May 8, 1913] 



NATURE. 



2t>I 



been present _at this remote time, and that therefore 

 these flints, some of which closely resemble well-made 

 implements, must be of purely natural origin. The 

 " rostro-carinate " flints described by Sir E. Ray Lan- 

 kester from the Red Crag were next examined, and 

 it was shown that the same type occurs in the ordinary 

 Palaeolithic gravel of Hackney Downs. Lankester has 

 also found the same type in the Middle Miocene of 

 Aurillac. It is inconceivable that a human production 

 should have retained exactly the same form through- 

 out this immense period considering the rapidity of 

 evolution of type shown among Palaeolithic imple- 

 ments. The "rostro-carinate" flints were found to 

 be not adapted to any likely use, and the conclusion is 

 reached that they cannot be held to give good evidence 

 of the existence of Pliocene man. On examining the 

 age of the Galley Hill and Ipswich skeletons, the 

 extreme improbability of the only two known human 

 remains found in gravel (prior to the recent discovery 

 of the Sussex man) each being a complete skeleton, in 

 view of the very great rarity of even small associated 

 sets of bones of other mammals in the same and 

 similar gravels, was dwelt upon. The Galley Hill 

 skeleton's authenticity depends on the evidence of two 

 witnesses with no geological training, who contradict 

 one another on so fundamental a fact as the nature 

 of the bed in which it lay— one called it mould, the 

 other gravel. As regards the Ipswich man, the author 

 pointed out the impossibility of a human skeleton 

 lying closely contracted on a surface of loose sand 

 resisting the action of a glacier which is supposed 

 to have deposited Boulder Clay over it. The conclu- 

 sion was reached that both skeletons are merely 

 burials of quite comparatively recent date. 



April 8.— Prof. F. E. Weiss, president, in 

 the chair. — W. Burton : Note on black pottery 

 from Ashanti and the Gold Coast.— \V. Thomson : 

 The influence of moisture in the air on meta- 

 bolism in the body. The author had previously 

 pointed out that metabolism in the lungs (as 

 indicated by the percentage of carbonic acid gas 

 in the exhaled air) took place to a greater extent 

 when breathing dry than when breathing damp air. 

 He now tested this "further on the effect of the various 

 alterations in the atmosphere, viz. the combined in- 

 fluence of pressure, temperature, and hygroscopic state 

 of the atmosphere on the carbonic acid gas contained 

 in the exhaled air from the lungs. His experiments 

 showed that some people are more sensitive than 

 others to drv or damp air, but the general _ result 

 showed that 'the difference of the carbonic acid gas 

 in the exhaled air, when breathing cold dam]) air, 

 amounted to about 4 per cent, increase when 

 breathing cold dry air, whilst with warm air the 

 difference showed an increase for the warm dry air 

 of 7-53 per cent. 



April 22.— Prof. F. E. Weiss, president, in the chair. 



Prof. F. E. Weiss : A Tylodendron-like fossil. While 



agreeing in general external appearance and also to 

 some extent in the structure of the remains of the 

 woody tissues found outside the pith, the latter was 

 remarkable for the considerable development of secre- 

 tory canals in its thin-walled tissue. The presence of 

 these and other considerations led the author to the 

 conclusion that the pith was more likely to have 

 belonged to a plant of Cycadian than to one of Arau- 

 carian affinity. — W. Robinson: Some relations between 

 Puccinia •mdhacearum, Mont., and the tissues of its 

 host. The general features of the pustules as shown 

 on petiole, stem, and leaves of the hollyhock (Althaea 

 msea) were described. The relations of the distribu- 

 tion of the fungal mycelium to the starch content of 

 the host were pointed out. and the relations between 

 NO. 2271, VOL. 91] 



the haustoria and the individual cells were dealt with. 

 By a series of plasmolysis experiments the haustoria 

 were demonstrated to enter cells which remained 

 living after entry, and they were shown to he within 

 the protoplasm and to grow towards the nucleus. 

 The results indicate a slow tapping of the resource^ 

 of living cells by the haustoria, which are able to 

 penetrate the protoplasm in such a way that the cells 

 remain alive for a considerable time. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 

 Bergens Museum. Aarsberetning for 1912. Pp. 

 119. (Bergen: J. Griegs Boktrykken.) 



Uebungsbeispiele aus der unorganischen Experi- 

 mentalchlmie. By H. and W. Biltz. Zweite Auflage. 

 Pp. xi + 237. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann.) 8 marks. 

 Ministry of Finance, Egypt. Survey Department 

 Report on the Work of the Survey Department in 

 191 1. Pp.76. (Cairo : Government Press.) 10F.I. 

 General Index to The Chemical News Vols. i. to 

 c. Pp. iii + 712. (London: Chemical News Office.) 

 2I. 



The People's Books :— The Science of Light. By 

 Dr P. Phillips. Pp. 92- Gardening. By A. C. 

 Bartlett. Pp. 94- British Birds. By F. B. K.rk- 

 man. Pp. iv + 96. (London and Edinburgh: 1. L. 

 and E. C. Jack.) 6d. each. 



Malaria, Cause and Control. By Prof. W. B 

 Herms. - Pp. xi+163. (London: Macmillan and 

 Co., Ltd.) 6s. 6d. net. 



Problems in Eugenics. Vol. ii. Report of Pro- 

 ceedings in the First International Eugenics Con- 

 gress held at the University of London, July 24 to 

 to 1912, together with an Appendix containing those 

 Papers communicated to the Congress not included 

 in vol. i. Pp. 189 + index. (London: Eugenics Edu- 

 cation Society.) 



La Matiere. Sa Vie et ses Transformations. By 

 Prof. L. Houllevigue. Pp. xxxn + 319. (Pans: A. 

 Colin.) 3.50 francs. 



Fortschritte der Mineralogie, Kristallographie, unci 

 Petrographie. Edited bv Dr. G. Linck. Dritter 

 Band Pp. 320. (Jena : G. Fischer.) 10 marks. 



Manual of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony. 

 By A. F. Collins. Third edition. Pp. xv + 300. 

 (New York: J. Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman 

 and Hall, Ltd.) 6s. 6d. net. 



The Theory and Practice of Working Plans (Forest 

 Organisation). By Prof. A. B. Recknagel. Fp. 

 xii + 23=; + vi plates. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons; 

 London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd.) 8s. 6d. net. 

 Schnee und Eis der Erde. By Prof. H. Wieleitner 

 I Pp. 198+ xvi plates. (Leipzig: P. Reclamm, jun.) 

 1 mark. 



Bogen und Pfeil bei den Volkern des Altertums. 

 By E Bulanda. Pp. vi+136. (Vienna and Leipzig : 

 A. Holder.) 6.80 marks. 



Gouvernement Egyptien. Administration des 

 Arpentages. Catalogue des Invertebres Fossiles de 

 l*E"Vpte represents dans les Collections du Geological 

 Museum au Caire. By R. Fourtau Pp. 93 + vi 

 plates. (Le Caire: Imprimerie Nationale.) 40 P.l. 



Religious Beliefs of Scientists. By A. H. Tabrum. 

 New edition. Pp. xxi + 309. (London : Hunter and 

 Longhurst.) 2S. 6i. net. 



A Svnopsis of the Classification of Insects. Bv 

 Prof. H. M" Lefroy. Pp. 3 2 - (London : Lamley and 

 Co.) is. net. 



