546 NATURE 

prevent its even being considered. Mr. Mally em- 
phasises the cheapness, simplicity, and effectiveness of 
the method, and demonstrates its value in military 
camps especially. 
Tue Natural History Department of the British 
Museum has lately issued another (No. 12) of the 
handy little sets of ‘Instructions for Collectors,”’ the 
subject of the pamphlet being “Worms,” in a wide 
sense, the groups mentioned and illustrated ranging 
zoologically from the Cestoda to Balanoglossus. The 
localities where specimens of various classes and 
orders may be looked for, and the best way of collect- 
ting, killing, and preserving them are clearly ex- 
plained. Especial attention is directed to the desir- 
ability of obtaining parasites, and the beginner is 
warned of the possibility of his meeting with worm- 
like parasites that are not worms—such as Pentastoma 
and various Crustacea. The ‘‘instructions ” have been 
drawn up by Mr. H. A. Baylis; they will be useful 
to all museum officers who can set collectors at work 
in securing zoological specimens, whether at home or 
abroad. 
Wuen the Zoological Society of Scotland was 
founded, for the purpose of establishing a zoological 
park, war-clouds had not even begun to form. When 
the storm burst on us the society had but just come 
into being. The council, then, is to be congratulated 
on being enabled to announce, in its second annual 
report, that all things considered its record is a 
very satisfactory one. Though naturally seriously 
hampered just now for lack of funds, progress is still 
being made in the housing of the animals. The results 
so far obtained in this direction in many cases surpass 
anything yet accomplished, either in London or Dublin. 
This success is due, in part, to natural advantages of 
environment, and in part to the possibility of improve- 
ment on the models of the older institutions. The 
admirable ‘‘acclimatisation house,’ for example, was 
modelled on the new small mammals’ house of the 
London Zoological Gardens. From the beautiful 
photographs which appear in this report, it is plain 
that the gardens at Edinburgh have set a standard of 
housing that will be difficult to follow, at any rate 
from a spectacular point of view. 
A VALUABLE contribution to the knowledge of the 
sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), based on the 
study of a fcetal specimen, is made by Dr. F. E. 
Beddard in the Annals of the Durban Museum, vol. i., 
part 2. Having regard to the high degree of special- 
isation which characterises the adult, it is not sur- 
prising to find that this specimen—which measured but 
20 in. in length—presents many striking points of like- 
ness to the pigmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), and 
the more generalised Delphinida. Such were particu- 
larly noticeable in regard to the head, which, in the 
first place, was strikingly small in comparison with 
the rest of the body, since it measured but one-quarter 
instead of one-third of the total length, which is the 
proportion in the adult. In old bulls, especially, the 
upper much overhangs the lower jaw; in this fcetus 
the snout did not project beyond the mandible, though 
the characteristic truncation was already complete. 
While in the adult but one nostril (the left) persists, in 
NO. 2385, VOL. 95] 


[JuLy 15, 1915 


this specimen Dr. Beddard found unmistakable vestiges 
of the right also. In regard to the paddle, it is to 
be hoped that Dr. Beddard will soon publish a figure 
of the dissected limb, since in the adult the terminal 
phalanges enclosed within the apex of the limb are 
commonly wanting, from what cause remains to be 
discovered. Some important observations are also in- 
cluded in this memoir on the anatomy of the lungs 
and intestines, which raise some difficult morphological 
points not likely to be solved in the immediate future. 
Mr. E. D. Merritt continues his descriptions of 
new or noteworthy Philippine plants in vol. x., No. 1, 
of the Philippine Journal of Science. Ninety “new 
species belonging to thirteen natural families are de- 
scribed; the genera Aquilaria, Koompassia, Melilotus, 
Neptunia, Cymodocea, Diplanthera, Hanguana, 
Urceola, Vallaris, and Protium, are recorded for the 
first time from the archipelago. 
In an article in the Indian Forester for May an 
account is given of experiments made to test 
the power of germination of teak seeds when 
sown (1) after charring in a forest fire, (2) 
untreated, and (3) after being soaked in cow- 
dung fifteen days. The charred seeds collected from 
a burnt teak forest germinated profusely within a 
fortnight of sowing, and it is suggested that the 
best means of ensuring regeneration of teak is to 
prepare raised seed beds in burnt areas where teak is 
to be planted, and to sow charred Seeds therein. Teak 
seedlings tend to die in large numbers if they have 
to be transported for long distances. 
Kew Bulletin No. 4 is mainly occupied by an im- 
portant paper on ‘“‘Some Additional Species of 
Meconopsis,” by the director, Sir David Prain, 
who is the authority on this interesting genus 
of Papaveracee which form  so_ striking a 
feature of the flora of the Himalaya, Thibet, 
and Western China. This, the third monographic 
account of the genus by Sir David, has been necessi- 
tated owing to the introduction of several new species 
from China, and to the remarkable enthusiasm dis- 
played by cultivators both in the formerly known 
Himalayan species and in those recently discovered by 
Messrs. Forrest, Ward, and Captain Bailey. In 1896 
the number of known species was 23; in 1907 it had 
risen to 27, and now 4o species are recognised. In 
the paper a key has been drawn up for all the species, 
and the new species are described. Visitors to the 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, have been re- 
warded by seeing many of the species growing to 
perfection, especially those with brilliant blue flowers, | 
and in the rock-garden at Kew there has also been a 
good display of several interesting species during the 
late spring. 
Ir has long been recognised that when an earth- 
quake originates beneath the ocean and is accom- 
panied by a large displacement of the ocean floor, 
waves on the surface of the sea necessarily result. 
Such a series of ‘tidal waves”’ (as they are generally 
but erroneously called) overwhelmed the north-east 
coast of Japan in 1896; and certain features as 
observed at Miyako suggested to Messrs. K. Sano 
and K. Hasegawa the investigation of the following 
