, have been presented to the 

 Hull Municipal Museum by Lady Philadelphia Cole. 



The appointment of Mr. F. W. Taylor, of Denver, 

 Colorado, as Director of Agriculture in the Philippines, is 

 expected to mark the beginning of the application of scien- 

 tific methods to the cultivation of land in those islands. 

 Mr. Taylor was professor of horticulture in the University 

 of Nebraska from 1891 to 1893. He superintended the 

 departments of agriculture and horticulture at the exposi- 

 tions at Omaha in 1S98, Buffalo in 1901, and St. Louis in 

 1904. He has lately been occupied as an irrigation 

 engineer. 



The council of the Institution of Civil Engineers has 

 made the following awards in respect of students' papers 

 read during the session 1910-11: — the "James Forrest" 

 medal and a Miller prize to Mr. D. Hay (Birmingham), 

 and Miller prizes to Messrs. D. A. Howell (Bristol), R. 

 Bonner (Bristol), G. F. Walton (London), R. G. Parrott 

 (Manchester), E. E. Farrant (London), A. C. Dean (Man- 



