588 
NATURE 
| April 7, 1870 
of origin of the white corpuscles in these glands and elsewhere 
is unknown. A recent investigation by Dr. Klein, of Vienna, 
appears to furnish some clue to the discovery of this point, for 
he has demonstrated that a process of division of white cor- 
puscles may, under favourable conditions, be observed to occur, 
a statement which, if corroborated by further researches, will 
prove of much importance both in physiology and pathology. 
In the blood of the water-newt, he remarks, three kinds of 
colourless cells may be distinguished, though their differences 
are not very strongly marked. In one of these forms the clump 
of protoplasm, of which the corpuscle is formed, assumes an 
hour-glass form, and with the performance of the liveliest move- 
ments in each half, ultimately divides into two, in each of which 
a nuclear structure is visible. Ina second kind the protoplasm 
forms a flat transparent disc, from the border of which a pro- 
jection containing a distinct nucleus forms and gradually be- 
In a third form a kind of pinching off occurs 
The primary cor- 
comes detached. 
of a minute portion from the general mass. 
puscles may divide twice or thrice. 
Les Mondes for March 31st contains a translation of Prof. 
Tyndall’s article in NATURE for the 17th of the same month, on 
Floating Matters and Beams of Light. 
Messrs. W. & A. K. JOHNSTON are preparing a series of 
Botanical Diagrams for Schools and Colleges, uniform with 
their ‘‘ Illustrations of Natural Philosophy,” 50in. by 42in. 
A good series of diagrams is very much wanted by botanical 
lecturers ; the parts should be on a larger scale than in the 
late Prof. Henslow’s diagrams published under the authority 
of the Government School of Science and Art, and the series 
more complete than that issued by the Christian Knowledge 
Society, which is very good as far as it goes, and remarkably 
cheap. 
THE Marlborough College Natural History Society has pub- 
lished its report for the half-year ending Christmas 1869, from 
which we gather, that beyond all question areal taste for science 
is taking firm root at Marlborough, though here and there, in the 
various papers, we get all too glowing descriptions, instead of the 
sober evidence of the keen eye of the observer. Here, 
for instance, is a description of the cuttle fish :—‘* And 
while I enumerate the greatest oddities to be seen in the 
‘motley crew’ of fishes, shall I forget thee, O cuttle, that lookest 
so innocent and harmless, till some white-waistcoated visitor 
takes thee up condescendingly, when with one mighty effort thou 
contractest thy muscles, and in an instant sendest a mighty stream 
of thy own peculiar ink over that erst virgin waistcoat? Oh, the 
inimitable look of pity and contempt then depicted on the faces 
of the natives! If by thy squirts and fliks, O cuttle, thou hast 
made an enemy, thou hast made one that will never molest thy 
inky tribe again. It is interesting to know that these murky 
creatures are provided with backbones which have the peculiar 
quality of ink-erasing.” 
TueERE is in the West Riding a Geological and Polytechnic 
Society, which publishes an annual report of proceedings. In 
that for 1869 an account is given of the meeting held at Wake- 
field, together with a number of papers on the history, antiqui- 
ties, and mineral products of the county. The author of ‘* On 
the Rocks of the neighbourhood of Pontefract,” shows that there 
is coal enough along the line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire 
Railway, to yield nearly ten million tons a year for 489 years: 
and that the prospect of getting further supplies below the Mag- 
nesian Limestone and the New Red Sandstone is very pro- 
mising. The Rey. Scott F. Surtees contributes an argumentative 
paper to prove that the memorable battle between Harold of 
England and Harold of Norway was fought, not at Stamford 
Brig, but at Pontefract, and that the memory thereof is preserved 
by the name Ponte-fract—broken bridge. Other papers contain 
notices of the extinct fauna of Yorkshire, of flint implements, and 
of certain singular ancient pits in the neighbourhood of Ripon. 
