May 23, 1907J 



NA TURE 



91 



REPORT ON ARCTIC MAGNETIC 

 OBSERVATIONS. 



T^lIIS report,' which was printed under the auspices of 

 -'■ the Videnslcabs-Selsliabet of Christiania, at the 

 expense of the Nansen Fund for the Advancement of 

 Science, deals with magnetic observations made in the 

 Polar expedition of 1S98-1902 under the command of 

 Captain Otto Sverdrup. The observations were taken by 

 Messrs. \'. Baumann and G. Isachsen, and reduced by 

 Mr. Steen. A large part of the report is occupied by the 

 reduction of the observations, which were not in reality 

 very extensive. The following abstract of the mean results 

 at the four stations where observations were made com- 

 prises the principal facts summarised on p. 81 : — 



78 46 

 74 57 



Latitude N. 



Longitude W. 



Epoch IS99-2 



Declination W.... 103 4 

 Inclination N. ... 86 o 

 Horizontal Force o"0403i 



fjord 



. 76 29 



. 84 4 



1900-5 



■ 116 47 

 . 87 I 

 0-03315 



Fjord 



76 49 

 SS 40 

 1901 -6 



Fjord 

 76 40 



. 129 33 ... 128 51 

 • 87 41 ... 87 53 

 0-02518 ... 0-02353 



The observations, as is evidenced by the smallness of 

 the horizontal force, were taken at no very great distance 

 from the magnetic pole, and the instruments, as Mr. 

 Steen explains with regret, were not well adapted for use 

 under such conditions. Captain Sverdrup's original pro- 

 gramme, which had to be largely modified, would have 

 taken him further from the magnetic pole, but, even if 

 circumstances had been propitious, a modification in the 

 outfit would seem to have been desirable. However 

 zealous the observers, as Mr. Steen justly remarks, they 

 can hardly be expected to retain their full interest in the 

 work unless the behaviour of the instruments gives them 

 confidence that the results being accumulated are trust- 

 worthy ; and, it may be added, however competent those 

 reducing the observations, the outcome of their efforts 

 must be accepted with some reserve unless reliance can 

 be placed both in the instruments and the observers. In 

 the present case, economic grounds seem to have been 

 largely accountable for the instrumental deficiencies. After 

 the experience gained during the last few years, those 

 responsible for expeditions to the neighbourhood of the 

 magnetic poles will have small grounds for excuse if they 

 fail to exercise due foresight in the choice of magnetic 

 instruments and the training of magnetic observers in 

 their use. C. Chree. 



DEVELOPMENT OF LEMUKOIDS. 

 'T'HE development of the tarsier (Tarsiiis spectrum) and 

 the slow loris (Nycticebus tardigradus) forms the 

 subject of the seventh fasciculus of Prof. F. Keibel's 

 " Normentafeln zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Wirbel- 

 thiere," now in course of issue by G. Fischer, of Jena. 

 The part before us is the joint work of Prof. A. A. W. 

 Hubrecht and the editor. Although the text is necessarily 

 of an extremely technical nature, the beautiful illustrations 

 of embryos permit the student to see for himself how 

 essentially different are the early phases in the develop- 

 ment of these two strange Malay animals, which are 

 included by most zoologists in the order Primates. 



Prof. Hubrecht has for several years past devoted special 

 attention to the developmental history of the tarsier, on 

 which he has published papers from 1895 onwards. He has 

 regarded the genus as the most primitive phase of the 

 Primate type, sundered very widely indeed from all other 

 lemuroids, with which it was formerly so closely associated. 

 His unique material has been generously placed at the 

 disposal of his coadjutor for the purpose of illustrating 

 this fasciculus of the " Normal Plates," in connection 

 with such material for the developmental history of the 

 slow-loris as could be obtained — material, unfortunately, 



1 Report of the Second Norwegian Arctic Expedition in the Frain, 

 1898-1002. No. 6. "Terrestrial Magnetism." By Aksel S. Steen. Pp.82. 

