678 
of existence; the K’mé, by means of which they pro- 
cure white ants; their dress and adornments. Nothing 
comes amiss to them, eating hyzna, jackal, reptiles, 
and worms, Huts they never build, making only a 
frail shelter of grass and twigs. The poison they use 
for their arrows consists of snake poison, and also of 
that of the large spiders reputed to be very venomous, 
mixed with the milky juice of a Euphorbia growing in 
the Langebergen. They practise witchcraft to remove 
illness, this being done in a very simple manner by the 
old women. They acknowledge no chief or leader, 
and are not polygamous, but they have no marriage 
ceremonies. They are extremely revengeful, killing 
even their own relations if necessary. They believe in 
resurrection, and bury the dead in a sitting position, 
so as to enable them to get up easily and walk to 
a certain place where there is plenty of wild honey and 
locusts. Those who have been quarrelsome and have 
behaved badly towards their friends during their life- 
time would get common flies to eat as a punishment. 
The Bushmen believe that jackals, wild cats, &c., were 
formerly human beings transformed by witchcraft as 
punishment for evil doing.—Dr. J. R. Sutton: The 
physical significance of the mean diurnal curve of tem- 
perature. This paper discusses briefly the question 
whether hourly average temperatures have any great 
scientific value. The author comes to the conclusion 
that it is not unlikely that the mean diurnal curve of 
temperature is, for Kimberley, made up of at least three 
superimposed curves of the same period, which curves 
are proper, perhaps, to various outstanding types of 
weather.—Dr. J. R. Sutton: A note on the earthquakes 
of the South-African Table-land. Occasional shocks 
of earthquake are felt in South Africa. Four have 
occurred of sufficient intensity to be plainly felt since 
the observatory at Kenilworth (Kimberley) was estab- 
lished. The author directs attention to the fluctuations 
of barometric pressure which were in progress at the 
time of these shocks. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Kausale und konditionale Weltanschauung. By 
Max Verworn. Pp. ii+46. (Jena: Gustav Fischer.) 
I mark. 
Das Tierreich. Edited by F. E. Schulze. 31 
Lieferung, Crustacea, Ostracoda. By G. W. Muller. 
Pp. xxxiii+434. (Berlin: R. Friedlander & Sohn.) 
32 marks. 
Notes on Foundry Practice. By J. J. Morgan. Pp. 
viii+ro8. (London: C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) 2s. 6a. 
net. 
A Text-book of Rand Metallurgical Practice. By | 
R. Stokes, J. E. Thomas, and others. Vol. ii. Pp. 
xxii+438. (London: C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) ars. 
net. 
Campagne Arctique de 1907. By le Duc d’Orléans. 
Crustagés Malacostracés. By Dr. L. Stappers. Pp. 
Vi+152+xii+xiit+vii plates+ii maps. Bryozoaires. By 
O. Nordgaard. Pp. iiit43+map. Coelentérés du 
Fond. By Dr. H.. Broch.. Pp. ii+-29+map: | 
Annélides Polychétes. By Prof. F. Fauvel. Pp. iii+ 
45+iv+i plate+i map. (Brussels: C. Bulens.) 
Black’s Sentinel Reader. Book iv. By Prof. E. E. 
Speight. Pp. x+210. Book v. By Prof. E. E. 
Speight. Pp. xii+239. (London: A. and C. Black.) 
Is. 6d. each. 
The Treatment of Tuberculosis by means of the 
Immune Substances (I.K.) Therapy. By W. H. 
Fearis. Pp. xx+206. (London: John Murray.) 6s. 
net. 
Naturwissenschaftliche Studien am Toten Meer 
und im Jordantal. By Prof. M. Blanckenhorn. Pp. 
viit+478. Berlin: R. Friedlander & Sohn.) 25 
marks. 
A 
O. 2235, VOL. 89| 
NATURE 
[AuGuUST 29, 1912 
A Manual Flora of Egypt. 
Voli. Pp. xii+672. Vol. ii. 
