Mav 



1907J 



NATURE 



109 



In the Journal of the Royal Sanitary Institute for May 

 (xxviii., No. 4), Prof. Ronald Ross, F.R.S., discusses 

 some points of interest in connection with tropical sanita- 

 tion, and Major Horrocks describes some interesting ex- 

 periments made to determine the conditions under which 

 " specific " bacteria derived from sewage may be present 

 in the air of ventilating pipes, drains, sewers, &c. It 

 would appear that the bursting of bubbles, the separation 

 of dried particles from the walls, and the ejection of minute 

 droplets from flowing sewage, may determine the ejection 

 of specific bacteria from the sewage into the air. 



Bulletin No. 4 of the division of pathology and physio- 

 logy, issued from the experiment station of the Hawaiian 

 Sugar Planters' .Association, has been received. It con- 

 tains the substance of a lecture, delivered by Dr. N. A. 

 Cobb before the association, on some elements of plant 

 pathology relating to disease in the sugar cane. 



Mr. D. McAlpine communicates to AnnaXes Mycologici, 

 vol. iv.. No. 6, an account of the hymenomycete fungus, 

 formerly called Isan'a fuciformis, as it exists in Australia. 

 Growing on various native grasses and rye-grass, the 

 fungus often forms a conspicuous pest in wet seasons. 

 In general appearance it resembles a Clavaria, but the 

 hymenium or spore-producing layer is borne mainly or 

 entirely on the portion of the fungus attached to the host 

 plant, so that the author refers it to the genus Hvpochnus 

 as Hvpochnus fuciformis. 



A SHORT paper by Mr. R. Fitch appears in Annales \ 

 Mycologici (vol. iv., No. 4) describing some experiments 

 on the action of insoluble substances in modifying the 

 effect of deleterious agents upon fungi. It is known that 

 the action of certain toxic solutions on plants varies 

 according to the degree of concentration and that a very 

 weak solution often stimulates growth. Nageli discovered 

 that the addition of certain solid materials to solutions 

 reduced the toxicity. Similarly it is found by Mr. Fitch 

 that the introduction of sand or glass is equivalent to 

 weakening the proportion of poison in a given solution. 



Mr. E. R. Burdon contributes to the Journal of 

 Economic Biology (vol. ii.. No. i) an article on the spruce- 

 gall and larch-blight diseases caused by the genus Chermes 

 ■of the Aphida;. He points out that, according to in- 

 vestigations made in Germany and Russia, both diseases 

 are induced by the same species, and draws up in a 

 tabular form the sequence of generations. Starting from 

 the gall-foundress generation on the spruce, some of the 

 winged insects of the subsequent generation migrate to 

 the larch, pine, or fir, upon which two generations are 

 developed before there is a migration back to the spruce 

 previous to the sexual generation. The galls are only 

 produced on the spruce and by one of the generations. 

 In order to prevent migration, it is recommended that 

 ■spruce and larch should not be planted together, but 

 should be separated by a belt of other trees. The author 

 <iiscusses various remedies, among them a paraffin 

 «mulsion, with which he washed the trees in winter. 



An important addition to the literature on the Phyco- 

 mycetes will be found in the fifth number of the botanical 

 series of Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in 

 India, wherein Dr. E. J. Butler furnishes an account of 

 the genus Pythiuni and some of the Chytridiaceae. The 

 memoir contains a phylogenetic review and systematic 

 revision of the genus Pythium, for which eighteen species 

 are distinguished, and of these indigoferae, diacarpum, 

 palmivoruni, and rostratum are new. The account of 

 NO. I 96 I. VOL. 76] 



the life-history is based upon the examination of ten 

 species collected in Europe and India. Full details are 

 given of the development and liberation of the zoospores in 

 Pythium proliferum. The observations on the Chytridiacea- 

 made on species of the genera Pleolpidium, Pseudol- 

 pidium, Olpidium, Olpidiopsis, and Nowakowskiella 

 enable the author to describe the life-histories of these 

 parasitic fungi. 



On September 2, 1906, twenty years had elapsed since 

 the opening of the Sonnblick Observatory, at an altitude 

 of 10,190 feet above sea-level. From Dr. Hann's summary 

 of the results, it appears that the monthly mean baro- 

 metric pressure is lowest in March and highest in August. 

 The mean yearly minimum temperature is —22°. 2, the 

 mean maximum 49°'3 ; the absolute extremes were — ss'-o 

 in January, 1905, and 56°.8 in July of the same year. 

 The relative humidity is the opposite to that which obtains 

 in the plains — the winter is the driest and the spring and 

 summer the dampest ; the afternoon is the dampest period 

 of the day. The mean yearly precipitation amounts to 

 70-71 inches, of which only about 4-77 inches fall as rain, 

 the remainder being chiefly due to snow. The amount is 

 fairly uniformly distributed throughout the year, the mean 

 number of " rain-days " being 212. Fog occurs on 253 

 days on an average. 



The report of the committee appointed by the Governor 

 of Hong Kong to inquire whether earlier warning of the 

 disastrous typhoon of September 18, 1906, could have 

 been given to shipping has resulted in the exoneration of 

 Dr. Doberck and the observatory staff from blame in the 

 matter. The committee was composed of Sir H. S. 

 Berkeley, K.C., Lieut. H. Butterworth, R.N. (King's 

 Harbour Master), A. B. Skottowe (Eastern Extension 

 Telegraph Co.), and Captain A. Sommerville. The evidence 

 taken by the committee, and the documents referred to, are 

 appended to the report. On the afternoon of September 17 

 the observatory received telegraphic reports from various 

 stations, including Zi-ka-wei (Shanghai), Swatow, and 

 Manila ; the barometer readings at those places pointed to 

 the conclusion that there was a gale in Formosa Channel, 

 apparently travelling N.N.W., but in the opinion of the 

 committee these observations did not call for the hoisting 

 of any typhoon signal in Hong Kong on September 17. The 

 evidence as to the appearance and state of the weather on 

 the evening of September 17 and morning of September 18 

 is conflicting ; the Consul for France thought that the appear- 

 ance of the sky on September 17 indicated a typhoon not 

 far off. But, reviewing the evidence as a whole, the com- 

 mittee found that prior to 7h. 44m. a.m. on September 18 

 there was no indication of a typhoon approaching Hong 

 Kong, and that by hoisting the signal drum on the morn- 

 ing of September 18 warning was given as soon as was 

 practicably possible. 



An address on the " Education of the Professicnal 

 Chemist," delivered by Prof. C. F. Mabery in his capacity 

 of chairman of Section C of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, is printed in Science for 

 May 3. It contains a number of points of educational 

 interest. The methods of teaching chemistry in the 

 elementary schools of the United States are severely 

 criticised ; they appear very similar to those which have 

 been attacked in this country during the past fifteen years. 

 "The pupil is taught a text-book rather than chemistry," 

 and has inflicted on him a series of definitions and theo- 

 retical principles before he has learned correctly to observe 

 a single fact. In spite of this, the students of technical 



