May 15, 19 13] 



NATURE 



277 



great display of horticulture is being arranged. The 

 Horticultural Palace will provide an area of 207,000 

 sq. ft., and the building will be divided into three 

 sections, namely tropical, semi-tropical, and temperate. 

 In addition, about fifty acres will be reserved for out- 

 door nursery exhibits. The hall will be ready for the 

 exhibits seven months before the opening of the ex- 

 hibition, on February 20, 1915, and it is hoped that 

 many of the plants will thus acquire the appearance 

 of permanency before they are exposed to public in- 

 spection. In order to give extra novelty to the exhibi- 

 tion, the management offers a cup of the value of 

 1000 dollars for the best new seedling rose never 

 previously exhibited. The rose which is awarded this 

 prize will be named by the exhibition directors. 



Under the title " Glorification de l'ceuvre de Paul 

 Schutzenberger," the Revue Scientifique of April iq 

 publishes a series of addresses delivered at the Ecole 

 Municipale of Paris, on the occasion of the presentation 

 to the city of Paris of a medallion, executed by M. 

 Qrbain, in commemoration of the life-work of the 

 great chemist who was the organiser and first director 

 of this famous school. Eulogies of Schutzenberger's 

 purely scientific work were delivered by Profs. Haller, 

 Noelting, and Matignon, whilst MM. Blondel, Lindet, 

 and Scheurer dwelt on the very great influence he 

 exerted on modern chemical industry by his investiga- 

 tions of the nature of dyes, and his discovery of hydro- 

 sulphurous acid and its application to indigo dyeing, 

 which he effected in conjunction with M. de Lalande ; 

 the latter has within recent years led to the most 

 important developments in the textile arts. 



The fine collection of Indian big-game heads and 

 horns left to the nation at the close of last summer 

 by the late Mr. A. O. Hume has been placed on 

 exhibition as a special series on the walls of the 

 second floor of the central hall of the Natural History 

 Museum, above and near the statue of Sir Joseph 

 Banks. Immediately over the statue are displayed 

 the skulls of gaur, yak, and buffalo, while those of 

 wild sheep occupy the wall immediately to the right, 

 and those of ibex, wild goats, and markhor the 

 corresponding position on the left. On the extreme 

 right flank are displayed the blackbuck, chiru, gazelle, 

 and nilgai heads, while on the left flank are arranged 

 the serow, tahr, and takin. The wall to the left of 

 the entrance to the upper mammal gallery is occupied 

 by the magnificent series of deer antlers, while a 

 portion of the wall facing the one behind the statue 

 has been assigned to a few heads of African antelopes 

 included in the collection. The exhibit adds a strik- 

 ing and attractive feature to the museum. 



The Rassegna Contemporanea (Anno vi., ser. ii., 

 fasc. 6) contains an article on the date of the death 

 of Christ by Pio Emanuelli. The Crucifixion took 

 placed on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of 

 the Jewish year, and on a Friday. The month did 

 not begin on the actual day of new moon, but on the 

 evening when the thin sickle of the young moon 

 was first perceived. The first problem to solve is 

 therefore : How soon after the moment of new moon 

 can the moon be seen? This has been investigated 

 NO. 2272, VOL. 91] 



l'\ Mr. J. K. Fotheringham, in the Monthly Notices 

 for May, 1910, and by Mr. R. Courtenay, in The 

 Observatory for June, 191 1. The shortest possible 

 interval after which the moon may be visible appears 

 to be twenty-three hours, which, however, in certain 

 circumstances may be considerably prolonged. Signor 

 Emanuelli quotes these two papers, but does not give any 

 particulars as to what he considers the smallest visible 

 phase of the moon. He goes through the new moons 

 nearest to the vernal equinox for the years a.d. 28 to 

 34 much in the same manner as done b\ Mr. 

 Courtenay, and comes to the same result, that onlv 

 a.d. 30, April 7, and a.d. 33, April 3, correspond to 

 the 14th Nisan and also to a Friday. He decides for 

 the year 30, as he says (without entering into explana- 

 tions) that historical criticism excludes the year 33. 



In the May issue of Man Mr. T. A. Joyce describes 

 a fine gold beaker from Lambayeque, Peru, now in 

 the collection of Mr. James Curie. The technique, 

 representing a warrior with his shield, shows con- 

 siderable skill. It is beaten out of a single sheet 

 of metal, without any trace of a join. The outline is 

 elegant and harmonious, and the lines of the design, 

 in spite of its conventional nature, are bold and effec- 

 tive. It seems to belong to the period which imme- 

 diately preceded the conquest of the coast by the Inca, 

 a period of technical progress but artistic decadence. 



In The Scientific American of April 19, Mr. E. J. 

 Banks gives an interesting account of recent German 

 excavations in Babylonia. Attention was prin- 

 cipally directed to the mound at Babylon known as 

 the Kasr. Babylon, after all, turns out to be a com- 

 paratively modern city as compared with those to the 

 south. The expedition has discovered a black mono- 

 lith brought in ancient times as a war trophy from 

 the Hittite city of Karchemish. Dr. Koldewey's chief 

 discovery is that of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar on 

 the Kasr, of which practically only the foundations 

 n-main. At Amran, again, 40 ft. below the surface, 

 he has found Esagil, the famous temple of Babylon. 

 At Assur, Dr. Andrae and his successor, Dr. Maresh, 

 have traced the city walls and several ancient palaces 

 and temples. Excavation is now in progress at Erech 

 or Warka, the home of the hero of the Gilgamish 

 epic. Here discoveries of- the greatest scientific iri- 

 teresl may be expected. 



An illustrated report (Research Bulletin 28) has. 

 been issued by the University of Wisconsin Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station on avian tuberculosis, the 

 authors being Messrs. Hastings and Halpin. While 

 not very frequent, the disease is of some economic 

 importance. The authors were able to infect guinea- 

 pigs, hogs, and rabbits with the avian, but were 

 unable to infect hens with the human, tubercle 

 bacillus. Suggestions are made for the elimination 

 of the disease from the flocks. 



In the Journal of the Washington Academy of 

 Sciences for March 19 (vol. iii., No. 6), Messrs. 

 Ayers and Johnson detail experiments on the destruc- 

 tion of bacteria in milk by the ultra-violet rays gene- 

 rated by a quartz mercury-vapour lamp. When the 



