October 24, 1912] 



NATURE 



energy in the days when our coal deposits shall be 

 exhausted, and then the author describes briefly some 

 of tlie principal results obtained by himself jointly with 

 Profs. Silber and Ravenna, at the University of 

 Bolosrna, in the study of photochemical action. In a 

 series of recent experiments made to determine the 

 physiological function of the glucosides, it was found 

 possible to force maize, a plant which is normally 

 free from the substance, to synthesise salicin, whilst 

 the production of nicotine by the tobacco plant can be 

 controlled so as to obtain a larsje increase or decrease 

 in the quantity of this alkaloid. The possibility is 

 suggested by these experiments of greatly increasing 

 the proportion of the useful constituents of plants by 

 a suitable treatment during the period of their growth. 



Under the title " Une Loi Universelle," Prof. 

 Wilden D. Bancroft publishes an interesting article in 

 the Revue Scientifique for September 28, on the well- 

 known theorem of Le Chatelier, for which he claims 

 a wider application than it is generally credited with. 

 He considers that this law, which in physics becomes 

 the principle of least action, in biolog-v becomes the 

 law of the survival of the fittest, and in economics 

 the law of supply and demand. In its most general 

 form the law is stated by Prof. Bancroft in the follow- 

 ing terms : The changes which affect a system are such 

 that they tend to render minimum the' disturbance of 

 external origin. A number of cases are cited in which 

 the principle is extended to vital phenomena, more 

 particularly as regards the adaptation of plants and 

 animals to temperature, light, humidity, and climate, 

 and in exnlanation of the origin of variations. The 

 position taken up is that no variation is spontaneous, 

 but that if we go far enough back all variations are 

 the result of changes in external conditions. The real 

 problem in such cases is to show, for any given organ- 

 ism and any given variation, what part has been 

 played by e'xternal conditions on the preceding genera- 

 tion, and the part played by conditions on the genera- 

 tions which preceded that one. 



In the annual report of the Minister of Mines of 

 British Columbia, just published, the reported dis- 

 covery of metals of the platinum group in certain 

 dykes near Nelson in that province is discredited. As 

 a result of numerous analyses carried out, at the re- 

 quest of the Minister by various e.xperts in America 

 and Europe, on samples carefully taken from the 

 portions of the dyke in which the presence of platinum 

 metals had been reported, the complete absence of 

 these metals was established. In none of the samples 

 was any trace found either of any of the platinum 

 metals or of anything corresponding with the supposed 

 new metal, "canadium," the reported discovery of 

 which was announced in these columns about a year 

 ago. 



The issue of The Philippme Journal of Science for 

 .lulv last takes the form of a memorial number to 

 the late Dr. Paul Caspar Freer, who was director of 

 the Bureau of Science of the Government of the 

 Philippine Islands, dean of the college of medicine, 

 and professor of chemistry of the University of the 

 Philippines. Dr. Freer was also the founder and 

 editor of The Journal of Science. This issue of the 

 NO. 2243, VOL. go] 



magazine contains eight appreciations of Dr. Freer 's 

 life and work. Mr. Martin Egan, editor of The 

 Manila Times, writes of his life and career; Bishop 

 Brent of his influence upon other men; Mr. R. P. 

 Strong, chief of the biological laboratory in the 

 Bureau of Science, describes his general influence upon 

 scientific work in the Philippine Islands ; Mr. Dean C. 

 Worcester, secretary of the Interior of the Govern- 

 ment of the Islands, gives an account of his work 

 for the Bureau of Science ; Mr. W. E. Musgrave, 

 of the General Hospital, of his work for the univer- 

 sity; Mr. Murray Bartlett writes of him as an 

 organiser and administrator; Prof Calderon as a 

 friend of the Filipinos; and Prof. H. D. Gibbs as a 

 chemist. 



A REVISED edition of Dr. J. G. Bartholomew's 

 "School Economic Atlas," to which Prof. L. W. Lyde 

 contributes an introduction, has been published by 

 the Oxford University Press. The price of the atlas 

 is 2s. 6(7. net. 



In the note on the first report of the Meteorological 

 Observatory at Montserrat (Nature, September 12, 

 p. 59), it should have been added that the daily 

 maxima and minima of temperature were given in 

 separate tables on other pages in conjunction with the 

 values of humidity. 



The presidential address delivered last September to 

 the British Association, at its meeting at Dundee, 

 entitled " Life : its Nature, Origin, and Mainten- 

 ance," has been published in pamphlet form by 

 Messrs. Longmans, Green and Co. at the price of 

 IS. net. 



The most recent issue of the botanical catalogue of 

 Messrs. John Wheldon and Co., of 38 Great Queen 

 Street, Kingsway, London, gives particulars of some 

 1700 books and papers on various branches of botany. 

 Many recent purchases and selections from several 

 important libraries are included. 



A FOURTH edition of the late Prof. Thomas Preston's 

 "Theory of Light" has been published by Messrs. 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd. It has been edited by Prof. 

 W. E. Thrift, and its price is 15^. net. The develop- 

 ments that have taken place since the publication of 

 the third edition, in 1901, have led Prof. Thrift to 

 make additions, which are suitably indicated. A fuller 

 treatment of dispersion is given, an account of radia- 

 tion phenomena in a magnetic field, and a more com- 

 plete presentation of the electro-magnetic theory, 

 which is dealt with from the electron point of view 

 of Lorentz and Drude. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 



The Discovery or .\ Comet, 1912b. — A telegram 

 from the Kiel Centralstelle announces the discovery of 

 a comet by M. Schaumasse, at Nice, on October 18. 

 The position of the object at i7h. 5m. (Nice M.T.) on 

 that date was : — • 



R.A. =9h. 57'6m., decl. = + i° 36', 



and the motion was easterly. The magnitude was 

 ii't, and the position given lies in Se.xtantis, about 

 11° south of Regulus, thus rising about 2.30 a.m. 

 .\ second teleerram from the Centralstelle states that 



