JuLy 11, 1912] 
NATURE 
487 
THe AsTroGRaPHIC CaTALOGuE.—Part i., vol. viii., of 
the Catania Catalogo Astrofotografico gives 7923 posi- | 
tions of stars shown on fifteen plates covering the 
area oh. to 3h. R.A., and +53° to 55° declination ; 
excluding repetitions the number of separate stars 
dealt with is 6916. 
In vol. i. of the Perth section of the catalogues, Mr. 
W. E. Cooke gives the rectangular coordinates and 
magnitudes of 5646 star images between R.A. oh. to 
6h., on plates having their centres at declination —32°, 
and in vol. v. of the Perth meridian observations, he 
gives a catalogue of 2043 stars between 35° and 37° 
south declination for the equinox of 1900. The stars 
of this latter catalogue are those selected as reference 
points for the astrographic catalogue, and were 
observed with the Perth 6-inch transit circle during 
1g10; they are distributed approximately at the rate 
of three per square degree. 
PosITION OF THE RED Spor on JupiterR.—In a brief 
note communicated to No. 4583 of the Astronomische 
Nachrichten, the Rev. T. E. R. Phillips announces 
that recent observations made by him at Ashtead show 
that the red spot on Jupiter has continued to drift 
rapidly in longitude. Whereas at the end of June, 
Igtt, its longitude (,) was 325°+, in April last it 
was only 305°—306°. 
THE DISEASES DUE TO FILARIA 
BANCROFTI.! 
ages subject-matter of the work referred to below 
may be considered under three headings: (1) 
The transmission of filaria by mosquitoes. In Fiji 
the carrier is mainly Stegomyia pseudoscutellaris. 
The developmental stages are carefully described, but 
some of the illustrative plates are not very good. 
The author’s experiment tending to show that the 
filarial larvee find their own way in through the skin 
is a most interesting one. (2) The clinico-patho- 
logical facts, though scattered about the book and 
not blended into one harmonious picture, form some 
of the most valuable information supplied. No 
explanation is suggested for the absence of chyluria, 
generally taken as a typical filarial disease, nor is any 
light shed on the pathology of elephantiasis, but the 
concrete facts as to where really filariz do occur, and 
what changes they produce, are a welcome addition 
to our knowledge. (3) The connection between 
filaria and the so-called filarial diseases is considered 
statistically. We have been at some pains to unravel 
the author’s data from a variety of tables most con- 
fusingly presented, in which percentages are 
erroneously calculated and totals wrongly added up. 
They may be summarised in the following state- 
ments :— 
(1) The prevalence of filarial diseases is propor- 
tional to the prevalence of filaria larve (micro- 
filariaz) in the blood :— 
Bau Oneata J akemba I.oma-loma 
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. | 
Microfilarial rate ... 12°5 25°4 BIS 32°88 
Filarial disease rate 28°9 390°4 58'0 34°2 
but, as will be observed, the relationship is not very 
close. 
(2) If we consider 
only those showing micro- 
filariz in the blood, the majority shows signs of 
disease, viz. 153 with signs, 104 without. Total, 257. 
(3) If we consider those not showing microfilariz 
in the blood, they also show signs of disease, but 
now in a minority. With signs 263, without 4o9. 
Total, 672. 
(4) Finally, 
1 “ Filariasis and Elephantiasis in Fiji." Being a Report to the London 
School of Tropical Medicine. By P. H. Bahr. Pp. vititrgz. (London: 
Witherby and Co., 1912.) Price 6s. net. 
No. 2228, vo. 89] 
if we consider only those showing 
signs of disease, the minority show microfilariz in 
the blood. With microfilaria 153, without 263. 
Total, 416. ; 
The explanation of this latter fact, which might at 
first sight appear inconsistent with (2), is presumably 
that the worms which occur in enlarged glands, &c., 
get eventually destroyed in these sites, so that the 
sign of the disease which they have produced remains 
| after the cause—the adult worm—has disappeared. 
We must also suppose that microfilariz do not live 
indefinitely in the blood, otherwise this relationship 
could not occur, but if they disappear there probably 
will always be a majority showing signs of disease, 
but no microfilariz in the blood. ; 
As regards elephantiasis, its filarial nature is almost 
entirely based on epidemiological and _ statistical 
evidence, for the arguments that apply to the “signs 
of disease”’ as a whole apply to it as one of those 
signs. It should be noted, however, that in thirteen 
out of twenty-seven cases there were no_ visibly 
enlarged glands to account for a hypothetical obstruc- 
tion, which is commonly presumed to be the cause 
of the phenomenon. 
The arrangement of the book is not all that could 
be desired. The photographs with a _ different 
numbering from the plates are sprinkled among the 
latter in a way that makes them very difficult to 
trace, except by reference to the list of illustrations. 
The subdivision of the paragraphs, e.g. 111 (2) C is 
unnecessarily complicated, and several of those 
alluded to we have been unable to find. The defects 
in the statistical portion we have already mentioned. 
While it is clear that the book represents the results 
of much work, it also shows that very much more 
remains to be done. ‘ 
THE ERUPTIONS OF THE ASAMA-YAMA 
(JAPAN) IN 1909-11.1 
HE Asama-yama, situated in the central part of 
the main island of Japan, may be regarded as 
one of the most active of Japanese volcanoes. Its 
highest point is 8130 ft. above sea-level, and about 
4200 ft. above the surrounding land. The present 
crater is about 4oo ft. in depth and a quarter of a 
mile in diameter. The earliest recorded eruption 
took place in A.D. 685, the greatest in 1783. Since 
this year the volcano has remained comparatively 
quiet until within the last few years. Since 
December, 1909, the explosions have been very fre- 
quent, more than sixty having occurred within the 
next two years. The floor of the crater has also 
risen considerably during the last twenty years, and 
everything, in the opinion of Prof. Omori, who is 
closely studying the phenomena, points to the gradual 
approach of another epoch of great volcanic activity, 
possibly after a lapse of about twenty years. 
At the request of the Japanese Government, the 
seismological examination of the mountain was 
undertaken by Prof. Omori, who also made three 
ascents of the mountain. Temporary  seismo- 
graphical observations were made at Yuno-taira and 
Ashino-taira, both places being situated on the 
south-western slope at heights of 4520 and 6300 ft. 
above sea-level, and in August, 1911, a seismological 
station of a more permanent character was estab- 
lished near Yuno-taira. The value of these observa- 
tions consists in the fact that the tremors recorded 
belong to two distinct types. In one the shocks 
consisted of minute quick tremors only; in the other 
they began with slow movements, interspersed after a 
few seconds with quick vibrations. The earthquakes 
of the first type were accompanied by no outburst 
1 Abstract of a paper by Prof. F. Omori in the Bulletin of the Imperial 
Earthquake Investigation Committee, ol. vi., 1912, pp. 1-147. 
