JuNE 20, 1912] 
NATURE 
405 
by Novy, that T. grayi is a parasite peculiar to the ! winters, has produced disastrous results, so that re- 
fly itself, without a vertebrate host of any kind, and 
refers it to his genus, Cystotrypanosoma. The whole 
question is discussed in the recently published bulletin, 
No. 37, of the Sleeping Sickness Bureau, where it is 
suggested that possibly two species of flagellates are 
in question, the one a parasite of the tsetse alone, 
the other the developmental stage of the crocodile- 
trypanosome. 
We have to acknowledge the receipt from the pub- 
lisher—Hugh Rees, Ltd., Regent Street, S.W.—of a 
copy of a “Diary” for collectors of birds’ eggs, which 
appears to be well suited to its purpose. Collectors 
are advised not to take more than a single egg from 
any one nest save in exceptional circumstances. 
In describing a new race of bighorn sheep from 
the Sierra Nevada, Mr. J. Grinnell (Univ. Cal. Zool. 
Pub., vol. x., No. 5) points out that the desert-haunt- 
ing forms of these sheep have larger ears than those 
which dwell among more genial surroundings. As a 
similar feature occurs in other desert mammals, it 
may doubtless be regarded as an adaptive provision, 
thereby indicating a difference in the intensity of 
sound-transmission in the two environments. 
To the third part of vol. xii. of the Proceedings and 
Transactions of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 
Mr. W. S. Brodie contributes an article on certain 
peculiar mounds which border the shores of Grand 
Lake, Cape Breton, and other lakes in the province. 
Attaining a maximum elevation of from 5 to 6 ft. 
above the level of the lake, these mounds have been 
regarded as the work of beavers, but the author 
gives reasons for considering them as glacial, and 
more or less nearly akin to ‘‘eskers.” 
In the the 
National for the year ending June 
30, I9II, occasion is taken to give a résumé 
of its history, followed by an _ account of 
the completion and occupation of the new build- 
ing, which took place on June 20 of the year under 
review, six years after the excavations for the founda- 
tions were commenced. The resources of the zoo- 
logical department were heavily taxed during the year 
in coping with the great collections of mammal skele- 
tons and skins obtained by the Roosevelt and other 
expeditions; no fewer than 3000 skulls were cleaned 
while more than 300 skins of the larger mammals 
were tanned. The collection of North American mam- 
mals made by Dr. C. H. Merriam, previous to his 
entering Government service, which contains many 
type specimens, was secured during the year. ; 
report WES: 
Museum 
on progress of the 
THE present condition and future prospects of the 
great herds of wapiti which visit that portion of the 
valley of the Snake River in Wyoming known as 
‘Jackson Hole every winter, after passing the summer 
in or near the Yellowstone Park, are discussed by 
Mr. E. A. Preble in U.S. Dept. Agriculture Biological 
Survey Bulletin No. 40. The number in these herds 
estimated at not fewer than 20,000, and until 
recently the deer have apparently found no great 
difficulty in supporting themselves; but increasing 
settlement, coupled with three unusually 
NO. 2225, VoL. 89] 
1S 
severe 
} 
_tinents and oceans 
| the earth’s 
| systematic botanists. 
course to artificial feeding was found necessary. And 
it is evident that if the herd is to be maintained, 
assistance must: be continued regularly. 
Mr. F. N. Witttams has published the ninth part 
of his useful ‘‘Prodromus Flore Britannice (C. 
Stutter, Brentford; price, by post, 2s. 9d.), containing 
diagnoses of fifty-three species of Dicotyledons. The 
descriptions and notes will doubtless render this work, 
when completed, of great interest and value to 
It is much less likely, however, 
that the author’s somewhat aberrant views regard- 
ing the larger groupings of orders or cohorts, as 
expressed in his system of classification, will meet 
with general acceptance. 
Pror. J. W. Bews, Natal University College, has 
written an interesting general account of the vegeta- 
tion of Natal (Annals of Natal Museum, ii., 1912), 
evidently as a preliminary to a more detailed ecological 
survey of this colony. His paper, which is illustrated 
by ten fine plates made from photographs, is divided 
into two parts. In the first part, the author describes 
and discusses the various factors influencing plant-life 
in Natal—geological structure, soils, rainfall, mist, 
temperature, light, winds, fires, and animals. Under 
the last heading some interesting details are given 
concerning the effects upon the vegetation due to 
termites—‘‘the scavengers of the forests”; to the 
giant earthworms, which may be a yard long and 
bring up very large amounts of soil as castings; to 
various rodents; and to the destructive native himself. 
The second part is devoted to a general sketch of the 
various plant associations, which are grouped under 
the three headings of shore, bush, and veld vegeta- 
| tion. 
Mr. CC. BEcKENHAUPT, in a_ tract’ entitled 
“Witterung, Erdoberflache und Leben”’ (Humboldt- 
Bibliothek, Dr. W. Breitenbach, Brackwede i. W., 
Ig12, price 2 marks), refers the ocean basins to the 
concentration of water in certain portions of the 
globe, whereby the primitive plastic crust became 
depressed. Such regions were at first equatorial, 
since the crust cooled there more slowly, and was 
therefore more capable of yielding. The formation 
of a basin leads to the upthrust of a continent, on 
which the growth of vegetation encourages further 
precipitation. The water runs off into the basin, and 
this consequently deepens, while the land adjacent to 
it rises. The author discusses, none too clearly, the 
causes that led to the rearrangement of the con- 
in a north-and-south direction, 
and urges that stability was given to the position of 
axis of rotation as continental land 
increased in height. 
Tue second volume of the Bulletin of the Seismo- 
logical Society of America opens with papers of 
greater length and value than its predecessor. Prof. 
H. F. Reid, writing on the choice of a seismograph, 
enumerates the conditions which all such instruments 
should satisfy, and gives illustrated descriptions of 
the principal forms, with such useful details as the 
name of the maker and the price. Mr. N. F. Drake 