A PARAGRAPH appears in a recent number of the San 
Francisco Avvl/etin, stating that deer, antelope, bear, and ell 
constitute the large game of California. Deer are found in 
great abundance, and many hundreds are killed yearly on 
Tamalipas. The deep gulches, woods, and covers of Marin 
County afford excellent sport to the deer hunter, Elk do not 
range nearer than the Oregon line, but a few are still met with 
on the banks of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, where 
in former years they were so abundant. ‘The brown and black 
bear are also hunted in Marin County, and along various parts of 
the coast range. White and grey geese are found in all the bay 
counties, on the Jakes, and up the rivers in abundance. Duck 
are shot in the same localities, of which the most valued is the 
mallard, which remains and breeds in the country. Then come 
the redhead, springtail pigeon, wood duck, blue and green winged 
teal, broadbill, spoonbill, sawbill, whistler, butterball, fantail, 
or Dutchman, and Cadwell’s. Quail abound in the surrounding 
counties. In the immediate neighbourhood of the city quail are 
scarce, being trapped and slaughtered for the markets so ear- 
nestly, that here they are now almost exterminated. Rabbits are 
also found in the quail grounds. The English or jack snipe are 
shot in the freshwater marshes on the San Joaquin and Sacra- 
mento rivers, in the Amador, Gilroy, and Santa Clara valleys. 
Of the bay snipe there is an abundant variety, such as curlew, 
willet, whitewings, plover, yellowlegs, robin, doewitch, ring- 
neck, and sandpiper. The grouse, one of the finest game birds, 
frequents Mendocino and the upper counties of the State; several 
attempts have been made to stock the lower counties with these 
birds, but with little success. Trout abound in all the rivers 
running into the bay, and are taken with both bait and fly, but 
principally the former. 
REMARKABLE SPECTRA OF COMPOUNDS 
OF ZIRCONIA AND URANIUM 
"[ HouGH the spectra of different salts of bases which show 
well-marked absorption bands often differ in detail, yet they 
generally resemble one another so much that there is no difficulty 
in recognising each element. - Judging from facts hitherto known, 
it was more probable that spectra of the new type described in 
my former paper* were due to a new element than that they 
were merely due to a combination of zirconium with uranium, 
and that there seemed to be no reason for suspecting a few special 
compounds of uranium would give spectra with bands unlike 
all others. Uranic salts, when in a state of moderately fine 
powder, give a spectrum not only showing absorption-bands, but 
also those which depend on fluorescence, and are characteristic 
of light reflected from the powder. These two kinds of bands 
can be easily distinguished by means of a plate of deep blue 
cobalt glass, which proves that the abnormal bands seen in the 
spectra of the compounds of zirconia with the oxides of uranium 
are due to genuine absorption and not to fluorescence. 
In studying the spectra of crystalline blow-pipe beads, it seemed 
desirable to examine those made with carbonate of soda, with or 
without a little borax. Though beads of carbonate of soda crystal- 
lise on cooling, so as to be only partially translucent, yet with 
strong direct sunlightwell-marked spectra may be seen. For 
example, in the oxidising flame uranic oxide is easily dissolved 
by carbonate of soda alone, and when quickly cooled an orange- 
coloured bead is obtained, probably containing uranate of soda 
in a vitreous condition. It givesa single well-marked absorption- 
band in the green, with so small a quantity of the oxide, that in 
a bead } inch in diameter yy grain shows the spectrum to the 
best advantage, and even zpipo grain can be easily detected. 
In examining the various products from jargons in order to 
study the supposed new earth in a state of purity, a small 
quantity of a dark-coloured substance was obtained, apparently 
zirconia, containing some oxide which communicated a green 
tint to a glassy, borax blowpipe-bead, but yet not sufficiently 
* Proceedings of R. S. vol. xvii. p. 511. 
+ See Stokes’s paper, Phil. Trans. 1852, p. 463 and 1853, p. 392. 
