ATO 
NATURE 
[June 20, 1912 
of its presumed marshy habitat, and is placed near 
Diadectes, with affinities with Pareiasaurus. 
In the Proceedings of the Liverpool Geological 
Society, vol. xi., H. C. Beasley describes (p. 108) a 
group of footprints from the Keuper of Storeton, 
which may perhaps be reptilian. F. T. Maidwell 
(p. 140) publishes ‘‘Notes on Footprints from the 
Keuper of Runcorn Hill,”’ laying especial stress on 
their webbed character. 
J. C. Merriam (Mem. Univ. California, vol. i., 
I9II, Pp. I99) proposes to investigate the Pleistocene 
fauna accumulated in an asphalt swamp at Rancho 
La Brea, in the Los Angeles district. He describes 
the deposit in this first paper, and attributes the 
abundant remains of carnivores (p. 211) to the attrac- 
tion offered to them by struggling animals caught in 
the tarry pools. This selective process, by which 
carnivorous birds and mammals become themselves 
entrapped, may be seen in operation in the locality at 
the present day. GAT EaG: 
THE ISLE OF WIGHT BEE DISEASE. 
pesss the last five years a feeling approaching 
consternation has prevailed among British bee- 
keepers on account of the rapid spread of the epidemic 
known as “Isle of Wight Disease.”’ Bee-keepers 
and students of protozoology will alike welcome the 
comprehensive report (‘“‘Supplement to the Journal of 
the Board of Agriculture,’ vol. xix., No. 2) which 
has lately been issued on the subject. This report 
represents the combined work of Drs. Graham Smith, 
H. B. Fantham, Annie Porter, and W. Malden, and 
Mr. G. W. Bullamore. It deals with the history and 
symptoms of the disease, the means by which it is 
spread, and the methods of treatment and prevention 
which may be adopted. It also gives full details, 
with excellent figures, of the life-history of Nosema 
apis (a microsporidian parasite closely allied to the 
organism that causes the ‘‘ Pébrine”’ disease of sill- 
worms), which ‘“‘is the agent responsible for most 
cases in which the symptoms of the Isle of Wight 
disease have been noticed.” 
An examination of the available records has con- 
vinced Dr. Graham Smith that the present prevalence 
of the disease in Great Britain cannot be traced 
entirely to the outbrealx in the Isle of Wight in 1906, 
but that ‘‘from its commencement the epidemic was 
more widespread than was at first supposed, and that 
the disease has been endemic in parts of the country 
for many years.’’ It is well known that the disease 
causes the death of large numbers of adult bees, often 
exterminating an entire stock; usually the affected 
insects crawl on the ground in front of the hive 
unable to fly. In most cases examination of the 
chyle stomach reveals the presence of stages in the 
life-cycle of Nosema apis. The parasites, swallowed 
as spores, enter the epithelial cells of the chyle 
stomach and multiply there, ultimately giving rise to 
resistent spores which pass into the intestine and are 
voided with the excrement. Thus food and water be- 
come contaminated and the disease is spread. From 
the nature of the infection it is evident that the ruth- 
less destruction of diseased stocks and the thorough 
disinfection of apiaries must be carried out. The bee- 
lxeeper’s difficulties are not lessened by the warning 
that probably “partially immune stocks exist, which 
can only be caused to suffer from the disease with 
difficulty, but which may harbour the parasite and 
act as centres of infection for susceptible stocks." 
Unfortunately this report has appeared too late for 
inclusion in the ‘‘ Historical Notes on the Causes of 
Bee Diseases,”” by Drs. E. F. Phillips and G. F. 
White, lately issued by the United States Department 
NO. 2225, VOL. 89] 
of Agriculture (Entom. Bulletin, No. 98). This 
bulletin contains summaries of a selection of impor- 
tant memoirs and papers on bee diseases, arranged 
chronologically from Schirach’s “ Histoire naturelle 
de la Reine des Abeilles” (1771) to Zander’s ‘‘ Hand- 
buch der Bienenkunde” (1910-11). As many of the 
papers summarised were published in little-known 
Continental journals devoted to bee-culture, the com- 
pilation will be most valuable to English-speaking 
students. How much work remains to be done on 
the subject of bee diseases may be inferred from the 
authors’ opinion that American foul brood is the only 
infection which has been as yet decisively traced to 
a definite micro-organism (Bacillus larvae). In view 
of the work of Fantham and Porter on Nosema apis, 
the ‘‘Isle of Wight” disease must now be added to 
this select list. 
THE KINEMATOGRAPH IN SCIENCE 
TEACHING. 
@e June 12 the proprietors of The Bioscope gave 
a very interesting demonstration at Cinema House 
for the purpose of illustrating the scientific and 
educational value of the kinematograph as applied to 
the study of natural science. Some of the films 
shown were very remarkable, and the various firms 
concerned in their production are to be heartily con- 
gratulated on the high degree of perfection to which 
they have already brought the art of kinematography. 
It appears to us that there are two main directions 
in which this process is likely to assist materially the 
progress of natural science. In the first place, it 
should be an invaluable aid in the actual investiga- 
tion of phenomena which take place either too quickly 
or too slowly for convenient study by direct observa- 
tion. This was well demonstrated by a number of 
films showing the germination and growth of plants 
taking place at some thousands of times the normal 
rate, and by a similar series of the early stages of the 
developing chick. The movements of seedling p¢}ants 
viewed in this manner are highly instructive and very 
curious, and no less remarkable is the growth of the 
chick embryo with its neural folds, mesoblastic somites, 
&c. We should like to know in the latter case how 
the tilm was taken, and whether or not it had to be 
in any way ‘faked.’’ We should also like to 
have had the film stopped at intervals in order to 
analyse the processes which were going on. 
In the second place, the kinematograph will 
evidently be of great use in popular lecturing, and 
such a film as that entitled ‘‘The Fly Pest” is of the 
highest educational value. For ordinary teaching, 
however, it appears to us doubtful whether, if brought 
into extensive use, it will do more good than harm. 
Nothing can replace satisfactorily the direct contact 
with nature which is the essence of all really satis- 
factory teaching in natural science, and it is doubtful 
whether a moving picture is even as valuable from 
this point of view as a series of good wall diagrams, 
or blackboard drawings, which are long enough 
before the eye to create a permanent impression. One 
of the films shown, ‘“‘A Lesson in Liquid Air,’? seems 
to us to indicate very clearly the danger that kine- 
matography may be put to an illegitimate use in 
teaching. We have here a series of pictures of ex- 
periments, and of the experimenter. The pictures are 
certainly instructive, but they form but a poor sub- 
stitute for the actual experiments; if the students 
cannot perform these for themselves they ought at 
least to be able to see them actually carried out before 
their eyes. For serious teaching the kinematograph 
| cannot replace the real demonstration any more than 
| the phonograph can replace the real teacher. 
