May 17, 1906] 



NATURE 



63 



In the Chemikcr ZciUing for May 9 is an apprecialive 

 note from the pen of Prof, van 't HofT on his consdentious 

 co-worker and former student, the late Prof. VVilhehn 

 Moyerhoffer, who, at the early age of forty-one, died of 

 hoart disease on April 21 in Moran, where he had gone for 

 the benefit of his health. MeycrhofTer, although born in 

 Russia, was on his father's side of .\ustrian descent, and 

 was educated in German schools until his seventeenth 

 year ; after passing three years in the gymnasium of 

 Czernowitz, he studied first under Bunsen at Heidelberg 

 and then under Fittig at Strassburg, going from thence to 

 I-eipzig, .Amsterdam, Paris, \'ienna, and rierlin. A few 

 years ago he declined an invitation to go to Prague, and 

 only a few months ago received a call as ordinarius to the 

 Ifniversity of Aachen. In recognition of Mcyerhoffer's 

 experimental developments of Guklberg and VVaage's prin- 

 ciple, ho was elected a corresponding member of the Scien- 

 lific Society of Christiania, and at a more recent date to a 

 similar honour by the society in Rotterdam. 



Dr. W. N. Shaw's third lecture was delivered at the 

 University of London on May 15, the subject under con- 

 sideration being the normal general circulation of the 

 atmosphere at the surface and in the upper air, and, in 

 connection therewith, the relation of temperature and rain- 

 fall to the general circulation and local disturbances. We 

 can only refer here to one or two of the many interesting 

 points brought forward, e.g. the diagrams of the distribu- 

 tion of barometric pressure at the surface of the earth and 

 at a height of 4000 metres showed that the gradients were 

 quite opposite in character, but it was explained that when 

 these two pressure distributions were combined they pro- 

 duced the general circulation observed at the surface. 

 .\nother interesting feature of the lecture was a lantern 

 slide showing the easterly drift of the surface wind-current 

 at the winter quarters of the Discovery in the recent 

 Antarctic expedition, and the westerly drift of the upper 

 air shown by the smoke at the summit of Mount Erebus, 

 also the confirmation of the latter motion by the observ- 

 ation of the upper clouds. 



Gr.-vsshoppers and crickets (Locust ida; and GryllidiE) 

 irom Paraguay, by Mr. .\. N. Caudell, form the subject 

 of No. 1450 of the Proceedings of the U.S. National 

 Museum. 



The life-history of the warble-flies, Hypoderma bovis 

 and H. lineata, the larvae of which do so much mischief 

 to cattle in this country, is discussed by Mr. A. D. Imms 

 in part ii. of the first volume of the Journal of Economic 

 Biology. Although " warbles " — the tumours in the skin 

 of cattle produced by the grubs of these insects — have been 

 familiar to stock-owners and butchers from time 

 immemorial, it appears that we are still completely in the 

 dark as to the mode in which the larvae effect an entrance 

 into their hosts, as it is still undecided whether they do so 

 by penetrating the skin or by way of the mouth. 



The Naturalist for May contains an excellent portrait 

 and biography of Mr. H. C. Sorby, in the course of which 

 reference is made to the fact that the mechanical theorv 

 of slaty cleavage is due to him, and that he was the first 

 to make microscopic rock-sections. The articles include 

 one on chalk belemiMtes, by Mr. C. D. Sherborn, and one 

 on the senses of bats, by Mr. A. Whitaker, both illus- 

 trated. In the latter it is stated that bats " are now ranked 

 as the first suborder of the second great order Carnaria, 

 instead of the last suborder of the first order Primates," 

 which leads us to wonder what text-book the author is 

 in the habit of using. 



NO. 1907, VOL. 74] 



Of the five articles in the March issue (vol. iv., part iv.) 

 of Biometrika, three are devoted to the subject of heredity. 

 In one of these Mr. E. Schuster, dealing with hereditary 

 deafness in man, points out, in the first place, that 

 deaf-ttlutes generally marry with persons similarly afflicted, 

 with the results that might be expected ; and, in the second 

 place, brings out the normal, or even more than normal, 

 fertility of such unions. A paper on Shirley poppies, by 

 several workers, affords additional evidence of heredity in 

 plants. On the other hand, Messrs. Barrington and Pear- 

 son, in discussing the heredity of colour in cattle, as 

 exemplified in shorthorns and certain shorthorn crosses, 

 do not find that this comes under the Mendelian law, at 

 least in the shape of any simple formula. 



Parasitic invertebrates, or nearly related free-living 

 forms, constitute the subject of the three articles in the 

 -Vpril issue (vol. 1., part i.) of the Quarterly Journal of 

 Microscopical Science. The life-history of one of the 

 Gregarinida, Cystobia irregularis, a species infesting the 

 hojothurian locally known in this country as the " cotton- 

 spinner," has recently been investigated by Dr. H. M. 

 Woodcock, who in the communication before us states that 

 he has brought to light several interesting points in the 

 life-cycle of the group in general. The hope of adding to 

 our knowledge of the nature of the " coelom " and the 

 " nephridea " appears to have been the inducing cause 

 which led Mr. F. H. Stewart, I. M.S., to take up the study 

 of the free nematode worm Oncholaimus (or Oncholaemus) 

 vulgaris. The author's conclusions are summarised at the 

 end of his paper. In the third article Dr. Woodcock pub- 

 lishes the first part of a comprehensive review of the present 

 state of our knowledge of the blood-parasites known as 

 the ha;moflagellates, or trypanosomes. The author lays 

 stress on the extreme rapidity with which investigations 

 into the life-history of these minute organisms have been 

 carried out, the realisation of the extreme importance of 

 such knowledge in respect to the prevention of disease 

 being mainly responsible for this advance. 



Captain Lamb and Assistant-Surgeon Kesava Pai discuss 

 the occurrence of Mediterranean fever in India (Sc. Mem. 

 Gov. of India, No. 22). In seventeen cases carefully in- 

 vestigated, complete agglutination reactions (carefully con- 

 trolled against normal individuals) were obtained, and, in 

 addition, from ele%'en of these cases a coccus corresponding 

 in all its characters with the M. melitensis was obtained 

 by splenic puncture during life. 



A catalogue of microscopical slides, microscopes and 

 accessories received from Messrs. Flatters and Garnett, 

 Manchester, indicates that they are prepared to provide all 

 requisites for microscopical work. The list of botanical 

 and zoological slides is one of the most comprehensive and 

 practical we have seen ; a variety of articles for nature- 

 study workers are also supplied. 



With the view of helping visitors to appreciate the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, a short guide, with plan of 

 the gardens, describing the more important attractions, has 

 been published by the director of the Science and Art 

 Institutions, Dublin. In addition to the features of interest 

 that the Glasnevin gardens show in common with similar 

 institutions, the specimens of Nepenthes distillatoria raised 

 from seed at Glasnevin, the original golden yew, and the 

 fine collection of palms are especially worthy of notice. 



Dr. D. H. Scott paid a graceful tribute to a fellow- 

 worker in fossil botany in presenting a sketch of the life 

 and work of the late Dr. B. Renault as his presidential 