 (Christiania, 1907.) 



much less rich than that available in the case of the 

 tarsier. 



While Prof. Keibel, as already indicated, worked out the 

 history of the tarsier. Prof. Hubrecht undertook that of 

 the loris, and has likewise written the general account 

 and the comparison of the two forms. 



In the concluding section support is given to Prof. 

 Hubrecht's original suggestion that, in view of the marked 

 and radical divergence of their development, it is illogical 

 to include the loris and the tarsier in the same mammalian 

 order. Before their relative positions can be definitely 

 determined and a thoroughly satisfactory classification of 

 mammals in general formulated, it is necessary that the 

 series of these normal plates of development should be 

 very greatly extended, and our knowledge of the ontogeny 

 of such forms as Manis, Galeopithecus, Hapale, and 

 Chrysochloris and other insectivores very largely 

 augmented. .As an instalment to this most desirable end, 

 the fasciculus before us is all that could be desired. 



R. L. 



NO. 1906, VOL. 76I 



MARINE BIOLOGY ON THE WEST COASTS 

 'VTEAR by year the report on the Lancashire Sea Fisheries 

 Laboratory increases in bulk, and the fifteenth of 

 the series is again rather thicker than its predecessor. It 

 contains fourteen scientific papers, as against eleven in 

 the previous volume, and in the present case two or three 

 gentlemen other than members of the staff have con- 

 tributed. 



As usual, the volume opens with a general report and 

 review by Prof. Herdman, the honorary director of the 

 scientific work. This is followed by twenty pages by the 

 same author upon sea-fishery research, in which he reviews 

 the present situation and the nature of the work done in 

 the international investigations of the North Sea, and 

 criticises the value of that work from the point of view of 

 the fisheries. Without either agreeing with or dissenting 

 from Prof. Herdman 's views, we can say that he has set 

 forth a very clear statement of his case. 



Mr. Andrew Scott's report on the sea-fish hatching at 

 Piel again records the liberation of several millions of 

 fry, and again lacks any word as to the results of thus 

 increasing the fish population of the area. In another 

 paper on sea-fish hatching in Norway, however. Captain 

 Dannevig discusses what appear to him to be the results 

 of liberating artificially hatched cod larvae, but his con- 

 clusions are traversed by Mr. K. Dahl, whose paper on 

 the same subject suggests that the increase of cod in the 

 district shows no relation to the liberation of the fry, but 

 is dependent upon variations in the currents of water 

 which are responsible for the distribution of the eggs. 

 Thus the value of " interfering " with the natural repro- 

 duction of the food-fishes still remains to be proved. 



Mr. Scott also reports, as usual, upon the tow-nettings 

 for the year, and we cannot but admire the amount of 

 trouble taken ; at the same time, we are inclined to be 

 sceptical as to whether the value of such work is equal 

 to the labour expended upon it. 



The same author contributes a short paper upon the 

 food of young fishes. In this paper also, Mr. Scott 

 illustrates his capacity for taking pains, and there is no 

 doubt that such work will prove valuable, especially when 

 taken in conjunction with work upon the food of mature 

 fishes, such as Mr. R. A. Todd has contributed to the 

 North Sea investigations. 



Mr. James Johnstone's paper upon this subject deals 

 onlv with the plaice and dab, and is upon the same lines 

 as the one he contributed last year upon the same subject. 

 He has now, however, gone more carefully into detail, and 

 shows that, although the dab is less particular than the 

 plaice in its choice of food, both the species depend mainly 

 upon lamellibranch molluscs, especially Solen, and his 

 observations on this point agree well with those of Mr. 

 R. A. Todd on the same species in the North Sea. 



The fish-marking experiments were continued during 



1 No. XV., Report for 1006 on the Lancashire Sea-fisheries Laboratory at 

 the University of Liverpool and the Sea-fish Hatchery at Piel. Pp. 269 ; 

 illustrated. (Liverpool, 1907.) 



