February 20, 19 13] 



NATURE 



681 



Vol. iv., No. 2, of Meddelelser jra Kommissionen 

 for Havundersegelser , serie : Fisheri, is devoted to an 

 account by Dr. J. Schmidt of tlie early ("prelepto- 

 ceplialine ") larval stages of congers and certain other 

 eels. It is claimed that this is the first definite identi- 

 fication of some of the earliest stages of the species in 

 question, and therefore the first trustworthy clue to 

 the particular kinds of mur^enoids which spawn in 

 the Mediterranean. All the larvse have pectoral fins, 

 even in cases where these disappear in the adult. 

 They may be divided into two groups, according to 

 the absence or presence of swellings in the intestine, 

 and the even distribution or collection into groups of 

 the pigment cells. To the first group belong Conger 

 vulgaris, C. myslax, and Muracna helena, and to the 

 second Neiiastoma melaniirum, three species of 

 Ophichthvs, and a new form, described as Lepto- 

 cephalus telescopicus. The three species of Ophich- 

 thvs and the Leptocephalus spawn in winter, instead 

 of, like the rest, in summer. 



Dr. S. Kusano has published (Journal of the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, iv.. No. 3) 

 an account of the life-history and cytology of a new 

 species of Olpidium, which is of great interest with 

 reference to the affinities of the Chytrldiales, an ex- 

 tremelv lowly group of fungi. The most remarkable 

 feature in the life-cycle of this new form is that some 

 of the swimming reproductive cells (zoospores) regu- 

 larly copulate in pairs to form a zygote. In discussing 

 the difficult question of the affinities of this remark- 

 able group of organisms, the author inclines to the 

 view that their origin must be sought in the Flagellata 

 or the Mycetozoa rather than in the primitive green 

 algae ; this confirms the conclusion arrived at inde- 

 pendentlv by Ncmec (see note in N.^ture, vol. Ixxxix., 

 P- 539)- 



Miss Annie D. Betts contributes to the current 

 number (December, 1912) of The Journal of Economic 

 Biology an extremely interesting account of the fungi 

 of the beehi\'e, having by her investigations added 

 considerably to the knowledge of this subject. The 

 results are based on work done on the combs of 

 stocks which died during the years igio to 1912 of 

 the Isle of Wight bee disease. Twelve fungi are 

 described, of which two are apparently confined to 

 beehives, others adapted to hive-life but not confined 

 to this habitat, while others again are commonly or 

 occasionally present but not specially adapted to life 

 in the hive. Some of the fungi belonging to the last 

 category (Penicillium, .Aspergillus, and other 

 "moulds") are ubiquitous, but in other cases the 

 fungus spores must be carried from hive to hive by 

 the bees themselves. None of the fungi described 

 appear to be pathogenic, though the presence of much 

 mould in a stock is, if not a cause, at any rate a sign 

 of unhealthy conditions, indicating either that the hive 

 is not weather-proof or that the colony is weak. 



The mysterious sounds known under the general 

 name of brontides, but locally as barisal guns, mist- 

 poeffeurs, &c., have for some months past been very 

 noticeable in the south-west of Haiti. In this island 



NO. 2260, VOL. go] 



the sound is called the gouffre. According to Mr. J. 

 Scherer (Bull, of the Seis. Soc. of America, vol. ii., 

 pp. 230-232), it is most frequently heard in the range 

 of La Selle. On its northern side, this range is 

 bounded by a steep cliff, formed by displacements 

 along a fauii that is believed to be still growing. 

 The sounds appear to come from the base of this 

 cliff, and, as they are the same as those which accom- 

 pany noticeable earthquakes (tlie Haitians apply the 

 name of gouffre to both), it is suggested that they 

 are caused by small adjustments of the crust along 

 the fault. The gouffre is also heard in the north- 

 western part of the island, at Port-de-Paix and 

 Limonade. 



In view of the approaching return of the drift-ice 

 season, the meteorological chart of the North Atlantic 

 for February, issued by the Deutsche Seewarte, con- 

 tains an interesting summary of the prevalence of ice 

 in that ocean during 1912. The Meteorological Office 

 charts also contain much useful information on the same 

 subject, with table showing the extreme limits of ice- 

 bergs and field ice in 1901-12, and diagram of 

 phenomenal drifts during a long series of years. Last 

 year the drift was one of the most remarkable ever 

 known ; little ice was sighted prior to the middle of 

 February, but by the end of March a general and 

 rapid spread was observed. By the end of May the 

 drift reached about 385° N., and in June its southern 

 limit had extended almost to 37° N. The positions 

 laid down on the charts refer to the general drift ; 

 isolated bergs were met with much further south. 

 In fact, the Meteorological Office diagram shows that 

 ice may be observed almost anywhere in mid-ocean 

 north of 30° N. With reference to the rate at which 

 icebergs may travel, the Seewarte quotes an interest- 

 ing case. On April 29, in 41° 25' N., 41° 43' W., the 

 ss. Clio passed a berg supposed to be that with which 

 the Titanic collided on April 14, and which therefore 

 had travelled 380 nautical miles, E.jS., in fifteen 

 daj's. One end of the berg was broken off, probably 

 owing to impact with a vessel, and the water round 

 about it Vvas strewn with wreckage, such as chairs, 

 towels, and other articles. 



In the Revue gdnirale des Sciences for January 15 

 Mr. R. de Baillehache, one of the members of the 

 French Commission on Units, directs attention to 

 the advantages of the metre-kilogramme-second system 

 for practical as well as scientific purposes. In view 

 of the legislation on the subject foreshadowed by the 

 French Minister of Commerce and Industry in August 

 last, he draws up a scheme of definitions and sug- 

 gests several new names for the units which up to 

 the present have not had special names assigned to 

 them. For the unit of capacity the litre is retained 

 and the cubic metre becomes the kilolitre. The unit 

 of force — the cop (Copernicus) — communicates an 

 acceleration of one metre per second to a mass of one 

 kilogramme. The unit of pressure — the tor (Torri- 

 celli) — is one cop per square metre, and is equal to 

 ten baries. The unit of heat is the kilogramme 

 degree of water at 15° C. The electrical units are 

 the present ohm, volt, and ampere. 