R. Friedlander & Sohn.) 
Axiom and Principles of the Science of Organisa- 
tion. By M. Bruce-Williams. Second edition. Pp. 
21+plates. (London: Association of Standardised 
Knowledge, Ltd.) 7s. 6d. a 
The Strategy of Nature. By M._ Bruce-Williams. 
Pp. 60. (London: Association of Standardised Know- 
ledge, Ltd.) 2s. 6d. 
Die Feigenbaume Italiens und ihre Beziehungen zu 
einander. By Dr. R. Ravasini. Pp. 174+6. 
(Bern: M. Drechsel.) 11 marks. 
Solar Physics Committee. Report of the Solar 
Eclipse Expedition to Vavau, Tonga Island, April 29, 
1911. (Eastern date.) By Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer. 
Under the direction of Sir Norman Lockyer. Pp. iv+ 
82+10 plates. (London: H.M. Stationery Office.) 6s. 
The Evolution of Ethers and Ether Phenomena. By 
A. Dilks. Pp. 50. (Bridgwater: Coombs and Dilks.) 
2s. 6d. net. 
Fifth Scientific Report on the Investigations of the 
Imperial Cancer Research Fund. By Dr. E. F. Bash- 
ford. Pp. vi+o4. (London: Taylor and Francis.) 
By Dr. R. Muschler. 
Pp. 673-1312. 9(Berlini: 
Ss 
Jahrbuch der Naturwissenschaften, 1911-1912. 
Edited by Dr. J. Plaszmann. Pp. xvi+452. (Frei- 
burg and London: B. Herder.) 7s. 6d. _ 
Dactylography, or the Study of Finger-prints. By 
H. Faulds. Pp. 127. (Halifax: Milner and Co.) 
Sea Het. 
Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedi- 
tion to Torres Straits. Vol. iv. Arts and Crafts- 
Pp. xxiv+393+40 plates. (Cambridge: University 
Press.) 255. net. 
CONTENTS. PAGE 
An Introduction to Aristotelian Science. By Prof.’ 
D’Arcy W. Thompson, C.B. Picci GyOnCe ch an.c. 0 653 
| Recent Botanical Publications 654 
School Mathematics 655. 
Our Bookshelf 658. 
Letters to the Editor :— 
Butterfly Migration in Relation to Mimicry. — J. 
Evershed ORE 2.) oe Eee 
Parallel Mutations in Oenothera biennis.—R. R.Gates 659 
William Herschel and his ‘*‘ Desertion.” — Dr, 
Jinls. (E. Dreyer)?> ei eee ee  aee 660 
The Disintegration of Metals at High Temperatures. 
—Dr. J. H. T. Roberts Tb, eee EE 
September Meteor-showers.—John R. Henry . . 660 
A Flower Sanctuary.—Right Hon. Sir Edw. Fry, 
GC. B.,,F.R:S. | 0 eee ea 
A Point in Geological Nomenclature.—F Gillman . 661 
Boats and Life-saving Appliances on Ships 661 
Forests and Rainfall, By/R’1@ 2) 2) 2 eeeoe 
Oersted and the Electric Theory of Light. By Prof. 
Silvanus P. Thompson; ihiRoSin nein ao) en eo 
Science and Reservations. By A. E. Crawley. . . 665 
Notes ee err ah eek oo! 
Our Astronomical Column ;— 
Astronomical Occurrences for September . 669. 
The Variability of Polaris ee 669 
The Solar Eclipse of April 17) 2s see O 
yy Geminorum a Spectroscopic Binary of Exceptionally 
Long Period - cee ee 670 
The Hamburg Observatory. . ... . ~ 670 
Regional Geologyin Europe. By G. A. J.C. 670 
The Life-history of the Hook-worm 672 
The Microscopic Determinationof Minerals... . 673 
Smithsonian Expeditions . ove cee Le Gre: 
Secondary and Technical Education in England. 
BypReranIG: : . . 2 «2 eee Hic; ate SOUS 
University and Educational Intelligence 677 
Societies and Academies 677 
Books Received 678 
