2 8o 



NA TURE 



[July 19. 1906 



Dr. Stejneger in No. 1471 describes a new tree-frog (Hyla) 

 from Costa Rica ; East African birds, b}- Mr. H. C. 

 Oberliolser, form the subject of No. 1469 ; wliile in No. 

 1472 Mr. E. S. Miller discusses mammals from Engano 

 Island, off Sumatra. Certain American moths are de- 

 scribed in Nos. 1463 and 1465 by Mr. A. Busck. 



In a paper contributed to part iii. of vol. xxv. of 

 Gegenbaur's Morphologisches Jahrbuch, Mr. J. E. V. Boas 

 makes the startling announcement that a pleural cavity 

 is absent in the Indian elephant. The author believes the 

 feature to be constant, and that it will be found to hold 

 good also for the .African elephant, in which case we shall 

 have a feature distinguishing the group from all other 

 mammals. This paper is followed by one by Prof. G. 

 Ruge on the shape of the thoracic cavity in the Indian 

 elephant, and the relations thereto of the lungs. In a 

 third paper Mr. A. Rauber contrasts the skull of Immanuel 

 Kant with that of a member of the Neanderthal race. A 

 striking difference between the two crania is to be found 

 in the e.xtreme brachycephalism of the one and the equally 

 marked dolichocephalism of the other. If it be suggested 

 that the shortness of the savant's skull was due to inherit- 

 ance — from his ancestors in Scotland and Nurnberg — this 

 is merely evading the main question, namely. When did the 

 first brachycephalic man appear? It is noteworthy that if 

 Kant's skull be plotted on the dolichocephalic lines of that 

 of the Neanderthaler, and the Neanderthaler's cranium 

 drawn on the brachycephalic proportions of that of Kant, 

 the normals from a line connecting the " ophrion " with 

 the " basion " will be very nearly the same in both cases. 



The Bio-Chemical Journal for June (i., Nos. 6 and 7) 

 contains several interesting papers. Prof. Moore and 

 Messrs. .Alexander, Kelly, and Roaf show that the secretion 

 of gastric hydrochloric acid is very sensitive to any 

 variation in general health of the body, any enfeeblement 

 leading to decreased percentage of the acid. This reduction 

 in acid-secreting power is much more marked in cancer 

 than in any other condition. Prof. Moore and Mr. Wilson 

 contribute a paper on a clinical method of haemalkalimetry 

 which seems to be a distinct advance on previous ones. 



The longevity of Bacillus typhosus in natural waters 

 and in sewage forms the subject of an important paper by 

 Messrs. H. L. Russell and C. A. Fuller {Journ. of In- 

 fectious Diseases, Supp. No. 2, February, p. 40). 

 Permeable sacs of celloidin, parchment, and agar were 

 employed to imprison the typhoid organisms while exposed 

 to the influence of water and sewage bacteria. W'hen 

 B. typhosus was exposed to the action of flowing lake 

 water (Mendota), the longevity of the organism ranged 

 from eight to ten days ; when exposed directly to the 

 action of sewage bacteria, its longevity was reduced to 

 three to five days. 



In Bulletin No. 104 of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Morgantown, West Virginia, Mr. J. L. Sheldon 

 writes on the ripe rot or mummy disease of guavas, 

 ascribed to the fungus Glomerella psidii. Brown spots 

 appear on the ripening fruits causing them to shrivel, 

 whence the term mummy disease ; if not identical with 

 the bitter rot of apples it is very similar, and it was found 

 possible to inoculate apples with the fungus. Delacroix 

 assigned the fungus to the genus Gloeoosperium, but on 

 account of the ascigerous stage observed by Mr. Sheldon 

 he refers it to the genus Glomerella. 



Experiments on the tapping and preparation of rubber 

 from Castilloa trees are in a less advanced stage than 

 experiments with Hevea latex, .^s Castilloa promises to 



NO. 191 6, VOL. 74] 



be more suitable for cultivation than Hevea in parts of the 

 West Indies, considerable interest attaches to the pre- 

 liminary results outlined in the West Indian Bulletin (vol. 

 vii., part i.) by Mr. J. C. Moore for St. Lucia and Mr. 

 J. Jones for Dominica. A variation in the semi-circum- 

 ferential method of tapping is described, where, instead 

 of a continuous cut, a series of incisions are made with a 

 chisel. Castilloa is found to thrive on land suited to cacao, 

 and may be grown on a shade tree for cacao ; it possesses 

 the further advantage of being able to withstand severe 

 storms. 



It is interesting to note how the trade of each of the 

 West Indian Islands possesses its own special features. 

 Dr. F. Watts reviews the changes that have occurred in 

 the agricultural industries of Montserrat in the West 

 Indian Bulletin, vol. vii., No. i, of which the most 

 prominent facts are the decadence of the sugar industry 

 and the marlved fluclations in the production of lime and 

 lime-juice. The raising of cattle and stock for export 

 shows a steady increase, and a papain industry has been 

 developed, which, however, is threatened by competitive 

 production in the East. Cotton is regarded by Dr. Watts 

 as the most hopeful industry for the future, but the peasant 

 population has not, so far, taken to the cultivation. In 

 the course of another article, Dr. Watts outlines the de- 

 velopment of the cotton industry in the Leeward Islands 

 since 1900, the greatest changes having been effected 

 thereby in Nevis and Anguilla. 



The completion of the Simplon Tunnel, 12J miles in 

 length, at a cost of 3,100,000!., and at an average rate of 

 two miles a year, has induced Mr. Lewis M. Haupt to 

 publish in the Journal of the Franklin Institute (vol. clxi.. 

 No. 6) some comparative notes on other great tunnels. 

 The Hoosac Tunnel, Massachusetts, five miles in length, 

 was begun in 1854 and completed in 1876, with an average 

 progress of 5-5 feet per day. The Mont Cenis Tunnel, 

 eight miles in length, was begun in 1857 and completed 

 in 1871, with an average progress of 8 feet per day. The 

 Sutro Tunnel, Nevada, four miles in length, was begun 

 in 1869 and completed in 1878, with an average progress 

 of 1024 feet per day. The St. Gothard Tunnel (1872- 

 1881), 9j miles in length, was driven at the rate of 

 14-6 feet per day. The Arlberg Tunnel (1880-1884), 638 

 miles in length, was driven at the rate of 278 feet per 

 day. 



The third number of Concrete and Constructional 

 Engineering (July) shows a marked improvement on the 

 previous issues. The principal articles deal with re- 

 inforced concrete in France, reinforced concrete bridges, 

 steel and concrete buildings in Scotland, reinforced 

 concrete water mains, the theory of reinforced concrete, 

 and hollow concrete blocks. The illustrations are excel- 

 lent, and the articles are written by recognised authori- 

 ties. An editorial note deals with the need for inter- 

 national standards in respect to reinforced concrete, and 

 suggests that the International Association for Testing 

 Materials should form a committee to collect international 

 data. There is also a portrait and obituary notice of the 

 octogenarian Joseph Monier, who died in Paris on 

 March 13 last, almost unknown, almost forgotten, and in 

 unfortunate circumstances, yet credit will always be due to 

 him as the inventor of reinforced concrete. 



The blackening of rocks in rivers has of late received 

 some attention from geologists. Mr. A. Lucas, chief 

 chemist to the Geological Survey in Cairo, sends us a 

 paper on the blackened rocks of the Nile Cataract (National 



